Chapter Twenty-Three Non-stop Knocking

  Mu Hai Lin's subordinates were basically a group of illiterate and rough warriors.

  They were all crack shots and expert horsemen, but to get them to handle a radio or communication equipment was more painful than killing them.

  An army without culture is an army without a future, but the Tang Dynasty has forgotten which great man said this. However, how can these powerful and fierce warriors be made to "study hard and strive upwards every day"? The Tang Dynasty is at a loss as to what to do about this.

  The wireless radio originally prepared was taken back to the warehouse because no one on Mu Hailin's side knew how to operate it, so Tang Dynasty had to take it back.

  Radio transceivers, there are some stocks in the warehouse, but this thing has a maximum communication distance of only five kilometers. Unless a relay station is built between Canglong Ridge and Duansheng Gorge, it can't be used at all.

  As for more advanced transistor communication equipment, the Tang Dynasty doesn't have the guts to manufacture it. Because once this thing gets out, it will inevitably trigger a global electronic industrial revolution, and the consequences are too serious.

  After some thought, Tang felt that they could only set up wired telephones manually.

  Anyway, it has been decided to build Canglong Ridge into the gateway of Tangjia Fort. After solving Heifengzhai and Ruqiang Niu's house, a large-scale construction will be carried out in Canglong Ridge to build it into a military base, which is inevitable.

  The existing installed power generation capacity of the base is sufficient to provide electric power support for Canglong Ridge.

  As for the communication problem in front of him, Tang Dynasty could only work hard himself, taking a flying boat to the front line of the battlefield to command in the air.

  The communication equipment on the "Tang Family No. 1" airship, disguised as a high-power military radio of this era, has an internal core that is quite advanced and can be used as a temporary relay station, basically having the prototype of a modern airborne early warning aircraft, fully capable of supporting the Tang Dynasty in commanding battles in the air.

  The Tang Dynasty had a little cat arrange for people to move ten sets of short-wave electronic tube walkie-talkies from the warehouse, pack them up and prepare them, send them to "Tangjia Fortress No. 1", and then return to Xinhua Building through the secret passage of the base.

  Although the gunfire and artillery fire lasted for a night behind the Tangjia Fort, Mu Hailin had made arrangements in advance, so it did not make the old men, women and children living in Tangjia Fort feel frightened. On the contrary, they felt safer here than on Canglong Ridge.

  More than 300 households of the civilian militia who moved from Canglong Ridge were taken care of by Mu's family steward, Mu Jincai, so Tang Chao didn't bother to take care of this idle matter.

  In the bedroom bathroom, he took a comfortable bath, changed into a silk pajama, and had a cigar in his mouth. He tiptoed to Lanxin's bedroom next door with a sly look on his face.

  Lan Xin's room was lit up, and through the surveillance camera on his wristwatch, Tang saw that Lan Xin had a thin blanket draped over her shoulders, wearing light pink pajamas underneath. At this moment, she was half-reclining against the headboard, holding a paperback book in her hand, quietly reading.

  Although it was already midnight, the entire Xinhua Building was still brightly lit.

  Hearing a faint conversation from downstairs, Tang Dynasty walked silently to the staircase and looked down.

  Downstairs in the living room, Wu Ma, Ziwei and Ziling were all awake, sitting on the sofa and chatting softly, it was unclear what they were talking about.

  Their faces all had obvious fatigue, occasionally yawning, and anyone with discerning eyes could see that the three of them wanted to sleep but didn't dare to, because their boss was still out on business and hadn't returned yet.

  "Everyone is tired, let's all go to sleep, remember to turn off the lights."

  The sudden voice from upstairs instantly shocked Wu Ma, Ziwei and Ziling to quickly get up from the sofa.

  "Boss, when did you come back?" Ziwei asked subconsciously.

  "It's getting late, why haven't you all gone to sleep yet?" Tang Chao smiled and asked instead of answering.

  "We don't know if you have the habit of having a midnight snack, worried that you might be hungry when you come back from outside, we must immediately prepare something for you to eat." Wu Ma replied honestly.

  "Hehe, I don't have so much trouble, go to sleep early, if there's anything, I'll naturally call you. Hope you can have a good dream on the first night in Xinhua Building. Goodnight!" Tang Chao said with a smile and turned to walk towards Lan Xin's bedroom.

  "Good night." Wu's mother hastily bowed her head and went upstairs.

  "Good night, boss." Ziwei and Ziling also bowed in unison towards Tang's back.

  Seeing the corridor lights on the upper floor go out, Ziwei couldn't help but ask in a low voice: "Wu Ma, do you know when the boss came back?"

  "If I had known, I wouldn't have wasted time with you two." Wu Ma shook her head and replied.

  "How did he get in?" Zi Ling muttered to herself.

  "In my opinion, you'd better not think about it randomly." Wu Ma reminded kindly: "Didn't Miss Lan Xin say that Xinhua Building is a forbidden place in the whole city, with many unknown secrets?"

  "That's also possible, in my opinion, there must be a secret passage here that leads to the outside." Ziwei boldly speculated.

  "Don't pry into things you shouldn't, and don't say things you shouldn't. Trouble often comes from the mouth." Wu Ma warned in a low voice, pointing upstairs with her finger as she spoke.

  Ziwei suddenly came back to her senses and was so frightened that she spat out her pink tongue, quickly shutting her mouth and not saying another word.

  "Turn off the lights and go to sleep." Zilian first turned off the brightest crystal chandelier in the living room, then continued to turn off the floor lamps and wall lamps.

  Soon, all the lights downstairs went out.

  Tang Dynasty was already sitting on the edge of Lan Xin's bed, holding in his hand the thread-bound book "Dream of Red Mansions" Volume II that Lan Xin had been reading earlier, flipping through it casually.

  "Do you like reading this kind of book?" Tang Dynasty flipped through the pages quickly with a smile, looking at Lan Xin.

  "It's not that I like it, but when I'm feeling bored, I occasionally use it to pass the time." Lan Xin replied with a soft sigh.

  "The reason why 'Dream of the Red Chamber' is regarded as one of the four great classical novels is that it reflects a trend of decline, whether it's the decline of a family, love, or official career, all are heading towards downfall. This is not commonly seen in traditional Chinese classics which often end with happy reunions and grand finales." With that, Tang Dynasty casually placed the rare book on Lan Xin's pillow.

  "You've seen it too?" Lan Xin's beautiful big eyes widened in surprise, staring at Tang Chao without blinking.

  Tang Dynasty nodded slightly and smiled calmly: "To be honest, I don't like this book because I hate tragedies."

  "I didn't expect you to read this kind of book." Lan Xin leaned into Tang Chao's arms, her face tilted upwards, gazing at him with a silly expression, and murmured: "They say that tragedies can leave a lasting impression, make one's heart flutter, boss, will I also have the possibility of ending up in a tragic finale?"

  "Character determines fate!" Tang Dynasty gazed into her eyes, as if to see through her inner world. "Women with too much heart and mind, suspicious and jealous, basically won't have a good ending. I know you're smarter than others, wise and kind-hearted, growing up in the complex environment of the Mu family, you must have seen your fair share of intrigue and deception. However, I want to give you some small advice: don't play mind games with me, it's absolutely not good for you."

  Lan Xin's eyes flashed with a hint of panic, her hands tightly wrapped around Tang Chao's waist, her slender body trembling slightly as she stammered: "I didn't."

  "Really?" Tang Chao looked at her with a half-smile.

  Lan's heart was in a flurry as she shook her head repeatedly.

  "Last night, you were playing hard to get with me, making me spin around in circles, and yet you said nothing! Tang Chao gently pinched her pretty nose and twisted it slightly. "You knew I was burning with desire, but you still put on airs and let me lose my master's dignity in front of you. Heh heh, little girl, although I was blinded by lust at the time, I wasn't stupid enough to only think with my lower body."

  "Ah... Ah..." Orchid's heart was so tense she didn't know what to say.

  "Never mind, I won't argue with you anymore. You've already been punished enough last night." Tang Chao took off his shoes and slipped into Lan Xin's bed, wrapping his arms around her and gently stroking her hair as he said softly, "I know what you're doing is just to get a promise from me, wanting a name, right?"

  "Boss, I don't dare anymore, never again." Lan's eyes were blurry with tears as she shook her head repeatedly in Tang Chao's arms.

  "I've already said it's not your fault, why are you still so scared? Are you still thinking nonsense in your heart?" Tang Chao asked with a deliberate scowl.

  "No, really no!" Lan Xin's eyes were brimming with tears, her face pale as she shook her head repeatedly.

  Tang Dynasty smiled and shook his head, letting out a sigh. He reached out to stroke her face, using his right thumb to gently wipe away the tears from the corner of her eyes. In a soft and soothing voice, he comforted her: "It's okay, little treasure, don't cry anymore. I only brought up this conversation because I saw 'Dream of the Red Chamber' in your hand earlier. I don't want you to become like the women in the novel. Didn't Wang Xifeng's schemes ultimately lead to Lin Daiyu's demise?"

  Lan Xin's whole body was almost entirely wrapped in Tang Chao's arms, her body shaking uncontrollably as she sobbed. Her slightly pale lips murmured incessantly: "I don't want to be Wang Xifeng, I don't want to be Wang Xifeng, I don't want to..."

  "We won't do it, we won't do it, I'll only do what I want to do, my little treasure." Tang Chao coaxed, speaking in a soothing tone as if coaxing a child.

  "Boss, thank you for your kindness and generosity. Thank you for being so good to me. I want to be your little darling, I want to be your little treasure, I want to spend the rest of my life by your side serving you." Lan said emotionally, clinging to Tang Chao's body, her small mouth constantly kissing his face, while also helping him take off his pajamas.

  Knowing that he had just stimulated her a bit too much, Tang Chao didn't have the heart to push her away, and instead let her vent out her panic and unease like a mother wolf.

  Tang was quickly stripped naked by Lan Xin, who remained lying on top of him, kissing him wildly all over his body while hastily tearing off her own clothes and throwing them aside.

  When Lan Xin actively allowed "Little Tang" to enter her body, a piercing pain made her unable to help but moan.

  Tang tightly wrapped his arms around her slender waist, making it impossible for her to move. As he kissed her earlobe, he softly chuckled and said: "Know the pain now? Baby, this is what you asked for, can't blame me."

  "I... I'm willing." Lan's emotions surged as she pressed her fiery lips onto Tang Dynasty's large mouth, and slid that tender tongue into his mouth...