Chapter Eighteen: Be Mindful of Secrecy (Seeking Recommendations, Favorites)

  Back at Tang's house, it was almost six o'clock in the afternoon, close to dinner time.

  As she came down from the rooftop, she saw Tang Chao hurrying towards the direction of Xinhua Building. For no reason, Irina felt a surge of jealousy.

  "Boss, are you in such a hurry to see that little beauty?" Irina asked with a sour tone, following behind Tang Chao.

  "That's natural." Tang Dynasty smiled and turned his head to answer, "Let me put it this way, Lan Xin. She was the first woman I had when I came into this world, so she naturally occupies a very important position in my heart. However, Irina, if you're willing, I can also consider leaving a place for you."

  "Hmph! Men are all the same, they're not satisfied with what they have in their bowl and still want to look at what's in the pot." Irina glared at Tang Chao with a scowl, pouting her lips in annoyance.

  "In my hometown, there's a saying that goes: 'Men don't misbehave, women don't love.' " Tang Chao gave a self-satisfied smile and snapped his fingers loudly as he turned to leave, chuckling to himself as he walked away. "Irina, think carefully! I'll be waiting for your call anytime."

  "Think beautifully!" Irina made a face at Tang Chao's tall back.

  Tang Dynasty finally felt a bit of face in front of this demon Irina, and his mood became exceptionally comfortable.

  "You are my lover, a woman like a rose, with your fiery lips, making me infinitely infatuated in the midnight..."

  Tang Dynasty hummed this once favorite "Lover" song, walking with a light step into the Moon Gate outside Xinhua Building.

  Irina originally intended to return to her own room, but she heard Tang Chao humming a song and was instantly attracted, unknowingly following behind him until he entered the Xinhua Building, when Irina finally came to her senses.

  "What tune is he singing? It's strange, but it still sounds pretty good." Irina gazed far away at the empty moon gate, muttering to herself.

  The commotion of Tang's return was quite loud, causing the maids and old mothers who were staying in the Xinhua Building to hurry out to greet him.

  "Hello, old man!"

  Two maidservants and a middle-aged female servant knelt down in front of him, and Tang immediately realized that these three people should be the servants promised by Mu Hailin to prepare for him.

  "Ah, don't call me 'old master', I'd rather be called boss like everyone else!" Tang Dynasty smiled warmly and said: "Let's get to know each other, I'm Tang Dynasty, your boss."

  A slightly plump middle-aged servant woman with a somewhat attractive appearance looked up at Tang Dynasty, then lowered her head and replied: "Master, my surname is Wu. The servants in the Mu Mansion all call me Mother Wu."

  "Alright, Madam Wu. From now on, I'll follow everyone else and address you as such too." Tang Chao nodded, his gaze shifting to the other two maids who were around sixteen or seventeen years old and had delicate features.

  "My name is Ziwei, boss." The melon-seed-faced girl on the left said softly with her head down.

  "Boss, I'm Ziliang." The maid with a small red mole between her eyebrows on the right side quickly followed up.

  "Ziwei, Ziliang, Wu Ma, now that we've all met, from now on we'll be living under the same roof and eating out of the same pot. I hope everyone can follow the rules and be like one big family." Tang Chao's expression suddenly turned cold as he continued in a low voice: "If anyone asks you about what goes on inside Xinhua Building, I want you to answer 'I don't know'! Don't say anything that shouldn't be said, don't ask any questions that shouldn't be asked. If there's anyone who betrays us from within, I can tell you clearly: there's only one way out - death!"

  A cold and icy word "death" frightened Wu Ma, Ziwei and Zili so much that they couldn't help but tremble all over.

  "Now you still have a choice, you can quit Xinhua Building, I'll replace you with someone else." Tang Chao walked back and forth with his hands behind his back, his eyes scanning the faces of the three servants in front of him. "If you decide to stay, then you must follow my rules. You have three minutes to consider."

  "Boss, no need to consider it, we'll listen to you." Wu Ma hastily replied.

  "We are willing to serve Boss and Miss Lan Xin." Ziwei raised her head and looked at Tang Chao, her eyes relatively firm.

  "I'm the same, I want to stay." Zi Ling said with a nod.

  "Very well, welcome to join my family." Tang Dynasty smiled and raised his hand, "Get up, you don't have to do this big courtesy in the future, I'm not used to this kind of thing."

  "Thank you, boss." Wu Ma, Ziwei and Ziling stood up and thanked in unison.

  "When did you arrive?" Tang Chao asked Wu Ma as he looked at her.

  "It's almost three o'clock." Wu Ma glanced at the grandfather clock in the living room and replied truthfully: "It was Old Lady Mu who brought us here. I heard her say that it was the guard who informed Master Mu to send someone over to take care of Miss Lan Xin."

  "Hmm!" The Tang Dynasty nodded slightly without approving or disapproving, "Let's do it this way, everyone will do their own job. By the way, is Lan Xin better now?"

  "Miss Lanxin can get out of bed and walk slowly now." Wu Ma replied diligently: "Women all have to go through this, just adapt a bit and it's nothing serious. I specially made a pot of nourishing fish soup for Miss Lanxin, she can drink more at dinner time to replenish her body."

  "Alright, go prepare dinner, I'll be joining Lan Xin to eat later." Tang Chao instructed before quickly walking towards the bedroom on the second floor.

  "Boss, what kind of flavor do you usually like to eat?" Wu Ma asked thoughtfully.

  Tang Chao stopped in his tracks, turned around and glanced at Wu Ma with a smile, not answering but instead asking: "Among the eight major Chinese cuisines, which one are you more skilled at?"

  "What would you like to eat? I'll try to make whatever it is." Wu's mother replied confidently.

  Tang Dynasty gazed at Wu Ma with profound meaning, smiled and said: "I am a Hunanese, my taste is heavier, I prefer Xiang cuisine and Sichuan cuisine."

  "I understand, boss. I'll definitely try my best to satisfy you." Wu Ma didn't dare to make eye contact with Tang Chao for too long and replied with her head lowered.

  "Alright, Wu Ma. Go ahead!" Tang Chao nodded in satisfaction and smiled, turning to head upstairs.

  Just turned the corner of the stairs on the second floor, and saw Lanhui wearing a light purple silk pajamas and slippers, standing at the bedroom door leaning against the door frame, looking very much like she was waiting for her husband to return.

  Obviously, Lan Xin had heard the conversation downstairs and was waiting at the door to greet them.

  "Boss, you're back." Lan Xin greeted Tang Chao with a soft and gentle voice.

  "Aren't you still recovering? Why are you getting out of bed and moving around? What if the wound opens up and gets infected, wouldn't that turn a small illness into a big one?" Tang Chao hurriedly stepped forward with concern etched on his face, supporting Lan Xin as he scolded her in a tone that was 30% reproachful and 70% caring: "Didn't I tell you to rest in bed for three days? Why didn't you listen?"

  "Others are not as fragile as you say!" Lan Xinyue coquettishly glared at Tang Chao and said softly, "Wu Mama said that a little exercise is good for the wound to heal."

  "Heh heh, since you're almost recovered, doesn't that mean we can... tonight?"

  Her face flushed with a Tang Dynasty-style smile, Orchid Heart's face turned bright red as she hid in his arms, her fists pounding him repeatedly. "You're really dead, always thinking of these embarrassing things."

  "No way, I'm now savoring the flavor, as sweet as honey, and I'm addicted." Tang Chao lowered his head and kissed Lan Xin's fragrant lips. "Being alone in this ghostly place for many years, even a sow would look like Diao Chan to me, let alone you, little treasure, who is as lovely as a flower that blooms in everyone's eyes, a beauty that shines like the colors of the sky."

  "I'm done with you." Lan Xin didn't dare to respond to Tang Chao's ambiguous and flirtatious words, and sweetly scolded: "You're just a smooth talker."

  Tang Dynasty held Lan Xin, half-sitting and half-lying on the bed, warming her hands up and down for a while. Knowing that Lan Xin's body was still a bit uncomfortable at the moment, he naturally didn't dare to go all out with her.

  "Hehe, I won't tease you anymore, or else I really can't take it." Tang Chao suppressed the flames of desire that had ignited in his heart, "I still have some proper business to attend to. You lie down on the bed for a while first, and after I'm done with my affairs, we'll dine together."

  "Hmm! Business is urgent, I'll wait for you." Lan Xin raised her pretty face and kissed Tang Chao's face.

  Tang Dynasty smoothed his pants, walked big steps to the wardrobe, and in front of Lan Xin's face, opened the secret passage leading to the base.

  "If someone comes looking for me, just tell them I'm busy and have them wait." Tang Chao turned back to Lan Xin with a brief instruction before turning around and disappearing into the hidden passageway, allowing the wardrobe to return to its original state.

  At the moment she saw the hidden passage appear, Lan's eyes did flash with a startled expression, but her face quickly returned to normal. She knew that the boss had revealed this secret in front of her, it was definitely a test for her.

  Lan Xin's guess was correct, and Tang Dynasty indeed intended to use this secret passage to test whether Lan Xin really shared the same heart as him.

  Anyway, this hidden passage doesn't seem to be a particularly earth-shattering secret on the surface. Any wealthy family with some influence has probably built an escape route or two.

  Moreover, this secret door was not authorized by the Tang Dynasty, and no one dared to open it.

  "Boss, the base tunnel has been discovered by unauthorized personnel. Should we clear it?" Little Cat warned as soon as she walked into the hidden passage in the Tang Dynasty.

  "No need." Tang Chao quickly denied and said while walking: "Xiao Mao, switch the surveillance footage in my bedroom to me for a look."

  "Yes, boss."

  Through the watch screen, Tang saw Lan Xin lying quietly on the bed, seemingly meditating or thinking about something.

  "Kitty, this woman may become your boss's wife in the future!" Tang Chao said with a smile, pointing at Lan Xin on the screen.

  "Boss, are you planning on giving her base authorization?"

  "Of course not!" Tang Dynasty replied without hesitation: "The base is my biggest secret, I absolutely will not share this secret with anyone in this era. Not even my future wife!"

  "Boss, why did you let this woman see the base's passageway? This has already posed a threat to the safety of the base."

  "That's just a humble entrance." Tang Chao smiled, "Little cat, the Tang family manor, in the eyes of outsiders, is a secret treasure vault. For this kind of secret treasure vault, building a secret passage is very normal. Of course, the secret passage is also a secret, and secrets must be kept confidential. Using such unimportant secrets to test people's hearts for good or evil, I think it's still quite cost-effective."

  "Boss, you're getting more and more cunning."

  "Alas! I have no choice either! Because up until now, I still don't dare to completely trust the people around me."

  "Boss, the second phase of the base project has started construction and is expected to be completed in 539 days."

  "Kitty, why is the construction period of Phase 2 much shorter than that of Phase 1 when the project scale of Phase 2 is much larger?"

  "When we were building the first phase of the project, we basically started from scratch, so the construction progress was slow. But now it's different, the base's first-phase project can already provide various mineral resources and equipment for the base, greatly improving construction efficiency."

  "Kitty, I've only heard you mention the second phase project, but I don't know what it's all about. Are we doing this? Won't it affect my big plan to expand my power?"

  "No, boss. Although the first phase of the project is a basic engineering project with very low technological content, the machinery and equipment manufactured can basically reach the level of the early 1930s. The weapons and equipment stored in the base now, as well as the matching uniforms and equipment, can meet the needs of the boss to form an army of 10,000 people. With the boss's current military literacy, the trained troops can dominate the entire Xinjiang region."

  Due to the production capacity constraints of the first phase project, it is difficult for the boss to expand his influence to neighboring provinces. If the second phase project is completed, this problem will not exist. Because the production capacity after the completion of the second phase project will be more than ten times that of the first phase project. Moreover, it can also meet the two major plans proposed by the boss, "Large Air Force" and "Mechanized Army". The scientific reserve can reach the level of the 1960s.

  "Can't the second phase project get missiles and satellites out?" Tang asked gloomily.

  "In theory it's possible, but the cost is too high. The main problem is that there aren't enough personnel at the base. I can concentrate all the engineering robots to develop missiles and satellites, but other projects and production will have to come to a halt."

  "Never mind, let's just wait for the third phase of the project to deal with missiles and satellites!" Tang Dynasty sighed: "Population, it's still that damn population problem. We have the most advanced science and technology, but no one to execute it, why is heaven so unfair to me?!"

  "Boss, I suggest you temporarily suspend building factories and instead focus on occupying land, grabbing resources, and wait until the land is secured before closing the door to concentrate on construction. The current geographical location of the base is clearly not suitable for the boss's large-scale economic development."

  "Hmm, little cat, you're right. This basin can be considered a utopia, but at the same time it's also an isolated dead end. It's okay to cultivate oneself and hide from the world here, but wanting to conquer the world and become king is simply nonsense! I've made up my mind, first drive them out, then recruit soldiers and buy horses, if not occupying all of Xinjiang, at least I must control the entire southern Xinjiang!"

  Highly recommended for beginners!