Chapter 5: The Tianbao Conglomerate

  In the iconic Shanghai skyscraper Jin Mao Tower, on the sixty-sixth floor in a luxurious circular office at the southernmost end, Li Hai, the executive president of the super conglomerate with extremely high international reputation in Asia, was nervously receiving instructions from the three major directors of Tianbao Conglomerate.

  Wrap one hundred thousand RMB in newspaper and stuff it into a trash can on the corner of a certain street…… The phone hung up, Li Hai stood there blankly for a while, if he wasn't absolutely sure that the call just now was from the special line used by the three major directors, he wouldn't have believed that this almost childish command came from those three people who could stir up a storm in the international financial world with just one stomp of their feet.

  The Tianbao Financial Group is a mysterious and incomprehensible financial group that has puzzled the world for decades. There are two main reasons for this: Firstly, the Tianbao Financial Group has been without a chairman for thirty years, which is unthinkable for a giant financial group with assets spread across the globe; Secondly, despite its massive scale, the group has never gone public or raised funds through an initial public offering (IPO), and the entire group's shares are shrouded in mystery. Except for the three major directors who each hold 15% of the shares and have absolute decision-making power within the group, no one knows where the remaining shares are held or who holds them, at least not in the past thirty years.

  Li Hai's ride was a silver-gray Lamborghini, and such a car worth millions of dollars parked at the entrance of CY Middle School, indeed attracted many passersby to glance over. However, Li Hai didn't have the leisure to enjoy the envious gazes from others, he simply got out of the car, closed the door, and walked towards a small alley on the side with a stack of banknotes wrapped in newspaper under his arm. After turning a corner, he looked around cautiously, making sure there was no one nearby, then quickly threw the package containing 100,000 yuan into a trash can beside him.

  After getting back in the car, Li Hai instructed his bodyguard and driver Xu Lidao: "A Li, go back to the company."

  Lamborghini sped away, feeling the cool breeze blowing outside the window, Li Hai couldn't help but feel a little strange and amused by his previous actions, but more so, he was puzzled by the bizarre task assigned to him by the three major directors.

  Li Hai's mood lifted as he thought about the three major directors who had explicitly stated on the phone that they would be coming to Shanghai together soon. "For now, I'd better review all the major projects under my responsibility in the Asian region, can't afford to make any mistakes when the three big directors arrive in Shanghai, don't want to lose this $8 million annual salary job!"

  But soon after Li Hai left, a young man walked in from the other end of the alley, took out the package of money from the trash can, and casually threw 100,000 yuan into his backpack.

  "It seems that the three subordinates I had in the secular world were still loyal, and after contacting them, everything was settled within half an hour..."

  "For now, I haven't even completed my foundation building, so I don't need a large amount of money to assist me. This 100,000 is already enough for me to use. When the time comes that I complete my foundation building and my internal energy transforms into true yuan force, it won't be a problem to return to Tianbao and meet with those underlings again, retake control of the financial group. After all, by then it won't be just tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands that will be enough, but rather tens of millions or even hundreds of millions."

  Don't think that all cultivators are lofty figures who don't eat the smoke and fire of the mortal world. Even if there really were such people, it would only be after their cultivation had reached a certain level. Before they can enter the realm of the yuan infant, money is absolutely essential for cultivators.

  In the current cultivation world of Zhongtu, any sect with some strength will leave disciples and followers in the secular world to do business and make money. You should know that refining pills, refining treasures, and refining Qi all require a huge amount of financial support. For example, to refine a mid-grade flying sword, the material needed - refined gold - requires more than a ton of gold to be smelted and refined, removing impurities and retaining the essence, in order to succeed. The extremely high consumption of cultivation supplies can be seen from this.

  He hailed a taxi and directly said, "Driver, please take me to some of Shanghai's famous antique markets. I'll pay the fare first, and if it's more than that after we're done, you can keep the change; if it's less, I'll make up for it."

  The driver took the five 100-yuan bills handed over by Chu Yu, and although he saw that the other was a middle school student, his words were extremely mature. He nodded immediately and said: "Little brother, you're on the right bus! When it comes to Shanghai's antique markets, which one can I be more familiar with? In those days, I also traded antiques for a while. At this time, the most popular place is definitely Cang Bao Lou, let's go there first."

  "The Treasure Pavilion" is a common name, but almost all treasure hunters, whether local or foreign, and even the blue-eyed and high-nosed foreigners, think this name sounds good. The commercial building that hides treasures is exactly the paradise that treasure hunters have been dreaming of.

  The real name of "Cang Bao Lou" is actually "Fuyou Road Arts and Crafts Market", its predecessor was Fuyou Road Antique Street Market. The original Fuyou Road Antique Market was located in the area of Fuyou Road and Old Warehouse Street west of Henan Road, with nearly a thousand stalls at its peak, rivaling Beijing's Panjiayuan Antique Market, earning it the nickname "Southern Fu, Northern Pan".

  Currently, "Treasure Pavilion" has four levels, including antiques, ceramics and jade, bamboo and wood carvings, stationery treasures, new and old paintings, coins from past dynasties, to old fans, antique clocks, beauty calendars, and yellowed old photos. Everything is available here, real or fake. It's said that this place is a paradise for treasure hunters, but also a maze for them to get lost in.

  Along the way, the driver almost introduced Chu Yu to all of Shanghai's famous antique markets, with a focus on the "Treasure Pavilion" they were about to arrive at.

  "Little brother, I've arrived. My car is parked here waiting for you. Come back here and get in the car after you're done walking around."

  The driver stopped the car and Chu Yu nodded in response, picked up his backpack and got off the car.

  The method of rapid foundation establishment, apart from taking a few kinds of precious spiritual pills, is also to have someone with high cultivation forcibly open the Ren and Du meridians for the foundation-establishing cultivator. However, for Chu Yu, the successor of Lianbao Pavilion, there is obviously another rapid foundation establishment method, that is, "Qiankun Lianbao Lingzhen". This array method is a kind of spiritual gathering array, although it can't be said to be mysterious and wonderful, but if one can set up this array and cultivate within it, the progress in cultivation will absolutely be ten times faster than usual.

  Especially after the heavy repair of Chu Yu's calendar, he chose "You Yue Xu Ri Xin Fa" and used the power of moonlight and sun essence to build his foundation. This makes the "Qian Kun Lian Bao Ling Zhen" even more important. As long as he can set up this array, Chu Yu is confident that he can complete his foundation within a month.

  So he came to the antique market because the essential item for setting up this spirit gathering array is jade - a large amount of jade!

  Entering the Treasure Pavilion, Chu Yu walked in and finally stopped in front of a shop called "Zhenyu Zhai".

  "Boss, are all the jade stones here?" Chu Yu didn't rush to look around after entering the store, but instead quickly scanned the place and asked.

  The owner of "Zhen Yu Zhai" was a thin, middle-aged man with a goatee, looking very astute. Seeing Chu Yu ask questions, he furrowed his brow and thought to himself, "Which family's kid is this, coming here to cause trouble?" Without hesitation, he waved his hand and said, "Little kid, don't mess around in the store, this isn't a place for you to play, quickly go out and find your grown-ups."

  Chu Yu's mental age was almost three hundred years old, and being called a little kid by someone who looked only forty or so made him very displeased. "I'm here to buy jade, not to be lectured by you."

  Money can explain something in many cases, especially in the mundane world. Chu Yu was also clear about this in his heart, so when he spoke, he had already taken out a thick stack of 100-yuan bills from his backpack.

  As expected, when he saw the money, the old boss immediately shut up and put on a smiling face: "It turns out that young brother is really here to buy jade, don't worry, this shop is a hundred-year-old jade shop, we have always been honest with everyone."