radiothebook Chapter 541 Li Luochen and Bilan are truly a pair of bickering lovers!
Chapter 541 Li Luochen and Bilan are truly a pair of bickering lovers!
With the promotion competition concluded and the eight academies' spots firmly in his grasp, Li Luochen couldn't afford to relax.
I'll be heading to the Galar region in a week.
It wasn't just about accompanying the gods in their search for the sacred pillar.
I still need to go find my uncle, Lorz.
This uncle is not only the leader of the Galar Alliance, but also controls the Marocmon Group, making him the undisputed ruler of Galar.
Even the world's strongest champion on the surface right now—the undefeated emperor Dan—is one of his generals.
When meeting your uncle, the gift you give should not be casual.
Li Luochen sat on the sofa in the dojo's living room, with several gift boxes spread out in front of him. He opened and closed them repeatedly, feeling that something was missing.
Giving gifts to elders is the most difficult thing. Giving something too insignificant seems insincere, while giving something too extravagant seems deliberate, especially since Loz has nothing to lack.
As Bilan passed by, she glanced at the pile of things in front of him, said, "Anything is fine, your presence is the greatest gift," and then walked away in her slippers.
Li Luochen watched her retreating figure, feeling that his words were as good as nothing at all.
Cattleya walked over with her teacup, glanced at the gifts, closed them for him, and said, "Take your time, no rush."
Li Luochen nodded, leaned back on the sofa, and stared blankly at the ceiling.
There's still a week left; I can always think of something.
Six days passed just like that.
The table in front of Li Luochen was still empty.
Yes, he thought about it for six whole days, but still couldn't come up with a gift.
It's not that there are no options, it's that none of the options are satisfactory.
Ore? The kind of ore he has that Loz might not even look at.
Pokémon? Rose has plenty, and besides, there just feels wrong with giving Pokémon as a gift.
Rare items? As the chairman of the Marocomon Group, what kind of items can't Loz get his hands on?
Li Luochen lay on the table, his face pressed against the cold surface, his gaze unfocused as he stared at the table legs.
There's only one day left; I can't go empty-handed.
"How about sending some tea?"
Wanlong sat down next to Li Luochen at some point, still holding her ever-present notebook in her hand. She tapped the paper with her pen and tilted her head seriously, saying, "As a gift, tea might be a good choice."
Li Luochen looked up from the table and glanced at her.
Wanlong hadn't returned to the crowd yet; after the promotion tournament ended, he stayed in Donghuang, saying that he "hadn't finished gathering materials."
Li Luochen didn't kick her out. After all, Wanlong was one of his people, and the dojo could afford to feed one more person.
"tea?"
Li Luochen pondered for a moment.
"Yes." Wanlong turned a page in her notebook, which was filled with several lines of writing. "People in the Galar region like to drink tea, and President Loz is the kind of old-fashioned gentleman. Sending a good cup of tea would be classy without seeming too deliberate."
"At least, it has a lot more warmth than ores or props." Wanlong paused, tapping the notebook with the tip of her pen. "Besides, you just got promoted from Fujian Province to one of the Eight Great Daoist Temples, and isn't tea the most famous thing about Fujian Province?"
Li Luochen thought Wanlong's words made sense: "By the way, when did you start researching these things?"
Wanlong stated confidently, "I've been researching this all along. It's called humanistic observation, part of the research process."
Li Luochen smiled and shook his head, then picked up his phone and started browsing his contacts to see if he knew anyone who sold good tea.
Fujian Province has many fine teas, but the tea given to my uncle cannot be ordinary; it must be the best.
Wanlong sat beside him, looking at his profile. The corners of her mouth curved slightly, and she didn't say anything more. She lowered her head and made a few more notes in her notebook.
Fortunately, Li Luochen really had his own methods.
That was Ye Tian.
As the former branch manager of Rongcheng, Ye Tian knew quite a few tea merchants.
Through Ye Tian, Li Luochen contacted a tea merchant who supplied only the top tier of tea shops and managed to buy several boxes of tea that were not for sale.
One jin costs 100,000, and Li Luochen bought three jin in one go.
The tea merchant personally delivered the tea to my door that day. The packaging was exquisite: a sandalwood box lined with velvet, and the tea was placed in a blue and white porcelain jar sealed with red ink.
After delivery, the other party even handed over their business card with a smile, saying that they should feel free to ask if they needed anything in the future.
Li Luochen took it and casually put it in his pocket without looking at it much.
"So expensive..."
After the tea merchant left, Bilan came over and stared at the few boxes of tea, her brows furrowed with heartache.
One jin costs 100,000, so three jin would cost 300,000.
How many handbags could she buy with 300,000?
How many sets of cosmetics?
Bilan counted on her fingers, feeling more and more heartbroken. She clutched her chest and collapsed onto the sofa, looking utterly hopeless.
Li Luochen glanced at her and said in a flat tone, "It's not like I'm spending your money."
Bilan sprang up from the sofa, glaring at him: "Your money is my money!"
Li Luochen thought for a moment and found himself unable to refute it, so he simply stopped talking, put away the tea leaves, and turned to leave.
Azure watched his retreating figure, snorted, and lay back down.
She lay on her back on the sofa, staring at the ceiling, her voice muffled:
"How infuriating! Why is Li Luochen so unwilling to spend money on me?!"
Just then, Cattleya walked into the living room.
Hearing this, she paused slightly, sat down next to Bilan, and said in a calm tone, "Luo Chen has actually spent a lot on you, but he never gives you cash, afraid that you will spend it recklessly."
Azure sat up from the sofa and realized that it seemed to be true.
He bought the bag, he bought the clothes, he bought the cosmetics.
They just never give cash.
Azure muttered, "That's different," but her voice was much softer.
Cattleya took a sip of tea and didn't continue speaking.
Most of the girls at the Minrong Martial Arts Academy are from wealthy families.
Chao Mi, Zhou Zhu, Xi Si, and Ye Ni all come from prestigious families.
Shi Xintong is a wealthy heiress from the capital, while Lillie is the heiress of the Ether Foundation.
Wanlong writes his own novels, Huoyan used to be a researcher at Devon Corporation, Acerola is a descendant of the royal family of the Alola region, and Lucia is a popular star.
Even the three apprentices that Li Luochen just took on came from extraordinary families.
Katishia's origins are unknown, but she didn't cost much.
Apart from that, they spent their own money and never inquired about Li Luochen's accounts.
Only Azure, despite her overwhelming strength, acts like a child when it comes to spending money...
Their relationship was never one of mutual respect and courtesy.
Li Luochen would insist on refusing whatever Bilan wanted first, only giving in after Bilan had made a scene.
It's not that I really don't want to give it to her, nor that I really want to leave; I just like seeing her get angry.
Azure also enjoys this, always managing to get precisely provoked and then confidently bargain.
The people at the dojo were already used to it.
Regarding their relationship, Wanlong once wrote a sentence in her notebook: "The so-called 'happy couple' is probably one who is willing to hit and the other who is willing to be hit, and both of them enjoy it."
After writing it, he thought for a moment and added a sentence next to it: "This is probably a kind of tacit understanding that others can't envy."