The exterior of the apartment building is a combination of dark red bricks and gray stone, giving it a very clean and refreshing look. On each floor facing the street, there are pale yellow windowsills, with potted plants growing in the railings. The main entrance faces Monet Avenue. After exiting the main entrance and descending a dozen or so steps, you reach the sidewalk. On either side of the steps, on the ground floor facing the street, are two flower beds planted with several walnut trees, red maples, and a cluster of roses.
The sturdy, black wrought iron gate outside the apartment building was impeccably crafted, its brass doorknobs spotless. In short, everything about this apartment building conformed to the image of a well-educated, well-off Black Flame City property owner—clean, tidy, and respectable, with an environment neither filthy nor opulent. In Zhang Tie's mind, the traders who ran up orders at Black Flame City's commodity exchanges, the doctors who performed circumcisions, the teachers like Jerome or Captain Colin at the schools, or the respectable small business owners of Black Flame City, and even the notary he had met today, all lived in apartment buildings like this.
There are many apartment buildings like these in Black Flame City, of all sizes and heights, and they are the favorites of landlords. That bastard Sista once fantasized that one day he could earn enough money to buy such a building, and then he could live the life of collecting rent every month and using the rent to find women in Black Flame City at will.
Seeing Zhang Tie's stunned expression, Tang De added, "What, a small apartment building has scared you to death?"
Zhang Tie looked at Tang De in disbelief. "You're not joking, are you? Or have you been through something? I knew something was wrong with you the moment I saw you today. Let me check if you have a fever..."
As Zhang Tie spoke, he reached out to touch Tang De's forehead, but Tang De slapped his hand away. Tang De glared at him and said, "You bastard, I told you you're a country bumpkin who's never seen the world. This apartment building only cost a few thousand gold coins a few years ago, and it's even cheaper now. Some people lose that amount in a single meal. What's a little money? Do you really think it's a big deal?"
Tang De strode up the apartment building steps, took out his key, inserted it into the lock, turned it twice, and opened the door. "Come in quickly. I have something to tell you!"
Zhang Tie scratched his head and followed Tang De inside. Behind the door was a thick, soft doormat. The apartment building had gleaming, spotless brown wooden floors. As Zhang Tie entered, he looked up and saw that the top of the building appeared to be a beautifully designed triangular glass roof, allowing ample light to stream in. A spiral staircase led directly to the top floor. From the second floor onwards, each floor seemed to have two apartments, their doors facing each other directly down the stairwell.
Tang De did not go upstairs. Instead, he walked past several tall green plants on the left side of the stairs, then took out his key, opened a door, and entered a residence.
As soon as Zhang Tie entered, Tang De locked the door behind him.
This was an apartment on the first floor of an apartment building. The room was fully furnished with furniture, sofas, and various decorations. All the furniture had a fresh, pleasant woody scent. Before Zhang Tie could even take it all in, Tang De led him through a corridor into a quiet study. Tang De activated some mechanism, and a bookcase in the study slid open with a gentle pull, revealing a door behind it. Opening the door, Zhang Tie saw stone steps leading down to the basement of the first-floor apartment.
Beside the stone steps and on the walls surrounding the basement, hung expensive, Myriad-Year Fluorspar Lamp, their light bathing the entire basement in a soft green hue.
"Remember to close the basement door after you come in. When you close this inner door, the outer bookshelf will automatically slide back to its original position, and all the safety locks will be engaged. Even if you try to force it open, it will take a long time..." Tang De, who was walking in front, turned around and said to Zhang Tie.
With a "bang!", after closing the door, Zhang Tie realized that the basement door made a heavy, dull sound like a safe. The thick door was actually made of steel, only coated with a layer of wood paint.
The basement was large, over a hundred square meters, and was set up like a temporary shelter. There were tables, chairs, several storage cabinets of various sizes, and other items. What surprised Zhang Tie the most was that there were at least four wardrobes of different sizes, as well as a huge mirror. Why did Tang De prepare so many clothes here? Was he going to wear them for himself?
Tang De walked to a chair and then gestured for Zhang Tie to sit in another chair.
At this moment, Zhang Tie's heart was completely filled with curiosity. The grocery store owner, who was originally greedy for money, had done something today that was full of mystery.
"I know you must have many questions in your mind. Now you can ask them?" Tang De said, looking at Zhang Tie.
Zhang Tie scratched his head in frustration. "What are you doing today? You seem a bit strange."
"Because I'm about to leave Black Flame City, I need to settle things here!"
"You're leaving?" Zhang Tie looked at Tang De in shock. "Why?"
"Because of you!" Tang De looked at Zhang Tie with a smile. "Originally, I didn't know when I could leave Black Flame City, but because of you, I can leave soon. You know, I haven't been home for over thirty years. I originally thought I might have a chance to go home when I was old and frail, but because of you, I can go home decades earlier. So, thank you!"
"Because of me?" Zhang Tie was even more surprised.
"Can you stop staring at yourself with your eyes wide open and pointing your finger at your nose? You look so unsophisticated!" Tang De chuckled. "Do you remember that book you gave me, ' The Abacus Mental Calculation '? Do you know how valuable it truly is?"
"That book can improve and train mental strength; it must be very valuable!"
"It's not just about being precious!" Tang De shook his head. "Remember the story I told you before about that ugly stone? That book, * The Abacus Mental Calculation *, was made from that ugly stone."
Zhang Tie still remembered the story of the ugly stone. It was one of the many stories Tang De had told Zhang Tie. There was an ugly Stone in a mountain village that a stonemason found. Because the Stone was very hard, the stonemason used it to make an Stone and found it worked very well. He used it for decades. One day, a more skilled blacksmith came to the mountain village and also found the Stone. He thought Stone might be some kind of iron ore, so he cut off a small piece, took it back, made horseshoes, and sold them for a few dozen copper coins. The blacksmith was very happy.
After the blacksmith left, a more skilled swordsmith discovered the Stone. He suspected it might be Stone iron, so he cut a piece Stone and used it to forge a sharp sword, which sold for hundreds of Stone coins. Later, a master watchmaker discovered the meteorite iron, cut off a piece, and used the metal to forge several meteorite iron pocket watches, which eventually sold for thousands of gold coins.
After the master watchmaker, a master engraver discovered the Stone. He moved Stone away, and after some carving, the Stone became worth tens of thousands of gold coins. Finally, an emperor discovered its true value. He had the Stone Stone and used the metal extracted from Stone to create the imperial seal, worth hundreds of millions...
The moral of this story is that different things have different values in the hands of different people.
Zhang Tie understood, but at the same time, he was confused.
"Just like training muscles, mental strength training is mainly done through visualization. The things mental strength requires visualization are the most closely guarded secrets. All visualization is a difficult, rigorous, and profound conscious activity requiring extremely high mental stability and persistence. It places very high demands on one's will and character. Before this, I had never seen anyone train their mental strength before the age of twelve, nor had I ever heard of a method that could improve the mental strength of children and teenagers. < The Abacus Mental Calculation > seems simple, but it allows one to begin cultivating mental strength from the age of twelve to six, or even five. Moreover, its entry requirements are very low; almost anyone who knows how to use an abacus can use it. Although the effects of < The Abacus Mental Calculation > are somewhat weaker, through visualization and the accumulation and improvement of mental strength through < The Abacus Mental Calculation >, it can even lay a solid foundation for more advanced mental strength training in the future. This is the true value of < The Abacus Mental Calculation >. It is a method for improving mental strength that can be accessed and learned even when one is still a child; it is also an introductory textbook for mental strength training. Now you understand its value?"
"This... it seems to actually be somewhat useful for allowing a few people to cultivate spiritual power from a young age!" Zhang Tie chuckled foolishly.
"A little bit useful?" Tang De's eyes widened, his voice rose eight octaves, and he suddenly became furious, as if he had been insulted. He no longer cared about his image, jumped up from his chair, and gave Zhang Tie a hard smack on the head.
"You idiot, are you a pig-headed moron? Of course, it's a waste for an idiot like you to learn this. But have you ever thought about how much impact it would have if ten million, a hundred million, a billion, or even tens of billions of people in the Hua Clan could learn this method? How many people who couldn't improve their spiritual power could more easily train and improve their spiritual power, and more easily advance and break through cultivation bottlenecks? How many Hua Clan youths could lay a good foundation for spiritual power cultivation from a young age? How much help would this foundation provide for them in the future? Because of this, how many more geniuses and strong people would the Hua Clan produce in the future? You idiot!" Tang De knocked on Zhang Tie again before sitting down, panting heavily and somewhat angrily.
...(To be continued, please search for the novel for better and faster updates!)