Hearing Li Yongjin's veiled jab, the old man could only smile awkwardly, find an excuse, and slink away. As for falling out with him, he did not dare. With such an important figure emerging from the Li family, who around here would dare offend them?
Li Yongjin was far from the only one showing off. Li Yongde was doing the same.
"Luo Dahong, come over and take a look. My nephew bought me this car. Cast your expert eye over it and tell me if it's any good." While examining the vehicles, Li Yongde suddenly spotted an acquaintance from Luo Family Village in the crowd. He was precisely the man who had shown off in front of him back when Luo Family Village built its new ancestral hall.
"Hehe, what do I know about cars? This one looks good, very good," Luo Dahong replied with a fake smile.
"I think it's pretty good too. Everything about it is good, except it's a little expensive-over 1.3 million. I told our Xiao Rui not to buy it, but he insisted. These seven cars alone cost over nine million, and then he spent another fifty million building the ancestral hall. Yet he insists it's all pocket change. Tell me, isn't that infuriating?" Li Yongde spoke with the look of someone frustrated that iron would not become steel, but contrary to his expression, his heart was blooming with joy. Back then, your village spent four million on an ancestral hall, and you dared show off in front of me. Still feeling like showing off now?
Watching Li Yongde show off endlessly, Luo Dahong likewise wore an awkward smile and found an excuse to leave the crowd. Once outside it, he spat on the ground and cursed, "What are you showing off for? It's not like he's your son. You're just lucky to have a good nephew. A petty man drunk on success."
Once they had finished showing off and everyone had familiarized themselves with the vehicles, they drove back to Li Family Village one after another. Just then, the system rang out in Li Rui's mind again.
"Ding-dong. An increase in the cohesion and prestige of the host's clan has been detected. The system rewards you with super technology for new energy vehicles. Technology modules include fast-charging technology and battery technology... The reward introduction is complete. Please claim your reward promptly."
Li Rui was no expert in new energy, after all, and understood only a small portion of that lengthy introduction.
For example, the system's fast-charging technology reached a charging power of 240 kW per hour. Technology produced by the system had no inflated specifications whatsoever, meaning it could charge 240 kilowatt-hours in one hour. Most new energy charging stations on the market could only deliver sixty kilowatt-hours in an hour-a full fourfold difference in power. A car that originally took an hour to charge fully would need only fifteen minutes using the system's technology. What did that mean? Far, far ahead.
The battery technology rewarded was equally extraordinary, with an energy density that actually reached 600 Wh/kg. The lithium batteries currently used by Telasi, Blue Star's new energy vehicle overlord, had an energy density of only around 300 Wh/kg.
A full twofold difference. That meant that at the same weight, the driving range increased by half: a vehicle with a range of four hundred kilometers became one with a range of eight hundred kilometers, and one with a range of five hundred kilometers became one with a range of a thousand. The very first technology rewarded by the system was actually this disruptive. What would it mean if technology like this entered the world?
It meant he had a chance to snatch away Telasi's seventy billion US dollars in annual sales. Converted into Dragon Country Currency, seventy billion US dollars was over five hundred billion. Even if he could not seize it all at once, capturing just half the market would bring in 250 billion. Even with a hundred billion in cash assets, Li Rui could not calm down for a long time.
He had originally only wanted to give each household in his clan a car, yet the system had actually rewarded him with the high technology he had longed for-and a king-bomb technology at that. Now his two thousand mu of industrial land in the county would have a place to show its worth.
"Claim reward."
"Ding-dong. The reward will be issued in the form of ten biological humans. Please select their gender, age, height, and nationality."
"System, eight men and two women, ages thirty to fifty, random heights, Dragon Country nationality."
"Ding-dong. Ten biological humans possessing super technology for new energy vehicles have been deployed within one kilometer of the host."
Li Rui then called Lu Yan and asked her to send vehicles to pick up Qian Yi through Qian Shi. Naturally, Qian Yi through Qian Shi were the ten technical personnel's new names, convenient and easy to remember.
Just as Li Rui thought there was nothing else and was about to hang up, Lu Yan instead began reporting a series of matters to him.
"Boss, Soaring Group's registration is complete, with registered capital of ten billion yuan and offices in the Sea and Sky Building. Once Qian Yi and the others arrive and determine the science and technology park's design requirements, construction can begin at any time."
"We've also finished discussions with the county leaders regarding Soaring Group's headquarters building. The projected construction cost is about five billion. The building will be 180 meters long and 130 meters wide, with a footprint of 23,400 square meters and a height of two hundred meters. Boss, do you have any further instructions?"
Lu Yan truly lived up to her status as a high-level elite business biological human. Having served as CEO of one of the world's top hundred companies, her ability naturally needed no explanation. In just a few short days, she had already accomplished so much.
What instructions could Li Rui give? Although he had obtained the system, although he had piles of money, and now even possessed industry-disrupting high technology, at his core he was just a loser. Besides, even if he understood everything, there was absolutely no need to handle it all personally. With such useful biological humans available, would he not be an idiot if he still had to do everything himself?
"Lu Yan, from now on, you don't need to seek my approval on business matters. You have full authority."
"Yes, boss." After answering and seeing that Li Rui had no further instructions, Lu Yan hung up. Although she was a biological human from the system, she was no different from a normal person and had her own personality. Lu Yan's personality was decisive and swift; without that temperament, she would never have become the CEO of a trillion-yuan company before.
The next day, the sun had only just risen, and birds were still singing cheerfully on the branches. Hardworking people were already making breakfast, preparing to welcome a new day.
The rumbling roar of heavy trucks woke Li Rui from his sweet dreams.
To secure that four-million-yuan bonus, the construction company had truly moved swiftly. Four or five excavators were widening the road into the village, while another four or five were digging the ancestral hall's foundations. Everything proceeded in an orderly manner.
Listening to the village's construction-site clamor, Li Rui wondered whether he should leave for a while. This noisy environment would probably last another two months, and he could not stand it.
He now had more money than he could spend, so why not go out and have some fun? He could let his parents take a trip too. With that thought, he went to find Wang Sumei and Li Yongzheng.
"Mom, Dad, look how noisy the village is. It's like a construction site. Why don't you go traveling for a while?" Listening to the clamor of excavators at both ends of the village, Li Rui tried to persuade Papa Li and Mama Li.
"Xiao Rui, your mom and I have spent half our lives in the countryside, and enjoyed peace and quiet for half our lives too. Hearing the excavators doesn't irritate me. It actually makes me happy, because this is the sound of our Li family rising. I want to stay in the village and witness our family's rise," Li Yongzheng said happily.
"That's right, Xiao Rui. If you find it noisy, why not spend two months enjoying yourself in the city before coming back? Your sister happened to call me today and said Yiyi has already had her surgery. She'll be discharged before long. You can visit her on our behalf," Wang Sumei also said happily. The clan's rise, together with her granddaughter's successful surgery, made the smile on her face extraordinarily radiant.
"Really?" Hearing that his niece's surgery had succeeded, Li Rui was also overjoyed and immediately called his sister, Li Xiaoshuang.
"Sis, Yiyi's surgery was successful?" Li Rui asked in delighted surprise.
"Yes. The hospital brought in the best specialist in Capital City to operate on Yiyi. The surgery was very successful. She just needs a few more days of observation before she can be discharged," Li Xiaoshuang said over the phone, crying tears of joy.
"That's wonderful. Make sure you tell me the day Yiyi gets discharged. I'll come pick her up."
"Xiao Rui, aren't you back in our hometown?"
"They're building the ancestral hall and fixing the roads back home. It's so noisy I can't even get a decent sleep. I'm leaving today to have some fun in Gaoyang City."
Gaoyang City was a city two hundred kilometers from Star City. Li Rui wanted to go there because his eldest brother was there. There was no misunderstanding to be had-not some underworld boss, but one of Li Rui's dormmates from his university days.
"All right, then. I'll let you know in advance when Yiyi is getting discharged."
After hanging up with his sister, Li Rui did not even pack any luggage. He simply drove his McLaren P1 toward Gaoyang City, taking four bodyguards driving two Land Rover Range Rovers.