When Li Rui said he wanted to withdraw 50 million in cash, Qin Baichuan frowned. Even if he gathered all the cash held by the Agricultural Bank of China across the county in a single day, there probably would not be 50 million.
After all, demand for cash really was low in a backwater county town like this. But this was a God of Wealth, and he had already made his boast.
To keep this God of Wealth, he would have to find a way, even if he had to go to the provincial head office to scrape together the 50 million.
With that thought, Qin Baichuan said, "Rest assured, Mr. Li. I'll personally deliver the 50 million to you tomorrow."
Given an opportunity like this, he naturally had to make himself a familiar face to this great God of Wealth, Li. Ordinary businessmen treated him like the big boss, but people with ten billion in cash were the real big bosses.
"All right. Sorry for the trouble, Bank President Qin."
Li Rui then gave Bank President Qin his address, and they agreed to meet at noon the next day.
Li Rui really had been lucky to receive a call from a bank president. Otherwise, if he had gone to book a withdrawal of 50 million in cash himself, never mind a day-in a little county town like this, he might not have gotten it even within a week.
But this also showed that as long as you had money, other people would scramble to solve your problems for you.
Less than half an hour after Li Rui hung up, Li Yongzheng brought his eldest uncle, Li Yongjin, and second uncle, Li Yongchun, to see him. After confirming that Li Rui really intended to rebuild the ancestral hall and reestablish the clan, they each went off to call the clan members and summon them to a clan meeting the next day.
His eldest and second uncles were nearly sixty, too old to go away for work. His third and fourth uncles did odd jobs at construction sites in the county town, his fifth uncle ran a small noodle shop in town, and his eighth uncle worked in another city. As for his seventh uncle, he had tragically died in a workplace accident ten years earlier. Those who were not in the village all needed to be notified by phone.
In Li Rui's generation, there were twelve boys and nine girls. Apart from a few younger ones still in school, the rest had either gone away to work or already married.
There were barely any young people left in the village, only the elderly. If things went on like this, never mind the clan-even the entire village might cease to exist.
Only after handling everything did Li Rui remember that his family did not have enough rooms. These twenty bodyguards did not even have anywhere to stay.
Li Rui arranged for Li Wu through Li Ershi to stay temporarily at a hotel in the county town, keeping only Li Yi through Li Si at home, with the four senior bodyguards protecting him.
Each senior bodyguard could take on thirty ordinary adult men. By that reckoning, they had nothing to fear even against a hundred people, more than enough to ensure his safety.
At noon the next day, more than ten men and women filled the seats in Li Rui's courtyard. They were all his uncles and aunts.
The sun was still rather hot as noon approached, but his uncles, who had spent their lives in the countryside, did not react much to it.
Instead, they discussed the day's clan meeting with relish. After all, even for his uncles in their fifties, this was their first clan meeting, and it was a real novelty.
"Yongchun, what exactly is this clan meeting for today? You won't tell me when I ask. Why are you being so secretive?" Zhao Hongying asked her husband, Li Yongchun, reproachfully.
Seeing his wife's resentful gaze, Li Yongchun laughed and said, "You'll find out in a little while. It's something good, anyway."
The other uncles and aunts were also discussing it among themselves. They only knew that it had something to do with Li Rui; Li Yongjin and Li Yongchun kept their lips sealed about the details.
Yet neither could suppress the smile on his face. For people their age, seeing their clan rise to glory again one day was their greatest wish.
Only when everyone's discussion was in full swing did Li Rui finally arrive. He had not deliberately come late; he had mainly been waiting for Qin Baichuan.
Bank President Qin was certainly punctual. He had said noon, and noon it would be. It was now 11:50, and a phone call had confirmed that he was already at the village entrance. Next, it was Li Rui's turn to take the stage.
Li Rui walked up to his uncles, pressed both hands downward, and said, "Uncles, aunts, please quiet down. I have something to say." The gathering immediately fell silent.
Although they did not know Li Rui had ten billion, they knew he owned a luxury car worth ten million, along with all those bodyguards. Someone like that was already considered highly capable in the countryside, so his prestige had gradually begun to take shape.
Once everyone had quieted down, Li Rui continued, "I, Li Rui, am a man of little talent. I was unruly as a child, yet was fortunate to receive the care of our clan's elders. After three years out in the world, I have now achieved some small measure of success. I would like to rebuild the ancestral hall and reunite the clan. May I ask what the elders think?"
The formal words sounded rather incongruous coming from Li Rui. He did not want to talk like this either, but wasn't this how they always did it in TV dramas? Fortunately, everyone present knew him; otherwise, he would almost have been unable to keep a straight face.
The moment Li Rui finished, his uncles' and aunts' voices rose one after another in discussion.
Amid the clamor, a loud, vigorous voice suddenly rang out. "Xiao Rui, of course I have no objection to rebuilding the ancestral hall. But rebuilding it will cost no small sum. You know your uncles aren't particularly capable. How are we going to cover the money?" The speaker was none other than Li Rui's fourth uncle, Li Yongde.
Though Li Yongde was already fifty-four, he had enjoyed exercising and practicing martial arts when he was young. Even after years of manual labor, his body had not broken down; instead, he had grown stronger and stronger.
At fifty-four, he looked only about forty-five. With his towering height of 1.8 meters and dark skin, all he needed was a thick beard to be the very image of the fierce Zhang Fei.
Li Yongde's temper matched that appearance. Li Rui had heard his father, Li Yongzheng, say that when they were children, his fourth uncle had been the king of the kids in several nearby villages, beating up anyone who refused to submit. In his fourth uncle's words, his name contained "virtue," so he had to win people over with virtue. As for whether he preached virtue with his mouth or his fists, he used whichever was easier.
Even when Li Rui was bullied at school as a child, his parents would tell him to go to the teacher when he told them about it. His fourth uncle, on the other hand, would shout that he was going to beat the little bastards up. Although he was only scaring the children who bullied him, Li Rui had truly idolized his fourth uncle when he was little.
"Fourth Uncle, of course I'll pay to rebuild the ancestral hall. Not only will I rebuild it, I'll also establish a family business group and a family fund. I want everyone in our Li family to have a chance to rise above the crowd," Li Rui said, looking at his fourth uncle as he steadily laid out his plans.
"Xiao Rui, do you know that the old Li family ancestral hall behind the village covers more than six hundred square meters? Rebuilding it will cost no small sum."
"Luo Family Village next door rebuilt their ancestral hall a couple of years ago, and it cost nearly four million. Their hall is only about five hundred square meters, a little smaller than ours. If we rebuild ours, it could cost more than six million."
Li Yongde completely ignored Li Rui's mention of establishing a family business group. After all, things like family business groups were rather nebulous to farmers like them. The clan's ancestral hall, tied to the family's honor, mattered far more to them.
After Luo Family Village rebuilt its ancestral hall a couple of years earlier, its villagers had done plenty of showing off in front of him.
At the time, Li Yongde had ground his teeth in anger. Although their ancestor had not been some great official, he had still been a sixth-rank military officer, while Luo Family Village's ancestor had merely been a minor wealthy merchant. To think they dared show off in front of him! If he had been a little younger, he would have beaten them until they were searching the ground for their teeth.
But what could he do when Luo Family Village had produced a few more wealthy businessmen now? Spending four million on an ancestral hall brought considerable face in the surrounding area, naturally giving their villagers reason to show off again.
"Don't worry, Fourth Uncle. Money isn't a problem. I plan to put up 50 million to rebuild the ancestral hall." Li Rui spoke calmly, but his words sent the gathering boiling over.
The dozen or so elders present stood up one after another and launched into another heated discussion.
"Xiao Rui has really made something of himself! Fifty million to rebuild the ancestral hall-what a grand gesture! He's really brought honor to our branch of the Li family! Ha, ha, ha!" The man speaking with hearty laughter was his third uncle, Li Yonghuan.
"Fifty million! I couldn't earn that in ten lifetimes. Sure enough, getting more schooling is the way to get ahead. Scraping together tuition so Xiao Rui could stay in school really was the best choice we ever made," his fifth uncle, Li Yongguang, said happily as well.
His fifth uncle was the only person in the family who did business. Although he only ran a small noodle shop in town, he was still better off financially than his brothers who farmed and worked the land, so he had contributed the most money toward Li Rui's schooling.
Praise rose one voice after another. Just then, a discordant voice came from the crowd.
"Is this even real? If I had fifty million, I'd definitely go enjoy life in a big city like Magic City. Who would stay in a place where birds don't even shit?" A somewhat snide female voice rang out at this inopportune moment.