Because of Gao Baisong's vigilance, Li Chonglou spent a lot of time convincing the few people before they believed what he said.
However, due to the price, Li Chonglou didn't know the market price yet and couldn't negotiate with them. Therefore, the matter was not finalized in the end, but Li Chonglou still exchanged contact information with him.
After resolving the misunderstanding, the few people apologized to Ya Lili again, and then they left.
After parting ways with Ya Lili, Li Chonglou, holding the contact information left by Ma San, hesitated for a long time before finally deciding to put the matter aside for the time being.
When he returned to his residence, Sanyang had already fallen asleep. Looking at his door, Li Chonglou suddenly thought of something.
"Perhaps I can let him hone his skills with the Black Blade matter?"
With Xiaobai around, Li Chonglou was not worried about any problems with the Black Blade. This kind of opportunity was also an excellent practical training opportunity for Sanyang.
It should be known that no matter how well one practices martial arts, if there is no practical application, it is all dead skill, or in other words, mere showmanship. Therefore, if Sanyang wants to achieve real improvement, he must practice in real situations.
With this thought, Li Chonglou directly pushed open Sanyang's door.
"Brother Li?"
Woken up by Li Chonglou, Sanyang, who was half-asleep, looked at him with groggy eyes.
"It seems your skill is still not enough, you're sleeping so soundly," Li Chonglou said, shaking his head. To become a master, one must always remain vigilant, even when sleeping.
Although one cannot maintain vigilance while sleeping, one can develop an instinctive alertness, reacting immediately to any unusual sounds. This is the habit of a true master.
However, Sanyang had not experienced those things and lacked understanding in this regard, currently looking at Li Chonglou with a blank expression.
"Get up, go find the Black Blade. You'll follow him for a while," Li Chonglou said directly, telling him to get up without further explanation.
"Ah? Now?"
Sanyang's confusion deepened.
Li Chonglou nodded. Those who have offended the Black Blade are not to be trifled with; they won't tell you when it's time to rest. Moreover, businesses like theirs mostly operate in the nightlife, so situations can arise with the Black Blade at any time.
Since he had decided to let Sanyang practice, the sooner the better.
And so, Sanyang, who was confused from beginning to end, was sent to the Black Blade's residence. The latter was a night owl and was worried about what would happen during the day if he was on duty at night, so he was extremely welcoming of Sanyang's arrival.
After finishing this matter, Li Chonglou lay back down and fell sound asleep.
He slept until noon the next day, when he was woken up by a phone call.
"Is the matter resolved?"
The person who called was Zhou Tong. He sounded clearly cheerful on the phone, no longer the worried look he had before.
"Resolved! How about we celebrate?"
"Okay!"
Li Chonglou was genuinely happy that Zhou Tong's problem could be solved. Among everyone in Shangjing, Zhou Tong was the only friend he had known for two lifetimes, so his importance naturally surpassed that of others.
Moreover, he had some matters to consult about, so after tidying himself up, Li Chonglou immediately took a taxi to go there.
When the two met, they naturally first engaged in some entertainment. Ear picking and massage were always included. After relaxing, while sipping tea in Zhou Tong's office, Li Chonglou finally brought up the questions he wanted to ask.
"You want to start a company?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Tong's face immediately showed interest, and he promptly stated, "Pull me in too! At least I can be a human resources manager!"
Li Chonglou smiled and said, "It would be best if you're willing to come. However, we still need to plan what we're going to do in the early stages."
Li Chonglou naturally wouldn't hide anything from Zhou Tong. When mentioning the company, he had already made it clear that the company would later be involved in the antique business.
However, in this regard, Zhou Tong was clearly more professional than him, and he immediately saw the problem.
"A company dealing with antiques? Do you mean to establish a company that is equivalent to an antique association?"
Li Chonglou nodded.
Zhou Tong's brow immediately furrowed. "Then you're taking a rather large bite out of other people's pie. Not to mention anything else, Panjiayuan alone is a hurdle that you probably won't be able to overcome in the short term."
"I've thought about this problem, but our nature is different. I will cultivate a group of professional talents who can quickly get on the job and identify simple antiques. The market we are targeting is the lower and middle classes. Of course, with me here, even the upper-middle class can be handled in small quantities."
Zhou Tong immediately understood Li Chonglou's intention, but his brow remained unrelaxed.
"Then you're not only competing for customers with Panjiayuan but also with the antique association in Shangjing. You want to offend all your peers in the antique industry in Shangjing."
Li Chonglou chuckled and said, "It's just business."
"While that's true, the logic behind it isn't quite the same," Zhou Tong shook his head. "Now I understand why you said we need to do other businesses as a transition in the early stages."
After a moment of silence, Zhou Tong said, "Alright, since we're going to play this big this time, we need to put in sufficient effort in the early stages. This matter cannot be rushed. Give me a few days to consider it."
Li Chonglou nodded, thinking that Zhou Tong was indeed reliable, and one of the few people who could share his burden.
The matter of starting a company was temporarily handed over to Zhou Tong. He knew many people, had extensive connections, and abundant resources, so he could find people to solve almost all the preparations needed in the early stages. This also relieved Li Chonglou.
After all, this kind of thing was not Li Chonglou's forte. Li Chonglou had known a long time ago that professionals should do professional things.
Therefore, after confidently handing over the company matters to Zhou Tong, Li Chonglou returned to Yi'an. He wanted to check if there were any developments with the Black Blade.
Although he was not worried about Xiaobai's strength, he wanted to personally confirm that there were no major problems. However, before he could find the Black Blade, he received a call from Ya Lili.
"Someone is following you?"
When Li Chonglou heard Ya Lili say this, his expression immediately changed, and he went directly to Ya Lili's company.
In a coffee shop, Li Chonglou found Ya Lili, who looked nervous.
"What's going on? How did you find out? When did it happen?"
As soon as they met, Li Chonglou got straight to the point, as he was worried that the person following Ya Lili was coming for him.
"I don't know what's going on. I discovered it when I came to work today."