Chapter 342 - Partnership Breakdown
Tang Hao’s eyes sparkled.
The Liquor Tree was a wondrous Artifact even in ancient times. The sap that the tree produced was liquor of exceedingly high quality.
Furthermore, the Liquor Tree was bred by cultivators and the sap was not meant for mortal tongues. It was truly a divine liquor.
The ancient cultivators that created the tree must have loved alcohol. They could only manage to create such a wondrous plant after several generations of breeding.
Looking at the golden, shimmering tree, Tang Hao felt as though he had struck a fortune.
A mature Liquor Tree was like a hen that laid golden eggs. It produced sap continuously. Not only was it good for personal consumption, but he could also sell the sap as premium liquor.
Even though Tang Hao had some money, he was still far away when compared to those wealthy tycoons.
Tang Hao excitedly crouched next to the tree and sucked a mouthful of sap.
As soon as the sap touched the tip of his tongue, an impossible fragrance spread throughout his mouth.
The feeling was so comfortable. All the pores on his skin seemed to have opened.
The liquor did not have a strong taste, and in fact, it went down quite smoothly. However, once the sap entered the stomach, he could feel the alcohol kicking in. Even Tang Hao nearly could not withstand it.
He would not be drunk no matter how much normal alcohol he drank, but a full glass of that sap would definitely knock him out.
No wonder Grandpa Shunde fell asleep for three days and three nights after drinking that.
Tang Hao would have to dilute it thoroughly if he wanted to sell it.
He smacked his lips and savored the delicious taste. One mouthful was not enough, and so he drank a few more mouthfuls.
“This is amazing liquor!” Tang Hao was excited.
He stood up and walked around the valley.
The valley was indeed laid with leyline gathering and qi seal formations. That was why there was such a strong qi flow in that area, which allowed the tree to thrive.
‘This is strange!’ Tang Hao furrowed his brows. ‘This place isn’t that far away from Dragonrock Village. It’s in the same mountain range. I picked up two spirit stones near Dragonrock Village, and now there’s this tree.
“It looks like this place should be somewhere important in ancient times!”
He thought for a while and mumbled to himself, “This place isn’t that far away from Dragonrock Village anyway, so I won’t transplant the tree.”
After deciding on that, he renewed the maze formation around the valley so that nobody else would enter the place.
Then, he took out various containers and filled them up with the sap.
After that, he left the place.
He returned to Cai Village about an hour later. The sky was beginning to darken just then.
He saw Grandpa Shunde, Cai Yourong, and Ma Fangfang waiting by the roadside, stretching their necks and looking toward the mountain.
“He’s back! He’s back!”
They were relieved when they saw Tang Hao return.
“You should try again next time, Lil Tang! It’s safer if you have more people with you,” Grandpa Shunde said.
Tang Hao nodded but did not say anything. He followed them back into the mansion.
After everyone entered, Tang Hao closed the door.
“What’s wrong?” Grandpa Shunde was surprised.
Tang Hao took out a jar and placed it on the table.
The jar was tightly sealed shut, but a thick fragrance of liquor had already filled the entire room.
Grandpa Shunde trembled. His eyes opened round and wide and he stared unblinkingly at the jar.
“This… This is…” He was so excited that his fingers were trembling. “You found it?”
Tang Hao nodded. “You remembered it correctly, Grandpa. There is indeed a pond of fine liquor there. The contents of this jar are from the pond. However, your body condition isn’t great, and you shouldn’t drink too much.”
“I know that I’m not mistaken!” Grandpa Shunde said agitatedly as he picked up the jar.
Cai Yourong was stunned. She did not expect that her father was telling the truth.
Grandpa Shunde sat down. He opened the lid and prepared to drink from it.
“Wait, you can’t drink it just like that. You were younger and much sturdier last time, but it’s different now.”
Tang Hao quickly stopped him. He used water to dilute the sap.
“Here, try some too!” Tang Hao poured the mother and daughter a small glass of the diluted sap.
The two people took the glass and drank a sip each. They were immediately amazed.
“Wow, this is delicious! What liquor is this?”
Ma Fangfang’s face was turning red after finishing the glass. She placed the glass on the table and said, “I want more!”
She looked quite tipsy after downing her second glass.
Grandpa Shunde drank a glass and could not stop grinning. “Haha! This is the taste!”
Tang Hao saw that it was getting late, so he stood up and excused himself.
“I’ll have to return to town too. I need to work tomorrow!” Ma Fangfang also stood up.
After waving goodbye, the two people exited the mansion and sat in the car.
Tang Hao started the car and drove out of Cai Village. Twenty minutes later, it arrived at Ma Fangfang’s apartment.
The car stopped, but she did not immediately go out of the car.
She turned to look at Tang Hao. “Thank you so much for today, Tang Hao!”
Her beautiful face was slightly blushing from the alcohol earlier, and her gaze was somewhat seductive.
She abruptly leaned forward, closed her eyes slightly, and landed a kiss on Tang Hao’s cheek.
She bit her lip and whispered next to Tang Hao’s ear. “I still mean what I said the last time! I’ll be always… waiting for you here!”
She chuckled, though her gaze was seductive and daring.
She kissed him again, then opened the car door and left.
Tang Hao sat there, feeling a little embarrassed.
After seeing her go up the stairs and enter her house, he drove away and returned home to cook dinner.
It was already past eight o’clock after Sis Xiangyi returned and they had dinner.
He had just finished cleaning up when his phone started ringing.
Tang Hao picked up his phone and saw that the call was from President Ling. Once the call went through, he heard Ling Wei speaking in an apologetic tone.
“I’m sorry, Tang Hao!”
Tang Hao was surprised. “What’s wrong? Why are you suddenly apologizing, President Ling?”
The other end of the phone was silent for a long time.
Tang Hao could sense that something bad happened.
“What’s wrong?” Tang Hao’s tone of voice was grim.
A while later, Ling Wei replied, “It’s Magical Kitchen. It’s too popular. The people in my company are criticizing me, saying that I’ve betrayed the company.”
Tang Hao immediately understood what she was saying.
That must have been caused by the contract that granted both parties equal standing.
If Magical Kitchen had not been that popular, then there would not be any problem.
Now that Magical Kitchen was too popular and was poised to open throughout the entire Provincial City or even the entire Huaxia, the other people in Tai An Group did not want to share the profits with other parties.
Furthermore, an equal contract meant that Tai An Group had no absolute control over Magical Kitchen. A large corporation like Tai An would not be able to tolerate that.
“It’s all money’s fault!” Tang Hao sighed.
