Volume Four: Awakening of Insects - Chapter 147: The Grand Gathering

The second batch of snakes was ordered by Li Ying from the Jiangxi boss, Old Lotus.

Dragon Lotus was also one of the bosses invited by Boss Hong to inspect the snakes. She personally escorted fourteen thousand snakelets, accompanied by her daughter, He Lvhong.

Liaoer had already met this iron-lady back in Foshan—she was sturdy, full of laughter, and possessed a strong sense of justice. Though she was a woman, she was a dominant overlord in the snake-breeding industry with formidable strength. The fact that she could supply fourteen thousand adolescent snakes all at once spoke volumes about her capability.

The snakelets had arrived, and Boss Long had arrived as well.

"Big Sister Long, thank you so much."

Liaoer and Li Ying drove out to the city to welcome them. Driving all the way into the snake farm, Dragon Lotus arrived in her own vehicle with her daughter. She was not the one driving; she had a dedicated chauffeur. Her stout and imposing figure emerged from the car, followed by her daughter. While she was rather heavy-set, her daughter was exceptionally slender.

"President Li, why are you being so formal with me?"

Dragon Lotus always smiled brightly. Her daughter followed closely behind her, and upon seeing Sha Liaoer, although she appeared slightly shy, she did not avoid his gaze.

"Lvhong is here too." Li Ying clearly knew the young woman.

"Sister Li." The girl walked up to Li Ying cheerfully. "Is this Sha Liaoer?"

"Hello, Boss. Hello, Sister Lvhong."

Liaoer greeted them naturally and generously.

"Hehehe... Little Brother Liaoer, you've grown taller again," Dragon Lotus said with a hearty laugh. "You're a big boss now. Congratulations."

After exchanging warm greetings, Lvhong pouted slightly upon hearing Liaoer address her as "younger sister."

"Sha Liaoer, you call me younger sister, but how old are you anyway?"

"Uh... Older than you, anyway. Can't you see how much taller I am than you?" Liaoer blushed slightly.

"What year were you born in? Let's hear it."

Lvhong refused to let the matter drop. When they compared their birth years, it turned out Lvhong was indeed older by a few months.

"Giggle... Well? You can't call me younger sister; you have to call me older sister."

The young girl smiled triumphantly, leaving Liaoer feeling rather depressed.

"The two of us are about the same age. Let's skip 'younger sister' and 'older sister' and just use our names," Liaoer said, refusing to acknowledge any older sister. "What do you think?"

"Liaoer is so petty," Lvhong said with a lively smile. "Fine, I was afraid you'd make me sound old anyway."

Watching the two young people bicker, Dragon Lotus simply smiled. At that moment, Lai Changping brought some men over to unload the truck and release the snakes. The moment he laid eyes on Lvhong, his gaze locked onto her fixedly.

"My, what a pretty young lady."

His eyes lingered on Lvhong without restraint, looking at her audaciously.

"Liaoer, the people you have here are so obnoxious!"

Seeing Lai Changping's behavior, Dragon Lotus narrowed her eyes.

"You son of a bitch, if you dare let your eyes wander again, I'll pluck them right out of your head."

Startled, Lai Changping knew he could not afford to provoke this fierce tigress, so he immediately averted his gaze from Lvhong and forced a smile onto his face.

"Manager Lai, how can you be so rude to guests?" Li Ying asked with a cold face. "Go over there and get back to work."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

Lai Changping obediently walked away, though he could not resist turning back to steal a few more glances.

With a wry smile, Liaoer invited Boss Long and her daughter into the house.

"President Li, how could you hire someone like that as a manager?"

Lvhong was still puffed up with anger.

"He was introduced by Boss Hong, and his managerial skills are quite good," Li Ying said with a faint smile as she got into the car. "It's just that he seems to have some psychological issues; both Liaoer and I find him a headache."

They drove the car to Liaoer's house. Liaoer personally took charge of the kitchen and prepared six dishes. Boss Long and Lvhong were greatly intrigued that Liaoer could cook, and the dishes turned out to be exquisite in color, aroma, and taste.

That afternoon, Boss Hong arrived in Shaoning City. Staying at the designated Holiday Hotel in Longshan County, Feng Shuya rushed over and went to the city with Liaoer and the others.

This time, Boss Hong had brought along an alluring and charming young girl; one could tell at a glance from their intimate demeanor that she was his woman. He had also brought only one male driver and bodyguard.

The meeting naturally began with an extremely warm conversation.

"Boss Hong, we meet again." Boss Long walked over with a most affluent bearing, looking at the woman who was tightly gripping the crook of his arm. "Hehehe... Is this young sister a newcomer? Boss Hong certainly knows how to enjoy life!"

"Boss Long flatters me," Boss Hong laughed heartily. "Hahaha... Life is short, and if one has blessings and refuses to enjoy them, heaven will punish them. Jianing, this is Boss Long, this is President Li Ying, and this is Chairman Sha Liaoer, our primary boss at the Great Snake King Company."

The beautiful woman nodded and smiled at each of them. When her eyes fell upon Liaoer, the light in them grew somewhat brighter and her smile deepened. She shook hands with them one by one with poise and grace. As she placed her small hand into Liaoer's large palm, her fingers seemed to apply a slight pressure.

"Liaoer, long time no see. You seem to have grown taller and sturdier," Boss Hong teased Liaoer cheerfully. "You truly have a special affinity with snakes. I heard the people here say you're the reincarnation of the Snake King. Is there any truth to that?"

Accompanying Boss Hong were seven or eight snake research experts, two of whom had blue eyes and high noses. Director Ma and Secretary Luo were conversing merrily not far away. The several women had walked together and taken a seat as the hotel staff served beverages. Meanwhile, Boss Hong pulled Liaoer toward the exit.

"Come on, let's go grab a drink."

Following behind him, he instructed, "A-long, go to the car and fetch a bottle of red wine."

They took the elevator and entered Boss Hong's suite. Boss Hong knew how to indulge himself and always kept his favorite foreign liquor in the vehicle. Soon enough, the bodyguard retrieved the wine.

Boss Hong poured the wine and handed a glass to Liaoer. The bodyguard went off to watch television by himself.

"Liaoer, how is the new snake farm manager working out?"

The two clinked their glasses lightly. Liaoer did not know how to drink red wine, but as the saying goes, monkey see, monkey do. He learned quickly; seeing Boss Hong gently swirl his glass, he swirled his own; seeing him take a small sip without swallowing immediately, he did the same. When the red wine entered his mouth, it did not taste particularly good at first, but as he let it linger for a moment, he began to appreciate the fragrance.

Liaoer swallowed his drink gently before answering Boss Hong.

"He was recommended by Boss Hong, so his competence goes without saying. However, Manager Lai seems to have roving eyes for every young woman. This morning, when he saw Boss Long's daughter, he looked at her that way too, and almost provoked Boss Long's fury."

"Hahaha..." Boss Hong burst into laughter. "That damned fellow—he's good at everything, his work capability is unquestionable, but he just has this weakness. Damn his mother, otherwise I would have given him an even more important role long ago."

Liaoer smiled faintly as well.

"I'm afraid he's going to stir up trouble; there are so many young women at the snake farm. In just these few days, they've already given him a nickname: 'The Lecherous Snake.'"

"Ah, you do need to pay attention to this," Boss Hong nodded. "This fellow is a complete womanizer. He doesn't even have a wife, and every penny he earns goes toward women. You should find a way for him to blow off some steam outside once a week, and that should prevent any issues."

Boss Hong smiled at him with an ambiguous expression.

"I've already thought it through. I'll get him a place in town and introduce him to a few prostitutes so he can wear himself out to his heart's content."

"Well, you kid are quite resourceful, aren't you?"

"How am I resourceful?" Liaoer said with a wry smile. "I still have to ask someone else to handle it for me, and I'm worried he might mess things up, so I even have to pay someone to keep an eye on him."

"When the fortune teller read your physiognomy last time, he said you are a man destined for immense romance and wealth. Since you should enjoy it, you must enjoy it; don't let your youth go to waste," Boss Hong chuckled. "The master said you have the physiognomy of a snake coiled around a turtle—not only do you possess the sign of heavenly wealth, but you also bear a rare heavenly anomaly. One or two women are no match for you; you're quite extraordinary."

In this regard, Boss Hong was definitely no saint.

"Boss Hong, I'm an honest man, so please don't corrupt me."

"Hahaha... You call yourself an honest man?" Boss Hong raised his glass to clink with Liaoer's once more. "In your hometown dialect, you're a son-of-a-bitch kind of honest man. However, you should treat Li Ying well. Not only is she extremely intelligent and capable, but her family also holds considerable influence. You should marry her as your principal wife in the future. As for the rest—well, since a man is born into this world, why not enjoy the pleasures of romance when you can? Look at me, I'm old and past the point of enjoying them even if I wanted to."

The old man and the youth sat there discussing romantic indulgence at length until a phone call came from downstairs, announcing the arrival of Boss Zhe from Zhejiang.

"That old fellow has arrived. We must go down and greet him."

The two drained their glasses in a toast and headed downstairs. Two new arrivals had appeared in the large parlor, one of whom Liaoer recognized. It was Zhe Fuhai, the man who had pitted his King Cobra against little Golden Snake at the Foshan snake-fighting arena and ultimately lost to Liaoer.

"Boss Zhe, hello. I didn't expect you to bring your young master along as well."

Boss Hong walked over with a loud laugh toward Zhe Dongwang, China's largest snake-breeding tycoon, and the two shook hands firmly.

"Boss Hong, I heard you've acquired a new flame." Zhe Dongwang was a mild-mannered old man. "Hehehe... You're living the high life now."

Zhe Dongwang joked with his eyes half-closed. As he shook hands with Boss Hong, his gaze drifted past him to fix on Sha Liaoer standing behind him. Just as Boss Hong was about to introduce Sha Liaoer, Zhe Dongwang waved a hand and smiled broadly at Liaoer.

"This young hero must be Chairman Sha Liaoer."

He extended his hand toward Liaoer first, and Liaoer reached out magnanimously with a smile on his face.

"Greetings, Senior Zhe."

Zhe Dongwang held onto Liaoer's hand, refusing to let go, while his narrow eyes scrutinized Liaoer up and down, over and over again.

"What fine features! Heroes truly do emerge from the youth. That saying is indeed true," Zhe Dongwang said, turning his head. "Fuhai, come over and pay your respects to Chairman Sha."

Boss Hong felt a twinge of surprise. Zhe Dongwang was an exceedingly conceited man who rarely praised anyone. It was one thing for him to praise Liaoer, but to so solemnly insist that his own son interact with Liaoer was quite unusual.

Zhe Fuhai had been staring in the direction of the women, and upon hearing his father's command, he walked over somewhat reluctantly. He recognized Sha Liaoer; the impression left by Liaoer's snake was far too deep, and a lingering resentment still remained.

At the same time, he looked down on Sha Liaoer, viewing him merely as a country bumpkin. However, having heard his father's instructions, he had no choice but to walk over.

Liaoer extended his hand to him.

"Welcome, Brother Fuhai, to our humble place."

Zhe Fuhai gave a purely symbolic handshake and offered a dismissive shrug at Liaoer's words. Watching his son's performance, Zhe Dongwang shook his head with a trace of disappointment.