[Listening to you speak eloquently about landmarks from the Statue of Liberty in the Beautiful Country to Big Ben in London, Ren Fa and the others were captivated, completely engrossed in your words. They kept exclaiming how eye-opening your knowledge was.
Ren Tingting, who already had a tendency to admire foreign things, was even more enchanted. She gazed at you with starry eyes, as if you were glowing.
Ren Fa also noticed the change in Ren Tingting's expression. Coupled with the fact that you were an orphan, a bold idea took root in his mind—he wanted to bring you into the Ren family as a son-in-law.
Under normal circumstances, a highly educated returnee like you would never consider marrying into a wealthy but somewhat rustic family like the Ren household.
However, your situation was unique. With your family fallen into decline and you being alone in the world, it was actually a plausible possibility.
To avoid startling you, Ren Fa did not directly propose the idea of marriage. Instead, he offered you a high-paying job in the Ren family, arguing that a talent like you working as a mere café waiter was a waste of potential.
Faced with Ren Fa's enthusiastic offer, you pondered briefly before ultimately accepting the invitation.
Seeing this, Ren Fa seized the opportunity and, under the guise of providing food and lodging as part of the job, arranged for you to move into the Ren household.]
[First Month: After you moved in, Ren Tingting frequently pestered you with questions about foreign lands. With Ren Fa's intentional matchmaking, your relationship with her gradually deepened.
Before long, the day arrived for Old Master Ren's exhumation and relocation. Ah Wei, who saw you as his biggest romantic rival, attempted to publicly embarrass you in front of Ren Tingting. However, his plan backfired, and he ended up being humiliated instead.
As Old Master Ren's coffin was opened, Uncle Jiu immediately sensed something was wrong. He suggested that Ren Fa cremate the corpse on the spot, but Ren Fa refused, citing Old Master Ren's lifelong fear of fire.
With no other choice, Uncle Jiu had the coffin and body transported back to Yizhuang, intending to find a proper burial site before reinterring him.
You didn't interfere but privately approached Uncle Jiu to ask what should be done if Old Master Ren's body turned into something unnatural.
Surprised that a foreign-educated scholar like you actually believed in the supernatural, Uncle Jiu nonetheless shared his knowledge on dealing with zombies.
Upon returning to Renjia Town, you personally purchased two peachwood swords and several dozen pounds of glutinous rice, storing them in your wardrobe.
The night after your purchase, Old Master Ren finally turned into a zombie, and his first target was Ren Fa.
Just as Ren Fa thought he was doomed, you suddenly burst in carrying a sack of glutinous rice and flung a handful at the zombie, forcing it to retreat.
At this stage, Old Master Ren had not yet consumed the blood of his closest kin and was only as strong as an average zombie. You decided to strike while the iron was hot and eliminate him.
Holding your breath, you maneuvered behind him while his attention was on Ren Fa. Then, with a fierce thrust, you drove a peachwood sword straight into his heart.
Ren Fa, having been saved by you, developed a deep sense of gratitude. Seizing the moment, he proposed marrying Ren Tingting to you as a form of repayment.
Originally, Ren Fa had intended for you to marry into the family outright, but after you saved his life, he felt it would be disgraceful to force such terms upon you.
Instead, he asked that your second child take on the Ren surname to continue the family lineage.
Seeing Ren Fa's sincere expression, you agreed without hesitation.
Not wanting any delays, Ren Fa held a grand wedding for you and Ren Tingting right after Old Master Ren's ashes were reburied. The festivities lasted three days, with a continuous banquet open to the entire town.]
[First Year: Thanks to your efforts, Ren Tingting soon became pregnant and gave birth to twin sons.
As promised, you allowed one of them to take the Ren surname, putting Ren Fa's heart at ease.
With the birth of his grandsons, Ren Fa gradually entrusted more of the family business to you, while he took to traveling with his daughter and grandsons, enjoying his twilight years.
Leveraging your knowledge far beyond this era, you swiftly expanded the Ren family's wealth several times over.
At the same time, you began recruiting and forming a security force under the pretense of protecting Renjia Town. Within a short period, you built a private security corps of several hundred men.
In such chaotic times, only strength could secure an expanding family fortune. Otherwise, the Ren family would become nothing more than an appetizing target for others.]
[Fifteenth Year: After years of dedicated management, the Ren family's enterprises spread across dozens of cities, while the security corps grew to over 5,000 members.
Not only did you ensure that every soldier was armed with a rifle, but you also secretly acquired over a dozen cannons.
At this point, calling you a tycoon was an understatement—"warlord" was a far more fitting title.
With power and wealth at your disposal, you easily obtained orthodox Maoshan Taoist scriptures and various mystical artifacts capable of dealing with supernatural threats.]
[Fifty-Eighth Year: As your influence expanded, neighboring warlords began to view you as a threat. Fearing your rise, they secretly colluded with foreign powers to lure you into a deadly trap.
They set up a banquet—a classic scheme to eliminate you in one fell swoop.
However, they never expected that your personally trained death squad had been fitted with explosives.
In the end, everyone, including yourself, was blown sky-high.
You died.]
[Simulation Complete!]
[Drawing Simulation Rewards. Please purchase the desired simulation rewards before randomly drawing one.]
[Uncle Jiu's Life-Long Cultivation] (Price: 20,000 Merit Points)
[Uncle Jiu's Maoshan Taoist Expertise] (Price: 30,000 Merit Points)
[A Century-Old Peachwood Sword] (Price: 100 Merit Points)
[Ren Tingting's Pink Dress] (Price: 1 Merit Point)
[A Box of Rouge and Powder] (Price: 1 Merit Point)
[An Old Rifle] (Price: 2 Merit Points)
[A Bagua Mirror] (Price: 20 Merit Points)
[A Copper Coin Sword] (Price: 50 Merit Points)
[A Sack of Glutinous Rice] (Price: 1 Merit Point)
[An Ink Measuring Line] (Price: 1 Merit Point)
Xiao Feng immediately spent over 20,000 Merit Points to purchase all the relatively cheap rewards.
Then, he used his free draw and managed to obtain the most expensive item—[Uncle Jiu's Maoshan Taoist Expertise].
"Use it!"
With a single thought, the faint golden skill orb merged into Xiao Feng's body.
Decades' worth of Uncle Jiu's memories and experiences in practicing Maoshan Taoism flooded into Xiao Feng's mind like an unstoppable tide.
(End of Chapter.)