I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times

Vol 2 Chapter 32: Cooperation

In Tang Lingwu’s dining room.

Zheng Fa sat at the table with Tang Lingwu and her mother.

The dishes on the table weren’t extravagant, nor did they look particularly refined—just simple home-cooked meals.

Tang Lingwu glanced at the food in surprise. “Mom, you cooked today?”

Aunt Ye smiled and glanced at Zheng Fa. “Didn’t I tell you? We need to thank Zheng. I had to cook it myself to show sincerity!”

Perhaps to create a more intimate atmosphere, or maybe to keep things private, only the three of them were in the dining room.

“Here! Have some chicken wings!”

Aunt Ye reached out and moved a plate of cola chicken wings from in front of Tang Lingwu to Zheng Fa’s right. She smiled warmly. “Lingwu used to love it when I made these. Try some!”

She was holding her chopsticks, staring at the plate of chicken wings with wide eyes, her face filled with shock.

It was obvious—she really loved this dish.

“There are also meatballs. Lingwu has always liked dishes with plenty of meat.”

“We weren’t very well-off back then, and when I was still in good health, Lingwu absolutely loved my cooking. I fed her so well she was all chubby. Now that she’s grown up, she’s not as cute anymore.”

Hearing Aunt Ye’s nostalgic sigh, Zheng Fa looked at the dishes piling up in front of him and fell into silence.

Auntie, you remember exactly what Tang Lingwu loved to eat as a child—so much motherly love here.

But shouldn’t you be giving it to her instead?

Did you not notice this girl looking all emotional, holding her chopsticks in midair for ages, yet not getting a single bite of her favorite food?

As if sensing Zheng Fa’s gaze, Tang Lingwu pursed her lips and avoided his eyes. She picked up a small piece of bok choy in front of her and nibbled on it bit by bit, like a little hamster. Her expression carried a trace of grievance—she clearly wasn’t a fan of the vegetable.

Zheng Fa gently nudged the plate of chicken wings back in front of her.

Tang Lingwu shot him a glance, wrinkled her nose slightly, and gave a small smile before picking up a piece of chicken wing and biting into it.

Aunt Ye glanced at Zheng Fa, then at her daughter. The smile on her face grew even warmer.

After finishing the meal, the housekeeper cleared away the dishes. The three of them sipped tea as they got down to business.

“I heard from Lingwu that you’re planning to build a nursing home?”

Aunt Ye’s tone carried a hint of doubt.

Clearly, the idea of someone as young as Zheng Fa getting into this industry was a bit hard for her to grasp.

Zheng Fa looked at Tang Lingwu, unsure of what exactly she had told her mother. He could only nod at Aunt Ye.

“I just wanted to ask…” Aunt Ye hesitated slightly. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

Wait, why do you sound so hesitant about helping?

“The biggest issue right now is finding a location,” Zheng Fa said after some thought. “I have specific requirements regarding the terrain and environment.” ŔἈNo͍ВΕŜ

“I see…” Aunt Ye glanced at Tang Lingwu, realizing that her daughter hadn’t mentioned this part to her before. She thought for a moment and asked, “What exactly are your requirements?”

“First, it should be as close as possible to Jingcheng or another major city.”

This wasn’t just for the sake of Zheng Fa’s university.

It was also because large cities had a better talent pool.

“Second, I need people to go into the mountains and survey potential locations.”

“That’s simple. I can hire a professional survey team.” Aunt Ye responded without hesitation.

That wasn’t too surprising. But her next words caught Zheng Fa off guard—

“Site selection, permits, roads, construction—I can take care of all of it for you.”

“Uh…”

Auntie, that’s quite a bold statement.

Even though he wasn’t sure exactly how much all of that would cost…

It definitely wasn’t a small sum.

In fact, Zheng Fa was convinced that even for Tang Lingwu’s family, this would be a considerable investment.

“I went to the hospital for a check-up recently,” Aunt Ye suddenly changed the topic, as if she had noticed the surprise on Zheng Fa’s face. “The doctor said my results were unbelievably good.”

“……”

“I didn’t believe it at first, so I went to Jingcheng for another check-up.”

Aunt Ye looked at Zheng Fa. “Everything is perfectly fine. I’ve had this illness for over ten years… The more medicine I took, the worse my condition got. My test results only ever declined—never improved.”

“Auntie, you’re saying…”

"As long as you keep treating me, whether you want to build a nursing home or a palace in the mountains… I'll fund it."

Aunt Ye's gaze carried deep sincerity and pleading.

Zheng Fa still found it hard to believe. He could understand her desperation to cure her illness, but promising such a massive investment right away—it didn’t quite make sense to him.

Wealthy people were just that—wealthy. They weren’t fools. Especially self-made entrepreneurs like Tang Lingwu’s parents. They weren’t stingy, but they also wouldn’t throw money around recklessly.

Aunt Ye being this generous made Zheng Fa hesitate.

Noticing his doubt, Aunt Ye smiled and explained, "Do you know how Lingwu’s father made his fortune?"

Zheng Fa shook his head.

Even Tang Lingwu looked curious—clearly, she hadn’t heard this story before either.

"Back then, our business was just getting started. We had some savings, but not much," Aunt Ye said, a nostalgic look appearing on her face. "An opportunity came up, but we had to invest a huge sum of money."

"At the time, Lingwu’s father and I didn’t have enough on hand. We had to turn to banks, relatives, and friends for loans."

She glanced at the two of them before continuing, "We hesitated a lot. We weren’t sure if we should go all in. If the project failed, we wouldn’t just lose everything—we’d be drowning in debt."

"And then?" Tang Lingwu pressed.

"Then, Lingwu’s father happened to meet a master from the south…"

"…"

"The master did a reading for him and said that this was the greatest opportunity of his lifetime," Aunt Ye sighed. "So, we took the plunge and invested everything we had."

Zheng Fa didn’t even need to ask what happened next.

One look at Tang Lingwu’s father, Tang Zhiqiang, and his current success made it obvious.

"From that moment on, I knew there were extraordinary people in this world. Meeting one is a blessing."

Aunt Ye looked at Zheng Fa and spoke softly.

Clearly, in her eyes, Zheng Fa was one of those extraordinary people.

After a long silence, Zheng Fa finally said, "Aunt Ye, you shouldn’t believe in superstitions."

Tang Lingwu stared at him for a while, a question mark slowly forming on her face.

Her expression practically screamed—You’re a cultivator, and you’re calling this superstition?

Zheng Fa was being sincere.

Even in the Xuanyi Realm, he had rarely heard of people relying on fortune-telling. Then again, maybe it was just because his cultivation level had been too low to come across it.

But in this modern world, where there wasn’t even spiritual energy?

That kind of thing sounded even more unreliable.

"I understand, I understand. This isn’t something to be talked about openly."

"It’s really not—"

"Zheng, your massage technique… is terrible."

Aunt Ye’s casual remark made Zheng Fa fall silent.

Seeing him speechless, Aunt Ye chuckled and said honestly, "Of course, the reason I’m willing to invest so much is because I want to collaborate with you in the future."

"Collaborate?"

"No matter how you managed to heal me," Aunt Ye said with a smile, "I just hope that in the future, if I need your help treating someone else, you'll be willing to lend a hand. Money is not an issue."

Zheng Fa finally understood.

Aunt Ye offering to help with the nursing home—almost at any cost—was all for this.

She hadn’t even mentioned wanting shares in the project, which meant this was her main goal.

Seeing that he had caught on, Aunt Ye said meaningfully, "Some lives can’t be measured in money."

After some discussion, Zheng Fa and Aunt Ye agreed to have a survey team scout locations first.

As for how the nursing home would be built and their future collaboration, that would come later.

Xuanyi Realm

On the Eighth Peak of Jiushan, Sun Daoyu led Zhou Qianyuan up the mountain.

"Shizun hasn’t been in a good mood these past few days," Sun Daoyu said with a frown.

"Mm."

Zhou Qianyuan gave a half-hearted response, clearly distracted.

Sun Daoyu turned back to glance at his junior brother and sighed internally. This guy is even more upset.

But he understood why.

Recent events had caused a rift between Zhou Qianyuan and their master…

And honestly, Sun Daoyu thought Zhou had a point. But out of respect for their master, he didn’t say anything.

With that thought, he could only shake his head and look forward.

"Wait, isn’t that Zheng Fa?"

Seeing a familiar figure on the mountain path, he exclaimed in surprise.

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