At the courtyard with the fountain.
When New-Boss Li Luo was done cracking his whip thrice, everyone was staring at him with many thoughts crowding their minds. Their contempt from before was gone, replaced with a new respect.
Elder Zheng Ping had heaved an inward sigh of relief as well. He had feared Li Luo would take a barbaric bulldozer approach characteristic of his age, lining up half their artificers on the chopping block. It might feel satisfying, but the Suncreek Villa would take a heavy hit as well.
Moreover, it would give the Suncreek Villa a bad reputation. It was not only about chasing out their resonance artificers—the subsequent hit to their image would make a comeback that much harder.
Fortunately, Li Luo had not chosen such primeval methods. Instead, his triple whip crack had smacked the doubt out of the artificers and gotten them believing in the potential of the Suncreek Villa again.
Although it would not purge them of Pang Qianchi's influence and tricks, it was a good start. He believed that the temptation of the secret watersource and Li Luo's management would pull the Suncreek Villa back on the right track in good time.
Pang Qianchi looked at Li Luo glumly, then he turned and left without a word.
Li Luo had won the hearts at the Suncreek Villa in record time, and his troublemaking had failed. He could only hunker down now and wait for his next opportunity.
As Pang Qianchi left, the resonance artificers looked around at each other and then bowed to Li Luo. "Our respects to the President."
Li Luo waved it off with a smile. "Go about your work. Don't worry—the Suncreek Villa will soon be back on the right track. The Suncreek Villa will be stronger than it ever was before."
The resonance artificers noted his words as they dispersed.
As they started to leave, Li Luo breathed out in relief. He turned around to look at the three women who had not said a word the entire time.
"How was that?" He grinned.
All three, including Jiang Qing'e, stared at him. They didn't speak, but there was surprise in their eyes.
"Not bad," Jiang Qing'e said, pleased. "Better than I imagined."
Of course she was appreciative. She had always dealt with the Suncreek Villa's problems as best as she could, and yet she had been unable to interfere much. The best that she could do was maintain the stalemate.
Since she was not a resonance artificer, she did not understand matters here too well. Of course, more importantly, there were just too many problems at House Luolan, and she did not have the time to deal with them all.
Trawling back through what had just happened, she could find no flaws in the way Li Luo had pulled his whip-cracking stunt off. Especially the burning of the list—it did not matter whether it was real or fake. More importantly, the gesture alone would pull artificers back away from Pang Qianchi.
Although things were not cleanly solved, their situation had improved greatly.
Of course, none of this would be possible without Li Luo's high-purity secret watersource. That was a strong temptation for the resonance artificers.
The secret watersource was the reason his pitch went smoothly.
Yan Lingqing fiddled with her spectacles, her rosy lips curving up in a smile. "Seems like the secret watersource is very useful indeed. I wonder if the Young Lord has enough."
Perhaps out of the three women, only Yan Lingqing could guess where it came from, thanks to Li Luo assisting her during the Festival of Purifying Lights.
Li Luo sighed in response. She had raised a good point. He was only a Tenth Seal cultivator, so the amount of secret watersource he could produce each day was limited. Besides, he had promised the Tianshu Province's Suncreek Villa a set amount of secret watersource each month as well. That would already take quite a toll on him. If he was going to supply the Suncreek Villa's headquarters as well, he would be squeezed dry.
Luckily, he was not far from his breakthrough to the Resonant Master stage. Once he broke through and formed his resonance seed, his resonant power would improve by leaps and bounds.
He should be able to get by then.
Cai Wei stared at him grumpily. "One word from you, and now 20% of the Suncreek Villa's profits are locked away. Won't you spare a thought for me, fretting over every gold piece to get your spirit liquids and purifying lights?"
Li Luo flushed. "Sister Cai Wei, we have to look ahead. The Suncreek Villa's situation is terrible, and we have to hold on to the few resonance artificers we have left. We have to entice more to come back as well. It's the only way to restore the Suncreek Villa," he pleaded.
"Ai, ai, I was actually reprimanded by the Young Lord," Cai Wei moaned theatrically.
Jiang Qing'e laughed. "Sister Cai Wei is pulling your leg. We believe that the Suncreek Villa will become a top 10 villa in your hands. We believe in you."
"Eh, I hope so," Li Luo groaned. He had just arrived in Xia City, and already such a burden was being thrust on his shoulders. It truly would be no easy task. And right now, the amount of secret watersource he could produce was not enough.
Other top villas had a never-ending supply of secret watersources and lightsources. Therefore, if the Suncreek Villa was to truly make it big, they wouldhave to think of other ways to secure their sources. It could not rely on one person forever.
Li Luo briefly chatted with the three, then he left for the office, Elder Zheng Ping by his side. Now that he was the president, he had best acquaint himself with the matters at hand.
This took a full day.
Night had fallen on Xia City, and Li Luo was sprawled tiredly in the office chair. He looked over at Jiang Qing'e, who had been with him the whole day. "Sister Qing'e, these past few years must have been difficult for you," he groaned sympathetically.
He was only taking over the Suncreek Villa, and already he was bushed. He could only imagine the enormity of her task, looking after the entirety of House Luolan.
She stretched her arms lazily, revealing the fullness of her figure. Although she was less curvy than Cai Wei by a little, the overall picture was still perfect.
"If you really feel for me, manage the Suncreek Villa well. That will be one thing off my plate," she replied.
Li Luo was feeling an oncoming headache. After reading through the Suncreek Villa's books for the whole day, he was getting a better sense of the situation here. Still, it made no improvements in his mood.
There were just so many damned problems at the Suncreek Villa.
If he had known this, he would not have shot his mouth about being a top 10 villa.
If not for the fact that he was scared that Jiang Qing'e would immediately drag him off to the practice room for a sparring session, he would have asked if it was too late to tender a resignation.