stonecrandall Page 324
Page 324
Gu Ran laughed and said, "So, my dad gets along really well with those lunatics in the Equipment Department?"
"No, no, no, your dad is different from those lunatics in the Equipment Department. Those lunatics are really crazy, your dad is just pretending to be crazy to blend in with them."
"So, what do you like about Dad?" Gu Ran asked.
"Your dad, he's not as good at charming women as you are, but he's very focused and serious about what he does. Once, I remember it was during the Gulf War, I had to go on a mission to Kuwait..."
Chapter 365 Parents of both parties meet
Zhang Qiong recalled her past with Gu Ran's father and smiled:
“When I went to Kuwait on a mission, there was a war going on. The US military used a lot of electromagnetic interference equipment there. The electronic instruments that the crazy guys in the equipment department gave me were all unusable. Only the equipment made by your dad had anti-interference devices, which helped me complete the mission successfully.”
Gu Ran asked, "So you got hooked up with him?"
“I was the one who seduced him. Your dad is such a blockhead. Later he said that he had actually liked me for a long time, but he didn’t dare to pursue me because I was too dazzling.”
"Looks like my son and I are destined to be pursued by women!"
Zhang Qiong laughed irritably, "Your dad doesn't have your charm with women. I've heard that several girls like you..."
"Mom, that's where you're wrong," Gu Ran said proudly. "I have more than a few girls who like me. At school, there's at least a whole company of women lining up to pursue me!"
Zhang Qiong flicked his head: "Look how capable you are!"
"Ouch!" Gu Ran complained, rubbing his head. "Dad, your wife hit me again. You have to come to my dream tonight and give her a good scolding."
Zhang Qiong shook her head and smiled, already used to Gu Ran's sharp tongue.
She continued, "However, you and your father are alike in one respect: you're devoted to one person. That's your only good point. If you were a bit more fickle, I would definitely chase after you with my Dragon-Slaying Sword!"
"Mom, why are you always fighting and killing? No wonder Auntie says you're a violent maniac." Gu Ran secretly tattled on Zhang Wanjun behind her back.
"You're always so unserious." Zhang Qiong patted Gu Ran's head affectionately. She wasn't that tall, so she had to raise her hand to pat him.
She suddenly composed herself and said to Gu Ran with a serious expression, "Next, I have something serious to tell you."
Gu Ran noticed the change in atmosphere and switched to serious mode: "Okay."
There weren't many people visiting the cemetery today, so Gu Ran and her son could chat comfortably. The area was open and they weren't worried about being overheard.
Zhang Qiong said, "Besides the Zhang family from Nanyang, there were other people who attacked me a year ago."
"The Eight Families of the Serpent Clan?" Gu Ran seemed to have expected this.
"You know?" Zhang Qiong looked at her son in surprise.
“When I was in northern Myanmar, I noticed their serum technology, which is related to the things from the Snake Clan,” Gu Ran continued. “According to rumors, Japan is currently selling a gene drug called Molotov Cocktail underground. This drug can enhance bloodlines, but it has strong side effects.”
Zhang Qiong asked, "Where did you get this information from?"
"Mom, please don't ask questions you shouldn't ask."
Zhang Qiong was stunned, thinking to herself that her son had really grown up and even had his own sources of information.
“You are much more mature than I was at twenty,” Zhang Qiong said truthfully.
"Mom, you're mistaken again. I'm not even twenty yet."
"Fine, fine, fine!" Zhang Qiong glared at him and continued, "The Molotov cocktail should be the gene drug that the Zhang family of Nanyang gave me at the beginning, hoping that I could develop its inhibitor to reduce the side effects of the drug. However, the technical components of this drug are very special, and it seems to originate from some kind of technology of Germany during World War II."
Gu Ran shook his head slightly and revealed some information to his mother: "It's not entirely from Germany III. Going back further, it may be related to the Romanov dynasty during the Tsarist period. It might even be a technology that was specially passed down by the Dragon King."
"The Dragon King?" Zhang Qiong was taken aback. "The Dragon King specifically passed on his technology to humans?"
"What's so strange about that? The Dragon King is not the ruler of this world. Although they have mastered alchemy, with the development of science, their alchemy has become outdated. Therefore, they advocate combining science and alchemy to form a new discipline, which is commonly known as 'alchemy science'."
After a pause, Gu Ran continued, "Gene editing is a type of alchemical science."
"This information... was it taught at Kassel College?"
"Of course not. It's information that your son collected from elsewhere. It hasn't been made public yet. If it's published as a paper, the school might be able to get me a guaranteed admission to graduate school or even a direct PhD program!"
"Look at you, so capable!" Zhang Qiong tapped Gu Ran's smug little head again, her mind still preoccupied with Gu Ran's information.
The Dragon King has been frequently awakening recently, and all the hybrids in the world have noticed it. What follows is the purpose of the Dragon King's awakening, and the final moment... Ragnarok, an event that is as immutable as the law of cause and effect, how exactly will it happen?
"Mom, don't think about anything too complicated." Gu Ran patted his mother's shoulder. "So, are you planning to take revenge on the Snake Clan next?"
"Yes." Zhang Qiong looked at Gu Ran. "You're going to stop me?"
"It's not that I'm stopping you, but rather asking you to wait a little longer," Gu Ran said earnestly. "I actually have some clues; I know which member of the Snake Clan was responsible."
"Who?"
"I can't say yet, otherwise you'll just grab your sword and go chop people up, that won't do." Gu Ran then asked Zhang Qiong, "By the way, do you know the current situation of the Snake Clan?"
Zhang Qiong shook her head: "I haven't been to the Japanese branch since graduation, so I don't know what's going on there. Before I graduated, it was a disorganized mess, with everyone fighting for their own side..."
"When you graduated, the Soviet Union hadn't yet collapsed, right?"
"Um……"
"After the collapse of the Soviet Union, there have been some changes on the side of the Snake Clan. I'll talk to you about the specifics later. In short, you should hold back for now. I will go to Japan this March to avenge you and Dad."
Zhang Qiong looked at Gu Ran's confident demeanor and knew that he had a plan in mind.
She was gratified, and after thinking for a moment, she continued, "The Sheqi Eight Families only participated and contributed some manpower. They are not the culprits. The culprits are not only the Zhang family of Nanyang, but also the Zong family."
"The main family?" This time, Gu Ran was a little confused.
“There must be a mole within the clan, otherwise, how could the Zhang family of Nanyang have set up an ambush against me? And at that time, the Dragon Slayer Sword just happened to be out of my sight… All these coincidences must have been deliberately arranged by someone.”
"Do you have any targets you suspect?" Gu Ran asked.
“No.” Zhang Qiong shook her head. “These people are hiding in the background, very well hidden. They probably didn’t expect you to save me, so they probably won’t attack me again. Instead, they will continue to lie low. Or perhaps they are afraid of you now, so they are hiding in secret and dare not show their faces again.”
"But given the chance, they'll still go all out to avoid being resented by us." Gu Ran sighed. "To be honest, I hate infighting the most. I just don't understand what they're after."
Zhang Qiong said calmly, "The reason why humans have struggles is simply because of two things: emotions and interests."
"The world of dragons is simpler; there's no right or wrong, only strength and weakness," Gu Ran laughed. "As long as you control power and strength, you control all the discourse. If I had the chance, I'd really like to have a chat with that old geezer, Black King, and ask him, 'Have you eaten? What's the point of having so many sons and daughters?'"
Zhang Qiong smiled and said, "You're the first person who wants to chat with Black King about everyday things."
"It's a rare opportunity to see the Black King, we should at least have a proper chat, right? Do we have to start fighting as soon as we meet?"
"If you see Black King, you'd better run! Run as far away as you can!" Zhang Qiong pinched her son's cheek. "Did you hear me?"
"Okay, okay, I got it," Gu Ran said. "I always listen to my mom."
Zhang Qiong shook her head, knowing that he hadn't listened, but she didn't care. They didn't even know where the Black King was or whether he was dead or alive. How could she guarantee that his son would definitely meet the Black King?
Zhang Qiong said, "I heard that you participated in the operations of the King of Bronze and Fire and the King of Earth and Mountains. Tell me about the situation of these two operations with me and your father."
"Alright, you'd better listen to my outstanding performance. Back in the day..." Gu Ran began to talk about his application performance with great enthusiasm and embellishment, half of which was true and half of which was false, which finally managed to get Zhang Qiong off the hook.
The mother and son didn't slowly descend the mountain until noon.
For the next few days, the mother and son stayed together in Binhai City.
They returned to the large apartment. Zhang Qiong's things were still in her bedroom; Gu Ran hadn't touched anything.
When the weekend came, Su Xiaoqiang had some free time, so she flew back to Binhai City. The two families then met up and sat together in a luxury private room at the Regent Hotel for morning tea.
Ever since Zhang Qiong was rescued by Gu Ran, Gu Ran and Su Xiaoqiang have started making up stories together, trying to figure out how to reasonably bring his dead mother back to life.
After thinking about it, I said that in order to crack down on criminals, I should announce to the public that I faked my death. Now that the criminals have been brought to justice, I can be resurrected.
This excuse seemed pretty good; that's how it's always portrayed in TV dramas. So Su Xiaoqiang took the lie she had made up and went to tell her parents.
When Su's parents heard this, they were a little surprised, but they quickly accepted the fact. They then arranged for both sets of parents to meet, since it would be a bit unreasonable for the parents of the two children to not have met before they got engaged.
Su's parents kept asking Su Xiaoqiang what kind of person Gu Ran's mother was, whether she was easy to get along with, and whether she would suffer if she married into the family.
Su Xiaoqiang said all sorts of nice things to reassure her parents, and even sent them photos of the jade bracelets to tell them that her future mother-in-law wasn't the kind of shrewish mother-in-law who was actually quite easy to talk to.
Indeed, Zhang Qiong liked Su Xiaoqiang quite a bit. When they were in Shanghai, the two would go shopping together whenever they had free time, visiting almost every luxury store.
Su Xiaoqiang wanted to give Zhang Qiong a gift in return, but Zhang Qiong said it wasn't necessary. She had seen far more than she could ever imagine, and there was no need to waste money.
But Su Xiaoqiang still went to great lengths to buy the latest winter boots from Milan. In her opinion, only fashion items were suitable as gifts for her future mother-in-law.
Zhang Qiong happily accepted it.
Chapter 366 I Don't Want Her to Have an Easy Time
The two families had a very amicable meeting over morning tea.
Whether it was Su's parents or Zhang Qiong, they were all worldly people, but they never expected to have to arrange a wedding for their child so early. It was quite unexpected.
The engagement date was set by Su's father in the eighth month of the lunar calendar. This date was calculated by a master based on the birth dates and times of Gu Ran and Su Xiaoqiang.
Zhang Qiong had no objection to this, and even said that since Su's father believed in such things, she could ask Master Zhang for help...
Mr. Su was taken aback for a moment and said, "It's just a small matter, there's no need to ask the Taoist master to intervene..."
Gu Ran thought that Zhang Tianshi might have some connection with their Zhang family.
In short, the meeting was very pleasant. Zhang Qiong presented the three letters and six rites according to ancient customs. Of course, since it was a modern occasion, the process was somewhat simplified. The gifts and letters were just symbolic and not particularly extravagant.
This made Su's father feel valued by the man's family, and he knew that Zhang Qiong was expressing that she would treat his daughter well.
With that, Su's father was relieved.
Although Su's mother was not Chinese and didn't understand these etiquettes very well, she could still tell from Zhang Qiong's words that she liked her daughter very much, which reassured her that her daughter wouldn't be bullied by her mother-in-law.
However, after the meal, Su's parents noticed Zhang Qiong's extraordinary demeanor and thought that her family background must be extraordinary. They were a little worried about Su Xiaoqiang's married life and whether she would get involved in the feuds of the wealthy family.
At first, Su's father thought he was already a wealthy family, but after getting to know Zhang Qiong, he found that his family background was still lacking, and he had only a daughter, so there was no one to carry on the family line.
So at this point, he was already considering Gu Ran's earlier suggestion: whether or not he should really retire.
He could hand over the company directly to the state, then retire and spend his retirement with his in-laws taking care of the children. That kind of life doesn't seem so bad.
There are so many things to do in the mine, and the interpersonal relationships are complicated. Not only do you have to manage the company well, but you also have to take care of the local people. It's a society based on personal connections, so it's really tiring and annoying.
He used to think that Su Xiaoqiang would accept the role, but now he couldn't bear to let his daughter suffer. He thought it would be better for her to stay with her husband and do what she wanted.
*……*……*
In the blink of an eye, Gu Ran's three-week winter vacation is about to end.
That day, he and Zhou Xinqing boarded a flight to the Northwest.