Traveling back to the Northern Song Dynasty: Picking up a princess as my wife

Qin Rong looked Li Zhen up and down, and she couldn't believe that Li Zhen would have the money to start a company: "Li Zhen, I'm not trying to be mean, but starting a company is risky. You can't start one without at least a few hundred thousand yuan."

Not only Qin Rong, but the others also didn't believe that Li Zhen would start his own company; they thought he was just trying to impress his classmates. Only Cao Hua knew Li Zhen's true net worth, but he couldn't say, which made him quite frustrated.

Just then, a waiter came in and said, "Distinguished guests, whose BMW X5 is that at the entrance? It's blocking the emergency exit. Please move it if the inspectors come to check later."

Li Zhen stood up and apologized to the waiter, "I'm so sorry, there were no parking spaces available, so I parked temporarily. Here are the car keys, could you please move the car for me? Thank you!"

He then handed the brand-new BMW car keys to the waiter. After the waiter left, everyone's attitude towards Li Zhen completely reversed.

Fang Zhen raised his glass to Li Zhen and toasted him: "Li Zhen, Mr. Li. My business hasn't been doing well these past few years. We're old classmates, so could you lend me a hand? I'll drink this one, you can drink as you like."

After saying that, he tilted his head back and drank the liquor in the wine glass in one gulp. You should know that this is liquor with an alcohol content of over 50%.

This made Li Zhen a little embarrassed. He finished his glass of baijiu and said to Fang Zhen, "I'm currently quite busy. The company has been doing a lot of business lately. If you're not too busy, you can help me purchase some supplies. We're old classmates, and I trust you. We can split the profits when we make money."

Li Jie also raised his glass: "Li Zhen, you must be short of funds since you just started your company. Otherwise, I can help you get some loans and financing. The interest rate will definitely be the lowest on the market."

Seeing the two men's changed attitude towards Li Zhen, Wang Pengfei, feeling neglected, snorted coldly: "With that little skill, you think you can start a company? Li Jie, be careful not to lend him money and end up not even getting your principal back. It's only because we're old classmates that you're kindly reminding me."

Cao Hua, who had been holding back for a long time, couldn't sit still any longer. He downed the liquor in his glass in one gulp, pointed at Wang Pengfei, and shouted, "Wang Pengfei, what do you mean? So what if Li Zhen owns his own company? Do you know that just yesterday, Li Zhen made a full seven million from one deal? Can you even earn a million in a year? Li Zhen told me not to say it just now because he was afraid of hurting your feelings. Others may not know, but I know your background. You've borrowed more than eight million from our company alone. I think you're the one who should be careful."

Li Jie panicked when he heard this, because Wang Pengfei had borrowed more than five million yuan from him using various qualifications, and he shouldn't be short of so much money.

In fact, thanks to the wealth accumulated by the father and son over the years, the Wang family had become one of the wealthiest families in the county. However, starting last year, Wang Pengfei developed a gambling addiction in Macau, frequently flying there with Qin Rong to gamble heavily. Over time, he squandered almost all of the family's assets; it could be said that if the Wang family's assets were liquidated at this point, they would be in the red.

When Wang Pengfei saw that Cao Hua showed him no respect and even exposed his shortcomings in front of his old classmate, he angrily smashed his cup and left the room.

Qin Rong, Wang Pengfei's girlfriend, hesitated repeatedly but didn't leave with him. Knowing Wang Pengfei's background, she felt there was no point in continuing the relationship; after all, she was quite pragmatic. Money talks, but what's the point of dating if you don't have money?

With Wang Pengfei gone, the remaining group lost their appetite. Seeing this, Cao Hua called the waiter to settle the bill, and everyone exchanged contact information before heading home.

On the third day, the sport crossbow and other items that Li Zhen had ordered online arrived, and all the items were stored in the warehouse that Li Zhen had rented.

Li Zhen also called Fang Zhen, explaining the location and management of the warehouse, giving him a sum of money, and providing a long purchase list. It was originally a joke, but Fang Zhen was genuinely trying to help him, which deeply moved him.

After leaving the warehouse, Li Zhen drove back home. After preparing everything, he picked up a fruit knife he had prepared beforehand from the sofa and slashed his own palm.

The blood quickly stained the jade pendant red. Li Zhen gripped the pendant tightly in his hand, imagining what a small mountain village in the Northern Song Dynasty looked like. Then, a flash of white light appeared, and Li Zhen was transported back to that remote mountain village.

It was the same familiar thatched hut, but it was already daylight. Li Zhen quickly bandaged his still-bleeding hand, not wanting to get infected and die in this era.

Li Zhen almost bumped into Zhao Yingluo as he stepped out of the thatched hut. Zhao Yingluo blushed and said, "The food is ready. I came to call you for dinner."

Li Zhen smiled and replied, "I understand. Let's eat first, and then I have something to say to everyone."

Upon arriving at the house where the villagers ate, Widow Zhang was directing several women to set up the washed bowls and basins on a table made of wooden planks. Since their leader, Li Zhen, had not yet arrived, everyone was waiting expectantly.

After seeing that breakfast was white rice porridge, Li Zhen took out a lot of pickled vegetables from his spatial storage and then asked Widow Zhang to distribute them to everyone.

Although salt production increased significantly during the Song Dynasty, ordinary people still couldn't afford high-quality salt. They would only buy some coarse salt during festivals and holidays, and use vinegar cloth instead of salt at other times.

Unexpectedly, following Leader Li Zhen not only provided three meals a day, but also unlimited rice and flour, along with such delicious pickled vegetables. If Li Zhen asked them to fight to the death right now, everyone would probably do it. For no other reason than the excellent treatment they received every day, it was all worth it.

After the meal, Li Zhen gathered everyone together and stood on a high place to use a megaphone to say to them: "You have all been in the mountain village for some time now. I will say it again: you are free to come and go as you please. If you do not want to stay, you can leave on your own. I, Li Zhen, will never force you. But if you stay, you must obey my arrangements. I will never keep idle people here."

More than a hundred people were staring expectantly at Li Zhen. They had never experienced such a life before. Not to mention rice and flour, even the clothes they wore were provided by Li Zhen. Although the style and appearance were a bit strange, after wearing them for a few days, they found that they were much more comfortable than their previous clothes, and most importantly, they were durable.

Only a fool would leave a life like this. Some of the bolder ones shouted, "Leader Li, just tell us what you need. We will definitely obey your orders."

"That's right, I've gained a lot of weight from eating three meals a day. If I don't work, I'll become a big fat man."

This man's words immediately caused everyone to burst into laughter, and the atmosphere became lively.

Li Zhen then assigned tasks based on the physical condition of the more than one hundred people. The brothers Wang Changdao and Yue Peng selected the strong and healthy to join the armed force. They did nothing but practice killing techniques every day.

Widow Zhang was in charge of leading the other women to take care of everyone's meals and laundry. In any case, Li Zhen had a lot of grain and vegetables in his space, and the amount purchased this time was enough to feed these hundred or so people for several years.

The remaining elderly, weak, sick, and disabled were led by a few old craftsmen to repair the basic infrastructure of the mountain village. This time, Li Zhen made a special plan and took out a large amount of cement, stones, and other building materials from his space to build the most solid defensive walls and houses.

Thus, Li Zhen used this small mountain village as his base of operations in the Northern Song Dynasty, first focusing on his initial, clandestine development, and then considering expansion plans once he had grown to a certain scale.