Chapter 69: Do You Still Remember Home?

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"Do you have a big brother? Well, he doesn't listen to me, so I want little brothers who will listen to me and help me with things. Of course, I'll pay them," Tang Ailian explained, framing her words in a way that would be acceptable to Xie Bufan.

Xie Bufan, the elite entrepreneur who had created a Fortune 500 company in his past life, was her target. She intended to abduct him at a young age and mold him into a loyal little brother who would earn money for her in the future.

Upon hearing that he would be paid for being her little brother, Xie Bufan felt a glimmer of hope.

His family was extremely poor, and he had heard that their poverty was largely due to his mother. She had cost his father a significant amount of money, which had led to their family accumulating a substantial debt. His mother always wore a distressed expression on her face.

If he had money, he could help his parents.

Furthermore, Xie Bufan sensed a familiar feeling from this girl— he wanted to be close to her, to protect her.

Seeing that Xie Bufan didn't respond immediately, Tang Ailian suddenly remembered that in her past life, he had lost his memory of his hometown after being abducted. She worried that her approach might not appeal to him.

She quickly asked, "Do you still remember where your home is?"

Xie Bufan thought for a moment and said, "I only remember that my home is by the seaside, and we were very poor. That day, I followed my mother to a marketplace, and someone tapped me on the head. After that, I followed them drowsily."

He truly had no recollection of his hometown. Tang Ailian probed further, "Do you remember anything else, like the name of the marketplace you went to?" She already knew where his hometown was from her previous life; it was documented in his memoirs.

"I remember. My mom said we were going to Zhutan Market."

Remembering Zhutan Market was enough for Tang Ailian. She reassured him, "Don't worry, after we get out of here, I'll ask my dad to help you find your way home. My dad is a laborer."

At times like this, laborers were seen as saviors in people's eyes and were highly trusted. Xie Bufan immediately felt at ease when he heard that Tang Ailian's father was a laborer. He thanked her, "Thank you."

At this moment, Tang Ailian eagerly continued her persuasion, "Be my little brother, and I'll teach you martial arts to become strong. No one will dare to bully you. I'll ensure that you live a good life."

"Really?" Xie Bufan looked at Tang Ailian with a seriousness that seemed beyond his years as he sought confirmation.

"Of course! I have a master who is really skilled," Tang Ailian said as she took out a chopstick from her spatial storage. It was something she had bought for herself since they didn't sell them in pairs. She handed it to Xie Bufan and said, "Try to break this chopstick."

Xie Bufan accepted the chopstick, and despite his young age, he attempted to snap it with all his might. His face turned red with effort, but he couldn't break it.

Taking the chopstick back, Tang Ailian exerted a little pressure with her fingers, and it snapped in two.

Xie Bufan's face showed admiration and envy. He thought about his mother's troubled expression and how she was burdened by their family's debt. A strong desire welled up within him: "I want to become strong. Only by becoming strong can I protect my mom from being bullied!"

"Be my little brother, and I'll teach you martial arts," Tang Ailian enticed at the right moment.

Xie Bufan had a strange feeling but decided to accept her offer. "Alright, I'll be your little brother."

Tang Ailian was elated. "Great! From now on, I'll watch over you. Your current task is to learn. During this time, you'll receive a monthly wage of twenty yuan from me. Of course, this is just the beginning. In the future, I'll entrust you with important responsibilities, and your salary will increase significantly—tenfold, a hundredfold, or even more. Here's some dry rations for now. Are you hungry? Go ahead and eat."

Tang Ailian wanted to provide more, but at this point, the monthly wage of a laborer was only eighteen yuan, and in a rural setting, there wasn't much to spend money on.

With a radiant smile, Tang Ailian finally gained a future business elite as her little brother.

Adding jewels to an already precious treasure was easy, but providing aid when it was most needed was more challenging. She knew that Xie Bufan's family was in dire straits, and by helping him now, he would remain loyal to her in the future.

In her past life, he had succeeded because an old man had helped him during his most challenging times and continued to assist him, eventually propelling his family's business to the Fortune 500 list.

Xie Bufan was also excited. He had joined a girl who was wealthy and generous.

Since he was young, he had heard that his father had spent three hundred yuan to "purchase" his mother, depleting his father's savings and even borrowing a hundred yuan from Uncle Changshan. He knew that because of this debt, his father had to bow down to Uncle Changshan, and the latter often made unreasonable demands.

Thinking about how he could pay off Uncle Changshan's debt in just five months with the money Tang Ailian promised to provide, Xie Bufan no longer cared about the peculiar feelings he had earlier. He expressed his gratitude, "Thank you, Tang Ailian."

"Call me big sister from now on," Tang Ailian gently coaxed.

"Thank you, big sister." Xie Bufan agreed, even though Tang Ailian appeared taller due to her martial arts training, he hadn't realized that she was actually about the same age as him.

"Big sister, when will you start teaching me martial arts?" Xie Bufan received a biscuit but didn't rush to eat it.

Tang Ailian thought for a moment and said, "I can start teaching you right now." She focused her psychic energy on her middle finger and directed it towards Xie Bufan's forehead.

However, just as her middle finger was about to make contact, someone suddenly pushed Xie Bufan aside. In an instant, another person's head replaced Xie Bufan's, and Tang Ailian's psychic energy touched that person's forehead instead.

(End of this chapter)