"Wait, if you insist on going, I won't stop you. You can take this thing, it may be useful. Xiao Hua, I just want to say that everyone has their own ambitions, and some things cannot be forced."
Huang Ming took out a jade slip from his storage bracelet and placed it on the table.
Xiao Hua looked back at Huang Ming, then at the jade slip, hesitated for a moment, and finally picked up the jade slip and turned around to leave.
Huang Ming did not try to persuade Xiao Hua to stay, and just watched Xiao Hua leave quietly.
He didn't know if he really didn't want to watch Xiao Hua die in vain, or if he just felt annoyed because he was not ready to integrate into the hermit world of cultivating immortals.
Ever since he became an immortal cultivator, Huang Ming has been struggling in his heart.
On the one hand, he doesn't want to give up this hot pot restaurant that he finally opened. After all, this is his biggest wish for a long time.
On the other hand, immortal cultivators can go against the will of heaven and seek immortality, and maybe they can even achieve enlightenment and become immortals. This is another dream of his.
Just like every young man once had a martial arts dream of wanting to travel the world with a sword, he didn't want to give up.
But he can't have his cake and eat it too. If he stays at the hot pot restaurant and makes money happily with his mortal friends, he won't be able to truly integrate into the hermit world of cultivating immortals.
But he was asked to give up the hot pot restaurant and concentrate on practicing, but he couldn't let go of this ideal that he had finally realized, so he was always struggling.
And today, he felt deeply the trouble this entanglement brought to him.
Xiao Hua's angrily leaving made him very angry, and he also knew that it was actually something he did wrong.
But what if he really devotes himself to practicing hot pot restaurant? How should I explain to these friends behind the hot pot restaurant?
Huang Ming sat in the office, lost in thought.
At this moment, "Calabash baby, Calabash baby, seven melons on a vine..." Huang Ming's phone rang.
He picked it up and saw that it was Lao Li, one of his best friends, calling. Huang Ming answered the phone.
"Hey, Lao Ming? It's me, Lao Li. It's not convenient for you right now. I want to talk to you about something."
Lao Li's tone on the phone was a little urgent and a little panicked.
"You want to tell me something? Well, it's convenient, you say."
Huang Ming was stunned for a moment.
Lao Li usually does activities with Shen Hu and Lao Su, and rarely calls him alone. He is very curious.
"I'm in Daluo, Banna. I, uh, you, wouldn't it be convenient for you to lend me some money?"
"Borrow money?".
Huang Ming suddenly had a bad feeling.
He has known Lao Li for so many years and knows that Lao Li will never borrow money from others. Even if there is any special situation that requires money, he will definitely go to Shen Hu or Lao Su first.
Now that he has been found, it means something big must have happened.
"What happened? How much do you want to borrow?".
Huang Ming frowned and asked.
"I, I want to borrow... ten thousand."
Lao Li's voice was a bit soft, and Huang Ming couldn't hear it very clearly.
"How much? How much do you want to borrow?".
"beep……".
Lao Li's phone suddenly turned into a busy signal and was disconnected.
"Hey, hey, what's going on with your sister? Haven't you finished talking yet?".
Huang Ming dialed the phone back.
"Beep..., beep...".
The phone kept ringing but no one answered.
"Huh? What's going on?".
Huang Ming held the phone and thought for a while, then called Shen Hu.
"Hey Lao Ming, what's going on? Do you have any plans for the evening?"
Shen Hu asked after picking up the phone.
"It's a far-fetched arrangement. Let me ask you, what's Lao Li been up to recently?"
"Lao Li? He took leave and went back to his hometown. What? Why did you suddenly ask about him?".
"He went back to his hometown? No, right? Lao Li's hometown is Pu'er in Simao, but he just called me and said he was in Banna."
Huang Ming vaguely felt that this matter was a bit strange.
"What's so strange about this? What if he goes to Banna for business?".
Shen Hu thought it was nothing. Pu'er was only more than 200 kilometers away from Banna, and it only took an hour or two to drive.
"That's true. Hey Tiger, has Lao Li borrowed money from you or Lao Su recently?"
Huang Ming still felt that this matter was a bit strange, so he decided to learn about it from Shen Hu first.
"Borrow money? No, the money from the last sale of meteorites was divided into more than 200,000 yuan in addition to paying the supplier."
"Our business has been good in the past two years. In addition to the fixed monthly salary, there are also dividends at the end of the year. He should not be short of money. What's wrong? Why do you suddenly ask like this?"
Shen Hu was a little curious.
"Oh, it's nothing, I just asked."
Huang Ming said perfunctorily.
Since Lao Li didn't ask Shen Hu and Lao Su, there must be a reason, and Huang Ming didn't mention Lao Li asking him to borrow money.
But Shen Hu was not stupid and immediately guessed that Huang Ming was not telling the truth.
"It's nothing. You can't suddenly ask Lao Li for no reason? Did he call you? Don't tell me that he wants to borrow money from you?"
"No, Lao Li just made a call and said that he was working in Banna and asked the hot pot restaurant if he wanted to buy some sour bamboo shoots or other local specialties. I told him no."
"But then I thought, maybe he was short of money and wanted to sell some things to the store, so I called you to ask if he was short of money recently."
"Really? Will Lao Li do such a thing?"
Shen Hu didn't believe it.
"Why did I lie to you? Well, since it's okay, forget it and hang up."
After hanging up the phone from Shen Hu, Huang Ming stretched out a finger and rubbed his eyebrows vigorously.
Something obviously happened to Lao Li. Either he had an emergency at home and needed money, or something happened outside and he was blackmailed.
But the question is, why didn't Lao Li look for Shen Hu and Lao Su, but himself?
After thinking about it, Huang Ming came to the conclusion that something must have happened to Lao Li, but he didn't want Shen Hu and Lao Su to know.
But Lao Li has always been steady and down-to-earth. What is there that even Shen Hu and Lao Su can't know?
Huang Ming was a little confused, but then he made a decision that surprised even him.
He decided to go directly to Daluo Town in Banna and find Lao Li himself to find out the matter.
In fact, Huang Ming had another reason besides really wanting to help Lao Li.
That is, he wanted to prove to Xiao Hua from the side that although he rejected Xiao Hua, it did not mean that he was heartless and unjust. He could also go out of his way to save his friends.
The next day, Huang Ming took a flight to Banna, and then chartered a car from the airport directly to Daluo.
Daluo is located in the southwest of Menghai County, Banna, bordering the Fourth Special Zone in eastern Shan State, Myanmar.
It is a first-class port for international road transportation of passengers and goods, and is also the closest inland port to Southeast Asia.
It was already four or five o'clock in the afternoon when Huang Ming arrived in Daluo Town. Since Lao Li's phone had been turned off since then and he could not be reached, Huang Ming did not know Lao Li's specific location in Daluo.
However, Daluo Town is not big, with a radius of only more than ten miles. With Huang Ming's spiritual will in the middle stage of foundation building, it only takes more than ten minutes to sweep the entire county.
The fear is that Lao Li is not in the county seat, but in a village under the jurisdiction of the county seat.
