Chapter 962 — The Liu Family's Gifted Daughter
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
"Tianli, one must look further ahead in all things. Even without his martial arts, Wei Zhao still has his medical skill, and sooner or later he will stand at the pinnacle of this world again," Liu Tianyi said, showing little anxiety over the situation in Songshan City.
"What use is medical skill if he has no life left?" Liu Tianli retorted, unconvinced.
"Father, I think Uncle is right. If this Wei Zhao is truly as wondrous and formidable as Uncle says, then at a moment like this, offering fuel in the snow is undoubtedly bringing the Liu family a future ally," a young woman at Liu Zhenhu's side interjected. "Our Liu family rose through commerce and politics, but we have no cultivators, and that is a shackle on our development. Though we are allied by marriage with the Wu family, we ourselves are still a little too weak and must seek new allies. Sometimes one simply has to gamble. This hundred million can be seen as a wager: if we win, the Liu family gains benefits beyond imagining; if we lose, we count it as a hundred million easily earned. If Father feels uncomfortable about it, then deduct it from my share of the dividends..."
This young woman was Liu Tianli's daughter, Liu Jinghan, the Liu family's prodigious girl. She had followed Liu Tianli into business at fifteen. To the outside world, the Liu family's affairs were managed by Liu Tianli, but the various great families who knew the inside story understood full well that this beautiful fifteen-year-old girl was the true helmsman of the Liu family's business.
In business at fifteen, she doubled the Liu family's holdings outright at sixteen, doubled them again at seventeen, and just after her eighteenth birthday she was permitted by Liu Zhenhu to sit in on the Liu family council.
Liu Zhenhu had plainly begun grooming Liu Jinghan as the Liu family's third generation—his only regret being that she was a girl. Should she succeed to the position of family head, unless her children bore the surname Liu, she would be barred from the next succession, and an heir would have to be chosen from among the other descendants of the clan.
"Tianli, Jingjing is right. In all things, look further ahead!" Liu Zhenhu now spoke as well. "If Wei Zhao weathers these troubles smoothly, then our Liu family will have established a fine relationship with him, and in days to come we shall reap enormous benefits. Your instincts for business are sound enough, but your grasp of the larger picture falls far short of Jingjing's. You still have much to learn!"
"Yes, Father!" Hearing his father speak, Liu Tianli naturally voiced no further objections—and besides, he admired his own daughter greatly.
"At the great family assemblies each year, our Liu family is always the weak party. We have no miracle elixirs and no rare treasures, so at the trade fair hardly anyone will deal with us, and at the martial tournament we have no one who can compete. Old Master Chen has been retired for several years now, and the Chen family's situation is scarcely better than the Xiao family's. Fortunately, Chen Yuxuan is a Yellow-ranked expert and will likely break through further in the future, so for the moment the Chen family is not in any great difficulty," Liu Zhenhu said. "But Tianyi is no longer young. If he steps down and holds no post in the political world, our Liu family will face a gap between generations, and relying on business alone cannot sustain our standing as a great family. While I live, some old connections still honor me with their regard. The moment I am gone, I fear the Liu family is finished!"