Chapter 73

As the most upscale residential area in Luochuan, Su Xiaofan's place has an indoor heated swimming pool that is open all year round.

First, he went to the property management office to get an annual pass for the swimming pool. When he returned home, the things he had bought were also delivered.

With the help of the store staff, he first laid out the mat on the balcony, which was essential because the mat could cushion the heavy pressure when the equipment landed.

After laying the mat, the other arrangements were much simpler. Placing the bench and the two barbell racks for bench press and squat was all it took.

Seeing the two thin-armed employees and a woman, Su Xiaofan did not let the staff arrange the weight plates. They only used a cart to place them at the door, as they were too heavy.

The 80-kilogram weight plates, Su Xiaofan carried two at a time with one hand, and after a few trips, he had placed them all on the barbell racks.

"Strength has indeed increased."

After arranging them, Su Xiaofan tried them out.

The barbell itself weighs 40 kilograms, with three 80-kilogram plates on each side, totaling 520 kilograms.

After a few bench presses, Su Xiaofan still felt it was a bit light.

He added two 50-kilogram plates on each side, bringing the total weight to 620 kilograms. After doing ten bench presses, Su Xiaofan felt this weight was just right.

The first time he unblocked the small cycle meridians, Su Xiaofan's bench press strength was 420 kilograms, and now it had increased by 200 kilograms.

Of course, this was just Su Xiaofan's training strength; he couldn't test his maximum strength.

Anyone who has been to a gym knows that when doing bench presses, there must be someone to protect you.

If your strength is insufficient during training and the barbell falls on your chest, it can be fatal.

Su Xiaofan practiced under controlled conditions and didn't need protection.

However, if he wanted to test his maximum strength, it would be easy to have problems, so Su Xiaofan didn't dare to try it easily.

After each set of bench presses, he rested for two to three minutes. Su Xiaofan did ten sets in total before his arms started to feel sore.

After getting up and stretching, Su Xiaofan began doing squats.

Starting directly with 500 kilograms, he kept adding weight until he reached 600 kilograms, at which point he felt the pressure.

Squats can cause brain hypoxia, so Su Xiaofan didn't do too many. After six sets of ten squats, he felt a bit dizzy and stopped.

Checking his phone, Su Xiaofan found that his squat and bench press strength had far exceeded world records.

Exercise needs to be systematic. Su Xiaofan didn't waste time and headed straight to the community pool with his swimming trunks.

Unlike the colorful pools for children to play in, the community pool was a standard 50-meter pool, specifically for residents to exercise.

It was noon, and when Su Xiaofan arrived, the pool was almost empty, with only a lifeguard idly scrolling through his phone.

After greeting the lifeguard, Su Xiaofan got into the water and swam a lap to warm up.

Seeing Su Xiaofan's proficient swimming skills, the lifeguard glanced at him and then went back to his phone.

Previously, because his strength had increased with his weight, Su Xiaofan hadn't noticed much.

But once he got into the water, he felt that his coordination was much worse than before.

In the water, he could fully stretch his body and exercise more comprehensively.

Su Xiaofan swam for a full hour until his stomach started growling, and then he got out of the pool.

The soreness in his muscles had eased a lot, and his control over his strength seemed to have improved.

It seemed that combining strength training with swimming for recovery could help his body adapt to his current strength more quickly.

High-intensity exercise naturally required a lot of food to replenish the energy consumed.

This time, Su Xiaofan didn't go to a restaurant but drove to a famous cooked food store.

After confirming that the store had 40 kilograms of braised beef, Su Xiaofan bought it all.

He also bought ten roasted chickens, spending over 5,000 yuan in total.

Thinking about the high-intensity training he would do in the coming days, Su Xiaofan added the store owner on WeChat and asked him to save some beef for him the next day.

Ignoring the complaints from the people in line behind him, Su Xiaofan got into his car and left.

The main food was meat, and Su Xiaofan felt his stomach was like a bottomless pit, quickly digesting the food he ate.

He didn't even need to spit out the bones of the roasted chickens; he chewed them to pieces and swallowed them whole.

"Truly a big eater. I wonder if there are any eating contests in the country..."

Looking at the beef and roasted chickens he had eaten, Su Xiaofan felt like crying. He wasn't just eating; he was eating money.

Fortunately, after this meal, Su Xiaofan felt some subtle changes in his body.

It seemed that after replenishing his energy, the cells in his body were rejoicing, and the soreness in his muscles had completely disappeared. Su Xiaofan felt he could do another set of training.

Of course, haste makes waste. Su Xiaofan suppressed his thoughts, mainly because he was afraid he would have to eat another big meal after training.

After eating, Su Xiaofan practiced the Qi observation technique for an hour and then slept for an hour.

Around 4:00 PM, Gangge came knocking on the door again.

"Did you eat the beef? It smells so good?"

As soon as he entered, Gangge's nose twitched. "From the cooked food store on the third ring road? It must be their beef."

"Right, Gangge, you're a real foodie!" Su Xiaofan gave him a thumbs up.

"Of course. Tonight, I'll take you to a seafood restaurant. It's a new place, and the seafood is air-freighted in, guaranteed to be fresh."

Gangge took a drink from the fridge and gulped it down.

"Xiaofan, this weather is really strange."

Getting up to turn on the air conditioner, Zheng Dagang complained, "It's been hot since March and will stay hot until November. It hasn't rained, and it's been dry for two years now."

"The past few years haven't been normal."

Su Xiaofan nodded and said, "Volcanoes are erupting everywhere, and I heard that the volcano in Japan is showing signs of eruption."

Although he didn't pay much attention to current events, the news on his phone was updated daily.

Global warming, worsening pandemics, and volcanic eruptions—there hasn't been much good news in recent years.

However, China was doing well, with strong government control, and these issues didn't affect the common people much. But many countries abroad were in dire straits.

"Gangge, how did it go? Did you close the deal?"

Su Xiaofan asked about the two magical artifacts. Spending over 5,000 yuan on a meal made him feel the urgency of making money.

"What do you mean, 'did it go well'? The deal is already done."

Gangge looked at Su Xiaofan with disdain. "With the treasures you provided, if Gangge couldn't handle this, we shouldn't be partners."

"Smoothly? How did they authenticate the magical artifacts?" Su Xiaofan asked the question he was most concerned about.

"Old Zhao invited an old monk."

When it came to serious matters, Zheng Dagang's expression became serious. "He seemed to be the abbot of some temple. I don't understand how he authenticated them..."

Gangge saw the old monk pick up the Eight Trigram Mirror and the Jade Guanyin, recite some scriptures for a while, and then nod to Zhao Hengjian, indicating that both were magical artifacts.

After listening to the recitation for over two hours, Gangge almost fell asleep.

Following Su Xiaofan's instructions, they signed the contract with Zhao Hengjian under the name of the company.

There were also some other procedures, which Gangge spent the afternoon handling.

The money had already been transferred to the company account by the time Gangge arrived, and the financial officer had called to notify him.

"An old monk? He must be a fellow practitioner."

Su Xiaofan wasn't surprised. If Zhao Hengjian dared to accept magical artifacts, he must have a way to authenticate them. Su Xiaofan didn't think he and his master were the only ones who could identify magical artifacts.

"Xiaofan, do you need money urgently? Damn, I didn't realize using the company's money would be so complicated..."

Gangge said, "There are 20 million in the company account. If you need money urgently, we can transfer some to your personal account."

Gangge had never run a company before and only learned from the financial officer that the company's money couldn't be transferred to a personal account casually.

Of course, there were ways.

Dividends, salaries, and temporary loans could all be used to transfer money from the company account, but taxes or repayments would be required later.

"I don't need money for now."

Su Xiaofan shook his head. After buying the car, he still had over 3 million left from the 4 million, which was enough for him without any major expenses.

"Gangge, money in the company and in a personal account is the same."

Seeing Gangge's troubled expression, Su Xiaofan couldn't help but laugh. "If we want to buy something, we can just use the company's name to buy it.

"Help me keep an eye on the meteorite situation. If there's one, we can use the company's money to buy it and count it as a cost."

The company Su Xiaofan and Gangge started was for buying and selling. It wouldn't make sense to let the money sit in the account, as that would incur a large tax bill each year.

"Okay, Xiaofan. Old Zhao mentioned that they have a new housing project about to open. Should we invest in a few units?"

As a second-generation real estate developer, Gangge was always sensitive to housing matters. Buying houses under the company's name could also be counted as a cost.

"What location? Are there standalone villas?"

Hearing Gangge's words, Su Xiaofan was a bit interested.

The current residential area was nice, but the high-rise building was a bit inconvenient for him.

Even when exercising quietly, he would make some noise, which was not as peaceful as living in a standalone house like Uncle Jing.

"It's in the new district by Mirror Lake. It seems to be a villa area with no high-rise or mid-rise buildings. The price is not cheap but not too expensive either. A standalone villa costs about 8 million."

"Let's go check it out tomorrow, Gangge. If we buy, we should hurry to renovate it, and I'll move in. The environment by Mirror Lake is nice."

Su Xiaofan knew the location of Mirror Lake, a scenic area with a wetland.

In the early years, Mirror Lake was remote, and the houses cost only 2,000 to 3,000 yuan per square meter. After the new district was developed, the housing prices there gradually increased.

However, an 8 million standalone villa was still a good investment, even if he didn't live there, it would have a lot of appreciation potential in the future.