The anti-Qing movement began with the looting of the Eight-Nation Alliance.

Chapter 286 Return to Hong Kong Island

"Li Xiao, there's too much food! We can't possibly finish it all!" Shen Lian shook his head.

"Brother Shen, I didn't know what you liked to eat, so I just arranged a little something." This was the first time Li Xiao had treated his boss's family to a meal, so of course he had to make sure it was a good meal.

"Why are you being so polite with us brothers?" Shen Lian shook his head.

"Now that it's served, let's eat! Come on, son, don't just eat shrimp, this big yellow croaker is the real treat." Shen Lian picked up a piece of fish for his son and carefully removed the bones.

Shen Lian thought of the large yellow croakers he ate in Japan, which weighed over 10 or 20 pounds. Croakers like the ones on the plate, weighing only two or three pounds, were simply not fit for the table.

If you're really short of money, you can get rich just by trading these big yellow croakers.

Zhang Hui then picked up a bottle of red wine and personally poured it for everyone.

Everyone enjoyed the meal. The little one even patted his tummy, indicating he was very full. Because she was worried about the hygiene of food outside, Wang Xiaoyuan rarely took her child out to eat.

Because we had to catch a flight early the next morning, we all went home after dinner.

Back home, Xiao Xingchen was naturally taken care of by Sister Fang. Shen Lian and his wife went back to their room.

"No!" As soon as they returned to the room, Shen Lian grabbed Wang Xiaoyuan and hugged her tightly. She was so frightened that her body went limp.

"What do you mean 'no'? You were blaming me this afternoon, looks like I didn't feed you enough! Hehe!" Shen Lian grinned crookedly.

Shen Lian swiftly disarmed the two women, leaving Wang Xiaoyuan limp and helpless as he did as he pleased.

The next morning, at Hong Kong Island Airport, Shen Lian and his group of six walked out of the airport. Two cars arranged by the company were already waiting outside.

"Mr. Shen, General Manager Wang, General Manager Li, General Manager Zhang. Welcome to Hong Kong Island!" The company's CEO personally led a group to greet them. Since the big boss rarely visited, no one dared to be careless.

"Okay!" Shen Lian nodded and led everyone into the car.

"Xiaoyuan, you guys go to the hotel and settle in first! Li Xiao and I will go to the company to take a look!" When the car arrived at the Hilton Hotel, which had been booked in advance, Shen Lian did not go up.

"Okay, honey!" Wang Xiaoyuan got out of the car with the child, Zhang Hui, and Xu Li. Shen Lian and the others then headed towards the company.

"Mr. Li, how's everything at the company?" Shen Lian asked casually, lighting a cigarette.

"Boss, everything is fine. With the economy so bad right now, everyone is very grateful that you're offering us such high salaries," said Li Chenghao, whose hair was thinning slightly. He nodded.

The company here doesn't have many employees, only about ten. But their office is in the best office building, and they don't usually have much work.

Aside from secretly buying gold and silver, his job involved consigning oil paintings for auction and occasionally researching materials. He also helped Xingchen Jewelry import gemstones, making it a very leisurely job.

Although the work is easy, their compensation is top-notch in the industry. Even with the economic downturn of the past two years, the company's benefits haven't decreased. This has undoubtedly drawn envy from many.

"Hey! That's always been my attitude. As long as everyone works hard, I won't treat you unfairly. Besides, the company has a bright future, so you can rest assured." Shen Lian waved his hand.

Supporting these ten or so people would only cost a few million a year. It's a small matter for him; one oil painting is enough to support them for decades.

After touring the company, Shen Lian announced that everyone would receive an extra month's salary as a bonus. The employees were overjoyed.

Shen Lian went to the underground vault and stored the more than two hundred tons of silver and more than ten tons of gold into his spatial storage. Then he took out twenty oil paintings and placed them inside.

With gold prices soaring this year, he has ordered them to temporarily halt acquisitions. Silver, on the other hand, doesn't matter much; it's cheap now, and it'll be worth more back there.

In just a few years, Shen Lian raised tens of billions of yuan simply by selling these oil paintings. He converted them all into gold and silver. Almost all of the gold remained unused in his spatial storage, and while he used some of the silver, it wasn't much.

Shen Lian is now preparing to issue paper money. With so much hard currency in place, the time is ripe.

With Li Xiao's information, Shen Lian has now collected a large number of Western oil paintings, almost all of which are works by well-known painters.

Not only Jason and his team were helping Shen Lian buy paintings, but ambassadors from various countries were also helping him acquire them. Now the whole West knows that Shen Lian is a passionate collector of oil paintings, and Western dignitaries and ambassadors have presented him with many oil paintings when they come to pay their respects.

Shen Lian even went so far as to find a palace in the Forbidden City specifically to house his collection of Western oil paintings. In reality, he rarely visited it more than a few times a year.

To avoid disrupting the market, Shen Lian only gave Li Xiao and his team about ten or twenty pieces at a time. A steady, long-term approach, after all, he wasn't short of money anyway.

After a day of shopping sprees in Hong Kong, Shen Lian and his family flew directly back to their hometown of Shashi. Li Xiao and his wife, on the other hand, returned to Shanghai, planning to go there for the wedding.

"Oh my! My dear grandson, come here and give Grandma a hug! I've missed you so much!" As soon as they exited the airport, Li Rumei rushed over to greet them, hugged Shen Xingchen, and showered his little face with kisses, making the little guy giggle with delight.

"Dad!" Shen Lian called out to Shen Xingwen, who was standing to the side.

"Hello, Uncle and Auntie!" Wang Xiaoyuan quickly greeted them as well!

"Yes!" Shen Xingwen nodded.

"Still calling me 'Auntie'? You should call me 'Mom' now!" Li Rumei teased.

Wang Xiaoyuan blushed deeply and couldn't utter a word.

Shen Xingwen was dressed in a light gray stand-up collar Zhongshan suit today, looking quite refined and scholarly. He had a certain air about him. Shen Lian nodded to himself; the old man was really getting into it now, even dressing himself up.

"Let's go! There are too many people and too much trouble here!" Shen Xingwen quickly helped his daughter-in-law out of the predicament. He was also very satisfied with his daughter-in-law who had given him a grandson.

The family arrived at the parking lot, where Shen Xingwen's car had been replaced with an Audi A6. This was also a replacement for him by Shen Lian, and the car certainly made him look good.

"Dad, let me drive!" After putting away his luggage, Shen Lian took the car keys from his father and sat in the driver's seat.

Shen Xingwen naturally sat in the passenger seat, while Li Rumei, along with her daughter-in-law and grandson, sat in the back.

"Dad! I heard your new book is doing really well?" Shen Lian asked, a smirk playing on his lips, as he drove.

"Well! It's alright! A few hundred thousand people are watching!" Shen Xingwen said modestly.

"Hehe! I didn't expect Dad to be such a good writer! Hundreds of thousands of people read it? Does that mean you'll earn hundreds of thousands or even millions from one book?" Shen Lian said exaggeratedly.

"Not that many! It's not finished yet! We'll know the specific results after it's finished!" Shen Xingwen said modestly, but the corners of his mouth were already turned up.

"Great! You earn more so that if we ever can't make ends meet, you can come home and live off your parents! Haha."

"What do you mean by making money! All you think about is money. Do you think I write books just for money?" Shen Xingwen scolded, dissatisfied.