Fatty An had expected his grandfather to be polite to Li Qian.
But the enthusiastic way he called him "little brother" still made the corner of his mouth twitch.
'It's like I'm suddenly two generations younger than Li Qian for no reason.'
Li Qian knew exactly why An Tianyou and An Hou Nian were being so polite to him, so he didn't dare let it go to his head.
He responded with equal enthusiasm, "Hello, Uncle An. Hello, Grandpa An!"
After the greetings, Li Qian wasted no more time and cut straight to the point. "I understand that this matter is extremely important to both of us. It's only natural to be cautious."
"Uncle An, Grandpa An, please follow me." With a guiding gesture, Li Qian led them straight to the edge of the reservoir.
As for Ah Fu, he could just leave it to train by itself under the waterfall. It was already very familiar with the routine, anyway.
Besides, Li Qian believed that after witnessing Qizai's entire evolution, Ah Fu must have been deeply moved. 'Right now, it's probably filled with excitement and longing.'
Arriving at the reservoir's edge, he glanced around. The residential area for the hydroelectric station was quite a distance away. Plus, with dusk approaching, the light was fading. They probably wouldn't be discovered.
Of course, strictly speaking, even if they were discovered, it wouldn't be a huge deal. It would just mean dealing with some potential harassment in the future and possibly losing a training spot.
For Li Qian, this was fundamentally not an issue.
Casting aside his concerns, Li Qian sent a message to Qizai directly through their Soul Contract.
The very next moment, a loud SPLASH echoed as the water's surface, not far from the bank, suddenly broke apart.
The head of a dragon, bearing a single conical horn, abruptly burst from the water.
"Qizai, catch!" Seeing Qizai's head emerge, its eyes looking at him in confusion, Li Qian tossed out an Energy Block he had prepared.
Energy Blocks were a universal food for Pet Beasts. Almost any pet that needed to eat would accept them. They were very filling; a single block could sustain a pet for three days.
Qizai caught the Energy Block, swallowed it in one gulp, and with a flip that sent water splashing, dived back into the reservoir.
Although Energy Blocks were filling, they were rather bland. To be more precise, they had almost no flavor at all—certainly no match for the fish and shrimp in the reservoir.
Thinking its master had summoned it just for a snack, Qizai naturally returned to the depths of the reservoir to hunt for more appetizing food.
"Uncle An, Grandpa An, what do you think?" Li Qian asked with a slight smile.
They had wanted to see the Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon for themselves simply because they were worried Fatty An had been duped, that the so-called research breakthrough was nothing but smoke and mirrors.
Now that they had seen Qizai, he was sure their hearts could be at ease.
"As the old saying goes, heroes have always been young!" An Hou Nian began with praise that was thick with flattery. "For Student Li Qian to solve such a profound puzzle at such a young age and cultivate a Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon with Dominator Level Potential—your future is truly limitless!"
"I'd say becoming a Cultivation Master, or even a Grandmaster, is just a matter of time for you!"
Although Li Qian secretly agreed, being praised so effusively by An Hou Nian still made him feel a little embarrassed.
"Ahem... Uncle An, Grandpa An, perhaps we should discuss the terms of our cooperation." Steering the conversation back on track, Li Qian's expression turned serious.
"In that regard, I wonder what Student Li Qian has in mind?" An Tianyou asked, looking at Li Qian with a gentle tone.
At that moment, the four of them stood by the Lingshui River, watching the sunset paint the sparkling surface of the water. They looked just like a family on an evening outing.
Li Qian briefly checked his connection and sensed that Qizai had already dived to the center of the reservoir. He shook his head slightly and replied, "I'm just a student. I'm clueless when it comes to business, so I'm not sure what to suggest. I'd be grateful for Grandpa An's guidance."
"Guidance is too strong a word."
An Tianyou smiled. After the polite exchange, he got straight to the point. "How about this: I'll first explain the An family's proposal. If there's anything you find unacceptable, please don't hesitate to point it out."
With that, he turned his head slightly to look at An Hou Nian, who was beside him.
The other man was also smiling. He began to speak in a slow, deliberate tone, "First, there's the matter of the Cultivation Base that Junjie mentioned to you before."
"We will make good on our promise to gift you a Cultivation Base as soon as possible."
An Hou Nian spoke like a kind, neighborly uncle. "I wonder, does Student Li Qian have any specific requirements for the new Cultivation Base?"
Li Qian thought for a moment before stating his requirements. "First, I'd like it to be built as quickly as possible. Second, the Cultivation Base needs a waterfall."
After all, since he was going to be the owner, he had a few ideas for the construction and design of the Cultivation Base.
At this stage, the most important thing was to meet the training needs of his Koi Carp.
"A waterfall?"
Hearing Li Qian's request for a waterfall, An Hou Nian pondered for a moment before asking, "Does the drop need to be on par with the one in Yunlan City?"
"That won't be necessary. A drop of over ten meters will be sufficient," Li Qian replied, shaking his head.
A waterfall with a drop of over one hundred meters would be ideal, of course, but Li Qian knew that such a feature was a rare find, not something one could simply create on demand.
Any that did exist, unless they were in some ridiculously remote, forgotten corner, had almost certainly been developed into tourist attractions.
The difficulty of buying or leasing one...
It wasn't something that could be solved with money alone.
And as for actually building a waterfall with a drop of over a hundred meters, like they had joked about before...
Forget the cost; he wasn't even sure a suitable location could be found anywhere in Lingshui City.
So he didn't press the issue.
An Hou Nian heard this and agreed without hesitation. "That's simple. Most existing Cultivation Bases have ponds or small lakes. We just need to build a rockery in the water source and set up a circulation system. Creating a waterfall with a drop of over ten meters won't be a big problem."
Li Qian nodded and added, "However, a waterfall with that kind of drop is only sufficient for the Koi Carp's daily training. For evolution, it won't be enough."
"So, we will also need a location that can support the Koi Carp's evolution."
After some thought, Li Qian offered a suggestion. "It would be best if we could buy or lease such a place. If that's not possible, arranging to have a suitable location closed off for our exclusive use for one night, every so often, would also work."
"If that's the case, it won't be difficult to arrange," An Hou Nian said with a confident smile.
After a moment of silence, he suddenly brought something up. "If Student Li Qian is in a hurry, I actually have an excellent option in mind already."
"Oh? And where would that be?" Li Qian asked, slightly surprised.
'It seems the An family didn't come to me unprepared.'
Clearly, they had done their homework.
An Hou Nian didn't hesitate, stating the name directly: "The South Suburb, Jiaoyang Cultivation Base."
When Li Qian heard that, a look of astonishment flashed across his face. "The place where my mother works?"
"That's right. The very place your mother works," An Hou Nian confirmed, continuing, "The Jiaoyang Cultivation Base is currently listed for sale."
Li Qian frowned. "The Jiaoyang Cultivation Base is for sale? But don't they have an Intermediate Breeder there? They should be able to keep the business afloat, right?"
An Hou Nian shared the inside information he had gathered. "You must be referring to a female Breeder with the surname Gao. She is indeed an Intermediate Breeder, and her skills are said to be quite good. Unfortunately, she isn't a Breeder for the Jiaoyang Cultivation Base."
"She is only residing there temporarily to conduct her research."
"Her research is reportedly coming to an end, and she will be leaving soon."
Given that the An family had already set their sights on the Jiaoyang Cultivation Base, Li Qian wasn't surprised at all that they could dig up this kind of information with their local connections.
And if Gao Yaxin was truly just a temporary resident conducting research...
...and would be leaving once her research was complete...
...then it made sense that the Jiaoyang Cultivation Base would be struggling to stay afloat and facing operational problems.
'Considering I'm already somewhat familiar with the Jiaoyang Cultivation Base...'
'...and sticking with what I know, choosing the Jiaoyang Cultivation Base seems like a good idea.'
At this thought, his expression showed a clear interest. He spoke up again, "Uncle An, could you please tell me more about the Jiaoyang Cultivation Base's situation?"