After New Year, Yang Chen redirected his attention to the eastern navy. Their meetings became more frequent. Yang Chen's plan was to establish a proper company, with Zhou Di at the helm, and he introduced Sun Jiancheng, one of the persons who had managed his family's business, to Zhou Di. However, Zhou Di didn't have confidence enough to run a large company. He believed that having skilled carvers was crucial for a jade company, regardless of its size. So, he decided to start a small company first, focusing on finding some professional carvers, and then expand the business gradually. Yang Chen felt this approach lacked boldness, but since he intended to let Zhou Di take charge, he decided to support him unconditionally and let him handle things as he wished. Despite his lack of confidence in managing a large company, Zhou Di was confident in his carving skills. Several of his pieces, put up for auction by Yang Chen, sold for excellent prices. For instance, his three green-spot pieces fetched particularly high price, which Zhou Di was most worried about selling for a good price. One depicted an ancient lady ascending, with her skirt adorned with various flower shapes carved from the green spots on the stone, resembling flowers scattered in the air. This piece was actually purchased by the National Museum. The other two pieces, just as he originally designed, were featured a panda eating bamboo afflicted with disease and a traditional green spot peony. Both of these pieces were sold at a high price to private collectors. Zhou Di carved these sculptures meticulously, utilizing the stone's color and translucency to give them an almost lifelike appearance. Just as Yang Chen had told him, all of his pieces had been sold at a high price. All of these greatly boosted Zhou Di's confidence, leading him to carefully select carvers for his company.
Zhou Di used the house provided by Yang Chen as a base, with the front part serving as a small jade shop selling trinkets and jewelry made from the leftover materials. He entrusted Sun Jiancheng with the task of categorizing and handling larger items, as per his plan. Later, he found out that Sun Jiancheng had sent the large carvings to the auction houses, fetching good prices and the jewelry to the jewelry shops controlled by Yang Chen's mother, where they also were sold well. Yang Chen transferred half of the proceeds to Zhou Di's account and soon sent him more stone materials, some of which were of high quality.
Furthermore, Zhou Di realized that solely relying on external carvers wasn't enough and self-cultivation was also crucial. Thus, he decided to take on an apprentice from his family clan. He spread this word in the village and, surprisingly, some parents were willing to send their children to him to learn carving. Zhou Di chose a child named Zhou Jieliang, who was eager to learn carving, as his apprentice, and brought the child with him. At the same time, he submitted his resignation to the bureau, but to his surprise, he was rejected by Chief Zheng and Leader Zhang. Eventually, Zhou Di had no choice but to retain his position, receiving only a basic salary, as Chief Zheng's insisted that he must be present for any bureau matters. Leader Zhang also insisted that Zhou Di should stay and help them if there were any problems in the bureau. Zhang Tianming even frequently visisted Zhou Di's shop to observe his carvings. Although not skilled in carving himself, Zhang Tianming had repaired many antiques, so he requested a small stone material from Zhou Di to slowly carve and polish, and Zhou Di would put his pieces in the shop, providing Zhang Tianming with extra income. Zhou Di asked with a smile:
"Chen Ge, do you think our small company has made money for you?"
"Well, it isn't bad. Now we have recruited two carvers. How about Fei Qiang? I don't know about his skill but he was recommended by your uncle, Guan Qin. It seems that he was one of Guan Qin's followers."
"He isn't truly his followers, just learned a bit from Guan Yunkai, Guan Qin's son, without formally apprenticing. Fei Qiang didn't mention why he didn't become Guan Yunkai's real apprentice formally."
"Guan Qin told me he liked him and appreciated his skill. So when I told him that we needed a qualified carver, he recommended Fei Qiang but I don't like this guy very much."
"Why? I think he is okay, especially his skill."
"Doesn't matter. Whatever, with my support, no one dares to bully you. What about the other one?"
"Hu Zhenghan's skills aren't as good as Fei Qiang's but he is more honest and responsible..."
Yang Chen joked:
"A bit like you, Dizi, but let me warn you, you can't have wandering eyes. If you start having feelings for someone else, I'll lock you by my side. Don't even think about leaving me."
Zhou Di smiled and said:
"Aren't you confident in yourself? Apart from this, all of them are married with children now. Fei Qiang is even planning to find a house in Yucheng to bring his wife and child over. Hu Zhenghan has elderly parents to take care of so he can't move his whole family here either. But he also rented a house. Don't worry, I won't give you the chance to lock me by your side or bring any negative news to you."
Yang Chen, holding Zhou Di tightly, couldn't find any words to say except to express his emotions to Zhou Di. After a long pause, he said:
"Dizi, thank you! I've promised that we won't always be like this. I will make sure you stand proudly by my side in public. Trust me."
"Chen Ge, don't put more pressure on yourself. I know there are more important affairs for you to do. Don't let me be a hindrance to you. I don't ask for anything else, just to be with you."
Yang Chen kissed Zhou Di and said:
"Don't worry. I know how to do. The jade items were sold very well last time, especially the two ornaments at the auction house, far exceeding your estimation. The others were shipped to the west as there was a batch of pistols ready for delivery to Feng Quan'an. Sun Jiancheng took advantage and shipped those jade pieces and jewelry to the west as well. I heard they were sold very well so that Sun Jiancheng was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth. He asked me whether you could expand your company or not. What are your plans for our company? Did he transfer the money to you?"
"Yes, I got it. It's indeed quite a lot. My jewelries and pendants here are also selling very well. I've transferred the money to the company's account. You, my boss, feel free to check our account at any time. As for expanding the company, I have begun to look for a place for our company and you have to find more carvers if possible."
"No problem. I've told you before that you can keep the money in your personal account for yourself and your family. I think your wife will give birth in two or three months. It is your duty to prepare anything for this. And it is better to let your wife move here. After all, there is a hospital nearby. The baby will cost a lot."
"Don't worry, Chen Ge. I have enough money for my family and my wife. You don't need to transfer money to me every month because I really don't need it."
Suddenly urgent knocking was heard from outside, followed by Yang Zaihua's voice:
"Young Marshal, please open the door. There is an urgent thing that happened."
Yang Chen cursed:
"Damn!"
He got up, covered Zhou Di's naked body with a thin quilt, put on a bathrobe, and went to open the door. Yang Zaihua rushed in as soon as the door was opened, closing it quickly. He took a quick glance at Zhou Di lying buried in the pillow. Yang Chen said:
"Doesn't matter."
"Wasoku has indeed invaded."
Upon hearing this statement, Yang Chen wasn't particularly surprised, but the person buried in the pillow immediately sat up, looking at Yang Chen and Yang Zaihua in astonishment. Yang Chen asked while putting on his clothes:
"Where?"
"In the north."
"How is Chen Yufeng?"
"I heard it's been quite tough, but they managed to withstand the first wave of Wasoku's attack."
"What about our people?"
"I got the report that one didn't make it out and the other joined Chen Yufeng's army, who has sent this message to us"
"Do the weapons we sold to Chen Yufeng have arrived?"
"Yes, they have received but there are not enough for them."
Yang Chen finished dressing, walked towards Zhou Di, kissed him and said:
"My baby, I need to go ahead now. Don't worry and I am here."
Zhou Di kissed him back and said:
"Be careful!"
Yang Chen got into the car and said to Yang Zaihua:
"Is there any action at sea? Inform the Liao family to be cautious at all times. I don't think Wasoku will come only from the land. There will also be movement at sea sooner or later. After all, this is their advantage. Let's head back to the naval headquarters for the meeting with all of the naval officers. And remind me to call Qi Yue to provide reinforcement for Chen Yufeng at any time. We can't afford for him to fail. If he falls, we won't be able to hold on either."
"Yes, Young Marshal. After we came back from the west region, didn't we have already started recruiting?"
"Not enough and it is a short time for these fresh soldiers to be trained."
"I think that Wang Lei is keeping his eyes on Wasoku now. He dares not to relax a bit."
"If he relaxes, all of us will perish here. Remind me to call the Grand Marshal as soon as we reach the naval headquarters. I guess he should be aware of the situation by now. It's time to start the war. By the way you also call Uncle Yang."