money player

After taking a walk with Narcissus, Sin Yiu Man arrived at Bukit Pasir Road.

In the morning, Yan Rushuang wanted to talk to him about something, but he postponed it until the evening. Now he's coming over to find out what it is.

When the car arrived near the Tofu store, we saw several people standing at the store entrance, craning their necks to look inside. Any Chinese person could tell from this scene that they were just bystanders, watching the commotion.

As soon as he got out of the car, Sin Yiu-man heard a crash, followed by a crack, like a stool being broken.

Quickening his pace, Xian Yaowen arrived at the shop entrance and glanced inside. He saw a woman standing in front of a broken stool, cursing loudly in one direction. Following her gaze, he saw Yan Rushuang crouching on the ground, her left hand covering her cheek, her right hand clutching the torn collar of her clothes.

Yan Rushuang is no saint. The woman who can bully her and make her pretend to be weak is most likely a member of the Song family, and most likely the youngest daughter of the Song family, Xian Guanglian's wife.

He took out a few small bills, walked up to a middle-aged woman, and handed her a 5-yuan note. "Sister, there's nothing interesting here. There's a Zhang Yang play showing at the theater today. I'll treat you to it."

The middle-aged woman glanced at the banknotes, then at Xian Yaowen's face, and asked incredulously, "Give it to me."

"Yes."

As soon as Sin Yiu-man finished speaking, the middle-aged woman grabbed the banknotes, turned around, and ran away. She was quite agile and disappeared in a flash. She was probably worried that Sin Yiu-man would come to his senses and change his mind, so she decided to run away.

With the first one settled, the others were easy to handle. The five onlookers were all paid 25 yuan to leave. Xie Zhanran was left to guard outside the shop while Xian Yaowen led Xie Tingyun and Song Chengxiu inside.

As soon as they entered the shop, the woman, presumably from the Song family, immediately noticed the three of them. She looked at them suspiciously but remained silent. Xian Yaowen walked past her, came to Yan Rushuang's side, squatted down, and asked, "A member of the Song family?"

Yan Rushuang gazed pitifully at Xian Yaowen's face and nodded with great grievance.

"That Xian Guanglian?"

Yan Rushuang nodded again and whispered, "Song Hanying."

Xian Yaowen turned his head and looked at Xie Tingyun, who was standing next to Song Hanying, "That's right, cut-out..."

Xie Tingyun swung his right hand and slapped Song Hanying across the face before the word "Ba" could land.

pop~
It was both loud and crisp.

Bang~

Song Hanying was slapped away, her side slammed against the edge of the table, her upper body tilted towards the tabletop, then her legs went weak, she grabbed the tabletop with both hands, and fell to the floor, her head drooping limply, her eyes glazed, and she didn't make a sound.

Xian Yaowen frowned. The slap was brutal, not meant to humiliate, but to inflict damage. Song Hanying wouldn't recover for several minutes.

A moment later, he turned back and removed Yan Rushuang's left hand from her face. He saw a bright red handprint on her left cheek, a rather severe blow, but nothing serious. After examining her face, he found no abrasions or bleeding. He asked softly, "Are you injured?"

Yan Rushuang shook her head.

Xian Yaowen helped her up and, without any hesitation, helped her brush off the dust. He then chuckled and said, "You've been running this shop for a while now. Why didn't she come earlier? Why now of all times? Are you and Xian Guanglian getting together again?"

Yan Rushuang shook her head violently, "I didn't."

"That's like Xian Guanglian's barber's pole being used without any real effort."

Yan Rushuang nodded. "He came twice, but I scolded him and he left. She saw it and tried to force me to move out, but I refused."

"I understand." Sin Yiu-man nodded. "Did your fight over the Song family's assets result in a death?"

“No,” Yan Rushuang shook her head. “She only moved her will.”

“Oh, Old Man Song is quite fashionable, he even made a will.” Xian Yaowen patted Yan Rushuang’s small shoulder. “You sit down and rest for a while, I’ll take care of the rest.”

Fu Yanru sat down on the stool. Xian Yaowen came to Song Hanying and waved his hand in front of her eyes. Seeing that her eyes followed the movement, he knew that she had regained consciousness. He hooked a stool with his foot, helped her up and pressed her onto the stool, then hooked another stool and sat down opposite her.

The technique for knocking someone unconscious is to strike the jaw with the heel of the palm, then sweep the hypothenar eminence across the temporal region to create shearing force. The impact is immediately withdrawn to avoid secondary impact, maximizing the force. Therefore, there was no handprint on Song Hanying's face; her face was clean and white, only slightly pale from fright.

He looked at Song Hanying's face and pointed at Yan Rushuang, "Miss Song, someone asked me to take care of her before, but now she is my partner, and this store is half mine."

I have heard a little about what she did before. Logically speaking, it wouldn't be unjust for your Song family to beat her to death, but your Song family didn't do that. They only beat her half to death. In other words, the grudge between the two sides was settled at that moment, and they went their separate ways from now on.

You married Xian Guanglian, and he is your husband. You can't control your husband, but you take your anger out on Ru Shuang. That's wrong of you.

That's one point, and the second point...

He pointed to the broken stool on the floor, then to the crooked table. "You smashed my stool, damaged my table, and ruined my business. How are you going to settle this score?"

Song Hanying glared at her and said loudly, "I'll compensate you."

"Alright, that's great." Xian Yaowen chuckled. "Not much was broken, so you can give me 50. Any objections?"

Without saying a word, Song Hanying pulled out several large bills from her hidden pocket, took out a 50-yuan note and threw it into Xian Yaowen's thigh, saying, "Here you go."

Xian Yaowen calmly picked up the banknotes and placed them on the most convenient spot on the table. He said unhurriedly, "Miss Song, now that one account is settled, let's talk about the second one."

He pointed at Yan Rushuang's cheek and said, "She used to be a pipa player, then a mistress, and now she's a vixen. She's always relied on her looks to make a living. You've ruined her face. How will she ever be able to eat? You've cut off her livelihood. You have to compensate for that, right?"

Song Hanying raised her hand to slam the table, but then stopped herself, probably thinking of the principle that a wise man doesn't fight a losing battle. She glared at Xian Yaowen and rebuked him, "I slapped her, and you slapped me too. At most, we're even."

"Miss Song, please look carefully. Ru Shuang has a palm print on her face, but your face is clean and clear. I guess you must be a martial artist, practicing Tongbei Quan. Not only did you leave a palm print, but you also left a hidden injury. In a couple of days, Ru Shuang's face might start to ulcerate, and it will ulcerate right through the palm print."

Song Hanying was furious. She felt like she was about to die from that slap. Her head was still buzzing. She thought that the slap she gave Yan Rushuang looked serious, but she didn't realize that she didn't have much strength.
She suppressed the urge to stand up and yell at him, and said, trying to calm herself down, "Are you trying to extort me?"

“Absolutely not.” Xian Yaowen waved his hand and said gently, “I only hope that Miss Song and your husband will not come here again in the future, and that we can all keep to ourselves.”

Secondly, please convey a message to Xian Guanglian: he has been removed from the family genealogy. He may continue to use the surname Xian, but he is forbidden from mentioning the family name or using any generational names. Otherwise, he will be severely punished.

Song Hanying's face turned ashen, her heart nearly stopped, and her lips trembled as she stammered, "Removed from the...family register?"

Judging from Song Hanying's appearance, Xian Yaowen wondered whether she was just being silly and hadn't quite grasped the situation, or whether Xian Guanglian had given her a good identity while she was away from home.

If Sin Kwong-lim were a Peranakan Chinese, the consequences of being removed from the family genealogy would be quite severe, almost equivalent to a social death sentence. This is because the colonial government only dealt with organized communities, such as ancestral halls and clan associations. Being removed from the ancestral hall was equivalent to being "indirectly blacklisted" by the colonial government and losing one's political entry ticket.

Being removed from the ancestral hall is equivalent to losing the guarantee of relatives, being unable to enter the trade association or guild hall, cutting off financing and sales channels, making it impossible to continue doing business, and also cutting off marriage channels, so that you and your children can no longer find marriage partners locally.

However, Xian Guanglian was an outsider, and he only conveyed the news of his expulsion in private, without intending to publish it in the newspaper, so outsiders would not know. Song Hanying's reaction was a bit exaggerated.

“Miss Song, I come from Tangshan. The Xian family has no lineage in Singapore.”

Song Hanying stood up, said nothing, turned around and walked out of the store, her back view looking somewhat desolate.

Xian Yaowen turned and stared at Yan Rushuang, "What identity has Xian Guanglian given himself?"

Yan Rushuang looked blank. "No, isn't he from Hong Kong?"

Sin Yiu-man chuckled, “It’s not wrong for Sin Kwong-lim to call himself a Hong Konger. His family’s old house was located in what is now Yuen Long decades ago. My father’s generation would go to Yuen Long Market to study.”

He waved his hand, "Forget it, let's not talk about this. Song Hanying probably won't bother you anymore. Just focus on your business."

Yan Rushuang's frail shoulders seemed to bear an immense weight as she weakly asked, "Is the master leaving?"

Xian Yaowen's gaze pierced through Yan Rushuang's watery eyes. "Rushuang, you are Xue Baochai, well-behaved and always ready to follow the rules, which is good. You don't need to be so awkward and imitate Lin Daiyu. Make me a cup of lavender soy milk, and I'll sit here for half an hour."

Upon hearing this, Yan Rushuang lowered her head and said humbly, "Yes, sir."

Yan Rushuang went to make soy milk, while Xian Yaowen tidied up the tables and chairs.

A short while later, Yan Rushuang made two cups of soy milk and brought them and kaya toast to Xian Yaowen's table. The two sat facing each other.

After examining the soy milk cup, Xian Yaowen took a sip of soy milk. "The taste is better than before. Is this the result of several revisions?"

"twice."

"Hmm, have you been in contact with Du Juan lately?"

"Two weeks ago, Du Juan sent me a letter saying that she was busy managing the restaurant."

“Most of the models who work with her can only rely on their youth for one or two years, so I have a responsibility to them.”

"Du Juan mentioned that the gentleman has a very kind heart."

Sin Yiu-man smiled faintly, "It's just putting myself in someone else's shoes. Is there no business tonight?"

"Not many people drink soy milk in the evening. After 7:30, very few customers come over."

"When I asked you to open a tofu pudding shop, I already had a marketing plan in mind. In a few days, someone will come to gather material and write a love story centered around the tofu pudding shop. Once the novel is published and the movie is released, I believe the business will improve."

Yan Rushuang stared at Xian Yaowen's face and asked in surprise, "Is it necessary for a tofu pudding shop to go to such lengths?"

"Just incidentally."

"Oh."

Yan Rushuang lowered her head, staring at the cup, seemingly lost in thought.

Sin Yiu-man stroked the rim of the glass with his fingers and fell silent as well.

Sitting not far away, Song Chengxiu was gently rubbing her thighs. She had been up since 5:30 a.m. and it had been more than fourteen hours since then. She was exhausted from morning exercise and running around and just wanted to lie down and rest as soon as possible. But her boss had an even heavier workload and had to deal with several women, yet he was still full of energy and vitality.

Just following along is already this tiring; I have to do other work afterwards, I wonder how tired I'll be. High salaries are definitely not easy to come by. I'll mourn for myself for three minutes.

a long time.

Yan Rushuang raised her head, "If you, sir, do not despise me for being a withered flower, I am willing to serve you tea and water, and ask only for a warm quilt and three meals a day."

Sin Yiu-man chuckled, “Don’t just use other people’s words. A warm blanket is obviously not suitable for Singapore’s weather.”

Yan Rushuang hesitated for a moment, then said, "It's good that you can understand, sir."

“I understand what you mean, but you don’t need to do this. Whether you are my lover or not, I will protect you.” Xian Yaowen waved his hand, not letting Yan Rushuang speak. “Besides, you’re too late. I already have enough women. I don’t want to and can’t add any more. I’m too busy, really too busy.”

Yan Rushuang smiled gently, "My request is not high. As long as my husband cares about me and visits me once a year or two, I will be satisfied."

Xian Yaowen waved his hand and said irritably, "Come on, you women's words can't be trusted. You think about other things after eating five grains. Now it's fine to come once every two years, but as soon as your status changes, you start acting coquettish and complain that coming once every two months is not enough."

Yan Rushuang covered her mouth and laughed, "Sir, you understand women very well."

“With more experience, you’ll always gain some expertise.” Sin Yiu-man raised his left hand and glanced at his watch. “It’s about time to pack up. Come with me to see a play.”

"it is good."

The best cinema in Singapore is the Cathay Theatre, located in Cathay Tower, below the residence of Loke Wan Tho.

We arrived at the perfect time; we could enter immediately after buying our tickets.

Tickets for the back row cost 1.2 Malaysian Ringgit each. The seats are neither too close nor too far from the air conditioning vents, so they're not too cold, and the cool air helps block out the smell of sweat.

He opened the paper bag containing popcorn and held it in his hand so that Yan Rushuang could easily eat it, while Xian Yaowen's eyes darted around.

Cathay Theatre is probably the best-equipped theatre in Asia, and possibly one of the best in the world. There's no harm in visiting and learning from it.

Of course, this is just for observation and reference; I won't copy their work exactly. The investment would be too large, and the technology iterates too quickly, so copying is not worthwhile.

Just as he finished looking at it, the clattering of high heels stopped in front of him.

"Mr. Xian?" (End of Chapter)