money player

Wang Youjia said with a half-smile, "Why am I in Lion City, Yaowen, don't you know?"

Sin Yiu-man did not know that Wang Youjia was in Singapore, but he could easily deduce why she was here.

Long Xuemei had sent him a fax reporting on Wang Youjia's situation:
Wang Youjia broke with Tang Jishan and moved out of the Tang residence. He then moved into a small hotel and went to the Xian residence to find his sworn brother, Xian Yaowen. He didn't meet the person in question, but instead met Chen Hua, who was presiding over the Xian family's ceremonies as the trusted butler of the Taipei Xian residence.

He had told Chen Hua about the "sister" matter. Chen Hua had a chat with Wang Youjia and introduced her to Long Xuemei. Long Xuemei took Wang Youjia to Jinhai to meet Jack Perry. As instructed by him earlier, Jack Perry gave Wang Youjia the title of "Jinhai Tea Image Ambassador" and appointed her as the sales director.

The sales director position is a nominal one, with no salary or subordinates. It's essentially a nominal role. Wang Youjia can use Jin Hai's name to negotiate tea business, and once she receives an order, she can hand it over to Jin Hai's order follow-up staff. She then waits to receive 50% of the profits.

To put it bluntly, Wang Youjia became a strategic partner with Jinhai by offering "technology," enjoying high profit sharing while maintaining absolute freedom and initiative. Whenever she felt she could go solo, she could simply pack up and leave.

Tang Jishan was already outwardly strong but inwardly weak, barely managing to maintain her facade. Even if Wang Youjia received compensation, the amount wouldn't be large enough to warrant the phrase "living off one's savings until they're depleted." Her presence in Singapore at this time was unlikely to be for relaxation or visiting friends; the most probable reason was to discuss tea business.

“I really didn’t know, but after you said that, I can guess that you’re here to discuss business. Did you just come out of the coffee shop upstairs?”

“You guessed right.” Wang Youjia smiled. “Why don’t you guess who I met next?”

Xian Yaowen put his arm around Wang Youjia's arm and brought his mouth close to her ear. "Sister, you really know how to be caring. You deliberately hid the answer in the question. When you ask this, the answer you want is definitely not the name of a tea merchant, but the name of a woman."

Wang Youjia was not displeased by Xian Yaowen's ambiguous behavior. She calmly raised her head and asked, "Which woman's name?"

"Who else could it be but Ms. Zhang Shunqin? It's just that you don't know, but by a stroke of luck, I know very well about Ms. Zhang's current situation."

Wang Youjia's relationship with her ex-husband Luo Longji began with her being the third party in their marriage. At the time, Luo Longji had a wife, Zhang Shunqin, who was a Peranakan born in Singapore and Singapore's first female lawyer.

His father, Zhang Yongfu, was a veteran member of the Tongmenghui (Revolutionary Alliance) and a former owner of a large rubber plantation. It is said that his business did not go well in the early 1930s, so he returned to his hometown to seek an official position based on his seniority. He worked in the financial system for a few years and, due to his good personal relationship with Wang Jingwei, served in the Wang puppet regime during the War of Resistance against Japan.

Wang Youjia exclaimed in surprise, "Awen actually knows Zhang Shunqin?"

“One of my wives is a student at the University of Hong Kong. She once mentioned a female professor, Qin Huizhen, who was the first female head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Hong Kong, the head of the Department of Obstetrics at Tsan Yuk Hospital, and a top obstetrics and gynecology expert in Hong Kong.”

She is not only an expert, but also someone I have a connection with. My wife has been going to her for prenatal checkups since she became pregnant. Over time, we got to know her good friends, the couple Wang Zhengang and Zhang Shunqin.

A few days ago, I accompanied my wife to another prenatal checkup and ran into Zhang Shunqin.

"Sigh..." Wang Youjia sighed, "What a small world."

Xian Yaowen whispered in Wang Youjia's ear, "Zhang Zhiyun is helping me with my work, Liang Saizhen is helping me with my work, and now, my sister is not only my sister, but also my business partner. The world is not that big, so why should my sister stay at any hotel?"

Wang Youjia's heart was filled with ripples. "Hotels in Singapore are too expensive for me, so I had to find a cheap little hotel in Chinatown."

"The guesthouses in Chinatown are a mixed bag and not very safe. Now that we've met, I'll take care of everything for you in Singapore, Sister." Sin Yiu Man tightened his grip on Wong Yau Chia's arm slightly. "It's the perfect time for supper. Chinatown and Geylang have all sorts of supper options. What would you like to eat, Sister?"

"Eat food that you can't find in Taipei."

“There’s nothing like that in Taipei…” Sin Yiu-man thought for a moment, “Then let’s eat Malay or Indian food. It’s more convenient to go to Geylang from here.”

"You've made up your mind."

Sin Yiu-man pulled his hand away a little more, to the point of embracing the woman intimately. Wang Youjia showed no resistance in expression or manner, seemingly acquiescing to such intimacy.

Xian Yaowen gestured to Yan Rushuang, "Sister, this is Miss Yan Rushuang, my confidante and business partner. Rushuang, this is Ms. Wang Youjia. We address each other as sister and brother, and we also cooperate in business."

"Miss Yan, hello, I am Wang Youjia." Wang Youjia nodded reservedly to Yan Rushuang.

Yan Rushuang bowed slightly, "Ms. Wang."

She felt a pang of jealousy. What sister or brother? Anyone with eyes could see that Xian Yaowen had feelings for Wang Youjia.

"Ru Shuang, let's go get some late-night snacks. I'll take you home after we're done."

"No, no, I'm not hungry. I'll call a tricycle to go back first."

"No need to call a car, I'll take you back first."

Before Yan Rushuang could refuse again, Xian Yaowen embraced Wang Youjia and walked towards the parking lot.

First, we took Yan Rushuang back. The car made a small turn and arrived at the large banyan tree at the entrance of Geylang Lane 9, where the stalls were concentrated.

It was past ten o'clock, and each stall was filled with brightly dressed young women and aging beauties, whose perfumes didn't smell very good.

These are pieceworkers on the assembly line. The former are quick and can finish their share in a rush, while the latter are experienced but have lost interest. If they have a little money in hand, they are not willing to hand over their workpieces for milling. It is not worthwhile to stand by at the workstation. It is better to finish work early and have some food and drinks.

At a Malay stall, Sin Yiu Man ordered charcoal-grilled chicken wings, sambal stinky beans, and nasi lemak. He also ordered some braised pork offal from other stalls, and frog porridge (just frog, no porridge). For drinks, he ordered iced beer and coffee mixed with hot water, which would later be called "tea dog".

The small square table on the stall wasn't big, but it was just enough for four people to sit facing each other in pairs. Xian Yaowen didn't sit opposite Wang Youjia, but next to her at the corner of the table. Their hands were easily tangled and bumped, and their legs couldn't stretch out. Their thighs pressed against each other, and their calves rubbed together.

Xian Yaowen used chopsticks to separate the meat from the bone of a chicken wing, put the meat into an empty plate, and placed it next to Wang You's house. "What day did you arrive?"

"yesterday."

"Did you have a good day today?"

Sin Yiu-man held a chicken wing skeleton in his hands, sucking on the meat that hadn't been removed. The chicken bones and meat were neither red nor black, indicating that it was a fresh chicken processed by a skilled butcher.

"It wasn't too smooth," Wang Youjia said self-deprecatingly. "An acquaintance of mine probably already considers me not worth having tea with twice."

Sin Yiu-man chuckled and said, "The fact that you can make such a conclusion only shows that you and the other person are of the same kind. You have a keen sense of smell and can judge in an instant whether the other person is worth having tea with a few times."

Wang Youjia smiled faintly, "Awen, you are too, right?"

“I’m a little different,” Sin Yiu-man waved his hand. “My heart warms up slowly, and it cools down just as quickly.”

Wang Youjia glanced under the table and said, "I see you get hot pretty quickly."

Xian Yaowen rubbed his right hand, which was resting on Wang Youjia's thigh, a couple of times. "This doesn't count. Tang Jishan is too famous. I've known about him for a long time. Later, I met people related to him and heard a lot about him, including rumors about you."

I am a poor boy from the countryside, and you are a famous socialite. I have a biased view of you and an emotional connection to you.

Before I went to Taipei, I knew you were there, and I added you to my to-do list.

"To-do list? What to do?"

Xian Yaowen lightly patted Wang Youjia's thigh, "I'll deal with you."

Wang Youjia scolded, "How vulgar!"

Sin Yiu-man chuckled, "After seeing you, I'm certain of my previous guess. Someone who can be a socialite can't be a pure and innocent person. The newspapers say you were a beauty from a young age, and even at six or seven, you knew how to use your looks to get away with things, using a pitiful expression to avoid being scolded or to get what you wanted."

Even as a child, you knew how to use your assets. Now, past forty, you've become even more astute, using your beauty as leverage, treating connections like a savings account, possessing a keen sense of opportunity, and displaying a calculating pride.

Upon hearing this, Wang Youjia did not change his expression, but instead laughed and said, "Awen, you seem to understand me very well."

Xian Yaowen picked up the beer bottle and poured half a glass into Wang Youjia's cup. "You left Tang Jishan. His betrayal was just a trigger, or rather, a good reason. He was wrong. You don't have to bear the infamy. You can leave with peace of mind."

In fact, you calculated that following Tang Jishan was more costly than beneficial, and that his ship was already showing signs of sinking. You made a very ruthless and decisive decision.

Sin Yiu-man poured himself half a glass of wine, put down the beer bottle, picked up the glass, and said, "You're good at interpersonal relationships and socializing, but you don't know how to do business. Social skills are important for business, but they're not everything."

Xian Yaowen shook his head. "You didn't choose Tang Jishan well. The tea business seems simple, but to do it well, you need to master a lot of knowledge. There are three main links: product selection, transportation, and sales, which are further subdivided into many smaller links. Think carefully about how many of these links you understand."

Wang Youjia frowned. "Can we not mention him?"

“Okay, let’s not talk about it.” Sin Yiu-man raised his glass in a toast. “You’ve accumulated savings for almost twenty years, it’s time to cash them out. You’re good at dealing with people, and I’m good at doing things. In three years, at most three years, you can get enough money to last the rest of your life.”

Wang Youjia raised his glass. "Are you serious about that?"

“Very serious.” Xian Yaowen and Wang Youjia clinked glasses. “Let’s leave the topic of making money here for now. Tomorrow morning I’ll take you somewhere. For the rest of today, we’ll just talk about romance. Cheers.”

"cheers."

After downing half a glass of wine, Xian Yaowen shifted his position, sitting closer to Wang Youjia, and put his right arm around her waist.

Wang Youjia did not resist and naturally rested her head in the crook of his arm.

"Is Tang Yiying your lover?"

"That's it."

"Is Chen Hua your lover?"

"You know her?"

"She was quite famous back then."

"Oh, she's a business partner, working hard for years to save up for retirement."

"Yan Rushuang is your lover?" Wang Youjia paused, then said, "She has a smell of prostitution on her."

“No, she’s a woman who refuses to accept her fate. Just today, she offered to be my lover, but I didn’t agree.”

"She's young and beautiful, why not agree?"

"She was entrusted to me by someone else to take care of, and she's also helping me with things, so I can't make things too complicated."

"Is Jiang Yiying your lover?"

“No.” Xian Yaowen stroked Wang Youjia’s belly. “You can just ask whoever you want to ask. There’s no need to probe one by one.”

"Fei Baoqi".

Why would you ask her that?

Wang Youjia smirked, "So you really do have a relationship with her."

Sin Yiu-man said calmly, "It seems that I have a very bad image in your mind, otherwise you wouldn't have guessed in this direction."

Wang Youjia nodded with a chuckle, "Your reputation with women is terrible."

Xian Yaowen tugged at Wang Youjia's chin. "I think this is only one of the reasons. What about the other reasons?"

"Fei Baoshu and Chen Changtong."

"Fei Baoshu goes without saying, but what about Chen Changtong?" (End of Chapter)