money player

Wang Youjia nestled comfortably in Xian Yaowen's arms for a while, then suddenly said, "I plan to hold a dance party here in a few days and invite all my acquaintances. You have to help me make it a success."

“Yes, I will.” Xian Yaowen patted Wang Youjia’s little belly lightly. “I’ll prepare Hennessy brandy for you; Johnnie Walker, Chivas Regal, and Jack Daniel’s whisky; Cohiba and Philippine cigars; and Marlboro, Camel, Lucky Strike, and Dunhill cigarettes.”

Seasonal fruits from various regions, Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs, and the first batch of lamb to hit the market this year for cold cuts—we've prepared everything you can and can't imagine for you.

And me? You can have me show you anything you want. Rich? I'll dance with you and give you a huge diamond ring. Talented? I'll compose a piece of "Right Family Ode" on the spot.

Everything will be fine; I'll make sure you save face and people don't laugh at you, Wang Youjia, for getting worse as you age.

Wang Youjia asked excitedly, "Can I really believe it?"

“Why not? I’ll do whatever you want.” Xian Yaowen pinched Wang Youjia’s cheek. “I know you’re not afraid of people calling you a slut, you’re just afraid of losing face.”

Wang Youjia blinked his eyelashes. "A person's life revolves around their face."

"Hmm." Xian Yaowen's nose touched Wang Youjia's cheek. "Make a list of what you need, and I'll help you fill in the gaps."

Wang Youjia wrapped his arm around Xian Yaowen's neck and murmured, "You're so good."

"I didn't eat enough for dinner, come with me to the kitchen to make a bowl of noodles."

"Ah."

The two entered the house. Wang Youjia went to the kitchen first, while Xian Yaowen came to Madam Lan's side, glanced at the cards in her hand, and asked, "What cards are we playing today?"

Madam Lan turned and glanced at Xian Yaowen, "Jiangnan brand."

"Nice cards, you've won quite a bit today?"

"Oh no, Mrs. Chen has good luck; she won all the money."

Fei Baoqi played a nine of bamboo. "Mrs. Lan has made a lot of money lately, she even drives a Chevrolet now. She should lose some to help a poor person like me. Sigh, I haven't smelled meat in the house for half a month. I'll cut up two pounds of meat tomorrow and have a good feast."

Upon hearing this, Sin Yiu-man glanced sideways. Fei Baoqi had changed; perhaps her mindset had become younger. She would never have said such witty things before.

Madam Lan chuckled and said, "Madam Chen, you should have said you didn't have meat to eat. I brought a conman with me, so Madam Chen can eat however she wants."

Fei Baoqi spat, "Keep the conman for yourself, just loosen things up for me with your subordinates."

"It's not Madam Chen's turn to play this hand." Madam Lan picked up a card, rubbed her fingers together, and gently placed it in front of Li Moyun, who was to her left. "Madam Pu, would you like to take the five of coins?"

Li Moyun pushed the five of coins aside, grabbed a card from the wall of cards, and said while rubbing it, "Madam Lan, you're all talk and no action. I've been watching you all night. I'll go with you, five of coins."

"What can I do if the cards aren't right? Look, I'm only playing middle-ranking cards."

After a round of cards, Madam Lan already knew Li Moyun's skill level. Li Moyun was the kind of opponent who was both bad at the game and loved to play. She couldn't even count a few cards properly. If it weren't for the fact that she was specially invited by Tang Yiying, she would have already taken advantage of her to win several big hands.

She reached out and pressed the chimney switch on the coffee table. A cigarette popped out, and she picked it up and put it in her mouth, but didn't take a lighter.

Xian Yaowen understood, picked up a lighter, lit it with a "ding," and held the flame close to it.

Mrs. Lan lit a cigarette by the fire, exhaled smoke, and said, "Mr. Xian, what made you think of opening a lighter factory here? How many people can afford to buy them?"

Long Xuemei gathered a group of technicians from the original mainland lighter factories and rebuilt a Prince Lighter Factory in Sanzhong to produce Prince brand lighters.

Taishi is actually a brand of Toyo Taishi Company. They set up a simple workshop in the Korean community in Ikuno, Osaka, taking advantage of the discrimination against Koreans by the Japanese to use Korean labor at low cost.

The workers are paid half in cash and half in Thai rice. They love this arrangement. One kilogram of Thai rice can easily be exchanged for Japanese yen or three or four kilograms of inferior rice, enough for a family to eat white rice every day.

Prince Company has made arrangements in mainland China, promoting the establishment of Shanghai Lighter Factory No. 1, and jointly operating XX Hardware Factory and XX Metal Workshop, which actually produce lighters. In the future, they will undertake OEM manufacturing for Prince Company and develop their own brands.

Prince Company also has a presence in South Korea. The East Asia Chamber of Commerce has allocated a one-acre plot of farmland in Gangnam to build a simple assembly workshop, which will be named Gangnam Sun Company. The workshop will assemble Sun brand lighters and will adopt the "3-3-4 principle": 30% cash payment, 30% bookkeeping, and 40% donation. The goal is to make Sun brand a standard military supply for the South Korean army and carry out an advertising and marketing campaign that will last for decades.

In 1949, South Korea had already implemented a mandatory military service system, and all South Korean men aged 20 and above were obligated to serve in the military. This meant that once Sunflower became a military supply, almost all South Korean men would have the opportunity to develop an emotional connection with Sunflower and establish brand loyalty.

A small lighter can't affect national policy or people's livelihood, nor is it a gold mine with high gold content. Sun Brand has occupied this position, and other powerful forces in South Korea will not be keen to come in and get a share of the pie. It is easy to form a monopoly. As long as Sun Company stays true to its original intention and doesn't do things recklessly, this bowl of rice will always belong to the Sin family.

The nation is the sun, while the worship of foreign things is the prince. If anyone dares to introduce other lighter brands into South Korea, Sin Yiu-man will definitely curse them out and make them relive their education of loving the Republic of Korea.

Xian Yaowen extinguished the flame and fiddled with the lighter in his hand. "The Prince Lighter is mainly for export to generate foreign exchange for the Party and the State."

Mrs. Lan chuckled but said nothing.

Xian Yaowen put the lighter back, came up behind Li Moyun, and glanced at her hand. Before playing the five of circles, her hand was two, three, four, five, five of circles and seven, seven, eight, nine of bamboo. One of these two pairs had to be broken up. In terms of hand efficiency, playing the seven of bamboo was the best choice. However, there was a special case. The seven of bamboo was Li Moyun's lucky hand today. She often drew several of them at once. In that case, not playing the seven of bamboo was not a mistake.

"Why didn't Madam Pu hit that card just now?"

“I like this one; it’s not hard to find a matching pair.” Li Moyun replied, then turned to look at Xian Yaowen, “Mr. Xian, you’re back so late?”

"I wasn't busy with anything important. There were no seats available for playing cards, so I had to play a few rounds in the billiards room."

Li Moyun chuckled and said, "I'll give my seat to Mr. Xian."

"You're a guest, how can I ask you to give up your seat? You guys fight, I'll go to the kitchen and make some late-night snacks."

When Li Moyun was surprised, Tang Yiying said, "Let's order a few bags of ramen. Shi Ye Ramen sells for exorbitant prices outside, and we can't even afford to eat it."

"Okay, I'll fry a few more eggs. Do you want them well-done or soft-boiled?"

Fei Baoqi: "I want two soft-boiled ones."

Mrs. Lan: "An old man."

Tang Yiying: "One is old and the other is young."

Where is Mrs. Pu?

"I want a soft-boiled one," Li Moyun replied instinctively, still reeling from the shock of Xian Yaowen's cooking.

In families where they have enough to eat for two-thirds of the year, she had never seen the male head of the household enter the kitchen. In larger homes, they might not even know which way the kitchen door faced. The fact that Sin Yiu-man was making supper for everyone made her wonder if she had misheard.

"it is good."

Xian Yaowen walked into the kitchen and saw Wang Youjia sitting at the small dining table. On the table was a pot of goat milk and half a cup of goat milk that had been drunk.

He walked closer and asked, "Is it good?"

"It tastes better than milk, but it has a slightly goaty smell."

"You didn't even ask before drinking it." Xian Yaowen picked up the goat milk jug. "My third sister will be bringing two puppies over tomorrow. This is for them. Luckily it was boiled, otherwise you'd get diarrhea to death."

"What kind of dog? A silver fox or a Pekingese?"

“A wolfhound, for guarding the house.” Xian Yaowen put the goat milk jug into the refrigerator and took out a piece of beef. “I already said I wanted noodles, but you didn’t even boil water.”

“Your stove is too advanced, I don’t know where to turn on the fire,” Wang Youjia said playfully.

"You're just talking nonsense," Sin Yiu-man spat, then grabbed a pot, filled it with water, and started the fire.

Wang Youjia approached Xian Yaowen with a grin, "Why don't you let the servants take turns? Why do you have to do it yourself?"

“My third sister has a man, and she has to live her own life after work. She only stays late on Saturdays; on other days, she goes home as soon as she finishes cooking dinner.”

“When you pay someone to do something, it’s obviously for your own comfort. Why do you care how she lives?” Wang Youjia said matter-of-factly.

“I only paid them for their work; they just needed to do their job.” Sin Yiu-man washed the beef and placed it on the cutting board to cut.

"Do you have to cook for yourself every night?"

"It's rare for us to make a late-night snack at home."

"I'm used to eating something before bed."

"You can just find another servant."

Wang Youjia hesitated slightly and said, "Wang Ma has been with me from the Luo family to the Tang family for many years, and I'm used to it."

"Why didn't you bring it this time?" Xian Yaowen asked knowingly.

"I haven't even established myself yet, how can I take care of her?"

"Now we can call her over."

How much does Third Sister earn in a month?

"Two hundred, fourteen months' salary, and red envelopes for Qingming Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and New Year."

What is a 14th-month salary?

"If a year is calculated as 14 months, an extra two months will be paid at the end of the year."

Wang Youjia nodded. "That's quite a lot, Aunt Wang?"

"Same here. If you want to add a little more, that's your business, but you have to do it quietly."

Wang Youjia hugged Xian Yaowen's waist. "Wang Ma's husband passed away two years ago. She has a son and two daughters in the countryside on the mainland. Her daughters are married and don't need to be taken care of. Her son farms at home and needs some financial support."

"Oh, whatever amount Wang Ma wants to send back, I'll send it for her."

"I was thinking... could you bring Wang Ma's son out?"

"Several people?"

"I'm not married yet, I'm all alone."

"It's not a big problem. You can ask Wang Ma to write a letter or bring a token, and I'll have someone take care of it."

Wang Youjia leaned his head against Xian Yaowen's back and said, "You're so kind."

"No need to praise me, it's what I should do."

Wang Youjia hugged Xian Yaowen tightly, closed his eyes, and smiled.

Sin Yiu-man cooked seven packets of instant noodles, then drained them; he stir-fried raw beef with garlic cloves until it was 80% cooked, added water, and once the water boiled, he added the instant noodles, cooked them, drained them, and fried an egg...

As he carried the noodles outside, he happened to see Fei Baoqi in an excited state, her hand of tiles spread out, a hand of pure suit won by self-draw.

"Should we eat our noodles while we're making the noodles, or finish eating and then make the noodles?"

While accepting the money, Fei Baoqi replied, "My luck is just right, I'll eat and play at the same time."

Madam Lan pushed the mahjong tiles aside. "These two hands have been so unlucky. Let's eat before we play again." Then she looked at Xian Yaowen. "Mr. Xian's noodles will bring you good luck."

Sin Yiu-man put down his bowl and laughed heartily, "Good luck to everyone, good luck to everyone."

"No, only I can change my luck."

Tang Yiying took the bowl from Xian Yaowen and spat at Madam Lan, "Madam Lan, you're dreaming." (End of Chapter)