money player

After lingering in the kitchen for a while, Sin Yiu-man went to the bathroom to examine the layout and consider a solution for separating the wet and dry areas.

The house here is larger than the Xian residence, and the bathroom is also larger. The previous owner probably preferred taking baths, as the bathtub, shower, squat toilet, laundry sink, and washbasin are clearly arranged, and a glass partition could easily be added.

After deciding on a partition plan, he went to the washbasin, turned on the tap, and heard a hissing sound from the pipes, but not a single drop of water came out. Unsurprisingly, the water was cut off.

The Gongguan Slow Filtration Plant, Taipei's only water plant, was designed to serve 12 people, but it has long been overloaded. Planned water outages, sudden water outages, and zoned water supply rotation are common occurrences, and the taps are unusable two-thirds of the time.

After leaving the bathroom, I stepped back into the front yard, stood by the well, and pondered how to install a water tank on the roof and devise a pumping solution.

With a plan in mind, I drew a pipe layout diagram in my notebook. After that, I worked on an emergency lighting solution.

The water supply was overloaded, and the power supply wasn't much better. Power outages were inevitable during windy and rainy weather, and at other times it was a matter of luck. The fact that the Xian family could guarantee 24-hour uninterrupted power was due to the large sums of money invested in installing generator sets, battery packs, and vacuum tube inverters.

After a flurry of activity, the water and electricity plan was finalized. Sin Yiu-man packed up his things and stepped into the living room, where he saw Lee Lai-chun carrying a kettle and pouring water into a teapot.

He walked over, sat down on the sofa, and focused his gaze on the kettle.

The kettle was an experimental product created by a Hong Kong manufacturing group. The kettle body and coupling base were separate, and it had a steam switch and a dry-boil prevention function, which were no different from the kettles of later generations. However, the way the functions were implemented was very different. It used a sophisticated mechanical design and skillful use of bakelite materials. Because it was full of mechanical linkages and heavy plastic, the product looked bulkier than kettles of later generations.

Precision means that it needs to be used with care, and it also means that it is easy to break. Obviously, it is not a mature commercial product yet and will not be launched on the market for the time being. However, a kettle has already generated 372 patents, and the number is still increasing. In the future, any electrical appliance company that is involved in power outage protection and coupler technology will inevitably have to pay patent royalties to Parrot.

Before the Hong Kong manufacturing group had secured financing and equity had been allocated to senior management, Parrot was involved in managing all the technology patents. This was both a transfer of benefits and a preparation for future competition for control.

Li Lizhen poured the water, put down the kettle, waited a moment, picked up the teapot and poured tea for Xian Yaowen. After pouring a cup, she placed it in front of Xian Yaowen and said carefully, "I bought Baozhong tea, the best I could find, it cost six yuan and fifty cents a tael."

Upon hearing this, Sin Yiu-man glanced at the tea, then his gaze gently fell on Lee Lai-chun's face. "Was this prepared especially for me?"

Li Lizhen said shyly, "Mmm."

Xian Yaowen picked up the teacup, brought it to his nose to smell, took a sip, and after savoring it, said, "You've been fooled. This is a mid-range Baozhong tea. The market price outside is 60 yuan per catty. Sold by weight, it can only be sold for 70 yuan per catty at most."

Li Lizhen's face changed, and she stammered, "I...I bought two ounces, and I was...I was cheated out of more than five yuan, five yuan..."

Before Li Lizhen could continue, Xian Yaowen grasped her soft hand and said softly, "If you've been cheated, you've been cheated. It's alright, don't hold a grudge. Street vendors always cater to different customers. You don't know much about tea, so it's normal to suffer a little loss."

"But, five yuan..."

“There’s no ‘but’.” Sin Yiu-man patted the back of Lee Lai-chun’s hand lightly. “I’m very happy that you thought of buying me tea. Don’t buy it anymore. I run a tea business and don’t need to buy tea from outside. If you want to give me something, you can buy something else.”

Li Lizhen nodded gently, "Yes, I understand."

Xian Yaowen glanced at his watch. "It's ten o'clock. What time do you usually go to bed?"

"Around this time."

"Then go wash up and go to sleep. I'll stay the night, but don't worry, I won't do anything."

Li Lizhen asked in surprise, "No, not doing anything?"

“Yes,” Sin Yiu-man said solemnly, “Do nothing, go wash up.”

"Ah."

Sin Yiu-man watched Li Lai-zhen walk towards the bathroom, his gaze lingering on her flat buttocks for a moment. The young girl's body hadn't fully developed due to long-term malnutrition, and it would take a forward-thinking eye to appreciate her beauty.

In addition, her previous lack of refinement had left many marks on her body. Her lower teeth were covered with a ring of light yellow to black plaque near her gums. This was tartar left over from years of neglect, which would give off an unpleasant odor when she spoke. She herself might not have noticed it, but he could smell it.

Li Lizhen is like a wilted flower bud; she needs to be nurtured by a refined lifestyle for a period of time before she can be picked.

He looked away, tidied up the tea, took off his suit and shirt and put them on the sofa. Barefoot, he walked into the bedroom by the moonlight shining through the window and lay down on the bed.

Fifteen minutes later, Li Lizhen walked into the bedroom in wooden clogs, sat on the edge of the bed and rustled as she took off her clothes until she was only wearing her undergarments. She carefully rolled over Xian Yaowen's legs, lay down on the inside of the bed, and slowly moved to pull out the thin blanket that was pressing down on her body.

Xian Yaowen kept his eyes closed and remained silent, not wanting to put any pressure on the little girl.

After a long minute or so, the little girl finally hid her body under the thin blanket, tilted her head and rested it on another pillow, her body trembling.

What time do you usually get up?

Li Lizhen gripped the thin blanket tightly with her well-defined knuckles and murmured, "Five, half past five."

"Okay." Xian Yaowen closed his eyes, pulled the thin blanket up, and covered Li Lizhen with it. "Sleep well, I'll wake you up tomorrow morning."

"Ah."

After a brief conversation, the bedroom returned to silence, and Sin Yiu-man adjusted his breathing to prepare for a deep sleep.

The next day.

As the morning light streamed through the window, Li Lizhen clung to Xian Yaowen like a vine, fast asleep and completely unguarded, her limbs softly wrapped around him, her breath gently brushing against his neck.

Xian Yaowen opened his eyes, his gentle gaze lingering on Li Lizhen's pretty face for a moment. Information about Li Lizhen's family flashed through his mind—Li Lizhen's family of five lived in a shack built of bamboo strips and old wooden planks, with an area of ​​only a few square meters. The family squeezed onto a narrow bed, lingering and shyly confined in a small space, unable to turn around or escape.

Suddenly freed from confinement, Li Lizhen subconsciously craved freedom, and even the slightest restraint was unbearable for her. Last night, she kicked off the covers seven times and almost rolled off the bed twice.

Gently pulling away the vines, Sin Yiu-man tiptoed out of bed, slipped on Lee Lai-chun's wooden clogs, and walked through the door opened by Tse Ting-yun into the living room.

Has Li Goumei arrived?

"No."

“The Li family is clueless, hiring such a jerk. There will be trouble later.” Xian Yaowen picked up his trousers and put them on, saying as he fastened his belt, “Back then, many female medics came with us. Sun Liren’s unit recruited a lot of students to form a women’s youth work team and brought them over. They recruited a female military doctor and a female team member, and after some selection, they chose someone who was skilled in martial arts and had been trained for a long time.”

They bought or rented the house next door to settle down. Before being fired, Li Goumei secretly protected Lizhen.

"clear."

Since he didn't bring any workout clothes, Sin Yiu-man didn't do a full workout. After washing up, he only did some warm-up exercises, took a few pieces of white cloth, and carried a thin bamboo basket with him when he went out.

After Taipei's retrocession, street names were renamed using the method of overlaying maps of mainland China. The southeastern area was mainly named after cities and counties in southern Zhejiang Province, in order to comfort the homesickness of people from Jiangsu and Zhejiang who came to Taiwan and to strengthen their cultural identity.

Not many people from Qingtian live in this area of ​​Qingtian Street, but many people from Jiangsu and Zhejiang live here. Qingtian Street is very close to National Taiwan University. The intersection of Qingtian Street and Xinsheng South Road is the side gate of National Taiwan University. The residences of National Taiwan University professors are concentrated in the Seventh Alley.

Following the planned route, Xian Yaowen bought a well-cooked white porridge at the corner of Wenzhou Street, along with preserved radish and egg, pickled cucumber, and fermented bean curd; at the entrance of Seven Alleys, he bought two Japanese rice balls, one with extra preserved mustard greens and no pork floss, and the other with extra pork floss; at the intersection of Xinsheng South Road, he bought soy milk, sesame seed cakes and fried dough sticks, as well as Yongkang meat and wheat cakes, Lanxi old tofu meat cakes, and chicken egg cakes, which he had never seen before.

After buying breakfast and returning home, Li Lizhen was already awake and sitting at the dining table studying. Upon seeing Xian Yaowen, she came forward, took the basket, lifted the white cloth covering it to peek inside, put the basket down, and went to the kitchen to fetch a stack of bowls.

Breakfast was served in bowls, and the two sat facing each other at the table.

Sin Yiu-man took a sesame seed cake, folded a fried dough stick in half and sandwiched it in the middle, rolled up the cake, took a bite, put two slices of pickled cucumber in it to eat, and when he had eaten more, he scooped up a spoonful of white porridge to soothe his throat.

Li Lizhen has long lacked oil and fat, and is at the age where she can eat her father's fill. She has a big appetite and eats very quickly. She can finish a tofu and meat cake in a few bites without leaving a trace. The chicken egg cake is a bit oily, so it took her four bites to put it in her mouth. The meat and wheat cake is folded in half and then in half again, and she eats three-tenths of it in one bite.

"Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you."

"Ah."

Li Lizhen responded verbally, but did not slow down her eating speed.

After finishing a pancake and two pastries, Sin Yiu-man picked up a fried dough stick to change things up and asked, "What did you eat at school for lunch?"

“There are noodle soup and rice cakes sold at the school gate. I ate dry noodles yesterday.”

"Alone?"

Li Lizhen glanced at Xian Yaowen discreetly, "Together with Jingyi."

"She doesn't bring lunch either?"

"Sometimes I bring it."

"Oh." Sin Yiu-man nodded. "What do your classmates usually eat?"

"Bring rice to school to steam."

"Where's the food?"

Li Lizhen hesitated slightly, "I used to only bring an empty lunchbox and drink the school's free hot water until school was over."

"Are all poor students like this?"

"Ah."

"What about those with average conditions?"

"White rice, sweet potato sticks, a little bit of soy sauce, some students will bring a small piece of salted fish, or pickled vegetables or pickled radishes, and those who are better off will occasionally bring stir-fried greens and half an egg."

"The best option is to eat at a food stall?"

"Ah."

"You are malnourished, so you need to eat more nutritious food. The food sold at the stalls is not nutritious enough, so don't eat it every day. Spend half your time bringing a lunchbox to school to steam rice. Also, bring three enamel cups. One should be filled with braised pork with preserved mustard greens. Make sure the pork is a little fatty so that it melts in your mouth when steamed. It's both nutritious and delicious. Another should be filled with fresh seasonal vegetables, which you can change every day. The last one should be filled with steamed eggs. Steamed eggs are good for protein, easy to digest, and won't cause indigestion. They will also make your complexion fairer."

Li Lizhen stammered, "Three, three dishes, that's too extravagant."

What's your homeroom teacher's name?

"Lin Peijun".

How old are you?

"Twenty-seven or twenty-eight...twenty-six or twenty-seven."

"Teach Chinese?"

"Ah."

What do you think of Lin Peijun's family's financial situation?

"Neither good nor bad."

"Okay, eat slowly."

"Ah."

Sin Yiu-man finished eating before Lee Lai-chun, took out some stationery from his briefcase, and sat down at the table to write a letter.

Li Lizhen craned her neck to see the first line with the words "Teacher Lin" and asked, "You, you wrote a letter to Teacher Lin?"

"Hmm, invite her to dinner at Lafayette tomorrow, build a good relationship, and ask her to help you and Jingyi with your studies." Xian Yaowen said without looking up, "Is Jingyi's grade at the bottom?"

Li Lizhen nodded, "More or less."

“You are different from Jingyi. I treat her like my daughter. Even if her grades are bad, I will arrange a future for her.” After writing the letter in a few quick strokes, Xian Yaowen looked up and met Li Lizhen’s eyes. “As for you, as I said before, your brain is more valuable than your face. Don’t think about nonsense. Focus more on your studies.”

"I know."

Sin Yiu-man stuffed the letter into the envelope, wrote "To Teacher Lin" on it, and handed it to Lee Lai-chun, saying, "Please give this to Teacher Lin for me."

Li Lizhen carefully put away the envelope, finished the food on the table, and a faint look of satisfaction appeared on her face. She gently stroked her lower abdomen, and her gaze carefully and shyly brushed against Xian Yaowen's cheek. Then, it stopped on the fingers holding the cup. His fingers were slender and elegant, with clean knuckles. With a slight movement, one dared not look at them for too long.

Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and a sense of inferiority welled up in her heart. This man was too perfect, so perfect that it was unreal. Even buying breakfast could touch her heart.

Xian Yaowen picked up his cup, drank the soy milk in it, gently put the cup down, and said, "You go to school first, I'll clean up the desk."

Startled awake, Li Lizhen instinctively said, "Okay, okay."

Li Lizhen has a second-hand bicycle, which Yang Lihua collected from the bike rental shop where she works. Every part is a piece of junk discarded from other bicycles. Regardless of its condition, it is rideable.

She slung her schoolbag over her shoulder, went to the yard, pushed her bicycle onto the saddle, and rode off on tiptoe.

After washing the dishes and tidying up the house, Xian Yaowen glanced at his watch as he left. It was 8:10, and Li Goumei still hadn't appeared.

Nine o'clock.

Xian Yaowen sat in the bathtub, and Tang Yiying held a bath towel and helped him scrub his body.

"I've ordered two suits for you in scabal fabric, perfect for late autumn."

"It's not cheap, is it?"

"After negotiating the price, it's 5700 yuan per set."

"That's thoughtful. When is the fitting time?"

"You can go anytime."

“Write down the address for me later.” Xian Yaowen squinted his eyes to reduce the discomfort caused by the shower gel getting into his eyes. “It’s quite expensive, so don’t order from here anymore. I bought two shops on Savile Row in London. All the suits and coats at home are made in London. Take some time to go to London, have a suit made, try it on, and get your size. From now on, your clothes will also be made in London.”

Tang Yiying smiled and said, "Going to London to make clothes must be incredibly expensive."

"The best fabrics are all in England. From England to Taipei, they go through two or three people in between, and the price increases several times over. Furthermore, the world's best tailors are on Savile Row, followed by Naples in Italy and Madison Avenue in New York City."

Tang Yiying was slightly taken aback. "Do those two shops in London only make clothes for home use?"

"It was at first, but now it's just incidental. Do you know the Duke of Edinburgh?"

"Queen Elizabeth II's husband?"

"Yes, his tailor was the same one as mine. Churchill also had his suits made at the same shop, but the tailor was different."

Tang Yiying exclaimed in surprise, "How could this be?"

Sin Yiu-man said calmly, "No need to make a fuss. They paid a price to invite them over. Even if we made clothes for those two for a lifetime, we still wouldn't be able to make up the difference."

"For a reputation?"

“Otherwise?” Sin Yiu-man rubbed his hair, picked up a glass of ice water and took a sip. “I also have a shop on New Bond Street in London that specializes in making custom wedding dresses. The name and brand are Margaret, authorized by Queen Elizabeth II’s sister. We’re currently searching the world for qualified clients.”

What kind of clients qualify?

"A queen or princess with a high level of fame, at least of the level of Soraya. Oh, she is the queen that the King of Iran, Pahlavi, married earlier this year. It's a pity she missed their wedding."

"Your wedding dress was very expensive?"

“A haute couture set starts at $5000.”

"At such high prices, you can only get a few clients a year."

"We can only make a maximum of 15 sets a year, no more, no less."

Tang Yiying thought for a moment, "Not for making money?"

"Well, the process of making a wedding dress is too complicated. At least 15 people are involved in making a haute couture dress, which takes three to five months. Even if we make half the profit, it's not worth it. To put it bluntly, my real goal is to attract high-quality clients. Clients who can wear Margaret's haute couture wedding dresses will have a high-class clientele at their wedding banquets."

Tang Yiying said, seemingly understanding but not quite, "I understand a little, but isn't your local approach a bit too deep? Aren't you afraid of wasting your time?"

"You may plant flowers with care but they may not bloom, while you may plant willows without intention and they may thrive. People you meet while making clothes may not only be able to talk about clothes, but you may be able to talk about other things as well."

In March of this year, the Mossadegh government of Iran passed an oil nationalization bill and took over the Anglo-Iranian oil company. In June, the British Royal Navy fleet entered the Persian Gulf, blockaded the port of Abadan and the Iranian coast, and prohibited any oil tankers from leaving the port carrying Iranian oil.

With oil exports stalled and Iran's foreign exchange reserves depleted, making it unable to maintain normal imports, this situation presented an ideal opportunity to engage in barter trade with Iran.

Grain, sugar, tea, cotton cloth, medicine, fertilizer, kerosene, and matches shipped to Iran yielded a 60% profit. Persian carpets, pistachios, raisins, watermelons, leather, and wool shipped out yielded profits ranging from several times to 30%. A single round trip could at least double the profit.

"Don't we need to bribe Iranian officials and the British Navy?"

"What do you think?" Sin Yiu-man said with a half-smile, "All crows are black, and you can't go anywhere without bribing people. The way people in long robes eat is no better than the way people in suits eat."

"Can you double your money after bribing them?"

“Hmm.” Sin Yiu-man nodded. “My estimate is based on the profit after bribing the clerks.”

"It's so lucrative, have you done it?"

"Not yet, soon."

Knightsbridge, London.

Outside a Persian antique shop, the "scratching psoriasis" team, a subsidiary of the "scavenger-manual general cleanup group," is on the move.

The assault soldier Badger pried open the lock, which was only safe for gentlemen. The medic Red Dragon, holding a gun in his right hand and bracing his left hand against the door, gently pushed it open a crack. He tilted his head, pointing the gun at the inside, and after only 0.2 seconds, he pulled his head back, paused slightly, and tilted his head again. He repeated this three times before making a "safe" gesture.

The badger on the other side pushed open another door and checked the other direction in the same way.

Badger and Red Dragon stood guard against the walls on both sides, while Red Squirrel, the communications officer, stepped forward, gently pushed open the two large doors, and peered into the room through the cracks.

To the left of the gate, sniper Lion peered into the room through the window.

After careful observation and confirming that the room was safe, the badger, the red dragon, and the red squirrel entered the room in a commando formation. (End of Chapter)