The Self-Cultivation of a Reborn Massage Therapist

Chapter 273 Zhou Yaqin and Zhang Minghua

At 2 a.m., Beijing's nightlife was coming to an end, with only a few designated drivers and late-night taxis navigating the empty streets.

Inside the glass door, which reads "Relax and Stroll," the lights are on and the air conditioning is blasting.

The office door was pushed open, and a gust of cold air slipped out.

Zhang Minghua took off his coat and stepped out of the cool office.

Although the newly formed finance department team consists of many young people, they are all highly skilled. They are currently handling all the accounts, cash flow, and contracts since the establishment of EasySlow.

What they need to do is to thoroughly examine all the accounts, transactions, and contracts of "Easy Slow Travel" since its inception from the most demanding third-party perspective, and find out every possible vulnerability that could be exploited.

The accounts and documents of Chuncheng Essential Oil Company have been returned to Platinum Ling Therapy, so the accounts are actually quite simple.

The balance sheet was as clean as a blank sheet of paper, with the liabilities column almost negligible, and the cash flow was unbelievably large for a massage parlor.

This store is financially too healthy.

But Zhang Minghua's heart remained uneasy.

Because it is precisely this near-perfect "cleanliness" that has become the most glaring target—I don't understand your rules, nor do I care about them.

Hunters never reason with their prey.

Zhang Minghua walked slowly to the door of the "Relax and Stroll" shop, and the sweltering air hit him in the face.

She pulled a box of slender Capri Midnight Blue cigarettes from the pocket of her business trousers, and with her other hand, the Dupont lighter emitted a crisp, melodious "ding," and a deep blue flame ignited.

"Buzz—Boom—"

The noise, seemingly oblivious to whether it would disturb the neighbors, grew louder as it approached, finally coming to a steady stop in front of the store with a swaggering drift.

Zhang Minghua frowned subconsciously, and the fingers holding the cigarette paused slightly.

The car lights went out, and a leg encased in black leather pants came down, the sole of a Doc Martens boot landing firmly on the ground.

Zhou Yaqin took off her helmet, shook her short, neat hair that was slightly damp from being pressed down by sweat, revealing a face that looked excessively energetic for her age. She picked up a thermos from the car, waved it at Zhang Minghua, and said with a hint of teasing in her voice, "Old Zhang, can't take it anymore? Come out for some fresh air?"

“Sister Zhou, at this hour…” Zhang Minghua looked at her outfit, which was practically “torture” for the sweltering heat of summer, and swallowed the words back. Telling her to “be careful in this heat” was basically pointless.

"Call for help." Zhou Yaqin said succinctly, unscrewing the lid of the thermos. A cool, sweet aroma instantly dispelled the surrounding heat. "I brought you some chilled mung bean soup to cool you down and refresh you. My guys will be here soon."

"Sister Zhou, at this hour..." Zhang Minghua looked at her outfit, which was practically "torture" her in the sweltering heat of summer, and swallowed back the polite words that were about to come out of his mouth.

Telling this person "be careful in this heat" is utter nonsense.

"Call for reinforcements."

Zhou Yaqin spoke succinctly, unscrewing the lid of the thermos with one hand, "Iced mung bean soup, let's cool it down first. My guys will be here soon."

The cigarette between Zhang Minghua's fingers burned out, scalding her finger, before she suddenly came to her senses.

She looked at Zhou Yaqin, her eyes filled with scrutiny: "Old buddy? Sister Zhou, our finance team is already quite complete, and the store is facing such a big problem, and you..."

“Your men are the shield, the defense,” Zhou Yaqin interrupted her, casually placing the thermos on the motorcycle seat. “My men are the spear, the attack!”

"An attack?" Zhang Minghua's gaze sharpened. "Sister Zhou, is there anything else I don't know?"

Zhou Yaqin shook her head and sighed, "Minghua, we don't know the whole picture, we can only do our own jobs, and Little Hammer is protecting us."

"What do you mean?" Zhang Minghua became inexplicably irritated and lit another cigarette.

"Take a look at the short videos on musical notes when you have time. They've already started using underhanded tactics. What we're seeing now isn't even an appetizer."

As soon as she finished speaking, a dilapidated Wuling Hongguang minivan screeched to a halt next to the motorcycle, as if it had just rushed over from a construction site overnight.

The car door opened, and a lean man jumped out. He had a faint scar on his face, but his eyes were calm. He took a whole case of chilled Red Bull from the back seat, didn't even look at Zhang Minghua, and walked straight into the store following Zhou Yaqin's finger.

“Old K is in charge of scouting and preliminary investigation,” Zhou Yaqin introduced. “I used to pull him out of there to work in risk control.”

Zhang Minghua's brows furrowed even more. Risk control? This kind of person?

Immediately afterwards, a sleepy-eyed, yawning middle-aged woman got out of the passenger seat, holding a small fan and blowing it vigorously on herself.

"Xiaoya, financial modeling and data analysis. She used to be my top subordinate, but she got fired for arguing with the boss about not working overtime. Now she takes on freelance work."

A ride-hailing car stopped, and a middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a refined appearance got out. Upon seeing Zhou Yaqin, he quickly walked over and respectfully greeted her, "Sister Qin."

"Glasses, a corporate investigation expert, is a bit stubborn. He offended the newly appointed leader and was reassigned to guard the warehouse."

Scarface, female hacker, warehouse manager...

Picking up an old lady strolling around the street, they really make a perfect match!

Zhang Minghua was speechless. He lit another cigarette and took out his phone to open the short video app "Yin Fu"—so what exactly happened to make Zhou Yaqin make such a big fuss?

With a swipe of my finger, a push notification video popped up.

"Stop paying the 'stupidity tax'! That 'viral massage' is making you useless!"

In the video, a man who looks like an expert, dressed in gym clothes, logically criticizes the various disadvantages of passive massage and calls on everyone to exercise scientifically.

Zhang Minghua chuckled and scrolled up again.

"Heartbreaking! Forced massages drain your energy!"

This time, it was a wise and dignified master of traditional Chinese medicine who, in his antique-style study, bitterly recounted the damage that "overbearing massage" does to the body's foundation.

She continued scrolling upwards expressionlessly.

"Urgent Warning! This 'Trending Massage' is Destroying Your Cervical Spine!"

In the video, an elderly man resembling an expert, wearing a white coat, sits in a tidy office with a human skeleton model behind him. His expression is serious, and his tone is full of worry and a sense of responsibility.

"Hello everyone, I am Director Wang from the Orthopedics Department of XX Hospital. Recently, several young people have come to the clinic with strange symptoms. When asked, they all said they had tried that 'Traditional Chinese Medicine Internal Strength' massage that is currently very popular online."

(Pointing to the cervical spine model behind him) I have to say something strong today! The cervical and lumbar vertebrae of our bodies are surrounded by extremely fragile and complex nerve roots and blood vessels, especially the carotid artery! These areas are absolutely 'forbidden zones'!
Proper rehabilitation therapy focuses on relaxing muscles and fascia, using a surface-level approach with gentle, penetrating pressure. But what about those so-called traditional Chinese medicine internal exercises that use extremely strong finger force to violently stimulate a single point? That's gambling with your nerves and blood vessels…

No, that's not it.

Zhang Minghua frowned and stubbed out his cigarette hard on a roadside trash can. These videos, though disgusting, were, as Zhou Yaqin said, not even worthy of being called an appetizer.

Such underhanded tactics are, at best, disgusting.

With its current reputation and customer loyalty, "Easy and Slow Travel" is not afraid of this level of smear campaign.

Undeterred, she typed "relaxed and leisurely" into the search box, then sorted by time to filter for the latest videos.

This time, the style of the video that popped up was completely different.

There were no experts, no sensationalist headlines, just a headline that seemed exceptionally real and filled with anger:

Unscrupulous online celebrity restaurant "Easy Slow Travel" is draining our hard-earned money! Jinghai Jin Dayang Textile Factory forced to shut down!

The video was shot handheld, with violently shaky footage filled with noise and chaos. The camera focused on a group of agitated workers gathered around the factory gate, with the words "Jin Dayang Textile Co., Ltd." in large characters behind them.

A middle-aged man who looked like a foreman grabbed the camera, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the screen, his voice hoarse with anger:
"We are workers from Jinghai Jindayang Textile Factory! We do OEM manufacturing for that popular massage parlor 'Relax and Slow Walk'! All their towels, bath towels, and massage clothes are made by us, stitch by stitch!"

He pointed to the tightly closed factory gate behind him.

"For their so-called 'skin-friendly' feel, the boss borrowed money to import two new production lines from Germany! Our entire factory worked day and night to debug them, and finally we met their insane requirements! The order is a three-year contract!"

The man's emotions grew increasingly agitated, almost to the point of roaring:

"And now?! Their store is popular, they've become internet celebrities, and they think we're too expensive! They unilaterally tore up the contract..."

Where did they find these extras? How come their acting skills are so good?

How can they be so shameless?
Late at night, Zhang Minghua stood at the entrance of the Relaxing Walk, staring blankly at his phone, speechless for a long time!
(End of this chapter)