A life of success begins with being a landlord.

I shook my head: "I'm not going now, Qiang. You go ahead with your work. Tell Tiger to call me."

Ah Qiang nodded and kicked Lan Kou Chang: "So, your eye was hit by Brother Zu?"

"Yes, Brother Zu... is very capable."

Lan Kouchang glanced at me, his face showing fear: "I don't even know what happened. In the blink of an eye, Brother Zu knocked me down."

"Brother Zu, you've got some skills! No wonder you took down five of Lai Pi Xiong's henchmen with your bare hands last time."

Ah Qiang smiled at me, then pointed at Lan Kou Chang and Ah Gui: "Now you know how powerful Brother Zu is, right? I'll let you off this time, but don't be reckless in the future, and apologize to Brother Zu!"

Lan Kou Chang and A Gui stepped forward together, stood side by side, and bowed to me in apology.

"never mind."

I shook my head and turned to leave.

Ah Qiang caught up with him, grinning, and asked, "Brother Zu, what methods did you use to deal with Lan Kou Chang yesterday? Actually, Lan Kou Chang isn't simple either; he used to practice Sanda (Chinese kickboxing), so he's got some skills."

I weighed the lighter in my hand: "The lighter just happened to hit Lan Kouchang in the eye."

"hidden weapon?"

"It was just a coincidence." I shook my head and smiled.

"Brother Zu is too modest. I'll have to learn a thing or two from you sometime in the future," Ah Qiang chuckled.

Actually, Ah Qiang is also a master; I can tell.

If you're not an expert, you probably can't become a casino manager.

After leaving the urban village, A-Qiang drove me there and called Tiger, asking him to call me back.

Tiger knew he couldn't hide it anymore, so he called, speaking in a humble tone:

"Brother Zu, I'm not human. What happened with Erxia yesterday... it was indeed my doing. I know I was wrong. Don't worry, from now on I will definitely treat Erxia well..."

"Tiger, don't hurt Erxia." I interrupted Tiger's nonsense, suppressing my anger.

"If you have any sense, give Erxia some compensation, and then we'll go our separate ways. As for Erxia, I'll talk to her and tell her to stay away from you from now on, so she doesn't die at your hands!"

If Erxia continues to follow the tiger, her life will be ruined.

Now that she's away from the tiger, there's still hope for her life!

Upon hearing this, Tiger immediately agreed: "Brother Zu, I'll listen to you. It's just that I was with Brother Xiong and I don't have any money on me... I'll borrow some money and send it to Erxia right away."

"Just give it to me, I'll give it to Erxia. After that, you and Erxia should never see each other again, spare her life."

I hung up the phone.

This is all the help I can give Erxia.

Ah Qiang glanced at me and smiled, "Brother Zu is a loyal and righteous man, worth befriending."

I shook my head: "In this world, how many people still value loyalty and righteousness? In other people's eyes, someone like me is nothing more than a fool."

"Brother Zu, those were said by Brother Xiong."

As Ah-Qiang drove, he said earnestly, "Brother Xiong said that you're a true man for taking a knife for Ah-Wen, and we have to treat you like a brother. He also told us to learn from you."

"What are you trying to learn from me? You'll get killed sooner or later."

I rolled my eyes at Ah Qiang: "Yesterday, Lan Kou Chang, Ah Gui, and another one, probably your subordinate, really tried to cut me with a knife. Their eyes were full of murderous intent."

"I don't know who the other one is yet. I'll ask him when I get back and teach him a lesson."

Ah Qiang also sighed slightly.

It was already dusk when we returned to Sanlichuan.

I called Sister Li, but she was still playing mahjong.

Gao Jianfeng, along with the old squad leader and Chen Feng, were already waiting for me at Fatty Sister's fried rice noodle shop.

I gave Chen Feng 100 yuan and asked him to go to the deli across the street to buy some braised dishes. I also asked Fatty to bring out a plate of stir-fried snails and peanuts, and then I started treating everyone.

Such food and drink are nothing to me now.

But for veteran squad leader Gao Jianfeng, that was the standard of a Manchu Han Imperial Feast.

Because these pyramid scheme operators usually lead very frugal lives.

I even doubt whether I can get enough to eat three meals a day.

They all look pale and sickly, yet they're bragging about making millions. Sigh, why are there so many idiots in the world?

Gao Jianfeng opened his mouth wide and wolfed down his food. When he was half full, he brainwashed me again, trying to get me to join their great cause.

I asked, "Have the old squad leader and Chen Feng both joined?"

The old squad leader remained silent.

Chen Feng laughed and said, "I paid the money and signed the contract yesterday. I'm a distributor now."

"Really? Congratulations!"

I raised my glass to congratulate Chen Feng: "Congratulations, fellow villager, on successfully joining the Shuang'erkang direct selling business! When you make your fortune, return home in glory... in your big Mercedes, and take me with you!"

"Brother Zu, that's a must!" Chen Feng also raised his glass.

I then asked Dou Qiang, "Has the old squad leader not joined yet?"

"I have no money, and my family isn't well-off either."

The old squad leader sighed, somewhat embarrassed: "I'm still waiting for money from home, but I don't know if they can scrape together the money. My parents are farmers."

I suddenly felt a pang of sadness, and under the table, I stepped on Gao Jianfeng's foot!

That bastard has no conscience; he betrayed our honest and kind-hearted squad leader.

For a farming family, is a few thousand yuan really money?

That's called fate!

Despite the pain, Gao Jianfeng remained calm and comforted his old squad leader:

"Don't worry, class monitor, wait a bit, let's investigate further. Didn't Brother Zu promise that if you really can't afford to do pyramid schemes, he'll find you a job?"

The old squad leader looked at me with a fawning smile.

"No problem, old squad leader." I also wanted to keep the old squad leader here so he could be my right-hand man: "Whenever you want to go to work, I'll arrange it for you!"

"Thank you, Brother Zu." The old squad leader raised his glass.

"Don't call me 'Brother Zu' anymore, just call me 'Little Brother.' Cheers!"

I also raised my glass.

The four of them drank and chatted, enjoying the night view of Sanlichuan and the gentle evening breeze. It was quite pleasant.

We drank until 8:30, and then Sister Li came back from playing mahjong.

I got up to pay the bill and accompanied Sister Li upstairs, casually asking, "Sister Li, did you win at mahjong today?"

"Sigh, don't even mention it, I lost over a thousand more, my luck is just bad." Sister Li sighed.

"You guys are playing pretty high-stakes games. Who are you playing against?"

"Knife Tsai-hsiung's mistress, Ah-heung, and two hair salon owners."

As we were talking, we arrived at 302.

Sister Li kicked off her high heels and sat on the sofa.

I poured Sister Li a glass of water: "Have you had dinner yet?"

"That bitch Ah Ping won over two thousand and treated us to claypot rice." Sister Li shook her head: "It's really weird, Ah Ping always wins against us."

"Sister Li, you weren't cheated out of your life, were you?"

I shrugged: "Stop gambling. Save some money; we need to do big business. Ding Zhili called me and said he's contacting fixer and film manufacturers, and we'll have results soon."

Suddenly, Sister Li's eyes lit up: "By the way, little brother, didn't you want me to go on a trip? I happen to be able to go with Ding Zhili to check out fixer and film manufacturers and negotiate prices, is that alright?"

"Sister Li, this arrangement is perfect. You should come along to prevent Ding Zhili from lying to us."

I also thought it was a good suggestion, and said with a smile, "But Sister Li has to give me a guarantee."

Sister Li was taken aback: "What guarantee?"