A life of success begins with being a landlord.

I rubbed my nose: "You have to promise to stay away from Ding Zhili. Don't let that pretty boy be bewitched!"

"puff!"

Sister Li smiled, raised an eyebrow, and asked me, "What's wrong, are you jealous?"

"A little."

I actually admitted it, and then my eyes suddenly lit up: "I've got it! That girl named Erxia has nothing to do these days, you can take her with you. It'll be more reassuring to have her look after you on the road."

"Erxia? That girl from room 505?"

"Yes, that's her. She just got shaken off by the tiger."

"Alright, it'll keep her company... As for the travel expenses, Ding Zhili can cover them." Sister Li nodded: "However, you should still ask Ding Zhili and Erxia what they think."

I immediately picked up the phone and notified Ding Zhili to ask for his opinion.

Ding Zhili agreed without hesitation, smiling and saying, "The film and fixer manufacturers are all in Qingdao. It would be best if we went there to visit in person and discuss the price."

I then asked Erxia, saying that Sister Li was going to Qingdao to inspect a project and asked her to go with her, and asked if she was willing.

Erxia agreed without hesitation.

"All done, Sister Li." I put down my phone.

"Ding Zhili and Erxia, meet here at 7:30 tomorrow morning. Ding Zhili will be in charge of arranging all the food, drinks, and accommodations along the way."

Sister Li laughed and said, "You little rascal, you're in such a hurry to get rid of me so you can... go ahead and play around with women, right?"

"Sister Li, am I that kind of person?"

I immediately projected an image of righteous indignation and unwavering loyalty: "I'm here to help Sister Li build a big business, to focus wholeheartedly on my career, and to become a big boss someday. What's so fun about women? Where's the fun in that?"

"Where are some fun places? There are so many, I'll show you when I get back."

Sister Li chuckled and said, "Alright then, let's take a shower and go to bed."

Come back and teach me? How can I teach someone something like this?

I was both puzzled and expectant.

Sister Li took a shower first, and then went to pack her luggage.

I also took a shower, went upstairs, and walked to the rooftop to visit Chunyan, Sister Ling, and Liu Haomei in room 508.

Sister Ling was cooking, wearing a sleeveless vest and shorts, her back view showing a slender yet full figure. With each toss of the wok, she appeared even more energetic.

Seeing me, Sister Ling smiled and said, "Yaozu's here? Chunyan just went into the bathroom to wash her hair and take a shower. Liu Haomei is working overtime and won't be back tonight; she'll be sleeping in the office."

"Is Liu Haomei so busy?"

Is this girl not in a relationship and just making excuses not to come back?

I suddenly felt a little jealous, and my heart ached.

That's strange. Liu Haomei isn't my girlfriend, so why should I be jealous?

Sister Ling then said, "Yaozu, sit down for a while and enjoy the electric fan."

"It smells so good, Sister Ling! What are you cooking?" I walked behind Sister Ling, sniffed, and peered into the pot.

The pot should be filled with braised pork belly with dried bamboo shoots; it already looks and smells delicious.

"Hey kid, what are you peeking at?" Sister Ling turned around, glared at me, and then looked down at her collar.

"Sister Ling, I'm looking at the dishes you've cooked, they smell so good!"

"Want some? Chunyan isn't here, but I'll sneak you a bite."

Sister Ling smiled, picked up two thin slices of pork belly with her chopsticks, and put them into my mouth: "Here, try the saltiness."

I opened my mouth and swallowed two slices of pork belly, but the heat made me shiver.

Seeing this, Sister Ling burst into laughter, "I told you not to steal food!"

I chuckled, savored it slowly, and nodded repeatedly: "Delicious, delicious, not too salty or bland, with a lingering aftertaste... Sister Ling, you have excellent skills and technique."

"If you like it, eat more. You won't go hungry here." Sister Ling handed me the chopsticks.

"That's not a good idea. If Chunyan finds out I'm sneaking food, she'll scold me."

"If I don't tell, Chunyan won't know. She just went in to take a shower and won't be out for at least ten minutes. You can sneak your food without worry. Just wipe your mouth clean after you're done, and don't let Chunyan catch you doing anything wrong."

"Sister Ling, I really did sneak some."

I instantly felt relieved and dared to sneak a bite.

When Sister Ling saw how eager and hungry I looked, she assumed I hadn't eaten dinner and wanted to give me a nice extra dish.

"Sister Ling, no need."

I stopped her: "I already ate dinner tonight. I'm just sneaking a bite here for the sake of trying something new."

"So you just wanted something new." Sister Ling rolled her eyes at me.

A dozen minutes later, Chunyan came out of the shower.

As soon as Chunyan saw me, she glared and pouted.

I shrugged, not knowing what to say.

Sister Ling served the food and invited Chunyan to eat.

Chunyan sat down, then suddenly pointed at me and Sister Ling and yelled, "You two, you ate it secretly, didn't you?"

Of course I denied it, and immediately shook my head: "Chunyan, you can't just make things up and ruin my reputation. I didn't steal anything, I'm completely innocent!"

Snapped!

Chunyan put down her chopsticks, laughing and scolding, "Do you think I'm stupid? There's only half a plate of pork belly left. If you didn't steal it, did you feed it to the dog?"

My face flushed; Chunyan had finally caught me red-handed.

Sister Ling slapped Chunyan and laughed, "While you were taking a shower, Yaozu sneaked into the kitchen. Seeing how hungry he looked, I had no choice but to let him steal a couple of bites."

"It wasn't just two bites, was it? I think Mom ate some too."

Chunyan then ate her meal.

I rubbed my face and said seriously, "Sister Ling, Chunyan, I've offended a big shot in Hengjie these past two days. He might bring his men to cause me trouble."

"Oh, is there trouble?" Sister Ling and Chunyan both gaped in surprise.

"Will there be any danger?" Sister Ling asked again.

"It's alright, Sister Ling, Dao Zai Xiong will handle it soon."

I comforted Sister Ling and Chunyan, "But don't go to 302 these next few days. If you run into me downstairs, pretend you don't know me, so as not to implicate you. If I want to see you, I'll sneak into 508."

Chunyan was very worried: "Old Wang, if there's danger, let's run away. Let's leave here and find a new job. Mom and I can both work and support you."

"Nonsense! I have hands and feet, why would I need the two of you to support me?"

I rolled my eyes at Chunyan and then laughed, "Things haven't gotten to that point yet, don't worry. I'm just making this arrangement as a precaution."

Lingjie and Chunyan were still worried, and they lost their appetite.

I changed the subject and brought up the matter of asking Lao Xia to clean the house.

Sister Ling was so angry that her eyebrows shot up: "Yaozu, I'll go with you to find Old Xia. It's only six hundred yuan a month, and the work isn't tiring. Why won't he do it? If he doesn't listen to us, we'll send him back to his hometown so he won't be an eyesore here!"

I nodded.

After dinner, Chunyan flipped through the magazines that Liu Haomei had brought back from the street stalls, while Lingjie and I went to find Lao Xia.

Let's go to the rooftop; it's a shorter route and we hardly have to climb any stairs.

Once on the rooftop, Sister Ling stopped and looked up at the sky.

"Sister Ling, what are you looking at? There's no moon tonight, is there?"

"But there are stars, and it's beautiful too." Sister Ling pointed to the sky: "Do you know the stars Altair and Vega?"

I chuckled: "Don't even mention the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl stars, I know both the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, and I know Sun Wukong and Chang'e too..."

As they were talking, they suddenly heard a strange sound coming from behind the water tower on the roof.

Ling and I were both taken aback.

After thinking for a moment, I took Sister Ling's hand and quietly walked towards the water tower, ready to see what was going on.

But as soon as she turned around, Sister Ling let out a soft cry and turned to leave.