A life of success begins with being a landlord.

Actually, I haven't applied for my own residence permit, and I don't know where to apply for it.

"It's alright, bro. Just tell me Daozaixiong, and he can take care of it."

Sister Li closed the door: "I'm going to sleep. My clothes are in the bathroom, don't touch them, I'll wash them myself tomorrow."

"Okay, Sister Li, you can go to sleep now."

I nodded and went to the bathroom to take a shower.

Thinking about the mobile phone Sister Li gave me, and the huge sum of 1,500 yuan, I've been very excited.

This is the first time in my life I've had so much money and my own mobile phone.

I can call home tomorrow and leave my phone number with the phone booth owner in town, so my family can contact me anytime.

There is no telephone service in our village; public telephones are only available in the town.

The next day, I got up early and washed up and did laundry.

I didn't dare touch the clothes that Sister Li had changed out of.

If I do her a good deed and wash her clothes, she might accuse me of having ulterior motives.

Knock knock knock!

A knock came at the door.

I opened the door and saw Chunyan. I quickly waved my hand and said, "Sister Li is sleeping. Please keep your voice down and don't wake her..."

Chunyan stuck out her tongue, squeezed in, and whispered to me, "Brother Wang, are we working today? The rooftop hasn't been cleaned yet."

"I'll do the chores after I finish washing the clothes."

"I'll do your laundry."

Without a word, Chunyan rolled up her sleeves and took over my work.

I also handed Chunyan the clothes that Sister Li had changed out of: "These are Sister Li's clothes, you can wash them for her too. Oh, and... wash them separately. I'll treat you to breakfast later."

"You get breakfast if you do laundry? Then I'll do your laundry every day."

Chunyan smiled mischievously, revealing two cute little dimples.

There are no washing machines here.

Chunyan sat on a low stool, washing clothes in a washbasin.

Having nothing else to do, I sat opposite Chunyan and chatted with her: "Chunyan, I had someone make your ID card; it was free."

"Oh, that's great, it's free?"

"It's free. Once your ID card is ready, I'll take you to apply for a residence permit. Then I'll have Sister Li find you a job."

"That's great, Brother Wang. Once I start working and earning money, I'll treat you to a fancy meal at a fancy restaurant."

The swallows chuckled.

After I finished washing the clothes, I invited Chunyan downstairs for breakfast, then went back to 302, took the tools, and went to clean the roof.

The roof is open, and anyone can come up.

Many of the tenants here hang their clothes, blankets, and other miscellaneous items out to dry on the roof.

However, no one paid attention to hygiene. The rooftop was a mess, with old wooden planks, all kinds of garbage, and many used items such as lunch boxes, wine bottles, toilet paper, small balloons, syringes, and needles.

There were also two spots on the ground with a lot of bloodstains.

Chunyan and I took the pliers and put all sorts of odds and ends into a plastic bucket, then took it to the trash can downstairs.

They swept the rooftop again with a broom, and brought several buckets of water from Chunyan's 604 apartment, rinsing and sweeping the two bloodstains as they went.

Just as I was busy, Sister Li came upstairs, holding my old mobile phone.

"Hey, not bad."

Seeing the clean and tidy hallway and rooftop, Sister Li smiled and said, "Yaozu, Chunyan, you two have worked hard."

My face felt hot.

Sister Li is really unkind, harassing that young girl.

"Landlady, it's not hard work."

Chunyan probably didn't understand what Sister Li said, and looked up with a smile, "Thank you for helping me make an ID card, Sister Landlord."

"Chunyan, be my younger brother's girlfriend."

Sister Li grinned mischievously: "Since you're my little brother's girlfriend, I'll help you with anything."

Chunyan glanced at me, and her face flushed red.

"Sister Li, is there something you need?" I quickly replied, changing the subject.

"It's nothing, I just came to see how far you've gotten."

Sister Li handed me the mobile phone: "From now on, take this mobile phone with you when you go out. Otherwise, how will I contact you?"

I took the cell phone and stuffed it into my pants pocket: "By the way, Sister Li, there are still a lot of graffiti on the walls of the stairwell. I'm planning to clean it up and then paint it with latex paint."

"Sure, you and Chunyan can take your time."

Sister Li agreed: "Old Wang's hardware store sells latex paint. Buy the cheaper kind and let Old Wang put it on your tab."

If the hygiene is good, the house is easier to rent out, and the price can be higher.

Sister Li naturally understands the principle that appropriate investment will not result in losses.

I nodded.

"I'm going to play mahjong now, I won't be back for lunch. You two shouldn't overwork yourselves, work for a while, then rest for a while, don't keep playing forever."

Sister Li's words had a hidden meaning; they didn't sound like nice things.

Unexpectedly, footsteps sounded in the hallway, and the blond guy and the long-haired third brother from apartment 505 quickly walked up.

Upon seeing this, Sister Li's expression changed, and she retreated to my side.

I grabbed the pliers to protect Sister Li and pointed at the blond-haired guy: "What are you doing?"

"Big brother, don't misunderstand."

Yellow Hair and the third brother stopped in their tracks: "We finally found you, not to fight you."

Erxia followed closely behind, carrying two bags of fruit.

The blond-haired man took the fruit, presented it to me, and smiled broadly.

"Brother, we were ignorant before and offended Sister Li. Today, we've come to apologize. Please accept these fruits, no matter what."

Is there such a good thing?

I breathed a sigh of relief.

Sister Li breathed a sigh of relief, but immediately waved her hand: "Take the fruit back with you, we don't want it. Just pay the rent on time from now on, I won't hold the past against you."

"Sister Li, please don't!"

The third brother with long hair also smiled ingratiatingly: "We're about the same age as you, little brother. We're all young people. Can we be friends?"

"Making friends is also not an option. I'm afraid my younger brother will be led astray."

Sister Li was very straightforward. She turned to me and said loudly, "Yaozu, remember this: we are just landlords. We only collect rent and don't make friends with anyone!"

"Sister Li, I've got it."

I understood what Sister Li meant, and said to the three men with yellow hair, "You guys take the fruit back, I still have work to do."

If I'm not mistaken, Huang Mao and his gang weren't there to apologize or to be my friends.

They want my cartilage powder.

This thing can be used to do bad things, and it can do whatever it wants without any hindrance.

Sister Li had obviously thought of this as well, so she refused outright.

"No, brother, how about we have a meal together?" the blond-haired guy persisted.

"I'm not eating. Please leave. I need to work."

I picked up the dripping wet mop and started working.

"Alright, there's plenty of time. I'll treat you next time."

Huang Mao sighed and left with Lao San and Er Xia.

As she was leaving, Erxia winked at me, her expression as frivolous as Bobo's.

Sister Li looked at me and shook her head, saying, "Yaozu, even snail hunters need to find a good companion. These hooligans have no future. It's better to go and befriend Daozai Xiong than to befriend them."

I nodded.

Sister Li continued, "They're not sincerely apologizing. I think they want that thing of yours from last night..."

"I also thought of Sister Li. I won't pay any attention to them."

"That's good. I'm leaving now." Sister Li nodded and walked towards the stairwell.

I was worried that Huang Mao and the others might run into Sister Li and cause another round of trouble, so I escorted Sister Li downstairs.

As she reached the third-floor corner platform, Sister Li suddenly stopped, her face slightly flushed.

"Yaozu, my clothes... did you wash them too? It's not right for a boy like you to wash my underwear, is it?"