A life of success begins with being a landlord.

Chunyan came over and kissed me: "I think I'll go home for dinner, otherwise my mom will scold me. I'll come find you to play after I've eaten."

I nodded, saw Chunyan off, and then went downstairs to get some fried noodles.

Fatty's fried rice noodle shop is very busy, there are no seats available.

I wandered around for a bit, planning to eat later.

"Hey, boss!"

Chunyan's father, the man named Lao Xia, suddenly appeared in front of me: "Today is Chunyan's birthday. My wife cooked some dishes and asked me to invite you to my house for dinner... Come on, come on, I'll have a couple of drinks with you."

"Old Xia?"

I was a little surprised and waved my hand to decline, saying, "No, no, you guys eat by yourselves, I'm not going..."

Although I kissed Chunyan today, it's not like we've reached the point of going to her house for dinner yet.

"Chunyan invited you too, it's alright, we're friends!"

Old Xia, however, was very enthusiastic and persistent: "You helped Chunyan make an ID card, so I should at least thank you. If you don't go, you're looking down on me and Chunyan!"

"Oh well."

I glanced at the delicatessen across the street: "I'll go buy some groceries, and some... beer, to take up and eat together."

"I'll go with you."

Old Xia surprisingly didn't refuse.

At the deli, I bought a roast pigeon, a roast chicken, half a pound of beef, and four bottles of beer.

When it was time to pay the bill, Old Xia grabbed another bottle of baijiu (Chinese liquor) and shouted at the owner, "This is the younger brother of Little Fox from Building 27, so give me a discount!"

The shopkeeper had originally charged me seventy-five yuan, but upon hearing this, he paused, then said, "Then... I'll give you sixty yuan."

It seems that Sister Li has quite a lot of influence here.

I paid the bill, carried the food and drinks, and went upstairs with Lao Xia.

Old Xia chuckled, "Brother, what do you think of Chunyan? I really want you two to be friends. It'll be more convenient for me here..."

I smiled, not knowing what to say.

It seems like Chunyan and I have already started dating, haven't we?

I was also surprised by Lao Xia's views.

What kind of father is so eager to give his daughter away to someone else?

"Brother Wang, you're here?"

Chunyan opened the door with a smile, took the groceries from my hand, and then took my hand, saying, "My mom is cooking, come and say hello."

On the balcony, a woman in her thirties was cooking, and she looked very similar to Chunyan.

She doesn't seem like Chunyan's mother, but rather like her older sister.

Old Xia is really lucky; he looks so sleazy, yet he has such a beautiful wife.

"Hello, Auntie..."

I forced myself to greet them: "I've come... for dinner, thank you for your help."

"Oh, you must be Xiao Wang. Hello, hello."

Chunyan's mother was also very kind, nodding and smiling, "Chunyan, take Xiao Wang to sit down, it will be ready soon."

Chunyan winked at me and pulled me back to the room that had been partitioned off from the living room.

The room wasn't small to begin with, but after putting two beds in it, there wasn't enough room left.

A four-poster bed was placed in the corner, with a curtain drawn over it; it must have been Chunyan's.

Old Xia opened the folding table, set out the wine and dishes, and invited me to sit down.

Chunyan turned the electric fan around again and blew it towards me.

"Let's have a drink first, thank you for buying the groceries."

Old Xia opened a bottle of baijiu and poured me a large glass.

Chunyan pouted and said, "You guys are drinking before you've even had your birthday cake?"

I didn't touch my wine cup or chopsticks, and waited for Chunyan.

Soon, Chunyan's mother finished preparing several dishes, wiped her hands, and sat down: "Let's eat the cake first, Chunyan, bring the cake..."

Chunyan brought over a small cake, only the size of a mooncake.

But Chunyan was very happy. She lit the small candles, closed her eyes, made a wish, and then blew out the candles: "Okay, we can eat now!"

Chunyan's mother cut me a piece first: "Xiao Wang is a guest, have a piece first."

I passed it on to Chunyan: "Happy birthday, Chunyan, you eat first."

"Thank you, Brother Wang."

Chunyan raised an eyebrow and smiled, then started eating the cake.

Old Xia was already drinking impatiently, chatting with me as he said, "Brother, making money here is easy. I just don't have any capital. Otherwise, I could easily make 30,000 or 50,000, or even 100,000 or 200,000 a year."

I'm not good at conversation, so I just went along with it and asked, "Uncle Xia, what kind of business is profitable around here?"

"Setting up a scrap metal recycling station, a real estate rental agency, or a small restaurant can all be very profitable."

Once Lao Xia started talking, he became very articulate and articulate.

According to Lao Xia's self-introduction, he used to work in his hometown, doing farm machinery repair, cooking, running a stall, and even doing some carpentry...

I think Lao Xia is right. Although he's so poor he's pawned his pants, his thinking might be correct, and it's broadened my horizons.

After finishing half a jin of liquor, Old Xia tugged at me and said, "Brother, when your storefronts are ready, rent one to me. I'll start a business there, and I'm sure I'll make money!"

"When you've had too much to drink, all you do is brag."

Chunyan's mother slapped Lao Xia and laughed at me, "Xiao Wang, don't listen to Lao Xia's nonsense. He's lazy and greedy, all he does is brag, he can't do anything to make money."

"You wretched woman, I'm lazy and greedy, who raised you?"

Old Xia was furious and picked up a bottle to beat his wife.

I quickly stopped him: "Uncle Xia, you've had too much to drink, please stop..."

Chunyan was also angry, glaring at her father: "He's always like this when he drinks. He gets drunk and acts crazy."

"You brat..."

Old Xia glanced at me, then held back and waved his hand, saying, "Now that you've eaten, go downstairs with Brother Wang and have some fun. Your mother and I still have things to do."

Chunyan's mother blushed, and hesitated to speak.

I didn't like the environment here with Old Xia either, so I stood up and said, "I'm full too, Uncle Xia, Auntie, I won't bother you any longer."

"Brother Wang, let me take you downstairs."

Chunyan took my hand, walked out of the room, and then turned back to tell her parents, "Don't argue, I'll be back in an hour."

Old Xia was polite enough to stand up and see me off, saying, "Brother, I'm so sorry to have made you buy groceries tonight. I'll treat you properly when I have the money."

I smiled and went downstairs with Chunyan.

When I reached the corner platform between the third and fourth floors, I encountered a fat man in his forties, wearing a vest, shorts, and slippers, and reeking of alcohol.

I don't know him.

When the fat man saw Chunyan, he immediately grinned and waved, "What a coincidence, Chunyan! Where are you going? I'll treat you to drinks, karaoke, and a movie. Want to come? I'm rich!"

As the fat man spoke, he reached out and patted Chunyan's shoulder.

Chunyan quickly dodged away: "I'm not going!"

I immediately stepped in front of Chunyan, glaring at the fat man: "What are you doing?"

"What are you doing, talking nonsense? Chunyan is my friend."

The fat guy reached out and tried to push me away.

"Want to make a move?"

I pushed the fat man's hand away, stepped forward, grabbed his neck, and pinned him tightly against the wall.

Dealing with this 40-year-old fat dumpling is no problem for me; I could take on three of them.

The fat man was terrified and shouted, "Who are you? Landlady Little Fox is my friend! Watch out!"

"Is Sister Li your friend?"

I was taken aback, but I didn't let go: "How come I don't know you?"

"Brother Wang, stop hitting him, he's from 404."

Chunyan grabbed me and shouted at the fat guy, "This is my boyfriend, he's the landlady's younger brother!"