A life of success begins with being a landlord.

It's not summer or winter vacation now, so Xiaoju should be in school at her age.

Xiaoju lowered her head and said, "I'm fourteen years old. I studied in junior high school for a year and then dropped out... My family didn't have any money, so my mother made me pick bayberries for other people."

"Nonsense, how can someone so young not study?"

I shook my head: "Once I've dealt with your father's matter, you can go back to your studies."

Xiaoju looked delighted and turned to look at her mother.

It's clear that Xiaoju wants to study.

Sister-in-law Kuai smiled wryly: "The landlord is right. The child is still young and needs to go to school... I'll think of something when I get back."

I nodded, turned and left, heading towards Hongxing Village.

It was 11:30 p.m. when we got back to Hongxing Village.

A group of night owls were still awake and playing mahjong.

Sister Li and Erxia, Bobo and Aping, were locked in a fierce and evenly matched battle.

There were two other spectators nearby, Ding Zhili and Uncle Ding.

Ding Zhili stood behind Bobo, but his eyes were fixed on Bobo's collar. "You bastard, just as useless as me!"

"Brother Zu, you're just in time. Help me switch hands, I need to pee," Bobo waved to me.

Upon hearing this, Uncle Ding blushed and retreated first.

I glared at Bobo: "I have something to do, I don't have time to switch hands for you."

Sister Li pushed the mahjong tiles away, stopped playing, and beckoned me to her office to inquire about the situation.

I briefly recounted the negotiations between Daozai Xiong and Sang Kun tonight, and then brought up the matter that Sister-in-law Kuai had brought.

Sister Li frowned and called Erxia and Uncle Ding Zhili to a meeting.

Bobo also joined in the fun and refused to leave.

As I sipped my tea, I recounted the tragic story of Sister-in-law Kuai's arduous journey to find her husband...

I feel quite sympathetic towards Sister-in-law Kuai.

After I finished speaking, I asked everyone, "Let's discuss this and see what we should do?"

Ding Zhili reiterated his previous opinion: "Brother Zu, we'll give him some travel expenses to send Kuai Dafa's wife home, and that's it!"

I looked at Sister Li, but she frowned and remained silent.

The others remained silent.

I sighed, "Sister-in-law Kuai is actually quite pitiful, and so are her children. In her family, the elderly can't afford medical care, and the children can't afford school..."

Knock knock knock!

Bobo tapped the table: "Brother Zu, 'A man who's ruthless isn't a true man, and a petty person isn't a gentleman.' There are so many pitiful people in the world; can you really lend a hand to them all?"

"I really don't have the ability to help every poor person."

I stood up and pointed to my heart: "But I still have something inside me, called conscience."

Everyone was stunned, staring at me blankly.

After a long pause, Bobo laughed and said, "Brother Zu, give me a break. I think your conscience is too good for you..."

"Bobo, if Sister Li and I had no conscience, you would be dead by now."

I interrupted Bobo, shaking my head and saying, "If it weren't for our sympathy for you, why would Sister Li and I have spent twenty or thirty thousand to send you to the hospital for emergency treatment? We don't owe you anything."

Bobo immediately realized his mistake, his face flushed red, and he lowered his head to apologize:

"I'm sorry, Brother Zu, I really... have no conscience, and I haven't learned your kindness yet. No matter what, you and Sister Li are good people, and I should respect you."

Erxia and Aping nodded repeatedly.

Uncle Ding hesitated for a moment, then said, "I think... we should just convert Kuai Dafa's goods into cash and give it to Kuai Dafa's wife. That way, we can have peace of mind. Just make sure Kuai Dafa doesn't cause any trouble in the future."

I nodded: "Uncle Ding is right, that's exactly what I meant."

I'll convert this batch of goods into cash and return it to Sister-in-law Kuai, then I won't owe Kuai Dafa anymore!

Sister Li didn't care and wasn't concerned about the money. She waved her hand and said, "Let's do it this way. Let's calculate how much it costs and give it to Kuai Dafu's wife. Then we'll be even."

Ding Zhili sighed and spread his hands: "Since you all think this way, I agree. I've calculated the value of Kuai Dafa's shipment; it's a little short of 30,000, around 27,000 or 28,000."

I nodded: "Even if it's 24,000, we can't afford to lose out."

After all, we've kept this batch of goods for so long, then transferred them to Hongxing Village, and they still need to be refined before we can realize their value.

After the meeting, everyone went back to their rooms.

Aping and Bobo also rented a house in Hongxing Village, determined to start a shell company, and now they basically don't go to Sanlichuan anymore.

Sister Li slept all afternoon and was in high spirits. She invited Erxia and me to have tea.

I suddenly remembered that Zhang Bazi had given me 100,000 yuan that day, so I told Sister Li about it.

Sister Li was surprised: "Who is Zhang Bazi? Why is he so generous, giving you 100,000 yuan all at once?"

Erxia was also astonished, and even somewhat disbelieving.

"I gave him a simple bandage and saved his two brothers. Two lives, a thank-you fee of 100,000 yuan is not much."

I pondered, "Besides, Zhang Bazi got in touch with Director Nie through me. All things considered, Zhang Bazi's 100,000 yuan was well spent."

Sister Li thought for a moment, then frowned and said, "This Zhang Scarface must be a desperate criminal. They make a lot of money and spend it lavishly. But these kinds of people are hard to get along with... Once they turn on you, it's a matter of life and death."

I was a little puzzled and chuckled, "Sister Li, you seem to know a lot about the ways of the world!"

Sister Li shook her head: "I don't know anything about the underworld, but I've heard Li Hanwen say that many major robberies of gold shops in Hong Kong were committed by people like Zhang Bazi. They're really daring and have a nickname in Hong Kong: 'Big Circle Boys'."

"What Sister Li said is true, I've heard it too," Erxia nodded from the side.

"Whatever, I'm just not going to have anything to do with Zhang the Scarface anymore."

I shrugged.

I was already wary of Zhang Bazi.

I didn't give him my phone number when we last met.

As we were chatting, my phone rang.

It was the caller, Mr. Hong, the owner of Changhong Restaurant, calling urgently: "Brother Wang, your men Lei Zi and Liang Zai have been slashed!"

"What?! Liangzai and Leizi were attacked with knives? Who did it?"

"I don't know, they were probably from out of town. And Captain Liu's brother-in-law, Jin Biao, was also attacked!"

Boss Hong sighed, "You call Brother Xiong right away, I'll call Captain Liu."

Captain Liu is Liu Changying. Some people call him Captain, and some call him Director Liu.

Jin Biao is his brother-in-law, who also makes a living in Sanlichuan. He usually keeps an eye on the KTVs and arcades in Sanlichuan.

After hanging up the phone, I quickly called Daozaixiong.

But Dao Zixiong didn't answer the phone; he's probably sleeping!

I didn't have time to think much, so I asked Ding Zhili to drive me to Sanlichuan.

Because officially, I'm the section chief, and I'm in charge of Lei Zi and Liang Zai. Since my subordinate was killed, of course I had to go check on him.

Sister Li grabbed me: "Little brother, I'm going to see what's going on!"

I hesitated for a moment: "Okay, you and Erxia go together, but be careful."

Sister Li was overjoyed and beckoned Erxia to get in the car.

Halfway there, Dao Zixiong called back: "Brother, Jin Sangzi KTV was robbed by a bunch of out-of-towners, and Lei Zi and his gang were also attacked. Are you in Sanlichuan?"

"Brother Xiong, I'm here." Only then did I realize that it was a robbery and fight!

These outsiders were so desperate for money that they even dared to rob Dao Zixiong.

Half of the shares in Jin Sang Zi KTV in Sanlichuan belong to Dao Zixiong.

"I'm on my way too, see you later." Dao Zai Xiong hung up the phone.

I turned to look at Sister Li: "It's a robbery. Jin Sangzi KTV was robbed. Apparently, it was done by a group of out-of-towners."

Sister Li frowned: "Who are these people, daring to provoke the tiger? Don't they know this is Dao Zai Xiong's territory?"