A life of success begins with being a landlord.

"Let's think about it. I feel it's not that simple."

I interrupted Sister Li, waving my hand and saying, "It sounds like a simple business deal, but there are actually many aspects to consider. Sister Lü, Sister Xin, I'll arrange to meet with you in a couple of days to discuss this further."

Lan Xin frowned slightly, seemingly somewhat displeased.

Sister Lü glanced at me sideways, a half-smile on her face: "Little Wang, are you worried about us?"

I just don't trust you!

I raised my teacup: "I'll drink tea instead of wine, let's all have a few more drinks. Whether or not our business collaboration succeeds, we'll still be friends."

Lan Xin and Sister Lü raised their glasses together and forced a smile.

After the meal, Lanxin and Sister Lü ran away.

I glared at Ding Zhili: "From now on, if I don't say anything, you'd better keep quiet."

Ding Zhili said, feeling wronged, "Brother Zu, I think this business is viable..."

"Shut up!" I rolled my eyes.

"You think these two women came to give us money? Why would you want to partner with us for such an easy business? Just because you're handsome and look like one of the Four Heavenly Kings?"

I have a feeling that Sister Lü and Lan Xin are playing a trick of using someone else's resources to their advantage.

They won't take the money; they'll just pretend to contact a few companies, take us on a few trips, act like they're working hard, and then demand shares so they can openly and honestly distribute money for the rest of their lives!

Neither of these two women are the type to get things done in a down-to-earth manner.

Working with them could easily lead to being implicated.

Ding Zhili, still unconvinced, said eagerly, "But this really is a huge, profitable business!"

"Being the president of the United States pays more, why don't you become that?"

I rolled my eyes: "Even if we do it, we'll do it ourselves; we won't cooperate with them."

Erxia pondered for a moment and said, "The recycling industry sounds simple, but it's actually quite difficult. For example, there are many types of metals and several types of plastics, each with different prices and sales channels."

Sister Li also wavered, nodding and saying, "Yes, if you want to do resource recycling, you at least need to be able to distinguish between gold, silver, copper, iron, and tin, right?"

Ding Zhili insisted, "That's easy. We can learn from their experience and techniques, and hire people to train us. The difficult part is the distribution channels—how to penetrate those companies! Now that Sister Lü and Sister Xin have the connections, why shouldn't we do it?"

"Stop talking!"

I stood up: "Ding Zhili, if you insist on doing this, I support you. You and Sister Erxiali should discuss it first and come up with a feasibility report and a market analysis report. Clarify our strengths and weaknesses, and then we'll discuss it further."

Feasibility analysis and market analysis were both taught to me by Erxia.

Otherwise, I wouldn't even know these terms!

Ding Zhili and Erxia nodded together.

I sighed and pointed at Ding Zhili: "Next time we discuss cooperation, don't show any interest in front of Sister Lü and Sister Xin. The more interested we are, the higher they'll demand. If we act nonchalant, they'll end up begging us."

Ding Zhili was taken aback, then finally understood, and nodded repeatedly: "Brother Zu is right, I will listen to Brother Zu."

I waved goodbye and drove my Honda to work in Sanlichuan.

Just as I drove out of the company gate, Bobo stopped me.

Before I could even speak, this guy opened the car door, got in, and said, "Mr. Wang, I'm going to get some Jin Sang Zi (a Chinese medicine) to check on, is that alright?"

I drove forward and asked, "Why are you going to Jin Sang Zi?"

"I'm going to start a business. Boss Wang is doing well now. If he takes a good look after me, I'll be able to turn my life around soon." Bobo chuckled.

"Are you going to do business again?"

I stopped the car, frowned, and said, "Weren't you going to start a shell company? Why are you going back to the old ways?"

They're hopeless, completely beyond redemption.

Why not just open a shell company and become a con artist?

Being a conman is selling your soul; being a prostitute is selling both your soul and body, and you don't even get much money for it.

Bobo pouted: "Whether a shell company can make money is still unknown. Old Wang, Boss Wang, Brother Wang, Uncle Wang, please arrange for me to be a foreman, so I can earn ten or twenty thousand a month and pay off your debts."

You can't call me Father Wang.

I shook my head and refused: "The supervisor there wasn't decided by me. Besides, there are many supervisors, and they're about to lay off a few. I can't help with this."

There are two types of supervisors at Jin Sang Zi and Yin Mei Duo.

One type is our own head waiter, who manages our own staff;

They have a fixed salary and commission.

One type is an external foreman who works in a cooperative relationship.

They formed their own teams, stayed at Jin Sang Zi or Yin Mei Duo hotels, and received no salary, only sales commissions.

I can help by getting Bobo in, but I don't want to help.

Bobo then pleaded sweetly, "Mr. Wang, please do me a favor. At worst, I'll let you inspect all the new girls I hire first..."

"Shut up!"

I turned and glared at Bobo: "I consider you a friend, and I don't want any of my friends to do this. If you insist on doing this, then you're no longer my friend. Get off the bus!"

"Wang Yaozu, you..."

Bobo's eyes reddened, and he hesitated before getting out of the car. "Alright, I'll listen to you. I'll focus on running this shell company. I'll pay you back the money I owe you later."

I stepped on the gas and sped away.

The Jin Sang Zi restaurant had just opened for business in the afternoon.

There were hardly any customers; everyone was just chatting idly.

I was having tea at the front desk when the supervisor, Shen Yuerong, swayed over in her high heels and greeted me, "Hello, Brother Zu!"

"Hello, Sister Rong!" I greeted her with a fist and palm salute.

"Brother Zu is such a good boy, what should I reward you with?"

Shen Yuerong came up to me, her eyes sparkling with spring: "How about rewarding Brother Zu with a girlfriend? She just arrived, and her main qualities are purity and innocence, like a lotus rising from the mud unsullied."

I laughed: "As innocent as you? I'm afraid I can't afford that."

Talking about being innocent in a KTV is utter nonsense.

Another foreman, Xie Xia, also came over to join in the fun, laughing and saying, "Brother Zu, I'll give you a riddle to test your intelligence."

I shrugged: "Sure."

Xie Xia puffed out her chest and swayed her waist: "A woman's bra—get a drink!"

I frowned and pondered, "Milk?"

"Pah, it's fruit milk, wrapped up like in the word 'wrapped'!" Xie Xia laughed.

I concede defeat and admit my inferiority.

Xie Xia then posed another question: "Women's underwear... or guess something edible."

Since I couldn't guess, I decided to just guess randomly: "Braised abalone?"

Shen Yuerong burst out laughing, laughing so hard she almost fell over.

Xie Xia rolled her eyes: "Idiot, it's jelly. The 'wrapped' part..."

I rubbed my temples; maybe my IQ really isn't high enough.

What does this have to do with jelly?

Xie Xia then asked, "Then let me ask you, why are there so many hair salons and foot massage parlors in the South?"

I shook my head: "I don't know."

Xie Xia said smugly, "Then let me ask you another question: how do you write the character 'Guang' in 'Guangdong and Guangxi'?"

Damn, do you think I'm an idiot?

I picked up the ballpoint pen from the bar and wrote the character "广".

A dot, a long horizontal stroke, and a slant that reaches the South Seas. I could write this character "广" (Guang) when I was in first grade!

"Haha, you wrote it wrong." Xie Xia took my pen and wrote a traditional Chinese character: 广.

I don't understand: "Is there a difference?"

"Of course there's a difference. The 'Guang' in 'Guangdong and Guangxi' is 'factory' with 'yellow' added below it, like 'yellow factory,' you get it!" Xie Xia laughed.

Damn, this explanation of Chinese characters is really impressive.

I bowed deeply, practically prostrating myself: "Sister Xia and Sister Rong, hurry up and get to work! You'll corrupt me sooner or later!"

Xie Xia and Shen Yuerong took advantage of me, and walked away with big smiles and wiggles.

I breathed a sigh of relief and lit a cigarette.

But then the phone rang again. It was the arcade calling, saying that someone was causing trouble and had smashed all the arcade machines!

Sigh, that's how my first business deal came about.