A life of success begins with being a landlord.

Dao Zai Xiong remained silent.

Li Hanwen stamped his foot: "Then let's calculate it all together, and get it all figured out, okay?"

Yuan Guizhen, still stubborn to the end, pointed at me and yelled, "We've already given you the house, what more do you want?"

"It's not about the house now, it's about my life and Sister Li's life."

I looked at Daozai Xiong and said coldly, "It's hard to say how long Li Jie and I will live, or even if we can save our lives. What's the point of a house if we're dead? Xiong-ge, don't you agree?"

Dao Zixiong remained silent for a long while before asking, "Then how do you want to settle this?"

"Brother Xiong, I'd like to ask you to step outside for a moment. I need to talk to Mr. and Mrs. Li Hanwen."

"Let me out?" Dao Zixiong frowned.

"Don't worry, Brother Xiong, I promise I won't lay a hand on you."

"Alright, you guys talk first, I'm going out for a smoke."

Dao Zai Xiong nodded, turned and went out the door, ordering the tiger outside: "Guard the door. No one is allowed to leave without my permission!"

"Yes!" the tiger answered triumphantly.

Yuan Guizhen and Li Hanwen exchanged a glance and immediately felt a little smaller.

I lit a cigarette and pointed at Yuan Guizhen: "You had Sister Ju, the owner of Wencheng Hair Salon, secretly film us, personally led people to attack us, had Brother Xiong suppress us, and even bribed a murderer to assassinate us. And what was the final result? Did you win?"

Yuan Guizhen didn't speak, she just looked at me maliciously.

"You're not satisfied, are you? Our lawyers are processing the case, and I will continue to sue you. Even if I don't get a single penny, I will ruin your reputation!"

I crossed my legs and said, "Hu Xiaoli and I are just country folk. We have two acres of land at home. At worst, we can go back to farming and we won't starve. It's different for you big bosses. If your reputation is ruined, you'll lose hundreds of millions in profits in the future."

Sister Li added, "Those who have nothing to lose are not afraid of those who have something to lose. I, Hu Xiaoli, have nothing, so I'm not afraid of anyone!"

Li Hanwen clasped his hands in a gesture of respect and said, "Ali, how much more do you want? Just tell me."

"We don't want anything, we just want the compensation we deserve."

I chimed in, "If I were Yuan Guizhen, I would either openly acknowledge Sister Li as a former concubine, take her to the Hong Kong government, and have her work as a housekeeper—wouldn't that be wonderful? A mainland girl like her would be treated like royalty, like a wife on a pedestal!"

"Or I'll just pay up and buy a son, Liangliang. Then we'll cut all ties and have nothing to do with each other anymore. Forget about the Li family's billions in assets; even a hundred million a year in interest would be enough to settle things with Sister Li!"

These days, interest rates are very high. A deposit of 100 million yuan, with a three-year fixed term, would yield six to seven million yuan in interest annually.

It's only a few million to get rid of Sister Li, I'm not making this up.

Yuan Guizhen gritted her teeth: "How much do you want? Name your price!"

"What's the rush? I haven't finished yet." I said slowly with a smile:

"You, Yuan Guizhen, chose the most foolish path instead of the other two. Now look what's happened—you've wasted a lot of money, suffered a lot of injustice, and things have only gotten worse. Hiring a killer—do you think you'll go to jail?"

Yuan Guizhen slumped into a chair, stammering, "Tell me, how much do you want?"

"Idiot, are you admitting defeat now? If you admit defeat, we'll talk. If you don't, we'll keep playing!" I cursed.

Li Hanwen was on the verge of collapse. He clasped his hands in a gesture of apology and said, "Wang Yaozu, Ali, we admit defeat. We will stop fighting. We are willing to compensate you for your losses!"

I chuckled. "Boss Li, a spineless man like you doesn't have the final say. You should ask your shrewish, haggard wife!"

I was utterly ruthless towards Li Hanwen, using every possible means to ridicule and satirize him.

So what if he has a little money? An ordinary-looking old man actually slept with the goddess-like Sister Li!

Jealousy envy hate ah.

Sigh, thinking about this, I wish I could castrate Li Hanwen.

Li Hanwen, that coward, couldn't even get angry at my sarcasm. Instead, he pleaded with Yuan Guizhen, "Ah Zhen, please be magnanimous..."

"Alright!" Yuan Guizhen shook off Li Hanwen's hand and shouted at me, "Fine, I admit defeat. Hu Xiaoli and Wang Yaozu, tell me what you want."

Have they finally given up?

"Even if you don't admit defeat, I'm not afraid. If you like to play, I'll play along to the end."

I stood up: "I was assassinated the night before last. My car was smashed to pieces, and I suffered a great loss—let's say one million. To save my life, I gave the assassin one million. That makes two million. You guys have to pay for this!"

Yuan Guizhen gritted her teeth: "Could...it be a little less?"

Damn, this isn't a business transaction, why would you haggle over prices?

I didn't want repeat customers, so I gritted my teeth and said, "No, no bargaining!"

"Ah Zhen, we'll give you the two million," Li Hanwen pleaded again.

Perhaps Li Hanwen is timid and afraid, or perhaps... he still has some feelings for Sister Li.

"Okay, I'll give it to you!"

Yuan Guizhen finally made the difficult decision, pointing at me and Sister Li: "The house in Sanlichuan is yours too. But from now on, Liangliang is my biological son, and has nothing to do with Hu Xiaoli."

I knew this, why should I be at the beginning?

If we had admitted defeat earlier, we wouldn't have had to spend millions more.

Sister Li stood up, stared at Yuan Guizhen, and after a long while gritted her teeth, said, "Fine, Liangliang is your biological son, but I have something to tell you."

"you say."

"You can't mistreat Liangliang, or I'll haunt you even as a ghost!" Sister Li said, enunciating each word clearly.

He spoke with a strong voice, but tears welled up in his eyes.

I understand Sister Li and I sympathize with her.

This is a mother who is willing but powerless, putting on a show of strength, offering her son a final act of protection.

"Nonsense!" Yuan Guizhen snorted.

"Everyone knows Liangliang is my biological son. How could I mistreat him? Don't worry, I'm a better mother than you, a working girl!"

I nodded and squeezed Sister Li's hand to reassure her.

Yuan Guizhen is from Chaoshan and grew up in her hometown. She has a strong sense of carrying on the family line.

Liangliang is indeed Yuan Guizhen's son in name only.

It is said that Yuan Guizhen doted on this son, treating him as her own and showering him with affection.

Sister Li nodded, and two tears fell from her eyes.

Yuan Guizhen opened the door and instructed Tiger, "Handsome boy, please invite Zhan Shixiong over so we can sign the contract."

Tiger nodded and went to call Daozai Xiong.

Not long after, Daozaixiong entered the private room and brought us paper and pens.

I wrote it myself, and I wrote two identical written agreements.

The contents are clearly stated: Mr. and Mrs. Yuan Guizhen unconditionally gifted the building at No. 27 Sanlichuan Street and all its appurtenances to Hu Xiaoli, and will actively cooperate to complete the transfer process as soon as possible.

In addition, Yuan Guizhen compensated us with two million in cash, which was deposited into Dao Zixiong's account and then transferred to us by Dao Zixiong.

Sister Li contacted Attorney Hu to withdraw the lawsuit and relinquish her visitation and custody rights to Liangliang, and will have no further contact with him.

Both parties reviewed the contract and signed it.

When they signed, Yuan Guizhen's hand was trembling, and Sister Li's hand was also trembling.

Everyone seems to think they've lost!

Only I think Sister Li won, and won decisively!

We finally signed the contract around 9:30 p.m.

I tugged at Daozi Xiong: "Brother Xiong, are you hungry? My treat."

"I'm not hungry, you guys go back first." Daozixiong didn't give me a friendly look either.

But just as he was about to get into the car, Dao Zai Xiong chased after him, waving and shouting, "Hey bro, wait a minute, someone called looking for you!"

At this point, who will call me? Why don't they just call me directly?

I stopped and turned around to ask, "Who's looking for me?"