A life of success begins with being a landlord.

In my hometown, the word "搞" (gǎo) is a versatile verb.

For example, they might get a drink, make some money, or students might do their homework and eventually become officials...

However, this word is also very vulgar in certain contexts, such as when it comes to having sex with women.

I completely enraged Liang Laosi because I said I'd mess with his third sister. Actually, I only got the upper hand verbally; I didn't actually do anything to Liang's third sister.

I wouldn't even look at Sister Liang's appearance.

Mu Hu and Niu Jie were so frightened that they grabbed Liang Laosi and shouted, "Calm down, don't be impulsive!"

Liang Laosi pretended to struggle a couple of times, then stopped moving.

I sit here alone, my expression calm, and I smile:

"Liang Laosi, are you unhappy with what I just said? Don't be so damn proud. Your third sister is here, and you know she's a prostitute. It's not just me, many, many people... have slept with your third sister."

You like to be furious? I'll show you what anger can do!

"Wang Yaozu, you have the guts to kill me!" Liang Laosi's face turned red, and his teeth were clenched so hard they were clicking.

"Kill you? Not worth it." I shook my head and laughed.

"Liang Laosi, aren't you trying to intimidate me with your hometown's influence? Fine, let's go back to our hometown and have a showdown. In the county town, I'll hire a hundred people to put up fake 'little brothers' and say it's your third sister's pimping business in Dongguan, how about that?"

Everyone cares about their reputation, and Liang Laosi and Liang Sanjie are no exception.

Our hometown is a small county town; the core area is only three kilometers in length and width, and the long-time residents all know each other.

If I were to spread falsehoods and disseminate information about Sister Liang's shameful deeds in Dongguan, it would be very dangerous for Brother Liang.

"Wang Yaozu, you win, I admit defeat!"

Liang Laosi gritted his teeth: "Name your terms, how can you let my third sister go?"

I nodded: "Sure, as I said before, you'll pay Hu Xiaogang's salary for the three and a half years he served; we don't need to pay for emotional distress, but I want you to go to Hu's family in person to apologize to Hu Xiaogang's parents, bow deeply and apologize!"

Liang Laosi thought for a moment: "How much would I need for three and a half years' worth of salary?"

I did the math: "Let's calculate it at four times the normal wage, because Hu Xiaogang's workload is four times his usual amount. A normal person's wage is 800 yuan a month, not much, right? Four times is 3,200 yuan a month. Three and a half years... that's 42 months, a total of 134,400 yuan."

"134,404?" Old Liang jumped up in fright.

This number is too big for him. How many students would he have to extort in front of the school to earn that much?

Niu Jie and Mu Hu both frowned and remained silent.

I shrugged. "I was thinking of giving you a discount, or rounding it down. But then I thought about it, and it's bad luck, plus we don't expect your business next time, right?"

"I can't afford it, even if you kill me, I still can't afford it." Liang Laosi slumped into a chair, shaking his head in a daze: "Wang Yaozu, are you deliberately trying to drive us to our deaths?"

I stood up and was about to go downstairs.

Since this is a negotiation, my attitude must be firm.

Niu Jie hurriedly stopped me: "Brother Zu, why don't you stay for dinner? We can discuss this properly..."

"It's only a little past four, how about some chicken necks for dinner?"

I patted Niu Jie on the shoulder: "We've got our eye on that piece of land in Wuwei Lane, Songyuli. We'll develop it, expand our business, and make a fortune. Originally, a boss wanted to get rid of you to avoid getting in our way. I pleaded for you, so we can all play together, and we'll settle the score with you later."

Dao Zai Xiong's original intention was indeed to kick out Niu Jie, take over Wuwei Lane, and cooperate with Zhang Bazi.

It was I who advised him to keep Niu Jie, let him do management in the future, and give him some dividends, which would be more worthwhile.

In this way, Zhang Bazi and Niu Jie will check and balance each other, which will be of great benefit to us.

Upon hearing this, Niu Jie was taken aback: "Brother Zu, who has taken a liking to Wuwei Alley? Is it Brother Xiong, or Brother Kun from Heng Street?"

I laughed: "It's me, is that okay?"

"If Brother Zu has his eye on something... of course it's fine." Niu Jie chuckled awkwardly, "If Brother Zu stays in Wuwei Lane in the future, we'll definitely be able to work together and make a lot of money."

"We can talk about this later. I need to go to work at Jin嗓子 now."

I pushed Niu Jie aside and went downstairs.

Niu Jie escorted me all the way to the gate of Changhong Restaurant.

When I arrived at Jin Sangzi, Xie Xia, Shen Yuerong, Bingbing, and others greeted me with laughter, saying, "Brother Zu, why didn't you come yesterday? We missed you so much!"

"Why do you miss me?" I squeezed Shen Yuerong's shoulder.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm doing!" Shen Yuerong emphasized the last two words.

A crowd surrounded me, laughing and joking, all dressed up in their finest clothes.

"Don't lead me astray! I still want to go back to school and go to university." Lost in her sweet words, I pleaded, "Everyone, get back to your posts and go to work. Making money is the most important thing!"

The crowd then dispersed.

I asked the finance manager, Qian Yuhuai, "Brother Qian, how's the Jin Sang Zi business lately?"

"Business is bad." Qian Yuhuai shook his head and sighed. "We can only make a little money on Sundays and Saturdays. On weekdays, we can barely cover our expenses. I think if this continues... we'll have to close down."

"No way, what will everyone eat if the doors are closed?" I was a little surprised.

Isn't the entertainment industry supposed to be very profitable? How come it's come to the point of having to close down?

Qian Yuhuai shook his head and said in a low voice, "Brother Xiong's entertainment center is where he makes the most money, so he doesn't care about managing this place. The supervisors and waiters here are all slovenly..."

Crooked melons and cracked dates?

I was both amused and exasperated. If Xie Xia, Shen Yuerong, and the others heard this, they would probably throw a tantrum and curse Qian Yuhuai's ancestors for eighteen generations.

To be honest, I don't think Shen Yuerong, Bingbing, and the others here are any oddballs.

In fact, they are all considered beauties; any one of them would be considered a village beauty if placed in a rural area.

If you're not a village beauty, nobody will pick you up here.

Qian Yuhuai, puffing on his cigarette, continued, "There's nothing we can do about it. There are just too many beautiful women. Look at the women on the street, they're not bad looking, and they're not that old, charging fifty yuan a time, thirty yuan a time... And the old ladies in the alleys, they'll do it for ten or twenty yuan. With so many people vying for a living, how can there be enough men to pay the bill?"

"Brother Qian, you're right."

I nodded and pondered, "But Jin Sangzi's business model also has problems. Customer dissatisfaction is the biggest reason."

Since starting work, I have also done in-depth research on Jin Sang Zi and Yin Mei Duo.

The business owners here are very domineering and often bully their customers.

They even rip off tourists from out of town, and beat them if they don't pay.

Such a service is obviously unsustainable because there are no repeat customers.

Qian Yuhuai looked at me with a grin: "Brother, what do you think the problem is?"

"There are many problems, and we need to make improvements. If it were me, I would definitely do a better job in business..." I cleared my throat, ready to share some business insights.

But then a figure flashed before his eyes, and Niu Jie walked in with a grin.

I changed the subject and looked at Niu Jie: "What, are you here to patronize my business?"

I know that Niu Jie came to relay a message to Liang Laosi, that he still wants to discuss things with me.