A life of success begins with being a landlord.

That bastard finally gave in!

I gestured with my lip, signaling for Liang Laosi to stand up and speak.

Liang Laosi stood up, hands at his sides, like a primary school student, listening to my lecture.

I lit a cigarette and sighed, "Liang Laosi, do you know why I'm dealing with you?"

"I know you and Hu Xiaogang are brothers."

"Yes." I nodded:

"When Hu Xiaogang was in school, you beat him twice, and he felt aggrieved. He went to your house to get revenge, but you caught him, beat him severely, and now he's going to serve three and a half years in jail. If he doesn't get his revenge, his life will be ruined, and he won't be able to stand up straight, right?"

People who have been to prison often carry a deep psychological scar. I have a distant relative who used to be very energetic, but after serving five years in prison, he became a completely different person—quiet, withdrawn, and secretive.

After thinking for a moment, Liang Laosi nodded in agreement.

"Therefore, I must stand up for Hu Xiaogang. This is also for your own good."

I continued, "Someone like Hu Xiaogang, who's been ruined by you for life, will either silently perish or erupt in anger after he gets out, seeking revenge on your entire family! Now that I'm helping him vent his anger, your whole family is actually safer, right?"

Liang Laosi was taken aback for a moment, then nodded: "Brother Zu is right, thank you, Brother Zu."

Niu Jie listened from the side, chuckled, and then quickly suppressed it.

It's ridiculous that they should thank me after I've dealt them such a terrible blow.

"I'm serious, I'm not kidding." I said earnestly.

"The situation between you and Hu Xiaogang is like a boil on your body. It's a good thing you popped it early. If you let it fester, it would eventually become incurable!"

Liang Laosi nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, Brother Zu is right."

I was quite satisfied and tapped the table: "Alright, give me 50,000 yuan first, and I'll write the rest as an IOU."

I neither asked nor pursued the matter of the burned haystacks at home.

I won't mention the matter of Liang Laosi's second brother having his leg broken.

Everyone knows what's going on, but it's unspoken.

When money was mentioned, Liang Laosi felt a pang of pain. He opened his small bag with trembling hands and took out 20,000 yuan: "Brother Zu, I'll give you 20,000 first. The remaining 30,000 will be sent from home in a few days. I'll write the IOU now."

I accepted the 20,000 yuan: "Once the remaining 30,000 yuan arrives, I'll let Sister Liang out. But you'd better hurry, don't keep me waiting."

"Yes, yes, yes." Liang Laosi nodded, then asked cautiously, "Brother Zu, may I see my third sister?"

"Let me ask."

I picked up the phone and called Director Nie.

The call connected, and Director Nie laughed heartily: "Brother, the wine you gave me is really good! It's strong and has a long aftertaste. The few beauties I've been drinking with these past few days are all dead drunk, they can't even be helped up... Hahaha."

"Brother Nie, the wine is good, but don't overindulge."

I suppressed a laugh and asked, "I'd like to visit Sister Liang around three or four in the afternoon. Could you arrange that, Brother Nie?"

"No problem, just come directly to the office. Oh, and bring me a few bottles of wine as gifts."

"Understood!" I hung up the phone.

Damn it! I originally wanted to make some medicinal wine to earn some money to help support He Tiantian's living expenses and cover the operating costs of Yingcai Primary School.

Now look what happened! We didn't make a single penny, and we even lost money on our costs!

You're all ungrateful wretches, you'll all get drunk to death sooner or later!

Niu Jie treated everyone to a meal at Changhong Restaurant, ordering a table full of dishes.

I called Shen Yuerong and Xie Xia over for dinner. Since someone was willing to pay, why not eat?

Shen Yuerong sat to my left, and Xie Xia sat to my right.

I suddenly realized that I'm now just like Daozaixiong, surrounded by beautiful women.

During the meal, Liang Laosi became lively again, drinking with me: "Brother Zu, after my third sister gets out, she'll still have to make a living here. I'm asking you to take care of her in the future."

"Sure, but there are two conditions." I was about to refuse, but then I changed my mind.

"What are your conditions, Brother Zu?" Liang Laosi looked at me eagerly.

"The conditions are very simple."

I fed Xie Xia a bite of food and said sternly, "You brothers, from now on, you're not allowed to bully students at school in our hometown anymore. Don't do anything shameful! Otherwise, I still won't let you off the hook."

The Liang brothers were notorious in the county town for their despicable and wicked deeds.

Back when we were in school, many of my classmates lived in the shadow of the Liang brothers.

For example, Luo Hongyu may have been targeted by the Liang siblings while she was still in school.

Now, I'm scaring Liang Laosi a bit; it's a good deed for my hometown.

Liang Laosi chuckled, "Definitely, definitely. We'll follow Brother Zu from now on and make big money outside. We'll never do those things again."

I nodded: "Secondly, if your third sister takes a liking to me and sleeps with me, you can't have any objections!"

"Brother Zu, I..." Liang Laosi's face turned red, extremely embarrassed.

The first point is my warning to Liang Laosi. Although it's not very lenient, it's still acceptable.

Secondly, I find Liang Laosi disgusting.

If you want to follow me, you have to kneel down, including Sister Liang!

Xie Xia smiled and said, "Brother Zu, isn't Sister Liang very beautiful?"

I nodded: "A beauty beyond compare!"

Actually, Sister Liang was not a stunning beauty at all; she was just an average-looking person, an ordinary girl. Fortunately, she wasn't too old, and her figure hadn't changed much.

Niu Jie raised his glass, trying to smooth things over: "Brother Zu, Fourth Brother Liang, let's have a drink and wish each other a pleasant collaboration in the future!"

Old Liang sighed, picked up his glass, and said, "Cheers!"

Shen Yuerong snorted: "Liang Laosi, don't be ungrateful. It's like your family's ancestral graves are emitting auspicious smoke if Brother Zu takes a fancy to your third sister. You should know that if you cooperate with Brother Zu in the future, making money will be like flowing water... At that time, you won't even be able to beg Brother Zu to be your brother-in-law."

Xie Xia, Gao Jianfeng, and the others burst into laughter.

Liang Laosi's face was flushed. He stood up and toasted me, saying, "Brother Zu, don't say anything more. From now on, I'll rely on you for everything. Just make sure you're happy and don't mistreat my third sister."

"I'm happy, I'm definitely happy!" I laughed loudly, like a shameless old rogue.

After dinner, I went to Jin Sang Zi for a meeting.

Today is a meeting of the entire leadership team, including the foremen and supervisors of Yinmeiduo.

Qian Yuhuai first reported on the business situation.

According to the reports, it is indeed not profitable.

The combined annual revenue of the two KTVs is less than eight million.

Average occupancy rate: 30%.

Thirty percent is basically the break-even point; if it drops any further, you'll start losing money.

Shen Yuerong said, "Yesterday, Brother Zu and I surveyed several large KTVs in the city. Their occupancy rates were all over 70%. Moreover, their fees were ten times ours, so you can imagine their profits..."

After some discussion, I came up with a solution:

"Immediate rectification, starting with service attitude. From now on, all security guards will wear waiter uniforms. Those bald guys, put hats on me; those with tattoos, put long sleeves on me. Security guards are strictly prohibited from smoking during working hours!"

If the urge to smoke is too strong and I can't resist, I'll go to the restroom for a smoke... Anyone who dares to smoke in front of guests will be fined two hundred!

I also imposed strict restrictions on the work and service attitude of the supervisors and technicians.

Some supervisors are irresponsible and uncooperative.

I tapped the table: "If everyone works together to make the business successful, we'll make money. From now on, those who perform well will receive bonuses, and those who don't will be fired. I'll hire someone else. We don't lack foremen and technicians here, you all know that!"

Everyone then took it seriously and nodded in agreement.

The meeting ended at 4 PM.

I took Liang Laosi with me, along with a few bottles of medicinal wine, and headed to Sanlichuan.

On the way, Liang Laosi said in a low voice:

"Brother Zu, you can play around with my third sister as much as you want from now on... but please, give me some face in front of others, okay? You're being so direct, I... feel so embarrassed and awkward."