A life of success begins with being a landlord.

"No need to pay it back."

I waved my hand dismissively: "A few hundred yuan is nothing."

Chunyan's mother smiled, walked past me, and went down the stairs.

What a good woman, what a good mother.

It was Lao Xia who ruined it; heaven is truly blind.

Watching Chunyan's mother's retreating figure, I couldn't help but have all sorts of wild thoughts and feel indignant on her behalf.

I waited in the hallway for two hours, but Kuai Dafa never showed up.

Seeing that it was almost noon, I suddenly had a bright idea. I went downstairs, crossed the street, and headed straight for Building 26 across the street.

Gold Tooth is a friend of Kuai Dafa, so he must have Kuai Dafa's phone number.

The shop owner downstairs in Building 26 saw me and smiled broadly, "Handsome, you were really impressive the other night, taking on five or six of them all by yourself."

"Big sister, I need to talk to Gold Tooth about something. Do you know where he lives?" I asked.

"The card room at number 204 belongs to Gold Tooth. Go check it out."

"Thank you!" I turned and headed straight for 204.

Standing in front of room 204, I raised my hand and knocked.

"What are you banging for? I'm throwing nuts at you! Are you looking for your soul this early in the morning?!"

The whistling voice of the man with the gold teeth could be heard; presumably, the tooth that Daozaixiong knocked out yesterday hadn't been replaced yet.

Upon seeing it was me, the gold-toothed man trembled: "Grandpa, Grandpa, what are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for Kuai Dafa, but I can't find him."

I was too lazy to waste words: "Give me Kuai Dafa's phone number."

"Oh, I have it."

The man with the gold teeth nodded repeatedly, then turned and wrote down a phone number: "This is that fatso's phone number. Don't tell him I gave it to him. That fatso is very cunning, a real scoundrel..."

I took the note, turned around and left, too lazy to bother with the gold-toothed guy.

Kuai Dafa is a scoundrel, and you, Gold Tooth, are even worse!

According to Fatty Sister, all the pretty female tenants in Building 26 had been violated by Gold Tooth.

Those poor outsiders, working here, can only swallow their anger and suffer in silence when they are bullied.

Chunyan came downstairs at this time and looked around in front of Fatty Sister's door, probably looking for me.

"Chunyan, I've found Kuai Dafa's phone number."

I waved my phone: "Have Fatty's wife stir-fry the noodles first, I'll call that fatso."

Chunyan nodded and went to help at Fatty's workbench, secretly learning from her.

I sat down at the long table in front of the door and called that fatso.

The call connected, and the fat man asked, "Who is this?"

"I'm the landlord. Kuai Dafa, where are you?" I deliberately tried to scare him.

"The faucet in your 404 apartment burst! Water's gushing out and even flooding downstairs! Come back right now!"

"Oh no, the faucet burst? Oh, I'll be right back, in thirty or forty minutes at most!"

"Another 30 or 40 minutes? Hurry up, or the water will flood the downstairs, and you'll have to pay for the damages!" I slammed down the phone.

The fried noodles will take a while, so I went to the tobacco and liquor store next door and bought a pack of cigarettes.

The lighter on the counter caught my eye.

I picked it up and looked at it, weighed it in my hand, and it weighed about an ounce.

It's an inflatable lighter with a metal casing, about the size of a matchbox.

The weight, size, and style are just perfect for me!

Without thinking, I bought ten.

Twelve yuan each, quite expensive. The proprietress knew I was Hu Xiaoli's younger brother, so she charged me one hundred yuan.

A burly man next to him, with a neat crew cut and a straight back, wearing a grass-green training uniform with the words "Master of Grappling" on it, was on the phone using a public phone in a tobacco shop.

I noticed his accent and couldn't help but take a second look.

This guy's accent is exactly the same as our hometown dialect!

When you're far from home, hearing familiar accents naturally brings a sense of warmth and comfort.

Moreover, this person looked like a veteran, giving off a trustworthy vibe.

"Old classmate, if you're coming, hurry up. We have enough staff from our unit, we'll have enough soon..." The grappling expert spoke loudly into the microphone:

"A deposit of six thousand yuan is required, no less. Don't worry about anything else, I'll take care of it. ...Yes, yes, this is a confidential company, so this deposit is mandatory, and it will be refunded after one year... There's also the five social insurances and one housing fund. What, you don't know about the five social insurances and one housing fund? Most companies in the south have this, it's different from our hometown... It means you get a pension when you're old, you know?"

I listened silently and began to understand.

This expert in grappling is calling a friend to come to work.

But are there such good jobs in Dongguan?

If you have one, please introduce Chunyan!

So I waited for the expert to make the call.

After a while, the expert finally finished his phone call, took out some change from his pocket, and paid the bill to the proprietress.

After the expert in grappling settled his bill, I went over and asked, "Fellow villager, are you from Hefei?"

"Yes, you're from Hefei too?"

The expert in grappling was taken aback, then smiled.

"I'm from Feidong." I offered you a cigarette. "Your accent tells me you're from my hometown, and I was right."

"I'm from Feixi, fellow townsman."

The expert was also very happy and took my cigarette: "Are you... working here, or doing business?"

"I work part-time."

I pointed to the fried rice noodle shop: "Come over and let's chat. I'll treat you to a meal. It's fate that we met, fellow townsmen."

"Yes, yes, it's really not easy to meet someone from your hometown."

The expert followed me to a table in the fried noodle shop and sat down: "Since it's our first meeting, let me treat you to a meal."

"No need, it's my treat."

I turned around and called to Sister-in-law Pang, "Add another large portion of stir-fried noodles, with beef!"

The expert in grappling picked up the teapot, poured me a cup of tea, and asked me where I worked.

I shook my head: "Haven't found a good job yet, just drifting along. By the way, fellow villager, you just called and said there are factories around here that need people, right? Could you introduce my girlfriend to one?"

The expert was taken aback, then stammered, "We're not actually just working for someone else, we're... building a business together. Ordinary people can't get in..."

"What kind of business?"

I was a little confused. Why was it so mysterious and solemn, and why couldn't ordinary people even get in? Was it going to... start a rebellion?

Are kings and nobles born with a special destiny? The year of Jiazi brings great fortune to the world.

The expert grinned: "It's about building a career, doing business, selling high-tech products. The future is bright."

I pressed further, "How big is it?"

The expert thought for a moment, then lowered his voice: "Our General Manager Huang here has been here for half a year. Last month, he earned over 170,000 yuan. In another two months, he'll buy a Mercedes-Benz 600."

Holy crap, you made that much money in just six months?

I got excited and offered the expert another cigarette: "What kind of business is it? Could you tell me about it and mentor me?"

170,000 a month, 2 million a year, what's the point of me being a rental property manager?

I'm an exceptional person, skilled in both literature and martial arts. Why do I argue with my tenants every day over trivial matters like water bills, electricity bills, and rent, until we're red in the face?

The expert was probably moved by my words and finally agreed to mentor me. He nodded and said, "After we finish eating, I'll take you to meet our General Manager Huang. Just say you're from my hometown and ask him to help us out as much as possible."

"My fellow villager, I'm extremely grateful!"

I stood up, clasped my hands in greeting, and asked, "Where is your General Manager Huang?"

The expert turned around and pointed to our stairwell: "They live in this building, room 402, they just moved in."

My smile gradually froze, and I opened my mouth: "Huang... Huang Aijun?"