A life of success begins with being a landlord.

I thought Kuai Dafa would be reluctant to part with it, but to my surprise, he waved his hand generously: "As long as they're Brother Zu's friends, it's all on me tonight. Let's go together!"

"Thanks, Boss Kuai! Let's go, brothers!" I winked at Tiger and the others.

I didn't call Chunyan and Liu Haomei; they wouldn't have gone even if I had.

Tiger and the other three followed me as we left the fried noodle shop.

Just as I was about to cross the street, I saw my fellow townsman from Feixi, Gao Jianfeng, a master of grappling, and waved and shouted, "Master fellow townsman, come and have dinner together, my friend is treating!"

This guy eats like three people, enough to bleed Kuai Dafa dry.

Gao Jianfeng was taken aback for a moment, then actually walked over: "Landlord, fellow villager, what a coincidence."

What a coincidence! We live in the same building, isn't it normal for us to run into each other?

I grabbed the expert: "Come on, let's have dinner together. I'll have a couple of drinks with you today. If you don't give me face, we're not from the same hometown anymore! Changhong Restaurant over there, come with me!"

Kuai Dafa nodded with a smile, "Brother Zu's fellow townsman, we're all friends. It's more lively with more people!"

"Thank you so much, I just didn't eat..."

Gao Jianfeng reluctantly joined our group of people who freeloaded meals.

Upon entering Changhong Restaurant, Kuai Dafa immediately yelled at the owner, "Boss Hong, bring me the best wine and food, and hurry up!"

The owner, a man in his forties, wasn't very tall. He smiled with squinted eyes and nodded repeatedly, "Alright, please sit down in room 888 upstairs. It'll be ready in a minute!"

Kuai Dafa led us upstairs, boasting to me, "Boss Hong is my friend."

I didn't reply, went into the private room and sat down, instructing Tiger and the others, "Order whatever you like, don't be shy!"

Kuai Dafa waved his hand: "Brother Zu, don't worry about the food and drinks, I've already made arrangements. The best quality is coming right away!"

Tiger and the others picked up the menu, but put it down again upon hearing this.

Soon, the food and drinks were served, and as expected, they were of high quality, with a dazzling array of dishes.

The drinks also cost several tens of dollars a bottle.

I estimate this meal will cost at least a thousand yuan.

I didn't stand on ceremony and invited everyone to eat and drink to their hearts' content.

Tiger and his men, along with the expert hunters, devoured the food like starving ghosts, leaving nothing behind in a whirlwind.

More than half an hour later, we were about 90% full.

Tiger and the others put down their chopsticks, but my fellow villager, a master chef, still had his mouth stuck in the food bowl, chewing away non-stop, making smacking noises...

Kuai Dafa handed me a cigarette: "Brother Zu, the bathroom repair is a piece of cake, I'll definitely get it done for you. But I also have a little thing to ask you to do for me."

No wonder he treated me to a meal; he must have something to ask of me.

I glanced sideways at Kuai Dafa: "What is it? Tell me first. If I can help, consider it my..."

If I can help, then pretend I never said that!

"Well, I have a competitor in my business who's really annoying. He keeps stealing my business and raising prices arbitrarily, which is making it so I'm almost starving."

Kuai Dafa sighed and looked at me: "You take a few brothers and come with me to talk to that guy and tell him not to bully me anymore, okay?"

The tiger asked, "Who are you? A stranger or a local?"

Kuai Dafa laughed and said, "You're from the same hometown as me, an outsider, so you can bully you without worry!"

The tiger got excited and looked at me eagerly.

Locals wouldn't dare bully them, but bullying an outsider is no problem.

"I'm not going, I can't help."

I glared at him slightly and sneered, "When we meet later, Boss Kuai, if you pull out a knife and start a fight, I'll be an accomplice. I don't even have a wife, and if I go to jail, nobody will bring me prison food!"

Huang Mao Lei Zi immediately realized, "Brother Zu is right, we can't help with this."

I waved to Tiger and the others: "You can leave now that you've eaten. We'll talk again next time."

Tiger and the others stood up and took their leave with a laugh.

Kuai Dafa looked at me with a pleading expression: "Brother Zu, aren't you going to help? It's just a small favor."

"Screw you, you're using me as a pawn, aren't you?"

I sneered and told Kuai Dafa and my fellow villager, who was also an expert, a story.

There was a contractor who worked on construction projects in Northeast China. His workers included people from his hometown, locals, and people from other places. When it came time to settle accounts at the end of the year, he tried to avoid paying the workers from other places. When the workers pressed him, the contractor said, "Come and collect your wages tonight."

That evening, the contractor had invited a group of tall, burly men from Northeast China and his hometown to drink together. When the out-of-town workers came to demand their wages, the contractor, without saying a word, picked up a bottle and smashed it over their heads.

When the out-of-town workers saw that the room was full of burly men, they didn't dare to make a move and slunk away.

Although the burly men in the room didn't actually lift a finger, they all acted as a shield and backer for the contractor.

My second uncle once told me that this is the simplest form of the game, called "the knife at the bedside."

Kuai Dafa wants me to do his dirty work, but I'm too green!

Kuai Dafa sighed, "Alright, Brother Zu, that's not very nice of you. We've eaten, you guys can go now, I'll pay the bill."

"Thank you very much!"

I nudged my fellow countryman, who was quite skilled at eating: "Let's go, stop eating!"

Gao Jianfeng chuckled and followed me downstairs.

Downstairs at the hotel, Boss Hong saw me, came over to offer me a cigarette, and said with a smile, "You must be Hu Xiaoli's younger brother. Brother Xiong told me... from now on, just come over for meals."

"Thank you, boss."

Without thinking much of it, I took a cigarette and left with the expert.

The expert had eaten another meal from me and felt bad about it, so he lit a cigarette for me: "Fellow villager, you're doing very well here. Next time, I'll treat you."

You invite me to dinner and then you want another chance?

As long as you're genuinely treating, I'll give you three chances every day!

If an expert says that, it's obvious they're not sincere and didn't intend to invite me.

I knew perfectly well what was going on, so I shook my head and smiled, walked into the stairwell, climbed the stairs, and opened the door to room 302.

Chunyan was drying her hair on the balcony, looking at the scenery outside the window.

The hairdryer was whirring, and she didn't hear the door open or my footsteps.

She wore a short-sleeved, fitted t-shirt that accentuated her slim waist. Below, she wore tight-fitting boxer shorts, revealing long, slender, and shapely legs that were fair and smooth like jade – she looked beautiful.

As she tossed her hair, her waist swayed, like a moving painting of a beautiful woman, which captivated me even more.

Snapped!

I stood behind Chunyan, secretly admiring her for a while, before finally losing my temper and slapping her butt with my lewd hand, even giving it a greedy squeeze: "Chunyan, is the hook ready yet?"

"oops!"

She jumped up in fright, turned around and looked at me: "Brother Wang, you...you're back?"

"Holy crap, you're not Chunyan!"

I was also taken aback and extremely embarrassed: "It's you, Liu Haomei... Where's Chun... Chunyan? I'm sorry, I mistook you for someone else..."

This Liu Haomei is wearing Chunyan's t-shirt right now, and I really didn't recognize her from behind.

"It's alright, Brother Wang."

Liu Haomei smiled shyly and pouted, saying, "Chunyan just went home and said she'll come back later."

"oh oh!"

I nodded, rubbed my face, and didn't know what to say.

Liu Haomei looked at me with a half-smile, her eyes holding something indescribable.

I suddenly realized that the hand I was rubbing my face was the same hand that had just spanked her butt, so I quickly put it down and wiped it on my pants.

Damn, Liu Haomei doesn't think I'm... a pervert, does she?