A life of success begins with being a landlord.

I was surprised and turned to ask, "Qiangzai, you didn't leave?"

"I just turned around and saw this fat bastard pointing a bottle at you."

Qiangzai smiled, grabbed another bottle, chased after Kuai Dafa, and smashed it on Kuai Dafa's head.

Bang! The bottle shattered.

But Kuai Dafa's head was completely unharmed.

That bastard even practiced Iron Head Kung Fu.

Qiangzai grabbed Kuai Dafa by the collar, his left hand gripping a half-broken liquor bottle: "You bastard, who are you? Daring to glare at my brother Zu? I'll stab you to death today!"

I quickly stopped him: "Qiangzi, stop fighting, I can handle this."

With a thud, Kuai Dafa knelt down, clasping his hands and begging for mercy: "Handsome boy, I'll never dare to do it again, please spare my life! From now on, Brother Zu will be my father, my real dad!"

Kuai Dafa is just that kind of bastard.

If you don't confront him, he'll use all sorts of clever tricks and smooth talk. But if you lay a hand on him, he'll immediately kneel down, crying and begging to be your son or grandson.

The streets were filled with people coming to see what was going on.

I walked over and waved to Qiangzai, letting him go first.

"You better behave, or I'll chop you up and throw you into the river to feed the turtles!"

Qiangzai slapped Kuai Dafa hard across the face again, threw down the broken bottle, and waved to me as he walked away.

Kuai Dafa was beaten until his mouth bled, but he kept kowtowing.

At that moment, he looked rather pitiful.

"Boss Kuai, get up."

I sighed: "The tenant in apartment 304 downstairs has already moved out, and we've suffered a huge loss. You still need to fix the bathroom, otherwise this isn't over."

The tenant of room 304 did move out, and I refunded their rent and deposit in full.

These losses must be attributed to Kuai Dafa.

Kuai Dafa scrambled to his feet, wiping the blood from his mouth: "I'll move out within three days. I won't ask for the remaining rent or deposit back, and I'll even fix your bathroom. Is that enough? You don't have to force me to die, do you?"

I did the math and nodded in agreement.

Kuai Dafa had just paid three months' rent, plus a month's deposit, totaling a little over two thousand.

The bathroom repairs are almost done.

With so many neighbors and passersby watching the spectacle, if I continue to pressure Kuai Dafa, people will probably accuse me of bullying others.

Just as I was about to go upstairs, Gao Jianfeng, a master of grappling, came over with a man and greeted me warmly: "Fellow villager, I'll treat you to dinner and a drink today!"

Buy me a drink? The sun must be rising in the west!

"Fellow villager, why are you being so polite, treating me to drinks?" I asked with a smile.

"Fellow villager, let me introduce you. This is my former squad leader, Dou Qiong." Gao Jianfeng pulled the man over and introduced him to us:

"This is our landlord, and also my fellow villager, Boss Wang!"

"Hello, Mr. Wang."

Dou Qiong was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, 1.6 meters tall, with a face full of pockmarks, like the aftereffects of acne, and a bitter and resentful look. She was dressed in simple clothes.

"Hello, Brother Dou!"

I shook hands warmly, giving Gao Jianfeng the utmost respect: "You're Gao Jianfeng's old squad leader, so you're my old squad leader too. Don't be shy, just call me 'brother'."

Gao Jianfeng, feeling quite pleased with himself, grinned broadly and said, "Fellow villager, come on over to A Ping's food stall across the street, let's eat together!"

I glanced at Ah Ping's food stall across the street...

This level of talent is no match for Wang Yaozu, who is now all swagger!

"Gao Jianfeng, you and the old squad leader go first. I need to go home and check on things." I patted the large bag containing the medicine: "I'll take the stuff back."

Gao Jianfeng was very happy and left with his old squad leader.

When I returned to 302, Sister Ling opened the door for me.

She's very obedient; she's really taking a day off today and is staying here with Chunyan.

Chunyan took it too: "Old Wang, what did you buy?"

"Chunyan, don't touch these things, they're all medicine."

I put my backpack in the small bedroom and went back to the kitchen. "It smells so good. Is it Sister Ling who cooked this?"

Sister Ling smiled without saying a word.

Chunyan laughed and said, "Old Wang, you're in luck today! Your mother-in-law, Sister Ling, cooked so many dishes, you'll be stuffed!"

Just then, the phone rang. It was Gao Jianfeng calling, urging me to come down for dinner.

I didn't want to go, so I lied and declined: "I'm sorry, we have guests at home today, so I can't come over for dinner. Thank you, fellow villager, we'll do it next time."

However, after hanging up with Gao Jianfeng, the phone rang again.

He is the owner of Changhong Restaurant.

"Brother Hong, what's up?"

"Brother Zu, Awen's second uncle and Xiong's second brother are staying with me. They'd like to invite you to dinner and meet you."

Zhan Lao Er? I don't know him.

I've met the three Zhan brothers: the youngest, Daozai Xiong; Ah Wen's father, Zhan the eldest; and Zhan the fifth.

The red-haired boss added, "Come on, let's just chat."

"Okay, I'll be there in a bit."

I hung up the phone and told Sister Ling and Chunyan to eat first.

Sister Ling was disappointed: "I specially cooked some dishes for you, to keep you company..."

I smiled apologetically and said, "Sister Ling, I know you worked hard on these dishes. We'll have plenty of time in the future... There will be many opportunities."

Sister Ling shrugged: "Go ahead."

In a small corner private room on the second floor of Changhong Restaurant.

The owner of the shop and a thin man were drinking tea and chatting.

Upon seeing me, both the red-haired boss and the thin man stood up.

"Brother Zu, this is Brother Zhan the Second."

The boss introduced us: "Second Brother, this is Wang Yaozu, the one who saved Awen that night."

Zhan Lao Er nodded at me and said with a smile, "So you're a handsome young man, tall and strong. Thank you for saving Awen."

"Second Brother Zhan, you're welcome."

"Please sit down, please sit down..." Old Zhan pulled out a chair for me.

I sat down and asked directly, "Brother Zhan, is there something you need?"

If there's nothing else, I'd like to go back and have dinner with Sister Ling and Chunyan.

"Don't rush, bro, let's eat and chat."

Zhan Lao Er handed me a cigarette and then asked Boss Hong to serve the dishes.

I can't leave now, so I might as well make the best of it.

After drinking two glasses of wine, Zhan Lao Er looked at me and said, "Brother, my son's uncle, Gold Tooth, got stabbed, you know that, right?"

"I know, I was the one who called the ambulance that night." I feigned concern: "Is Gold Tooth alright? When are you being discharged?"

Zhan Lao Er shook his head: "He won't die, but he'll need to be hospitalized for a while."

I sighed, "Gold Tooth Bro is really unlucky to have such a tenant. By the way, have they caught the culprit from that night?"

"They got away; we didn't catch them."

"She ran away?" I continued to probe, "That woman is a tenant, right? Didn't she register her ID? Call the police and have her arrested."

The red-haired boss chuckled: "Why call the police? Gold Tooth raped her; she was acting in self-defense. Besides, that woman is from Shandong; she's probably already back home."

I nodded, completely relieved.

Gold Tooth Guy got stabbed for nothing, I'm very satisfied!

Zhan Lao Er looked at me and said, "Brother, I've taken back the house in Building 26. I plan to drive out that Gold Tooth guy and hand it over to you to manage."

"Ah, me?" I was very surprised!

Unexpectedly, my job as a building manager is actually quite promising, and I've even started to expand my career across the street!

Zhan Lao Er nodded: "I went to check out Building 27 across the street this morning, and you've managed it very well. I'm relieved to hand over Building 26 to you. If that bastard Jin Ya Lao continues like this, who knows what kind of trouble he'll cause!"

It turns out that Zhan Lao Er was also very unhappy with Jin Ya Lao.

Then Zhan Lao Er asked me, "How much is the monthly rent for your building, number 27?"

I thought for a moment and said, "About 30,000 yuan, and I'll still make a little profit on the utilities."

Sister Li's building number 27 has eight storefronts, which together bring in 10,000 yuan per month.

There are forty houses left, with an average monthly rent of 500 per house, which adds up to another 20,000.

Water costs four yuan, electricity costs two yuan and fifty cents, so there's still some profit.

All things considered, a monthly income of 30,000 yuan is still achievable.

If you're ruthless enough, you can swindle the tenant's deposit, or find fault with the tenant and claim they damaged the house to demand compensation, then you can earn even more.

The gold-toothed man's specialty is cheating tenants out of their deposits. Every time a tenant moves out, he argues with them.

I've only been here a few days, but I've already seen at least three tenants and argued with the guy with the gold teeth.

boom!

Zhan Lao Er slammed his fist on the table and roared, "That bastard Jin Ya Lao only pays me a maximum of 18,000 yuan in rent each month. He embezzles more than 10,000 yuan from me every month!"

Because Buildings 26 and 27 have the exact same area and size. Theoretically, whatever the rent for Building 27, the rent for Building 26 should be the same.

"Second Brother, Gold Tooth swindles over ten thousand from you every month, and that's not all. He's pocketed a lot of tenants' deposits and even housing compensation money." Boss Hong, a shrewd man, chuckled.

"Gold Tooth has been a local tyrant these past two years, making a fortune and sleeping with countless female tenants. Getting stabbed the other day wasn't such a loss after all."

"Don't even mention him! That bastard is a deadbeat! I'll never trust him again in my life!"

Zhan Lao Er was so angry that he puffed out his beard and glared at me. He grabbed my hand and said, "Brother, you can help me collect rent. I'll give you a guaranteed monthly salary of 1,000 yuan, plus... a 5% commission on the rent."

I did a quick calculation: the total monthly rent is 30,000, and with a 5% commission, that's about 1,500.

With a guaranteed minimum wage of 1,000 yuan, that's really high.

I can do this job.

But I still shook my head and said hesitantly, "Second Brother, I'm here to help Sister Li with something. I need to ask Sister Li about this. I can only agree to your request if Sister Li agrees."