A life of success begins with being a landlord.

Upon hearing this, everyone's faces lit up with surprise and delight.

I continued, "Snakes are incredibly patient and generally don't die easily. Magicians can put snakes in the freezer, and they'll automatically coil up and enter hibernation. A large snake, when coiled up, is only about the size of a palm. A small snake, when coiled up, is only about the size of a teacup, making it easy to hide on your person."

Director Nie looked at me: "Master Wang, was your snake hidden beforehand?"

"That must be it; it's either hidden on his person or in the washbasin."

I nodded and continued to explain, "If you secretly put a frozen snake in a basin, and then light a paper talisman, the heat from the flame will quickly revive the snake. Then take it out and stroke it, and the snake's body will stretch out and become longer."

"You bastard, so that's how it is!" Director Hong slammed his hand on the table and burst into laughter.

"Brother Wang's explanation makes it perfectly clear; that's exactly how Master Wang plays."

Everyone was completely in awe of me and praised me repeatedly.

As they were talking, the food and drinks were served.

We continued our conversation while drinking.

Sister Tang was very interested in me and asked, "Young man, what's the difference between your snake-coiling technique and Master Wang's magic tricks?"

"Master Wang's trick was pure magic."

I chuckled. "My snake-coiling technique has a bit of a martial arts secret to it. In the old days, there was a sect called the Snake Flower Sect, which consisted of beggars who played with snakes. They used a secret formula to control venomous snakes."

Boss Huo chuckled, "So, the Beggar Clan disciples from martial arts novels?"

I nodded: "More or less."

Dao Zixiong took a sip of wine and said in a low voice, "Brother, with your skills, exposing Master Wang's tricks shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"It's hard to say, it depends on the occasion. These things also have home and away aspects. If it's Master Wang's home turf, he will definitely have made arrangements and taken precautions."

I looked at everyone and said seriously, "If Master Wang were sitting here right now, it would be my home turf, and I could pull Master Wang's pants off. But in his home turf, I might not even be able to get close to him."

Director Nie pondered for a moment: "Brother, do you mean we should arrange a venue?"

I nodded.

Boss Huo and the others exchanged glances and nodded to each other.

Daozai Xiong nodded to me: "Wait for my news. I'll let you know as soon as I've made up my mind."

Given the circumstances, I had no choice but to agree.

Next came the drinking. Everyone toasted me, calling me "brother" repeatedly.

I seized the opportunity and called out to Brother Liu, Brother Hong, Brother Nie, Sister Tang, Boss Huo...

We drank until nine o'clock, which was about the right time.

Dao Zai Xiong suggested that he take everyone to the Golden Rose Casino for a bit of fun.

But Boss Huo suggested, "I'd like to take a walk around here, see the local customs and culture of Sanlichuan, and also sober up a bit."

Tang Jie and the others immediately flattered him: "Mr. Huo is right, let's go take a look."

So, a group of us left the Zhan family's old house and prepared to go for a walk.

As I walked out of the alley, I saw two motorcycle taxi drivers chatting and waiting for customers.

Upon seeing Daozai Xiong, the two motorcycle taxi drivers hurriedly greeted him, calling him Brother Xiong.

Dao Zixiong simply waved his hand.

I stopped and looked closely. One of them stood out in my memory; he was the guy who had robbed Chunyan that day and even touched her butt!

I remember he had a big black mole on his face.

"Hey, do you remember me?" I shouted, pointing at the man with the mole.

"You are..." The man with the mole was taken aback.

Dao Zixiong turned around: "Brother, you two know each other?"

"On my very first day here, he snatched my bag and tried to hit me. Luckily, my older sister, Hu Xiaoli, was playing mahjong upstairs, otherwise, he would have beaten me to death with an iron rod."

I chuckled coldly.

"Ah, it was you that day?" The man with the mole was startled, his face filled with fear.

Snapped!

Dao Zixiong walked back and slapped him across the face: "You bastard, he's my brother, how dare you steal him? From now on, call me Brother Zu!"

He covered his face in the car: "Brother Xiong, I didn't know..."

"Go!" Dao Zixiong kicked the driver again.

"Call all of you motorcycle taxi drivers over here to meet my brothers. If any of you dare to be so disrespectful again, I'll gouge out your eyes!"

The driver nodded hurriedly: "Brother Xiong, we're all going to Fatty's Fried Noodles Shop right away."

Fat Lady's Fried Rice Noodles Shop? Probably Fat Sister's Fried Rice Noodles Shop.

I didn't try to stop him, and just smiled at Daozai Xiong.

It's good to get to know the local motorcycle taxi drivers; they're local bullies who also work as motorcycle bandits.

We continued walking forward, looking around as we went.

Dao Zixiong introduced Huo Yandong to the development history of Sanlichuan and some local conditions.

Huo Yandong said calmly, "The city is still expanding, and its future development is limitless. Land will become more and more valuable. If you have the opportunity, you should acquire more land. You can make a lot of money in the future."

When this topic comes up, I can't get a word in edgewise.

I think the dilapidated land around Sanlichuan is just like our rural area.

Those farmlands in the distance, what are they worth?

But I didn’t know that the Hong Kong government has been developing real estate for decades. Huo Yandong came from the Hong Kong government, so his vision is impeccable!

As I walked around, I noticed that the most common shops on both sides of the street were hair salons.

There are also two large-scale karaoke bars, both of which are said to have shares held by Dao Zai Xiong.

Arriving at the fried noodle shop, I said to Daozai Xiong, "Brother Xiong, I won't stay with you guys. I have some things to do back home."

Dao Zixiong and the others nodded and smiled, or waved their hands.

Sister Tang patted me on the shoulder: "Come have some tea in Building 3. I'm in my office on the third floor. I'll treat you to dinner another day and introduce you to some friends."

"Okay, Sister Tang, take care." I nodded and smiled.

Why would I ask you to play something if there's nothing wrong? What fun things do you have there?

Introducing it to a friend is fine; you never know when it might come in handy.

After Daozai Xiong and the others left, I sat in front of Fatty's door to sober up.

I had just sat down when about ten motorcycles roared up and pulled over to the side of the road.

The fat woman was terrified and quickly called out to me, "Xiao Wang, run! They're here to fight you!"

"It's alright, Fatty Sister." I sat there, as steady as a mountain.

Because I saw the driver with the mole, the one leading the team.

Sure enough, the man with the big black mole got out of the car, called to the other drivers, and walked up to me: "Brother Zu, we were blind and didn't know you were Brother Xiong's brother."

I stood up and looked at the group of drivers in front of me: "Are you all locals?"

The man with the large black mole nodded: "Yes, they're all from the surrounding countryside."

"Understood." I turned around and pointed to Building 27: "From now on, please take good care of the residents here."

"Definitely, definitely."

"By the way, what's your name? Give me your phone number." I looked at the big black mole.

The man with the big black mole touched the mole on his face, gave me his phone number, and chuckled, "My surname is Mao, and everyone calls me Rich Mao. Brother Zu, you can just call me Ah Mao."

"Alright, you guys get back to work, we'll talk again next time."

I nodded and went upstairs.

There was no one in the house, only the sound of running water coming from the bathroom, which must be Chunyan taking a bath.

"Chunyan, are you taking a bath?"

I knocked on the bathroom door.

"Oh dear, it's me... not Chunyan."

Inside, Sister Ling's voice sounded somewhat panicked.

"Sister Ling? It's okay, you can go ahead and wash..." I turned and ran away.

Luckily, I didn't open the door directly!

Where did that damned swallow go again?

Just as I was about to call and ask, Sister Li called.

"Sister Li, when are you coming back?" I asked.

"I'll be back the day after tomorrow morning. You'd better clean the house thoroughly, or else... hehe!" Sister Li threatened, her laughter wicked.

"Don't worry, Sister Li, the house is always very clean."

I thought for a moment and then said, "Sister Li, there's something I need to report to you. It's that I'm going to be in charge of managing Building 26 of Zhan Lao Er's place."

Next, I explained the matter in detail and asked for Sister Li's opinion.

"Is that so?" Sister Li asked after a long pause.

"Do you think you can manage two buildings at the same time? If you think it's possible, then you can agree to Zhan Lao Er's request. I have no objection."

I laughed and said, "Sister Li, if you're too busy, I can find a cleaning job; five hundred yuan a month will be enough. I can handle the rest."

There's a saying in my hometown: the more monkeys there are, the easier they are to chase away.

You can't control one or two monkeys. But when there are many monkeys, forming groups, management becomes much simpler.

The two buildings are next to each other, so I'll be responsible for collecting rent and utility bills; there shouldn't be any problem.

The cleaning job can be done by hiring any cleaning lady; the wages aren't expensive.

Sister Li agreed and gave me advice: "You must remember one thing: Zhan Lao Er must be responsible for the house repair costs. Otherwise, there will be disputes later."

I was very happy: "Thank you, Sister Li, I understand. I won't delay things here at Building 27."

Sister Li was in a great mood tonight and we continued our long phone conversation.

I suddenly remembered Master Wang's matter, and after hesitating for a moment, I told Sister Li about it.

"Wang Yaozu, you agreed to Dao Zaixiong's request? This is outrageous!"

After hearing this, Sister Li was shocked and exclaimed on the phone, "This is extremely dangerous! You'll be killed!"