139: Chapter 139 The Gangster Has Connections

The dinner was scheduled at a low-key, luxurious private Chinese restaurant.

The "Big Brothers" that Sister Hong knew didn't have the tattoos, gold chains, or gold teeth that Zhao Xiaoshuai had imagined.

One by one, they looked just like ordinary bosses.

After exchanging pleasantries and opening a round of cards—three copper and one silver—it seemed that even social Big Brothers had their own difficulties; if we're only talking about wealth, not all of them were loaded.

However, once they started drinking, they all showed their true colors, with every other word reeking of the underworld.

The four social Big Brothers were surnamed Zhang, Liu, Lü, and Li.

They were a group of sworn brothers led by the eldest, Zhang, and their overt businesses involved construction sites, catering, logistics, and nightlife alcohol supply, among others.

"It is truly an honor to meet all of you today. Since it's our first meeting, I must offer everyone a small gift."

Normally, a nobody wanting to schedule a dinner with them wouldn't interest these Big Brothers at all.

But since it was arranged by the former woman of Boss Zhang, they gave her some face. Originally, it was planned that whoever among the four of them was bored would just go through the motions.

However, a news report in the Chuncheng Evening News made them re-evaluate this Boss Zhao, which led to the dinner where all four of them showed up.

They were actually a bit curious now about what this meeting gift would be.

However, Zhao Xiaoshuai didn't continue speaking immediately; instead, he got up and walked toward them.

"Do you have a cigarette?"

Although puzzled, the Big Brother surnamed Li still took out half a pack of Chunghwa from his pocket, and Zhao Xiaoshuai took one from it.

Zhao Xiaoshuai walked around the room like this, returning to his seat with four cigarettes in his hand.

"I'm sure you Big Brothers know that I invested some small change into Sister Hong's foot massage parlor, and I promised her 25% of the profits."

"But for now, because she lacks confidence in herself, she only dared to ask for 1.3 million to open this one shop."

"Once she becomes proficient in the business, a second, third... or even a tenth shop will definitely be opened."

He held up the four cigarettes at this point:

"You all have good taste in cigarettes. No matter how large Sister Hong's foot massage business grows or how many shops she opens, this one cigarette can be exchanged for 5% of the monthly net profit. That makes 20% total for the four of you. I wonder if you gentlemen are satisfied with that?"

They wouldn't have cared about 5% of the profit from a small foot massage parlor.

But if it could really be as he said—opening ten foot massage parlors on a million-yuan scale—then it would indeed be a gift of some weight.

Based on the scale of Sister Hong's current shop, there was a profit of over 100,000 a month if managed well. 5% of ten million-yuan shops would be 50,000 per month, totaling 600,000 a year in dividends.

However, anyone can talk big, so the Big Brothers just drank tea or alcohol, none of them responding for the moment.

Zhao Xiaoshuai wasn't surprised; none of these old foxes would release the hawk until they saw the rabbit.

"Sister Hong, send me the company account."

Previously, Zhao Xiaoshuai's money had been transferred directly to Sister Hong personally, 130,000 at a time.

However, an operating shop must have its own account. Although Sister Hong, as the store manager, could access this account legally, she would be held legally responsible for any unauthorized misappropriation.

He deposited two payments of 7 million into the account.

[cash-back card - 1, multiplier silver card - 1]

[Current cash-back rate: 161%, final cash-back amount: 10,100,000 yuan]

[cash-back card - 1, multiplier silver card - 1]

[Current cash-back rate: 127%, final cash-back amount: 8,890,000 yuan]

62 million in savings achieved!

"Of course, opening each shop isn't something that happens overnight, so I will need your help later on."

"However, I have already given the money to Sister Hong, so I will need you Big Brothers to help me keep an eye on her."

Seeing Zhao Xiaoshuai give the money so readily, they all had a higher opinion of his financial strength and were now genuinely willing to befriend him.

"It's all our own business, why talk about helping? Come, Brother Zhao, let's have a drink!"

With Boss Zhang taking the lead, they all accepted the meeting gift and acknowledged the relationship, agreeing to be closer in the future.

Zhao Xiaoshuai wanted to build this relationship with them, of course, because he had places where he could use them.

Not to mention the big things, there was an immediate small thing that required their help.

"Since we are all our own people now, I have a small matter, and I'd like to see if you gentlemen can help me with it."

There is no such thing as a free lunch, and these social Big Brothers understood that.

Since the other party had done everything properly before speaking, as long as it wasn't too troublesome, they would do their best to agree.

Zhao Xiaoshuai took out some photocopied documents.

"Actually, it's nothing big. It's just that these two people have some grievances with me. If they are still in Chuncheng, I want to use your connections to help me find them."

These two were, of course, the ones who had abandoned Guan Xiaosu and Xu Yuyan.

Although his relationship with the two women was just casual, they were still people he knew well, so he was determined to make the two men who had let them down pay the price.

Although Xu Yuyan's husband claimed to have gone to work in the south, no one could say for sure what the facts were.

The one Guan Xiaosu was with was very likely still in the local area.

But in this vast sea of people, finding two specific individuals was not an easy task.

"I thought it was something major. Don't worry, Brother Zhao, leave this to me."

The person speaking was surnamed Lü. It was said that for logistics in Chuncheng to run smoothly, basically everyone had to have his approval.

Although the information was old, it included names, photos, and ID numbers. In the hands of someone with channels, it was just a matter of following the clues.

"Then I'll leave it to you, Brother Lü."

Seeing that Zhao Xiaoshuai didn't ask for anything excessive, they were all very satisfied. The Big Brother surnamed Li also took the initiative to show goodwill:

"After you find them, Brother Zhao, if you want to teach them a lesson, you can come to me. We can discuss how light or heavy it should be when the time comes."

Zhao Xiaoshuai remembered that this man's overt business was alcohol supply; it seemed that the regular alcohol for major nightclubs and commercial KTVs all had to go through him.

"Alright, then I'll thank you all first."

This dinner could be said to have been enjoyed by all parties, except for Sister Hong.

She had never held so much money in her hands before, and now she was extremely nervous; her forced smiles in the second half of the meal were unnatural.

14 million had been deposited directly into the company account. Although it was said to be the startup capital for the future ten shops, the first shop's renovation wasn't even finished yet, and it hadn't opened for business.

Holding this money every day, she felt like she was sitting on pins and needles.

She knew that if anything went wrong with this money, she would be held legally responsible.

However, no one seemed to care about her thoughts. Boss Zhang, with whom she once had a fleeting romance, kept asking her when the second shop would open.

Was she that kind of person! What if she messed up with so much money!

But then, thinking of the 25% profit promised to her, her heart couldn't help but heat up. She finally understood what "happy trouble" meant.

She had an impression of one of the photos; years ago, Xu Yuyan had begged her to help find him, but no one would do anything without money.

She could only make introductions; she didn't have the ability to make others do things for her.

'Yuyan really found a noble person.'

...

...

At this moment, Father Ling, who had been making phone calls all morning, finally got through to his daughter's mobile phone.

"Hello, Dad, what is it? Waking me up so early in the morning!"

"Ruirui, it's already noon. Why are you just getting up? Didn't you sleep well last night? Your mom and I are downstairs at your place. Open the door and let us up."

"Oh. Eh? No, I just woke up and the room is a bit messy. You guys wait a moment."

"No need to be so troublesome. You're still worrying about this with your parents! Hello? Ruirui? This child..."

Ling Rui had just been sitting on the bed, answering the phone with sleepy eyes.

Only after getting up did she realize that the "breakfast" her host had left for her had spilled all over the bed. She realized she couldn't let her parents come up right then.

She hurriedly opened the windows for ventilation and spent over ten minutes tidying up before finally bringing her parents, who had been waiting in the car, upstairs.

Their daughter had been spoiled for a long time, and the Ling parents were used to it; they didn't mind her frequent willful behavior.

However, having waited for a long time and feeling anxious, they got straight to the point after entering the room:

"Ruirui, we have already met your boyfriend named Zhao Xiaoshuai. If Mom says you aren't allowed to continue seeing him, can you break off the relationship with him?"

Ling Weiqin just wanted to test her daughter's attitude first, but she never expected Ling Rui to respond without a moment's hesitation: "Then we can only break off the mother-daughter relationship."

Mother Ling: "???"

Father Ling: "???"