152: Chapter 152 Xindun Security

The next morning, Li Xin slept until he woke up naturally.

Sunlight leaked through the gap in the curtains, casting a long band of light across the floor. He lay still, staring at the ceiling for a few seconds, then rolled over and sat up.

There were two messages on his phone.

One was from Qiang Zi: "Brother Xin, my brother is taking the train to Linzhi at noon, and he wants to treat you to a meal before he leaves."

The other was from Luo Maifa: "My dad said he wants to invite you to dinner next week, you set the time."

Li Xin replied to Luo Maifa first: "Sure, we'll talk about it then."

Then he called Qiang Zi.

"What time at noon?"

"Twelve o'clock. There's a Hunan restaurant near the train station that's very good."

"No problem, send me the address."

At twelve noon, Li Xin appeared at the entrance of the Hunan restaurant on time, and Qiang Zi and his brother were already there. Zhang Yi had changed into a clean jacket today and had even gotten a haircut, looking much more spirited.

"Brother Xin." Zhang Yi stood up to greet him.

"Sit." Li Xin took a seat opposite him, picked up the menu and glanced at it, then passed it to Qiang Zi. "You guys order, I'm not picky."

Qiang Zi smiled and took the menu, skillfully ordering spicy chicken, chopped pepper fish head, and stir-fried meat—all the restaurant's signature dishes. While waiting for the food, he poured his brother a cup of hot tea and looked at Li Xin with a serious expression.

"Brother Xin, to tell you the truth, I'm really grateful that you're willing to invest and help my brother. His train is after four o'clock this afternoon, so he has to leave after this meal."

Li Xin waved his hand: "It's just a small favor, no need to be so polite. Have you decided where you're going?"

"Yes, the route is all planned." Zhang Yi took over the conversation, his tone full of gratitude. "This time, it's all thanks to Brother Xin's support; I'll always keep it in mind."

"You still have to walk the road yourself." Li Xin said indifferently. "Just be steady and do your work when you're out. Is your luggage all packed?"

"Everything is arranged." Zhang Yi nodded. "The big items were sent away in advance, I'm just carrying a small bag, traveling light."

Qiang Zi chimed in from the side: "I've checked repeatedly too, nothing was left behind, just waiting for the time to go to the station."

"The homestay matter, are you going to start handling it as soon as you get back?" Li Xin asked.

"Yes, right away." Zhang Yi replied. "The landlord is all settled, we just need to sign the contract when I get back. The renovation workers are also lined up; it won't take long to finish."

Li Xin picked up his teacup and took a sip, his tone calm: "If you run into any difficulties during the process, call me anytime."

Zhang Yi turned to look at his brother, Qiang Zi, and nodded solemnly.

As they spoke, dishes were served one after another. Qiang Zi enthusiastically picked a piece of chopped pepper fish head for his brother, and Zhang Yi lowered his head to eat silently, not saying much. Qiang Zi was talkative, chatting about the company's subsequent plans and the progress of the factory renovation while eating. Li Xin listened quietly, occasionally interjecting to ask about a few details.

After the meal, Qiang Zi took a taxi to send his brother to the train station. Li Xin stood at the entrance of the restaurant and lit a cigarette. The sun was nice, feeling warm on his body.

Before the cigarette finished burning, a message from the AI System popped up with a teasing tone: [Zhuzi, not bad, doesn't it feel pretty good to play the generous benefactor?]

Li Xin lowered his eyes to scan the panel and retorted in a flat tone: "What generous benefactor? That's an investment."

[Investment? You have a net worth of hundreds of billions, and you still care about this 500,000 investment? To you, it's just a drop in the bucket, is it worth getting so worked up over?]

Li Xin applied a little force to his fingertips, the ember on the cigarette butt brightened, and his tone deepened, carrying an indisputable seriousness:

"He guarded the border for five years, bled for the country, and carried the burden. Now that he's starting over, what's wrong with me helping him out with some money?"

The other side of the panel was silent for a few seconds before replying slowly: [Fine, fine, you're right, I can't argue with you.]

Li Xin didn't reply, raised his hand to stub out the cigarette butt in the smoking area of the trash can nearby, and drove back to Shenzhen Bay No. 1.

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In the afternoon, he was reading documents in the study when the doorbell rang.

Opening the door, Qiang Zi was standing outside. He wasn't carrying anything, wearing an old T-shirt, his hair messy, as if he had just rushed over from outside.

"Brother Xin." He stood at the door without coming in.

"Come in and sit." Li Xin stepped aside to let him in.

Qiang Zi walked in and sat on the sofa. Li Xin poured him a glass of water and sat down opposite him.

Qiang Zi took the cup but didn't drink. He kept his head down, staring at the water in the cup, rubbing his fingers against the cup wall.

"What's wrong?" Li Xin asked.

Qiang Zi looked up at him. He opened his mouth, then closed it again.

Li Xin didn't urge him. He leaned back on the sofa and waited.

After a long while, Qiang Zi finally spoke.

"Brother Xin, I don't want to idle around in Shenzhen anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"I want to work for you." Qiang Zi's voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear. "I'll do anything. I don't want to keep drifting like this."

Li Xin looked at him without speaking.

Qiang Zi placed the cup on the coffee table and rubbed his knees with both hands.

"In the few years since I retired, I worked on construction sites at first, then opened a shop with Tiezhu, and later you asked me to handle the security company matter.

I can do these things, but I always feel like my heart has no place to rest. I just want to find someone reliable to follow and do some real work."

"What kind of real work do you want to do?" Li Xin asked.

"Anything is fine." Qiang Zi looked up, his eyes staring straight at Li Xin. "Whatever you tell me to do, I'll do it—running errands, guarding venues, driving, fighting, it's all fine; I'm not picky."

Li Xin picked up his water glass and took a sip, not answering.

Qiang Zi continued, his speaking speed faster, as if afraid of being interrupted.

"I know your business is big, and I can't be of much help. But I'm an honest person, I can endure hardship, and I'm trustworthy. If you use me, you can rest assured."

"What about those brothers of yours?" Li Xin asked.

"They are idling too. Each one is waiting for an opportunity." Qiang Zi said. "They asked me where to go, and I said I'm following Brother Xin, and they were even more excited than me. They're all waiting for news."

Li Xin put down the water glass and leaned back on the sofa. He looked at Qiang Zi; this person's eyes didn't dodge when he spoke, staring straight at him.

"Do you know what business I do?"

"Not entirely sure." Qiang Zi said,

"But I know you're not an ordinary person; you invested so much money in Yang Hong's company and made so much in real estate. It's definitely not small potatoes. Following you is definitely the right choice."

Li Xin was silent for a while. He stood up, walked to the window, and turned his back to Qiang Zi.

"Aren't you afraid I'll lead you into a ditch?"

"Not afraid." Qiang Zi's voice came from behind. "You're not that kind of person."

Li Xin turned around and looked at him.

"Alright, since you want to work for me, I'll arrange something for you."

Qiang Zi's eyes lit up. "Tell me."

"You'll still be doing your old line of work. The security company we're investing in will be specifically responsible for the security business of the companies under my name—executive bodyguards, commercial security, information security; you'll manage these."

Qiang Zi was stunned for a moment. "A security company?"

"Yes, you've been a soldier and led men, you have a good foundation. I'll give you the money, and you'll recruit people, buy equipment, and take on business."

Qiang Zi looked worried: "I can't do the job of running a company; I don't understand the ways of doing business at all. I'm still dizzy about the current security company."

"If you don't understand, learn. No one is born proficient in everything." Li Xin's tone was calm,

"Chen Hu will stay to help you coordinate affairs. I will also contact a friend, he has a deputy general manager under him with rich management experience in the security industry, and I will borrow him to guide you for a period of time."

Qiang Zi opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but swallowed it back.

Li Xin lit a cigarette.

"What? Not willing?"

"It's not that I'm not willing." Qiang Zi rubbed his hands. "I just feel... this is about the same as what I was doing before, still sitting in an office, managing people, holding meetings."

"Then what do you want to do?"

"I want to follow you around." Qiang Zi's voice was a bit muffled. "Wherever you go, I go. I don't want to sit in an office every day."

Li Xin took a puff of his cigarette and exhaled slowly.

"Do the job I've assigned you well first. Once the company is on track, you can go wherever you want."

Qiang Zi stared at him for a few seconds, then nodded.

"Alright, I'll listen to you."

"The security company, change the name to Xindun. The registered capital is 50 million, with the headquarters in Shenzhen."

Li Xin stood up, walked to the desk, took a document out of the drawer, and handed it to him. "This is the planning proposal. Take a look at it first."

Qiang Zi took it and flipped through a few pages. He frowned slightly.

"50 million?"

"Yes."

"Brother Xin, this is too much..."

"Is it too much?" Li Xin laughed. "It will increase in the future, you just focus on recruiting people; don't worry about the money. By the way, regarding the location of the security base, do you have a suitable one in mind?"

Qiang Zi immediately nodded solemnly, a look of certainty after deliberation appearing on his face,

"Yes, I've been thinking of a place that's quite suitable. There's an abandoned old factory in Longhua, a full three thousand square meters, and the location is remote, far from the downtown area, just right for use as a training ground without disturbing the public. I heard someone mention it before, and the landlord is willing to rent it out."

"Take me to see it tomorrow."

"Okay."

Qiang Zi put away the document and stood up. He walked to the door, then stopped and looked back at Li Xin.

"Brother Xin, then in the future... am I not allowed to get too close to Yang Hong and the others?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I'm afraid of letting something slip. They shouldn't know about your affairs."

"Hang out as usual, just don't say what shouldn't be said."

Qiang Zi nodded and pushed the door open to leave.

Li Xin stood by the window, watching him walk out of the residential complex gate. The sunlight shone on him, casting a long shadow.

His phone vibrated. A message from Chen Hu: "Boss, the registration in Cambodia is done. The company name is Xinfeng, and the business scope is security consulting."

Li Xin replied with one word: "Good."

He sent another message: "You recruit the people first. I'll arrange the rest."

Chen Hu replied: "Understood."

The next morning, Qiang Zi drove over to pick him up.

"Brother Xin, get in."

Li Xin pulled open the passenger door and sat inside.

"The factory is in Longhua, it's forty minutes from here if there's no traffic." Qiang Zi started the car.

"You went to see it yesterday?"

"I did, the place is big enough and remote enough. There's no one around, so it won't disturb anyone when we conduct training."

The car drove for over forty minutes and entered a narrow alley. The walls on both sides of the alley were covered with withered vines, and at the end stood a rusty large iron gate, wrapped in layers of chains.

Qiang Zi got out of the car to unlock it, struggling to open the large gate. Inside the courtyard was an empty concrete open space, the ground covered with thick dust, several windows broken, sunlight streaming in through the gaps, causing dust to fly everywhere.

"3,200 square meters." Qiang Zi said. "It used to be a machinery factory, it's been closed for several years. The landlord said it can be rented, 800,000 a year."

Li Xin walked around inside; the factory building was high enough and wide enough to partition into offices, dormitories, and a training ground. The location was remote and quiet, not easy to attract attention.

"Rent it. Sign the contract for three years." He turned to look at Qiang Zi. "You keep an eye on the renovation. Partition a few offices, a conference room, and a canteen. Use the remaining space as a training ground."

Qiang Zi nodded. "Okay."

"Various types of equipment also need to be purchased together. Make a list of the fitness and training equipment, and I'll arrange for someone to purchase them."

"Understood."

Li Xin moved to the window and looked at the large expanse of wasteland outside. The wild grass had already grown to half a person's height, and as the breeze swept by, the grass leaves rustled.

"The company will be named Xindun Security, and I'll find someone to handle the paperwork. You take everyone and get this site organized first."

Qiang Zi grinned and replied readily: "No problem!"

Leaving the factory, Li Xin got into the car. Qiang Zi stood at the entrance, watching him start the vehicle.

"Qiang Zi."

"Brother Xin, tell me."

"Chen Hu will arrive in the afternoon. Bring him over to look around the site and let him help you with some advice."

Qiang Zi was slightly stunned: "Brother Chen is coming too?"

"Yes, he has some business on his hands, different from yours, but many resources can be shared. You two can discuss and decide on things like the training ground and equipment procurement together."

Qiang Zi nodded in response and said no more.

Li Xin stepped on the gas, and the car drove away.

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