Chapter 167: A Trade is Like a Mountain

However, different trades, different worlds.

Outsiders watch the spectacle, insiders watch the methodology.

Tang Xingyu did not think highly of Red Rose. Cui Jinghui's family had been painstakingly operating in Yezhou for decades; they were undoubtedly the local kingpins.

For an outsider to try to withstand Seattle's onslaught just by throwing money around was not very realistic.

You can throw money to keep it on life support, no problem.

But you can't just keep throwing money forever. If you're going to keep throwing money away, you might as well just shut down.

Lu Shanshan and Yu Nana shook their heads after hearing this. If it were some young master, they might have heard of him.

A man in his fifties or sixties would be someone their parents' generation would interact with; how would they have friends that old?

Tang Xingyu had previously studied in Yebai before transferring to Shanghu. The friends he made now were all from Shanghu, and his connections in Yebai hadn't been updated for years.

If they were in Qilu, Tang Xingyu could help Cui Jinghui ask his father to see if he knew this person.

"Jinghui, their intention is very clear. They definitely don't want you to eat this piece of meat, which is why they've added so many costs to protect it."

"This boss's economic strength cannot be underestimated; they must be very wealthy."

Tang Xingyu analyzed earnestly for Cui Jinghui.

"Since none of us know them, there's no point in wasting effort guessing. Since Red Rose is waiving the bill, why don't we go over, sit down, and meet them? Wouldn't we know then?"

"It just so happens that Xingyu is in Yebai for these few days, so let's have some fun."

Shi Yuzhu suggested.

Everyone agreed; they didn't know where to go for the evening anyway, and Red Rose would definitely be lively tonight.

That evening, Yezhou Avenue was bustling with traffic and grand in scale; the traffic police even dispatched officers to direct traffic.

The nearby parking lots were completely full. After 7 PM, drivers were already circling around, unable to find a parking space.

The plaque of Red Rose was resplendent. Unusually, two sturdy men stood at the entrance today, but they weren't wearing security uniforms. Instead, they wore expensive black suits, Ferragamo belts around their waists, and mandatory earpieces.

After entering, there were 9000-lumen purple neon lights. Even from far away from the main dance floor, one could hear the noisy music.

The men in black stood with their hands behind their backs as a steady stream of guests arrived. It was only a little past 7 PM, and the booths and open tables were already full. Many people had nowhere to sit and could only stand to the side to drink and hang out.

"Goodness, so many people!" Lu Shanshan exclaimed in surprise.

"Of course. Didn't you see the sign earlier? It started at six; we're late." Shi Yuzhu laughed. Naturally, there would be many people for free things.

Today, there were three types of people at Red Rose: the young masters from the old Yebai circle, trendy and fashionable young college students, and very shy youths who seemed to be at a bar for the first time.

"No seats?" Cui Jinghui looked around, walked up to a man in black, and pulled three hundred-yuan bills from his wallet. "Buddy, can you find us a seat?"

Who would have thought that the man in black, wearing black sunglasses, would arrogantly turn his head away without even looking at Cui Jinghui.

"Fine, you're something else." Cui Jinghui put the money back into his pocket.

Whenever their group went out to play, when was it ever not a booth or a VIP seat?

Tang Xingyu had come from afar, and as the host, Cui Jinghui couldn't let him stand around in the venue playing like an idiot; it would make him lose face.

"Hey, isn't that Zheng Qian?" Shi Yuzhu pointed toward the third floor, spotting an extremely familiar face.

Upon arriving at the third floor, it really was him.

Zheng Qian was sitting alone in a booth, looking at his phone and drinking.

Shi Yuzhu walked up excitedly: "Qian'er, why are you here too?"

Hearing someone call him, Zheng Qian looked up and saw it was Shi Yuzhu.

"What a coincidence."

"Yeah, yeah, what a coincidence. Are you by yourself?" Shi Yuzhu asked.

Zheng Qian nodded: "Yeah, for the moment."

Shi Yuzhu's original intention was to ask if they could sit with Zheng Qian; there were too many people tonight, and they had arrived late and couldn't find seats.

But who knew, Yu Nana directly rushed to sit in the booth: "Tch, why are you taking up such a good booth all by yourself? Scoot over to the side, I'm exhausted!"

In Zheng Qian's eyes, Yu Nana's behavior was a bit overstepping her bounds.

This was his bar. He could sit however he wanted; what was it to her?

Pushing in here without rhyme or reason, she really had a lot of nerve.

Cui Jinghui also sat down along with her.

"Sit down, let's have a drink together." Zheng Qian glanced at Tang Xingyu and Lu Shanshan who were standing on the side. "You guys sit too."

Out of respect for Shi Yuzhu, Zheng Qian let them all sit down.

"You sure arrived early. I just spent half an hour looking for a parking spot." Shi Yuzhu sat next to Zheng Qian and draped his arm around Zheng Qian's neck.

"Yeah, there are a lot of people today. I just arrived too." Zheng Qian raised his glass and took two sips.

"Heh, just arrived? Who are you trying to kid?" Yu Nana put her hands on her hips, leaned back against the sofa, and crossed her legs.

"If you just arrived, how could you secure such a good booth? I bet you came in before they even opened for business today, right?" Yu Nana said, rolling her eyes.

She really didn't know when to stop when taking advantage of others; he must have come very early.

Yu Nana: Favorability -2.

"Qian'er, don't mind her. Being able to sit here today is all thanks to you. Come, let me toast you." Cui Jinghui gave Yu Nana a look, telling her not to speak recklessly for now.

He had long found Zheng Qian an eyesore, but he didn't need to use this method to deal with him.

Zheng Qian had even been a gigolo; words like this certainly wouldn't bother him at all.

Zheng Qian glanced at Cui Jinghui and accepted his toast.

"What kind of alcohol is this? It's a bit intense." Cui Jinghui gasped, looked at the glass, and then leaned his nose in to smell it.

"Can't tell, but it really tastes good." Lu Shanshan praised from the side.

Cui Jinghui didn't think too much about it, patted Zheng Qian, and said: "Zheng Qian, you left so hurriedly yesterday; you didn't even go to the alumni association meeting?"

"You know, our school's tradition is for seniors to take care of juniors. Now that you're doing so well, how could you not participate?"

The alumni association, also known as the fundraising committee, would actively invite some outstanding entrepreneurs to give speeches and take the lead in donating money to their alma mater.

Of course, the alma mater also welcomed the participation of seniors who had already graduated and were local to Yebai.

In such settings, those who were doing very well didn't have time to come, and those who were doing poorly didn't have the face to come.

The middle-upper class participated more, as they could show off their achievements after graduating from their alma mater.

Everyone could tell that Cui Jinghui still wanted to pull Zheng Qian into the alumni association; after all, the alumni association required money donations.

The peacemaker Shi Yuzhu tried to smooth things over again: "Forget it, forget it. Xiao Qian is busy with work; if he doesn't participate, he doesn't participate.

At this moment, the usually silent Tang Xingyu suddenly interjected:

"Crows feed their parents, lambs kneel to nurse; if animals are like this, how much more so should humans be?"