81: cousin

After Big Courage left with Big Ox and the others,

the office fell quiet.

Shui Sheng sat down opposite Li Zhan, refilled his teacup, and said in a lowered voice,

"Brother Zhan, when are we going to make a move on Phoenix City?

If they really join forces with the Chaoshan Gang..."

Li Zhan waved his hand to cut him off.

"Chaoshan people are born to do business,

but businessmen have one characteristic—they value profit over loyalty.

Just keep a close eye on them.

If it really comes to a fight in the end, they'll only side with the winner.

As for Phoenix City..."

He flicked his cigarette ash. "I'm waiting...

waiting for the situation at the Changan Branch Bureau to settle.

If Director Li takes the top spot, that's when we'll make our move."

Shui Sheng nodded. "So we just wait idly?"

"Wait idly?

Of course not. We need to prepare on two fronts."

Li Zhan narrowed his eyes. "Have your people keep an eye on Ninth Master and Brother Biao's every move.

When I do make a move, it won't be a small one—I'll take the entire territory of Phoenix City in one fell swoop."

He turned to look at Old Zhou, who was pouring tea,

a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Old Zhou, arrange for a team

to find a foothold near the Chaoshan Gang headquarters in Baoan, Shenzhen.

When the time comes to act...

I'd actually be quite happy if those Chaoshan people charged into Changan."

——

As soon as Old Zhou and Shui Sheng left the office,

Li Zhan, sitting on the sofa, suddenly remembered something.

The cousin his father had repeatedly told him to contact,

whom he should have sought out as soon as he arrived in Changan, had been put off until now.

He pulled a slip of paper from his wallet,

on which was written a phone number and an address.

Li Zhan dialed the number and held the phone to his ear.

The receiver rang seven or eight times with a long "beep—beep—", but no one answered.

"What a mess...

Is she really unreachable?"

He clicked his tongue and took another careful look at the address on the slip.

"Xiagang?

Wasn't it supposed to be in Wusha Village?

How did she move to Xiagang?"

He checked his wristwatch; it was still early.

The address on the slip should be near the Xiagang venue.

If he went to look now, he could still swing by the venue in the evening.

Li Zhan stuffed the slip back into his pocket,

grabbed his coat draped over the sofa, and walked toward the door while putting it on.

——

In the alleyways of Xiagang Village, past five in the afternoon, the air carried the smells of gutter oil and urine.

Li Zhan, carrying a bag of fruit, walked along a stone-paved path littered with sewage,

passing under rows of drying underwear.

On the third floor, a faded "Accommodation" sign hung from a security window,

and the doorplate for Room 302 was crookedly nailed to a mold-stained wooden door.

He raised his hand and knocked.

A heavily lined eye peered through the crack in the door.

"Who are you looking for?" the girl's voice asked, guarded.

"I'm looking for my cousin. See if this address is correct."

Li Zhan caught a whiff of cheap perfume drifting through the crack and passed the slip through.

The door chain rattled, and a girl of seventeen or eighteen blocked the doorway.

She was quite pretty, but her style was exaggerated—a complete little punk.

Even in December, she wore a crop top,

with ripped jeans hanging low on her hips. Her left arm was tattooed with a skull and rose, and her nose ring gleamed under the hallway light.

Her overly developed chest stretched her tight T-shirt into an exaggerated curve,

and her purple-dyed hair was tied into a messy ponytail.

"My mom's cousin... so you're my uncle?

How are you so young?"

Chewing gum, she took the slip and looked at it. "Yeah, the address on here is right."

She pulled out her phone. "Hold on, let me ask my mom."

Hurried speech came from the other end of the line.

The girl suddenly widened her eyes. "You're from Xing'an, Guilin?"

Li Zhan nodded. "Yes, that's me."

She hung up the phone and undid the door chain much more briskly.

"My mom went to buy braised food. She said to come in and wait, and we'll have dinner together later."

The ten-square-meter living room was crammed with a folding table and a second-hand sofa.

Li Zhan noticed a Hello Kitty blanket bunched up on the sofa,

and a lace bra hanging over the armrest.

The girl hurriedly stuffed the underwear behind a cushion and kicked aside beer cans on the floor to clear a path.

"Sit here."

She pulled over a plastic stool.

As she bent over, a strip of honey-colored waist was exposed, and the rhinestone on her belly button ring glinted.

Li Zhan scanned the newspaper-pasted walls. "Your mom isn't off work yet?"

"She just found a job at a nightclub nearby last week."

The girl crouched to search for teacups, her ripped jeans straining against her full hips.

"I want to work as a server at the nightclub, but she insists I finish vocational high school."

She suddenly turned to hand him tea, her low neckline revealing a flash of pale skin.

"Uncle, where do you make your fortune?"

Her eyes roved over Li Zhan's attire,

"Looks like you're doing pretty well, huh?"

Li Zhan placed the fruit he'd brought on the greasy folding table and draped his trench coat over the sofa armrest.

"Me? I work at a nightclub too."

"Really?"

Xiao Qian grabbed his arm, her chest inadvertently pressing against him.

"Which nightclub?

Judging by your look, you must be management, right?

Get me in as a server,

just don't let my mom know..."

Her rubbing made Li Zhan's throat tighten. He subtly withdrew his arm.

"You?"

He looked her up and down. "If you're willing to dye your hair back and take off that nose ring,

I might be able to help you find a decent job."

"Great!"

Xiao Qian jumped up excitedly,

her chest swaying dizzyingly. "I'll go wash it off right now!"

She pulled out her phone. "What's your number?

I'll come find you tomorrow!

Remember, don't tell my mom—

I'm Zhang Qian, just call me Xiao Qian."

As soon as Li Zhan finished reciting his number, hurried footsteps suddenly echoed in the stairwell.

A middle-aged beauty with a ponytail appeared breathlessly at the doorway.

Li Zhan turned around.

The moment their eyes met, the air seemed to freeze.

The plastic bag in the beauty's hand fell to the floor with a *thud*,

a few cucumbers rolling to Li Zhan's feet.

Li Zhan froze in place, the teacup in his hand nearly slipping.

He never expected the newcomer to be the middle-aged beauty who had come to the venue for an interview the other day.

Memories flashed instantly—

That day, she had worn a low-cut blazer,

her slender legs encased in black stockings, standing nervously at the edge of the line.

At the time, he'd thought that although she wasn't young, her figure was indeed hot.

Now, the middle-aged beauty standing in the doorway,

though dressed in a simple black sweater and jeans, was even more alluring than she had been at the nightclub.

Sweat made the sweater cling to her body, outlining her full chest, and the jeans hugged her rounded, perky buttocks.

Li Zhan felt his throat tighten again and quickly took a sip of tea to hide his awkwardness.

Sister Qin's ears instantly flushed bright red—

This so-called "cousin" was actually the boss who had interviewed her at the nightclub last week.

After she withdrew from the interview for a hostess position, he had even given her a cleaning job.

At the time, she had been quite grateful to him.

After all, for a woman her age with no special skills,

finding a proper job was too difficult.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have mustered the courage to interview as a hostess in the first place.