Zhang Cheng straightened his back, looked at Li Fuguo who was sticking his neck out, and a smile appeared on his lips: "Fine, you've got guts, kid. Follow me if you want."

Seeing this, the other two boys also sheepishly retreated from their respective female masseuses, not daring to mention "adding time" again.

Li Fuguo grinned like a child who had just received candy. He took a few steps closer to Zhang Cheng, squatted down, and looked up at him: "Brother, my mother said that when we're out in the world, I'll listen to you. If anyone dares to touch you, I'll be the first to fight them to the death!"

These words, though simple, made Zhang Cheng's heart sink slightly. Shengzi's young face seemed to flash before his eyes again; that kid, so honest and straightforward, so single-minded.

He raised his hand and roughly rubbed Li Fuguo's head, suppressing the surging emotions in his heart, his voice a little tight: "Alright, I know you're a loyal guy."

Zhang Cheng lay back down in the massage chair, closed his eyes, and said nothing more. The surrounding noise seemed to fade away; he needed some peace and quiet.

Not long after, Zhang Jianhao returned alone, his face flushed.

Li Fuguo curiously leaned closer and asked, "Brother Gang, what's it like to be a 'little emperor'?"

Zhang Jianhao's face turned even redder. He glared at Li Fuguo and, after a long pause, finally managed to squeeze out a few words through gritted teeth: "Get lost! You talk too much!"

He wasn't acting like a "little emperor" at all; he was clearly acting like a "blushing monkey." Under the female masseuse's teasing words, he fled in panic in less than a minute.

The other two boys also slunk back, looking dejected, clearly having gotten away with nothing either.

Zhang Cheng opened his eyes, looked at their embarrassed appearance, and chuckled: "Alright, go take a shower and clear your head."

Zhang Jianhao felt like he had been granted a pardon, and he pushed the other two away as fast as he could.

More than half an hour later, Jiang Yuhong and Zhang Tian returned, chatting and laughing, both with a look of lingering satisfaction on their faces.

"Zhang Cheng, let's go somewhere else, I'll show you something real!" Jiang Yuhong patted Zhang Cheng on the shoulder, full of energy.

"Okay," Zhang Cheng replied. After several days of running around and fighting, he was indeed tired, especially since his mental state had been constantly tense, and he needed to relax completely.

The group of seven, dressed neatly, walked through the brightly lit, bustling streets of Shanghai without taking a car.

Soon, they arrived at the entrance of a hotel called "Fire Phoenix". The hotel's facade wasn't the largest, but it exuded an understated luxury.

As soon as they arrived at the door, a woman with a voluptuous figure, dressed in a dark red cheongsam, came out to greet them. The woman was about thirty years old, with fashionable wavy hair, and slightly upturned eyes, exuding a subtle shrewdness and charm.

"Mr. Jiang, what brings you here today?" The woman's voice wasn't loud, but it had a penetrating quality that made it impossible to ignore.

Jiang Yuhong laughed heartily: "Phoenix, let me introduce you to some friends. This is Zhang Cheng, a younger brother I met in Funing County, Zhejiang Province. This is Zhang Tian, ​​the owner of the largest private garment factory in Jiaxing. These are Zhang's fellow townsmen."

The woman known as Sister Phoenix glanced at Zhang Cheng and Zhang Tian, ​​finally settling on Zhang Cheng for a couple more seconds, her smile unchanged: "So it's Boss Zhang, nice to meet you. Boss Zhang, Jiaxing is a wonderful place, I love their meat dumplings the most."

She nodded to Zhang Jianhao and the others as a greeting, her every move exuding familiarity and confidence.

After a few pleasantries, Sister Phoenix led everyone into the hotel.

The lobby was brightly lit and bustling with activity. The guests coming and going were all impeccably dressed and exuded an air of distinction. Sister Phoenix led them along, and people greeted her warmly from time to time, which she handled flawlessly, clearly indicating that she held a very high position of respect here.

The group entered a spacious private room separated by a screen, from which they could clearly see the lively scene in the main hall outside.

"Mr. Jiang, what would you like tonight?" Sister Phoenix personally poured Jiang Yuhong a cup of tea.

"Same as always, you can arrange it as you see fit."

"That's great! I was just worried that you might get tired of my food, Mr. Jiang." Sister Phoenix covered her mouth and smiled, then turned to Zhang Cheng and the others, "Mr. Zhang, and these young men, please feel free to tell me if you have any dietary restrictions."

"We don't have any dietary restrictions, thank you for your trouble, Sister Phoenix," Zhang Cheng said politely.

After Sister Phoenix gracefully walked out of the private room to arrange the food and drinks, Jiang Yuhong lowered his voice, glancing outside as if casually chatting: "This Sister Phoenix is ​​no ordinary person. This hotel looks unremarkable, and it's only been open for a little over half a year, but all the big shots in Shanghai love to come here to do business. Many people have tried to find out what's going on with her, but in the end, they haven't gotten a single hair out of her."

He gestured towards a table in a distant corner: "See that? That table is from Northeast China. I heard they're dealing in medicinal herbs. Phoenix helped them connect with a medicinal herb company in Shanghai. I heard they brought a truckload of good stuff this time, worth at least seven or eight hundred thousand."

"If this deal goes through, Phoenix will get a commission of seventy or eighty thousand."

Zhang Tian's eyes widened in disbelief. His garment factory, where he toiled away for a year, might not even generate that much net profit. And this woman could earn so much just by talking?

“A while ago, through her, I received six million yuan worth of treasury bonds from a businessman in Sichuan.” Jiang Yuhong picked up his teacup and took a sip. “She profited from both sides. I got 300,000 yuan from her, and she got another 300,000 yuan from the other party. In total, she made a net profit of 600,000 yuan.”

Zhang Tian gasped, looking at the shrewd and charming woman outside with a complex expression.

Jiang Yuhong put down his teacup, turned his gaze to Zhang Cheng, and smiled: "These days, connections are money. If your network of connections can cover the whole country, then you're the richest man."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!