"Grandpa, don't worry, I will definitely try my best." Zhou Jin nodded earnestly, but his expression was somewhat bitter.
These are not the things he's after.
After a few days in Yanjing, Ye Xingchen had become quite familiar with the city's environment.
After dinner that day, I was strolling along the street when I happened to see a small bar with a nice decor. Intrigued, I went inside.
Yanjing is a city that never sleeps. It's still early, around 8 p.m. The bar isn't crowded yet. A few waiters are cleaning, and a stylishly dressed girl is calculating something on a calculator.
"Sorry, we're closed today." Seeing someone come in, the girl looked up and then instructed a waiter, "Xiao Li, put up the 'Closed' sign first."
"Okay, Sister Ying." A waiter nodded and turned to hang up the sign.
"You're not doing business with your old friend anymore?" Ye Xingchen was slightly taken aback when he saw the girl's appearance, then smiled.
Liu Ying is an acquaintance, the daughter of Old Liu, who lived in the old house where Tianhai and his adoptive father lived.
She was a few years older than Ye Xingchen. A few years ago, she didn't want to get married early, so she went out to work on her own. I heard she was in Yanjing. I never expected to run into her like this.
"Ye Xingchen?" Liu Ying looked up in surprise, leaned closer to examine Ye Xingchen closely for a long time, and then exclaimed in delight, "Is it really you?"
"It's me, haha. I heard you've established yourself in Yanjing a long time ago. It seems like you're doing well. Did you open the bar?" Ye Xingchen laughed heartily.
"Yes, come, sit down quickly." Liu Ying hurriedly invited Ye Xingchen to sit down, instructed the waiter to bring tea, and then opened a bottle of good wine.
She had been working hard since she was away from home for six or seven years. Because of conflicts with her parents, she hadn't been back. Now, seeing Ye Xingchen felt like seeing a relative.
"Sister Ying, it's been a long time since you've been home, hasn't it?" After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Ye Xingchen asked.
“I haven’t been back since I came out. I send money home every month, but we hardly ever contact each other,” Liu Ying said, lowering her head.
"Alright, you were only nineteen back then. Your dad really pressured you a bit too much to find a wife for your brother. But he's the one who gave you life and raised you, so sending some money to show your filial piety is a good thing." Ye Xingchen nodded.
He knew about Liu Ying's past. In order to find a wife for her mentally challenged brother, her parents forced her to marry a nearly forty-year-old man who had lost his wife.
Back then, Liu Ying ran away penniless and found Ye Xingchen. He gave her all the two thousand yuan he had earned through part-time work, which allowed her to escape.
"I also want to thank you for lending me the two thousand yuan back then, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to survive." Liu Ying raised her head: "Do you also think what I did was right?"
“There’s nothing wrong with that. As parents, we should treat them equally. In our area, the preference for sons over daughters is very strong. If you don’t refuse, your life is over,” Ye Xingchen said with a smile.
"Thank you for understanding me. Why did you come to Yanjing?" Liu Ying asked.
"Wasn't I adopted by my dad back then? Now that I've found my family, they're in Yanjing, so I came here," Ye Xingchen said with a smile.
"Will you stay in Yanjing in the future?" Liu Ying asked in surprise.
"Yes, I won't leave." Ye Xingchen nodded.
"That's wonderful! I've been doing alright these past few years, but I don't know anyone I know well." Liu Ying excitedly grabbed Ye Xingchen's hand: "If you can stay, I won't feel so lonely."
"You've done quite well these past few years. It's not something most people can do, for a girl to open such a big bar in Yanjing," Ye Xingchen said with a smile.
Liu Ying is indeed very capable. She's a girl who came here all by herself; heaven knows how much hardship she's endured.
"We're just trying to make a living; we're all working for others," Liu Ying said with a hint of helplessness.
"By the way, why are you closed tonight?" Ye Xingchen asked. "It's Sunday, shouldn't the bar be busier?"
"Something came up." Liu Ying gave a wry smile. "Come on, let's have a drink. I'll treat you to dinner another day and we can talk in detail."
Ye Xingchen could tell from her expression that she had something difficult to say. Just as he was about to ask her for details, a group of people burst in.
The leader was a bald man with several crisscrossing scars on his bald head, and he exuded a sinister aura.
He was followed by six burly men. The group barged in, roughly shoved the waitress who came forward, and walked straight toward Liu Ying.
Liu Ying hurriedly stood up: "Brother Dong, you're here so early."
"It's getting late, Mr. Liu." The bald man named Dong Ge sat down casually and lit a cigarette. "It's all about work. Let's continue what we didn't finish discussing last time."
"Brother Dong, have you all eaten yet? How about this, I'll treat you all to a meal. These are all minor matters; we can talk about them slowly." Liu Ying said with a smile.
Running a bar isn't easy; you inevitably have to deal with people in the underworld. Since she has no connections or power, she naturally becomes a frequent target for these people to bully and manipulate.
Dong Ge exhaled a puff of smoke and stared at Liu Ying with a sidelong glance: "Listen, Liu Ying, we brothers have a lot of things to do, we don't have time to waste with you."
"Have you considered the conditions we proposed last time? We'll take 40% of your bar's gross profit each month as protection money, and I guarantee no one will dare to cause trouble at your bar."
“Brother Dong, these days it’s tough to run a physical business. I’m basically working for the landlord to make money. If they take another 40% of the profit, I really can’t keep going.” Liu Ying stepped forward and shook Brother Dong’s arm: “Could you be a little more accommodating and see if the protection fee can be reduced a little?”
"Don't try that on me." Dong Ge waved Liu Ying aside. "There are plenty of beautiful women out there, and you won't even come to bed with me to talk. What kind of leniency are you talking about? Forty percent profit margin. If you take even a penny less, I'll make sure you go out of business in no time."
"Brother Dong, it's really not easy for me to work hard in Yanjing all by myself. Could you please help me out?" Liu Ying had no choice but to put on a smile and say this.
"How about this? You have a really nice face. Let the brothers have some fun today, and we'll give you an extra week to think it over. What do you say?" Dong Ge looked at Liu Ying with interest and reached out to touch her face.
"Brother Dong, please don't do this, Brother Dong." Liu Ying wanted to dodge but didn't dare to.
Just then, a strong hand pulled Liu Ying behind her, and it was Ye Xingchen who stood up.
"Speak your mind, don't be so handsy. Keep some manners around girls," Ye Xingchen said.
"Ye Xingchen, don't worry about what happened today. Just leave. I'll treat you to dinner another day." Liu Ying's expression changed.
She knew the backgrounds of these people; they were all from the underworld. To be able to make it in Yanjing, they all had powerful connections. She felt that Ye Xingchen had just come to Yanjing to reunite with her relatives, and there was no need for her to get into these troubles for her sake.
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