With school starting tomorrow, Li Baolong left Liu Na's house at noon and, without a moment's delay, drove straight to a large supermarket. He busied himself there, selecting fifty cartons of Zhonghua cigarettes and carrying fifty bottles of Wuliangye liquor—good heavens, the car was completely packed full. He was thinking to himself that he would shower these "sugar-coated bullets" on all the teachers and his homeroom teacher tomorrow, making a good impression on them.
Li Baolong returned home, lay down on the sofa, and rested for a while. Thinking back to last night, he couldn't help but sigh; it felt like all his strength had been drained away. He couldn't help but think of Liu Na's seventy-year-old husband, wondering to himself, what would that old man do with such a beautiful and charming woman like Liu Na? They say "lust is a knife above one's head," and it's so true; this matter is truly exhausting.
The next day, Li Baolong arrived at school early. On the first day of the new semester, all the students were neatly assembled in the classroom. Li Baolong sat at the back of the classroom as usual, but his mind was racing. He was thinking about asking for a few days off tomorrow. Why? Because Sister Honghong was coming back. Business at the dance hall hadn't been very good since the Spring Festival, and he needed to go back to help Sister Honghong with the business planning.
As soon as classes ended at noon, Li Baolong got busy. He went to see each of his teachers, bowing slightly and speaking softly, "Teachers, the cigarettes and alcohol I bought for you are at the small hotel across from the school." The teachers didn't say much, just smiled and accepted the gifts. Li Baolong was overjoyed; he was confident that he wouldn't have to worry about failing his courses anymore.
During afternoon class, Li Baolong started showering students with "sweetened gifts" again. Standing on the podium, he announced loudly, "Classmates, I've prepared a case of instant noodles and a case of sausages for each of our fifty students. Just go to the school supermarket and pick them up yourselves later." As soon as he finished speaking, a cheer erupted in the classroom. Last time, he gave each student a case of milk, and this latest perk had them equally excited.
Li Baolong left school early in the afternoon, before it was even over, and drove straight to Longquanyi District. When he arrived at Xiaoyu's school, he walked to the security guard's office with practiced ease, handed him a pack of cigarettes, and said with a smile, "Brother, could you please call Xiaoyu from the finance class?" The security guard took the cigarettes and immediately and enthusiastically arranged for someone to go and call Xiaoyu.
A moment later, Xiaoyu came running over like a cheerful little bird. Li Baolong drove Xiaoyu to a barbecue restaurant in the city, and the two happily enjoyed a delicious barbecue meal. To be honest, ever since he and Xiaoyu had that intimate relationship, Li Baolong always felt guilty towards her and wanted to make it up to her in some way. He offered to buy Xiaoyu a cell phone, but Xiaoyu firmly refused.
After dinner, the two strolled hand-in-hand down the street. Xiaoyu looked up into Li Baolong's eyes and said, "Brother Baolong, don't get any ideas. My relationship with you is of my own free will. As long as you don't send me away, I've committed to you for life. I'm your woman." Hearing this, Li Baolong's eyes welled up with tears, his heart filled with emotion. He reached out and pulled Xiaoyu into a tight embrace. When it was time to part, Li Baolong took out ten thousand yuan from his pocket and gave it to Xiaoyu, saying, "Xiaoyu, take this money for your living expenses this semester." Xiaoyu refused, so Li Baolong pretended to be angry to scare her, and only then did Xiaoyu reluctantly accept the money.
Li Baolong drove home overnight. It happened to be the night of the full moon, and he disregarded his fatigue, intending to continue cultivating his Taoist arts, hoping to make further progress on his cultivation path.
The next morning, after breakfast, Li Baolong drove to the Jin Guo Stock Exchange. Upon arrival, he went straight to the VIP room. Exchange staff greeted him and led him to a private room. The room was quite nice; it had two computers, allowing two people to place orders simultaneously without delay. There was also a genuine leather sofa where he could lie down and take a nap, a water dispenser, and a small bathroom in the back. Li Baolong looked around, nodded in satisfaction, and said, "Great, this place is excellent."
A moment later, Bai Fei entered. She greeted him with a beaming smile, "Brother Li, you can start trading today!" Then, she bustled around Li Baolong with great enthusiasm, serving him tea, pouring water, and constantly introducing him to the various interpersonal relationships and personnel within the exchange. Li Baolong sat there, listening and nodding, secretly thinking: This Bai Fei is alright; she knows a lot. She'd be quite suitable as a go-between.
As the afternoon workday was drawing to a close, Li Baolong couldn't find Liu Na anywhere around him. He didn't really need to go looking for her. Why? After all, they had just developed a close relationship, and they needed to be careful in front of others. They couldn't easily reveal it and had to keep a low profile to avoid unnecessary trouble and gossip.
That evening, Li Baolong drove to Honghong Dance Hall. As soon as he entered, he saw Honghong bustling about, and he went straight over. Honghong looked up and saw Li Baolong, her face immediately lighting up with a smile. She jokingly asked, "Little brother Baolong, have you missed me?" Li Baolong smiled and replied, "Sister Honghong, I've missed you so much."
The dance hall wasn't too crowded that night, and soon Honghong and Li Baolong closed up shop and went home. Once home, the atmosphere between them heated up, and an inevitable "battle" ensued. Good heavens, this ordeal lasted an hour, with Honghong finally begging for mercy.
The next day, Li Baolong, refreshed and in high spirits, went to Jinguo Securities. He was thinking to himself, "I'll see if there are any good opportunities today." When he arrived, he found that all ten of the branch's top clients were there, sitting together, chattering amongst themselves, their conversation revolving around stocks and futures. They'd heard that the top investor on the wealth ranking was a big-time speculator who had invested 200 million yuan in the Jinguo Securities Exchange. That was an incredible amount of money; it could instantly drive small-cap stocks to their daily limit—it was terrifying. Li Baolong was tied for tenth place with a coal mine owner, both having invested 50 million yuan.
A short while later, General Manager Wei from the Jinguo Securities Exchange arrived and stood at the front to give everyone a detailed analysis of the current market situation. After finishing, he suggested that everyone pay attention to London copper in the Hong Kong market. Those below murmured amongst themselves. At this moment, a major speculative investor spoke up, his voice booming: "I've been keeping a close eye on the London copper market. In my opinion, it's bound to surge this year, so tomorrow I plan to buy some funds to test the waters."
Li Baolong sat there, seemingly casually glancing around, but inwardly he was pondering: This General Manager Wei seems to speak eloquently, but who knows what kind of ulterior motives he might have? No, I need to find an opportunity to probe his background and see what he's really thinking, otherwise I'll always feel uneasy, and I can't just blindly follow along on this investment.
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