At 10 p.m., the rented room was bustling with noise.
Zhang Jianhao, clutching his savings book, excitedly kicked open the door, ready to shout out a surprise to everyone.
The sight inside the room stunned him.
Zhang Cheng sat leisurely at the table, where five bankbooks were neatly arranged.
Li Qiming and the others had already returned from their shifts.
"You guys..." Zhang Jianhao opened his mouth, speechless, "You all gave me the money?"
"Sword Master, with the little money we have in our video arcade, do we really need to hide it?" Li Qiming chuckled, crossing his legs.
Zhang Jianhao pursed his lips, reluctantly walked to the bedside, bent down, and dug out his savings book from under the bed.
"Brother, the money I've earned these past few days, plus what I had left over from the last renovation, totals four thousand three hundred and seventy-six yuan!" He slammed his bankbook on the table, his tone full of pride.
Zhang Cheng smiled as he gathered the passbooks together and glanced at everyone around him.
"Except for Big Head who went to Jiaxing to buy goods, everyone is here."
He tapped his knuckles lightly on the table. "You've been in the county for a while now. How was it?"
"Brother, the county is much more lively than the village!" Xiao Tao grinned.
"There are many profitable buying and selling opportunities. This year, the government is loosening its regulations, and opportunities are everywhere."
Everyone chimed in with their own opinions, their eyes shining.
After they had finished speaking, Zhang Cheng slowly asked, "Do you have any new ideas?"
"Brother, what do you mean by that?" Zhang Jianhao didn't understand.
"Six video arcades don't need this many people." Zhang Cheng raised his eyes. "You've all gained experience, it's time for you to have your own businesses. Tell me what you want to do now, and I'll arrange it for you."
After he finished speaking, the room fell silent for a moment.
“Brother, I don’t have any particular ideas, I just want to manage the video arcade!” Zhang Jianhao was the first to speak up.
"Brother, me too!" Xiao Tao quickly raised his hand.
"Okay. From now on, Jianhao will be the manager of the six video arcades, and Xiaotao will be his deputy." Zhang Cheng nodded in agreement.
Li Qiming panicked, his face contorted in distress: "Brother, what do we do?"
"Tell me what profession you'd like to pursue."
Zhang Jingye rubbed his hands together, his eyes gleaming with longing, and asked softly, "Brother, I want to be a policeman, is that okay?"
Zhang Cheng smiled. He had just gotten Hu Tianan out of the way, and now he was sending someone over to help Zhao Daming with his manpower.
“No problem. Start as an auxiliary police officer, work there for a year or two, and then I’ll find a way to make you a full-fledged officer.”
"Good! Good!" Zhang Jingye nodded his head excitedly, like a chicken pecking at rice.
"Brother, I want to open a restaurant, as big as the Guoyun Hotel!" Li Fuguo said with burning eyes.
"Bang!"
Li Qiming kicked Li Fuguo in the butt, "You little brat, you really dare to talk like that? Guoyun Hotel? Is that a hotel? It's the face of our county!"
Li Fuguo was kicked so hard he staggered, his face turning bright red, and he was at a loss for what to do.
Zhang Cheng raised his hand to press down, then looked at Li Fuguo: "It's good to have this idea. But Qiming is also right, you have to take things one step at a time. Here's what we'll do: I'll invest some money to open a small restaurant for you, and you can manage it. We'll take it one step at a time and make it bigger and stronger."
"Brother! It's a win!" Li Fuguo's eyes were red.
"Let's get this straight from the start: even close brothers should keep clear accounts. I'll give you 10% of the restaurant's profits; if it loses money, it's on me."
"Brother, I don't want a share of the profits, just pay me my salary!"
"You'll still get paid, and you'll get your bonuses too." Zhang Cheng said firmly. "You'll only have motivation if you get bonuses."
His gaze shifted to the hesitant Li Qiming. "And you?"
Zhang Jianhao couldn't stand it anymore and directly exposed the truth: "Brother, his biggest dream is to be the boss!"
Be the boss?
Zhang Cheng frowned slightly. These days, Hong Kong films are doing people a lot of harm.
Li Qiming stiffened his neck, didn't refute, and his eyes were full of expectation.
"What kind of boss do you imagine?" Zhang Cheng asked.
"Driving a rickshaw, smoking cigars, and having a different beautiful girl with him every day!"
Zhang Cheng's lips twitched, and he slapped him on the back of the head. "That's a big boss, not some bullshit leader."
He pondered for a moment, then said, "How about this, in a while I'll open a nightclub, and you can manage it."
Li Qiming was stunned. Nightclubs... He'd seen them in Hong Kong movies. They were even more glamorous than being a gang leader!
He was grinning foolishly when Li Weibing, standing next to him, timidly said, "Brother, I want to be the manager of a nightclub!"
Li Qiming's smile froze on his face. He abruptly stood up, pointed at Li Weibing's nose, and cursed, "Damn it! You're the manager, so what am I? Your lackey?"
"Brother Qiming, you can be the assistant manager!"
I'll beat you to death first!
Li Qiming yelled and pounced over, and the room immediately erupted into chaos.
Just then, the door creaked open.
A faint scent of perfume wafted in.
Li Yuanyuan, wearing high heels, walked gracefully to Zhang Cheng's side and sat down naturally.
"Zhang Cheng, you came to the county, why didn't you come to see me?"
"I saw you were busy in the shop, so I didn't want to disturb you." Zhang Cheng leaned back slightly, creating a small distance between them.
Li Yuanyuan pouted her red lips, exuding charm: "You're a big boss, no matter how busy I am, would I dare to neglect you?"
She took out a bankbook from her small bag and handed it to Zhang Cheng, her fair face filled with pride.
"This is the income the clothing store has generated during this period."
Zhang Cheng casually took it and placed it on top of the pile of bankbooks on the table.
Unable to resist his curiosity, Zhang Jianhao reached out and took it. He had heard Zhang Danao say that the clothing store was making a fortune, but he had no idea exactly how much.
Zhang Jianhao opened the passbook and gasped after just one glance.
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