In a farmhouse courtyard on the eastern outskirts of the provincial capital, two elderly people sat chatting at the gate. On the surface, they were chatting, but in reality, they were keeping watch.
In the main room of the courtyard, a group of people were playing dominoes. The room was filled with smoke, and the table was covered with money.
Zhou Dahai, the gambler and the dealer, received the lowest hand and angrily slammed it onto the table.
The gamblers laughed and began to show their cards. It turned out that Zhou Dahai had the lowest card, and he lost the whole hand.
The gamblers who had won continued to place bets, but Zhou Dahai had run out of money and had to lose the betting position in disgrace.
"Old Zhou, you're having a bad day," joked Wang Lin, a fellow card player.
"Damn it, my hands are so clumsy!" Zhou Dahai slapped his hands hard, pressing down the last of his money.
The dealer, Wang Lin, used dice to roll numbers and dealt cards to everyone in order.
As a result, Zhou Dahai got the lowest card again, lost all his remaining money, and was so angry that he lit a cigarette and kept sulking.
He was reluctant to leave, and after watching everyone gamble for a couple of rounds, he looked at Wang Lin and said, "Old Wang, lend me two thousand yuan."
"Hehe." Wang Lin shook his head. "Sorry, Lao Zhou, I still have to be the dealer."
Zhou Dahai immediately frowned and asked in a deep voice, "Old Wang, I lent you money every time you asked me for it before."
Wang Lin wasn't annoyed. He smiled and said, "Old Zhou, it's not that I don't want to lend it to you, it's just that I really can't."
After saying that, he ignored Zhou Dahai and continued gambling with his fellow card players.
Zhou Dahai was seething with anger and wanted to continue gambling, but he had no money, as his wife controlled all the money in the house.
He felt unwell all over and suddenly thought of Wang Peng. He took out his phone and called Wang Peng, preparing to sell his shares in Huihuang.
I unlocked my phone and saw two missed calls from the same person.
He called back and asked, "Hello."
Hu Mingyue smiled and said, "I am Hu Mingyue from the east unit on the second floor. Are you Brother Hu from the east unit on the third floor?"
Zhou Dahai recognized Hu Mingzhu and frowned, saying, "Oh, it's Mingyue. I'm Zhou Dahai. Is there something you need?"
“Brother Zhou, it seems like your bathroom is leaking. My ceiling is all wet,” Hu Mingyue said.
"Hmm? The bathroom is leaking?" Zhou Dahai frowned slightly. "No way, my bathroom never leaks."
“Brother Zhou, you should go home. The leak is quite bad,” Hu Mingyue said.
Zhou Dahai initially wanted to refuse.
He knew about Hu Mingyue's relationship with Wang Peng, but unfortunately Hu Mingyue didn't hold a high position at the Brothers Supermarket and seemed to have no say in front of Wang Peng.
On second thought, he realized he couldn't underestimate Hu Mingyue, after all, she was Wang Peng's sister.
"Okay, I'll go back now, I'll be home around four o'clock."
Hu Mingyue chuckled softly, then said with a smile, "Thank you, Brother Zhou. I'll be waiting for you at home. You can just make this call."
Zhou Dahai wasn't having a good day, so he decided to quit gambling and rode his motorcycle back to the provincial capital.
I walked all the way back to my apartment complex, and when I got home, I immediately went to the bathroom to check.
The bathroom was clean and didn't look like it was leaking, so he immediately called Hu Mingyue.
“Mingyue, my bathroom doesn’t leak. You must be mistaken,” he said confidently.
"Brother Zhou, I had the renovation contractor check it, and it's not your house that's leaking. I'm sorry."
Hu Mingyue said apologetically, "I'm sorry to have troubled you. Let me treat you to a meal."
"No need." Zhou Dahai said somewhat dejectedly, "Mingyue, you really made me suffer. I ran all the way back from the suburbs."
"I'm so sorry," Hu Mingyue continued apologizing. "Let me treat you to a meal. My brother is staying at my house too."
Upon hearing that Wang Peng was also there, Zhou Dahai immediately changed his mind and said with a smile, "Let's go to the Delin Restaurant, it's on me."
Hu Mingyue said, "No need, my dad has already cooked dinner. Come to my house."
"Okay, I'll be right there." Zhou Dahai hung up the phone.
He hurriedly returned to his bedroom, took out his treasured Moutai liquor, and went downstairs to knock on the door.
Wang Peng opened the door and pointed to his wine: "Brother Zhou, there's no need to be so polite."
"I can't come empty-handed," Zhou Dahai laughed, quickly changed into slippers, and followed Wang Peng inside.
There were four dishes and a soup on the table, all of which were bought from a restaurant. Only Wang Peng and Hu Mingyue were at home.
Hu Mingyue opened a bottle of Moutai and filled their glasses. "Brother Dahai, I don't drink, so I'll pour you some."
“Alright.” Zhou Dahai said with a smile, “Brother Peng, it’s rare for us brothers to sit together, let’s have a good drink today.”
"I've heard that Brother Zhou can drink a thousand cups without getting drunk. I'd like to test my skills today," Wang Peng said, raising his glass.
Next, the two chatted and drank, with Hu Mingyue pouring their drinks, and the atmosphere gradually became very harmonious.
After finishing a bottle of Moutai, both of them were slightly tipsy and their conversation became much more relaxed. Wang Peng deliberately steered the conversation towards playing mahjong.
Zhou Dahai suddenly perked up and began to explain various mahjong techniques to Wang Peng.
They drank another half bottle of baijiu, and Zhou Dahai said, "Brother Peng, when do you have time? Let's go play some mahjong."
"Okay, we'll talk about it another time." Wang Peng raised his glass again. "Brother Dahai, let's drink this and then talk about some serious business."
The two raised their glasses and drank the wine together.
Zhou Dahai put down his wine glass and said with a smile, "Brother Peng, go ahead and say it."
Wang Peng said, "I know you have shares in Huihuang. I'm interested. Name your price."
Zhou Dahai's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't expected Wang Peng to be so direct and make his point clear right away.
After a few seconds of silence, he said softly, "Mr. Wang, you have quite the appetite. I admit, your Brother Supermarket has a bright future, but Brilliant is still the largest supermarket in the provincial capital."
“You want to devour Brilliant now, it’s like a snake trying to swallow an elephant,” Zhou Dahai said. “I’m a bit blunt, don’t take it personally.”
"No," Wang Peng waved his hand. "Actually, I've already thought about the snake and the elephant issue. I just wanted to ask you, are you selling your shares?"
Zhou Dahai was taken aback, then nodded: "Sell! Please name your price, Mr. Wang. If it's reasonable, I'll sell it."
Wang Peng held out his hand: "Fifty thousand, fixed price."
“Fifty thousand?” Zhou Dahai immediately shook his head. “Boss Wang, that’s impossible. I won’t even consider anything less than eighty thousand.”
Wang Peng said, "I'll add another 10,000 for you, making it 60,000."
Zhou Dahai stood up with the wine bottle in his hand and poured Wang Peng a glass of wine: "Brother Wang, let's drink and not talk about work."
"Okay! Let's drink." Wang Peng poured him a glass, and the two continued to toast each other.
After finishing the two bottles of liquor, Zhou Dahai got up to say goodbye, and Wang Peng escorted him upstairs.
"Brother, are you alright?" Hu Mingyue asked anxiously when she saw him walking unsteadily.
Wang Peng shook his head: "I might be a little drunk. Take me home."
"Don't go back. How can you go home like this?" Hu Mingyue helped him into the bedroom.
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