Chapter 480: Red envelope
Zhu Qing'an was wiping the blood off his unlucky partner's face by holding his clothes. When he heard someone calling his name, he turned around subconsciously.
Xia Zhizhi walked from the darkness to the street lights in her high heels.
Xia Zhizhi was busy developing a cult some time ago, and later she joined a group of sisters. She didn't go to the club where Zhu Qingan worked for a while.
Fortunately, Zhu Qingan was impressed by her and recognized her easily: "Ms. Xia, why are you here?"
Xia Zhizhi first took a look at the wretch with blood all over his head. He looked about sixteen years old. Even with blood all over his head, he looked very handsome. He looked a bit like Zhu Qingan.
After she finished looking around, she slowly replied, "I came here to buy something and happened to run into them fighting."
Xia Zhizhi asked him again: "What about you? Didn't you go to work today?"
Zhu Qingan felt somewhat helpless and a little guilty: "This is my younger brother, Zhu Qingle. Today is his birthday. I told Brother Feng (their foreman) and left work early. I originally wanted to take Ah Le out for some delicious food, but I didn't expect this to happen."
"That's really unlucky." Xia Zhizhi nodded, thinking that since they met by chance and it was the child's birthday, she might as well show some appreciation.
She looked down at her bag, took out a red envelope from the pocket, stuffed a few bills of cash into it, and handed it to the child who was covering his head: "Here's a red envelope for you, wishing you a happy birthday and good luck."
Zhu Qingle had no idea what was going on and didn't know whether he could accept Xia Zhizhi's red envelope. He looked at his brother with a questioning look.
Zhu Qingan had worked in nightclubs for so long that he already knew the habits of these wealthy people. This was probably the same as tipping. If he didn't accept it, it would be a bit humiliating. He said, "Thank you, Miss Xia, for your expense..."
Xia Zhizhi held the red envelope between her two fingers and had already stuffed it into Zhu Qingle's elbow, which was covering his head. She walked out of the alley. When she heard his words, she turned her back and waved her hands, saying, "Take your brother to get a bandage. I'll treat you to dinner some other day when I have time."
Seeing Xia Zhizhi disappear at the end of the alley, Zhu Qingan finally came to his senses, sighed imperceptibly, and then began to scold his brother: "How many times have I told you to stay away from things like this? You used to be very obedient, but why are you so stupid this time? Aren't you suffering in vain?"
Zhu Qingle was well protected by his brother. Before he smuggled over here, his family conditions were pretty good. In the mainland at that time, it was good to be able to live without going hungry.
Later, I smuggled here with my family. I suffered a lot on the way, but fortunately, my family took care of me, so it wasn't that hard.
It’s just that when he was smuggling across the river, his other relatives were washed away somewhere unknown, but he still had a brother by his side.
Zhu Qingan was the one who took care of everything from applying for an ID card to finding a job and a place to live, and Zhu Qingle was always the one who was protected.
In Hong Kong, the temperature is just right. It's not too cold, and they won't starve to death. The days of the two of them are slowly getting by.
Zhu Qing'an had even thought about sending Zhu Qingle to school once he had saved some more money.
Zhu Qingle still had a conscience. After learning about the cost of studying, he rejected the arrangement.
The two brothers used to live in a shanty town. People there worked in factories, and the two brothers made a living by working in the factories or taking odd jobs.
But by coincidence, Zhu Qing'an went to work in a nightclub, and the people around him were either waiters in the nightclub or thugs who looked after the place.
Including their roommates and neighbors who rent a house with them, everyone is the same.
People always adapt to the environment. Zhu Qingle is already 16 years old. At his age, his brother has already taken on the responsibility of supporting the two brothers, so he can't just stay at home and eat.
But from the limited information he had access to, it was difficult to find work that he was satisfied with.
Go to a tobacco stall to serve smokers? I don't want to go.
Pimping in a whorehouse? Nope.
Working as an errand boy for a gang? Nowadays, all gangs are involved in drugs, and the errand boys are responsible for the distribution of the drugs.
Zhu Qingle didn't want to do this, he felt it was a bit conscienceless.
After thinking it over, as the tallest among the short guys, the only thing he could accept was to be a henchman or thug who collected protection fees.
Since he had this idea in mind, he happened to see a fight going on and wanted to go and watch.
Although there are many gang fights these days, it is not easy to encounter such a big scene. It is a rare opportunity and it would be a pity to miss it.
Perhaps he was really not destined to do this job, because before he could get too close, he was hit by a crazy thug with a stick.
Of course, this is just Zhu Qingle's own little thought.
He felt that he had grown up and wanted to find a job for himself, but he didn't dare to tell his brother about this directly.
The two brothers were lucky enough not to mention their family conditions in the past. They had to work in the nightclub to make a living and save more money, but Zhu Qingan definitely didn't want his younger brother to do the same.
See Zhu Qingan's follow-up question.
Zhu Qingle hesitated for a moment, unable to explain clearly. With his eyes dodging, he noticed the red envelope tucked in his elbow and began to change the subject.
He held up the red envelope and asked, "Brother, is that Miss Xia your friend? She's so pretty, prettier than any celebrity!"
"He's not a friend, he's a guest. I served him." There was a hint of disappointment in Zhu Qing'an's tone that Zhu Qingle, at his age, couldn't hear.
Zhu Qingle opened the red envelope with difficulty with one hand and took out the four folded bills inside.
"Five hundred, six, seven, eight... this, this, this..." Zhu Qingle took a breath. He thought that maybe he would just give ten or eight yuan as a token of his appreciation. People here like to give red envelopes, but the amount of money in them is usually not too large. The tips given by customers to some service industry professionals are almost the same.
Zhu Qingle lowered his voice, trying to control his excitement, and said to Zhu Qingan: "800 yuan, brother! 180 yuan! She is so generous! 800 yuan, how can she give me so much!!!"
"Maybe he feels sorry for you because you got injured on your birthday." Zhu Qing'an carried him out.
Zhu Qingle didn't feel sorry for himself at all: "One beating would cost me 800 yuan. I really want to be beaten every day."
"What nonsense are you talking about!" Zhu Qingan interrupted his nonsense.
Zhu Qingle's wound no longer hurt, and his head was no longer dizzy. He happily took out 100 yuan from the bag, kept it for himself, and gave the rest to his brother: "Brother, this is for you, save it."
"Take the flowers and put them away carefully. Don't lose them, and don't tell anyone that you have money." Zhu Qingan shook his head and said, "I'll take you to get bandaged first. You stay at home and recuperate in the next two days. Don't go out. Got it?"