Chapter 5: Chapter 5 The First Step to Making Money
My sister's simple words melted Cheng Zhu's heart.
"Fuck, my sister is so damn cute!"
With Cheng Zhu's current mindset and status, ordinary women couldn't tug at his heartstrings.
But a word in Little Youzi's milky voice, and she could ask him to do anything right now, he would go do it.
Hooked, totally fucking hooked!
How could he not earn a castle for the princess?
Making money, this life he had to try even harder to make money!
Cheng Zhu sipped green bean soup as he was plunged into memories.
"Thinking about it, I still have regrets regarding Little You," Cheng Zhu thought to himself.
In his memories, his sister Cheng Youu was a particularly lively and quirky little girl when she was young.
But after starting junior high, she became more and more reserved and introverted.
It was only later and by chance that Cheng Zhu learned she had been verbally harassed by some of her female classmates in middle school, just because she matured early and the loose school uniform could not hide it, leading them to brazenly and secretly call her a slut.
This caused Little You to begin hunching her shoulders and slouching; over time, her whole demeanor could not be changed back, and she became more and more insecure.
For a girl, posture and temperament are really important.
The same face, paired with different demeanors and temperaments, can undergo earth-shaking changes.
These things, he only learned later on from Little Youu's best friend, angering Cheng Zhu to the point of wanting to tear those girls' foul mouths.
That girl loved to chat with Cheng Zhu, thinking her best friend's brother was completely different from the boys in school.
Afterward, Cheng Zhu insisted on sending his sister to attend Pilates classes that cost a few hundred yuan each, as well as hiring someone to correct her posture, but her character was hard to change back.
"In the future, I need to pay more attention to this issue," he thought to himself.
With that thought, he stood up again and went to the restaurant kitchen.
"Here?" As his father Cheng Donglai glanced at his son, he said indifferently.
The Cheng family was famously biased towards girls; Cheng Donglai was as passionate as fire with his daughter, a complete slave to her, and laissez-faire with his son, as long as he didn't cause troubles outside.
"Dad, is there anything I can help with?" he asked.
Comrade Cheng was frying chili pork and gave his son a surprised look, saying only a few words: "Go out and enjoy the air conditioning."
Cheng Zhu didn't press the issue and obediently left the kitchen realm.
Cheng looked at his son's retreating back and muttered: "It's really strange, this lazy bum actually offering to help?"
Back at the dining table, Cheng Zhu started planning again.
"If I remember correctly, this year my second uncle will come to scam money, leaving our family empty-handed, and Cheng endured a few tough years afterward."
"His health has always been not so good afterward, probably because of the exhaustion over the years."
This world is such to the poor—anything that can be solved with money has to be solved with health, life, time, dignity... things more precious than money.
People, many of them exchange their health for money when healthy, then exchange money for health when sick.
Luckily, Cheng Zhu was quite successful in his career afterward and particularly cared for his parents' health; Cheng gradually got healthier year by year, and his mother Xu Yun also became younger and livelier.
He was fortunate that the speed he earned money caught up with the pace his parents were aging.
Fulfilling filial duties comes too late for some.
"But since I've been reborn, I should at least make them live more comfortably," Cheng Zhu thought to himself.
Making money, still, he had to make money at the fastest speed!
Thinking of this, he immediately picked up his phone and opened WeChat. For his first pot of gold, he needed to contact someone right away.
This person's name was Jiang Wanzhou, another childhood friend of Cheng Zhu's besides Wang Anquan.
They were in the same class in primary school, junior high, and the same school in high school, you could say they grew up together.
The name Wanzhou, as taken from the phrase "The fishing boats sing in the evening, the sound resonates along the banks of Pengli Lake."
Yes, from the "Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng," something everyone struggled to memorize in their student years.
As a student, Cheng Zhu found memorizing a painful ordeal, but once he left school, with age, he realized that the content in the textbooks was actually a collection of jewels.
He first looked through his chat history with Jiang Wanzhou, revisiting their recent conversations to get into the current state of mind.
Soon, his gaze focused on a piece of information; it was Jiang Wanzhou telling him that his cousin just opened a new bar, inviting Cheng Zhu to come and visit.
During school, it seemed like there was always a "sissy" and the ridiculously rich student in class. But in Cheng Zhu's youth, these two were combined in Jiang Wanzhou.
He had a feminine appearance, a soft speaking voice, and his mannerisms were also feminine, exuding a gay aura throughout, like a cunning 'zero'.
If Cheng Zhu sweated crazily on his face, he'd simply wipe it off with his hand.
Jiang Wanzhou, however, would pick up both his delicate hands and fan his face, acting very coquettishly.
Yet this guy, who seemed like a gay man, actually dreamed of becoming a domineering CEO, can you believe it?
Which domineering CEO wears a black coat and walks with a mincing gait?" Cheng Zhu mocked inwardly.
But it's undeniable, Jiang Wanzhou is really fucking rich.
During their school days, there were rumors that his family owned a whole street of shops.
Back then, Cheng Zhu didn't believe it, because he saw Jiang Wanzhou never splurged when spending, and he never wasted food, nor boasted about his wealth.
When he told Jiang Wanzhou the gossip, he immediately denied it, gesturing: "How could that be! That's so exaggerated!"
"Right!" Cheng Zhu laughed along.
Only later did he find out that Jiang Wanzhou's family really did own a street of shops. However, the reason he denied it was that the row of shops across the street was not their property; in his view, only if both sides of the street were his family's properties could it be considered owning a whole street of shops.
Anything less was at most half a street.
In the end, Cheng Zhu started referring to him as President Jiang, and he still called Cheng Zhu Brother Zhu, with everyone going by their own title.
Speaking of which, having such a wealthy childhood friend should theoretically make Cheng Zhu's entrepreneurial path easier.
But in reality, it wasn't.
He and Jiang Wanzhou seemed to be fated not to partner in business.
But carrying out their ventures separately, both were very successful.
It's like they were badass by themselves, but together they were just a mess.
Cheng Zhu later felt: "His Ying energy is too strong, it must overpower me."
At that moment, he directly typed: "Didn't you say you wanted to treat me to a drink at your cousin's 'Jiuyin'? How about tonight?"
See, actively seeking a treat and even picking the time.
"Why're you bossing me around? Address me as Boss Jiang," Boss Jiang replied with dissatisfaction, but the message came in a flash.
"Boss Jiang! Treat me!" Cheng Zhu messaged with a slayer's intent.
He could understand Jiang Wanzhou's boundless grievance because he had just reviewed their chat history and noticed Jiang Wanzhou had invited him out quite often during the summer break, but the original Cheng Zhu, who prioritized love over friendship, with his attention solely on dating, had neglected him for a long time.
I'll bring you out of the cold palace right now!
Additionally, Cheng Zhu sent out an invitation to stay in a hotel together that night.
The reason was simple; he was planning to make money till late tonight, and if he came home when it was bright outside, his parents wouldn't be happy. It would be better to simply not return home at all and lie to them that he spent the night at Jiang Wanzhou's place.
As for Jiang Wanzhou's family, they were quite peculiar; they couldn't accept their son playing outside until dawn but didn't mind him... not returning home overnight.
For someone like Cheng Zhu, whose family prohibited him from staying out all night, it's because they were afraid he'd mess around outside.
As for someone like Jiang Wanzhou, his effeminate behavior from childhood is clear to his family, fearing he wouldn't mess around in his lifetime.
"Thank goodness it's 2014, and there aren't so many cunning 'zeroes' and calculating 'ones' on the market."
"Otherwise, the social norms shift, and the Jiang family would probably worry more."
Of course, Cheng Zhu clearly knew Jiang Wanzhou was indeed not gay; the heartthrob of the gay community had no interest in men, he was simply innately effeminate with no other choice.
When his mother Xu Yun heard Cheng Zhu was staying at Jiang Wanzhou's house that night, she wanted to ask more, but after being praised by her son, she was in a good mood and kept silent.
As night fell, it wasn't even ten o'clock yet, when Jiang Wanzhou arrived to pick up Cheng Zhu in his Mercedes G-Class.
The two had gone to driving school at lightning speed right after their college entrance exams and soon came out with driver's licenses.
The difference was, Cheng Zhu's license was of no use without a car. Jiang Wanzhou, on the other hand, had too many cars at home to choose from daily.
The Mercedes G-Class of that generation hadn't been refreshed yet, nor had it gained the reputation of "scumbags drive G-Classes" that it would a few years later.
In 2014, many people didn't even know its selling price, mistaking it for a normal Mercedes.
But, to be honest, the comfort level of the old G-Class was indeed not that great, and Cheng Zhu felt uncomfortable and somewhat disdainful as he sat inside.
At Jiang Wanzhou's age, he should have preferred his mother's white Bentley Continental GT.
But don't forget, although he looks and acts gay, he dreams of being a domineering CEO, so he prefers cars with a more dominating presence.
Once inside, Cheng Zhu closed the car door with force, listening to the sound unique to a Mercedes G-Class, akin to the loading of a bullet.
"Long time no see, Boss Jiang!" Cheng Zhu said genuinely.
"You still know it's been a long time?" Jiang Wanzhou gave him a Bone-softening Palm, slapping his left arm.
Saying so, he also spoke with a touch of sourness, "Why isn't Brother Zhu out on a date today?"
It then dawned on Cheng Zhu that when he was dating Li Xinyue, Jiang Wanzhou was adamantly against it, always thinking Li Xinyue wasn't a good person, but Cheng Zhu completely ignored it.
"Split up," Cheng Zhu said.
"What!?" Jiang Wanzhou exclaimed, his right hand ceaselessly patting Cheng Zhu's shoulder, his expression gradually turning to delight.
"Could you please focus on driving first!" Cheng Zhu panicked with this driving novice.
"So, you thought of drowning your sorrows with me after being dumped, huh? When you were in love, I couldn't even schedule a dinner, had to make an appointment." Jiang Wanzhou said sourly.
"I wasn't dumped, dammit! Can you not be such a drama queen?" Cheng Zhu glared at him, annoyed, "When you read CEO romance novels, which side are you even sympathizing with?"
"What are you babbling about now~" Jiang Wanzhou got pissed.
Cheng Zhu noticed he was even wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses today.
What a pity, the CEO vibe still didn't come out; instead, he looked even more like a gentle bottom.
Cheng Zhu stopped teasing him and got straight to the point: "Boss Jiang, how's the business at the bar your cousin opened?"
"It wasn't great at first, but recently it's doing well. You know, the World Cup; suddenly there are more customers coming in to drink beer and watch soccer. My cousin is also a die-hard soccer fan. He even asked me if I wanted to place bets, offered to stake me a grand just for fun."
For some reasons, Cheng Zhu had come into contact with Jiang Wanzhou's cousin in his previous life; the guy was quite generous, loved saving face, and was a show-off second-generation rich.
He seemed careless, but his mind was already scheming: "Really? Can he stake some for me?"
"Sure, you can add him on WeChat and transfer the money to him when the time comes; he always tells me the odds he gets for betting are higher than the official lottery," Jiang Wanzhou said.
Speaking of which, Jiang Wanzhou revived his spirits and asked, "How much you planning to bet, a few hundred? This CEO will join you for some fun."