What were your plans?

Kong Zhenghui narrowed his eyes at Su Tianyu. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"Nothing. I just thought it was a little strange." Su Tianyu looked back at him. "What do you think?"

"Heh, I know what you're thinking." Kong Zhenghui smiled and replied quietly, "But I think it was just a coincidence. No need to read too much into it."

Su Tianyu fell silent.

Kong Zhenghui explained softly, "You don't understand how things work here in Dragon City yet. On the roads, on the water, out of town, in the uninhabited zones-every line of work has its own rules and circles. The dock gangs make their living on the water year-round. They've got eyes and ears everywhere, and underlings all over the place. The moment you hit the water, they spot you. That's nothing unusual."

Su Tianyu nodded slowly. "Maybe I was overthinking it."

"Even taking it to the extreme, when you're making a living in the underworld, you work together if the money makes sense and part ways if it doesn't." Kong Zhenghui saw things clearly. "We're just the hired hands. We take the money we're owed. That's all."

"That makes sense." Su Tianyu agreed.

"All right, that's settled, then. I'll take my people back." Kong Zhenghui said his goodbyes, then got into the vehicles with his family members, who had received their shares, and left the dump.

Nearby, Su Tianbei divided the eighty-one thousand in cash among the three families according to their respective shares. The workers and core family members who had helped move and transport the cargo that night each received an extra five hundred.

By Dragon City's living standards, that was certainly a substantial sum. One night's earnings equaled a full month's wages for many ordinary people. And although the business was smuggling, the risks borne by the people doing the labor were entirely different from those borne by the companies of the Su, Bai, and Kong Three Families.

If something went wrong, the people at the top had to shoulder it. Clearing the way and cultivating connections were also their responsibility. The workers only had to put in the labor. No one objected to the split; some even wanted to keep doing this long-term to earn extra money for their households.

Su Tianyu had made a net profit of four thousand that night, because Yu Mingyuan had given him eighty-five thousand. That showed the boss was fairly generous and thought highly of the Su Family.

Su Tianyu was pleased to have made some money too. He hurried through the remaining work and prepared to head back to bed.

"B-Brother Xiao Yu." Just then, Big Bear walked over with a broad, happy grin and called out to him.

Su Tianyu turned. "What's up?"

"We... we made some money. Let... let me buy you breakfast." Big Bear smiled as he invited him. "Something good. Let's... let's go to the Cantonese Restaurant for morning dim sum."

"Forget it. I'm heading back to sleep."

"You... you won't do me that favor? I want to treat you." Big Bear spoke very directly.

"Heh." Su Tianyu grinned. "All right. Let's go."

"Sure thing." Big Bear pulled open the door of Su Tianyu's Ford "company car," bent down, and climbed in.

"Where are you going?" Su Tianbei, Bai Hongbo, and one of the Su Family's relatives by marriage walked over together.

"Big Bear wants to buy me breakfast."

"Hey, Brother Big Bear, aren't you going to treat us too?" Bai Hongbo asked through the car door.

Big Bear thought carefully for a full three or four seconds before nodding. "Okay... I'll... I'll treat everyone. Come along."

"Now that's generous!" Bai Hongbo opened the door and climbed in.

And so the five of them drove the SUV five or six kilometers to the Cantonese Restaurant, because Big Bear kept insisting on going there.

By the time they went inside, dawn was breaking. The sun rose in the east, spreading brilliant rays across the sky.

For once, Big Bear took the initiative in ordering, choosing plenty of fairly expensive dishes, including shrimp dumplings, steamed fish balls, and sea cucumber congee.

Once they had ordered, Bai Hongbo moved to pay out of habit, but Big Bear stopped him. "We agreed. My treat. You don't need to pay, Brother Bai."

"You're a man of your word, brother!" Bai Hongbo certainly didn't care about the cost of breakfast, so he didn't argue and simply started gulping down his congee.

As everyone ate, Big Bear tentatively asked Su Tianyu, "B-Brother Xiao Yu, could I live in that new three-story building we rented?"

Su Tianyu paused. "Why do you want to live there? Aren't you going home?"

"I'd have a little more freedom there." Big Bear lowered his head and drank his congee. "I noticed nobody lives there. Or... or I could pay some rent every month."

Yu Mingyuan had previously asked Linda to rent a small three-story building by the sea. Its main purpose was to store work equipment such as speedboats, ropes, motors, and chains, since they couldn't haul those things over every time they needed them. They also needed a place where the workers could gather before each job. Always assembling at the dump would attract too much attention.

Su Tianyu glanced at Big Bear. Although he had plenty of questions, he kept to his habit of not prying into family matters. "Sure. Stay there if you want. No need to pay rent. There's quite a lot of stuff there anyway, so we need someone to keep an eye on it."

Big Bear was delighted. "Th... thank you, Brother Xiao Yu. When you have time... I'll treat you to another good meal."

"Heh, Big Bear, when are you getting married?" Bai Hongbo asked casually.

"As long as I work hard and save enough money, I can... can buy a home and get married. Soon... soon," Big Bear replied.

"You can get married, but not to Third Sister." Bai Hongbo gave him a sidelong look. "She's the woman of my dreams, your future sister-in-law."

"Like hell she is," Su Tianbei cursed indignantly.

Big Bear's face instantly turned red at that, and he lowered his head without another word.

"Fuck, everyone says he's slow, but look at him! He's got his life planned out better than I do!" Bai Hongbo had a smart mouth, but he had never mocked Big Bai with crude, vulgar jokes. His words might have sounded flippant, but they reflected what he genuinely thought.

"You don't have any plans?" Su Tianyu asked.

"Honestly, not really. I'm pretty lost." Bai Hongbo curled his lip. "I don't like what we're doing now much, but... but I can't just quit. My dad's getting old, and there's a whole household waiting to be fed... Ah, once a man grows up, his life isn't his own anymore."

Su Tianyu smiled, then turned to Su Tianbei and the Su Family's relative by marriage. "Second Brother, Haozi, what are your plans?"

"Build bigger, grow stronger, reach new heights!" Su Tianbei answered succinctly.

"Sounds good." Su Tianyu nodded. "What about you, Haozi?"

The young man sitting diagonally across from him was named Zhang Hao, the son of Tianbei's maternal uncle. His father had joined the Chinese Navy and died in combat years ago. With no one to rely on, he and his mother had come to the Su Family, which had a modest business in Dragon City.

Zhang Hao was usually quiet and hardworking. Wherever work was being done in the Su Family compound, he could almost always be found. Su Tianyu had known him since childhood and had always had a good impression of him.

After listening to Su Tianyu's question, Zhang Hao thought carefully before answering, "I don't really have any plans. I just want to earn some money so my mom can have a better life."

"Right. When you get down to it, people just want a better life." Bai Hongbo raised his congee bowl and called out, "Come on, bottoms up to a better tomorrow!"

"Who the hell toasts with congee?" Su Tianbei was speechless.

"Come on, you get the idea. Drinking booze this early in the morning isn't fucking healthy." Bai Hongbo grinned. "Today's worth remembering. We pulled off our first night. Here's hoping things only get better."

The five young men smiled at each other, raised their bowls, and drained their congee.

In the early morning, they left the congee restaurant together, then went their separate ways beneath the dazzling sun.

Big Bear got the key to the three-story building from Su Tianyu and set off for home on foot, full of excitement.

It was past eight in the morning.

Inside a rundown building on Earth House Street in Zhannan District, Big Bear bounded up to the seventh floor three steps at a time, then unlocked his front door.

Earth House Street was a notorious slum in Zhannan District. All its buildings were subsidized housing built by the Dragon City Relief Office specifically for residents without financial security, jobs, or the ability to work. Apart from water and electricity, they paid no other fees.

Big Bear's father had once served in the military too. He had been severely wounded in the Chinese District's Land Warzone, losing his left hand to an explosion, and had received a third-class individual merit award. After leaving the service, he had followed the relocating troops to Dragon City, where he was initially allotted a relatively spacious home and received compensation from the military.

But Father Wu had three sons. If he lived solely on that compensation, the money would eventually run out. So after leaving the service, he and several former comrades started trading scarce goods in Dragon City. Unfortunately, bad luck and tightening policies ultimately cost him a great deal of money.

After that, the Wu family moved into this slum, and Father Wu worked with the Su Family in the Dirty Gang for a while. In truth, Su Zhengcai had arranged an easy position for him at the company out of regard for their old friendship in the military. Later, as Father Wu's health worsened, Big Bear took his place and became a worker in the Dirty Gang.

Big Bear opened the door and entered the living room. At a glance, he saw Father Wu sitting beside a filthy table, eating breakfast and drinking liquor.

That was Father Wu's routine. He drank with all three meals, and afterward either lay in bed reading or went to sleep.

The Wu family's home was around sixty square meters in total and extremely shabby. The furniture was more than a decade old, and, for some inexplicable reason, the rooms reeked of rot.

Big Bear's two older brothers had both started working and no longer lived at home. Father Wu therefore rented the east room to a middle-aged couple who ran a breakfast stall. He and his wife occupied the west room, while Big Bear's room was a converted balcony with barely enough space for a bed.

After coming home, Big Bear called out somewhat awkwardly, "Dad... you're... you're up?"

"You're never fucking home these days. What have you been doing?" Father Wu demanded loudly.

"I... I've been helping the Su Family move some cargo by sea with a few friends from the company," Big Bear answered haltingly.

"Moving cargo by sea??? Smuggling?! Are you fucking stupid? You just do whatever people tell you?" Father Wu erupted in curses. "Do you know how many years you'd get if you were caught?"

"They all do it. The Su Family's people do it themselves too. It's fine," Big Bear replied, turning toward the balcony.

"How much are they paying you? Huh?!" Father Wu shouted again.

Big Bear returned to the balcony, lowered his head, and began packing his belongings.

"Fuck, how did I end up with an idiot son like you! You walk straight into whatever trap people set. Your head's full of shit." Father Wu kept cursing outside as he drank.

Big Bear packed his things as quickly as possible, then stepped out of the balcony carrying a battered travel bag and locked the door behind him.

"What are you doing?"

"I found a night watchman's job. I have to stay... stay there..." Big Bear stammered. "I... I won't be coming back for a while."

"I'm asking you how much you can make going out to sea with them!" Father Wu demanded, his eyes bulging.

Big Bear thought for a moment, then lowered his head, took four hundred and fifty-four from his pocket, and put it on the table. "They gave me five hundred yesterday. Here, take it."

Father Wu picked up the money, his tone softening considerably. "Don't be a fucking idiot. Keep your wits about you. If something's wrong, run."

"I know."

"Mm. I'll save this money for you. Don't get into trouble out there!" Father Wu replied.

"I'm leaving." Big Bear picked up his bag and walked out.

Outside, the sunshine was brilliant. The moment Big Bear left home, his trademark grin appeared without him even realizing it.

After the dusty trek, Big Bear reached the small three-story building by the sea, set his luggage neatly on the floor, and began cleaning a bedroom on the top floor.

The weather was hot. With a rag and a battered mop, Big Bear carefully cleaned the entire room. Although he looked rough and simple-minded, he was sensitive at heart and methodical in his work.

Once the room was clean, Big Bear carried several battered cabinets upstairs and placed them inside.

Bending down to unpack his luggage, Big Bear sorted and put away his belongings one by one. Finally, he set a small handmade wooden carving that looked much like Third Sister on the bedside cabinet, along with a badly worn Superman toy held together with clear tape.

With everything settled, Big Bear lay on the floor, wiping his sweat with his arm. Gazing at the bright sunshine outside, he broke into a grin for no particular reason.