At noon the next day, a refined-looking man in glasses and a suit came knocking at the Ruhua Bar's door and delivered a hundred thousand in cash. After the money had been counted, he asked Bi Shenghua to sign a receipt, then politely took his leave.
Xiao Qi said in disbelief, "Even thugs keep their word these days?"
Bi Shenghua did not bother with all that. With a wave of her hand, she said, "Send twenty thousand to the guys who came to help yesterday. Xiao Qi, you did a lot and got hurt, so take ten thousand too, for some nourishing food. As for certain people..." She rolled her eyes at Qingmu. "Pay off last month's tab first, then we'll talk!"
With white cloth wrapped around his head, Xiao Qi winked and made faces at Qingmu, signaling that he just needed to say something nice.
After thinking for quite a while, Qingmu came up with a line. "Now that there's money, how about putting a toilet behind the bar? It'd be closer!"
"Get lost!"
Xiao Qi covered his mouth and cackled. At the sight of the landlady's thunderous glare, he quickly wiped the smile off his face, stooped down, and went to sweep the floor.
The Ruhua Bar put up a notice announcing that it would close for a week for inventory and renovations. In truth, the broken items and drinks came to ten thousand at the very most, but if someone was willing to pay compensation, there was no reason not to take it. Bi Shenghua decided to spruce things up properly and freshen up the bar's slightly dated interior.
Mo Yu was not doing well. Since the previous night, she had been like someone possessed, neither eating nor drinking nor speaking. Bi Shenghua had drunk too much and slept soundly herself, so she had not noticed how Mo Yu had been during the night, but just watching her during the day was frightening enough.
She asked Qingmu, "Hey, didn't you say last time that she'd woken up? Why is she like this again?"
Qingmu said, "Last time, she hadn't woken up. This time, she's wide awake."
"What do you mean, wide awake?" Xiao Qi asked.
Qingmu said nothing. The landlady and Xiao Qi exchanged a glance, and suddenly both understood-the things Jiang Deqian had said were probably true.
Xiao Qi's face went white. Through gritted teeth, he said, "Why does all the good cabbage get rooted up by pigs?"
Bi Shenghua's face hardened. "Is that any fucking way to talk? It's not like she threw herself at him. She didn't know what was happening these past few days! If you care so much about someone's past, you deserve to stay single for life!"
She added, "If you really like her, go help her get through this. She's at her most vulnerable right now, when she needs comforting most."
Xiao Qi flushed and lowered his head without a word, swishing his broom across the floor. After sweeping for a while, he suddenly tossed the broom aside and hurried into the back. "I'll go check on her."
After Xiao Qi left, Qingmu kept staring at Bi Shenghua.
Bi Shenghua had changed into jeans and a purple plaid shirt that day, with half the hem tucked into her waistband and the other half hanging loose. Although the outfit was still very androgynous, it was much softer and more feminine than her previous baggy sportswear and hip-hop clothes.
"What? Got flowers blooming on my face?" Bi Shenghua checked her clothes, found nothing wrong, and asked Qingmu.
Qingmu said, "Nothing. I'm just curious that you'd actually teach Xiao Qi how to pick up girls."
Bi Shenghua said, "He's one of our own. Of course I'll help if I can."
Qingmu said, "Can you coach without ever having played?"
"Get lost!" Bi Shenghua punched him. "You don't have to eat pork to know what a pig looks like!" Then something else seemed to occur to her, and she burst out laughing.
Just then, they heard someone knocking on the door.
Bi Shenghua said, "Surely the renovation crew isn't here this early? I haven't cleared any space yet."
She went to open the door, only to find a Bentley parked outside, blocking the way out. A man in a peaked cap stood at the entrance and asked, "Excuse me, is Mr. Qingmu of Divine Crow Studio here?"
Bi Shenghua called inside, "Someone for you." Then she told the man, "Come in."
The man entered, stepping steadily past the tables and chairs that had yet to be set upright and the glass shards scattered all over the floor. Then he spotted Qingmu and said, "Professor Mei Yiqiu sent me. I'm looking for Mr. Qingmu."
"Oh, that's me." Only then did Qingmu remember that Professor Mei had referred a wealthy client to him. Through the open doorway, he caught a glimpse of the Bentley emblem. Rich indeed.
People who came to consult "Master" Qingmu generally could not help being taken aback by his appearance at their first meeting, but this man showed no surprise at all. Once he had confirmed Qingmu's identity, he removed his cap and gave a slight, courteous bow. "Hello, Mr. Qingmu. My name is Li Wei. Please come with me."
Qingmu noticed how steady his movements were. From every step he had taken since entering to the motion of removing his cap, every movement was extraordinarily steady, inch by inch, as though held in place by machinery. This was a true expert, Qingmu judged.
"Are we leaving right now?" Qingmu glanced at Bi Shenghua.
Bi Shenghua turned her face away. "Don't look at me. That's your business."
Li Wei asked, "If you have anything to prepare, please take your time. I'll wait outside."
Qingmu pointed at the floor. "Oh, wait until I finish cleaning, then. I'm not exactly fast, though."
Li Wei said, "Oh, that's all? Leave it to me." He took out his phone, dialed a number, and instructed, "Find a housekeeping company and have them send ten hourly cleaners to the Ruhua Bar on Liuying Lane."
Qingmu stuck his tongue out at Bi Shenghua and snapped his fingers. "Big business!"
Bi Shenghua scoffed. "Look at you, all pleased with yourself!"
Qingmu followed Li Wei out and instinctively reached for the front passenger door, but Li Wei had already opened the rear door and gestured for him to enter. "Please get in."
The Bentley's back seat was comfortable indeed. Qingmu did not even notice the sound of the engine starting or a jolt as the car pulled away.
"Can you tell me what exactly this is about?" Qingmu asked.
Holding the steering wheel, Li Wei said, "I'm sorry. I'm only responsible for picking you up. I can't discuss anything else."
In a hillside villa in Wuzhong's Riverside Repulse Bay District, Jiang Deguan sat on a sofa, vigorously massaging his temples.
His head had been aching badly lately. The country had begun banning imports of foreign garbage in successive batches, and fewer and fewer containers were coming through Shenzhou Port. To keep his business going, he had planned to pick up some goods at the docks in Yangcheng, but that would mean snatching meat from someone else's bowl, inevitably putting him at daggers drawn with the trading groups in Fujian and Guangdong.
Dong Cheng, chairman of the Shenzhou Ocean Shipping Group, had specifically warned him to act cautiously for the time being. President Xia of Huanyu International had already called for them to answer the nation's call and build a green new-energy powerhouse.
Although Jiang Deguan's ocean trading company was very profitable, it still had to operate under the Shenzhou Ocean Shipping Group's umbrella. Otherwise, he could forget about getting even half a container at Shenzhou Port. And the Ocean Shipping Group was merely a subsidiary of the Xia Family's Huanyu International.
If Dong Cheng was a giant crocodile to him, then Xia Bozhou was a tyrannosaurus. Since President Xia had spoken, Jiang Deguan naturally had to obey and stay out of trouble. He had therefore simply suspended all his business, which, compared with before, amounted to losing several million a day.
Still, losing a little money was no great matter. There would be plenty of chances to earn it back later. The other headache he had now was his ignorant, good-for-nothing younger brother, who did nothing but stir up trouble all day.
The bald Hou Biao gave a full account of what had happened the previous night, then stood quietly to one side, waiting for Jiang Deguan's instructions.
"Monkey, this person you mentioned-if you had to face him head-on, one-on-one, how confident would you be?" Jiang Deguan asked.
Hou Biao considered for a moment, then said, "Hard to say. I'd be more confident with a gun, but there's something strange about him. When I was up against him, I felt a little dazed, and my brain kept reacting a little slowly."
Jiang Deguan said, "Mm. Look into that bar's background, and that person you mentioned. Caution keeps a ship afloat for ten thousand years! Also, keep an eye on my brother. Don't let him cause trouble. We don't want to miss out on the lamb and end up reeking of it instead."