Siheyuan: Big City, Small Love

After a busy day, it's finally over.

The harvest was pretty good. After all, the reputation of the lighter had already spread last year, and many foreign businessmen came here because of its reputation.

"Come on, I know you have a lot of ideas. Do you know that even our tea and tea sets are selling a lot? Haha, it's really easy to make money from people in Hong Kong!"

Zhang Zhiwen hugged He Lai and smiled.

"Brother Zhiwen, why are you so excited? It's not your money! It's enough."

He Lai rolled his eyes at Zhang Zhiwen and said.

"Come on, your idea is very dangerous." Zhang Zhiwen pointed at He Lai with his finger and said with a smile.

"Okay, let's go, go back and see Sister Song Xue, I don't know how that little girl Ke'er is doing."

He Lai took Zhang Zhiwen and walked towards the guesthouse.

The two walked and talked, and soon arrived at the guesthouse. As soon as they entered the room, they saw Song Xue playing with Ke Er in the room.

"Sister Song Xue, we're back." He Lai shouted.

Song Xue raised her head and said with a smile, "You guys are back, how are you doing? Are lighters selling well?"

"Not bad. Didn't you see that Brother Zhiwen was so happy?" He said, looking at Ke'er, "Ke'er, do you miss your big brother?"

Ke'er ran over and hugged He Lai's legs, saying in a baby voice, "I miss my big brother!"

Everyone laughed. At this time, Zhang Zhiwen suggested: "Let's go out for a good meal tonight to celebrate."

"Brother Zhiwen, let's do it next time. I have some personal matters to go out tonight. Let's eat in the cafeteria."

He Lai did not agree with Zhang Zhiwen's proposal and said.

"Come on, what's the matter? We have to go out to talk about it at night. Don't mess around."

Zhang Zhiwen said worriedly.

"Just a little personal matter, it's nothing, I met a new friend when I was here last time, and I wanted to meet up and chat for a while."

He Lai said perfunctorily.

"Okay then, tell me if you have something to say, but don't make me go to the police station to get you back again."

"Shut up, Xiao Laizi. Come back soon. Ke'er will live with me. Don't worry."

Song Xue said.

"Okay, thank you Sister Song Xue."

"Why are you being so polite to me? Be careful. This place is not like our Forbidden City. You have to be careful at night."

Song Xue instructed.

He Lai nodded and said, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

After that, he said to Ke'er, "Ke'er, follow your sister and be good, understand?"

"Ke'er is the best." Ke'er nodded.

So the three of them took Ke'er out together, and after having dinner in the cafeteria, He Lai went out.

When we arrived at the Aiqun Building, we quickly found Zhuang Shijiu.

"You still remember to come here to find me, what's wrong, do you want to go to Hong Kong City to play again?"

Zhuang Shijiu said with a smile.

"Hehe, Uncle Jiu is really amazing. He guessed it right away. I don't have anything to do here, so I just want to go to Hong Kong City for a stroll."

He Lai did not hide it and spoke directly.

"Stop flattering me. When are you planning to go?" Zhuang Shijiu asked.

"Just these two days, I'll go after I make some arrangements. I plan to stay a few more days this time."

He Lai thought that since he had nothing else to do, it would be good to learn about the situation in the port city. It would be best if he could get a few injection molding machines to see if he could produce plastic lighters, or plastic slippers or plastic sandals.

"Okay, I get it. You can go and have a look. Now your uncle Lou and I finally have a market for our factory. We've received many large orders from overseas. Now your uncle Jiu can earn more than half a million dollars a month! Haha..."

Zhuang Shijiu said with a smile.

"That's great, Uncle Jiu. If you make money, you should give the workers more benefits instead of being stingy. Only when the workers are well fed will they work harder!"

He Lai said.

"Okay, okay, I understand this principle." Zhuang Shijiu said with a smile. The workers' wages are just a few dollars, which is nothing compared to the profits.

The monthly salary of manual laborers in Hong Kong is about 50 to 150 Hong Kong dollars. Zhuang Shijiu has raised their salary to 300 Hong Kong dollars, which is close to the salary of a white-collar worker.

A factory like Zhuang Shijiu's has about 200 people, and the monthly salary is only 60,000 yuan, which is still insignificant compared to the profit.

"Uncle Jiu, how is Uncle Lou's son?" He Lai asked curiously.

"Why are you asking him?"

"Curious, hehe."

"He is staying at home now and can't go out at all. Old Lou has arranged someone for him. He is having children every day. I heard that one of them is already pregnant."

Zhuang Shijiu said casually.

He Lai covered his mouth and laughed secretly. This was the courage that Lou Bancheng should have. Since his own son was not capable, he should quickly give birth to a grandson so that he could raise him by his side.

"Okay, let's not talk about him anymore. Your Lu is quite capable. I heard that he has bought a lot of houses and factories for you."

Zhuang Shijiu replied.

"Oh, it's okay. I ordered it. In a prosperous place like Hong Kong City, buying a house is definitely the most valuable."

He Lai smiled.

"I heard that the gambling king Fu from the gambling city gave you ten villas. Is that true?"

Zhuang Shijiu asked.

"Yes, that's what happened. What's the matter?" He Lai nodded.

"Hey, it's okay. The old gambling king is dying, and now someone wants to compete with the Fu family for the title of gambling king!"

Zhuang Shijiu said.

"Oh." He Lai responded. The Fu family should have been taken over by He Hongsheng, the gambling king, at this time.

What if I intervened? He Lai quickly shook his head and dismissed the idea. He didn't have the time to run the business, so it would be better to buy some shares.

"Is this your reaction?" Zhuang Shijiu said with a smile.

"Uncle Jiu, what do you want me to do? I'm just a nobody, do you want me to get involved?"

He Lai rolled his eyes.

"Haha, this casino has been making money from human flesh since ancient times. I don't know how many people have been ruined by it. When your uncle Jiu was young, he was also addicted to gambling and almost lost everything. Fortunately, your uncle Lou helped me back then."

Zhuang Shijiu said with a smile.

"Uncle Jiu, what do you want to say?" He Lai asked puzzledly.

"Nothing, I just feel sad. Once the gambling king dies, there will probably be a bloody storm in this gambling city."

Zhuang Shijiu sighed.

He Lai certainly knew that the ending would definitely be tragic. After all, He Hongsheng and He the Gambling King were newcomers to the game, and there would definitely be disputes when they were confronting the old forces in the gambling city.

Think about it, the life of King He is quite legendary. He never gambled, but he was able to run the gambling city for decades and remain standing. How amazing is that!

"Uncle Jiu, let's think about how to expand our business! At least open a few more factories."

He Lai smiled bitterly.

"Yes, yes, yes, hurry up and give your uncle some more tricks."

Zhuang Shijiu became excited when he heard this.

"What's wrong? Uncle Jiu doesn't want to be a washbasin anymore, haha."

He Lai smiled.

"Hey, there is always a saturation point for these plastic basins. I have already integrated them. Your uncle Lou and I have two factories that are enough to produce this. Next, we will open a new factory. Of course, Uncle Jiu wants to do something else."

"Is that so? Let me think about it."

When He Lai heard this, he started thinking about what else was simple and popular in that era, and soon he thought of jeans!

"Uncle Jiu, I remember there is a kind of pants that is very popular in the United States, called jeans. We can try to make some with them!"

He Lai suggested.

"Jeans? I seem to have seen them. How are they made?" Zhuang Shijiu asked.

"Uncle Jiu, did you ask the wrong person? If you want to know, you should ask someone to find out. I have never been to the United States."

He Lai was speechless.

"Then how do you know about jeans!"

"Uncle Jiu, are you here to get to the bottom of this?"

"Well, Uncle Jiu is curious, so I won't ask anymore."

……

He Lai chatted with Zhuang Shijiu for a while, and after they finally agreed to leave for Hong Kong City, they left.