Huo Zongzuo couldn’t help but laugh.
“Gold bars are for you,” he said with a grin. “Spend them however you want.”
Jiang Luo craned his neck, still teasing in that high-pitched voice: “Huh!? My dad gave me pocket money?!”
Flustered, he squealed, “Oh my god! Oh my god~!!”
And then he sang, melodramatically:
“In this world… Dad is still the best… A child with a dad is like a treasure.”
Huo Zongzuo laughed so hard he couldn’t stop.
And so, on this ordinary drunken night, Huo Zongzuo held Jiang Luo close in the living room, laughing, chatting, and even singing along.
Jiang Luo didn’t know why he pressed against Huo Zongzuo. Was it just because he was drunk? He wasn’t very lucid.
Normally, he wasn’t the type to cling to someone or act cutesy.
Maybe it was… he didn’t know.
Jiang Luo thought: he just liked being near Huo Zongzuo. Simply liked it. That was all. He wanted it.
Later, when it was time to go upstairs to sleep, Jiang Luo snuggled closer and said, “I can’t walk. Carry me upstairs.”
Huo Zongzuo lifted him horizontally in his arms.
Jiang Luo didn’t expect that kind of carry and laughed. “Are you carrying a girl?”
He instinctively wrapped his arms around Huo Zongzuo’s neck, pressing his head close. “Thanks, Dad… you’re the best.”
He added, “Someday, when you’re old and skinny and short, a little old man, I’ll carry you like this too.”
As Huo Zongzuo carried him up the stairs, Jiang Luo sighed in the warmth of his embrace: “Ah~ so happy… this moment.”
Huo Zongzuo felt the same happiness. Once Jiang Luo fell asleep, he sat silently by the bed, just watching him.
After a long while, Huo Zongzuo reached out and gently brushed Jiang Luo’s face with the back of his hand.
He knew it was impossible… but he still wanted to try, to see if he could keep Jiang Luo by his side forever.
The next morning, Jiang Luo looked at the two briefcases on the tea table—one stacked with RMB bills, the other with gold bars—and let out a heartfelt:
“Ah~~ yes! This is life!”
This was exactly how life should feel.
He decided not to work overtime today. That night, he called Wang Chuang and Zheng Bin to go out and have some fun.
That evening, the three of them rode motorcycles around the Bund, flooring the throttle. Afterward, they went to a nearby nightclub—coincidentally the familiar Oriental One, one of Xue Zhizhong’s businesses.
The club was already buzzing—lights flashing, music pounding, men and women dancing wildly.
Wang Chuang, Jiang Luo, and money-unconcerned Zheng Bin immediately reserved the biggest sofa, ordered the club’s finest drinks, and instantly drew attention from the crowd.
When they casually threw their cash into the air, the club went into full-blown hype mode.
In the corner and at nearby tables, Lao San and Lao Si kept an eye on Jiang Luo and their surroundings.
Some people tried watching Jiang Luo from the shadows but discreetly backed off once they noticed Lao San and Lao Si, disappearing into the crowd.
On the sofa, Wang Chuang, Zheng Bin, and a few girls danced to the music.
Jiang Luo sat cross-legged, a drink in one hand, a microphone in the other, singing along.
“You’re like a flame in winter,
A blazing fire that warms my heart,
Every time you quietly come near me,
Your fire lights up my world…”
Wang Chuang and Zheng Bin danced so hard their heads nearly spun off.
The whole dance floor sang along: “You’re like a flame!”
After finishing, Jiang Luo stopped singing. Zheng Bin returned, sat down, grabbed some fruit, and yelled over the music: “You like singing? Next time let’s go karaoke.”
“I know some Fudan students; we’ve sung together before. I’ll bring you along.”
“Sure.”
Jiang Luo leaned over, whisper-shouting: “You’ve only been in Haicheng a short while and already know Fudan students?”
Zheng Bin: “Met them while playing pool on Handan Road.”
“When your arm’s better, we’ll go play pool again.”
He winked: “And I know a pool hall with only pretty female servers. Want me to take you? They’ll even come out for dinner if you ask.”
Jiang Luo chuckled. “Spending so much? Take it easy.”
“Don’t start with me!”
Zheng Bin: “We’re equally matched—who are you to lecture me?”
Jiang Luo: “I don’t need a girl to tag along.”
“What?”
Zheng Bin, ignoring him, said, “Then find a pretty one to date.”
“You’re already a big boss, not like me, idle all day. Why not?”
“Want me to set someone up?”
“Fudan students work too, find a pretty one.”
Jiang Luo sipped his cola. “No thanks. You go ahead.”
“Why?”
Zheng Bin playfully nudged him with the back of his hand. “Too shy, or just can’t?”
“You’ve got money for gifts, why not date?”
He called over the girls around the sofa: “Come on, come on, have a drink with Mr. Jiang!”
Several girls came over, cups in hand, one coquettishly shouting: “Mr. Jiang, give us some face.”
Jiang Luo didn’t fall for it. Pointing at Zheng Bin, he said: “Make him drink. Whoever gets him drunk first, I’ll reward a thousand.”
The girls knew it was a game and surrounded Zheng Bin.
“Damn you, Jiang!”
Zheng Bin laughed and ran off to the dance floor.
Huo Zongzuo’s newspaper debt-collection method reminded Jiang Luo of a new idea. He contacted a few nationally circulated newspapers with strong sales and spent money placing ads to promote Shengfei.
He also called Yu Dong, who was already in Beijing: “I’m placing ads for ‘Weilannido.’ The contact number will be yours. If anyone calls, at least you’ll know what’s happening.”
Meanwhile, at the factory, more people were coming to purchase from Shengfei. Clothes were selling fast, and the best-selling styles often left the warehouse within hours of arrival.
At the small selection booth for vendors, it was crowded almost daily.
Originally, the factory would deliver clothes to nearby points themselves, but demand became so high that there wasn’t time to transport them. Jiang Luo stopped sending delivery trucks altogether.
He advertised—national evening newspapers, local Haicheng papers, even TV.
He also set up a dedicated phone reception department, hiring a few Mandarin-speaking girls to take calls and assist anyone contacting Shengfei via ads.
Soon, Shengfei’s clothes were everywhere in Haicheng and surrounding suburbs. Their designs were fashionable, plentiful, and popular. Vendors stocked more Shengfei clothes, and more people wore them.
This created a chain reaction:
- Streets near Shengfei were busier, with more rickshaws and customers.
- Restaurants, hotels, and shops proliferated.
- New textile and clothing workshops opened nearby, some supplying Shengfei with fabric or outsourced work, like sewing buttons.
- Several specialty shops sold Shengfei clothing, slightly marked up for those who missed the initial batches.
- Other local workshops and factories began copying Shengfei styles, further expanding the market.
Juxiang Town, centered on Shengfei, grew into a vibrant commercial hub. Crime decreased, taxes increased, more shops opened, and the administration busied itself keeping up.
The town government even held several meetings praising Shengfei and discussing ways to keep commerce thriving and orderly.
Wu Dayong invited Jiang Luo to his home for dinner, personally thanking him and his factory for contributing to the town’s development.
Jiang Luo, overwhelmed with work, paused and realized how far he had come.
Looking at the factory and company accounts, the money was enough to make him laugh in his sleep.
Sitting at his office desk, flipping through the ledgers, he smiled so hard his eyes welled up.
The path he took in nearly ten years last life… he had covered in one year this life.
Last April, he earned his starting capital trading stocks at Jing’an branch, making wagers with people. Soon after, he and Wang Chuang rode a train to Wencheng, meeting Zhang Zhiqiang from the toy factory…