Chapter 1 The Investment

The investment hadn't materialized yet, and since Yu Jinrong also wanted to befriend Zhou Yaoxiang, Su Tianyu and the others stayed at the Zhou family's estate as guests for the time being.

That day, Zhou Yaoxiang's youngest son, Zhou Tonghui, arranged for them to stay in a detached villa on the left side of the estate. It was specifically for entertaining guests, complete with mountains, water, and a full staff.

After settling in, Yu Jinrong and his brother Yu Jinhang went upstairs to talk, presumably still discussing how to attract investment. Yu Mingyuan, Gou Liuzi, and the others were not involved this time.

While the bosses were talking business, the younger generation was free to do as they pleased.

"President Yu, I rarely come to the First District. Aren't you going to arrange something for tonight?" Bai Hongbo asked from the sofa, particularly lively today. He was just that kind of person; if something was weighing on his mind, he was like a miserable wretch, but once it passed, he was full of energy again.

"Oh, you've come back to life?" Yu Mingyuan replied, glancing sideways.

"My brother Gou Liuzi is right. Whether you live life listlessly or exuberantly, it's still just one day," Bai Hongbo replied shamelessly. "We can't waste our youth!"

"You're almost forty. What youth do you have?" Wawa rolled her eyes.

"Little sister, if you say that, I have to argue with you," Bai Hongbo sidled up to Wawa. "Life is like a girl's breasts; you can't just cut them off because they're sagging. They're still yours, for better or worse. Youth is the same; it has nothing to do with age or the body. It mainly describes..."

"Get lost!" Wawa waved her hand impatiently. "You're really lewd."

Just as the two were bickering, the gentle and refined Zhou Tonghui arrived. "Everyone's here, haha!"

"Ah, just sitting here chatting," Yu Mingyuan stood up.

"The elders are talking business, so there's nothing for us to do," Zhou Tonghui said with a smile, inviting them, "Why don't I take you all out for a stroll?"

Bai Hongbo's eyes lit up. "Great! Let's go out for a walk. It's quite boring staying here."

"Sure, then get ready, and I'll take you out," Zhou Tonghui nodded.

"Let's go," Su Tianyu also called out to the others.

And so, the group quickly tidied up and followed Zhou Tonghui outside.

Up front, Yu Mingyuan chatted with Zhou Tonghui, while Su Tianyu, Bai Hongbo, and Yu Mingyuan's cousin Yu Mingfei muttered among themselves behind them.

"Hey, what do you think the godfather's son will take us to do tonight?" Bai Hongbo asked the two excitedly. "He should at least let us ride some foreign fillies, right?!"

"Probably. I heard the Zhou family owns several casinos and entertainment cities," Yu Mingyuan's cousin Yu Mingfei, also a flirt, was two years older than Su Tianyu. He was currently serving in a unit in the First District, and had been with Su Tianyu and the others for the past few days because of the New Year holiday.

"Do you prefer group mixed battles or one-on-one combat?" Bai Hongbo asked Yu Mingfei very directly.

"What are you talking about? I don't understand!"

"Come on, don't pretend! It's no fun if you pretend."

"Okay, to be honest, I prefer duels between men right now," Yu Mingfei said very seriously. "Exciting!"

Bai Hongbo was slightly stunned. "Then... then we can't play together, brother."

Su Tianyu glanced at Yu Mingfei. "Fatty has good skin."

"I'll buy you a drink tonight!" Yu Mingfei said, looking at Da Bai.

"Get lost!"

"Haha!"

The three laughed and followed Yu Mingyuan and Zhou Tonghui out of the villa.

...

Inside a guest room on the third floor of the villa, Yu Jinrong smoked a cigarette, his expression somewhat helpless. "Looks like this investment won't be easy to get!"

"The main problem is that the situation in Dragon City is relatively complicated. Big capital feels there's a risk in getting involved, and small capital can't afford to invest," Yu Jinhang sighed. "It's really difficult."

Yu Jinrong considered for a moment and asked, "Do you think there's any chance of getting a loan from Zhou Yaoxiang?"

"He can only lend you a batch of money. He can't give you a second or third round of funding like capital investors," Yu Jinhang frowned. "What do we do if the initial loan runs out and we need to invest more money later?"

Yu Jinrong blinked. "If we can hold out until the second round of funding, that means the association has potential! Then it would be worth it to borrow more money."

"That's true," Yu Jinhang nodded.

"Originally, I wanted the association project to bring in capital investors to share the risk with us, but the result of finding money is not ideal. If we still want to push it forward, then we can only bear the risk ourselves," Yu Jinrong took a puff of his cigarette. "Whether this works or not can be seen in the first round. In other words, if we can't find investment and we use our own money, the initial investment is likely to be lost, and the amount won't be small."

"Yes," Yu Jinhang rubbed his palms together. "I think you should discuss this with your brother-in-law and ask for his opinion."

Yu Jinrong thought carefully and immediately took out his phone. "Okay, I'll ask him."

About half a minute later, An Qiqi's father, Yu Jinrong's brother-in-law, answered the phone. "Hello, brother-in-law, haha, are you busy?"

"Just finished a meeting at the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs, haha. How's your talk with Zhou Yaoxiang going?" the other party asked.

"It's like this..." Yu Jinrong told An Qiqi's father everything about his situation on the phone.

After listening, An's father asked in a low voice, "Do you think this is reliable?"

"I think it has potential, at least there's an opportunity in Dragon City," Yu Jinrong replied.

"How much money do you need initially?" An's father asked.

"About twenty million," Yu Jinrong said, giving a rough figure.

"It's not a small amount, but there's no need to dwell on it. Just do it if you want to," An's father paused and said, "The worst case scenario is that the project doesn't work out and you lose twenty million, it's not enough to make you hesitate."

"You think it's okay?" Yu Jinrong asked with a smile.

"I think you can do it, haha," An's father replied.

Hearing this, Yu Jinrong had made up his mind.

...

Four hours later, at the Zhou family estate's horse farm.

Bai Hongbo's face was flushed, and he was sitting on a tall horse, sweating profusely, yelling, "Quick... quick, Xiaofei, give me a hand, my legs are numb, I can't get down!"

Yu Mingfei stood aside, his legs spread apart like a penguin, and cursed, "I'm really impressed with you! You don't have the skills, why ride a horse?!"

"Did I want to ride? Zhou Tonghui was too enthusiastic and insisted on letting me experience it," Bai Hongbo was carefully helped off the horse, gritting his teeth and cursing, "This horse is like a mad dog, running around like crazy, and I didn't dare to get off. Damn, these two eggs of mine have been rubbed off by two pounds!"

"...I find that you're really a miracle worker," Yu Mingfei said after a long pause, his expression serious.

"What miracle worker?"

"You said Zhou Tonghui would invite us to ride foreign fillies, and we really did," Yu Mingfei replied speechlessly. "If you set up a stall, you could tell fortunes."

Not far away, Su Tianyu also walked over, drinking water, and asked the two, "How does it feel?"

"How does what feel! I thought this was going to be a grand event for both the underworld and the law-abiding, but I didn't expect to come here and be Zorro. Look at how my thighs have been rubbed raw, they're bleeding...!" Bai Hongbo spread his legs, sweating from the pain.