Qin Chuan woke up at five every morning to exercise with Zheng Chengdao and three others.
They ate breakfast at seven and started work at eight.
First, he’d make a round at the electronics factory. The factory had recently resolved its parts issues and had largely returned to its former stability. With no pressing matters, production proceeded as usual.
Then, Qin Chuan visited the decoration company to chat with Chen Jinyu.
The decoration company had been busy for several months and had gradually returned to normal, as many of the franchised stores elsewhere had completed their renovations.
Some workers had returned to handle local business.
Due to the excellent renovation results of Yaohui Decoration Company, many households wanted to choose them for their homes, making local business highly sought after.
Especially since Qin Chuan himself was in the real estate business. When selling houses, he cleverly included vouchers for his own decoration company, so many buyers chose Yaohui Decoration Company.
This decoration company was not given much importance in many people's assessments, and even Qin Chuan himself would briefly mention it when introducing it.
But only those who truly understood knew that this seemingly unremarkable decoration company was actually very profitable, no less than other businesses.
Last year, the decoration company brought Qin Chuan quite a surprise, generating over 500,000 yuan in net profit in just half a year.
This year, with the mutual cooperation with Xinhua Electronics Factory and local business, the profit would be even more considerable.
Another crucial point was that no one else was involved in the decoration company's shares; Qin Chuan held one hundred percent ownership.
In other words, all the profit generated belonged to Qin Chuan alone, his personal nest egg.
After another busy and fulfilling day, Qin Chuan called Li Ya. Li Ya told him that her factory had overtime, so he didn't need to wait for her for dinner.
Qin Chuan then took his elder brother, Zheng Chengdao, Yao Dong, Bai Xiaoguang, and Chen Jinyu to a roadside stall for barbecue.
Six grown men sat together, drinking iced beer by the case and ordering barbecue by the bundle.
While they were chatting and joking, Qin Chuan suddenly thought of a question. He looked at his close friends and asked, "You guys are all still single. Haven't you considered finding a woman, getting married, and having kids?"
This question caused a momentary pause in the lively atmosphere, and everyone’s movements froze for a beat.
Among the five men present, three didn't even have girlfriends, hence the common term "bachelor."
"Marriage? What for?"
Bai Xiaoguang grinned and said, "Women are burdens, hindrances. When you have needs, isn't it better to spend some money, have fun, and then leave without looking back? Why dig your own grave and confine the rest of your life?"
"Exactly! Our current lives are so free and easy. We eat, drink, play, do whatever we want. Finding a wife would be asking for trouble!"
Yao Dong also chimed in, sharing the same sentiment as Bai Xiaoguang. It truly was a case of "birds of a feather flock together."
"I'm still young and haven't thought about marriage," Chen Jinyu said. "My goal now is to make money and increase my social value. Once I'm rich and famous, what kind of woman can't I find?"
Qin Chuan couldn't refute such reasoning. If he didn't want to get married, he would likely be living a similar life.
"Brother Dao, I haven't asked about you in a while. Is your girlfriend still receiving treatment at our county hospital?"
Qin Chuan finally set his gaze on Zheng Chengdao, who hadn't spoken. He remembered that Zheng Chengdao had a girlfriend, but an accident had occurred, leaving her in a vegetative state in the hospital. He had even visited her once.
Zheng Chengdao often visited the hospital, even hiring a caretaker to look after his girlfriend who was in a vegetative state.
Zheng Chengdao nodded. "Yes!"
Qin Chuan's expression was complex, and he couldn't help but ask, "Are you just going to wait like this forever?"
The subtext of this question was, "Aren't you going to find someone else?"
After all, the chances of recovery for someone in a vegetative state were not high, and many would never wake up.
In that case, wouldn't Zheng Chengdao spend his life alone and lonely?
He knew that among them all, Zheng Chengdao was the oldest, over forty, half his life gone!
Zheng Chengdao shook his head. "I don't know! Maybe I'll look for someone else, but definitely not now..."
Seeing this, Qin Chuan didn't say anything more.
"Those people over there seem to be watching us..."
Just then, Qin Yang suddenly lowered his voice and quietly said to everyone.
"Huh?"
As soon as he spoke, the others who were chatting and joking suddenly tensed up. Although they were here eating and drinking, they all knew it was a critical time and they needed to stay vigilant at all times.
They could only drink to fifty percent capacity, never getting drunk.
"I noticed that group has been sitting there for over an hour, and they've looked over at our table several times."
Qin Yang elaborated.
Sitting with Qin Yang was Yao Dong. He picked up a cigarette and a lighter from the table, and as the flame flickered, he glanced in the distance.
"There are six of them too. They're all strangers; I've never seen them before."
Qin Chuan was facing away from that table, so to avoid alerting them, he couldn't turn his head. Doing so would be too obvious.
"Can you determine if they have hostile intentions?"
Qin Chuan asked.
"Can't tell. They're too far away!"
Yao Dong shook his head.
"I'll go over and check them out!"
Bai Xiaoguang said directly. This was their territory, after all, and they didn't need to be timid on their own ground.
"Alright, let Xiaoguang go and probe them."
Zheng Chengdao nodded.
Bai Xiaoguang stood up and walked directly towards that table. It was already past eleven o'clock at night, and there were very few customers at the roadside stall, only two or three tables.
The street had also become quiet; many people had already gone home to sleep.
Since Bai Xiaoguang was going to investigate, the others no longer made any pretense and turned to stare directly at the group.
Under Qin Chuan and the others' watchful eyes, Bai Xiaoguang approached the table. He said something, and suddenly, they saw Bai Xiaoguang clutch his stomach and slowly crouch down.
"This is bad, something's wrong!"
Zheng Chengdao, who had been paying close attention, was the first to react. He sprang from his stool and strode towards the other customers.
Behind him, Yao Dong and Qin Yang reacted a bit slower but immediately followed suit.
Just then, Bai Xiaoguang, who was still crouching, slowly turned around. His face was contorted in pain, and his eyes were fixed on his own group.
At this moment, Qin Chuan and the others finally saw clearly the reason for Bai Xiaoguang's agony.
A gleaming dagger was embedded in Bai Xiaoguang's stomach, blood flowing profusely and staining his white T-shirt...