Chapter 393: Let Ding Li Decide

After I finished drinking, I said to He Zuming, "Mr. He, you are so old that your safety cannot be guaranteed outside."

It would be better to follow me; you won't have to worry about food and drink, and I can still protect your safety. Mr. He, at a critical moment, I can come to you to discuss the matter.

He Zuming smiled and waved his hand,

"'Talking to me about it is useless. I've already said everything I can think of.'

From now on, you can only rely on yourself. Jianqiang, let me tell you something: do you know how water crosses a ditch?"

I looked at He Zuming,

thinking to myself, how could Mr. He ask such a question.

"'I don't know, Mr. He. Tell me, how does one cross a ditch?'"

"'The spring water flows ceaselessly day and night, fills up and then advances, extending to the four seas. This is a line from Mencius; today I give it to you.'

The meaning of this sentence is that when water encounters a ditch or low place, wanting to get across, it can only continue forward after it is full, and only then can it reach the four seas.

Today you are in such a situation; you should all the more enrich yourself, fill the ditch before you, and then you can easily cross it and reach the four seas.

All I can help you with is this: a person must rely on oneself, continually enrich oneself, and not be satisfied with the status quo.

I am already old and have no further desires; Jianqiang, you are still young and have many things to do.

If you want to go further,

then you must fill yourself up and cross the ditch.

All right, I won't nag anymore. Who knows, we might meet again sometime.

While my mind was still recalling He Zuming's words,

He Zuming stood up,

looking at me, dazed, he said: 'Jianqiang, I'm leaving; take care. My manuscript is in my son's hands; if you have time, please get it published for me.'

He Zuming opened the room's door and really left.

I suddenly encountered him in Sijiucheng, and then he left just as suddenly, leaving me somewhat unprepared.

I can understand He Zuming's feelings.

He was afraid of burdening me, so he left so resolutely.

All right, He Zuming's leaving was also right.

He is used to being free on his own.

If he followed me every day, there would be many restrictions.

I only hope in my heart that he won't be caught by Liu Shiru and Kong Shi.

I believe He Zuming should be able to leave Sijiucheng, a city of tens of millions, quite easily.

Wanting to hide oneself is quite easy.

I gazed at the opened door and remained silent for a long time.

"'The spring water flows ceaselessly day and night, fills up and then advances, extending to the four seas.' I murmured it to myself.

As soon as He Zuming left, my heart felt empty.

Alas, the remaining matters can only be relied on oneself.

I said to myself: 'Mr. He, I have noted your wish to publish the book; I will certainly help you accomplish it.'

"'What about Old He?' Lao Wai came out of the room after finishing counting the money.

"'He went out on business; how much money did you count?' I asked Lao Wai.

"'Twenty thousand, and there's still a stack uncounted. We agreed that whatever I count is my money.' Lao Wai said seriously.

"'That's fine; we are brothers who have sworn loyalty, with no distinction between you and me—what's mine is yours and what's yours is mine.' I said deliberately.

"'No, that won't do, Zhao Jianqiang; this matter must be clarified: what's mine is mine, and what's yours is yours.'

"'When there's a lot of money, you no longer distinguish between you and me.' Lao Wai shouted.

"'All right, Lao Wai brother, sit down and drink. I still say the same thing: the money in this room, whatever you have counted, is yours. But you must figure out how to take it away; if you can't, you can't blame me.' I laughed.

"'Don't worry; although my leg is lame, I can still shoulder the load.' Lao Wai said confidently.

"'Lao Wai brother, I ask you, you have no wife or children, what do you need so much money for? How much can you actually spend? Come, let's have a drink together.' I said, holding up my wine cup.

"'Zhao Jianqiang, you don't understand me; I want to eat, drink, whore, and gamble every day, guaranteeing I'll spend a thousand a day, which is three hundred thousand a year. Even that isn't enough for me.' Lao Wai shouted.

This Lao Wai is hopeless.

He has lived his whole life for his own enjoyment; if he weren't so gluttonous and lazy, how could he possibly end up in prison?

Lao Wai's life is just like that; I can't be bothered to correct him.

"'Lao Wai brother, all right, then I wish you indulgence in eating, drinking, whoring, gambling, and smoking—all five poisons.' I said, holding up my wine cup and laughing.

"'When I return to Zaocheng, I will definitely go to the comfortable massage parlor. Damn it, when the time comes I'll smash that damned woman with money who looked down on me and refused to serve me.'

"'Hmph, when I have money, I will definitely find three—no, four, five, six, nine massage girls to serve me,'

"'I will properly enjoy the life of a rich man.' Lao Wai said, holding up his wine cup, indignant.

That's all the ambition this Lao Wai has.

At that moment, Ding Li pushed the door open and came in,

"'Ding Li, have you eaten?' I asked.

Ding Li said: 'Not yet.'

"'Then good, sit down and eat, and hand the stuff over to the boss.'

"'Given.' Ding Li said that and poured a cup of wine, 'Ah, why haven't I seen Mr. He?'

"'Mr. He went out on business; brothers, we are rich now—tell me, who do you like in Zaocheng? I've arranged a woman for you; let us brothers have a good time.' Lao Wai said, his eyes blurred with drunkenness.

"'Shall we return to Zaocheng now? I'll send you back.' Ding Li said.

"'I'm not going back; I haven't had enough of staying in a high-end hotel yet. I want to stay here for another year before leaving.' Lao Wai shouted even louder.

At this moment Ding Li's phone rang,

Ding Li glanced at it, then picked up his phone and moved to the side to answer,

I heard a woman's voice on the phone; no need to ask, Ding Li and that female server haven't broken up yet.

After Ding Li finished the call, Ding Li sat down.

I told Ding Li then: "Ding Li, let's go over there and smoke a cigarette."

Ding Li stood up and accompanied me to another room to smoke.

I directly asked Ding Li: "Ding Li, you haven't broken up with that woman yet."

Ding Li nodded,

"Zhao Ge, I'm a bit reluctant. She's very pretty and treats me well."

Hearing this, I chuckled,

"Ding Li, if a man wants to achieve great things, he shouldn't linger in a relationship where feelings are tangled like lotus roots broken but threads still connected,

you've already used her up; we used her to capture Ruan Wei. Besides, you gave her a lot of money. For her, she's already gotten a lot.

Ding Li, you must quickly leave her side.

Otherwise, we'll be in great danger.

She'll also be in danger.

We're staying here; there's always a chance Liu Shiru will discover us.

If he finds out about you, he will definitely come after you through that woman, or blackmail you.

Ding Li, if you want to follow me, you must cut ties. Otherwise, just go back to Zaocheng directly.

Hearing me say this, Ding Li immediately said: "Zhao Ge, I'll cut off contact with her right away; I'll listen to you."

After Ding Li finished speaking, he took out the phone's SIM card and then threw it into the toilet.

Good, a mature man must be ruthless.

One cannot be indecisive over a woman.

After dealing with Ding Li's matter,

I smoked a cigarette.

Thinking, we can't stay here for a long time.

We must leave here as soon as possible,

I've already given the USB drive to Wen Han,

What arrangements will Wen Han have? I won't contact him proactively.

Let him take the initiative to contact me.