Chapter 527: with translation of chapter title

As soon as Qiao Jie heard me say that, she immediately jumped up angrily.

"Let's not talk anymore. How can you say such things about your own son? Why did Sun Dajun make a mistake? It's all because of your parenting as his father."

Qiao Jie finished speaking and slammed the door as she left.

Only I remained in the room, smoking.

Whenever we talk about Sun Dajun, Qiao Jie and I end up arguing.

Qiao Jie and I simply cannot see eye to eye.

I think Sun Dajun has his own flaws, while Qiao Jie believes her son is perfect.

There's simply no way to communicate about this.

After smoking two cigarettes, my mood improved a lot.

The next day I first contacted Xiao Shitou, telling him to drive straight to the Riverside Inn in Shanghu and wait for us.

Then I had Shi Yong drive, taking me, Ru Meng, and Qiao Jie to Shanghu together.

I had originally invited Xiao Yue to come as well, but she voluntarily stayed behind to keep Qian Niang company.

I suppose Xiao Yue plans to start with Qian Niang,

to pump Qian Niang for information and see what my motive is for staying in Niushiling.

Qian Niang already knows what Xiao Yue does. Trying to get information out of her is difficult.

Besides, I never had any motive; I simply came to Niushiling to retire.

The more Xiao Yue learns, the more she trusts me.

Her staying in Niushiling to keep Qian Niang company is actually a good thing.

Once she understands clearly, she might leave soon.

Every day that little girl stays here, I worry another day.

My main worry is the matter of Qi He Kuang,

Ding Li and Zhou Jie are still at Qi He Kuang; if Xiao Yue finds out,

that would be like piercing a hole in the sky.

I also plan to find time to see Tian Shi and discuss the Qi He Kuang matter with him, lest complications arise.

Wen Han might change again.

We drove and soon arrived at Shanghu.

Shanghu remains as it was,

just a main road, with several prisons lining both sides.

The province's major prisons are all built here.

Besides prisons, there are also coal mines.

The main coal-producing area of the Zaocheng Mining Group is right here in Shanghu.

Shanghu has not become wealthy because of these industries,

instead, they have brought environmental filth.

Upon entering Shanghu, you see coal trucks one after another.

The roadside greenery has long lost its color.

The storefronts on both sides of the street are all grimy and soot-covered.

Aside from the inns, the street is filled with countless beauty and hair salons.

Because there are coal miners here, there is a huge consumer base.

So many women working in the tertiary industry have come to Shanghu.

Xiao Wu is making a fortune in Shanghu by relying on these women.

I cannot stand these things; I feel making money off women is a disgrace.

But Xiao Wu doesn't care.

In his words, these women need protection; without someone to protect them, everything would fall into chaos.

Moreover, the market must have someone in control.

Prices and service quality need to be set by someone; otherwise, vicious competition would be even more unfair to the women in this line of work.

In short, Xiao Wu has various justifications for his behavior.

Thinking about this, I can only shake my head.

We arrived at the Riverside Inn in Shanghu.

The inn's business is barely okay, but it's far worse than before; recently Shanghu opened several new fast-service inns, taking away much of the Riverside Inn's trade.

For this reason, Xiao Wu complained to me, saying he wanted to smash those newly opened inns.

I immediately stopped Xiao Wu's reckless behavior.

In these times, you must never engage in monopolistic operations; trying to dominate the market easily invites trouble.

One must learn to develop oneself in competition.

The inn's business can only be like this.

But it will certainly not lose money.

Xiao Shitou was already waiting for us in the inn.

Seeing us arrive, he came out of the inn,

"Dad, Uncle Yong, Auntie, Little Sister Ru Meng, you've arrived." Xiao Shitou greeted each person.

Xiao Shitou has always called Qiao Jie "auntie".

Qiao Jie looked at Xiao Shitou,

Xiao Shitou has grown into a big young man. Really, he looks just like your mother.

Xiao Shitou smiled embarrassedly.

Ru Meng said, "Brother, this Shanghu is too dirty. Is there anything fun to do? Take me around."

I said, "Besides the prison, there's nothing here. Don't wander around."

I don't want Ru Meng to wander around Shanghu, because there are too many things here that are not good for her.

Upon hearing me say that, Ru Meng pursed her lips and stayed silent.

Shi Yong said, "Brother, I'll first contact Xiao Wu. He has acquaintances in the prison. I'll ask Xiao Wu what time we can see Sun Dajun."

I said, "Okay, go contact Xiao Wu. This guy, I don't even know if he's landed yet."

Shi Yong said, "He should have landed. This guy's information is more up-to-date than ours."

Shi Yong then took out his phone to contact Xiao Wu.

I had the inn's person in charge, Ding Mei, prepare a room for us.

This Ding Mei is the younger sister-in-law of the former prison person in charge, Leader Jiang.

Leader Jiang had already retired long ago. After retiring, he died within two years. Leader Jiang used to treat me well,

He took very good care of me in the prison.

If Leader Jiang were still in the prison, I believe a single phone call from me could settle anything.

After Leader Jiang retired, a new leader came from above, whom I am also not familiar with.

Now let Xiao Wu go ask.

I also can't be bothered to deal with these things.

After a while, Shi Yong came in from outside,

"Brother, I've finished contacting Xiao Wu. He's been busy running transport for a few days. He went to Huaihai.

He has already contacted the people in the prison; tomorrow he can arrange for us to meet Sun Dajun."

I said, "Alright, let's wait until tomorrow. What kind of transport is Xiao Wu running?"

"What else could he be transporting? He transports women.

The Huaihai bath center has demand, so he sends them by boat. There's a dedicated reception at the dock over there.

"The Shanghu side lacks manpower, so he can bring women over from Huaihai, thus making money at both ends." Shi Yong said.

Damn, there's even this kind of business.

It looks like Xiao Wu has cornered this market.

"Brother, let's do that too. Let's buy a boat. Anyway, the Da Heng Group isn't doing anything. Idle is idle. When the time comes, I'll find Xiao Wu; I believe he'll definitely help us." Shi Yong looked at me and said.

"Shi Yong, you're greedy for this money." I asked Shi Yong.

I said, "Brother, we're mainly idle with nothing to do. The two sums of money you brought from Sijiucheng are all dead money; once spent, they're gone.

If we don't have liquid income, our future livelihood will be a problem.

I feel this business is good, much better than building and selling houses.

It's stressful and laborious, and even after making money, people come to rob.

This investment requires little capital and yields quick returns.

"Having women in hand lets you cash out immediately." Shi Yong muttered on the side.

"Shi Yong, I want to tell you, not all money can be earned by us.

That kind of business, I won't do. No matter how much others earn, I won't be envious.

If you want to do it, go find Xiao Wu directly; don't follow me anymore." I said angrily.

"Brother, hearing you say that, I and Xiao Wu are not in the same pot. He's what kind of thing? All the businesses he does are lowly.

In the past, they wouldn't even be allowed into the ancestral tomb.

I don't want to.

Rather, follow my brother; we'll have food and drink without worry.

"Brother, anyway, as long as you don't let me go hungry, that's fine. I won't ask about anything else." Shi Yong immediately changed his tone.

Shi Yong changed his tune really fast.

Forget it, I won't argue with Shi Yong either. Having come to Shanghu, not eating Shanghu fish would be unacceptable.

I had Shi Yong go to the Big Ship Restaurant and book a full fish banquet.

In the evening, I want to have a good drink.