Chapter 131: Liu Bo

Min Ge really lives up to being the toilet's convenience, a guy who faces outward, he forced himself to swallow this refreshing bite, his face red and neck thick as he went to find water to drink.

The more he drank, the spicier it got in his mouth, and sweat broke out on his forehead!

For Min Ge, who usually eats light food, this authentic Sichuan old chili was practically deadly!

Li Xin glanced at him sideways, lowered his head to eat his rice, and didn't join the teasing—if he drove him away, it wouldn't be worth it; better to just eat quietly.

These past few days, many crew members who had gotten familiar with Li Xin gathered around, wanting to see what was different about this dish.

The effect was great; seeing a bunch of people like himself, Min Ge instantly felt balanced.

This isn't something a Gangdao person's mouth can handle—truly unbearable!

Li Xin, on the other hand, was eating with gusto; the rice went well with this dish, and if he had more, some old vinegar spinach peanuts would be perfect, making him even hungrier.

Wu Baige watched Li Xin eating so happily and asked, 'Boss, you eat your meals so simply, even the crew's boxed lunches go down fine—shouldn't a big boss have a balanced diet?'

'What's a balanced diet? Eating what feels smooth is balanced enough for me, and I don't care about those things.'

After saying that, Li Xin picked another bite of vegetables from the crew's boxed meal and put it in his mouth.

After the meal, Jianguo came over, pulled him aside, and whispered, 'Boss, there are a few brothers who came from their hometowns to make a living, and they're with our unit—could you let them stay too?'

'How did they find their way here?' Li Xin asked.

'Just coincidence—they'd planned to pull a job and go home, but before they could act, someone else had already set their sights on that shop.'

'There's nothing to be done—money's tight, and I don't want to stir up trouble over a few bucks; I'm just thinking of heading back home from Xi Gong.'

'We'll see how things go later; it just so happened I met He Qiang, so I'll have them stay for a meal.'

After hearing Jianguo out, he thought a moment and said, 'I won't get involved myself; if they're willing to stay, let them go to Malaya to set up a branch of the security company, with all the same benefits.'

'If they're not willing, give them extra travel money so they can go home with an explanation—go find Chen Chao and have him handle it.'

Jianguo heard the boss's instructions and felt there was no problem—after all, we're all out here making a living; what's the difference?

Besides, working for the boss comes with protection; if something happens, your family won't be left without support.

After Jianguo left, Li Xin again became the crew's invisible man, watching Lao Wu direct the whole crew with clear order—this too is a skill.

He has always favored the talented, and his way of addressing them changed from Bai Ge to Lao Wu!

Li Xin's good point is this: no matter what talent you have, as long as you reach a certain level, he'll look at you differently.

Anyone who reaches a certain height in an industry must have some special talent in a particular area, and that's already enough.

Li Xin gives talented people full respect—maybe one day he'll make use of them; first, he'll curry favor, which is sure to pay off.

Looking at the surrounding sets under construction and the usual scenes, Li Xin's lips curled into a faint smile—good, keep going.

All of this, built over the past two months for filming Heroes' Spirit, had to be counted in the budget, and following Xiao Pangzi's suggestion, they also put up some commonly used structures.

The film Heroes' Spirit hasn't started shooting yet, because they're waiting for this part of the project to finish.

Around Xi Gong, the locals have set up their own little businesses, which are going well—some residents earn more in a day than they'd make from regular work.

Liu Bo wore a straw hat as he inspected the vendors' stalls, checking for shoddy goods; whenever he found a problem, he'd launch into a tirade of insults.

In Liu Bo's view, this wasn't just embarrassing the people of Xi Gong—it was cutting off their livelihood; he felt duty‑bound to supervise, for Xi Gong was his home.

Li Xin came up beside him, smiling, and said, 'Liu Bo, don't get so worked up; if you spot a problem again, just tell them to scram—no need to get angry.'

He turned his gaze to the pastry seller and asked, 'You don't want to stay in Xi Gong, do you? This is the first time; if it happens again, I'll have you get out of Xi Gong—do you understand?'

Li Xin's tone was calm, but those words hit the man's ears like a thunderclap.

He hurriedly replied, 'Got it, Xin Ge—there won't be a next time, otherwise I'll leave Xi Gong myself.'

He added, feeling a bit wronged, 'Xin Ge, I really wasn't selling subpar goods—these are just pastries from the last couple days that didn't sell, they're not spoiled, only the flavor's a bit off, and I've already marked them down!'

'Liu Bo says that's still not okay; I plan to take them home tonight and share them with the locals, so nothing goes to waste.'

Li Xin glanced at him, recalled who he was, and said, 'From now on, don't make too much—there's not that much foot traffic these days, it's just small‑time stuff.'

'If you have any pastries left unsold at day's end, just send them to the motor pool and tell them I sent you.'

Ignoring the man's thanks, he put an arm around Liu Bo and headed to the Red Xin Restaurant.

Since Liu Bo had taken it upon himself to be the supervisor, he too ought to show some appreciation—no matter the aspect, this is a must‑do; after all, he's an old treasure, and we've got to look after him.

The two chatted as they walked, and Liu Bo said with a beaming face, 'A Xin, you don't realize how much the crew buys each day—it's no small amount, and it can really boost the locals' income.'

'That's right—right now the scale isn't big yet, but if we ever run several productions at once, the ancillary business alone could support many people.'

'By then, I'll make the crew's daily consumption available for the locals to handle.'

'Great, that way even young folks can earn a living and won't have to go out idling.' Liu Bo voiced his approval repeatedly.

Besides what Li Xin absorbs, many others just drift about the city scraping by—being able to fill their stomachs counts as skill, though most of them go hungry one meal and full the next.

The two arrived at the restaurant and went straight into a private room.

Juan Jie came over to pour them tea.

Li Xin told her, 'Juan Jie, make a few dishes Liu Bo likes, and give me the usual four—I'll have a drink with Liu Bo.'

From now on, Liu Bo's meals will be settled here at the restaurant, charged to my account; each month I'll have Jianguo settle the bill, and you just keep the records.

Liu Bo quickly said, 'No need, A Xin, really no need—I live just a short walk away, and besides, you gave me that car; I'll just eat at home.'

Li Xin countered, 'Liu Bo, where there's effort there should be reward—I can't control how things are elsewhere, but in Xi Gong this is how it ought to be.'

'If it weren't for you worrying over everything, the roads wouldn't have been fixed so quickly, those little stalls couldn't stay so orderly, and all this is your due.'

'A Xin, where does all this entitlement come from? I just want Xi Gong to be better—I'm doing this out of selfish motives, not nearly as noble as you make it sound.'

Liu Bo said this very seriously.