Chapter 12: Heading Toward Better Days

Wait until we finish eating.

Li Jiaci then placed the three stacks of bills that Wang Zhen had given him on the table.

Seeing so much money, everyone present stared wide-eyed.

Holy shit!

Li Yihu exclaimed, 'Where did all this money come from?'

From Wang Zhen.

Li Jiaci said, 'To thank us for informing him about Zhao Pangzi's matter.'

My goodness!

Wang Zhen is being overly generous, isn't he?

Yeah.

Just a casual toss is thirty thousand, far more generous than Boss Liu's handouts.

Back when they worked for Boss Liu.

Boss Liu could casually give them two hundred bucks, which felt like New Year's.

And seeing everyone's eyes glued to the money,

Taking this opportunity, I want to say a few things to you all.

Brother Zhang has always wanted us to stay away from this circle, you all know that.

Back when Brother Zhang was around, we could be rebellious, we could indulge; after all, we had a chance to turn back and a chance to apologize to Brother Zhang, but now...

Li Jiaci said this, unconsciously pursing his lips, paused a moment, then said: 'Brother Zhang is gone, so we should also make some changes.'

And what I mean is...

Starting today, quit this circle!

As soon as he said that.

The venue instantly fell silent.

After a moment, Li Yihu suddenly stood up and said, 'Well, what should we do?'

Yeah, brother.

Zhao Chen also stood up and said, 'We have no skills, no education, and nothing we can do.'

Are we the only ones in the world without skills or education?

Did all those others without education or skills who stayed out of this line starve to death?

Li Jiaci glared at Zhao Chen, then gradually withdrew his gaze and scanned the room.

If anyone among you wants to continue down this path.

As your brother, I will definitely not stand in the way of your success.

If anyone wants to follow me on the right path, I guarantee that as long as I have something to eat, I will never let you go hungry.

Li Jiaci had long since made up his mind to bring his brothers a good life.

But these brothers before him are living people, and he must also give them a choice.

If they want to continue down this road, he will, as he said, not stand in their way.

And having said that.

Li Jiaci then directly untied the binding string of the bills and let them scatter across the table.

We are six people total, each gets five thousand.

If anyone wants to leave, they can take the money and go now.

Everyone present looked at each other, finally lowering their heads, and no one spoke for a long while.

Seeing this scene.

Li Jiaci's brow twitched.

What do you mean?

You all don't want to leave?

Wang Lan pursed her lips, spoke first: 'I was raised by you; I'll do whatever you say unless you don't want me as your brother, otherwise I won't leave.'

Me too.

Zhang Chuqiang also spoke up: 'Brother, just tell me what you want to do, I'll follow you to the end.'

Li Jiaci nodded, then his gaze swept over the faces of Li Yihu, Zhao Chen, and Liu Jiang.

What about you three?

Will you take the money and leave, or stay?

My brother.

Li Yihu gave Li Jiaci a look: 'Your question is unnecessary; we said when we kowtowed that this lifetime we only have you as our boss—how could we leave?'

Exactly!

Zhao Chen took up the conversation: 'If you want to keep hustling, we'll follow you; if you quit, we'll follow you just the same.'

Besides, even if we just earn a living by manual labor, it's no big deal—just like before.

Having said that, Zhao Chen glanced at Liu Jiang: 'You agree, right, Old Three?'

Yeah.

Liu Jiang chuckled, then said to Li Jiaci: 'Big brother, just tell us what you want to do; we'll all follow you.'

Good!

It's fine if you want to stay.

Originally, Li Jiaci thought they would raise objections.

I never expected they would support my decision so much.

Then today.

We brothers have already agreed.

From now on, nobody is allowed to do those illegal things again.

We'll just follow Brother Zhang's lead, stay on the straight path, and the farther we stay from this circle, the better.

And I, as your older brother, also promise you that I will make sure every one of you lives a good life!

Li Jiaci also stood up and reached out a hand forward.

The few people around, seeing this, immediately placed their hands on Li Jiaci's hand.

Then let's set off toward a better life!

Li Yihu shouted first, and the rest followed, chanting: "Toward a good life!"

……

In the afternoon.

Several brothers lay on the bed.

They were discussing what to do next.

Li Jiaci actually had many ideas in his mind.

For example, opening a real estate company, running a financial institution, starting a tech company, and so on.

But upon careful thought, these ideas are somewhat unrealistic.

After all, they don't have that much capital nor that expertise, so they still need to be down-to-earth.

But Li Jiaci was still unsure what business to bring the brothers into.

After repeated consideration.

Li Jiaci thought of letting everyone speak freely so he could draw inspiration from it.

But after hearing what they said, Li Jiaci regretted having asked them to speak.

Take Li Yihu, for example—he blurted out: "Why don't we sell pirated CDs? That Xiao Liuzi on the street sells pirated CDs; that stuff can make a decent profit—at least dozens a day, and if luck's good, maybe even over a hundred."

Yihu!

Ah?

You say, why add the word 'pirated' to pirated CDs?

This...

Li Yihu was stunned.

The reason pirated CDs are called pirated is...

Isn't it just because this thing is illegal?

Li Jiaci reached over and gave Li Yihu a chestnut, saying: "Damn, I just told you that and you didn't remember a thing, right?"

Li Yihu rubbed his head, looking embarrassed: "But... I just can't think of anything else..."

Li Jiaci originally wanted to hit him again.

But seeing his expression, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

What Li Yihu said wasn't wrong either; they've been mingling in this social stratum since childhood.

The businesspeople they can contact are either petty stall vendors or small-time thugs engaged in illegal trades.

And Li Yihu only thinks of those things, let alone the others.

Sigh...

Li Jiaci let out a helpless sigh.

It seems this first pot of gold still has to be thought up by him himself.

He turned to look out the window; the sky had already darkened, so Li Jiaci told the few people to go rest first, while he could gather his thoughts and carefully consider the path ahead.

But not long after he had sent those few people away, the door was knocked on again.

Who is it?

Your older brother!

Li Jiaci was stunned for a moment, then got up and opened the door.

He hadn't even had a chance to speak yet.

Several individuals with dragons and phoenixes embroidered on their clothes swarmed into his room from outside.

Among these people, the leader was a bald man who looked about thirty-seven or thirty-eight.

This man showed no courtesy to Li Jiaci; upon entering, he lit a cigarette and sat down on the bed in a relaxed, sprawling posture.