Chapter 708: Everyone Huddles Together to Get Rich

As soon as Xu Damao entered the courtyard gate, the brothers Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu came up to him with smiles on their faces.

The two brothers had been back in the city for two years, but they had never held a proper job.

Their father had found them work twice, but they would get into fights with others after only a few days, and in the end, it all fell through.

Xu Damao glanced at them: "Guangtian, Guangfu, do you need something from me?"

Liu Guangfu leaned in with a cheeky expression: "Brother Damao, I heard you opened a company and made a fortune; why don't you take us along?"

Xu Damao waved his hand irritably: "Take you along, my foot! I'm barely surviving myself right now!"

Liu Guangfu immediately patted his chest to guarantee: "Who upset you? Our brothers still have some standing on the streets; I'll go vent your anger for you!"

Xu Damao sighed: "If fighting could solve it, what would I be worrying about? A big player came to that street in Panjiayuan and snatched up all my business. But they have deep connections, and I can't afford to provoke them."

Liu Guangtian smiled and chimed in: "Let's go, Brother Damao, I'll treat you to a meal, and we can talk while we eat."

Upon hearing this, Xu Damao was pleased and turned to look at Liu Guangfu: "Guangfu, you're still not as decent as your brother. You've been flapping your gums at me for a long time without even offering a meal, yet you're asking me for favors. Look at your brother; even though he isn't doing well, at least he knows to treat me to a meal."

Liu Guangfu glared: "Xu Damao, have you forgotten the times I helped you?"

Xu Damao chuckled: "That was then, this is now. When I was begging you, didn't I play the fool too? Now that you're begging me, can't you play the fool? Is your Liu family somehow superior? But this isn't the Han Dynasty anymore!"

"Don't you go getting all high and mighty on me!" Liu Guangfu cursed.

As soon as the three of them stepped out of the gate, they saw Yan Jiekuang squatting in the corner, smoking with a depressed look on his face.

Liu Guangfu went up and kicked him in the backside: "Look at your pathetic state! Come on, we're going to get something to eat."

Yan Jiekuang looked up and, seeing who it was, stood up immediately: "Oh, Brother Damao, Brother Guangtian."

Xu Damao beckoned to him: "Let's go, Liu Guangtian is treating, come along!"

The group headed toward Shichahai in a grand manner, and halfway there, they happened to run into He Yuzhu.

He Yuzhu poked his head out of his car: "You four goods are together again, surely not plotting anything good, right?"

Xu Damao started cursing on the spot: "He Yuzhu, you've made your fortune, but the brothers in the courtyard are still suffering in poverty. You don't lend a hand, and on top of that, you're being snide—that's not right!"

After saying this, he led the three others away without looking back.

Once at the restaurant, Liu Guangtian was quite generous, ordering a table full of dishes and placing two bottles of beer in front of everyone.

The group drank and chatted away.

Xu Damao asked as if looking for trouble: "Yan Jiekuang, your brother Yan Jiecheng's restaurant is doing quite well, why didn't he let you go help out?"

Yan Jiekuang said irritably: "That bastard is so stingy! My mother went to work at his restaurant for a week, and not only did he not pay her, he wouldn't even let her take home any leftovers. Let alone me?"

Xu Damao chuckled: "Do you know what cause and effect is? Back then, your parents were so stingy with you brothers, now the cycle has come around, and it's your eldest brother's turn to deal with your father."

Yan Jiekuang cursed: "My second brother isn't any better. Every time I borrow money from him, he only gives me eight or ten yuan, like he's dismissing a beggar."

Liu Guangtian said: "Your second brother Yan Jiefang has been on a different path ever since he married Xiaomei. He's not on the same road as us anymore. Don't hold a grudge against him; actually, your second brother is alright."

Xu Damao snorted dismissively: "Yan Jiefang is no good bird. I think he had his eye on Xiaomei long ago, and I just didn't know it, so he took advantage of the situation and cut off my retreat!"

Although Liu Guangtian was currently unemployed, he wasn't short on money and wasn't too polite to Xu Damao: "Brother Damao, that's going too far. At the time, it was you who didn't want Xiaomei and insisted on being with Xie Guafu."

Xu Damao glared at him: "You've been farming in the countryside for so many years, why is your mouth still so foul?"

Liu Guangtian was unbothered: "A leopard cannot change its spots. Actually, I lived quite well in the countryside; I didn't even want to come back."

Xu Damao asked: "You're at such an age and haven't even married a wife, aren't you worse off than your brother?"

Liu Guangtian said: "I found two educated youths, but in the end, they were both in such a rush to return to the city that we broke up. I've seen through it; living by myself is quite good too!"

Xu Damao said: "If you don't find a wife now, you'll be an old bachelor for the rest of your life."

Liu Guangtian said: "Look at Liu Guangfu, he found a wife and had a child, and now both of them are back in the city without jobs; their life is miserable. I call this 'one person fed, the whole family not hungry'."

Seeing that the timing was right, Xu Damao lowered his voice and said: "If you want to do some work, it's not like there's no opportunity. I'm currently partnering with Li Huaide. He's about to do a big deal and is quite short on cash. If you can scrape together some money, maybe he'll let you buy in."

Liu Guangtian's eyes lit up immediately: "Brother Damao, what kind of deal is it exactly?"

Xu Damao said: "Heh, just flipping scarce goods. Steel, coal, cotton—whatever makes money, we do it."

Liu Guangfu quickly said: "Brother Damao, I won't hide it from you, several of the managers at the Rolling Mill are my father's Apprentices. If he can get involved in this, he can definitely get steel!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Damao slapped his thigh: "You should have said so earlier! Here's what we'll do: you bring your father in, and Li Huaide will definitely treat your father like an ancestor."

Liu Guangfu declared on the spot: "Alright, alright, I'll go talk to him when I get back."

Seeing this, Yan Jiekuang got a bit anxious: "Brother Damao, can I buy a share too?"

Xu Damao looked at him sideways: "Do you have money?"

Yan Jiekuang said: "I can go borrow from my second brother; he has saved quite a bit of money."

Xu Damao shook his head: "That guy, his money is tied to his ribs; you couldn't squeeze a cent out of him, he won't lend it to you. But that kid is truly rich, probably even richer than He Yuzhu!"

"Then I'll go partner with my eldest brother; he's been earning quite a lot lately, I heard he makes several hundred a day," said Yan Jiekuang.

Xu Damao thought for a moment and said: "Yan Jiekuang, if your family really wants to buy in, I think you still need your father to step forward. I've heard that your brother Yan Jiecheng doesn't have a great relationship with Li Huaide. If he wants to invest, Li Huaide might not even be willing."

Yan Jiekuang nodded: "Then... then I'll go persuade my father. By the way, Brother Damao, Xiao E is back. She's dressed so fashionably, and she doesn't even look old; she looks like she's in her twenties."

Xu Damao was stunned: "What is she doing coming to our courtyard?"

Yan Jiekuang said: "Obviously to see Chen Xueru. I heard from my second brother that Xiao E and Chen Xueru are as close as one person."

Xu Damao narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice: "You should find out more about He Yuzhu recently; I think he's getting a bit arrogant, and I want to fix him."

Yan Jiekuang patted his chest: "No problem!"