From Wage Slave to Tycoon

"Today is a good day, all my wishes are coming true..."

Su Chen walked out of the central courtyard with a smug look, carrying two bags full of his "spoils" fleeced from Elder Xiao.

The bags were filled with things like the elder’s exclusive white-box cigarettes, Moutai, and tea. As for the tea, Su Chen had shamelessly pestered Elder Xiao for two *liang* of Da Hong Pao tea from the mother trees on Wuyi Mountain.

By the time Su Chen was leaving, Elder Xiao’s face had gone sour. He shooed Su Chen away as if he were a plague god, telling him it would be best if he never came back, since he couldn’t withstand being fleeced like this.

Just as he reached the front courtyard, he saw the two guards who had stopped him earlier standing ramrod straight at the entrance.

A glint in his eye, Su Chen pulled a half-finished pack of Elder Xiao’s white-box cigarettes from his pocket. As he walked past the two men, he stuffed it directly into the older guard’s pocket.

Before the two could react, Su Chen had already walked out, bags in hand.

"I’ll probably be dropping by often in the future. Consider this an advance ’bribe’ for you two."

Neither of them had expected Su Chen’s "surprise attack." Snapping out of it, they were about to chase after him, but his words made them slow their pace.

The two exchanged a look. The older guard pulled the object out of his pocket. When he saw what it was, he stopped in his tracks.

"I can’t believe the Master treats him so well, giving him this stuff so casually." A flash of excitement appeared in the younger guard’s eyes; he knew they had been coveting these cigarettes for a long time.

"Didn’t you see what he was carrying? He had at least two or three cartons of these. I wonder who this guy is." The older guard shook the pack of cigarettes before casually putting it back in his pocket.

Seeing this, the younger guard next to him opened his mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out.

The older guard glanced at him and said with a smile, "Don’t worry, you’ll get your share. The box is mine, though."

Hearing this, a smile spread across the young guard’s face. "Thanks, Captain!"

Once Su Chen’s back disappeared from view, they immediately shut the main gate, their faces returning to their previous stern, humorless expressions.

...

On the way back, Su Chen’s steps were incredibly light.

Besides the good haul he’d gotten from Elder Xiao, the business they had discussed was also more or less confirmed.

Once things on Xiao Chen’s end were handled, Elder Xiao would secure the best possible terms for him. This was especially true for top-tier scientific researchers; as long as Su Chen needed them and they were willing, he would be given the green light for everything.

Elder Xiao would even arrange professional teams to handle the construction of cleanrooms and sterile research labs. He even said he would try his best to get the land for the factory complex for free.

After all, if the factory was built, it would be a huge boost to the local economy. The jobs it would create alone could support countless families.

Humming a song, Su Chen had just stepped into his own courtyard house when he saw Chen Fei sitting in front of the Hanging Flower Gate, staring toward the main entrance.

Seeing him enter, Chen Fei immediately hurried over.

"Sir, Young Master Jiang and Young Master Chen are here. They’re in the pavilion in the central courtyard."

Su Chen paused for a moment, muttering, ’Shouldn’t they be at home for the New Year? What are Jiangyang and Chen Yao doing here?’

With that, Su Chen started to head inside. But then he remembered the bags he was carrying and instantly pulled back his foot.

He turned to Chen Fei, handed him the two bags, and said, "Take the connecting corridor and put all this stuff in my collection room."

After saying that, Su Chen strode toward the central courtyard.

Once Su Chen had left, Chen Fei turned his attention to the two bags in his hands. ’Anything Su Chen takes this seriously must be extraordinary.’

He looked down, and his eyes fell upon four or five cartons of white-box cigarettes, three bottles of Moutai with old packaging, and a box of small canisters.

Chen Fei couldn’t help but gasp. Having previously worked for Xiao Chen, he knew the origin of these white-box cigarettes—they all came from Elder Xiao.

In the past, he had only ever seen them by the pack or two. The most he’d ever seen at once was the single carton Xiao Chen had given to Su Chen before.

But now, here were four or five whole cartons. ’Did he just take several months’ worth of Elder Xiao’s supply?’

He peeked in the direction Su Chen had gone and sighed with emotion, "It seems the Sir is really doted on by the Master. Four or five cartons... tsk, tsk. If Brother Cheen and the others saw this, they’d die of jealousy!"

He finally understood why Su Chen had repeatedly instructed him to put the items in the collection room.

Meanwhile, Su Chen had reached the pavilion in the central courtyard. He saw Jiangyang and Chen Yao with their heads down, muttering about something and occasionally letting out sinister cackles that were rather unsettling.

Su Chen walked closer, thinking they were watching something X-rated. It turned out they were just playing Fight the Landlord. The funny part was that they were both in the same game room, ganging up on some poor, unsuspecting random player.

"I’m telling you, can you two young masters have a little more self-respect? Ganging up in a game of Fight the Landlord? At least give the random player a chance to enjoy the game."

Su Chen’s sudden voice made both of them jump, nearly sending their phones flying.

Jiangyang and Chen Yao glared at Su Chen irritably. "Can’t you make some noise when you walk? You almost scared us to death! Don’t you know you can scare someone to death like that?"

Su Chen ignored their resentful glares, walked straight to the opposite side of the table, sat down, and poured himself a cup of tea.