Joining the gym changed Yang Jian's daily routine. Every morning, he would be at the gym on time, learning mixed martial arts from Yang Fan. In the afternoon, he would go to the casino, and in the evening, if he had nothing else to do, he would stay at the gym.
Because he was so close to Yang Fan, Song Jianhao handed over the Hongqi Street operation to Yang Jian, leaving Biao Biao and San Pang to assist him.
With insufficient manpower, four young men around twenty years old were called from Songjiacun. Two were assigned to Yang Jian, and the rest were led by Sixi to the Baihuating residential area casino.
This casino was also introduced by Old Cao. The casino owner was a middle-aged woman in her forties named Cai, who was rumored to have a brother who was the boss of the Baihuating area.
Song Jianhao took over the night shift, from seven to eleven. It was also a black money operation. It didn't have as many people as the Hongqi Street operation because the casino was near a vegetable market, and the gamblers were mainly local residents and vendors.
This casino was also doing well. On their first day as dealers, Sixi and his team won twenty-six thousand yuan.
The casino on Hongqi Street had been consistently winning money, not losing a single game for half a month, winning anywhere from five to six thousand yuan to thirty to forty thousand yuan.
Yang Jian's two-tenths share amounted to eighty thousand yuan. He remitted twenty thousand yuan to his family and then took twenty thousand yuan to visit his cousin Liu Yong.
After nearly three months of treatment, Liu Yong's body was gradually recovering. He could get out of bed and walk, but he was very weak. His mind was relatively clear, though he was not as talkative as before, and his reactions were slightly sluggish.
"Er Jian, you're here."
Seeing Yang Jian, Liu Yong appeared somewhat embarrassed.
Yang Jian nodded at him and then greeted Liu Tong, "Uncle, have you been here all along?"
Liu Tong had aged considerably in the past few months. He sighed, "What else can I do if I'm not here? The two younger ones at home can only be looked after by your aunt and cousin's wife. This year's crops will be left to go to waste. If you hadn't helped us with some money, we wouldn't have been able to get by."
"Did the doctor say when he can be discharged? Staying here is too expensive. If it's just for recuperation, I suggest going home or to the district hospital."
"The doctor said he can be discharged anytime, but the de-addiction medication cannot be stopped, and he must not be exposed to drugs again."
"Then let's get him discharged. There are no drugs in the countryside. Tell me when you'll handle the discharge procedures, and I'll drive you back."
"Then tomorrow. I'll find the doctor to handle the procedures later."
"Take this money. I'll come again tomorrow morning."
Yang Jian left after leaving twenty thousand yuan. He hadn't said a word to Liu Yong throughout the entire encounter. His resentment towards him couldn't be dispelled so easily.
As Liu Yong watched his back disappear, he slapped himself.
Liu Tong snorted, "What's the use of hitting yourself now? Er Jian is such a good kid, and now he's implicated by you, not only burdened with huge debts but also losing the girlfriend he had arranged. If he hadn't been sending money all along, you wouldn't have recovered so quickly, and our family would have fallen apart. You can never repay his kindness in this lifetime."
"Dad, I was wrong. As long as my body recovers, I will definitely work hard to earn money and repay everything I owe Er Jian."
"What will you use to earn money? The doctor said you can't do physical labor anymore. Alas, what a sin. How could I have given birth to such a scoundrel like you?"
As Liu Tong spoke, tears welled up in his eyes again. He had secretly cried many times for this unpromising son.
Liu Yong felt utterly ashamed, only regretting that there was no medicine for regret in the world, otherwise, he would never have touched gambling.
To send his uncle and cousin home, Yang Jian specifically informed Song Jianhao and Yang Fan that he planned to go home for two days before returning.
Liu Tong and his son completed the discharge procedures and followed Yang Jian home. The family embraced and wept.
Yang Jian didn't want to witness such a scene and left for home without lingering.
In a month, the simple factory building for the semi-finished product processing plant was almost completed, waiting for equipment installation. Jing Yongli was responsible for this, and Yang Shuanglin was specifically in charge of acquiring raw materials. A significant amount had already been collected, with two-meter-long logs piled up like a small mountain.
"Xiao Chao, when are you going to learn the technique of boiling glue?"
Seeing Liu Chao directing workers to repair the finished product factory building, Yang Jian greeted him as soon as he got out of the car.
"Brother, you're back. Boiling glue isn't urgent. Yongli said to get the semi-finished product plant running smoothly and start production first. Learning to boil glue requires an introduction from the merchants or drivers who come from there; otherwise, you can't find a good master. Let's wait another two months. We'll establish good relationships with customers first before bringing this up."
"Alright, you guys discuss it amongst yourselves. You should go back tonight. Your dad and brother are back, and the family should have a reunion dinner."
"Okay, I'll go back after work. Brother, how are things going with you at the Han Cheng casino?"
"It's going well. I've found two good venues recently. If I continue like this, paying off debts this year shouldn't be a problem."
Yang Jian was full of confidence. The Hongqi Street venue was simply a treasure trove. He was now like a brother to Yang Fan, and no one could easily displace him. If he stayed there for a year or a half, he could rise again.
Perhaps it was a case of too much joy leading to sorrow. Around eleven o'clock at night, just as he had fallen asleep, Yang Jian was woken by a phone call.
Seeing that it was Song Jianhao calling, he quickly answered.
"Xiao Yang, something's happened."
Song Jianhao's first sentence made Yang Jian's heart leap. A call this late must mean something serious.
"Hao Ge, what happened?"
"The money from Baihuating was robbed. A total of sixty thousand yuan."
"The money was robbed? What happened?"
"They won money tonight. Sixi was waiting outside the casino with fifty thousand in capital and ten thousand in winnings. Four masked men held them at gunpoint and took the money."
"Is Sixi injured?"
Yang Jian's primary concern was for the person.
"He's fine. The other party had guns, so Sixi didn't dare to resist and could only let them take the money. Later, we found the casino owner. The owner said they don't manage things outside the casino. I suspect this was orchestrated by the casino owner herself because we've been winning too much here."
"It's good that he's fine. What about Hongqi Street? How much did you win today?"
"They lost thirty thousand today. You should come over soon. I think your luck might be better."
"Damn, doesn't that mean a loss of eighty thousand today?"
Yang Jian felt a pang of heartache. A loss of eighty thousand meant a loss of sixteen thousand for his two-tenths share. This was the biggest loss he had incurred since joining the Emperor Company.
"Exactly. Hurry and come over."
"Alright, I'll come tomorrow."
Yang Jian was completely awake and decided to sit up and read for a while.
Unexpectedly, less than five minutes later, Biao Biao called again.
"Jian Ge, are you asleep?"
"No, I just finished talking with Hao Ge."
"Then you know about what happened today?"
"I know. One side was robbed of sixty thousand, and the other lost thirty thousand, a total loss of eighty thousand in capital."
Biao Biao on the other end of the line let out a cold laugh, "Jian Ge, don't you find it strange? Such a coincidence that this happened right after you left?"
"Biao Biao, what do you mean by that?"
Yang Jian was completely bewildered. Could there be some hidden story behind today's events?