Chapter Fifteen: Beginning Again

After the three of them had enough fun, they sat down together. Chu Dong poured all the remaining liquor from the bottle into his own glass, earning him a good deal of scorn from Qiangzi and Mouse, which he ignored entirely.

“Let me talk to you two about something serious. I’ve just taken on a wager, and I need your advice,” Chu Dong said, pulling his two nearly-tipsy friends closer.

“What are we betting on? Poker or mahjong? I’m terrible at mahjong, but I’m not bad at poker,” Qiangzi slurred.

“I’m great at mahjong! I didn’t lose a single game when I played with my relatives over the New Year,” Mouse boasted, unwilling to be outdone.

“Damn, there’s no common ground with you two. Looks like I’ll have to figure this out myself. By the way, Mouse, I’ll need your car a while longer. Just pick any vehicle from your company for yourself,” Chu Dong said, thoroughly disappointed in his two brothers. He turned and called out to the sleepy young waitress at the bar.

“Xiao Lan, how much money do we still have in the account?”

“Huh? Let me check,” she replied, fumbling through drawers until she found the ledger.

“There’s just a bit over ten thousand left. We just restocked on drinks, so what’s left should cover our expenses for about three months,” Xiao Lan replied crisply.

Chu Dong threw a blanket over each of his two useless friends, then curled up on the sofa, pondering what to do the next day.

Strictly speaking, the hotel wasn’t even entirely his anymore. He’d mortgaged it to the bank for 3.6 million, and over the past two years, it had lost about a million—most of which had been drunk away by his friends. Originally, he had fifty or sixty thousand left, but after writing a check for two hundred thousand to fix the car today, there was only thirty thousand left. The thought of creating a business miracle with just this sum made his head ache.

“What? You made a bet? Why didn’t you discuss it with me first?” Tan Xue was lying on her bed, chatting on the phone, when Li Youlan’s voice came through the receiver, loud and indignant.

“You don’t need to worry. The terms I set aren’t that easy to achieve,” Tan Xue replied smugly, adjusting her position and tucking her alluring figure under the towel blanket.

“I want him to conjure up a Chu family fortune from nothing in a year. Do you think he can pull that off?”

“Wow, you’re ruthless! Never mind that he’s a spoiled young master who does nothing but idle away his days—even if he were sharp and capable, I don’t think there’s a chance,” Li Youlan replied, instantly delighted.

“Exactly, exactly—hehe,” Tan Xue giggled.

“That means we get to have some fun, right? Whatever he does, I’m going to watch. Humph, I want him to know what happens when he crosses me!” Li Youlan laughed triumphantly.

While the two women whispered gleefully in secret, Chu Dong spent the night at his desk in the study, churning out over a dozen documents, with as many crumpled drafts littering the floor. As the sky began to lighten, he pushed aside an ashtray overflowing with cigarette butts, stretched, and stood up.

“Xiao Lan, come here,” Chu Dong called as he went downstairs with a piece of paper, seeing that Xiao Lan was already up, tidying the mess the three of them had made in the lounge the night before.

“Yes, coming!” she replied, running over. “What do you need?”

“I’m going to grab some sleep. Go find someone who buys scrap and sell everything in the rooms except the TVs. Then, buy the items listed here. Try to get it all done in two days. Wake me at noon—I have more to do.” He handed her the paper.

“Are we closing down? Should I…?” Xiao Lan started, worried that he was giving up.

“No, don’t worry. Even if we were closing, I wouldn’t leave you in the lurch. Just do as I said.”

Assured that they weren’t shutting down, the waitress brightened instantly. “Okay, I’ll get right on it!”

Xiao Lan’s efficiency was beyond question. She quickly found a scrap dealer, and after some bargaining, reached an agreement. The dealer and his helpers cleared out almost everything within an hour. With the accounts settled and the scrap dealers gone, the hotel looked as though it had been swept clean by a storm.

She checked the note Chu Dong had given her: “Two hundred bunk beds.”

She had no idea what Chu Dong was planning, but the good thing about her was that she did exactly as she was told, without cutting corners. She found that new bunk beds cost two hundred and forty each—far more than they could afford. But since Chu Dong had said to wake him at noon, and it was only ten o’clock, she thought perhaps the scrap dealers might have some. Calling the number they left, she discovered they did, though not enough. However, given the large order, they offered a further discount—down to ninety per bed—so the money from the scrap sale was enough to buy two hundred beds.

Delighted, Xiao Lan arranged the purchase, aiming to have everything ready within two days.

As she cheerfully straightened up the now-empty hotel, humming a song, Li Youlan dropped by again.

“Little sister, did your boss run off? The hotel might be a dump, but at least it was somewhere to stay. After this, you might as well turn it into one big dormitory!” Li Youlan said, holding her nose and heading for the least dusty corner.

Xiao Lan recognized her as the beautiful troublemaker from before and recalled what her boss had said about her. The girl couldn’t help but grin.

Her face flushed, and although Li Youlan knew why, seeing that Xiao Lan was only about seventeen or eighteen, she couldn’t bring herself to argue. Besides, the girl’s figure was no less impressive than her own—if it came to a quarrel, she’d just be humiliating herself.

“So, it’s becoming a roadside inn? What, do you want to be the first to rent a bed? One bunk is two hundred a month. If you want a private room, it’s twenty-four hundred, no discounts,” Chu Dong said, coming down the stairs in his flowery shirt just as Li Youlan was feeling awkward.

“As if I’d stay in this dump! I just came to see how you plan to create a miracle in a year. From the look of things, you’re just struggling to stay afloat,” Li Youlan retorted, but her slip exposed her connection to Tan Xue.

“Oh, you’re here to scout ahead? Go back and tell dear Xue’er that she’s destined to marry me. And if you want a share of the spoils, you’d better start flattering me now,” Chu Dong teased, leering at her as he approached.

“In your dreams!” Li Youlan was genuinely frightened, stumbling toward the exit and nearly tripping over the scattered tables and chairs.

Chu Dong burst out laughing, unable to stop for a long while. He glanced at Xiao Lan, who looked at him as if he were a mystery.

“Don’t just stand there—find me the phone numbers for the advertising agencies in the newspaper. We’re starting a business!”