Back at home, Lin Chuan was already there, lying on the sofa watching TV, with a stove of charcoal burning by his side.

"Mom, you're back?" called out Lin Chuan.

Unexpectedly, Mrs. Lin didn't respond but went straight into her room.

It wasn't long before Nuo Xiaoxi, curious, came over from the kitchen and asked, "Brother Lin, is Auntie troubled by something? She seems off today, doesn't she?"

"What's off about her?" asked Lin Chuan, puzzled.

"Auntie usually hurries to the kitchen as soon as she gets home. Why today there's no reaction even when you call her?" Nuo Xiaoxi asked.

"Really?" Lin Chuan blinked, he quickly stood up from the sofa, then rushed into Mrs. Lin's room.

Once inside, Lin Chuan was dumbfounded to see Mrs. Lin sitting on the edge of the bed, sobbing.

"Mom, what... what's happened to you?" Lin Chuan hurried to ask.

Mrs. Lin, with swollen red eyes, looked up at Lin Chuan, quickly wiped away her tears and said, "Chuanzi, mom has let you down."

"What's wrong?" Lin Chuan quickly sat down, took Mrs. Lin's hand, and pressed, "Mom, what exactly has happened? You've got to tell me quickly."

"This afternoon, Xiao Jia's mother came to see me," Mrs. Lin recounted the whole situation from beginning to end.

Upon hearing this, Lin Chuan furiously said, "Damn it, what's the meaning of this? Is this an extreme insult?"

"Chuanzi, you can't blame others for this," Mrs. Lin quickly clutched her son's hand, saying, "It's because we ourselves lack the ability, we can't match their family. If it were me, I would do the same, because you must understand the painstaking care a mother has for her daughter."

"Mom," Lin Chuan frowned and said, "Even so, that does not justify humiliating people this way?!"

"This is the check she gave to me," Mrs. Lin carefully took it out and handed it to Lin Chuan, saying, "Since this matter started because of you, let it end with you too. It's up to you to make the choice. No matter what you decide, mom will support you."

Lin Chuan glanced at the check, tore it into pieces right away, and threw it into the trash, saying, "One million to break off our feelings, huh? She's dreaming! Absolutely ludicrous. No chance!"

"Chuanzi, I think we should just let it go," Mrs. Lin said helplessly, "Xiao Jia is a girl from a wealthy family; we poor folks just don't match up."

"Mom, the feelings between me and Xiao Jia can't be measured with anything," Lin Chuan said with a smile, "Mom, let me handle this matter."

"Sigh," Mrs. Lin sighed helplessly, it seemed as if this matter could only be resolved this way; aside from this, there seemed to be no other solution. Either her son had to let go, or he had to strive to pursue.

Mrs. Lin was upset for several days because of this incident. Her son had finally found a good girl, but the girl's family background was too wealthy for them. Watching a good girl slip away because of their family's financial standing was heartrending.

Lin Chuan showed not the slightest discouragement, he acted as if this incident had never happened.

A week later, Zhou Kai, Lu Dapao, and others returned from Wujiang.

Different from a week before, these guys had all lost weight. Even Zhou Kai, the fatty, had slimmed down quite a bit, though he was still somewhat chubby. With the intensity of the training continuing, his weight would eventually drop to become the most standard.

"Oh, you all have returned?" Around noon, Lin Chuan was inspecting the construction site of the bathhouse.

Renovation of the bathhouse was more than half done. With the project funds amounting to several hundred thousand in place, the renovation workers were working overtime. The design was ready to hand; the entire place was undergoing significant transformation. More than ten people had been working on it for half a month, and the progress of the project was already halfway through. It would probably take a little over a week to complete it. Although it was scheduled for a month, the workers were more motivated thanks to the available funds. In just half a month, most of the work had been completed.

"Ouch, it was almost the death of us," Zhou Kai complained, "Brother Chuan, life up in the mountains was really unbearable."

"What's the problem?" Lin Chuan asked, "Can't handle a little hardship?"

"It's much better now," Lu Dapao bent down, found a spot to sit, and said, "We have special privileges, we could come down from the mountain, but the guys are still up there doing drills. They sure envy us. Haha..."

"Really?" Lin Chuan, with a cigarette in his mouth, said, "The brothers are all adapting well?"

"Not at first," Zhou Kai said with a smile, "There were a few deserters, and all were caught by Dandan. But later on, it was fine, everyone actually liked living on the mountain. Morning and afternoon drills, afternoon wilderness training, they can hunt, they can do survival training. It's quite interesting. It's just... missing women."

"Haha..." Huang Bo laughed out loud.

Lin Chuan said with a laugh, "You guys should really thank Brother Zhao for this, after this, none of you will be at a disadvantage in a fight."

"Definitely," Zhou Kai nodded, "Brother Chuan, could Brother Zhao also join us later? We would all follow Brother Zhao from now on."

"Sure, why not!" Lin Chuan nodded.

"That's fantastic," Zhou Kai said with a laugh, "With Brother Zhao, we've got another fierce fighter, haha..."

This time, Zhou Kai and the others really had a blast when they returned. First, they found a place to eat and drink like kings. Although the food they had in the mountains filled their stomachs, it was completely lacking in taste. They had to go hunting just to have something decent to eat every afternoon.

Lin Chuan joined them in their feasting and drinking, and after getting drunk, they all started spilling their truths.

"Damn it, I'd rather die than join the army again," Zhou Kai cursed: "I had no idea being a soldier was this tough."

"Only a man who's been a soldier is a real man," Lin Chuan said with a smile: "It seems that Brother Zhao only trained you physically, but he didn't provide any ideological guidance. Your awareness is still not high enough."

"It's too painful," Zhou Kai gnawed on a skewer and swore: "Son of a bitch, it's bad enough in the mountains, who the hell would want to join the army."

"I would," Lu Dapao laughed: "Maybe I could become a general in the future."

"You, kid?" Zhou Kai laughed heartily.

After more than a week of training, these guys were indeed physically stronger and more robust than before.

That night, these fellows, who had been repressed for over a week, got completely smashed. In the end, they were so drunk they were incoherent, and Lin Chuan couldn't be bothered with them and just left them at the factory, then went home by himself. There was a bonfire burning in the factory, making it very warm.

They woke up early the next morning.

Zhou Kai sobered up a lot, and the guys went to check out the bathhouse. After the hard work of more than a dozen workers for half a month, the bathhouse construction was more than halfway completed.

"Wow, it's been transformed in just a week," Zhou Kai said excitedly.

"Kai, come have a look, what's this?" Lu Dapao shouted excitedly, pointing at some kind of waterbed inside.

"Heh, country bumpkin, you've never seen this before?" Zhou Kai said disdainfully: "Let me tell you, this is called a waterbed. It's commonly seen in bathhouses. Kid, don't be so surprised; you're going to love it later on."

"Really?" Lu Dapao excitedly lay down on it, rolling over and seems to find it amusing.

After walking around the bathhouse, Zhou Kai and the others were very satisfied, and they could already picture the grand opening scene in their minds. They believed that as soon as the bathhouse opened for business, customers would start flocking in.

"By the way, how many female masseuses have applied for jobs?" Lu Dapao asked curiously.

"Quite a few," Li Qiang replied eagerly with a smile: "We've registered more than twenty."

"That's it?" Zhou Kai was stunned: "Qinghua Pool has over a hundred women, of all kinds. With such good conditions we're offering, why aren't they moving?"

"Kai, do you think the women in there can just come and go as they please?" Li Qiang said hurriedly: "I've asked several of them myself. They'd like to come, but they are afraid the boss won't let them go."

"That's true," Zhou Kai laughed: "The boss has spent a lot of effort and money training those women, so naturally, he wouldn't want to let them go."

"So what should we do?" Zhou Kai asked.

"What can we do? We can only take it one step at a time for now," Li Qiang laughed.

"Humph, worst comes to worst, we can just fall out," Zhou Kai snorted coldly.

"Brother Kai, we're no match for the boss," Li Qiang said with an awkward smile: "The boss has strong men and a lot of followers, I heard he has over three hundred men. If it really comes to a fight, we would be at a disadvantage."

"What's there to fear," Zhou Kai scoffed: "We're bound to clash with the boss sooner or later. We must be prepared for war. In the East City District, there can only be one bathhouse. It'll be either Qinghua Pool or our Haiqing Pool. When the time comes, fists will have the final say."

"Exactly," Lu Dapao immediately nodded and laughed: "Kai, you'll be the manager of the bathhouse, and I'll be the assistant manager, how about that?"

"Great," Zhou Kai was thrilled: "I do have a say in this personnel appointment, right?"

Upon hearing this, Li Qiang gave a sheepish smile and said: "Kai, Brother Chuan has assigned a general manager over us. And, Brother Chuan said we all have to follow the general manager's lead. The appointment and dismissal of staff, everything is to be arranged by Mr. Zhou."

"What?" Zhou Kai was taken aback: "Mr. Zhou? Where did this Mr. Zhou come from? Isn't it me, Zhou Kai?"

"No... It's not," Li Qiang shook his head, "It's... it's Chili Pepper, Zhou Rui."

"You've got to be kidding me?!" Zhou Kai's eyes widened in shock: "Since when did Chili Pepper become our general manager?"

"It's Brother Chuan who arranged it," Li Qiang said helplessly: "We're already suffering because of it."

"Let's go have a look," Zhou Kai said, suddenly indignant.

Then, the group rushed over to Feixiang Transport Company. On the second floor of Feixiang Transport Company, Zhou Rui was leisurely brewing coffee beans, getting ready to make a pot of coffee, then enjoying it slowly while basking in the beautiful afternoon sunlight, savoring a good book.

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