Li Yaru had managed to find out the origins of those people through the gossip of the neighbors.
It turned out they were subordinates of Hong Gang, and that man called Biao-ge was said to be a powerful Gang Master within the group.
The underworld of Hong Kong Island was a hidden current beneath this city of intoxication and luxury, impossible to ignore.
They fought over territory, carved up gray industries, invested in movies, entertainment halls, casinos, and so on. T
heir arrogance reached the point where even the British and the Hongdufu were once left helpless.
Guo Minglu’s Five Great Families— the Zhuang, Yi, Chen, Zheng, and Lu— controlled nearly eighty percent of Hong Kong Island’s real estate, electricity, energy, ports, gold and other industries.
In secret, the underworld forces were divided among the big players, with Hong Gang being one of them, entrenched in the Kowloon and New Territories area.
The Emperor Haocheng nightclub was one of Hong Gang’s properties.
There was a saying known to every street child: “If the word ‘He’ comes first, even dogs take a detour.”
Li Yaru felt she was done for, having provoked such Yanjing Luosha. She hated Li Chengxiang to death.
That bastard left behind a huge mess and ran off to who knows where to enjoy his own life. If she ever found him, she would make sure he didn’t die, but was left crippled.
Just a month ago, she had been enjoying a Michelin-starred restaurant on Paris Champs-Elysees Avenue, but now, a furious wave had knocked her over, leaving her in utter disgrace.
Lirongliang had already woken up, but his body was still weak, with an oxygen tube attached.
The doctor said Lirongliang’s heart problem was severe and he needed open-heart bypass surgery as soon as possible.
The surgery would cost about a hundred thousand, and if they wanted to do it abroad, it would be even more expensive.
Li Yaru squinted her eyes and said, “Dad, just rest well, don’t let Mom worry! Money isn’t a problem, a hundred thousand is nothing, it’s not like our family can’t afford it.”
“What about Axiong… Have those people gone to the Restaurant to cause trouble again?”
“No.” Li Yaru hid everything well, not daring to let her father know that the Restaurant’s property deed had already been mortgaged. “Aiya, don’t worry about all that. Cousin’s debt will naturally be paid by Da Bofu, it’s not up to us to meddle. At worst, we’ll just lend them a bit of money, it won’t be enough to give anyone leverage over us. Anyway, you just focus on your recovery, that’s what matters.”
Lirongliang was half convinced, half skeptical, but his daughter’s sweet words left him dazed, and with his wife crying and forbidding him from worrying, he could only give up and rest in the hospital.
Li Yaru inventoried all the family’s assets, sold some jewelry and bags, and scraped together a little over six hundred thousand.
A hundred thousand was set aside for her father’s surgery and recovery, fifty thousand as a reserve to cover household expenses, repay the bank loan, and pay for her younger siblings’ tuition.
The Wangzhen Restaurant’s accounts had long been in shambles.
Such a large Restaurant, yet there was only a hundred and fifty thousand left on the books, barely enough to cover next month’s salaries and purchases.
Da Bofu pawned the house and car at a low price of one million to an underground bank, and under Da Bomu’s crying and cursing, handed the money to Li Yaru.
He said guiltily, “Ah Yaru, this is all my fault. I spoiled Axiong too much, and now he’s made such a huge mistake…”
Li Yaru took the money without offering any words of comfort— she just couldn’t say them.
Wangzhen Restaurant continued business as usual. If they didn’t, there’d be no income and nothing would turn around.
The only change was that the person in charge was now Li Yaru. She was only nineteen, in the prime of her youth, supposed to be enjoying a safe and comfortable campus life, occasionally dipping her toes into the world of glitz and glamour.
Now, she was suddenly bearing such a heavy burden, like a stubborn young leopard, battered but unyielding.
Fan Zizhuo somehow managed to scrape together another three hundred thousand.
Li Yaru stared at the bankbook, its surface wrinkled from being pinched, and a wave of sour emotion welled up, clogging her nose.
What should she do…
There were only five days left. If she couldn’t raise the money, she’d have to take off her clothes.
Taking off her clothes wasn’t the issue— she could throw away her dignity if she had to— but she couldn’t let Fan Zizhuo suffer innocently.
If someone asked what his girlfriend did, what would he say? That she was a Yenxing filming racy movies?
Even if she didn’t make movies, the family was deep in debt. What right did she have to enjoy a happy romance?
Most importantly, right now, all she wanted was to earn money. She had no room for any other thoughts.
Only now did she realize that falling in love was like a carefree afternoon tea, French desserts with mocha coffee.
But a starving pauper only wanted to eat char siu and rice until full.
“Zi Zhuo…” She lowered her thin, reddened eyelids, the fine, fluffy hair on her forehead like a newborn lamb.
“I know it’s not enough, Ah Yaru. I’ll ask my advisor and roommates for more.”
This three hundred thousand was the savings his parents had set aside for his future wedding.
“Don’t be afraid, Ah Yaru, I have a roommate whose family is really—”
“Let’s break up, Zi Zhuo.”
Fan Zizhuo froze in embarrassment, as if he’d fallen hundreds of miles. He moved his lips, unable to speak for a long time.
His clear, honest, gentle eyes shimmered with tears. After a while, he finally replied softly, “Can we not break up… I don’t want to break up…”
He wanted to marry Li Yaru. Although his mother had her criticisms, saying Xiao Yaru wasn’t a girl suited for daily life— too pretty, too eye-catching, too hot-tempered, and spent money like water, not a good choice for a wife—he liked her.
Li Yaru just smiled faintly, looking at him quietly. Fan Zizhuo, faced with this gentle but unyielding silence, let his breath out. He knew Ah Yaru too well— she was someone who always did what she said.
If she said she’d pay back the money, she would. If she said break up, then they would break up, no room for regrets.
The neighborhood was lined with cotton trees. A few seed pods fell, making heavy, decisive sounds.
Li Yaru stood on tiptoe, touched his shoulder, kissed his cheek one last time, and quietly slipped the expensive diamond bracelet back into his pocket.
“Save your money and marry a good wife.”
.
There was no way Lin Baojun wouldn’t find out about such a big matter.
She was a gentle, virtuous wife and mother, her whole life centered around family, protected by Lirongliang, with a naïve innocence about the world.
When she suddenly learned her daughter was shouldering such a mess, she nearly fainted from crying.
“Shh, shh, shh— Dad is sleeping, Mom, keep your voice down!” Li Yaru quickly shut the hospital room door and dragged her mother to the lawn outside the inpatient building.
Lin Baojun sobbed as she hit her daughter’s shoulder. “You! Always so headstrong! Such a big thing and you didn’t tell me or your dad. If your aunt hadn’t told me, I’d still be in the dark!”
Li Yaru pouted and wrinkled her nose— Lu Junqiu must have let it slip.
“Mama…” Li Yaru helplessly grabbed her curly hair, which she hadn’t had the mood to style. It was a bit frizzy, but still shone like black-gold satin.
“Dad needs surgery, we have to pay the bank loan, Xuan and An both have to go to school, maybe even study abroad in the future. Without the Restaurant, how will we eat and drink? This is Dad’s life’s work…”
“We’re just a million short now, Mom. I’m not willing to give up. As long as we keep the Restaurant, we’ll make it back next year! My cooking skills are Dad’s legacy. If he can’t be in the kitchen, I can take over. Our Restaurant’s business is great— it’s a hen that lays golden eggs! Can you really bear to let it go?”
Actually, they were still one and a half million short, but with that one and a half million, giving up Wangzhen Restaurant would break her heart.
“A million— you think a million is a small sum?” Lin Baojun wiped her tears.
Li Yaru hugged her mother, her soft curly hair even more comfortable than a cat’s fur, and acted spoiled. “Trust me, Mom. I’ve already contacted a wealthy friend— her family has good connections with the manager of the Shenghui Investment Department, and can help me get a loan.”