Being warmly welcomed by Long Xiaoyun, Lin Feng took his place at the head of the table and had half a glass of beer before he finally learned what had transpired...

It turned out that after a humiliating experience on the Treasure Ship, Long Xiaoyun finally wanted to make something of himself! Tired of being accused of only exploiting his father, he wanted to carve out a career of his own. To achieve this goal, the first step was, of course, to break away from the protection of the Qingzi Sect.

So, Long Xiaoyun proposed to Long Shaotian that he wanted to lead a group of people to strike out on their own.

Hearing Long Xiaoyun's request, Long Shaotian was stunned for a good while. He was often disappointed that his son, who tended to cause trouble, wasn't living up to his potential, but a father's love runs deep. Furthermore, with the competition between the Commerce Hall and Battle Hall of the Qingzi Sect still ongoing, he feared someone might harm Long Xiaoyun. At first, Long Shaotian didn't have the courage to let Long Xiaoyun go out on his own.

However, Long Xiaoyun wasn't stupid. He knew Long Shaotian wouldn't easily agree to his request, so he pulled Lin Feng into this as leverage!

Long Shaotian had always trusted and appreciated Lin Feng. He learned that Lin Feng had a friend named Xie Nan who owned a bar near the university town. After also hearing a detailed report from Long Jiu that clearly favored Long Xiaoyun's proposal, Long Shaotian finally agreed to let him take some people out to learn something.

"I only have one year..." Long Xiaoyun, somewhat tipsy, said cheerfully to Lin Feng. "My old man said if I can achieve something within this year, he'll consider letting me take over the family business. But if I still don't show any significant improvement, he'll give me some capital to start a small company, and I'll have to stay out of underworld affairs from then on... Brother Feng, I'm counting on you completely! You have to look after me!"

Hearing Long Xiaoyun's words, Lin Feng was even more speechless. Is he considering Fenghuo Bar a school? Expecting me to be his teacher and train him to be the next underworld boss?

Lin Feng glanced at Long Xiaoyun and casually asked, "What kind of results would count as an achievement? Taking over a street, or eliminating a few gangs in this district?"

"Huh?" Long Xiaoyun's eyes widened in surprise as he looked at Lin Feng. He said admiringly, "Brother Feng, you really are extraordinary, even the way you talk is so domineering... I actually thought that striking out on my own meant doing exactly that! Who knew my dad had different ideas..."

"Then what does Lord Dragon mean?" Lin Feng was secretly surprised. Could Lord Dragon actually want Long Xiaoyun to sweep through the entire Nanjiang District?

"My old man said that for this venture, he'd provide Long Jiu and Mr. Yan—who's still recovering—as bodyguards, plus about thirty of our men. He's only giving me ten million. With that, I need to cover all our men's expenses and, after a year, return twenty million to him. That's all..." Long Xiaoyun said with great regret.

So that's how it is! That scared the hell out of me... Hearing Long Xiaoyun's explanation, Lin Feng finally breathed a sigh of relief. Turns out Lord Dragon just wants Long Xiaoyun to learn how to make money!

"With your status as Young Master Dragon, making ten million shouldn't be hard if you just ask, right?" Lin Feng lightly patted Long Xiaoyun's shoulder and chuckled.

If Long Xiaoyun revealed his identity, he could just visit the entertainment venues under the Qingzi Sect and hit them up for contributions. Getting one or two hundred thousand from each would be a piece of cake. The Qingzi Sect is a large enterprise; even if he asked for 200,000 from each, Long Xiaoyun could complete his task in a single night of rounds...

"How could that work!" Long Xiaoyun shook his head and said seriously, "I told him I can't rely on the Qingzi Sect. During this year, even if I go to the Qingzi Sect's establishments, I have to pay my bill honestly. I can't just throw my name around and sign for things... Sigh, the days ahead are going to be tough. How could ten million possibly be enough for a year? There are over thirty of us!"

"So you found Xie Nan and plan to work with him?" Lin Feng looked at Long Xiaoyun, somewhat exasperated.

"Brother Feng, Young Master Dragon isn't planning to work with me... He said he wants to invest in our Fenghuo Bar..." Xie Nan leaned in and whispered into Lin Feng's ear.

"Invest in the bar?" Lin Feng nodded. It sounds like this Long Xiaoyun actually has some business sense. Investing in a bar, the returns could at least double...

"Yes..." Xie Nan smiled brightly. "Young Master Dragon said Fenghuo Bar is valued at five million. He'll invest five million for a 50% silent stake and won't interfere in Fenghuo Bar's specific operations..."

Fenghuo Bar valued at five million? That price seems a bit inflated... Lin Feng shot Xie Nan a suspicious glance. That Xie Nan, he's learned how to rip people off now! I remember when I invested, the bar was only valued around two million. Did Xie Nan jack up the price by three million just because he saw Long Xiaoyun as a rich fool?

"Brother Feng, don't look at me like that. I didn't rip off Young Master Dragon..." Xie Nan said with a wry smile. "Young Master Dragon also made a request: his 'Dragon Cloud Club'—over thirty of his men—will be stationed here permanently. Their usual consumption will be billed to his account at cost... So, it pretty much evens out!"

Only then did Lin Feng understand that Long Xiaoyun's investment came with strings attached. It actually sounds somewhat fair. Fenghuo Bar wasn't large. Having over thirty men stationed there would likely affect business, and profits would naturally decrease. Moreover, since these men would be consuming at cost price, the profit Fenghuo Bar would lose over an entire year wouldn't be insignificant.

"That's a pretty clever move!" Lin Feng nodded, approving of Long Xiaoyun's idea, but at the same time, he felt a bit worried. "But with so many of your men in Fenghuo Bar, I'm afraid customers won't dare to come in, right? Maybe we should spread them out a bit..."

"Pan Lizheng and I have already discussed this, and we were just about to mention it to you, Brother Feng!" Xie Nan said with a smile. "Besides Fenghuo Bar and the internet café, we plan to use the cash on hand to acquire Hotpot City across the street and try our hand at the restaurant business. This area is near the university town, so there's always a good amount of foot traffic. The owner of Hotpot City said he wants to return to his hometown to develop his career and is offering to transfer the entire place—which still has over seven years left on its lease—for five million. If we can finalize the deal, we won't even need to hire new chefs. We can just do a minor renovation and open for business! We just wanted to know your thoughts, Brother Feng."

"If you guys think it's suitable, go for it!" Lin Feng nodded with a smile. Looking at the spirited Xie Nan, he felt a wave of emotion. The world changes so fast! Just half a year ago, Xie Nan was someone else's enforcer, and now he's the boss of three establishments...

Xie Nan leaned closer to Lin Feng's ear, glanced at Long Xiaoyun, and whispered, "Brother Feng, I remember what you said last time. I haven't touched anything illicit, nor have I gone down any illegal paths. Now that Young Master Dragon is here, it's the perfect time to transfer this bar, which is currently in a precarious position, to him! I'll come by occasionally to check the accounts, but otherwise, I plan to focus on legitimate business..."

Lin Feng nodded imperceptibly. This was indeed the path he hoped Xie Nan would take.

"Huh, is the bar not open for business today?"

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