This person really knows how to be reborn!

The next day, August 29th.

Zeng Cheng pulled Li Xingzhi along, and the two brothers went to buy suitcases.

Li Xingzhi had originally planned to buy the household items as well, but Zeng Cheng refused.

"Hey, are you stupid? These things might be available in the provincial capital, right? When you're traveling, just remember one principle—travel light!"

"Uh, Cheng-ge, this is my first time traveling so far... So how are we getting there tomorrow, by bus or train?"

After thinking it over, Zeng Cheng chose to take the train.

Dezhou is more than 100 kilometers away from the provincial capital.

Whether by bus or train, it takes more than two hours—these days there are no high-speed trains, otherwise it would only take a little over an hour.

Taking the train is definitely more comfortable than taking the bus—after all, you can buy a sleeper berth for short distances.

Zeng Cheng currently has over six million yuan in his bank account—five million of which he earned from stock trading, and the remaining million or so came from two months' profits from the arcade—so he can certainly do whatever makes him comfortable when he goes out.

I originally wanted to invite Shangyu Baiwei along.

But Yu Da Meiren said that her mother would personally escort him to school and even asked him if he wanted to come along.

Zeng Cheng didn't dare to agree.

He now keeps his distance from a certain noblewoman.

If one's wings are not yet fully grown, one should avoid direct confrontation.

If he accidentally touches any of Chen Danqing's sore spots, his current frail body cannot withstand even the slightest act of capriciousness from someone of such supreme power.

After buying the suitcases, the two brothers went to the train station to buy tickets. After buying the tickets, they went to the arcade, called a meeting with the employees, and explained everything that needed to be explained.

During the two-month summer vacation, this arcade was a money-making machine, earning over a hundred million dollars.

Business will definitely decline after the summer vacation ends, entering a long off-season that will last for several months.

But since the costs had all been recovered, Zeng Cheng didn't care too much.

No matter what, making two or three hundred thousand a month is definitely not a problem.

Li Xingzhi owns 5% of the arcade and receives a monthly dividend of 10,000 to 20,000 yuan.

Let alone in 2009, even in later years, many graduates from 985 universities cannot earn this salary in their first two years.

This shows how important it is to find the right powerful backer.

This has always been the underlying logic of this world.

The importance of choice far outweighs the importance of effort.

However, Zeng Cheng did not give all the money to Li Xingzhi. Instead, he gave him two thousand yuan a month as living expenses and kept the rest of the money with him. He even opened a special account for him.

As Li Xingzhi's "young but old father," Zeng Cheng certainly had to "plan for the long term."

A young person who has just turned eighteen and suddenly has an income of ten or twenty thousand yuan per month can easily become arrogant.

It's worth mentioning that Zeng Cheng handed over the arcade to a very suitable person to manage.

How suitable is it?

This person is none other than Gao Sheng, the former owner of this arcade.

Let's briefly recap the ups and downs of our boss Gao's business journey over the past two months.

Two months ago, Gao Sheng risked everything to stock up on mobile phones, thinking he could achieve financial freedom once the market recovered. However, reality proved to be far more disappointing than his ideals.

The mobile phone market continued to slump, and the batch of mobile phones he had stockpiled depreciated by nearly half in less than two months, with no sign of the market recovering at all.

They had no choice but to cut their losses and sell off their assets at a low price, resulting in a significant reduction in their wealth and bringing them to the brink of bankruptcy.

Thinking back to Zeng Cheng's advice, I deeply regret my past actions.

Seeing that Zeng Cheng had made a fortune after taking over the arcade, earning over a hundred million dollars in just two months, Boss Gao was filled with regret!

So Gao Sheng shamelessly invited Zeng Cheng to have a drink.

The unspoken meaning behind the words is—I want to know if there's any way to undo the mistake.

Zeng Cheng simply refused.

You only realize you need to turn when the car hits a wall, and you only realize you need to shake your nose when it gets in your mouth. Where were you before?

However, he gave Gao Sheng a bowl of rice.

Pay him the market rate and hire him as the general manager of the arcade.

It's definitely not because they think Gao Sheng's management skills are particularly high.

Rather, it's people like Boss Gao, a washed-up gangster, who have the social connections to handle any unexpected situations that might arise at the arcade.

Steamed buns are still food, and even a washed-up gangster is still a gangster.

If Gao Sheng had agreed to Zeng Cheng's initial proposal of owning 30% of the arcade, then his competitors would have absolutely not dared to cause any trouble when the arcade first opened.

Therefore, based solely on Boss Gao's standing in the industry, he deserves the salary Zeng Cheng pays him.

The next day, August 30th, was sunny and breezy.

Zeng Cheng and Li Xingzhi, carrying their suitcases, arrived at Dezhou Railway Station early in the morning.

Before entering the station, Li Xingzhi looked back and said to Zeng Cheng with emotion, "Brother Cheng, wouldn't you say that our departure from home this time counts as 'swords not yet fully drawn, but already stepping into the world of martial arts'?"

Zeng Cheng said arrogantly, "Okay, you can play dumb all you want. My sword has been sharpened long ago; on this trip to the provincial capital, I'll slay any god who stands in my way!"

Li Xingzhi frowned: "Brother Cheng, are you really going to start a website after you go to university? I heard that kind of thing is really expensive. Will your few million be enough?"

"I doubt it," Zeng Cheng sighed. "Well, how about we trick Grandpa into giving me his pension?"

Li Xingzhi retorted irritably, "Dream on! If I actually did that, my dad would tear me apart into a pile of parts!"

Zeng Cheng's brows furrowed with a hint of emotion.

After all, Li Xingzhi in the other timeline really did just that.

"Alright, neither of us has any artistic talent, so stop with the nonsense," Zeng Cheng patted Li Xingzhi's arm. "Let's hurry up and get on the train, or we'll miss it."

Li Xingzhi didn't leave: "Brother Cheng, wait a little longer, a classmate wants to come with us!"

"Uh, who?" A certain [young old father] carefully observed his unfilial son's expression and immediately switched to gossip mode. "Oh ho, a female classmate, something's up?"

Li Xingzhi twisted the hem of her clothes with both hands and said shyly, "Mu Jiajia."

"What?"

Zeng Cheng was somewhat bewildered.

Mou Jiajia?

This woman and cicadas are completely unrelated, how the hell did they get involved?

He knew Mu Jiajia to some extent. Don't be fooled by how insecure she seemed in front of Xia Ning, how she tried to flatter and fawn over him. She was actually quite proud of herself. Didn't you see how she rejected three boys who confessed to her at the first class reunion after the college entrance exam?

Logically speaking, she would never look up to Li Xingzhi as he is now.

It's not that Li Xingzhi is really bad, but the good qualities he has—being down-to-earth, diligent, sincere, and kind—are not things that Mu Jiajia can appreciate at this stage.

"Zhi Liao, stop messing around, how could it be her?"

"You look down on me that much? I think... I think Mu Jiajia has feelings for me!"

"Uh, who gave you that impression?"

"Brother Cheng, that's going too far! Let me tell you—"

So Li Xingzhi started talking.

For example, when he and Qi Jiahao were arguing in the class group, Mu Jiajia was always the first to stand up for him.

For example, yesterday Mu Jiajia specifically asked him which train he was on and what his carriage was, saying that she wanted to go to the provincial capital with him so that they could look after each other along the way.

"Holy crap, could it actually be true?"

Zeng Cheng was unusually insecure—of course, he wasn't so arrogant as to think he was 100% accurate in judging people.

There's not much to say. It concerns my son's lifelong happiness, so let's just wait and see.

About ten minutes later, the two brothers finally saw Mu Jiajia.

However, problems have also arisen.

Mu Jiajia wasn't alone—Xia Ning was with her, dragging an expensive Hermes suitcase.

"Depend on--"

Zeng Cheng, being such a shrewd person, naturally figured out the truth of the matter in an instant.

Mu Jiajia was completely acting under the orders of some rich young lady, and used her beauty to seduce Zhiliao!

Li Xingzhi: "..."

Could this be the first of the three great illusions in life that Brother Cheng mentioned—that she has feelings for me?

Li Xingzhi was already in great pain, but Zeng Cheng had no intention of letting him go.

"Cicada, I really want to plant a magical seed in your heart now."

"???"

"Once it sprouts and grows, you'll have a B tree in your heart."

"..."

Damn it!