Despite being incredibly wealthy, I want to be a prosecutor.

Inside the car, all was quiet. Xiao Bao sat in the front passenger seat, while Da La Jiao sat in the back, next to her was a small mountain of contracts.

"Xiao Hong, is the Rolex you gave me real? It really costs over 50,000, right?" Xiao Bao broke the silence.

Zhou Hong nodded: "Yes, what's wrong? You think the gift is too expensive and want to return it to me?"

"Tch, dream on! I mean, with your wealth, are you trying to fob me off like a beggar?!"

Zhou Hong laughed, glancing in the rearview mirror at the plump, beautiful young woman in bright red clothing. "Sister Jiao, were you scared?"

"You scared me! Do you have any gifts?" Big Chili's pretty face immediately lit up with eagerness. In the minds of rural women, it's a fool not to take advantage of a good deal. It's clear that after Big Chili dropped out of school, she had long been assimilated by the village's aunts and uncles.

Nowadays, acquaintances have become super-rich, and regardless of how they got their money, they simply give their childhood friends watches worth over 50,000 yuan.

"Give me a few hundred yuan for emotional distress, and I won't have been scared for nothing today. I even argued for you!" Chili Pepper's smile became even more ingratiating. Who said she was just a brat?

Zhou Hong sighed helplessly, but then remembered something. "Sister Jiao, is your little supermarket still open?"

"What does it matter if it's open or not? It's almost yellow..." Big Chili said, pouting.

The so-called "small supermarket" was just a small shop in the village. But now, just a few steps away is the bustling main street of the county town, where there are supermarkets of all sizes with a wide variety of goods. Very few villagers go to her small shop anymore.

"Sister Jiao, go to the bank tomorrow and get a POS machine..."

Before she could continue, Big Chili laughed and said, "I have a POS machine at home. The bank came to promote it, offering free peanut oil and a year's management fee waiver for installing a POS machine. I'm planning to shut it down in a few months!"

Zhou Hong was speechless. Just like him, Zhou Hong liked to take advantage of loopholes, but Zhou Hong took advantage of the system.

"Then I'll go over there and swipe 200,000 for you. You can help me stock up on cigarettes and alcohol, Moutai, Zhonghua, and Jiuzhizun. Make sure the alcohol ratio is high. Stock up on 180,000 bottles of alcohol and 20,000 bottles of cigarettes a month. You have to make sure it's genuine. You can settle with me at the market price, but the stuff has to be real. Otherwise, I really will sue you for compensation!" Zhou Hong emphasized the last part of his sentence.

Big Chili was stunned. "Really?! Xiao Hong, you're not lying to your sister!"

"Hmm, we need to buy a large apartment in one of those gated communities as a storage room. We can just buy a bare-bones apartment, but we have to keep it a secret and not let anyone target us..." Zhou Hong said, turning the steering wheel as he pondered.

Suddenly startled, Zhou Hong looked toward the auditorium that was passing by.

The so-called auditorium has long been turned into a video arcade. The sign outside the ticket office lists the videos being shown today, and the all-night screening is a Jet Li special, which includes "The First Bodyguard".

"Xiao Hong, want to watch the video? I can keep you company all night." Xiao Bao chuckled.

"I'll take you to school, you go and study! What's the point of talking to you, you two single dogs!"

"Tsk tsk, what's wrong? You talk like you have a girlfriend!" Xiao Bao paused, then glared at Zhou Hong: "Don't tell me you have a girlfriend?! You fucking knew what kissing felt like before I did, huh? Hey, wasn't it especially great?"

Listening to the two kids' conversation from the back seat, Big Chili said disdainfully, "They're not even fully grown yet, Little Bao. Give me that watch, and I'll show you what kissing feels like!"

Xiao Bao's face turned bright red, and he was too scared to speak.

……

After dropping Xiaobao off at school, Zhou Hong got out of the car and went into the campus to chat with Teacher Lin, the homeroom teacher, in the office building.

He said that his illness would definitely be cured before the college entrance examination, and that he would still take the exam.

Teacher Lin had a big smile on her face, but who knows what she was cursing in her heart.

Back in the car, we drove towards Zhouzhuang, an urban village.

"Xiao Hong, I only earn 1000 yuan a month from you, but the prices of our small shop are definitely not as cheap as those of big supermarkets and tobacco and liquor stores. So if our prices are higher than others, don't complain. Oh, you should complain. You're just doing me a favor. I know that. I'll definitely speak well of you in front of Yu'er in the future."

Big Chili suddenly broke the silence in the car; clearly, she had been thinking about this all along.

Zhou Hong chuckled, "Here's the deal: I'll pay you 5000 yuan a month, just to use your convenience store's cigarette license to help me stockpile cigarettes and alcohol." He waved his hand, interrupting Da Lajiao, "That's it. Seriously, sis, earning 1000 yuan a month or two is fine, but over time, you'll be handling hundreds of thousands of yuan worth of goods and only making so little. You'll definitely feel resentful, and it wouldn't be worth it if we ended up as enemies, wouldn't you say?"

Big Chili didn't speak for a while, then said, "Xiao Hong, you've really grown up!"

Zhou Hong's phone suddenly rang. Looking at the number, it was Zhong Tier.

Zhou Hong's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly answered the call.

"This place is so much fun! But I don't dare get off. I'm not afraid, but I'm worried about causing you trouble..."

"Yes, you should keep a low profile..." Zhou Hong coughed, knowing that the big star was testing him.

But I really don't want to become the focus of media attention and have my background dug up by countless reporters. How can I develop my career in a low-key manner then?

Although returning to the county town might make him the "top-ranked resident" in the county, he has already been extremely low-key in terms of the resources he has at his disposal.

"Okay..." Chung Ti-er pouted as if she was a little dissatisfied, just like a girlfriend who was being coquettish in the throes of love.

"I'll go with you to see a video tonight. There's 'The First Bodyguard,' haha, that sounds interesting!" Zhou Hong suddenly remembered the video screening list he saw when he passed by the "Auditorium." Although it was a spur-of-the-moment decision, the thought of watching "The First Bodyguard" with Zhong Tier was getting more and more interesting.

The first time I watched "The First Bodyguard" was in the video hall of the auditorium. Sitting in the video hall, I felt my thoughts were stirred by the incredibly clean action scenes in the movie, and how the pure, sweet and sexy goddess Chung Ti-er in the film repeatedly stirred my youthful heart. It all felt like yesterday.

And today, we watched the video right there in that spot, it really was...

"Then...when can I see you...?" Zhong Tier's coquettish and delicate voice made Zhou Hong, who was still savoring something, instantly feel like he was going to have a nosebleed.

"I'll pick you up after 9 p.m.!" Zhou Hong quickly hung up the phone.

……

The small shop selling big chili peppers used to be in a good location in the center of the village, but as Zhouzhuang gradually became an urban village, with the main streets of the county town on all sides, this location became extremely awkward.

"If I use a credit card, is there a cap on your POS machine transaction fees?" Looking at the meager variety of goods on the counter and shelves, Zhou Hong coughed and asked. If a small supermarket keeps stocking fewer and fewer fast-selling items, then sales will only shrink and customers will become fewer and fewer.

Moreover, the convenience store is still the same as it was when I was a child, with blue bricks on the ground, a rafter roof, and umbrella-shaped chandelier bulbs. I can now touch the light bulbs with my head, making them sway and shake.

The original owner of the convenience store had moved away long ago, and the couple who owned it took over after Da Lajiao got married. Since then, the business has been declining.

The original owner of the convenience store was a distant relative of Da Lajiao's husband. It was because he had promised to take over the convenience store when he proposed marriage and gave a generous dowry that Da Lajiao's family agreed to the marriage.

"Really? I still feel like I'm dreaming..." Big Chili took out the POS machine and said, "There's no cap, it's a legitimate bank machine, but during the first year's promotional period, the transaction fee is 0.35%, after one year it will return to 0.4%. It's a normal transaction fee for everyday consumer goods. Oh, and the limit per transaction is 10."

Zhou Hong nodded: "I'll cover the transaction fee and let you withdraw more money."

He took out his Centurion credit card from Haifa Bank and made a first transaction of 100,000 yuan, a second transaction of 100,000 yuan, and a third transaction of 6000 yuan.

The handling fee of 20 is 700 at 0.35, plus the promised salary of 5000 for the big chili pepper.

"I'll transfer 205,000 to you every month from now on," Zhou Hong said.

He patted the stack of purchase contracts on the counter again. "I'll leave them here for you. In a few days, I'll give you my opinion on which buildings to renovate. You can help me find someone to renovate and keep an eye on things for me..." He was also a little embarrassed. Was it too much work to ask for someone to do on a salary of 5000 yuan?

However, with my parents, it's fine to just move in with our bags. If I leave it to them, they'll try to save money on renovations, furniture, and appliances, making things look messy and requiring a lot of persuasion from me.

Footsteps sounded outside, followed by a surprised voice: "Xiao Hong!"

But it was Mom who said again, "Why is it so dark?"

It's almost 6 o'clock now. The convenience store is a low-rise building with poor lighting, so it looks very dark.

Big Chili hurriedly turned on the light, "Auntie, what are you buying?" Her attitude was several times more affectionate than usual.

"Get me a bag of salt..." My mother has an old-fashioned way of thinking; she'd rather walk a few more steps to support the villagers' business.

"Xiao Hong, what are you doing here?" Mom asked Zhou Hong.

In the dark, he ran to this pretty young wife whose husband was so timid and attracted so many suitors. The mother thought she should give her son a few words of advice later, so that people wouldn't gossip.

"It's alright, I'm just going to have a regular drinking and smoking session with Sister Jiao." Zhou Hong smiled, "Perfect, I'll take you home."

"I'd rather walk those few steps!" Mom took the salt and came out first. She glanced at her son and saw him coming out soon after, and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

When Zhou Hong returned home, he entered the compound and heard the landline ringing in his parents' east room. His father answered it.

After Zhou Hong entered the house, his father said somewhat awkwardly, "Your second aunt's husband is going to the Dongning Hotel for dinner. Someone invited him and asked you to take him there." He glanced at Zhou Hong with some apprehension.

"Okay, I'll go right away." Zhou Hong turned and walked out.

The father was stunned. Given Xiao Hong's temper in the past, he was afraid that Xiao Hong would immediately fly into a rage.

……

My second aunt also married into the same urban village as her husband, unlike my third and eldest aunts who married into the countryside. Of course, when my second aunt and her husband got married, the urban village was still in the countryside and had not yet been surrounded by the expansion of the county town.

My eldest and second maternal uncles live in my mother's hometown, a village more than ten kilometers away from the county seat.

Therefore, among relatives, Zhou Hong's family and his second aunt's family have always had more contact.

When we arrived at my second aunt's husband's house, I honked the horn, and he quickly opened the gate and came out.

"Xiao Hong, go home and be with your parents. I'll drive you there," said Uncle Er, opening the car door instead of getting in.

"You must have had quite a few drinks today, right? I'll take you there. Call me when you're done eating, and I'll come pick you up." No matter what, Zhou Hong felt he should be grateful that his aunt's family had lent him money when his family was in trouble.

"Oh? That's fine! You have a cell phone now, right?" My second aunt's husband got into the car, took out his cell phone, a Nokia 3310, which cost 2100 yuan. Nowadays, the main users of cell phones in the county are young people who have just started working. They save up for a few months' salary to buy a cell phone. For middle-aged people like my second aunt's husband, not many people use cell phones, except for some unit leaders.

Seeing that Zhou Hong had taken out a Motorola V3, his second aunt's husband was taken aback. "This is a V3, right? Isn't it going to be released in China next year? Oh, you bought it from Singapore, right? There are no tariffs there, so phones are very cheap. I heard that grey market phones from Hong Kong are actually the same as officially sold phones? They're just smuggled goods that don't go through tariffs, so they're cheaper, right?"

Zhou Hong laughed and said, "The tariffs in Xiangguo are quite high too." He then gave his personal phone number.

Zhou Hong now has four phone numbers, an eight-digit consecutive number given to him by the Xiangguo Military Bank. There's no other way; this client is simply too important to mention.

There was also the earliest ordinary number from the Xiangguo telecommunications company, the one that was first linked to military personnel's bank accounts.

in the country, Zhou Hong obtained a private phone number, which was just a very ordinary number.

In addition, it was Vice President Lei of Haifa Bank who gave him the number 08888888. In Huangliang Dream, a certain well-known big shot once occupied it, but that big shot later fell from grace, which made Zhou Hong feel somewhat uncomfortable, but he still used it as needed.

When contacting family and relatives, he naturally uses his ordinary personal number. In reality, how many people in Donghai would want to know his ordinary personal number? After all, that represents an extremely close relationship with "Chairman Hong".

Meanwhile, my second aunt's husband started discussing mobile phones, saying, "Do your relatives in Xiangguo have any connections to deal in grey market phones? I heard it's quite profitable."

My eldest brother, Ping, is a relative on my father's side.

Zhou Hong said helplessly, "They are all doing legal business, and their shops are all quite legitimate."

The journey was short; we could already see the five-story Dongning Hotel as we spoke.

However, Zhou Hong's second aunt's husband did not allow him to park at the entrance, but instead made him park in the hotel parking lot.

In this small county town, the hotel parking lot is actually right in front of the hotel, just down the steps, with less than twenty parking spaces.

My aunt's husband was already on the phone: "Old Zhang? You've arrived, come down for a moment! I have something for you, don't let anyone see it."

About ten minutes later, a figure walked out of the hotel's glass revolving door. My second aunt's husband got out of the car and raised his hand, saying, "Old Zhang, over here!" He waited for Old Zhang to look over before closing the car door and walking leisurely towards Old Zhang.

Zhou Hong smiled. "My second aunt's husband really cares about face."

……

At the dinner table with his parents at home, Zhou Hong told his mother about how his second aunt's husband had insisted that his friend see him riding in an Audi, which made his mother laugh heartily.

It was a genuine smile. She had always felt inferior to her second sister, as if she hadn't married as well as her.

Now, listening to my son's story, it seems that all the pressure from my aunt's husband's family has vanished into thin air.

Second sister, still the little sister who used to follow her around with a runny nose when she was little.

Zhou Hong didn't mention his celebrity girlfriend again, and his parents didn't ask either, seemingly not wanting to know. What Liu Wei said on the phone was more believable.

Just after finishing his meal, Zhou Hong's phone rang. It was his second aunt's husband's number.

"Second Uncle, you guys finished your drinks so quickly? It hasn't even been an hour? That's not like you!" Zhou Hong said with a smile.

He's no longer the boy who used to be so reserved around his second aunt's husband; he now communicates with her on an equal footing.

"Xiao Hong, go to my house and tell your second aunt to bring me my pack of Zhonghua cigarettes. I'll give them some good cigarettes... Oh, by the way, this is 218..." The second aunt's husband was slurring his words, clearly having drunk quite a bit. From the still-joking crowd, someone reminded him not to forget to say the room number.

Zhou Hong scratched his head, wondering who had given his second aunt's husband a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes with the words "Air Force Special Supply" on it. He treasured it and always smoked it outside.

In fact, the so-called Zhonghua cigarettes had poorly printed lettering and even came in a white cigarette box, clearly indicating that they were counterfeit.

Even in later generations, these special editions, though beautifully printed and indistinguishable from genuine cigarettes and alcohol, were mostly counterfeit.

Not to mention, would he take this white box of cigarettes to a dinner party? If someone knowledgeable saw it and exposed him, wouldn't my second aunt's husband, who is so concerned about his reputation, be utterly humiliated?

I don't even need to go to the supermarket for Da Lajiao (a brand of chili peppers); I know they won't have anything I need to buy right now.

Zhou Hong drove to a relatively large tobacco and liquor store and bought a carton of soft Zhonghua cigarettes. However, when he tried to open it and smoke it on the spot, the proprietress immediately gave him a different carton.

Zhou Hong coughed. Although the tobacco monopoly became stricter in later generations, it did increase the proportion of genuine products. Now, counterfeit products are rampant.

Especially now that people buy high-end cigarettes and alcohol as gifts, there are even more counterfeit products because it is difficult for end users to trace who gave them the counterfeit goods.

Even though it was a new one, Zhou Hong still opened a box and took a couple of puffs.

I'm not a heavy smoker, but I can still easily taste the unique aroma of Zhonghua cigarettes.