My cousin-in-law helped me achieve my ambitions.

Su Ming left Lin Shumei's office, threw away the cardboard box, stuffed the ginseng box into his pocket, and walked toward the personnel department with mixed feelings.

The leave slip needs to be stamped and filed by the HR department; that's the procedure. He could have asked Tian Jing to help him make the trip, but considering that this beauty had already helped him so much, he felt bad troubling her again, so he went himself.

The human resources department is on the third floor of the office building, in a large office at the end of the corridor. The door was open, and you could hear chattering coming from inside.

Su Ming walked to the door and was about to knock when he suddenly heard people talking inside.

"Have you heard? One of our supplier Changda Electronics' warehouse managers got arrested!"

"Really? What happened?"

"What else could it be? Embezzlement, of course! I heard they stole a batch of capacitors from the warehouse, worth seventy or eighty thousand. But when the company called the police, the investigation revealed the whole thing."

"My God, wouldn't that be a criminal offense?"

"Definitely! I heard that young man is only in his early twenties; his life is ruined."

"That's why you can't be greedy. No matter how valuable the stuff in the warehouse is, it belongs to the company and you can't touch it..."

Su Ming stood at the door, feeling a chill run from his feet to the top of his head.

Seventy or eighty thousand yuan, and they got a prison sentence?

That's 285,000!

His palms began to sweat, and his back felt chilly. It felt like a bucket of ice water had been poured over him from head to toe, making him feel cold all over.

He remembered what Tian Jing had said: "Even selling you wouldn't be enough to cover the losses," "They'll likely treat you as an embezzler and call the police," "and you'll end up in jail"...

Those words felt like knives stabbing into his heart.

"Hey, Su Ming?"

A voice pulled him back from his daze.

He looked up and saw Xiao Zhang, the clerk from the personnel department, standing at the door, looking at him curiously: "Are you here to submit a leave slip?"

"Okay!" Su Ming nodded, forced a smile, and handed over the leave slip.

Xiao Zhang took it, glanced at it, and smiled, "Okay, just give it to me! Oh, wait a moment, I have a document for Tian Jing, could you take it to her for me?"

She turned and went into the office. Su Ming stood at the door, his gaze involuntarily sweeping inside.

Yang Tian was sitting by the window, head down, organizing documents. Sunlight streamed in through the window, casting a soft glow on her. She was wearing a light blue shirt today, her hair tied in a high ponytail, revealing a section of her fair neck.

She seemed to sense something, looked up, and met Su Ming's gaze.

The two stared at each other for a second.

A complex emotion flashed in Yang Tian's eyes—a mixture of heartache, guilt, and a hint of anticipation. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but glancing at her colleagues around her, she held back.

Xiao Zhang came out quickly and handed a document to Su Ming: "Okay, take this to Tian Jing."

"Okay!" Su Ming took the documents and turned to leave.

He had just reached the corner of the stairs when he suddenly heard a series of hurried footsteps behind him.

"Su Ming!"

It's Yang Tian's voice.

Su Ming stopped and turned around.

Yang Tian ran from the other end of the corridor and stopped in front of him, slightly out of breath. Her face was flushed, whether from running or something else, it was hard to tell.

"What is it?" Su Ming asked in a nonchalant tone.

Yang Tian looked at him and bit her lip. Then she reached out and gently took his hand.

That hand was soft, warm, and trembling slightly.

"Su Ming," she looked up into his eyes and said, slowly and deliberately, "no matter what difficulties we encounter, I am willing to face them with you."

Su Ming was stunned.

He looked at the girl in front of him, at her bright eyes, at the serious expression on her face, and a strange warmth welled up in his heart.

That warmth was like a gentle current, washing away the chill I felt when I heard those words at the entrance of the personnel department.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Yang Tian bit her lip again and whispered, "Let's go out for lunch together, it's my treat."

Su Ming felt a surge of emotion, but at the same time, he remembered Tian Jing's words: "Get her pregnant, make her carry the child, and let her put pressure on her brother..."

Those words were like a thorn stuck in his heart, making it impossible for him to face her with the same composure as before.

He shook his head: "I've taken the day off, I won't be coming out at noon."

A hint of disappointment flashed in Yang Tian's eyes, but it quickly brightened again: "Then let's do it tonight! I'll treat you tonight."

Su Ming looked at her, at her expectant eyes, and finally his heart softened. He still had feelings for her.

He nodded: "Okay."

Yang Tian's face instantly lit up with a smile, a smile even brighter than the sunshine outside the window. She nodded vigorously and said, "Then it's settled! I'll call you tonight!"

After saying that, she let go of his hand, turned around and ran back to her office. When she reached the door, she turned back to look at him again and waved.

Su Ming stood there, watching her figure disappear behind the door, his heart filled with mixed feelings.

He remembered Tian Jing's words, the three thousand ICs, Yang Jing's perfunctory attitude, and the enormous debt of 285,000 yuan...

He recalled Yang Tian's words from earlier: "No matter what difficulties we encounter, I am willing to face them with you."

Is this girl being sincere, or is she just acting?

he does not know.

But he knew he needed money.

Su Ming left the factory area with a confused mind. Just as he reached the main road of the industrial zone, his phone rang.

He took it out and saw that it was a call from Bao Yazhong.

"Hey, Ming!" came Bao Yazhong's excited voice from the other end of the phone. "Great news! I've found a spot! It's perfect for opening an arcade!"

Su Ming was overjoyed and quickly asked, "Where?"

"Yinshan Industrial Zone is newly developed and has a huge flow of people! I just came back from that area and inquired about a few shops. There's one that's only 10,000 yuan for transfer! Come over quickly, let's take a look together!"

Without hesitation, Su Ming agreed: "Okay, where are you? I'll be right there."

"I'll pick you up on my motorcycle! I'll be there in ten minutes!"

After hanging up the phone, Su Ming stood by the roadside waiting. Ten minutes later, a motorcycle roared up and stopped in front of him. Bao Yazhong stretched out his long legs, supporting himself on the ground, revealing his signature face, grinning from ear to ear.

"Get on the bus!"

Su Ming climbed onto the back seat, and the motorcycle roared forward.

Instead of taking him directly to the Yinshan Industrial Zone, Bao Yazhong first went around to several old industrial zones.

"Let me show you how other people's businesses are doing first..." he shouted as he rode his bike, "So you can see for yourself how profitable this stuff is!"

The first one was located on the edge of the Snake Hill Industrial Zone. It was a small arcade with a worn-out sign hanging at the entrance. Inside, it was filled with smoke and bustling with people. Bao Yazhong led Su Ming inside, past a few ordinary arcade machines, and straight to the back, where there were three slot machines and seven or eight other game machines. Not many people were playing the game machines.

It was lunchtime, but the three slot machines were surrounded by a large group of people.

A middle-aged man in overalls stared intently at the screen, his hand frantically pressing buttons. Next to him, a young man, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, did the same. A bald old man had a small pile of game tokens in front of him, tossing them in handful by handful. Around them, a group of young workers in their twenties watched, some holding coins, waiting for their chance to place bets, others staring wide-eyed at the spectacle.

Bao Yazhong leaned close to Su Ming's ear and whispered, "Did you see that? These are all people giving away money. Those who are playing and those who are watching will eventually have to give money away too."

Su Ming remained silent, standing to the side and watching quietly.

ten minutes.

In just ten minutes, Su Ming witnessed the bald old man put no less than fifty coins into the slot machine. The young man next to him also put in at least thirty.

Bao Yazhong tugged at his sleeve, and the two walked out of the arcade.

"Did you see that clearly?" Bao Yazhong said excitedly, "In just ten minutes, those three machines swallowed at least two or three hundred coins! Each machine can easily earn a thousand or so dollars a day! Three machines is three thousand dollars."

Su Ming was both terrified and deeply moved.

Three thousand yuan a day?

If he partners with Bao Yazhong and splits the profits 50/50, he'll still make 1,500 a day. That's 45,000 a month. That's practically robbery!

The hole in 3,000 ICs can be filled in just over six months.

"Let's go to Yinshan!" He patted Bao Yazhong on the shoulder, his voice filled with excitement.