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

As the two men chatted, the three young men had already had their fill of playing. They stood up, laughing and joking, their pockets bulging with coins that clinked together as they walked. Clearly, they had won quite a few coins in those few rounds.

"Boss, please exchange this for a hundred-dollar bill!"

"Please exchange some for a hundred-dollar bill for me too."

"Give me a 150 yuan bill."

Upon hearing this, Su Ming felt another pang of heartache. In just over ten minutes, someone had won three or four hundred yuan. Although he knew that Bao Yazhong had adjusted the odds and he could win it back immediately, losing money right from the start still made him somewhat unhappy.

Bao Yazhong laughed heartily. With a cigarette dangling from his lips, he immediately opened a drawer, exchanged the money for banknotes, and grinned, "Welcome to come back and play again! Bring your friends to win money. Haha!"

This guy was laughing so hard he was practically drooling.

The three young men exchanged glances and laughed happily.

"I'll definitely come again."

"I took a shower tonight and came back to play."

"I'll come to play tomorrow."

The three of them chatted and laughed as they exchanged money and left the arcade.

Watching the three leave with happy faces and their bags full of goods, Su Ming felt a sudden, inexplicable pang of pain in his heart.

Damn it, they really did steal the money! For the first time, he realized that he was actually a bit stingy.

Bao Yazhong laughed triumphantly and patted Su Ming's shoulder hard.

"Haha, buddy, stop looking so gloomy, cheer up! You can't catch a wolf without risking your cub, this is called 'casting a long line to catch a big fish'." Bao Yazhong said confidently, "Trust me, just because they won money today, I believe that it won't be long before our store is packed with customers."

Su Ming looked at him, and although he was still somewhat skeptical, his tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed a little.

Bao Yazhong glanced at the clock on the wall, then patted him on the shoulder and said, "Let's go, it's time for dinner. Let's make a good start tonight, so let's go eat and have a couple of drinks. I'll have two of my men keep watch over this place, and we'll come back to oversee things after dinner."

"Alright, let's eat first!"

Su Ming rubbed his stomach, realizing there was nothing he could do right now, so he could only nod in agreement.

Bao Yazhong is a man who likes to show off. On the first day of the trial operation, he specially invited Xiao Mei and Xiao Li, two energetic young women, to come along as well.

The four of them arrived at a roadside food stall near the industrial area. Bao Yazhong waved his hand and ordered a few simple yet plentiful dishes: stir-fried pork intestines, peanuts with dried tofu, dry pot cabbage, plus a grilled fish, and then ordered a whole case of ice-cold beer.

To Su Ming's utter surprise, as soon as everyone sat down, the spirited young woman named Xiao Mei didn't sit with Bao Ya Zhong, but instead plopped down right next to him.

Xiao Mei was wearing a strong, cheap perfume mixed with the smell of cheap hairspray, which wafted straight into Su Ming's nose. As soon as she sat down, she very naturally placed one hand lightly on Su Ming's thigh.

This sudden physical contact startled Su Ming.

Although he had just gone through the ordeal with Lin Shumei and could be considered an "experienced person," he still subconsciously harbored an instinctive aversion to girls who frequented arcades and exuded a worldly, sleazy air. The cheap perfume he wore was worlds apart from the mature, elegant, and sophisticated fragrance emanating from Lin Shumei—it was like comparing heaven and earth.

As if electrocuted, Su Ming reflexively moved his leg half a foot to the side and leaned his body slightly outward.

Seeing this, Xiao Mei wasn't angry at all. Instead, she covered her mouth and giggled softly. Her heavily lined eyes looked him up and down and said, "Oh, Ming-ge, so you're ticklish? Look how scared you are."

Su Ming felt uncomfortable being called "Brother Ming," and his face flushed. He scratched his head awkwardly, frowned slightly, and shook his head, saying, "It's not that I'm ticklish... I'm just not used to being touched by strangers."

Seeing this, Bao Yazhong, sitting opposite him, burst into laughter. He picked up his glass and chimed in, "Hey buddy, what's there to be uncomfortable about? Practice makes perfect! Let me tell you the truth, Xiaomei is your woman from now on. I'm letting her follow you around, and you don't need to pay for her. From now on, just give her a bowl of rice, make sure she's full. It's so late at night, having someone who cares about you and warms your bed, isn't that a wonderful thing!"

Upon hearing this, Su Ming shook his head vigorously, waving his hands in refusal: "Brother, don't do anything rash! I have no such thoughts. Right now, all I can think about is making money. I really don't have the mind for romance, let alone... this is too sudden."

Are you kidding me? Not to mention that he's currently overwhelmed by Yang Tian's situation, he also has a stunningly attractive cousin-in-law living at home, and a gorgeous female boss at work who could be a threat at any moment. How could he possibly have the time or guts to get involved with these kinds of frivolous girls in arcades?

Seeing Su Ming's straightforward refusal, Bao Yazhong chuckled and didn't press the matter. He raised his glass to Su Ming, clinked it against his, downed half of it in one gulp, then his playful expression faded, and he said in a low voice, "It's alright, buddy, no pressure. Actually, I'm not really trying to force a woman on you. Just think of it as having another obedient little sister by your side."

He put down his glass, his eyes turning serious. "Here's what I'm thinking. Xiaomei is actually a distant cousin of mine. She hasn't been away from her hometown for long, and she doesn't have a proper place to go, just hanging around aimlessly. Do you think we could arrange a job for her at our arcade?"

"Assign tasks?" Su Ming was slightly taken aback.

"Yes." Bao Yazhong nodded. "Let her be in charge of exchanging coins at the front desk and keeping an eye on things like that. We don't need to pay her much, just a thousand yuan a month will do. Her working hours are from noon to midnight every day. That way, we can relax a bit and not have to be glued to that spot all day."

Upon hearing this, Su Ming paused slightly in his hand holding the wine glass, and his heart skipped a beat.

Let his cousin manage the cashier and currency exchange?

This arcade is a place with a huge cash flow; coins and banknotes come and go every day. Bao Yazhong placed his relative in the most crucial position at the cashier. Isn't this blatantly planting spies for himself, or even facilitating future accounting fraud and embezzlement?

Su Ming's eyes flickered involuntarily, but he tried his best to keep his expression calm.

Bao Yazhong was a seasoned veteran in the underworld, and he immediately saw through the fleeting concern in Su Ming's eyes.

He laughed heartily, patted Su Ming on the shoulder, and answered frankly, "Dude, I know what you're thinking. Are you worried that I planted my own people to manipulate the accounts and secretly pocket the money?"

Su Ming, his thoughts exposed, gave a slightly awkward smile and remained silent. At the same time, he secretly admired Bao Yazhong's shrewdness; he could see right through him. It seemed he and Bao Yazhong were on completely different levels!

The only bargaining chip he currently has in their cooperation is the man behind his cousin's wife. This mystique must be maintained; otherwise, if things go wrong, the consequences will be unimaginable. Although Bao Yazhong seems very loyal, once he turns on someone, no one can guarantee what he might do. It's always best to be cautious.