I'll wait for you amidst the romance of nature.

I put aside my doubts, straightened my wrinkled clothes, and got into Sun Jiwei's car. He didn't explain why he came; he just smiled at me and started the car.

After the car had driven for a while, I finally couldn't hold back and asked him, "Brother Sun, why are you here to pick me up?"

"Don't rush to talk about this. Let's find a place to have a drink first, and then I'll talk to you slowly."

I nodded, and Sun Jiwei sped up, but instead of heading back to Longkan, he drove towards the ancient city.

About twenty minutes later, Sun Jiwei led me to a very inconspicuous alley in the ancient city. There was a coffee shop inside, and the owner seemed to be a friend of Sun Jiwei. After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Sun Jiwei led me to sit down and then asked me what I wanted to drink.

I didn't order coffee; I just asked the owner for a dozen "Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon" beers.

The weather in Dali is quite unique. Although it snowed on Cangshan Mountain yesterday, the temperature quickly returned to around 20 degrees Celsius when the sun came out. There were even tourists wearing short sleeves on the street, while Cangshan Mountain remained a vast expanse of white.

This unique climate means that Dali will inevitably usher in a new peak tourist season in winter, as many people from other places will choose to come here to escape the cold.

As I watched the tourists come and go, walking through this nameless alley, it felt like I was watching business opportunities slip away from my hands. My heart was filled with disappointment. I felt sorry for Wang Lei. After this incident, I not only ruined her feelings for me, but also wasted the money she earned with her dignity.

I think the inn must have been sold. Of course, I can't let Coach Ma and Tie Nan share the loss from the sale. This money can only be deducted from my investment. But in a place like Dali, how much effort do I need to make back the more than 200,000 yuan I lost?

The more I thought about it, the stronger the sense of despair I felt in Shanghai became. In a fit of rage, I bit open the beer bottle with my teeth and drank half of it in one gulp. Only when the cold liquid stimulated my brain did I feel myself calming down.

Sun Jiwei handed me a cigarette. After I lit it, I asked him, "Brother Sun, can you tell me what exactly happened?"

Sun Jiwei took a sip of coffee and replied, "Yesterday, after hearing about what happened at your inn, I went to find Bai Lu immediately… When I found her, you had already decided to transfer the inn to that bastard you beat up in order to protect you… I didn't agree. This is clearly a frame-up. If he succeeds, who from out of town will dare to invest in Dali in the future? Will Dali's tourism economy still be able to develop?… Luckily, I have a friend who works at the Public Security Bureau. I asked him to help me hold your case in check and not submit it to the procuratorate for approval. After buying some time, we started our investigation and found that the bastard you beat up was indeed related to Cao Jinbo. We found at the Industry and Commerce Bureau that he and Cao Jinbo jointly owned a bar in the Old Town, and they also jointly owned a logistics company."

I wasn't surprised, because I had already decided in my heart that it was this grandson who did it.

Sun Jiwei continued, "Cao Jinbo made his first fortune through organized crime in his early years. In recent years, he's tried to clean up his act, so he seized the opportunity presented by Dali's booming tourism industry and invested in numerous bars and guesthouses. His largest investment was in a seaside guesthouse in Shuanglang. These are legitimate businesses, but when faced with business competition, his approach still reflects typical gangster thinking. A few years ago, a Beijing man opened a very profitable bar in Dali, which ruined Cao Jinbo's business. He would often gather a group of people in the bar without spending any money. Later, he colluded with the bar's landlord to constantly harass the Beijing man. Cao Jinbo, who runs a business, couldn't stand being constantly bothered by these problems. Finally, he had no choice but to sell the bar to him at a low price. What was originally a profitable bar ended up costing him hundreds of thousands of yuan."

"Isn't anyone going to do anything about his lawlessness?"

"They're all doing things that skirt the edge of the law, and since they have connections themselves, they're difficult to manage!"

I shifted my attention away from other matters and asked, "So how was our inn ultimately handled? Did Bailu and the others sign a transfer agreement?"

"I've investigated this far, how could I let her sign?... Later, I found Cao Jinbo and confronted him directly. I assured him that his seaside inn in Shuanglang would definitely be among the second batch to reopen, and asked him to let him off the hook... Actually, his inn originally had a chance to reopen in the first batch, but this guy was a bit arrogant, thinking he had connections, and he was sloppy with environmental protection. Who knew the higher-ups would be so strict this time, refusing to issue him a wastewater discharge permit, and not including his inn in the first batch of reopening lists... After weighing the options, he gave me face and promised not to cause trouble for your inn anymore..."

"so?"

"So your inn survived!"

My heart, which was almost buried in hell with no way out, was instantly lifted up to a height full of sunshine by a warm hot air balloon. I even became unsteady on my feet because of this sudden good news.

After calming down for a long time, I nodded to Sun Jiwei and said, "Brother Sun, thank you so much this time. If it weren't for your help, I really wouldn't know how to explain it to my friends!"

Sun Jiwei smiled and said, "I'm just returning a favor. Compared to how you saved my wife and child, what I did is nothing."

"You saved my life!"

Sun Jiwei patted my shoulder, his expression turning serious, and then said to me, "Michael, I genuinely consider you a brother, so I have a few words I want to advise you... As men, we need to have a long-term perspective to be well-rounded. Society is actually quite complex; every circle has its own rules... The reason you suffered such a big loss this time is because you oversimplified some things. You don't understand how important connections are in the current social system... Let me ask you, how many people in our lives aren't driven by self-interest?... In reality, all interpersonal relationships revolve around this concept of self-interest. If you don't understand what this self-interest truly means, you'll continue to suffer losses in the future."

"I don't really understand..."

"It's not your fault. You used to work for someone else, so you couldn't see all aspects of society... Take our circle, for example. Everyone talks about corrupt officials and collusion between officials and businessmen, but can you ordinary people see how they collude? You can't see it; you can only hear about it. Does this really happen?... Yes, it has always happened... Really, only when you actually see how much cash and how many antiques are confiscated when corrupt officials' homes are raided can you understand how many shockingly dirty transactions are hidden behind them... This is a historical problem, not something that a certain political party or dynasty can completely eradicate; frankly, it stems from human nature."

"I still don't quite understand what you're saying."

Sun Jiwei glanced at me, then lit a cigarette before replying, "Since you can't change the world, learn to adapt to it... Let me give you an example from our situation. If I had invested in this inn before, would Cao Jinbo have dared to do this? Don't tell me Bai Lu works for the tourism bureau; she only holds a nominal position. The real power lies with her uncle, and Cao Jinbo won't be intimidated. At worst, he'll compensate Bai Lu privately afterwards... But for you powerless people, he absolutely won't care about your lives. That's the rule of the game; fairness won't be applied to you."

I took another deep drag of my cigarette. I wanted to argue with Sun Jiwei, but after what happened, I didn't feel I had any leverage to do so. Perhaps what he said was a very harsh reality.

A moment later, Sun Jiwei said to me again, "Michael, I truly consider you a brother. Otherwise, as a public servant, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to say these things to you. However, how you choose to proceed is up to you. As your brother, I can only offer some advice. Perhaps next time you encounter a similar situation, I won't be able to help. You know, this time I only did this because Cao Jinbo needed my help."

"Thank you, Brother Sun. After this incident, I should really think about how to deal with these complex social relationships."

Sun Jiwei nodded, then smiled...

At this point, I had no desire to drink anymore. I just wanted to get back to the inn as soon as possible and see everyone who had suffered a lot because of this incident.

At this moment, Sun Jiwei said to me again, "Michael, the reason I came to pick you up alone this time is that there's something else I need to discuss with you..."

"Brother Sun, what is it?"

Sun Jiwei finished his coffee and then said to me, "A friend of mine is also thinking of investing in a high-end guesthouse in Dali... He asked me to inquire about it for him... I think this is a good opportunity for you to back out... You could consider transferring the guesthouse to him. My offer to him is 200 million yuan, and he thinks that price is acceptable. I believe that if you transfer it at that price, each of you shareholders can earn at least several hundred thousand yuan. It's really just a matter of reselling; you can earn several years' salary for an average office worker. Why not?!"