I couldn't take it anymore; when I went home for Chinese New Year, the family genealogy book ha

"Hahaha!"

Jiang Chen burst into laughter at Wang Dagou's words.

He laughed so hard he almost fell over, and tears were welling up in his eyes.

Wang Dagou and Li Qiang were completely bewildered by his laughter and looked at each other in confusion.

"What are you laughing at, you little brat! I'm talking to you seriously!" Wang Dagou got impatient and reached out to grab Jiang Chen's ear.

Jiang Chen grabbed his hand, barely managing to stop laughing, and patted his shoulder forcefully.

"Don't worry, dog."

"My money is perfectly legitimate, cleaner than the hundred-dollar bill in your pocket."

He simply explained it to the two of them using the same script he had used to deal with his parents: "company goes public, stock options cash out."

Of course, he omitted the specific amount, only saying that he had earned a sum of money that he "couldn't spend in several lifetimes."

After listening to Jiang Chen's explanation, Wang Dagou and Li Qiang were still completely confused. They had no idea what stock options or venture capital were.

But they understood one thing—Jiang Chen's money was legal.

That's enough!

The two looked at each other and both breathed a long sigh of relief, as if a huge burden had been lifted off their shoulders.

"Damn it! Why didn't you say so sooner! You scared me to death!"

Wang Dagou instantly reverted to his carefree demeanor, slammed his hand on the table, and shouted at the top of his lungs towards the barbecue stall owner.

"Boss! Give me another twenty skewers of lamb kidneys! Ten grilled oysters! My buddy's treating today, he's got plenty of money!"

Li Qiang, who was standing next to him, didn't say anything, but his tense face finally relaxed completely, and he silently opened another bottle of beer.

The diners at the surrounding tables all cast disdainful glances at Wang Dagou when they heard his shout.

A young man wearing a floral shirt and a fake gold chain around his neck sneered without any politeness.

"He brags without thinking, claiming he has more money than he could spend in several lifetimes. Look at him, dressed like a migrant worker. What's he trying to prove he's rich?"

His companions chimed in, "Exactly! They can make such a big deal out of eating at a roadside stall. There are all sorts of birds in a big forest."

Wang Dagou, with his sharp ears, heard it and immediately wanted to stand up and argue.

Jiang Chen pressed him back down and shook his head.

Why bother arguing with them? It's beneath you.

For Jiang Chen now, this level of ridicule doesn't even warrant him frowning.

What he truly cared about was his brother's future.

After several rounds of drinks and several servings of meat, the wine was finished and the meat was cooked.

When they started talking about their recent situations, the atmosphere became somewhat heavy again.

Wang Dagou, a courier, was fined 300 yuan a couple of days ago because of a complaint, and he was so upset that he couldn't sleep all night.

Li Qiang fared even worse; last month's salary was deducted by his boss for 500 yuan under the pretext of "tool wear and tear."

He wanted to quit his job, but he was afraid he wouldn't be able to find a better one, so he could only swallow his anger.

"Damn it, these days are getting more and more hopeless." Wang Dagou took a big gulp of wine, his eyes turning red.

"Sometimes I really want to be like you, Chenzi, and go out and make my own way in the world. But all I know how to do is drive and deliver goods. My wife, kids, and whole family depend on me. I don't dare."

Li Qiang also drank his beer in silence, the beer bottle in his hand making a cracking sound as he gripped it.

Looking at them, Jiang Chen felt an even stronger pang of sorrow in his heart.

He knew he couldn't wait any longer.

Jiang Chen put down the wine bottle in his hand, his expression becoming more serious than ever before.

"Dog, Qiangzi."

He looked at the two of them.

"If I gave you a chance—a chance to be your own boss and not have to depend on others—would you take it?"

Wang Dagou and Li Qiang were both stunned.

"Chenzi, you...you've had too much to drink?" Wang Dagou asked tentatively.

Jiang Chen ignored him and continued talking to himself.

"My road will be repaired in a month at most."

"Now that the road is open, I'm thinking of setting up a logistics transit station in our town."

"We'll collect all the local specialties from our town and the surrounding villages—fruits, vegetables, chicken, duck, fish, and meat—and send them all over the country through this transit station!"

"I plan to invest a lot of money in this transit station, to buy the best refrigerated trucks and build the largest warehouse."

"But I'm short-staffed."

Jiang Chen's gaze swept back and forth between the two faces.

"I need a station manager who can manage this station clearly and effectively."

"We also need a team leader who can keep dozens of vehicles and hundreds of drivers in line."

Wang Dagou and Li Qiang were completely dumbfounded.

They stared wide-eyed at Jiang Chen, oblivious to the meat skewers falling to the ground from their hands.

After a long while, Li Qiang swallowed hard, shook his head with a wry smile.

"Brother Chen, you...you're kidding us."

"How much would it cost to build such a large website? It must have cost millions, even tens of millions, right?"

"The two of us, one a deliveryman and the other a car mechanic, how could we possibly have that skill?"

Skills can be learned.

"I'll pay for it."

Jiang Chen's voice was calm yet full of power.

Without saying another word, he took out his phone and, in front of the two of them, opened the Alipay transfer interface.

"I don't trust anyone but the two of you with this matter."

Jiang Chen looked at Wang Dagou and entered his phone number.

Transfer amount: 100000.

confirm.

He then looked at Li Qiang and entered his phone number.

Transfer amount: 100000.

confirm.

next second.

Two crisp, pleasant, yet utterly abrupt electronic notification sounds rang out simultaneously in the noisy barbecue stall!

That sound seemed to possess a strange magic, instantly drowning out all the sounds of drinking games, clamor, and laughter!

"Ding! 100,000 yuan has been deposited into your Alipay account!"

"Ding! 100,000 yuan has been deposited into your Alipay account!"

Wang Dagou and Li Qiang froze almost simultaneously!

They froze, as if struck by lightning, their movements halted, their pupils dilated!

The two of them mechanically and tremblingly pulled their phones out of their pockets.

When they saw the balance on their phone screen, the "0"s that they had counted several times.

Jiang Chen acted as if he had done something insignificant.

He calmly peeled open a salted edamame, threw it into his mouth, and chewed it slowly.

"This is an advance payment of your wages."

Jiang Chen spat out the bean curd skin and continued speaking.

"These next few days, you guys should quit those lousy jobs you're currently working on."

"Then we'll go to the county to check out the site, and then we can discuss the rest later."

Wang Dagou's lips trembled for a long time before he finally found his voice.

His hand was trembling uncontrollably as he pointed at Jiang Chen.

"What if...what if we lose money?"