Chapter 83: Chapter 83 Making Money

Translator: 549690339

The matter of the haunted Room 508 has finally come to an end, with Huang Xiaolong walking out of school hand-in-hand with Song Yuru.

“Little Long, when do you plan to enroll?” Song Yuru asked Huang Xiaolong eagerly.

“In a few days. I have some jobs to finish first,” Huang Xiaolong replied with a grin, his love for work and making money apparent.

Indeed, he needed to treat Chairman Qiu’s infertility and Brother Zhao Qi’s heart disease.

“You’re quite busy,” Song Yuru commented softly.

“Wife, it’s getting late… What do you say to us getting a hotel room for a candlelit night of chat?” Huang Xiaolong joked.

“Hmph— Candlelit chat?” Song Yuru chuckled, “Little Long, you’re so naughty, I’d be eaten alive if I spent a night in a hotel with you! No way!”

“Wife, how could you say such a thing about me? At most, I’d just… you know…

and not go in,” Huang Xiaolong mumbled.

“You wish! Shameless!” Song Yuru frowned playfully. Her laugh the next moment was captivating, a reflection of a young girl’s allure. “If you want me to… to go with you… to a hotel… you have to meet my parents first. Then, I might consider it.”

Song Yuru was after all a good girl, conservative by nature. Despite her love for Huang Xiaolong, she insisted he meet her parents before proceeding further.

“Alright then,” Huang Xiaolong was not too persistent, “Wife, when will you introduce me to your parents?”

“Hmph— You’ve changed your tune so quickly? Shameless! Little Long, you’re the thickest-skinned person I’ve ever met!” Song Yuru laughed.

After a pause, she continued, “Little Long, you must be quite tired tonight. You should go home and rest. I am going to sleep as well.”

“Then let me drive you home,” offered Huang Xiaolong.

“No need, you’ve worked hard with the ghost hunting. I don’t want to inconvenience you anymore. My home is quite far from school. Don’t worry, I’ve called for a Didi taxi,” Song Yuru assured him, with a charming smile.

As they were talking, a white Chevrolet Cruze pulled over nearby. Song Yuru glanced at the license plate and said, “Little Long, my ride is here, bye—”

As she finished her farewell, she dashed towards the Chevy. After a few steps, she turned back, blushed and flew a quick peck on Huang Xiaolong’s lips before running off to the car.

“Little Long, bye– get home soon and don’t go wandering around, okay?” Song Yuru waved at Huang Xiaolong from the car window.

“Oh,” Huang Xiaolong watched the Chevy fade into the distance, his heart filled with a sweet sensation.

Was this the feeling of love?

Huang Xiaolong drove his BYD F3 back to Litchi District, Hua Hu Street.

Tonight, Su Xiaoman didn’t stay at Huang Xiaolong’s place, but the house was obviously well-cleaned. Everything was neatly arranged. There was also a brand-new vase on the tea table with a bunch of jasmine flowers, gently fragrant.

“Sister Xiaoman is really a delicate and meticulous woman. She’s very good,” Huang Xiaolong laughed to himself.

He then took a bath and went to bed.

The next morning, the phone by the pillow woke Huang Xiaolong up.

Picking up the phone, he saw it was Su Xiaoman who had called. Huang Xiaolong answered the phone.

“Little Long, are you at home?” Su Xiaoman asked with concern.

“Yeah, Sister Xiaoman, I’m just about to get up. Are you at the shop?” Huang Xiaolong laughed.

“Yes, I am at the shop.”

“Sister Xiaoman, you can try to start the smoked duck business now. You will definitely earn a lot of money.”

“Yes, Little Long, I am preparing to sell smoked duck, but…” Su Xiaoman hesitated for a moment. “The landlord came today and suddenly told me that he wanted to take back the shop. I am settling accounts with him now.”

Su Xiaoman had rented the shop, if she transferred it, she could receive part of the transfer fee. If the landlord took back the shop, she could receive a certain compensation. However, this would mean that she would have to find a new shop.

“Oh, Sister Xiaoman, then wait for me. I’ll come over now.” Huang Xiaolong got out of bed.

After washing up and going downstairs, he went straight to Su Xiaoman’s fast food restaurant.

By the time Huang Xiaolong arrived, Su Xiaoman had already settled with the landlord.

“Sister Xiaoman, how much did the landlord give you?” Huang Xiaolong asked.

“Thirty-five thousand.” Su Xiaoman’s beautiful face showed a trace of disappointment, “It’s quite troublesome to find a new shop now.”

Without a job, running the fast food restaurant was Su Xiaoman’s only source of income. Although “Xiaoman’s Fast Food” wasn’t a booming business, it was barely enough to sustain her livelihood. But now, without the store, she had no income, making her jobless.

“Don’t worry, Sister Xiaoman,” said Huang Xiaolong with an indifferent smile,

“With your smoked duck recipe, making money will be easy. Come, Sister Xiaoman, let’s go look for a new shop together.”

“Yes.” Su Xiaoman gazed at Huang Xiaolong warmly, “Thank you, Little Long.”

“Sister Xiaoman, you don’t have to be so formal.” Huang Xiaolong held Su Xiaoman’s hand as they strolled around Huahu Street. Whenever they spotted a vacant shop, they would stop and take a look.

As Huang Xiaolong held her hand, Su Xiaoman felt an overwhelming sense of happiness fill her entire being, infusing her with hope and courage for the future. The gloom of losing her shop had been swept away.

“Sister Xiaoman, when will your…umm…thing be over?” Huang Xiaolong suddenly winked at her.

“Uh…” Su Xiaoman blushed deeply, looking radiantly charming. She lowered her head and said, “There are…a few more days. Little Long, when it’s done, I will…tell you…

“Okay, Sister Xiaoman, I’ll wait for you.” Huang Xiaolong said eagerly.

At that moment, there was a newly renovated vacant shop on the roadside. Its shutter door was opened, and one could clearly see that the hall was at least a hundred square meters in area, plus a wooden staircase winding upward, obviously leading to another usable space upstairs.

“Sister Xiaoman, this store is quite nice,” Huang Xiaolong said, his eyes lighting up.

“Yes, it’s spacious and the decoration is new, but…the transfer fee and rent are probably not cheap,” Su Xiaoman replied.

“Are you two interested in this shop?” a middle-aged man with a wine-stained nose appeared from the shop. “Want to come in and look around?”

Huang Xiaolong looked around and laughed. “No need to look. It’s pretty good here. What do you think, Sister Xiaoman?”

“You decide,” Su Xiaoman said as if being a traditionally submissive wife, entirely relying on her husband’s arrangement.

“Mister, are you the landlord of this shop?” asked Huang Xiaolong.

“Yes,” replied the man with the wine-stained nose with a grin. “If you’re interested in my shop, let’s sign the contract. To tell you the truth, my shop has a good Feng Shui and a nice location. Lots of people have already been enquiring about it and some have even paid deposits.”

“Oh, come on, Old Liu. Are you conning people again?” Suddenly, from the flower shop next door, a vibrant lady came out, munching on sunflower seeds and teasing him. “Young man, young lady, don’t be fooled. This shop is not properly aligned according to Feng Shui. The previous tenant suffered a huge loss.”

“You! You…” Upon hearing this, Old Liu, the landlord with the wine-soaked nose almost looked ashamed. However, his eyes revealed a hint of uncertainty. “Zhang Cuihua! You loose woman! Don’t talk nonsense!”

Anyone with discernment could tell that the lady’s words from the flower shop were not made up.

“Old Liu, you can’t just simply fool people by renovating and repainting the shop. We’re all businesspeople, we should be honest and have a clear conscience,” a man smiled from outside a noodle shop across the street while smoking a hookah.

“Little Long…we…we should look at other places.” Su Xiaoman said, pulling Huang Xiaolong away.

Setting up a shop requires some attention to Feng Shui. Since the previous owner had lost quite a lot of money, it would suggest that there could be some problems with the shop.

“There’s no need, Sister Xiaoman. The Feng Shui of this shop is very good,” Huang Xiaolong laughed.

“Hey, young man, you’re quite stubborn!” The lady from the flower shop couldn’t help but smile in amusement. “Despite kind advice, you insist on being mislead. It’s as if you’re deliberately throwing your money away!”

“Young man, to tell you the truth, someone had brought a Feng Shui expert here. The Feng Shui of the shop is not good,” the old man smoking hookah across the street said in concern.

“Not really, Sister Xiaoman, look —” Huang Xiaolong then elaborated. “Do you see? The driveway of this shop’s entrance, the direction of the vehicles coming in is from the lower left side of the shop and then curves out to the right, and it’s a one-way street. In Feng Shui, this passage forms the shop’s ‘golden belt’. Business will flourish here, sure to bring wealth.”

“Young man, you really know your stuff! Yes, my shop actually has a great Feng Shui!” The landlord Old Liu took advantage of Huang Xiaolong’s words, though he knew nothing about Feng Shui.

“Nonsense!” sneered the lady from the flower shop. “Good Feng Shui? Golden belt? If that’s the case, why did the previous tenant lose all his investment?”

Huang Xiaolong smiled and looked at the lady in the flower shop. “If I’m not mistaken, this shop used to be a hair salon. Why couldn’t a barber shop make money and instead suffer heavy losses? The reason is simple. In the position of this ‘golden belt’, obviously a business dealing with cutting will not thrive. The golden belt has been ‘cut’ due to the hairdressing business, hence the failure.”

” The lady from the flower shop’s eyes widened, muttering, “This…kind of…makes sense… the previous tenant was into hairdressing and beauty… hey, young man, you seem to be from the countryside, aren’t you? You seem to know quite a lot.”

“Hahaha! Young man! You’re a discerning person!” Old Liu breathed a sigh of relief. “Yes, yes, yes, the previous owner ran a hairdressing business. You really know what you’re talking about! Enough with the chit-chat, this shop is meant for someone like you who knows his stuff! I’ll give you the biggest discount!”

Su Xiaoman obviously trusted Huang Xiaolong completely, so she asked,

“Landlord, how much is the transfer fee and rent for your shop?”

Old Liu started his sales pitch. “Young man, young lady, listen to me, my shop has three floors. The first floor is 120 square meters, so is the second floor, and the third floor is a fully furnished one-bedroom flat. With such a prime location, I’m offering you the lowest price: a transfer fee of 300,000 and a monthly rent of 6,000. You’ll have to deposit six months of rent.”

“Ah?” Su Xiaoman gasped in shock.

Securing this shop would cost at least 300,000.

She didn’t have that kind of money.

“Little Long…” Su Xiaoman pulled Huang Xiaolong aside, “Little Long, I don’t have that much money…”

In reality though, this shop in Hualake Street with three floors each covering such a large area, was really a bargain at 300,000 as the transfer fee plus a 6000 monthly rent.

“Oh, Sister Xiaoman, I’ve done a few jobs since I moved to the city and earned some money, but it seems…it’s still not enough.” Huang Xiaolong scratched his head.

“Then let’s not rent it.” Clearly, Su Xiaoman really fancied this shop.

“Sister Xiaoman, this shop is excellent—prime Feng Shui land. If you have your smoked duck business here, you’ll definitely make lots and lots of money.” Huang Xiaolong suddenly gave her a comforting smile. “And about the money, we can sort it out. I’ll go earn money right now.”

“Uh…Little Long, how…how would you make money?” Su Xiaoman asked suspiciously.

“I’ll provide medical services. Treating rich people means I’ll earn a lot of money.” Huang Xiaolong laughed as he took out his mobile phone.