Kong ZhengHui squinted at Su TianYu: "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"Nothing, I just feel it's a bit strange." Su TianYu looked back at him. "What do you think?"

"Hehe, I know what you're thinking." Kong ZhengHui chuckled, replying softly, "But I think it's just a coincidence. We don't need to overthink it."

Su TianYu was silent.

Kong ZhengHui quietly explained, "You don't understand the situation here in Dragon City. The roads, the waterways, the outsiders, those who venture into the no-man's-land – each industry has its own rules and circles. The dock gangs have been working on the water for years, with many eyes and ears, and their henchmen are everywhere. If you rely on the water, they'll keep an eye on you. It's not unusual."

Su TianYu slowly nodded. "Then maybe I'm just overthinking it."

"To put it bluntly, we're just eating from the martial world. If the benefits are right, we do it; if they aren't, we part ways." Kong ZhengHui saw things clearly. "We're just laborers, taking the money we deserve, nothing more."

"That makes sense." Su TianYu agreed.

"Alright, that's settled then. I'll take my men back first." Kong ZhengHui said goodbye, took his family members who had finished dividing the money, and left the junkyard in their car.

Not far away, Su TianBei divided the 81,000 in cash among the three families according to their respective shares. The workers who participated in moving and transporting the goods today, as well as the core members of the family, each received an extra five hundred yuan bonus.

In fact, according to Dragon City's living standards, this money was definitely not a small amount. One night's income was equivalent to a month's salary for many ordinary people. And although this business was smuggling, the risks borne by the workers below were completely different from those borne by the Su, Bai, and Kong families' companies.

If something went wrong, the higher-ups would take responsibility; paving the way and maintaining relationships also depended on the higher-ups. All the workers needed to do was contribute their labor. Therefore, no one objected to the distribution of profits. On the contrary, some people wanted to do this long-term to earn some extra money to supplement their household income.

Su TianYu made a net profit of four thousand yuan today because Yu MingYuan gave him eighty-five thousand yuan. This showed that the boss was quite generous and valued the Su family.

Happy to make money, Su TianYu was also cheerful. He quickly dealt with the follow-up matters and prepared to go back to sleep.

"L-Little Yu Brother." Just then, Da Xiong grinned and walked over happily to call out.

Su TianYu turned his head. "What's up?"

"Made... made money. I... I'll treat you to breakfast." Da Xiong invited with a smile, "Eat something good, go... go to the Cantonese restaurant for morning tea."

"Forget it, I'm going back to sleep."

"Won't... won't give me face? I want to treat you." Da Xiong spoke very directly.

"Hehe." Su TianYu grinned. "Alright then, let's go."

"Okay!" Da Xiong yanked open the door of Su TianYu's Ford "company car" and bent down to get in.

"Where are you going?" Su TianBei, Bai HongBo, and a distant relative of the Su family also came over.

"Da Xiong wants to treat me to a meal."

"Hey, Brother Da Xiong, aren't you treating us too?" Bai HongBo asked, leaning into the car.

Da Xiong thought carefully for a good three or four seconds before nodding. "Okay... I... I'll treat everyone, go together."

"Generous!" Bai HongBo yanked open the car door and got in.

And so, the group of five drove their SUV for about five or six kilometers before arriving at the Cantonese restaurant because Da Xiong insisted on coming here.

When they entered, it was just dawn, the rising sun painting the sky with brilliant colors.

Da Xiong rarely took the initiative to order, getting a lot of relatively expensive shrimp dumplings, steamed fish balls, and sea cucumber porridge.

After ordering, Bai HongBo habitually went to pay the bill, but Da Xiong stopped him. "I said I'd treat, no need for you to pay, Brother Bai."

"You're very particular, brother!" Bai HongBo certainly didn't care about the money for breakfast, so he didn't argue and just started drinking his porridge.

As everyone was eating breakfast, Da Xiong tentatively asked Su TianYu, "Little... Little Yu Brother, can I live in that new third floor in the future?"

Su TianYu was taken aback. "Why do you want to live there? Don't you go home?"

"It's a little more free there." Da Xiong lowered his head and drank his porridge. "I see there's no one there, or... or, I can pay some rent every month."

Yu MingYuan had previously asked Linda to rent a three-story building by the sea. The main purpose of this building was to store speedboats, ropes, motors, chains, and other tools for the job because it was impossible to bring these things out only when needed. And before each job, there had to be a gathering point for the workers. They couldn't always gather the team at the junkyard; that would be too conspicuous.

Su TianYu glanced at Da Xiong. Although he had many doubts in his heart, he was still habitually reluctant to ask about family matters. "Sure, if you want to live there, go ahead. No need to pay rent. It just so happens there are a lot of things there, and someone needs to keep an eye on them."

Da Xiong was very happy to hear this. "Th-Thank you, Little Yu Brother. When you have time... I'll treat you to something good again."

"Hehe, Da Xiong, when are you getting married?" Bai HongBo asked casually.

"As long as I work hard, save enough money, then... then I can buy a house, marry a wife, soon... soon." Da Xiong replied.

"You can marry, but you can't marry Third Sister." Bai HongBo said sideways, "She's my white moonlight, your future sister-in-law."

"You're talking nonsense." Su TianBei cursed indignantly.

Da Xiong's face turned red when he heard this, and he lowered his head, no longer speaking.

"Damn, everyone says he's not very bright, but look, his life plan is clearer than mine!" Bai HongBo might be a bit of a smart aleck, but he had never vulgarly teased Da Bai. Although his words seemed unreliable, they were his true thoughts.

"You don't have a plan?" Su TianYu asked.

"To be honest, no plan, I'm quite confused." Bai HongBo pouted. "I don't really like what I'm doing now, but... but I can't not do it. My dad is getting old, and a big family is waiting for food... alas, men, once they're adults, they're not living for themselves anymore."

Su TianYu smiled, turned his head to look at Su TianBei, and the Su family's distant relative, asking, "Second Brother, Haozi, what are your plans?"

"To become bigger and stronger, to create more glory!" Su TianBei replied concisely.

"That's good." Su TianYu nodded. "What about you, Haozi?"

The young man across from him was called Zhang Hao, and he was the son of TianBei's uncle. His father had died in the line of duty in the Chinese navy, and he and his mother, without anyone to rely on, had sought refuge with the Su family, who had some property in Dragon City.

Zhang Hao was usually taciturn and worked hard. He could be found almost anywhere in the Su family's courtyard, working diligently. Su TianYu had known him since he was a child and had always had a good impression of him.

Hearing Su TianYu's question, Zhang Hao thought carefully and replied, "I don't have any plans, I just want to earn some money so my mom can have a better life."

"That's right, people live, to put it bluntly, just to pursue a better life." Bai HongBo raised his porridge bowl and shouted, "Come on, for a better life tomorrow, bottoms up!"

"Who drinks porridge like that!" Su TianBei was speechless.

"Hey, that's just what I mean. Drinking alcohol so early in the morning is not healthy." Bai HongBo grinned and said, "Today is quite memorable, we successfully completed the first day, and I hope it gets better and better in the future."

The five young men smiled at each other, picked up their porridge bowls, and drank.

In the morning, everyone left the porridge shop together, facing the bright sun, and went their separate ways.

…

Da Xiong got the key to the third floor from Su TianYu and walked happily towards home.

A little after eight in the morning.

In a dilapidated building on Tufang Street in the Zhanan district, Da Xiong bounded up the stairs three steps at a time to the seventh floor, took out his key, and opened the door to his home.

Tufang Street was a famous slum in the Zhanan district. The buildings here were all semi-welfare housing built by the Dragon City Relief Agency specifically for people without security, work, or the ability to work. Apart from water and electricity, all other expenses were waived.

Da Xiong's father had also served in the military and had been seriously wounded on the mainland battlefield in the Hua district, losing his left hand and receiving a third-class merit. After his retirement, he followed the relocating troops to Dragon City. He was initially allocated relatively spacious housing and received a military compensation.

However, Mr. Wu had three sons. If he relied solely on the compensation from the military, he would eventually run out of money. So, after his retirement, he started a business in Dragon City with several of his comrades, trading in scarce goods. However, due to bad luck and tighter policies, he eventually lost a lot of money.

From then on, the Wu family moved to this slum, and Mr. Wu followed the Su family and worked for the Dirty Gang for a while. To put it bluntly, Su Zhengcai was only thinking of his old friendship with him in the military when he arranged a leisurely job for him in the company. Later, Mr. Wu's physical condition deteriorated, and Da Xiong took his place and became a worker in the Dirty Gang.

Da Xiong opened the door and entered the living room, where he immediately saw Mr. Wu sitting at a dirty table, eating breakfast and drinking white wine.

Mr. Wu had this habit of drinking alcohol at every meal, whether it was breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and after drinking, he would either lie in bed reading or go to sleep.

The Wu family's housing was about sixty square meters in total. The environment was very dilapidated, and the furniture in the house was more than a decade old. There was also a strange, rotten smell in the air.

Da Xiong's older brothers had already started working and did not live at home, so Mr. Wu rented the east room to a middle-aged couple who ran a breakfast stall, lived in the west room with his wife, and Da Xiong's room was converted from the balcony, with just enough space for a bed.

When Da Xiong returned, he called out somewhat cautiously, "Dad... you... you're up?"

"You don't come home every damn day, what the hell are you doing?" Mr. Wu asked loudly.

"I... I'm with some friends from the company, helping the Su family transport some goods at sea." Da Xiong stammered in response.

"Transporting goods at sea??? Smuggling?! Are you damn stupid? You do whatever others tell you to do?" Mr. Wu cursed, "If you get caught, do you know how many years you'll be sentenced to?"

"They're all doing it, the Su family's people are doing it themselves, it's okay." Da Xiong replied, turning to walk towards the balcony.

"How much money are they giving you? Huh?!" Mr. Wu shouted again.

Da Xiong returned to the balcony, lowered his head, and began packing his luggage.

"Damn it, how could I have given birth to such a stupid son! You step wherever others tell you to, your head is full of shit." Mr. Wu cursed while drinking.

Da Xiong packed his things as quickly as possible, then carried a broken luggage bag out of the balcony and locked the door.

"What are you doing?"

"I found a watchman's job, and I'm going to live there..." Da Xiong stuttered, "I... I won't be back for a while."

"I'm asking you, how much money can you earn running sea with them?" Mr. Wu asked, glaring.

Da Xiong thought for a moment, lowered his head, took out four hundred and fifty-four yuan from his pocket, placed it on the table, and said, "They gave me five hundred yesterday, here you go."

Mr. Wu picked up the money, his tone softening a lot. "Don't be so damn stupid, keep an eye on things, if something's not right, run."

"Got it."

"Okay, I'll save this money for you, don't cause trouble outside!" Mr. Wu replied.

"I'm leaving." Da Xiong carried his bag and walked out of the house.

…

Outside, the sun was shining brightly. As soon as Da Xiong left the house, he unconsciously showed his signature smile.

After a long journey, Da Xiong arrived at the three-story building by the sea, placed his luggage neatly on the ground, and began cleaning the bedroom on the top floor.

The weather was hot, and Da Xiong used a rag and a broken mop to carefully clean the room. Although he looked rough and simple, he was very meticulous inside and worked in an organized manner.

After cleaning, Da Xiong moved a few broken cabinets upstairs and placed them in the room.

Bending down, he took out his luggage and sorted it out one by one. Finally, on the bedside table, he placed a small wooden carving that looked very much like Third Sister, and a very old Superman model toy that had been repaired with clear tape.

With everything done, Da Xiong lay on the floor, wiped his sweat with his arm, looked at the bright sunlight outside, and smiled inexplicably.