In the following days, people came to find Yang Jian one after another, all related to the money Liu Yong owed for building houses. The total amount was not much, just over eight thousand yuan.
Yang Shuanglin wanted to use the money to pay off these small debts, but Yang Jian stopped him. He reasoned that if the news spread, the original construction workers would come knocking again. They wouldn't show up all at once, but one by one, complaining and trying to get whatever they could. Once this door was opened, the household would have no peace, dealing with these people every day.
Therefore, Yang Jian acknowledged all of Liu Yong's debts as his own responsibility to repay, but he didn't hand over a single cent. The money at home couldn't be touched; it was for emergencies. As for the more than five thousand yuan he had in hand, it was for gifts.
Liangliang's wedding day was approaching. As a brother who had gone through thick and thin with him, the gift couldn't be too meager. When their grandfather was away, Liangliang had given him a thousand yuan. For his wedding, he had to give at least five thousand, after all, Liangliang considered him his boss.
On the twenty-sixth of the twelfth lunar month, Yang Jian drove with San Pang to the county seat to attend Liangliang's wedding. The wedding venue was Yu Feng's Fengqi Hotel. Liangliang was quite familiar with Yu Feng and naturally wanted to support her business.
"Wow, Liangliang, your wife is so beautiful."
As soon as they arrived at the hotel entrance and saw Liangliang and his wife greeting guests, San Pang's lecherous side emerged. His eyes kept lingering on the bride.
Yang Jian patted him and handed three red envelopes to Liangliang. "Congratulations, congratulations. Liu Chao and Yong Li can't make it back from Hancheng, so this is their gift money."
"Thank you, Jian Ge. This is my wife, Li Sujuan. Little Li, this is the Jian Ge I often mention to you, my boss."
"Hello, Jian Ge."
Li Sujuan was a bit plump, but her face was quite pleasant to look at, and she had a very approachable smile.
"Congratulations on your lifelong happiness and may you have many children. We'll go in first."
Yang Jian pulled San Pang into the hall. The kid lost all composure when he saw beautiful women.
"Jian Ge, over here."
Upon entering the banquet hall, he heard Biao Biao calling him. Song Jianhao, Song Jianmin, and Si Xi, Si Gou were all at the same table.
"Hao Ge, Si Xi Ge, long time no see."
Yang Jian greeted the people he knew and then sat down next to Song Jianhao.
Song Jianhao patted him. "Little Yang, Biao Biao told me about your business in Xichuan. You're amazing. To be able to open a casino out of town and earn nearly a million in just over a month, and then buy a car. We haven't made any progress at all. I'm still driving that second-hand car."
"Hao Ge, I heard Wu Wangchun and the others earned several million this year. Why aren't you guys doing well?"
Yang Jian didn't want to talk about Xichuan; the memory was disheartening.
Song Jianhao sighed and said in a low voice, "There are many reasons for not doing well. The main one is that the people I have aren't tough enough. In Hancheng, we're considered outsiders, country folk. Sometimes, when we're bullied, we don't dare to resist. If we're taken advantage of, we just have to accept it.
Wu Wangchun and the others are all members of the same family and are very united. His two nephews have served in the army and are tough characters; no one dares to bully them.
Furthermore, he befriended a boss from Sanjiao Road and exclusively operates at that boss's establishment. That single venue alone earned him eight million.
We've been on the move for the past six months, without a stable, good venue to operate from. So, winning money is difficult, and it's easy to get taken advantage of."
"If that's the case, then Emperor Company isn't easy to manage either. I was planning to join you after the New Year."
As soon as Yang Jian said this, Song Jianhao was overjoyed. "Jianmin mentioned before that you weren't going back to Xichuan, and I didn't quite believe it. It would be great if you joined our team. With you to anchor us, we wouldn't necessarily be able to walk all over Hancheng, but at least we wouldn't be bullied. Then, Emperor Company would be easy to manage."
"But I don't have money to invest right now. I'm afraid I'll have to work for you first."
"That's impossible. You've already bought a car worth hundreds of thousands, how can you not have money? Besides, investing in Emperor Company doesn't require a lot of money, thirty to fifty thousand is enough. We'll start with smaller venues and then take on larger ones when our funds are sufficient."
Yang Jian gave a wry smile. "I can't even come up with thirty to fifty thousand right now. To be honest, after giving Liangliang a five-thousand-yuan gift today, I only have eight hundred yuan left in my pocket, and I still need to add three hundred yuan for gas on the way back."
"How could this happen? Biao Biao said you rescued your cousin, so those debts have nothing to do with you, right?"
"How can they not have anything to do with me? I'm heavily in debt now, even worse than last year."
Yang Jian briefly recounted what had happened recently.
Upon hearing about Yang Jian's predicament, everyone at the table felt sympathetic. Some didn't understand his voluntary assumption of debt. If he hadn't acknowledged those debts, the construction workers wouldn't have dared to do anything to him, as the contracts were signed by Liu Yong, and legally, he had no connection to them. He could have completely distanced himself.
However, most people gave him a thumbs-up. This sense of responsibility was not something ordinary people possessed. Over a million yuan—at this time, it was difficult for an ordinary worker in the county town to earn fifty thousand a year. One and a half million was an astronomical figure, something one might not be able to save in a lifetime.
Song Jianhao, however, was very pleased. The more down on his luck Yang Jian was, the more he needed his platform. Only in casinos was there a chance to accumulate millions in a short period. And he himself needed the support of a tough person like Yang Jian.
"Little Yang, don't be discouraged. As long as we cooperate well, earning one or two million a year isn't impossible. I think your luck in casinos is better than mine. You partnered with Li Jin at Xunsi River to run a golden flower game, and the earnings in a few days were more than my two months. You opened a Pai Gow casino in Xichuan and earned a million in just over a month. You're really suited to working in casinos."
Song Jianhao was now trying every means to keep Yang Jian by his side, fearing that Wu Wangchun would try to win him over. After all, Wu Wangchun was from the same village as him and had a good relationship with Yang Jian's father.
Yang Jian shook his head. "That was all luck and coincidence. It just so happened that they needed me."
"Working in casinos requires luck. Haven't you heard people say 'gambling luck, gambling luck'? Without gambling luck, you'll lose money. How about this, Little Yang, I plan to open a casino at home on the third day of the Lunar New Year, just like last year. You come and participate. You and Jianmin will each get a ten percent share. After we save some money, we'll go to Hancheng together to run Emperor Company."
"I get a ten percent share? But I have no money to invest! I'll just be a worker for you first, with a salary of two hundred yuan a day."
Yang Jian had no money to invest and didn't want to take advantage.
"What are you talking about? You're a big shot on the streets of the county seat. It's just that you're unwilling to go into the underworld, otherwise, you'd get rich very quickly. How could I let you be a worker? Come to me, get a ten percent share of the gambling company, and you don't need any investment from you."
"Then what can I do?"
"You don't need to do anything. Just show up then, and I'll make arrangements."
Seeing Song Jianhao's sincerity, Yang Jian felt too embarrassed to refuse and agreed to go over on the third day of the Lunar New Year.