Chapter 26: Chapter 28: I Want to Sell Roast Duck
Qin Hao now understood why so many people risked danger to mix in the underworld, the money really did come fast and was brutally straightforward.
Of course, the dangers of being in the underworld were also significant, like Wang Qiang who ended up with a disabled arm, even making a living afterwards was a problem.
Moreover, rising to prominence wasn\'t that simple, either you had superb skills or a brain, otherwise, you were just a low-level follower, practically useless.
Qin Hao looked at the chubby guy and asked, "Chubby, do you really not need the money? Opening a billiard hall there costs quite a bit for the renovation, right? Plus, with the high rent, is your money enough?"
Kang Youyi said with a smile, "Hao, you don\'t know, that place didn\'t cost anything, it was rented to us for free."
Qin Hao was taken aback, "There\'s such a good thing?"
Li Bao explained, "That developer developed a lot of commercial and residential buildings in the Yonghe Street area, the boss wanted to curry favor with us and rented a room to Chubby for free."
Qin Hao nodded, he held off commenting, now they owed the other side a favor, and one day, when the other side needed something, they would likely come to them.
Dealing with developers usually didn\'t involve anything good, which Qin Hao resented.
He didn\'t want to deal with developers internally, but presently, being in this position, he had no choice.
Because if you don\'t foster relations with them, they\'ll just go and cultivate relationships with someone else, there\'s no shortage of people who want to deal with wealthy developers.
...
Li Bao saw Qin Hao in deep thought and didn\'t interrupt; he took out a cigarette and gave one to Chubby, and they both started smoking.
Suddenly, Qin Hao spoke up, "Give me one, too."
Li Bao was startled, then hurriedly took out a box of cigarettes from another pocket, previously he was smoking cigarettes that cost ten yuan a pack, now he pulled out ones that cost over forty yuan a pack.
Seeing this, Qin Hao said with a smile, "Any cigarette will do."
Still, Li Bao insisted on giving him the good cigarettes and personally lit one for him.
Qin Hao took a deep inhale, not appearing as if it were his first time smoking, "It\'s better to deal with developers as little as possible."
Li Bao and Kang Youyi were puzzled by his meaning, but they still nodded, as now, Qin Hao was their boss.
Kang Youyi suddenly remembered and asked, "Hao, didn\'t you say you had something to discuss with us? What is it?"
Qin Hao: "I\'m planning on selling roasted ducks, do either of you know where I can buy a roasting oven?"
...
Li Bao and Kang Youyi thought they had heard wrong; the two exchanged glances, then looked back at Qin Hao, "Hao, what did you say? You want to sell roasted ducks?"
Qin Hao nodded, "Our line of work, after all, isn\'t legitimate, and it doesn\'t offer much opportunity for growth. If we start our own business, perhaps we have a chance to move beyond Jiangshan City, out of Shuinan Province."
Start a business?
Li Bao and Kang Youyi shook their heads internally, if starting a business were that easy, they wouldn\'t have entered this line of work.
Qin Hao knew it wouldn\'t be that simple to persuade them right away, time would tell, he said with a smile, "Chubby, since you plan on renting this place out anyway, why not rent it to me? I\'ll start with using it as a duck roasting workshop."
Kang Youyi quickly said, "Hao, saying that is like a slap in my face, I don\'t need it anyway, do whatever you want, roast ducks, roast chickens, all fine."
Qin Hao said with a smile, "I\'ll pay you whatever the market rental rate is. Even brothers have to settle accounts clearly."
It was better to clear things up now to prevent any unforeseen circumstances later.
Li Bao addressed Fatty, "Fatty, Hao is right. Calculate how much the monthly rent is later."
Kang Youyi said, "Hao, since you\'ve said so, two thousand a month will do for me."
This was a two-story building with hundreds of square meters; two thousand a month was indeed not much, as it could be rented out for about two thousand seven or eight hundred.
The main reason was that the location limited the rent; if it were near Golden Bright KTV, the rent would be at least five thousand or more.
Qin Hao took out fifty thousand yuan from his backpack and gave it to Fatty, "Here\'s rent for five months in advance, then help me order three duck roasting ovens and re-scrape the wall skins in the billiard hall. Is forty thousand enough for that?"
Kang Youyi quickly said, "That\'s more than enough, Hao. The duck ovens aren\'t very expensive, and neither is scraping putty. It won\'t cost that much."
Qin Hao said with a smile, "You take it first, and if it\'s not enough, come find me. I\'ve been busy with the unified exams these days and haven\'t had time to come over; keep an eye on things for me."
Li Bao still found it hard to accept and asked softly, "Hao, do you really plan to sell roasted ducks? What\'s the future in selling ducks?"
Qin Hao said, "What I say now, you might not believe, but when the ducks are made, you\'ll see."
Hearing this, Li Bao didn\'t try to persuade him further; he believed that once Hao realized the reality, he would give up.
Just then, Li Bao\'s phone rang, and he answered after checking, "Hello, Mr. Liu, what brings you to call me?"
Over the phone, a middle-aged man\'s voice came through, "Bao, are you free for lunch? Let\'s meet and eat at Yonghe Hotel, my treat."
Li Bao said with a smile, "How could I refuse an invitation from Mr. Liu?"
Liu Jianming continued to ask, "Is Hao available as well?"
Qin Hao shook his head because he didn\'t want to reveal himself too much in this matter.
Li Bao said, "Hao isn\'t here now; I\'ll call him in a bit. However, Hao is quite busy and probably won\'t have time, so please don\'t hold it against him, Mr. Liu."
Liu Jiangong said, "How could we? We just wanted to meet Hao, so it wouldn\'t be awkward if we bumped into him and didn\'t recognize him."
The two talked for a while, and then the call ended.
Li Bao said to Qin Hao, "Hao, you\'re still a student and will go to university in the future. It\'s really not suitable for you to show up in these matters. I\'ll handle it in the future."
Qin Hao nodded, "Yeah, handle whatever you can. If you can\'t, then let me know. I was planning to treat you guys to lunch today, but it seems that\'s no longer necessary. Go enjoy a good meal."
Li Bao and Kang Youyi chuckled; their status on Yonghe Street was second only to Qin Hao.
The owners of the KTVs and bars had to greet them respectfully as Bao and Fatty which greatly satisfied their vanity.
But both knew how they had gotten to where they were, and it was all because of Qin Hao.
If it weren\'t for Qin Hao, they wouldn\'t have what they had.
Qin Hao didn\'t stay any longer, exchanged a few words with them, and then left.
On his way home, he deposited the hundred thousand yuan back into his account, prompting the bank clerk, who was handling his transaction, to look surprised.
Because Qin Hao had just deposited money, and she had helped him with that as well.