Chapter 5 Brother Sheng, I Cannot Accept This Money

It was quite a while before the girl finally furrowed her brows, her delicate upturned nose crinkling along.
“Are you bragging? Do you even know what ten thousand yuan means?”
“See? You still don’t believe me!”
Jiang Butong grinned, pointing at his foot, which was tightly wrapped in bandages.
“See this foot? That’s what I got compensated for after I was injured…”
The girl was stunned for a moment, then suddenly couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
She turned slightly, reaching out a hand to Jiang Butong, and said with a smile, “You’re quite an interesting person. Let’s get to know each other. My name is Chen Pan’er. And you?”
“My family name is Jiang, given name Butong.”
Jiang Butong tried to sound a touch poetic.
Chen Pan’er smiled again, two shallow dimples appearing on her cheeks, leaving Jiang Butong momentarily dazed.
The conversation between them wandered far and wide, and the more they talked, the more they felt they were kindred spirits.

“Well, looks like we were worried for nothing…”
Jiang Yuan entered carrying a bag of fruit, grinning as he saw Jiang Butong laughing heartily.
“Someone here is already enjoying the company of a beautiful lady…”
Chen Sheng strode in behind, sporting a pair of oversized sunglasses, looking every bit the nouveau riche.
As Chen Sheng and his two companions filed in, Chen Pan’er blushed, her earlier eloquence vanishing as she turned and buried her red face in the blanket.
“You lot have absolutely no sense of propriety!”
Jiang Butong joked, grabbing an apple and biting into it.
“But honestly, if you hadn’t shown up, I’d have starved to death soon…”
Chen Sheng grinned, taking off his sunglasses and waving them at Jiang Butong.
“Little Butong, do you know what this is?”
“Sunglasses, and cheap ones at that.”
Jiang Butong glanced at them and made his assessment.
“Cheap? I gritted my teeth and spent ten yuan on these!”
Chen Sheng pressed a hand on Jiang Butong’s head, ruffling his hair, and grumbled,
“You rascal, don’t you know what ‘fashion’ means?”
“Just a little pair of black glasses for ten yuan?”
Chen Pan’er, who had been watching them curiously from under the covers, couldn’t help but blurt out in surprise, sitting up and staring at Chen Sheng.
“Little girl, these aren’t just black glasses—they’re called sunglasses!”
Chen Sheng flashed a grin and showed them off.
“These things are only bought by the wealthy and people with status. If they didn’t remind me of my old pair, I wouldn’t have splurged on them…”

Chen Pan’er rolled her eyes, catching the banana Jiang Butong tossed her, and said with a touch of annoyance,
“These things are just a tax on gullibility. At the Ninth Street wholesale market, you wouldn’t even pay two yuan for a pair…”
Chen Sheng was about to protest, but as he got a better look at Chen Pan’er’s features, he suddenly paused, a flicker of suspicion in his eyes.
Chen Pan’er eyed him warily, instinctively leaning back.
Jiang Yuan and Jiang Dazhuang immediately teased Chen Sheng.
“Brother Sheng, take it easy, don’t scare the young lady…”
“Exactly. You look nothing like when we first met you now…”
Chen Sheng paid them no mind, instead scrutinizing Chen Pan’er’s features intently.
After a long moment, he finally put away the sunglasses and, with exaggerated caution, asked Chen Pan’er,
“Miss, how old are you this year?”
Chen Pan’er was taken aback, glancing instinctively at Jiang Butong.
Jiang Butong couldn’t help but blush as well.
He’d thought Chen Sheng was the steady type, but as soon as their business started to improve, he was already thinking of keeping a young girl around?!
Unable to resist, Jiang Butong tugged on Chen Sheng’s arm and coughed lightly, reminding him in a low voice,
“Brother Sheng, your image… mind your image…”
Chen Sheng ignored him, but after staring at Chen Pan’er for a long while, he suddenly turned and smiled at his three companions.
“You probably won’t believe this, but if I had a child, she’d be about this young lady’s age…”
He turned again to Chen Pan’er, “Don’t take offense, girl. Take this basket of fruit as my apology.”
Before Chen Pan’er could refuse, Chen Sheng took the fruit basket from Jiang Butong’s bedside and placed it on her bed.
Chen Pan’er and Jiang Butong exchanged bewildered glances.

“Look at your face!”
Seeing Jiang Butong’s expression, Chen Sheng laughed again, tossing a thick wad of colorful bills onto his bed.
Seeing Jiang Butong momentarily stunned, Chen Sheng couldn’t help but punch him lightly and gave him a thumbs-up.
“I knew it! You really are sharp! Just following your advice, our profit today in half a day has already surpassed my entire monthly earnings!”
Jiang Butong looked up from the pile of bills, glancing at Jiang Yuan and Jiang Dazhuang.
Jiang Yuan, reading his thoughts, smiled wryly, “We got our share too, Butong, just accept it. There’s no refusing it—after today, we’ve learned what Brother Sheng is like…”
Jiang Butong frowned slightly, pondering for a moment before looking seriously at Chen Sheng.
“Brother Sheng, tell me honestly—what are your plans for the future?”
“My plans?”
Chen Sheng scratched his nose, his gaze sweeping over the three of them before he suddenly chuckled.
“Before I met you, I just wanted to quietly run that little restaurant, send my old man off peacefully, and raise my niece…”

“But after hearing what you said last night, I changed my mind. That thing you mentioned, what was it—an opportunity, a flying pig?”
At this, a gleam flashed in Chen Sheng’s eyes. “Just like you said, if even pigs can fly, what about me? Am I less than a pig?”
Chen Pan’er, nibbling her banana, couldn’t help but laugh, earning a glare from Chen Sheng.
She shrank back, smiling apologetically and gesturing for him to go on.
Chen Sheng glanced at Jiang Butong, who looked thoughtful, then suddenly slapped the table. “So, I’m going all in with you!”
“All in?”
Jiang Yuan and Jiang Butong were unfamiliar with the term and looked puzzled.
Chen Sheng scratched his head and looked at Jiang Butong, grinning. “You get what I mean, right, Butong?”
Jiang Butong nodded, already having sorted out Chen Sheng’s logic.
What Chen Sheng meant was nothing less than staking everything on the method Jiang Butong had proposed last night, using the restaurant as a springboard for that business idea—
Success or bust!

“If that’s the case, Brother Sheng, I can’t accept this money!”
After a moment’s thought, Jiang Butong gathered the bills and solemnly returned them.
Chen Sheng froze, confusion on his face.
“Not just me, Brother Yuan, Dazhuang—you two shouldn’t take it either.”
Glancing at Chen Sheng, Jiang Butong reached out to Jiang Yuan and Jiang Dazhuang.
Jiang Yuan paused, frowning at Chen Sheng.
Jiang Dazhuang, however, clutched his bulging pocket with obvious reluctance.
“It’s only right we don’t keep it, but Butong, you owe us an explanation, don’t you?”
After a long silence, seeing Chen Sheng’s stern face and hearing nothing from him, Jiang Yuan frowned at Jiang Butong.
“Oh, you lot…”
At that moment, Chen Pan’er couldn’t help but snicker, tossing her banana peel into the trash.
Seeing the unfriendly looks from Chen Sheng, Jiang Yuan, and Jiang Dazhuang, Chen Pan’er hurried to explain.
“Pooling resources for a greater cause—such an obvious principle! Even a girl like me understands, so why don’t you?”
Chen Sheng’s face stiffened, and he exchanged a glance with Jiang Yuan, then looked at Jiang Butong.
Jiang Butong gave Chen Pan’er a thumbs-up, then elaborated, “Let’s not talk about Brother Sheng’s family situation for now. Brothers Yuan, Dazhuang, haven’t you both been looking for a steady job?”
“Well, now’s the perfect time, while everything is still barren. Brother Sheng provides the money, manpower, and the place; the four of us partner up and grow the restaurant—isn’t that a good plan?”
Chen Sheng frowned in thought for a moment, then suddenly slapped his thigh and laughed, pointing at Jiang Butong, “You sly fox! No wonder you won’t take the money! You want me to foot the bill and then reap the rewards with you!”
Jiang Butong didn’t argue, just chuckled. “What, Brother Sheng, you’re not willing?”