Urban Martial Saint

(Ten more chapters tomorrow, seeking monthly pass.)

Seeing Black Bear’s embarrassed look, Li Lianshan and Zhao Chengshuang couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Fortunately, Ye Qing returned in time; Black Bear hastily stood by his side, not daring to return to his own seat.

The mature woman looked at Black Bear with a plaintive expression, continuously signaling him with her eyes to sit down, but Black Bear didn’t dare to even glance at her.

When Ye Qing came back, he brought with him eleven people, all managerial staff of the venue. The general manager of Tian Sheng was a man from Tiger King, who had one of his hands chopped off in the chaos last time, and was now rendered useless. Now, Tian Sheng was mainly managed by Assistant Manager Huang Fei.

Of course, when Li Chengxing was here, Huang Fei was just a puppet; everything still had to be decided by Li Chengxing.

As soon as Huang Fei entered the door, he immediately took out cigarettes and began distributing them to Zhao Chengshuang and Li Lianshan with a smile. He had witnessed Ye Qing’s group driving away Li Chengxing and his men with his own eyes, and he knew that the current boss of Tian Sheng was Ye Qing.

He would need to rely on Ye Qing for his livelihood in the future, so he clearly understood how to handle these relationships.

Seeing Ye Qing gathering all these management personnel, both Zhao Chengshuang and Li Lianshan were somewhat surprised and wondered what he was going to do.

After distributing the cigarettes, Huang Fei then gestured for everyone to sit and said to Ye Qing, ”Boss, please tell us what you need. From now on, all of us brothers will follow your lead!”

Ye Qing nodded and said, ”I’ve called everyone here today because there’s something I want to discuss with you. For the time being, I plan to close Tian Sheng for a few days.”

As soon as these words came out, everyone was stunned, including Zhao Chengshuang and Li Lianshan, who were both taken aback.

”Ye Zi, what are you doing?” Zhao Chengshuang asked anxiously, ”Do you realize how much money Tian Sheng loses for every day it’s closed?”

Li Lianshan also nodded and said, ”Ye Zi, the daily income of Tian Sheng is around one hundred and fifty thousand. Even if business is not good these few days, as long as the doors are open, the daily income will definitely be enough to pay the employees’ wages. If you close the doors, what about the salaries?”

”I’ve thought about this point, which is why I called everyone here to discuss it,” Ye Qing looked at Huang Fei and said, ”During the days Tian Sheng is closed, I will still pay your salaries. Manager Huang, please tally up the daily wages and during these few days, the staff can consider it paid leave. I will pay for the days we are closed.”

Huang Fei nodded and said, ”Boss, don’t worry, I will have the wage details compiled and delivered to you by tomorrow morning.”

”Good!” Ye Qing nodded and continued, ”Also, please notify the rest of the staff about this and reassure everyone. We are closing temporarily, not permanently. Of course, if anyone loses hope in our venue and doesn’t want to continue working here, I won’t stop them.”

Huang Fei laughed, ”Boss, with the paid leave benefit you’ve given us, I don’t think anyone will want to jump ship.”

”If that’s settled, thanks everyone!” Ye Qing paused and then added, ”By the way, during the days when Tian Sheng is closed, could you keep the cleaning and cooking staff here? They will be paid double for their work!”

”No problem!” Huang Fei said, ”Since the venue will not be open these days, the cleaning and cooking staff will be quite free. Not to mention double salary, even with their regular wages, they won’t object.”

Ye Qing said, ”Still, let’s go with double the wages. It’s unfair to keep them here working while everyone else is resting.”

Huang Fei smiled, ”Boss, you really take good care of your employees. With you as our boss, we’re going to have good days ahead!”

Most of the venue management staff were very happy, except for five individuals who had unfriendly expressions. These five, four women and one man, were the venue’s public relations managers, ostentatiously dressed, simply put, they were the ’Mamasan’ type.

”Boss, you talk about giving us time off with pay, which is indeed good. But how exactly will our wages be calculated?” A woman in her thirties, still quite attractive, gently tapped the ash from her cigarette and said, ”They all have fixed wages, but my girls are not on a fixed salary. They live on tips; without a fixed wage, how will you account for us?”

The other four also spoke up at the same time, ”Right, boss, we need to settle our wages clearly. In our line of work, if income decreases, the girls underneath us will definitely switch jobs.”

Huang Fei immediately said, ”The venue is only closed for a few days, not permanently shut down. What are you worried about? With Boss Ye here, how could he shortchange you?”

These five women paid no attention to him. They all worked as freelancers and could take the hostesses to any venue they wanted, without having to appease Huang Fei. When Tiger King’s man used to manage this place, they had to respect Tiger King’s authority. But now, with Huang Fei, it was different—they didn’t take him seriously at all.

Ye Qing said, ”Calculate your average monthly earnings down to each day, and based on that, I’ll work out your salaries!”

Upon hearing Ye Qing’s words, the five women’s worry turned to joy. The beautiful woman blinked at Ye Qing and said, ”Boss, you really know how to take care of us girls. That’s the mark of someone who handles big things!”

Ye Qing ignored her flirting, but Li Lianshan suddenly spoke up, ”Make sure you get your accounts right, don’t mess them up. Ye Zi, once they hand in their bills, bring them to me first. I’m in the same line of work, I’m quite clear on what the incomes should look like!”

With that, the five of them exchanged awkward glances. They had originally planned on inflating their incomes, but Li Lianshan’s remark dispelled that idea in an instant.

Ye Qing continued, ”If there’s nothing else, then let’s leave it at that for now. Please go on with your work, and by the way, inform our usual clients that Tian Sheng will be closed for a week due to renovations.”

”Sure, leave that to me. You can count on me, boss!” Huang Fei nodded and bowed, then led his group out. He was now sucking up to Ye Qing as he could see that the club was in need of a manager, and he was eager to step up to the role.

After these people left, Zhao Chengshuang and Li Lianshan immediately turned to Ye Qing, nearly speaking in unison, ”Ye Zi, what exactly are you planning to do?”

Li Lianshan asked anxiously, ”Closing the club for a week, do you realize how much money we’ll lose?”

Zhao Chengshuang said, ”You’re not scared of the Fu Bang, are you? Don’t worry, if necessary, I’ll lead a team here every day to patrol. If one of them shows up, I’ll catch one. If they come in pairs, I’ll grab both. I don’t believe they’d dare to do anything!”

Ye Qing shook his head and said, ”I’m not worried about them. It’s just that I have something very important to do. By the way, Chengshuang, for these next few days, first move those kids into Tian Sheng. Let them stay here temporarily. We have the cleaning staff and cooks to look after them. In the meantime, rent a more spacious place and settle them there.

The orphanage won’t be built overnight, it needs time. Before the orphanage is ready, we have to arrange proper accommodations for them.”

Zhao Chengshuang said, ”I did some calculations, and there are probably around seventy or eighty kids. To accommodate them, we’d need at least five three-bedroom apartments, and they need to be rented together, which is the most difficult part. Finding such places probably means looking in the suburbs.”

Li Lianshan said, ”I’ll send someone to look into it and get the kids settled; that’s the priority.”

”The key issue isn’t just about these kids...” Zhao Chengshuang sighed, ”We keep talking about setting up a private orphanage, but there’s no such thing as a private orphanage in our country. To start one, we might not even be able to get the necessary permits.”

This made Li Lianshan fall silent too, while Ye Qing shook his head and said, ”Man proposes, and God disposes. Where there’s a will, there’s a way!”

”True, we might be worrying too soon,” Zhao Chengshuang nodded and said, ”Damn, let’s not talk about it. After all this hassle tonight, I’m starving again. Let’s go grab something to eat.”

It was already two o’clock in the morning. Aside from some 24/7 restaurants, there were only night market stalls left on the streets. Zhao Chengshuang liked to dine in fancy restaurants, but Ye Qing, Black Bear, and Li Lianshan weren’t used to that. In the end, they opted for a night market stall recommended by Li Lianshan, known for its outstanding barbecue.

The four sat down, ordered a heap of barbecue and beer, and started drinking merrily. Zhao Chengshuang was particularly happy tonight. Ye Qing had acquired twelve venues, and although he had sold one, he still had eleven left. Just these eleven venues had completed Ye Qing’s initial accumulation of wealth, providing him with the foundational capital to gain a foothold in Shenchuan City.

Of course, this first accumulation of wealth for Ye Qing came entirely from Huangfu Ziyu’s deliberate actions. Huangfu Ziyu, a demoness of a woman, had only been in Shenchuan City for two hours when she made these earth-shattering deals.

Previously, people in Shenchuan City had only heard rumors about how terrifying the East State Poisonous Mantis was, but this time, everyone witnessed her fearsomeness firsthand.

The only thing that frustrated Zhao Chengshuang was Ye Qing’s stubbornness. With eleven venues in hand, Ye Qing had no interest in the business. Ye Qing seemed indifferent to his overnight wealth. Instead, what he thought about the most was setting up a private orphanage, which Zhao Chengshuang found incomprehensible.

Among the four, Li Lianshan was also excited beyond measure. The Southern Suburbs Dogfight Arena was nearly every player in Shenchuan City’s underworld’s coveted prize. While Tiger King was alive, both Tianqing Gang and Fu Bang wanted to get their hands on it. Now that Tiger King was gone, the fight between the two gangs for the Dog Field became even more intense, highlighting its allure.

Li Lianshan had long coveted the Dog Field, but he had never dared to entertain the thought. He never expected that by not pursuing it, he would end up owning a 60% share in the Southern Suburbs Dogfight Arena. Life was full of such wonders – many things happen unexpectedly and yet bring pleasant surprises.