Ba Xian gripped the property deed, weighing it back and forth. After hesitating for a moment, his tone softened slightly.
"Borrow nine, repay fifteen… three months?
Can you really guarantee you'll pay it back on time?"
"Of course," Lin Yao replied calmly.
"The deed is mortgaged to you."
"If you're still worried, I can even mortgage a bar as well.
What are you afraid of?"
"That villa's value is going up like crazy right now.
You're smart enough to know that."
What Lin Yao said wasn't just empty talk.
Property prices on Hong Kong Island were rising fast.
The real crash wouldn't come for another six or seven years.
These few years, prices were almost climbing day by day.
It wasn't the buildings that were valuable—
it was the land.
And the land rights here were permanent.
On top of that, Se Yao was even willing to mortgage a bar.
Hell—
that made the deal even sweeter.
"All right then, Brother Yao. Wait for my call."
"I can't scrape together ten million immediately.
Tomorrow at the earliest."
Ba Xian was tempted—but still kept one eye open.
Borrow nine, repay fifteen.
Anyone not tempted by that was an idiot.
With the deed in hand, he really could gamble on it.
More importantly—
He actually had the cash right now.
A full twenty million.
It had been loaned to him by Jing Kun.
He'd already invested several million and was preparing to put another two million into Sihao Boy.
Only the Golden Triangle side was unstable—
fighting nonstop, major drug lords expanding, governments and warlords cracking down.
Supply was shaky.
Asking for a day wasn't just to stall—
he needed an appraiser to evaluate the villa's value.
And also to probe Lin Yao's true situation.
Lin Yao shook his head and deliberately put on a troubled expression.
"No. One day is too long…"
"Brother Wah had no idea what he was doing when he was alive.
He borrowed all over the place—under the hall's name, too."
"Now I'm sitting on a powder keg.
I have to fill these holes immediately."
"In our line of work, credibility comes first."
"Se… brother, you're really loyal.
Fat Wah had someone like you—he was blessed."
Ba Xian wavered again. After pretending to think it over, he finally gritted his teeth.
"Tonight. Wait for my call."
"Deal, Brother Ba Xian. No fight, no friendship—
from now on, we can work together and make money!"
Lin Yao handed him a cigarette and patted his shoulder.
"I know you don't get along with some of Hongxing's bosses either.
I'm interested in Hongxing's turf too. When the time comes, we can team up."
"Hmph. You're damn right," Ba Xian snarled.
"I'm sick of Big B. Lately he's been sending guys to mess with me!"
Mentioning Big B made Ba Xian's face turn vicious, fists clenching instinctively.
"We can definitely join forces and hit Hongxing together!"
Ba Xian's lackeys stood there dumbfounded.
They'd been throwing punches a moment ago—
now their bosses looked like sworn brothers.
Even closer than Ba Xian and Jing Kun.
To sweeten the deal, Lin Yao handed over 100,000 in cash, calling it interest on Fat Wah's old debt.
That actually made Ba Xian feel a little embarrassed.
He took the money, politely excused himself, and left.
Before going, he even scolded his men, telling them that from now on, whenever they saw Lin Yao, they were to call him Brother Yao.
That fiery, curvy woman at Ba Xian's side kept turning her head back as she walked—
Damn… that Wo Shing guy is really something.
Truth was, Ba Xian had noticed it earlier.
Once outside, he slapped the woman across the face.
"Damn it—are you in heat?!"
"Brother Ba Xian, I…"
Her eyes were red with grievance, but she didn't dare talk back.
That night, a little after nine.
Ba Xian called Lin Yao, telling him to come to Causeway Bay to collect the money—
and urgently told him to bring the deed and the bar's liquor license.
Lin Yao had already prepared everything.
He brought A-Bu to Causeway Bay's Red Romance – Sang Na City, where both sides signed the contract.
Ba Xian even called in the triad's lawyer—
An old acquaintance: Tung Sing's chief strategist.
With both the deed and liquor license present, even a sharp old fox like him couldn't see anything wrong.
He only felt Lin Yao was too young—
and that Wo Shing had really fallen on hard times.
Choosing a hot-headed kid like this as a hall boss?
Was Wo Shing out of people?
Sure, the kid could fight—
But fighting?
What good was that in this day and age?
"Damn… Se Yao's got something wrong in his head.
Ba Xian's about to make a fortune!"
The strategist muttered inwardly.
Jealous—but it was real.
Ba Xian, rough and crude as he was, had a real talent for making connections.
Jing Kun didn't even need mentioning—
even Lian Haolong, Fei Fei Yong, and Lau Yiu-cho were all his financial backers.
Once the loan contract was signed,
ten million Hong Kong dollars was successfully handed over.
Split into two password-protected cases and loaded into Lin Yao's Tiger Head Benz.
Originally, Ba Xian would've demanded interest upfront.
But now, putting on a show of "big brother generosity," he waved it off.
He even invited Lin Yao for a drink.
Clearly, everything had been prepared—
Lafite, abalone, king crab, full Tung Sing-style hospitality.
He even hinted that Lin Yao could pick any of the girls in Red Romance.
But Lin Yao declined, saying he needed to use the money to repay debts.
On the way back, A-Bu drove while Lin Yao sat in the back, smoking.
"Brother Yao… isn't this loan way too expensive?
Borrow nine, repay fifteen—interest's insane."
A-Bu really didn't understand.
What could you even do with such a high-interest loan?
He knew the boss was obviously setting Ba Xian up—
but still couldn't see the bigger picture.
"Being able to borrow it is a skill in itself," Lin Yao said with a smile.
He didn't explain further.
Only Lin Yao knew that Ba Xian's days were numbered.
And that was something he couldn't tell A-Bu.
"Oh… I get it now, Boss."
A-Bu nodded, though he was even more confused.
With ten million in hand,
a lot of things suddenly became easy.
Property company.
Villa renovation.
Recruiting men.
All obstacles vanished.
Lin Yao also had Wu Qiuyu register an entertainment company—
film production, manga creation, model management.
The remaining money would be used to buy shares in nightclubs on their turf.
Whatever was left would become reserve funds.
First, build the framework.
Then slowly fill it with flesh and blood.
All companies would use one name:
Sky Glory (Tianyao).
Flicking ash from his cigarette, Lin Yao said:
"Oh right, A-Bu—contact all the old comrades you can reach."
"Tell them to come over any way they can.
They work for me, I pay them."
"Starting salary—2,000 a month."
"Boss, I've wanted to suggest this for a long time!"
Hearing that salary, A-Bu's eyes lit up.
Most of his old comrades were doing badly—
farming tiny plots back in the countryside, barely scraping by.
Facing dirt, backs to the sky.
Some slaughtered their New Year pig and still couldn't bear to eat it—
had to save money for their kids' tuition.
Some weren't even married yet—
still saving up for bride prices.
Especially around Raozhou and Xinzhou—
bride prices there were famously insane.
Bride price, gifts, banquets, tea ceremonies, formal bows—
all combined, easily three or four thousand.
Come work for Brother Yao—
One year, and everything would be solved.
Lin Yao smiled and added:
"We need a lot of talent right now.
Don't limit it to old comrades—have them recommend smart, capable people too."
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. Comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read 60 chapter ahead on P@treon if you're interested: patreon.com/Star1801