Chapter 36: Please Forgive My Petty Nature

I wrote out the IOUs one by one, signed them with my name and Yan’s, and stamped them with the official red seal of the Yan Hui Company. Although everyone said there was no need for IOUs, Yan and I insisted.

We had eighty thousand of our own savings, plus the one hundred and fifty thousand from Zhou Le’er’s card. Chen Yinan had truly managed to borrow two hundred thousand, and with another twenty thousand from Brother Liang and Xiaohou, we had a total of four hundred and fifty thousand. While it was still a bit short of the five hundred thousand Director Zhu had demanded, we had finally gathered enough for the surgery!

The company was not dissolved; in fact, we even gained a new member on the spot: Miss Zhou Le’er. However, we preferred calling her Xiangxiang, as she really did smell very fragrant.

That afternoon, Yan transferred the two hundred thousand into the account provided by Zhu Bingtang. Their efficiency was surprisingly high; they scheduled Brother Hei’s surgery for eight o'clock that evening. There was no choice—Brother Hei’s surgery was a matter of urgency, and this was the fastest arrangement possible.

I took Wen Liang to the hospital and went to the waiting area outside the operating room. I had brought dinner with me, so I took out a portion and handed it to Wen Liang, saying, "Brother Liang, take this to Third Master’s ward and eat with Xiaohou. I’ll keep one portion, that’s enough for me."

"Alright!" Wen Liang took the bag and left.

I sat on the bench outside the operating room, eating my dinner, and remained there afterward. This way, if anything happened during the surgery, I could be notified immediately. After Wen Liang finished eating, he wanted to keep me company, but seeing he was exhausted from his business trip and had barely slept the night before, I shooed him away and told him to go sleep on the caregiver’s bed in Third Master’s ward.

The surgery lasted until three in the morning. When Brother Hei was finally wheeled out, I breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that he wasn’t covered with a white sheet. As per my and Xiaohou’s request, Brother Hei was moved into Third Master’s ward. I don’t know if Luo Weijing had given instructions, but Zhu Bingtang didn’t make things difficult for us; he was actually quite cooperative.

With the weight lifted from my heart, drowsiness set in. I squeezed onto the caregiver’s bed with Wen Liang and Xiaohou and took a nap.

I don’t know how long I slept, but I was awakened by the sound of arguing. I opened my eyes. Brother Liang and Xiaohou were gone; their voices were coming from outside. I checked on Third Master and Brother Hei in their beds—one was in a coma, the other in a deep sleep, both hooked up to IV drips. Seeing that everything was fine, I felt at ease, went to the restroom to splash my face with water, and walked out.

Zhao Xiangbo and Cai Lei were standing not far from the door, seemingly trying to enter, but were being blocked by Brother Liang and Xiaohou. I shook the water off my hands and walked over, asking, "What are you two doing here?"

Zhao Xiangbo grinned, snorted, and said, "No need to be so tense! I just came to see if those two guys were dead yet. Look, I didn't even bring any men with me. I don’t know what you’re so afraid of!"

I stared at him coldly. "Don’t worry, you’ll die long before Third Master or Brother Hei do."

"Afraid of what?" I continued. "Just a dog that sold out his master for glory—what right do you have to make us afraid? It’s just that this dog recognized a thief as his father for a few scraps of bone and stabbed his own master in the back. We just had to be on our guard."

Zhao Xiangbo’s face darkened. He squinted at me and said, "Kid, don’t get cocky. Without that old man shielding you and that idiot 'Old Black' protecting you, crushing you would be like child's play for me!"

"You?" I sneered, looking at him with disdain. "Zhao Xiangbo, even if I gave you another few years, you wouldn't amount to anything! It's laughable that you think you're someone important, constantly jumping around in front of me. I don’t even have the patience to trade barbs with you, but remember this: even if I weren't Third Master’s apprentice, I would still help him clean house! Animals like you are a curse to the world! And you!"

I turned my head to look at Cai Lei. "Abetting the villain, helping the tyrant! Third Master trusted you most, yet you betrayed him! I will settle this score for him. You just wait!"

"Trusted me most?" Cai Lei’s face held a twisted expression, half-crying and half-laughing, as he pointed at his own nose. "I’m the one he trusted most? He even hid the safe password from me—is that what you call trust? I’m not even as good as Xiaohou! I cooked for him for six years, but what did he give me? All the money I earned from helping out in kitchens went straight into his pocket, but every month when he gave everyone else pocket money, he gave me only a hundred yuan! A hundred yuan a month—what the hell can I even buy with that?"

Xiaohou cursed angrily, "How can you blame Master? It’s your own fault! You’ve always been a gambler; every cent Master gave you was lost by you. You even started eyeing the safe, which is why Master changed the password!"

Cai Lei’s face sank. He snorted, "The money I earned is mine to spend how I please. Even if he is my master, he has no right to interfere. You have no idea how he treated me! I only owed those people twenty thousand—I could have earned that in one job. The money I gave him was way more than that. It wouldn't have hurt him to lend it to me, but he just watched as I was beaten bloody and left lying on the street like a dead dog all night without doing a thing! He’s my master! If he’s going to be heartless, why shouldn't I be ungrateful?"

Wen Liang pointed at him and scolded, "Liuzhi, ask your conscience: how many gambling debts has Master paid off for you? It was because you kept going on and on, refusing to stop even after losing everything, that Master finally hardened his heart and stopped helping you!"

"Stop talking about that!" Cai Lei waved a hand impatiently. "I only came to see if that old man was dead. If he’s dead, I’m going to go buy firecrackers to celebrate right now!"

Seeing the three of us about to flare up again, Zhao Xiangbo sneered. "Calling me a dog, are you? I think you three are the loyal dogs of that old man! We said we were just looking; we weren't going to do anything. Your devotion to guarding the house is truly ridiculous! This is a hospital, not your turf. If you can come here, why can’t others? Besides, if you calculate it, this is my godfather’s territory; you are the outsiders here! Enough, don't be so petty. Godfather and my brother Wu Sheng have both said there’s no need to go after that old man or that fool anymore, or do you think they would have survived last night?"

I held back Brother Liang and Xiaohou, who were ready to fight, and sneered, "No matter how affectionately you call them that, it doesn't change the fact that you’re just a dog to them. You know better than anyone whether they truly consider you a godson!"

Zhao Xiangbo’s face fell, and his eyes filled with hatred as he looked at me. I couldn't be bothered with him and turned to Brother Liang and Xiaohou. "Let’s go inside. Since these two dogs want to act as gatekeepers, let them. Don’t worry; without their master’s permission, they don’t dare bite anyone."

Xiaohou suddenly grabbed me, standing his ground as he stared at me. "I heard from Brother Liang that to save Brother Hei, you were going to dissolve the company and sell the building Third Master gave you?"

I smiled. "If I couldn't raise the money, I would have had to sell it. What use is a company if the shops are gone?"

Xiaohou didn't speak; he just stared at me blankly.

"What’s wrong?" I asked, smiling as I ruffled his hair. In the past, he would have hated this gesture and dodged it. Only when Third Master did it would he stand still; he wouldn't allow anyone else to do it. But this time, he didn't move. He let me ruffle his hair, his eyes turning red. "Brother Shi, please forgive my pettiness! Actually, we have money. Third Master gave each of us a card with two million in it. They’ve been with me the whole time!"