Chapter 30: Su Qingge: I Have Nothing to Repay You With, From Now On I Am Yours
The duty room at three in the morning was dimly and flickeringly lit.
Fat Big Sister was slumped over the table, snoring loudly enough to rival the rhythm of the wind and snow outside.
A small electric stove beside her glowed red-hot, roasting several tangerines on top, filling the air with the smell of char and coal smoke.
When Jiang Chen pushed the door open, he brought in a gust of cold wind.
Fat Big Sister woke up with a jolt, wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth, and glared at Jiang Chen with a face full of morning grumpiness: "What are you doing? Summoning spirits in the middle of the night?"
"Sister, I want to discuss some business with you." Jiang Chen cut to the chase, pulling over a broken chair and sitting opposite her.
"Discuss business?" Fat Big Sister rolled her eyes. "What, is the oil heater broken? Or are the blankets not warm enough? I say, young man, instead of cuddling those three big beauties to sleep, why come down here to talk business with an old hag like me?"
"I want to buy something." Jiang Chen's fingers tapped lightly on the tabletop.
"Buy what? I don't run a supermarket."
"I want to buy something from your guesthouse." Jiang Chen's voice was steady, but his eyes held a trace of madness. "I want to buy the exclusive rights to your beverage supply for the next three years, or rather... I want to buy all the aged liquor you have hidden away in your warehouse."
Fat Big Sister froze.
She sized up Jiang Chen as if looking at an idiot: "Are you drunk or running a fever? How much liquor do I even have? I only have two cases of Erguotou."
"Sister, stop pretending." Jiang Chen smiled, but his gaze was as sharp as a knife. "I glanced into the backyard just now and saw a cellar. The lock is rusted, but the snow at the entrance was freshly swept. This guesthouse used to be a state-run restaurant, right? You must have hidden quite a bit of old liquor from that era."
Fat Big Sister's expression changed.
That was her secret stash.
Back when the state-run restaurant was reformed, her late father used his position to secretly keep two cases of iron-capped Maotai from that time, burying them in the cellar and never daring to touch them.
Even her husband didn't know about this; how did this kid find out?
Actually, Jiang Chen was just gambling.
In his previous life, he had read a news report stating that during the demolition of many old station guesthouses, extremely valuable aged liquor was unearthed.
This station guesthouse fit the requirement of being 'old,' so he decided to bluff the owner, and unexpectedly, it worked.
"Those are my treasures." Fat Big Sister dropped her calculating demeanor, lit a cigarette, and said, "Not for sale."
"I'll offer two hundred thousand." Jiang Chen held up two fingers.
The cigarette in Fat Big Sister's hand trembled, and the ash fell onto her pants, burning a hole.
"How much did you say?"
"Two hundred thousand. Cash transfer, right now." Jiang Chen pulled out his phone, opened the banking app showing a balance of over 180,000, and showed it to her. "I know those two cases of liquor might be worth more than that on the market now, but in a place like this, it's hard for you to find an expert buyer. Besides... isn't your son getting married? This money is just enough for the down payment on an apartment in the county town, right?"
That statement hit Fat Big Sister's weak spot.
Her son had a fiancée, and the woman insisted on buying a house in the county town, causing a huge argument at home over the matter.
Fat Big Sister stared at Jiang Chen for a full minute.
"Are you crazy?" She exhaled a ring of smoke. "Spending two hundred thousand in the middle of the night for a few bottles of liquor? Are you trying to burn money?"
"I'm doing this to save someone," Jiang Chen put away his phone. "And to save myself. Sister, just say yes or no."
Fat Big Sister fell silent for a long time, finally crushing the cigarette butt fiercely in the ashtray.
"Sell! Damn it, consider this a dowry gift sent by heaven!"
...
Ten minutes later.
Jiang Chen looked at the transfer interface for Fat Big Sister's private account and pressed the confirmation button.
Due to daily limits, he split the transfer into four transactions.
Transfer Successful! x 4
【Ding!】
【Detected large-amount consumption behavior!】
【Mission 'High-Stakes Gamble on a Snowy Night' completed.】
【Consumption Amount: 200,000 Yuan.】
【Calculating rebate multiplier...】
【Congratulations Host! Triggered Critical Hit Reward for Level One Authorization of the 'Tycoon Fund Pool'!】
【This rebate multiplier: 50 times!】
【Rebate Amount: 10,000,000 Yuan (Ten Million) has been transferred to the Host's offshore secure account, available for withdrawal at any time.】
Ten million.
Jiang Chen stared at the long string of zeros in his mind, feeling as if he had been struck by an electric current, his scalp tingling.
Was this the power of the Tycoon System? Was this the simple and brutal kind of happiness?
He became a millionaire in the blink of an eye.
He took a few deep breaths of cold air, forcing down the urge to sprint three laps in the lobby.
"Where are the liquors? When will you move them?" Fat Big Sister looked at the balance notification on her phone, grinning from ear to ear.
"Keep them here for now." Jiang Chen stood up, patted the dust off his clothes. "When the roads clear, I'll send people to collect them. Thanks, Sister."
"Why thank me? Come visit often!" Fat Big Sister's attitude was now warmer than his own mother's. "Oh, right, do you want Sister to send you two plates of peanuts?"
Jiang Chen waved his hand and turned towards the stairs.
His steps were light, but each one felt incredibly solid.
Arriving at the door of Room 302, Jiang Chen didn't rush in.
He stood there for a moment, calming his excited mood.
He pushed the door open.
The lights in the room were off, but the oil heater in the corner still radiated a warm glow.
All three spots on the bed were empty.
Jiang Chen froze.
Then, he saw a figure standing by the window.
Su Qingge.
She was wrapped in her overcoat, staring blankly out at the pitch-black night. Hearing the door open, she turned her head.
In that moment, Jiang Chen saw the determination in her eyes.
That kind of determination was like a gambler placing their final chip.
"You're back," Su Qingge's voice was very soft.
"Mm." Jiang Chen walked over and stood beside her.
"Where were you just now?"
"Out making money," Jiang Chen turned to look at her profile. "I promised I would give you an answer before noon tomorrow."
Su Qingge gave a wry smile.
She clearly didn't believe him.
In this wretched place, how could one earn five million in half an hour? Even robbing a bank wouldn't be that fast.
"Jiang Chen." Su Qingge suddenly turned to face him.
She undid the buttons of her overcoat.
The coat slid to the floor.
Underneath was the semi-transparent silk nightgown. Under the light of the oil heater, her jade-like skin was faintly visible, her curves fully displayed.
Jiang Chen's breath hitched.
"Sister Su, you..."
"I have no other chips left," Su Qingge took a step closer, wrapping her arms around his neck, her body trembling slightly. "I don't know if you really have a way, or if you're just trying to make me happy. But right now... I just want to take a gamble."
"Gamble that you won't lie to me."
"And gamble that I myself... am still worth that price."
Her lips pressed against his—cold, yet carrying the heat of a desperate throw.
Jiang Chen did not push her away.
He wrapped his arms around her slender waist, taking the lead, deepening the kiss.
This time, it wasn't the tentative ambiguity of before, nor the suppressed explosion like with Lin Wan.
"You won, President Su," Jiang Chen whispered into her ear, his voice carrying a trace of hoarse dominance. "I'm investing this ten million."
Su Qingge's body instantly stiffened.
Her eyes widened, looking at Jiang Chen in disbelief.
Ten million?
Wasn't it five million?
But Jiang Chen didn't give her a chance to think.
He swept her up in his arms and walked towards the crowded yet warm large bed.
Since he was already a millionaire, he might as well collect some interest tonight.
As for whether Lin Wan and Chen Man were pretending to be asleep?
Who cared.
On this night of wind and snow, some secrets were destined to be kept by everyone together.