013 1.2 Million

Time passed quickly while fishing. Du Ruo’s luck was quite good; he caught a mandarin fish and several crucian carp. It wasn't until his mother called, telling him that Yang Chenguang had come to their house, that Du Ruo took Ya Ya and their golden retriever and headed home.

“Fish! Fish! Fish!” Ya Ya was the happiest of all, carrying the fish basket and muttering as she walked, her mouth almost beginning to water.

“When we get home, we’ll have Grandma steam the fish. We’ll pick out the meat for you, and Maomao can have the head and the bones,” Du Ruo told her.

“Yes, yes, Maomao, don’t worry. If you get a fish bone stuck, it’s okay. I’ve got two hundred yuan; I’ll definitely take you to the hospital,” Ya Ya nodded vigorously, comforting the golden retriever in her own serious little way.

“Du Ruo, you’re living the good life! You didn’t even call me to go fishing. It’s been years since I last went,” Yang Chenguang sat under the eaves of Du Ruo’s house, not inside, a cigarette between his fingers and a cup of tea brewed by Du Ruo’s mother at his side.

“There’ll be plenty of time to go fishing in the future. Stay for dinner tonight. Ya Ya, take the fish inside and ask Grandma to cook them for you. I’ll chat with your Uncle Yang for a bit.”

After putting away his fishing gear, Du Ruo brought out a stool and joined Yang Chenguang outside.

“I’ve already looked into what you asked about yesterday,” Yang Chenguang said, handing Du Ruo a cigarette before getting down to business.

Du Ruo nodded, waiting for him to continue.

“The transfer fee is 1.2 million. Everything in the guesthouse will be handed over to you. There are still nine years left on the lease with the village, at thirty thousand per year, and this year’s rent has already been paid. I’ve checked everything—the paperwork is in order and the facilities are complete. You could start operating right away. What’s most important is that summer vacation is coming up, which is peak tourist season.”

Yang Chenguang looked at Du Ruo. He genuinely hoped Du Ruo would take over the guesthouse.

Though the official investment in the guesthouse was said to be two million, that only covered the initial construction and renovations. With the cost of permits and the early online marketing and promotion, the total was closer to 2.5 million—and that was at the prices of a few years ago. Starting a similar project now would require even more.

The owner had listed the transfer price at 1.5 million online, but Yang Chenguang managed to negotiate it down to 1.2 million. Besides the owner’s need for cash, Yang Chenguang’s own connections played a part, as he’d helped facilitate many of the permits for the guesthouse.

He didn't mention any of this aloud.

“What do you think? I’ve looked into the guesthouse business these past few days, but I’m still an outsider—nowhere near as experienced as you,” Du Ruo asked Yang Chenguang.

“Running a guesthouse isn’t like investing in the city. You won’t make huge profits, but if things go well you can recoup your investment in three years, five at the latest. Plus, with the bar attached, business should be even better. As long as we don’t run into the sort of trouble we had a few years back, the income should be quite stable,” Yang Chenguang replied, cautious not to make any guarantees—after all, nothing in business is ever certain.

“All right, I’ll take over the guesthouse—1.2 million is fine. When can we do the handover?” Du Ruo looked at Yang Chenguang, not asking any more questions. He believed in letting professionals handle professional matters, and since he’d chosen to trust Yang Chenguang, there was no need to seek second opinions or complicate things for himself.

“It’s Saturday today. I’ll call the owner, and he’ll fly in tomorrow. You can sign the contract tomorrow night and head to town to process the paperwork on Monday. I have connections in town, so all the documents should be transferred by Tuesday,” Yang Chenguang said with a smile. If he’d had the money, he would have taken over the place himself—the bar owner’s wife ran the bar, and with only ten rooms in the guesthouse, they were nearly always full.

“All right. Is there anything I should prepare over the next few days?” Now that he had made up his mind, Du Ruo was eager to get started.

“There’s really only one salaried position you’ll need for the guesthouse—a manager to handle affairs on all the online platforms, communicate with guests, and coordinate with the cleaning staff. The cleaning ladies are paid per room and don’t need a base salary. The current manager is the owner’s relative, so she won’t be staying after the transfer. If you want to save costs, you can manage things yourself for a few days, learn the ropes during the handover, and you’ll pick it up quickly. If you’d rather not bother, you’ll need to find someone suitable,” Yang Chenguang explained, going through the details thoroughly.

The two of them continued chatting, and when it was time to eat, they discussed things over dinner. Du Ruo took the opportunity to share his decision with his parents.

His father had no objections, while his mother was quite enthusiastic—not because she was concerned about profits, but because with Du Ruo running the guesthouse, he would stay in their hometown and live at home.

Everyone was in high spirits during dinner, including Ya Ya, who didn’t care about the adults’ business and was solely focused on the mandarin fish. The entire fish ended up in her bowl. Though Du Ruo had already removed the head and most of the bones, she still ate very cautiously.

Only Maomao seemed less delighted, as Grandma wouldn’t let him have the fish head or bones—dogs can choke on fish bones just as easily—so Grandma ate the head herself.

Time passed swiftly. After Yang Chenguang left, he helped Du Ruo get in touch with the guesthouse owner. Over the next few days, apart from practicing martial arts in the mornings and evenings, Du Ruo was kept busy—signing contracts, updating all the paperwork in town, and even with Yang Chenguang’s help, he barely managed to keep up with everything.

In the end, Yang Chenguang introduced him to a local village girl to serve as manager. She was experienced and quickly adapted to the role.

With 1.2 million withdrawn from his bank account, Du Ruo officially became the owner of a guesthouse at the foot of Mount Huang. The business was already running smoothly, so there was no need for any major changes—saving him both time and energy.

Naturally, when the weekend came, Ya Ya’s father picked her up again, and on Monday the whole family celebrated Du Ruo’s new venture.

On Tuesday evening, when Du Ruo returned home from the guesthouse, he could hardly wait to practice martial arts. The long-awaited upgrade to his Xingyiquan skill was finally within reach, and he was eager to see what changes this first upgrade would bring.

As he began his practice, he instinctively relaxed his mind and devoted himself completely to the forms. With the aid of the medicinal wine, his progress was nothing short of astonishing.

His time holding the Three-Body Stance increased day by day.

Du Ruo had also noticed that, ever since he’d gained access to the system panel, his baseline physical condition had improved with each increase in skill experience and attributes of essence, energy, and spirit.

Ordinary people experience fluctuations in their physical state, and their mastery of a skill varies with those ups and downs—sometimes performing exceptionally during flashes of inspiration, but most of the time remaining average.

But with the system panel, as long as his attributes didn’t decrease, his body maintained its optimal state at all times, and his mastery of martial skills never faltered.