Returning to '97, creating a new life

"Come on, Uncle Long, have a sip. This wine is quite good."

"Second Uncle, Uncle Long, have some vegetables. The mutton is stewed until it's very tender today."

Xu Dalong knew he'd been silenced, but after downing a small glass of baijiu, he still found an excuse to speak: "Xu Kai, things are getting complicated at the video arcade..."

Xu Kai didn't interrupt him and let him finish speaking.

At this moment, both the second uncle, Sun Mingyi, and the second aunt, Xu Meilan, were silently drinking their mutton offal soup with their heads down, neither of them saying a word.

Only after Xu Dalong finished speaking and stared at Xu Kai did the latter slowly speak with a smile: "Uncle Long, since you've asked, no problem. I have money here. Just name your price. There's no rush to pay it back. We can settle it whenever you earn it back. What do you think?"

Xu Dalong's expression froze in an awkward silence, a mixture of wanting to put on a cold face and trying to maintain a friendly smile. His face was a stiff mix of two expressions.

Xu Kai leaned back slightly, his sincere smile undiminished.

Neither Sun Mingyi nor Xu Meilan understood what was going on. They looked up and realized that the two had reached an agreement. They no longer had to stand awkwardly between the two. How wonderful! They were all true relatives, and they would lend a hand to each other if needed.

A few seconds later, Xu Dalong's expression softened, and a smile returned: "Let Song Jun handle the money himself..."

This time, Xu Kai didn't try to smooth things over; instead, he directly presented the "knife": "Uncle Long, what do you need me to do?"

Xu Dalong stared intently at Xu Kai, remaining silent for a long time. Meanwhile, Sun Mingyi and his wife looked on in bewilderment, glancing around at the two of them, realizing they understood nothing at all.

"It's nothing, come on, let's drink."

Xu Dalong picked up his wine glass, which contained a little over an ounce of wine, and drank it all in one gulp.

What could he say? He had already approached Xu Kai with a hint of coercion, hoping he could pull some strings. But Xu Kai simply said he could support him if he needed money. What was this? It was a blatant slap in the face. You think I'm a fool? Well, I really am a fool. Now you're asking a fool for help, and this fool is even willing to take money out of his own pocket to help you. What more do you want?

Anyone with a shred of self-respect would never voice their true desires. That's Xu Dalong's current state. The business isn't essential; if he had to choose between saving face and the video arcade, he would choose the former.

Xu Kai used a method that prevented Xu Dalong from "tearing up his face," forcing him to protect his own "face." He asked, "If you want help, I can help. Besides using connections, can't money solve the problem?" Of course it can. Whether it's fines or buying new equipment, money can solve everything, and the video arcade can reopen. But can Xu Dalong accept such help?

Once you accept it, how can you save face? You'll be laughed at to death. You've already acted so unfairly by kicking one person out of the game. Whether it's true or not, that's the fact. Now you're asking the person who was kicked out to help you and even asking them to pay for you to set up your business again. You, Xu Dalong, have done your job, but you've also lost all face.

Xu Kai picked up his glass, but didn't drink it all at once; he only took a sip.

You've already stepped on my face, do you expect me to lie down so your shoes can directly step on my face?

I can be cautious and humble, but once I have the confidence, I'm sorry, I will only preserve your last bit of dignity. Otherwise, I'm sorry, Xu Kai is not a clay figure.

"Second Uncle, Uncle Long, please enjoy your meal. I'll take care of the guests."

The atmosphere became awkward. Xu Kai didn't leave his seat on purpose; he genuinely saw the guests entering through the main entrance and needed to stand up immediately to greet and personally entertain them.

"Mr. Niu, you've arrived!"

Upon seeing Niu Dongyang, Xu Kairen was in the lobby of the lobby, so how could he not personally come over to greet him?

In his eyes, it wasn't that he ignored her, but rather that he looked straight ahead, as if he hadn't seen the beautiful woman holding Niu Dongyang's arm.

"Meiqi said your lamb is very fresh, so I came with her to try it. I heard that some of your dishes need to be reserved. I came here suddenly, so I hope there won't be any food left?" Niu Dongyang patted the woman's hand that was linked with his arm, with a doting expression.

"There's food, I'll arrange it. Mr. Niu, this way."

"If you call me 'Boss Niu' again, I'm leaving." Niu Dongyang raised an eyebrow, feigning anger.

"Uncle Niu, this way please." Since they've given us such a courtesy, how could we refuse?

The private room closest to the guesthouse was relatively quiet, and Xu Kai would usually reserve it. Now, accompanying Niu Dongyang into the private room, Xu Kai felt that even if there was no reservation, they should reserve one lamb for roasting every day. In the past, he was reluctant to do so, but if there were no particularly important guests, the cost of a lamb was not low. Perhaps, they could roast an extra batch of lamb chops to prepare for any eventuality.

Niu Dongyang remained silent, letting Xu Kai speak freely.

After entering the house, Xu Kai first had tea made, followed by a small plate of melon seeds and a fresh fruit platter. Niu Dongyang's driver, who was following behind him, was also seated at a casual table and had a large bowl of dry mutton offal soup, a plate of hand-shredded mutton, and four ounces of rice made.

Inside the room, medicinal wine was being prepared using herbs such as ginseng, deer antler, and tiger bone, according to the proportions given by the old Chinese medicine doctor.

They had stewed lamb, but not freshly grilled lamb. Xu Kai asked Telmu to specially skewer the lamb and also had the lamb chops broken up so that Jida could grill them one by one, striving to grill them as quickly as possible and serve them.

Xu Kai didn't know why Niu Dongyang had come, but it certainly wasn't to satisfy the woman's cravings. The only connection was Hu Yuxuan, whom he treated as a guest of honor and treated with utmost sincerity.

Having come from the era of short videos, and running his own media company, Xu Kai has spent many years in bars and nightclubs. Although the current selection is not complete, it's not difficult for him to use the available drinks and ingredients to mix a few low-alcohol cocktails that suit women's tastes and visual appeal.

When he served the beautiful cocktails, the hotel owner's hospitality to his distinguished guests was impeccable, making the guests feel truly at home and treated like royalty.

"Uncle Niu, beautiful lady, please enjoy your meal. Call me if you need anything."

In this kind of setting, it wasn't appropriate for Xu Kai to stay and have a drink with her. His address of "beautiful sister" brought a smile to Mei Qi's face, while Niu Dongyang was so angry that he laughed and broke down, adopting the attitude he would use towards a junior, and said with a smile, "You brat, I heard you took that kid Yu Xuan to a bathhouse? I've never been there, why don't you take me to experience it sometime?"

Xu Kai stood at the door, one foot in and one foot out, and turned around to smile, "Uncle Niu, the wine is very nourishing, drink slowly. Do you want me to book you a room at the guesthouse?"

Niu Dongyang's attitude showed that he wanted to get to know the children.

These last few words, exchanged back and forth, brought them closer together. Hu Yuxuan, acting as a bridge, played his greatest role, making the relationship between the big boss and the small boss more than just a simple interaction based on social status; it included a touch of uncle-nephew affection. The depth of that affection didn't matter; having that title was enough.

Niu Dongyang grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds and threw them over, while Xu Kai had already closed the door on the partition and left.

"Mmm, it's delicious." Meiqi took a small sip of the cocktail Xu Kai had mixed, her eyes lit up, and she nodded in approval.

Niu Dongyang took a sip of the infused liquor, and the taste instantly permeated his body. Before he had finished his meal or drunk a single cup of liquor, he finally understood what Xu Kai meant.

"Let that brat Xu Kai pour me some wine."

She gave the driver an order, her face flushed, and strode out.

Once in the car, Niu Dongyang shifted his body, his voice tinged with a mixture of joy and impatience: "Drive faster."

………………

Xu Dalong couldn't sit still after Niu Dongyang arrived. Seeing Xu Kai busy running around, he got up to leave, but when he reached the door, he thought for a moment and decided to say hello to Xu Kai.

He took a few steps toward the private room where Niu Dongyang was, having seen Xu Kai come over earlier.

He happened to overhear Xu Kai's conversation with Niu Dongyang about "uncle-nephew affection" as he opened the door with one foot inside and one foot outside, and his expression changed.

He certainly knew who Niu Dongyang was, and felt that he had repeatedly looked down on his cousin-in-law's nephew. Today's subtle confrontation was a way to transform his resentment into self-examination.

Back home, after reflecting on his actions, he stood on the balcony, feeling the cold wind and smoking. He realized that it wasn't that he had gotten carried away; it was that deep down he still saw Xu Kai as a child. He never expected that age would ultimately backfire on him.

How much money can Song Jun's video arcade make? Although no one would complain about having too much money, you have to know that the person who initially discussed this with Xu Kai is the one who will take the blame. With nearly 40,000 yuan in store fees to cover the costs, can he still make money?

The arcade is making a fortune every day; don't you know which is more important?

Despite still feeling somewhat uncomfortable, Xu Dalong admitted that Wang Suo's (Wang Jianshe's) advice was correct: one shouldn't be greedy, and only reliable partners can ensure stability. Someone like Song Jun, even if he doesn't get into trouble today, he's bound to get into trouble later, and it will implicate him...

Xu Dalong realized that if he couldn't help, Song Jun's video arcade would probably suffer a huge loss. However, he didn't expect that after losing a lot of money when he first set up his own business and it was shut down, and then borrowing a lot of money from all his relatives to exchange for the shop, and now being fined a lot of money, he was no longer able to afford to buy equipment and start over.

I thought of it, but didn't pay attention.

However, he overlooked one thing: Song Jun has always been a reckless and irresponsible person. Now that he has finally found a lifeline, he regards the video arcade as his only way to get rich. This path is now blocked, and he cannot resist the trend of the times. However, he does not want the money he spent on security to go to waste.

A few days later, Song Jun knocked on Xu Dalong's door. His eyes were sunken, and he reeked of the strong smell of tobacco. He had a stubble beard and looked very颓废 (颓废 is a difficult word to translate directly, but it implies a state of being listless, dispirited, or颓废).

"Uncle Long, I'd like to borrow some money from you. I want to reopen the video arcade."