Perhaps Yang Jian's luck at the casino was truly good. After he took charge of the casino on the Hongqi Village side again, Emperor Company consistently won money.
In the entire month of April, they only lost two matches, one losing eight thousand yuan and the other three thousand yuan. However, throughout April, Song Jianhao's Emperor Company won over three hundred thousand yuan at this venue.
But within this month, Song Jianhao had successively taken on several more venues, all of which were inconsistent, with more losses than wins.
Averaged over April, Yang Jian only received over forty thousand yuan, which was a significant gap from his expectations. If things continued like this, there was no possibility of repaying his debts, and the investment in his family's template factory would also be postponed.
Another very important matter was pursuing Lu Yao. During this month, Lu Yao contacted him almost every day, sometimes by phone, sometimes by text message. Although it was just daily greetings like "Have you eaten?" and "Have you slept?", Yang Jian could feel that Lu Yao had developed feelings for him.
This opportunity could not be missed. Yang Jian had wanted to go back and see her several times, but she had refused, worried that Wu Laizi and his gang might still pose a threat to him.
This made Yang Jian feel even more of a sense of urgency. With mounting debts, if he wanted to gain the approval and acceptance of Lu Yao's family, his debts absolutely had to be cleared. Furthermore, he needed to own a house in the city. Lu Yao worked in the city, so he couldn't have her living in Yangli Village; this was the most basic condition.
He had to find a way to change the current situation.
On the day before May Day, after finishing his shift at the Hongqi Street casino, Yang Jian invited Biao Biao, Liang Liang, and San Pang out for a late-night snack at a barbecue stall near the Century Huating residential complex.
Initially, Yang Jian didn't reveal his thoughts. Instead, he chatted with them about some interesting things that happened at the casino.
It was Biao Biao who started complaining, "Brother Jian, don't you think it's strange? Whenever you're at Hongqi Street, we win money every day, while they always lose more than they win."
"Biao Biao, what are you trying to say?"
"I mean, others are treating you like a fool. Do you remember what I told you last time? Even though we can't get evidence to prove that Brother Hao is playing tricks, the situation over the past month fully demonstrates that as long as Emperor Company isn't sabotaged, the probability of winning is much higher than losing. It's impossible for their team to always lose."
Liang Liang chimed in, "That's right, that's right. I've suspected something was wrong for a long time. Brother Hao's schemes are too deep; he's been using you all along, and you're always the one who suffers."
"So what do we do now? Putting aside what Brother Hao is doing, I need to speed up my earning pace, or I won't even be able to go home for the New Year."
Yang Jian wanted to hear their opinions.
Biao Biao took a gulp of beer. "Brother Jian, it's actually very simple. You should go out and start your own business. Just stick to the Hongqi Street venue, and you can earn two to three million a year."
"How can that be? Brother Hao took on this venue. I can't push him out; it wouldn't sound good. Even Yang Fan would look down on me. This is the most basic code of conduct in the martial world."
"What martial world code of conduct? He's acting too disgustingly. It's one thing to embezzle the winnings, but he even takes your principal. Brother Jian, you're too kind."
"Biao Biao, have you had too much to drink? Don't talk nonsense without evidence. No matter what, Brother Hao brought us out, and we've made money, not lost any."
"Alright, I know you value loyalty and don't want to fall out with Brother Hao. Then I'll give you an idea. You talk to Yang Fan and have him kick us out of the casino. Then you can propose to Brother Hao that you go your separate ways. After a few days, you can return to Hongqi Street. That way, it won't be awkward."
"That won't work either. Yang Fan values brotherhood very much. If I do this, it would be betraying Brother Hao, and he would look down on me. Even if he reluctantly agreed to your proposal, my cooperation with him wouldn't last long."
San Pang, who had been eating and drinking heartily, wiped his mouth. "Brother Jian, I have a suggestion. Your relationship with Yang Fan is so good, why don't you ask him to arrange another shift for you? Even the shift from one to four in the morning would be fine."
Yang Jian's eyes lit up. "That's a good idea. But Brother Hao will definitely have an opinion. You guys are working for the company, and he definitely won't be happy if you work for me."
Liang Liang chuckled, "Isn't that easy to solve? I can always bring a few people from home to work for you. It would be equivalent to you starting your own Emperor Company. If you're afraid you don't have enough money, the three of us can pool some for you."
"This method is good. It won't offend Brother Hao, nor will it cause Yang Fan to dislike you. If this really works out, I won't need you to pool money, and you can each hold a ten percent stake in Emperor Company. The Hongqi Street venue won't lose money."
"I agree. Actually, I've wanted to invest for a long time, but seeing Brother Hao's actions was disheartening. I can't wait for Brother Jian to start his own business soon."
"I agree too."
Biao Biao and San Pang raised their hands simultaneously. They had complete trust in Yang Jian. Following him was their only hope of achieving their goal of buying a house and getting married this year.
"Okay, don't reveal this to anyone. I'll talk to Yang Fan tomorrow. I need to get his support first."
Yang Jian finally made up his mind to start anew. However, he didn't plan to leave Song Jianhao's team for the time being. If both sides could make money, why not?
Biao Biao and the other two were also very excited. They had long been looking forward to Yang Jian starting his own business. Becoming shareholders in his team would be absolutely fair and just, and their income would significantly increase. Buying a car, a house, and getting married were all possible this year.
In their excitement, all four of them got quite drunk, to the point that Yang Jian was still groggy when he went for his morning run the next day.
After returning from his run, he ate breakfast, took a shower, and went back to sleep.
Less than an hour after lying down, he was woken by a phone call. Yang Jian was a little annoyed. Emperor Company's schedule was to sleep in the morning, and usually, there wouldn't be any calls at this hour.
But when he looked at the caller ID, it was Yang Fan. This was even stranger; it was the first time he had called proactively.
"Xiao Yang, are you still sleeping?"
"Yes, Brother Fan. What are your instructions?"
"Get up immediately, take a taxi to my gym. I need your help with something."
"Alright, I'll be there right away."
It was like a pillow arriving just when he was sleepy. He was about to ask Yang Fan for a favor, and now Yang Fan needed his help. Yang Jian felt his luck was turning. If he could owe Yang Fan a favor, then his request to form his own Emperor Company and run a shift would naturally fall into place.
He got dressed as quickly as possible and grabbed his collapsible baton, a weapon he always carried when going out, mainly to guard against surprise attacks from Wu Laizi and Bao Guo in Hancheng.
Song Jianhao and the others were still asleep. Yang Jian greeted Song Jianmei, who had just returned from buying groceries, and then went downstairs to hail a taxi, heading straight for the gym.
Upon arriving at the gym, a female receptionist led Yang Jian to an office on the first floor. Yang Fan was sitting behind the desk. Inside, three sturdy young men were also seated; these were Yang Fan's disciples. The atmosphere felt a bit tense.