Chapter Ninety-One: When Enemies Meet Again

“Dear boss, the great George is here to congratulate you on clearing your name.” George called first thing in the morning. During this period he had been turning night into day just to keep up with the opening hours in China, and now he understood Beijing time even better than Chu Dong did.

“Cut the flattery. How are the things I told you to handle?” Though Chu Dong trusted them, he still asked again.

“With the great George on the case, everything is settled.” George brightened at once when his boss asked. “After our analysis, we’ve already managed to monitor some of the other side’s data and intercept it at will. The price of their buy orders reaches me one second before it is sent, so I simply add a little and release our sell orders at the same time. They’ve gone a very long time without getting delivery now.”

“Well done. But there’s one thing: you only ever do exactly what I tell you. When are you going to use your own brain for once? Do I really have to tell you that? Put some muscle into it and bleed the bastard dry.”

Even when he was satisfied, Chu Dong always found something to nitpick. He knew that even that would not stop George from sticking his tail up to the sky.

“No problem, my dear boss. Your wisdom sees George’s greatness clearly. I will make your opponent regret ever crossing you, and make him understand that even having the thought of opposing you is a foolish decision.” George was truly adept at flattery, praising his boss and trumpeting his own greatness almost without pause.

Before answering the call, Chu Dong had already been awake. He was utterly speechless about the three girls now staying with him.

Last night, Strongman and Baldy had been making a racket until after midnight before leaving, and that was only because they saw that Tan Xue and the others were half dead with sleep, and the rooms had already been divided up, leaving no place for them to stay. Otherwise those two would have shamelessly lingered on.

Chu Dong had gone over some of the material George sent a few days ago and fallen asleep even later. Who would have thought that the three listless girls from the night before would get up so early in the morning, clattering around in the kitchen until they woke him from his sleep.

“What kind of mischief are you up to?” Chu Dong came out wearing only a pair of baggy shorts and a towel draped over his shoulders. Before he even reached the kitchen, he caught the smell of something burning. He had answered the phone with his eyes closed, and even now they were still swollen, making it difficult to open them properly.

“Lecherous Winter Melon, your gentle and virtuous little Snow is learning to make you fried eggs. Look, the heart-shaped egg pan I picked out for you at the supermarket yesterday. Ta-da!” Li Youlan tugged Tan Xue, who was standing with her back turned, over in front of him and pointed at the large heart-shaped iron spoon in her hand.

“Wow, Little Snow is amazing. I never knew the young heiress could make breakfast too.” Chu Dong praised her in exaggerated tones, then pointed at the charcoal-like lump in the pan. “Little Snow, shouldn’t the charcoal be under the pan instead?”

“What charcoal? This is an egg, isn’t it?” Tan Xue wiped sweat from her face with a tiny hand. “No matter what I do, it always turns black. Is the pan losing its coating?” She lifted it and studied it from every angle, still unable to figure it out.

“No way. How are you doing it?” Chu Dong could barely keep from laughing at the streaks of black and white across Tan Xue’s little face.

“Like this, right?” At last Tan Xue managed to tip out the ‘charcoal’ from the pan. She instructed Li Youlan to turn on the stove, cracked an egg into the little pan, and carefully set it over the flame.

“Look, look, it’s black again!” Tan Xue screamed for Chu Dong to look just after it had been on for a moment. Turning around, she found him crouched on the floor clutching his stomach, his whole body shaking. “Hey, what’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing, nothing.” Chu Dong finally straightened up. These were educated returnees from abroad, each with several degrees, and yet they were trying to fry an egg without putting in a single drop of oil. That wasn’t frying; that was roasting. No wonder she had inferred that the pan might be losing its color. Even more unbelievable was that this result had been achieved with the help of the other two girls. Looking at the dozens of broken eggshells on the side and half a trash bin full of “charcoal,” Chu Dong was completely, utterly convinced.

“Let me show you how to fry an egg.” He took the little pan from Tan Xue, tipped out the egg that had once again turned to charcoal, washed it clean in the sink, and heated it over the flame until the moisture dried. Seeing all three girls watching him intently, he began to show off.

“Watch closely. You must dry all the water out of the pan, or it will spit when you add oil.” He poured in a little salad oil. “Add a bit of salt to suit your taste. You can also add a little chicken bouillon if you like. Beat it well, then when the oil is hot but not yet smoking, crack the egg and pour it in. See, that’s about right.” As he spoke, he worked, finally turning his wrist gently so the little pan heated evenly all around.

The three girls watched the fried egg in his hand, the oil bubbling and hissing as it gave off a savory fragrance, and their mouths were practically watering.

“Yu’er, the first one is yours.” Seeing how all three of them were dying for a bite, Chu Dong still handed the egg to the youngest, Tan Yuer. She had been off for several days over the weekend, and with someone at home to keep her company and play with, she was overjoyed.

“Thank you, brother-in-law.” The little girl’s mouth was as sweet as honey. “That’s right, it should be made just like brother-in-law does it. I said so all along.” Moments ago she had been hiding far away, but now she ran back, her mouth greasy with egg.

“Always with the after-the-fact wisdom. When did you ever say that just now?” Tan Xue smeared two black streaks across her little sister’s face with a hand already covered in soot. When Yu’er had called him brother-in-law in front of her just now, she had simply pretended not to hear it.

“Go on then. I even bought ten jin of eggs for your wife to use as practice, and there are still plenty left. You might as well keep frying them.” Li Youlan gave the smiling Chu Dong, who was watching Yu’er eat, a shove and dragged Tan Xue out of the kitchen.

Whether they were hungry or Chu Dong’s skill was simply that good, by the end of the morning he had battled in the kitchen for two full hours before satisfying the girls’ cravings.

After breakfast, it was almost noon before Tan Xue finally remembered to ask Chu Dong what they should do about Silver Dragon.

“What can we do? Nothing. When I wasn’t around, they couldn’t stir up much trouble. Now that I’m back, do they really think I’m going to be afraid of them?” Chu Dong snorted at Tan Xue’s somewhat helpless expression. “Just eat, drink, and have fun without worry. Isn’t that what I’m here for?”

“It’s because of you that I’m not at ease.” The moment Tan Xue saw how unconcerned he was, she got angry. “If you’re so capable, why were you sentenced in the first place?”

“That, you see, was my respect for the law and the rules. In modern society, one must have laws to rely on and laws to obey, and operate freely within what the law allows. I merely stepped outside the bounds, so taking a little punishment is a good thing. At the very least, it serves as a warning to the world, letting everyone know what it means to keep the alarm bell sounding...” Chu Dong could spin that sort of nonsense for hours; if nobody stopped him, he could drift all the way from the Yarlung Zangbo Gorge to the Huangpu River in Shanghai.

“Since you’re so sure of yourself, Little Snow and I have been cooped up for days anyway, and Yu’er happens to be off today. I’ll take you all to a club. Their aromatherapy spa is excellent. Afterward your skin will be soft and smooth for days...” Li Youlan had played in Dalian for so long that she knew the place better than Tan Xue, who was local.

“You girls go ahead. I’ll stay home and keep watch.” Chu Dong volunteered with great self-awareness.

“No. Brother-in-law has to come too. Come with us, okay?” Yu’er refused and insisted on dragging Chu Dong along.

“It’s enough if you all go. If I go do that whatever-spa with you, won’t I be laughed to death?” Chu Dong swore he would not go. Clinging to the back of the sofa, Yu’er pulled with all her might and still could not budge him.

“Then we’ll all go together. There’s plenty to do there—bowling, tennis, snooker, darts, and golf. It’s not as if only Youlan wants to go.” Seeing that even she was getting restless, and that Yu’er was determined to take Chu Dong along, she also joined in the persuasion.

“Is there alcohol?” Chu Dong had already been feeling stifled in the villa; he had only been putting on a show a moment ago.

“Yes, the leisure area has everything. Don’t worry. If there isn’t any, I’ll buy it for you.” Li Youlan gave him another guarantee.

Chu Dong agreed to go with them. He waited in the living room for a full two hours before the three girls finally finished dressing and came out of their rooms.

Yu’er wore a pale blue princess dress, revealing half a pair of tender white calves. Her long hair was tied into a ponytail, youthful and bright. Tan Xue had on a beige short skirt and a pale pink court-style blouse, over which she wore a small white blazer, neat and capable, her eyes like pools of water, her long hair flowing. Li Youlan was dressed entirely in black: stockings, shorts, T-shirt, and a black scarf. If not for her innocent face, she would have looked like a seductive queen.

Chu Dong swallowed several mouthfuls of saliva. If Tan Xue had not kicked him, he might have stared until nightfall.

The club was truly well hidden, yet it was still busy. One glance at the expensive cars parked in the lot was enough to show that the people who came here were either rich or powerful.

Not long after entering, Chu Dong split from the three girls who had gone for the aromatherapy spa. After sitting in the bar for a while and finding it dull, he wandered through the leisure area. Suddenly, a familiar figure flashed past his eyes.

“Wang Dongliang?” Chu Dong had excellent eyesight. With only a back view, he recognized the young master of the Hai Feng Group, whom he had clashed with several times.

At the same time, Wang Dongliang also received a report.

“Heh, some people are just fated to meet.” Wang Dongliang laughed. “Go see what he’s doing, and tell me at once.”

After giving the order, Wang Dongliang went off with Tian Bing and a few other wastrels, cheering and toasting one another.

Soon after, one of his men returned to report. “Young Master, that guy is over by the snooker tables playing, but he doesn’t look very good at it.”

“Haha, excellent. Then I’ll let him see what a gentleman’s sport is all about. As for him? He’s not even qualified.” With that, Wang Dongliang stood and led several people straight toward Chu Dong.

Chu Dong was standing crookedly, managing at last to awkwardly send the ball off. It veered so badly that it hit nothing, and he gave the cue a regretful jab against the floor.

“Mr. Chu, haha, long time no see.” Wang Dongliang was all warmth and smiles.

“Oh, isn’t this the young master of Hai Feng? It really has been a long time. Come to find me for another good thing?” Chu Dong smiled at Wang Dongliang.