"Let's go, continue patrolling," Ye Chen said, patting Zhao Peng on the shoulder.
"Alright!"
As they continued their patrol, Ye Chen pondered what he should do the next day.
Now that he had money, the first thing he wanted to do was transfer back the money his parents had used to buy his house. He knew that the money wasn't just his parents' savings but also included borrowed funds.
He wanted his parents to repay the borrowed money first. Of course, he also wanted to give them some living expenses, though not too much, which made Ye Chen feel a bit sad.
He couldn't explain to his parents where the money came from, but he could still give them a small amount.
His parents lived in the countryside, where they had a house and land, so they didn't need much money. However, they still needed money for daily expenses.
His father didn't smoke but enjoyed drinking a bit. He couldn't afford good liquor, only buying a few bottles of Bai Niu Er for the New Year and usually drinking cheap Er Guo Tou from plastic jugs.
This was quite inexpensive, costing only 20 or 30 yuan per jug, enough to last a month.
Besides sending money to his parents, Ye Chen also thought about visiting Dongcheng and Chongwen tomorrow. There were two villas in those areas, conveniently close to each other.
The afternoon passed quickly. At six o'clock, the mall closed. After the employees left, Ye Chen and his team patrolled again, locked the doors once they confirmed no one was inside, and returned to the dormitory to change clothes and freshen up before heading to the cafeteria. The entire security team usually ate at this time, making the cafeteria quite crowded.
Each person took a tray upon entering and went to get their food. The cafeteria was self-serve, allowing everyone to choose what they wanted, though there were only six dishes.
The trays were small, so even if someone took a bit of everything, they couldn't take much. Fortunately, they could go back for seconds if needed, though there might not be any food left by then.
Ye Chen, with his hearty appetite and having skipped lunch, piled his tray high, drawing surprised looks from others.
Seeing Ye Chen put down his tray, Captain Li Gang joked, "If there were a competition for who could eat the most, Ye Chen would definitely win first place."
Of course, he was just joking. As the saying goes, "being able to eat is a blessing." Some people want to eat more but can't, like Zhao Peng.
This kid was so skinny, eating less than a girl. Looking at his tray, the food barely covered the bottom.
Before eating, Ye Chen suggested, "Captain, we don't get enough exercise. How about we start running every morning?"
Li Gang nodded, "That's a good idea."
"No way!" Before anyone else could react, Fu Zhu protested.
Li Gang, initially hesitant, looked at Fu Zhu and said, "You need to lose weight. Ye Chen, it's decided. You'll lead the training, and we'll all participate, including me."
Li Gang knew that Ye Chen worked out every morning and had a good training regimen, at least better than his own, so he entrusted Ye Chen with this task.
"Sure, no problem."
Ye Chen readily agreed. He wasn't just thinking about Fu Zhu losing weight but also wanted Zhao Peng to build up some strength. This kid was too weak; he probably couldn't run a hundred meters without getting winded.
He hoped that through training, Zhao Peng could increase his appetite and gradually improve his physical condition.
"Captain, I'm too weak. Can I skip the training?" Zhao Peng asked.
Before Li Gang could respond, Ye Chen said, "No, you have to participate. This training is specifically for you."
"What? No way, Brother Chen."
"Stop whining."
"Okay." After the incident the other day, Zhao Peng had become quite dependent on Ye Chen and was a bit afraid of him too.
After dinner, everyone returned to the dormitory, chatting and joking until around nine o'clock before turning in.
Had they not had to wake up early for training the next day, they would probably have stayed up until eleven. But tonight, they went to bed just after nine.
At 6:20 the next morning, Ye Chen woke everyone up, including Captain Li Gang.
"Ye Chen, it's so early," Fu Zhu complained, turning over to continue sleeping.
Ye Chen yanked Fu Zhu's blanket off, saying, "It's 6:30, not early."
Even though it was late April, the capital was still chilly, especially in their basement dormitory. The cold air woke Fu Zhu up immediately, making him scramble to put on his clothes. Though reluctant, seeing the captain getting dressed, he had no choice but to follow suit.
At 6:30, the five members of Team Six gathered outside. Since it was their first training session, Ye Chen didn't start with high-intensity exercises but began with the basics.
Despite this, after an hour and a half, everyone except Wang Yong and Captain Li Gang was nearly exhausted.
Ye Chen approached the captain and asked, "Captain, are you alright?"
"I'm fine."
"Good! Oh, by the way, Captain, after breakfast, I might need to go home. Don't worry, I'll be back before dark."