"Please take a seat; it'll be ready soon."
Hmm?
John immediately noticed that Aunt Wang's tone lacked its usual cheerfulness and had a hint of unease. Glancing up, he saw both Aunt Wang and Uncle Wang looking visibly tense.
John was momentarily taken aback, then understood.
They must have heard about what happened last night.
Soon, a large bowl of beef noodles with extra meat and an egg was brought over. Aunt Wang, looking nervous, said, "Here's your noodles."
John couldn't help but laugh. "Aunt Wang, Uncle Wang, don't you recognize me? I've practically grown up under your watch."
Aunt Wang smiled awkwardly, still a bit reserved, but visibly more relaxed.
John knew they just needed some time to adjust to his changed status. It would take time.
As he dug into his noodles, the disheveled middle-aged man from before approached, carrying a large plastic bag that had a faint fishy smell.
He wasn't here for noodles; he went straight to Aunt Wang and Uncle Wang, pleading quietly. Aunt Wang hesitated for a long time before bringing him over to John.
"Aunt Wang, what's up?"
"Well, uh, John, this is Simon. He wants to start a small business here. Can you...?"
"Go ahead, do what you want," John replied casually. "What business?"
The disheveled man, Simon, smiled ingratiatingly and opened the plastic bag, releasing a strong fishy odor.
John glanced inside and saw it was filled with chicken heads and butts.
"I want to braise these chicken heads and butts and sell them at Aunt Wang's stall. They're cheap, only five cents each. For every one I sell, I'll give Aunt Wang one cent and keep four cents for myself. It's just to make a bit of money and get by."
John looked at Simon, somewhat impressed.
This guy had a good idea.
Chicken heads and butts were generally undesirable and usually bought for animal feed. But in the market district, where people were poor and couldn't afford good meat, even these parts would do. At five cents each, cheaper than an egg, they were likely to sell well. His customer target was spot on.
Moreover, he knew to leverage Aunt Wang's stall as a sales channel, using a profit-sharing model to minimize his costs and risks.
John didn't know Simon's past or care about it. But seeing him in such a dire state, starting this business was a big gamble for him. To be so resourceful even when down and out, this man was no ordinary person.
John gave him an approving look. "Go ahead. If you run into any trouble, let me know."
"Thank you, thank you."
Simon expressed his gratitude repeatedly. John waved it off and continued eating his noodles. After finishing his meal, he paid promptly and called out, "Aunt Wang, I'm off."
"John, you don't have to pay…"
Aunt Wang hurried after him with the cash, looking anxious and a bit fearful. John stopped her and said earnestly, "Aunt Wang, I'm still the same John. That won't change."
Aunt Wang was moved, and finally, she took the money back.
Throughout his walk, people looked at John with a mix of awe and respect.
He hadn't even reached Black Three's gambling den when Tiger and a few others came rushing to meet him, clearly having waited for a long time.
"The accounts are all ready."
Tiger and the others were full of flattery. Especially the short, thin man John had followed the other day, who bowed so low he nearly touched the ground.
John didn't bother with him.
Inside the back room of the gambling den, all twelve of Black Three's core subordinates were present.
A computer on the table had a document open, filled with rows of numbers.
"Who managed the accounts before?"
"Black Three did, with my help. My name is Felix."
A bespectacled man nodded and bowed.
John didn't respond, just opened the document and began scrolling quickly.
To others, it seemed like John skimmed through the document in less than five minutes. But John had gone through every line, understanding all the income and expenses.
After reviewing the accounts, John couldn't help but sigh.
This is it? They were doing pretty poorly.
The overall account showed that with all their operations, the net annual profit after expenses was only about one million dollars.
One bar, one karaoke joint, and one gambling den brought in this amount.
"I'm setting a new rule. From now on, no more dealing with gambling, drugs, or illegal activities. We can't control others, but if I find anyone in our territory involved in these, don't blame me for being ruthless."
Huh?
"What, any objections?"
John's cold glare made each man lower his head.
"This gambling den, shut it down and rent out the space. The bar and karaoke, keep them running normally. Felix, calculate how much we'll make with these changes."
Felix, with a bitter expression, said, "With these changes, we'd be lucky to make sixty percent of what we used to."
Sixty percent?
John was a bit surprised.
"Of that sixty percent, Joe's three percent cut stays. The remaining three percent, I don't need; it's yours to share. As for Black Three's savings in the bank, we'll leave them. There's about 250,000 in cash. That's yours too."
The men visibly relaxed.
This way, the twelve core members would split about 550,000, slightly more than the 500,000 from previous years.
They expressed their gratitude, starting to accept John's leadership.
"Now, I have only two requirements," John continued.
Facing their eager eyes, John said slowly, "I need ten skilled and strong men, split into two shifts, patrolling around my house 24/7. Also, since we collect protection money, we must offer real protection. Anyone causing trouble for businesses in our territory, we deal with them!"