NOVPUB
Chapter 365: Chapter 298: Exposed? (Seeking Subscriptions!) _1
After signing the contract, Tang Qing and his party left the Sales Office with Zhuo Jun’s warm regards. They even took a few buckets of oil and bags of rice with them, as if reaping benefits like during Chinese New Year - an utterly bizarre sight.
At this point, the news had reached Tang’s and Lin’s fathers, creating quite an explosion in their minds. They were struggling to understand.
At first, they didn’t believe it.
Only when they returned to their shops and saw the black and white property contracts did they grasp that they had indeed stumbled upon a house during their outing.
Why hadn’t Tang Qing revealed his Sheng Tang businesses to his family members?
Because the money for them came from dubious sources. If, like other protagonists, he was making money from the internet, trading stocks, playing futures, gambling, selling impressive technology and medicines, then at least he would’ve earned the money honestly. There would be no harm in revealing this to his parents - hiding it would be pointless.
But unfortunately, only their restaurant was making a profit; the rest, including the Dream Melody Group, Sky Eye, and Sheng Tang, his catering partnership with Li Jianguo, and even the villa project partnered with Huang Qi, were not currently bringing in any income.
There were no profits to share.
Breaking even would take years.
Once they start making profits, he could tell his parents that there is no problem. But with such a massive ’debt’, won’t it worry them if he talks about it? This is why Tang Qing currently only tells his parents about the restaurant.
Every day, they might live in fear of their son harbouring several million in debt.
How could they live like that?
Unless... there was some legit money to offset these ’debts’ and turn them into assets.
Anyway, Tang Qing currently had no good solution, as several follow-ups needed resolution. The situation could only get worse. It might be better to address all at once, win the lottery five million times, or win a hundred times in a row? Ha, go to sleep, it’s quite good now, everyone is getting by pretty well and it’s also not bad, very satisfying. They have something to look forward to and their happiness is high - that’s all he could ask for.
It was seven o’clock in the evening.
To celebrate this ’good fortune’, the families gathered again, still at Qin Yugang’s house, to also celebrate Qin Yugang’s promotion. Even on the weekend, Qin Yugang had no other plans.
A few women excitedly bustled around in the kitchen, while the men sat in the living room, chatting and smoking.
Seeing the excitement on everyone’s faces, Qin Yugang didn’t feel the slightest envy. To him, family was the most important - his wife, his two daughters, these relatives. Having a house to live and money to spend was all that mattered. There was no need for anything big and his status didn’t suit that kind of house anyway.
Different statuses, different experiences, different personalities, different pursuits.
Meanwhile, Tang Qing was alone in his room.
In retaliation for Tang Qing buying a house without her, as soon as Qin Shiqi entered, she dragged Lin Jiaxue into her room, leaving behind a ’you just wait’ look for him.
Tang Qing could only quietly return to his room, and arrange the loose change in his drawer neatly.
Sort of like making a contribution.
One hundred and twenty-one RMB.
This should ’do the trick’.
Tang Qing nodded in satisfaction.
While Tang Qing held his head, looking at the wall covered with her ’masterpiece firearms’ in his room,
His Uncle, Qin Yugang walked in.
"Hey, Tangtang, why did you draw so many guns?" Qin Yugang asked, stopping short with surprise.
Tang Qing’s room wall was covered with sketches of various types of firearms, incredibly lifelike. The lines and shadows were handled exceptionally well, especially the details. Even as a gun enthusiast, he couldn’t find a single flaw. Some sketches captured the moment the bullet was released; the trigger pulled by a hand that had experienced devastation, the ejected shell in mid-air, and the faint trajectory and ripples as the bullet discharged.
It even tempted him to buy them. He was willing to pay one hundred for each.
"Just some casual doodles, what do you think?" said Tang Qing, as if showing off a treasured possession.
"Very good, the attention to detail is quite impressive. You could definitely make some money if you sold these," Qin Yugang complimented repeatedly.
"I don’t know about selling them. I’ll keep them for myself to appreciate. But Uncle, if you want them, feel free to take some," Tang Qing responded. He didn’t need money. Why would he sell these? He’d rather gift them. Giving away sketches of this caliber would at least seem high end.
"Then I won’t be polite; after all, you can always draw more," Qin Yugang said as he took a liking for the sketch he had been admiring - a sketch of a firing gun. It was a sniper rifle, held by a weather-worn, bloodied, and cracked hand. Even though it was just a black-and-white sketch, it stirred something in him. There was an eye drawn beside the scope, half-closed, and full of cold-bloodedness, yet filled with affection for life. The ambivalence of someone who ends lives, yet cherishes life, left Qin Yugang fervent.
It was brimming with life and vitality.
This was the sensation Qin Yugang directly gathered from the painting.
He decided to have it properly mounted as soon as he got home and hang it in his bedroom. If his wife didn’t agree, he could always hang it in his office.
Just as Qin Yugang rolled up the sketch to take with him for further appreciation, he suddenly paused and slapped his forehead.
He almost forgot.
Qin Yugang shook his head with a wry smile. His memory was failing him.
"Tangtang, what’s going on with the events of today?" Qin Yugang turned, staring into Tang Qing’s eyes.
Undaunted by his uncle’s gaze, Tang Qing asked,
"What do you mean what’s going on?" as he played dumb.
"The events of today reeked of strangeness. Do you really think I, as an old police officer, couldn’t see it?" Qin Yugang retorted. He was frustrated with Tang Qing’s acting - could he at least feign ignorance instead of standing there grinning like an idiot?
"Really? What did you make out, Uncle?" Tang Qing touched his nose, hiding his embarrassment.
"The lottery win today was set up beforehand, wasn’t it?" Qin Yugang stated outright.
"Maybe," Tang Qing shrugged, implying an admission. There was no point in trying to dupe Qin Yugang, hence he did not deny it. 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒑𝒖𝙗.𝒄𝒐𝒎
Having gotten what he wanted, Qin Yugang said, "Well, I won’t nag you about it anymore. Just take care of yourself and don’t owe people favours unnecessarily. If there’s a problem, talk to me about it. I trust that you know what you’re doing." He knew that it was useless to say more. Tang Qing wasn’t someone who would act recklessly. Toward Tang Qing, he stopped treating him like a child a long time ago.
"I understand. Thanks for your reminder, Uncle," Tang Qing conveyed his gratitude. That’s how it was with family - forever trusting and caring about you.
"That’s good," he replied.
With that, Qin Yugang left Tang Qing’s room.
As expected,
In a short while, both Lin’s and Tang’s fathers entered the room, each taking a couple of sketches and praising Tang Qing earnestly.
Looking at the wall, now missing quite a few sketches,
Tang Qing felt happy.
Because his work was appreciated by others. If not, he could just draw more, no big deal. Even the most complex sketch ’Survival in the Battlefield’ that his uncle took, which was one point two meters long and fifty centimeters wide, would only take Tang Qing less than an hour to reproduce.
If he ever runs out of money in the future, he could really consider selling sketches.
But it seemed there wasn’t a chance of that happening.
In this lifetime, he could never be that poor.
PS: It’s late.
