Cash King of Jiangcheng

The next day.

Everyone at the Shanshui villas woke up pretty late.

This was only to be expected; after all, Su Bai had been a bit unbridled with his "rotational battles" the night before.

Su Bai decided to go for a run by the river, thinking he might bump into Old Man Liu.

Sure enough, just as he caught sight of the misty river and sprinted a stretch along the rubber track, he spotted Liu Chenhu practicing Baduanjin in a small plaza-like open space.

This practice seemed to have gained popularity among the middle-aged and elderly demographics over the last couple of years. To be fair, it was actually pretty good—at the very least, it was great for stretching out the muscles and joints.

"Young man, join in!"

Liu Chenhu instantly pinpointed Su Bai... though, honestly, no pinpointing was necessary. The guy stood out, whether in a wide-open space or a dense crowd.

In a way, he was probably even more noticeable in a crowd. The contrast effect of good looks was real.

True handsome men were far rarer than "beauties," mostly because makeup didn't do as much heavy lifting for men.

That's why on film sets, some actresses who look gorgeous on screen appear rather plain in person—sometimes barely distinguishable from the extras playing palace maids. Male stars, on the other hand, usually stood out from the flock like cranes.

"Ah, don't make me, Uncle. I don't know how to do this."

"It's fine, I'll teach you."

It was hard to refuse such hospitality, so Su Bai laughingly joined in.

There were two other old fellows practicing with Uncle Liu, and they clearly weren't simple folk. Su Bai had a vague feeling that Liu Chenhu had called him over on purpose, likely to introduce him to these old friends. It was much like when Su Bai drank with his circle of rich buddies at a newly opened nightclub.

Circles really were important; many things were easier to handle when you had one.

And Su Bai's passport into these circles was money... and perhaps his looks.

"Is this that kid? The one who helped clear up the cash flow for Old Wu's family?"

"It wasn't that big a deal. That venue is actually quite nice."

"Nice my ass. It's a dead asset nobody wants. I say Old Wu got too cocky, building some tennis court. He should have built a gateball court."

"Still gateball, still gateball... what decade are you living in?"

The old fellows chattered away. Su Bai understood what they were discussing, so he nodded in greeting, exchanged a few pleasantries, and began following the master standing at the front to practice Baduanjin.

The master was gaunt but spirited, looking like the type who had practiced martial arts since childhood. His movements were clean, precise, and devoid of any sloppiness.

Su Bai figured this man must have been hired by Liu Chenhu and his friends. After all, as successful, prominent figures in Jiang City, they certainly wouldn't be learning Baduanjin by following online videos like average people.

Not far from the master stood two young men who looked like his apprentices, with various items placed by their hands and feet.

Having assessed the situation, Su Bai stopped overthinking things. He simply followed the demonstrated movements, immersing himself in the wellness routine.

As for "wellness," he never had the means for it before. Who wouldn't enjoy a leisurely life, adopting a bit of that mysterious, sage-like vibe?

During the break between sets, the master smiled and asked him if he had practiced martial arts.

"I guess... you could say that." Su Bai figured it was probably the military combat skills granted by the System that gave his gestures a professional air.

It seemed plausible. After all, whether it was practical combat, performance art, or self-amusement, all martial arts were interconnected.

"Young man, why don't you exchange a few moves with his apprentices?" one of Liu Chenhu's old buddies suggested, stirring the pot.

The other one winked and chimed in, "Exactly. Just now, Huzi was bragging to us, saying you ran into a stray dog on the roadside last time and kicked it to death with one shot."

Good lord, so that's what they were waiting for.

Su Bai glanced at Liu Chenhu. The older man was wearing a weird, expectant grin. "Show us a little something, come on."

"Alright then..."

The atmosphere had already built up to this point; he couldn't really refuse.

The two apprentices were quite excited, too. Martial artists usually had a competitive streak.

The result, however, was that Su Bai "speedran" them in just a few moves.

It was military combat technique, after all—skills designed for killing or subduing. Combined with Su Bai's physical conditioning, even special forces soldiers wouldn't pose much of a threat, let alone martial arts students.

After chatting with the two brothers for a while and waiting for the old fellows to finish their practice, Liu Chenhu said he wanted to treat Su Bai to morning tea and discuss something.

Liu Chenhu had noticed last time that Su Bai quite enjoyed morning tea. He had even specifically asked Liu Chen'ang if Su Bai had a particular preference for Cantonese cuisine. The answer was no; Su Bai didn't seem to have any cuisine he *didn't* like. He was basically a bottomless pit.

Fair enough. At least morning tea had a relatively formal and business-like atmosphere.

After getting in the car, Su Bai noticed that Liu Chenhu was hemming and hawing, acting hesitant—a stark contrast to his usual iron-blooded tough-guy image. So, Su Bai asked casually, "Uncle, don't tie yourself in knots. If you need help with something, just say it."

"Sigh, I'm embarrassing myself... I really shouldn't be troubling the younger generation with this kind of thing. But things haven't been going smoothly lately, and since you're close with Chen'ang..."

After beating around the bush for a bit, Uncle Liu finally revealed his hand. It turned out he was having cash flow issues and wanted to ask Su Bai for a bridge loan.

In other words, a quick loan with a quick repayment.

"No problem, Uncle. How much? I can do one or two hundred million."

"...It's not that much. Just over twenty million. Let me be clear, it's not that I don't have channels to handle this, it's just a bit of a hassle. If it's easy for you, great, but if it's troublesome..."

"Only twenty million? No problem. I'll help."

Su Bai's breezy attitude made Liu Chenhu secretly click his tongue in amazement.

In this day and age, how many people in Jiang City could casually whip out twenty million in cash without breaking a sweat?

Not many, really. Don't let those bosses fool you, walking around all high and mighty. They go to bars to pick up girls, bragging about having hundreds of millions in assets, but damn it, those are all fixed assets. Most of it is probably mortgaged. What's even funnier is that some of them might go bankrupt in two months without anyone even pushing them.

Su Bai, however, was a godsend.

When Liu Chenhu heard that Su Bai had paid for a car worth thirty million in full, he immediately realized that this kid's financial foundation was terrifyingly deep.

He was the type who didn't treat money as money at all.

Funds in the tens of millions, if managed conservatively, would generate substantial interest.

But to Su Bai, none of that seemed to matter. His operations never took interest into account. After all, with the System's money-generating efficiency, he didn't need to care about that sprinkling of pocket change.

After discussing the details, Su Bai got the gist of it. It turned out one of Uncle Liu's business partners had run off, screwing him over. He needed to cover a payment within the next few days, but regular financing channels were having issues lately, and borrowing from them would cost an arm and a leg.

Su Bai said that didn't matter. "Uncle, since you're borrowing from me, just give me a friendship rate."

Liu Chenhu tried to be polite, and after some back-and-forth, he realized that Su Bai actually meant it. The kid really wanted to give him a friendship rate—hell, he wouldn't have cared if there was no interest at all.