The scarred character’s injuries had slightly healed, now wrapped in bandages, barely able to walk.
He opened the door, and behind him, Jones, Carmela, Jennifer, and others immediately let out a surprised exclamation:
Especially Jones, it seemed like his first time in such a place, excitedly touching the sofa, tapping the counter, and staring at the bottles of alcohol behind the glass, he swallowed his saliva.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to ’Whisperer Bar,’ a name chosen by the owner, Li Wei."
Smith, holding a cloth, came out from the back: "We are currently recruiting staff, and we will soon be open for business. In the evening, this place will be bustling."
"Big brother, is this whole bar ours now?"
Jones looked at Zhong Shenxiu, his eyes filled with excited light: "I’ve been here once before, but that Great Han outside stopped me. Plus... I had no money, I heard from Misha that some beautiful women, just as long as you take them to the bar for a good time, at night you can..."
Zhong Shenxiu gave Jones a hard knock on the back of his head: "Carmela and Jennifer are right here, what are you blabbering about?"
"No harm, anyway, I know Jones has been secretly washing bed sheets lately... and also slipping love letters to girls..."
Carmela said with a mischievous smile, while Jennifer blinked her innocent eyes, curiously looking around at everything.
"Don’t say it out loud, ah!"
Jones screamed despairingly, trying to cover his sister’s mouth, but it was too late.
In that instant, the poor green-faced youth felt as if his skin had been steamed, with steam seemingly seeping out from inside out.
"Haha, that’s youth for you."
The scar-faced figure sighed and his expression became serious: "Boss, did you take care of Old Sea Dog?"
Zhong Shenxiu nodded.
"And the Notting Hill family?"
"At least before I die, you all are safe... If even I die, I can’t manage these things anymore." Zhong Shenxiu shrugged his shoulders, speaking irresponsibly.
"With such a big bar, we must be able to earn a lot of money, right?"
After a while, Jones finally diverted his sister’s attention and changed the subject to ask.
"Under the previous owner, it could make hundreds to thousands of US Dollars a night..." Smith answered confidently.
"Haha! Haha! We’re going to be rich, we’re going to be rich!"
Jones grabbed Zhong Shenxiu’s arm: "Li Wei... let me be the ’doorkeeper,’ I don’t need a salary, I will definitely take good care of the bar."
The doorkeeper of an underground bar had the duty to distinguish federal agents and needed a certain level of strength and deterrence, often being the confidant of the owner.
Sixteen-year-old Jones was utterly unqualified.
Zhong Shenxiu shook his head: "I plan on having scar-face be the doorkeeper. Scar-face, get well as soon as possible and come to work. Remember, according to federal law, private property is sacrosanct, and we have the right to keep strangers out. As soon as you see someone who looks like a federal agent, a black-skinned dog, just block them at the door, and if they dare to barge in, take them out!"
"Of course! I can hardly wait to start working for the boss."
The scar-faced man revealed a row of white teeth.
"Very good, now let me discuss our business plan."
Zhong Shenxiu clapped his hands: "First of all, we will definitely continue the bootlegging business, but we can’t sell those inferior products or even fake alcohol anymore. Look at how many poor fellows in the hospital have gone blind or even died because of it... I don’t sympathize with them, but it will ruin our good name!"
"But... everyone is doing it..."
Smith said with difficulty, "Besides, if we don’t sell this kind of alcohol, what can we sell?"
There were still some premium products in the cellar, but those were Old Sea Dog’s stock and wouldn’t last a few days.
"People have aspirations, and we should aim higher."
Zhong Shenxiu spoke with an inciting tone, "We want to sell alcohol with better flavor, higher quality, and that won’t send people to the hospital or the grave. We want to build a brand... so that when anyone thinks of fine liquor, they’ll think of Whisperer Bar, not some other crap place... We will continuously squeeze the market share of our competitors with high-quality, affordable goods and snatch all the shares into our hands. In the end, we will be the kings of private liquor in this city!"
This was also to fulfill Li Wei’s obsession.
"But... about the source of our supplies."
Smith raised a question.
Old Sea Dog had his supply channels, but Zhong Shenxiu didn’t. If things continued this way, in a few days, they wouldn’t be able to sell even the inferior alcohol they had before.
"I will take care of that."
Zhong Shenxiu assured, "I will find a stable, high-quality, yet inexpensive supply source!"
"Then I have no problem."
Smith, a professional in the industry, deeply understood the ins and outs and knew that once the kind of alcohol Zhong Shenxiu talked about hit the market, it would create a huge buzz, and US dollars would flow into their pockets like crazy.
"Li Wei, from today on, you are my idol!"
Jones was beyond excited, "I will work hard for our cause."
Clearly, the blueprint Zhong Shenxiu painted did not attract others but had instead beguiled this naive youngster completely.
’Kid, if this were my previous life, you’d be the foolish investor duped by a PPT presentation and throwing his money away...’
Zhong Shenxiu secretly rolled his eyes: "I didn’t plan on letting you into the bar."
Jones, who had just thought of proposing a toast together, was suddenly disheartened.
"Firstly, Carmela and Jennifer definitely need to go to school. The school... well, it seems we only have church schools available. Forget it, we’ll move first, then hire a private tutor..."
Zhong Shenxiu revealed his plans for his three younger siblings.
In this era, schools were scarce; noble private schools were out of the question, public schools were inaccessible, leaving only church schools.
But the latter were not only concerning in terms of education and finances, but more importantly, they would be indoctrinated with who knows what beliefs.
Zhong Shenxiu thought it over and still felt that he couldn’t let these two lolis be poisoned in such an environment. It was better to cultivate them slowly at home, at most it would cost a bit more money.
"And you, Jones, do you really not want to go to school? Or become an apprentice and learn a craft? Honestly, I’d prefer if you went to school, to be a doctor or a lawyer in the future."
Doctors and lawyers were among the most respectable professions in the Mesoamerican Federation and symbols of the middle class.
"Li Wei, don’t you know that just looking at books gives me a headache? And... I’m sixteen already!" Jones immediately shook his head.
Zhong Shenxiu spread his hands in compromise. He knew that at this age, with the rebellious mentality, forcibly sending him to school wouldn’t be effective, and Jones’s mind might not even be cut out to graduate successfully.
Perhaps, if it weren’t for his own transmigration, Jones’s fate would have been to be a hard laborer at the docks or to mingle with gangs.
’The larger accounts are already wasted, now I can only hope for the two smaller ones.’
He thought for a moment then nodded, "Alright... you’ll come with me tomorrow and prepare to learn how to do business!"