Following the address Vincent gave him, Raymond arrived at Chinatown in Washington, D.C.
Compared to New York's Chinatown and Flushing, D.C.'s Chinatown was clearly much quieter. But in return, it was also much cleaner, without the usual mess and chaos often seen in other Chinese districts.
The address Vincent gave him led to a well-known Chinese restaurant in D.C.'s Chinatown—Dongliu Seafood Restaurant. (TL/N: Dongliu is probably the owner's name so I kept it as it is)
In the original owner's memory, there were a few fragments about this place. The restaurant had a decent reputation in the local Chinese community.
Although the prices were a bit higher than smaller places, for someone like the original Raymond who didn't worry about money, it didn't matter.
He had visited this restaurant before with more than one Chinese friend, including Vincent.
From what Vincent said, the person he was introducing—the one who could help solve all these little problems—also seemed to be Chinese, so meeting here made sense.
When Raymond arrived at the restaurant's lobby, he had just pulled out his phone and hadn't even made the call when he saw a chubby middle-aged Chinese man in sunglasses walking toward him quickly.
While walking, the man was wiping sweat from his forehead with a napkin and smiling as he asked, "Are you Dr. Raymond?"
"I am," Raymond nodded. He had already guessed the man's identity.
Sure enough, the man let out a sigh of relief and said, "I'm Ren Yan—English name Jan. You can call me either. Mr. Vincent told me to wait for you here."
"Jan… Ren?" Raymond looked at him with a strange expression.
That English name, paired with his last name, really sounded weird.
Ren Yan clearly understood why Raymond looked confused and smiled awkwardly. "You're probably wondering why I chose that English name, right?"
Raymond didn't reply, just waited for him to go on.
Ren Yan explained with a helpless smile, "When I first came to North America, I couldn't speak much English. So I asked a friend to pick a name for me. I wanted something that meant a fresh start, like the saying 'a year's plan starts in spring,' so I chose the name for January—Jan…"
"No one told you it sounded strange?" Raymond couldn't help asking.
"Not at first, no. Maybe my friends noticed but didn't want to embarrass me. By the time I realized it sounded odd, everyone already knew me by that name. So I just gave up and stuck with it," Ren Yan shrugged.
"It's not bad—pretty unique," Raymond said with a smile.
Ren Yan gave a small, helpless smile and didn't continue the topic. He changed the subject and said, "The private room is ready. Shall we go inside and talk?"
"I'll follow your lead," Raymond replied casually.
Ren Yan waved his hand, and a waitress quickly came over to guide them.
Soon, the two of them were seated in a private room on the second floor called "Autumn Charm." As soon as they sat down, Ren Yan signaled the waitress to start serving the dishes right away.
"The waitress seemed really polite to you. Do you come here often?" Raymond asked with a smile after sitting down.
Ren Yan hesitated slightly before replying, "Well… this restaurant is technically one of the businesses under my name."
"Technically?" Raymond noticed his choice of words.
If Ren Yan was just the owner of the restaurant, that wouldn't be surprising. With the original Raymond's financial situation, opening a similar restaurant wouldn't be difficult at all.
But the fact that Vincent personally introduced Ren Yan and even hinted that Raymond could go to him for help with tricky problems definitely meant there was more to him.
So Raymond could already tell—Ren Yan definitely had another identity.
"Mr. Vincent has helped me a lot, and since you're his friend, I won't hide anything from you," Ren Yan paused, then asked, "Have you heard of the 'Chee Kung Tong'?" (TL/N: The Chee Kung Tong or Gee Kung Tong, was a Chinese secret society established in 1880 and holds an active presence still. In earlier years, the society has also been recognized as the "Chinese Masons" and has been identified under various names such as Hongmen. The fraternity founded its headquarters in San Francisco in the United States.)
"Hongmen in North America?" Raymond asked instinctively.
"That's not wrong either," Ren Yan shrugged.
Compared to "Chee Kung Tong," the name "North American Hongmen" was more widely known.
Raymond's knowledge of it didn't come from the original body's memories, but from his previous life. That group also existed back on his original Earth and often showed up in movies and TV shows.
As the North American branch of China's largest secret society, "Hongmen," the group held a special status in the Chinese community. Especially after secret societies were banned in China, the North American Hongmen had essentially become the headquarters.
Chee Kung Tong was the official name of the North American Hongmen.
Whether it was the old Raymond or the current one, the name Chee Kung Tong was very familiar.
"You're part of the North American Hongmen?" Raymond asked, a bit surprised.
"I'm honored to be the head of the Washington branch," Ren Yan said seriously. "People in the community call me the 'Handsome Flying Dragon'…"
Raymond, who had just taken a sip of tea, couldn't hold it in and almost spit it out.
Luckily, he turned his head in time, so he didn't spray the table.
Cough cough cough "Sorry, I accidentally choked," Raymond said awkwardly.
"I understand, no worries," Ren Yan also looked a bit embarrassed.
Clearly, that nickname had made more than one person react the same way. Raymond wasn't the first, and definitely wouldn't be the last. Still, Ren Yan felt the need to explain:
"Well, that nickname was given to me before I gained weight. I used to be quite handsome when I was slimmer, really, I'm not lying…"
Realizing he was getting off track, he quickly steered the conversation back. "Let's not talk about that. Let's get to the real reason we're meeting. Mr. Vincent said you had a little trouble you needed help with. Can you tell me what it is exactly?"
Raymond nodded seriously. "Here's the situation…"
After hearing Raymond's explanation, Ren Yan quickly understood the issue.
He nodded and summarized, "So, you want to sell an apartment downtown, and you're planning to open a private investigation office. That means you need help finding a suitable location, and you also need to get a business license, right?"
"Exactly," Raymond confirmed.
"No problem—leave it to me!"
Now that he understood everything, Ren Yan patted his chest confidently. "Other than the business license, which might take a few days, I can get everything else done within three days!"