Little Taotie’s table had ordered a lot, so finishing all the dishes took a long time, and by the time they had eaten and paid, there were not many customers left in the restaurant.
The cashier was relatively free.
Since they had just met at noon, the cashier automatically categorized them as regulars, so his manner was quite casual.
Mo Haihao was skilled in small talk and had managed to get quite a bit out of her.
Back at the car, Mo Haihao said, "You guys wait for me in the car; I’m going to smoke a cigarette."
Jiang Si reached out his hand, "Give me one too."
Mo Haihao was surprised, "I thought you didn’t smoke?"
Jiang Si lowered his eyes, "I do now."
Mo Haihao gave him one and lit it for him, watching him closely.
Jiang Si took a deep breath, "cough cough cough..." and then started coughing violently.
Mo Haihao burst out laughing, "Dude, don’t try to act tough."
Jiang Si glared angrily at the cigarette in his hand and took another deep drag, "cough, cough, cough..." this time it seemed like he was about to cough out his lungs.
As he went to try a third puff, Mo Haihao took the cigarette from his hand and kicked him, "Get back in the car!"
"Mo Haihao!" Jiang Si stumbled from the kick and yelled at him.
Mo Haihao took a puff of his cigarette, slowly blowing out a ring of smoke, "You should be calling me captain."
Jiang Si gritted his teeth and turned back to the car.
Xiangxiang covered her nose, "You stink!"
Jiang Si snorted, "It’s Mo Haihao’s bad cigarettes! He’s not short of money, yet he smokes these cheap cigarettes, he’s going to get nicotine poisoning sooner or later!"
Xiangxiang blinked blankly and pulled out her phone, her eyes falling on the latest transaction record of thirty thousand.
Mo Haihao stood outside in the cold air, trying to rid his clothes of the smell of smoke before getting back into the car.
Little Taotie had eaten and drunk his fill and was squinting his eyes, nearly asleep.
Mo Haihao checked his watch; it was after ten o’clock already, and he said, "Let’s drop off the two kids first."
Two men were standing at the gate of the villa, Qin Xin and Cheng Guodong; Guodong had already gone to pick up someone once, but was told that Little Taotie was out for work and hadn’t returned, so he had to wait at the villa.
The car stopped, and Guodong and Qin Xin hurried forward.
Little Taotie was already asleep, his little mouth pouting.
Hua Jinyan was also asleep, his small face cold and expressionless.
Guodong picked up Little Taotie, and Qin Xin picked up Hua Jinyan; they both glared disapprovingly at Mo Haihao but, not wanting to wake the sleeping children, said little.
Once the kids were back at the villa, Guodong stormed out.
"We had a clear agreement to bring the kids back by eight o’clock!"
Mo Haihao offered a cigarette, "Calm down, let’s talk this out."
Guodong glanced sideways, avoiding it disdainfully, "How poor can you be!"
Mo Haihao was frustrated, "A box of cigarettes is ten yuan for only twenty sticks. I smoke two packs a day, which costs twenty yuan; that’s six hundred a month! If I smoked good cigarettes, wouldn’t that be burning money!"
Guodong, cold-faced, "You could just not smoke, not spend the money."
Mo Haihao waved his hand, "You don’t understand. I need to stay alert, and smoking helps keep me sharp."
Mo Haihao offered again, "Really not smoking?"
Guodong shook his head, "After having kids, I quit smoking."
"As you should. Secondhand smoke is no good for kids," Mo Haihao lit another cigarette.
"What did you want to say?" Guodong asked.
Mo Haihao slowly exhaled smoke, "There’s been a bit of a situation. Hua Jinyan’s Rainbow Relic has developed a crack. Please inform his parents about this; if they want compensation, they can contact our boss."
Mo Haihao irresponsibly smiled, "Let the boss bleed a bit."