booktalesy Chapter 52 is finally here.
Chapter 52 is finally here.
After a couple of drinks, Shen Feng began to tell his story with Shen Yue.
"Shen Yue and I grew up in the countryside with our grandmother. Our parents died early, and our grandmother was in poor health."
I'm five years older than him, and I mostly took care of him when he was little. Later, my grandmother passed away. At that time, I hadn't finished junior high school, and she was still in elementary school. Our relatives didn't care about us, so I took her with me and started looking for work.
"I wasn't very old back then, so what could I do? I could only work on construction sites carrying bricks and wait in restaurants to earn some money to support her schooling."
I know she's a good student, so I'll scrimp and save, even if it means going hungry myself, to make sure she can continue her studies.
"Really, Su Ming, I'm not lying to you. Back then, I truly had nothing but love for her."
As Shen Feng spoke, he seemed to become emotional, his eyes reddening and revealing a hint of regret.
"Later, when she got a little older, she started doing odd jobs and was able to support herself."
I also felt that the hard times were over and I didn't need to worry about her anymore.
I was planning to start a business and make a lot of money, but I'm suffering because I'm not well-educated.
"Not only did I not make any money, I also lost a lot of money. That's when I started to like gambling."
"Tell me, who did I become like this for? Wasn't it all for her?"
"He became successful and made a lot of money later. So I asked her for some money, what's wrong with that? At first she gave me some, and quite a lot of it."
"Later on, she gave less and less. Asking her for money was like asking her for her life. Every time she would make excuses and try to give her three or five thousand as if she were a beggar."
"I'm her own brother! I raised her all these years."
Shen Feng became more and more agitated as he spoke, and his voice grew louder, as if he had suffered a great injustice.
"Last time, at the bar, I was really desperate. The loan sharks were pressing me hard, saying they'd break my arm if I didn't pay them back."
I went to her and begged and pleaded, and she only gave me six thousand yuan. What can you do with six thousand yuan?
Su Ming listened the whole time, his face expressionless.
Only after Shen Feng finished speaking did he slowly begin, "So you think she owes you? You think that just because she's making money, she should support you and pay off your gambling debts?"
"They even provide for your extravagant lifestyle, and if you don't, you're considered ungrateful and heartless, is that it?"
Shen Feng was taken aback by Su Ming's calm tone, then blushed and said, "Isn't that right? Without me, could she have survived to this day? Could she have made so much money?"
Su Ming shook his head and sighed.
"Shen Feng, have you ever thought that the money your sister earns is the result of her hard work?"
She has no obligation to pay for your gambling debts and extravagance. You raised her out of kindness, but she doesn't owe you a bottomless pit that can never be filled.
She gave you so much money before; in my opinion, she's already done more than enough. If it were me, I wouldn't give her a single penny.
"You!" Shen Feng's face flushed red with anger, and he slammed his hand on the table.
"What do you know? That's between my siblings and me. What right do you, an outsider, have to interfere?"
"Yes, I'm an outsider." Su Ming nodded. "That's why I'm sitting here tonight listening to you talk about this, but I'm also Shen Yue's friend."
He looked at Shen Feng with a hint of pity in his eyes, but mostly with indifference.
"You said you took care of her and were good to her when she was little. I believe you were really good to her back then, but what happened later? You became addicted to gambling, borrowed money from loan sharks, and leeched off her like a vampire."
Have you ever thought about how she feels? Do you know how difficult it is for her to make a living alone in a big city? Do you know how much money she lost in her lawsuits against her first two companies?
Su Ming recounted a series of events that had happened to Shen Yue. After listening, Shen Feng opened his mouth to refute, but found himself speechless.
Su Ming's words were like a silver needle, piercing into certain places in his heart that he himself did not want to face.
He poured himself a glass of wine in frustration and gulped it down.
"Alright, I've said everything I needed to say."
After finishing his drink, Shen Feng held out his hand. "Give me back the IOU. Don't worry, I won't ask her for money again. I, Shen Feng, keep my word."
Shen Feng's words surprised Su Ming quite a bit.
In Su Ming's eyes, this was a hopeless gambler.
He's a vampire who's obsessed with sucking his own sister's blood. Can he really stop sucking his sister's blood?
Su Ming shook his head. He wasn't quite sure himself; it was all up to Shen Feng to decide.
He handed the IOU to Shen Feng, who took it, tore it to shreds on the spot, and threw it into the trash can.
Su Ming had lost his appetite, so he got up, paid the bill, and planned to go home to sleep.
.
Su Ming's break time is finally over, and today he can finally roll the dice again.
He slept until he naturally woke up, and no one woke him up today.
He decided to do the same thing as before today: have a little ceremony, play a few rounds of games first, and then draw a prize.
But his luck seemed to be on his side today; he won several games in a row.
"Fine, fine, I'll just draw one. Maybe I'll just have good luck today."
Su Ming opened the Monopoly board, and the familiar interface made him feel refreshed.
With a thought, the dice began to spin rapidly.
After about 10 seconds, the die stopped at 3.
The circle on the map then moved back 3 squares and stopped on a new building.
[Ding! Moved to Evening Breeze Bar. View property information?]
Without a second thought, Su Ming clicked to view.
[Industry: Evening Breeze Bar]
[Type: Entertainment Services/Dining]
Status: Available for purchase
Price: 100 Gold Coins
[Note: Operating at a loss and on the verge of bankruptcy.]
"Good heavens, it's almost bankrupt. The system always gives me these rip-off businesses, doesn't it?"
Thinking about my upgrade quest, I still need to buy 3 more buildings, so I have to buy this one too.
"Besides, it's only 100 gold coins, so it doesn't matter if it goes down the drain."
Su Ming chose to buy, and soon, 100 gold coins were deducted from his wallet.
[Gold Coins - 100]
[Transaction in progress...]
[Purchase successful, property transfer completed. Congratulations on acquiring full ownership of Evening Breeze Bar.]
The relevant documents have been generated and are stored in the second drawer of the desk in the room.
Su Ming didn't rush to look at the property documents; he simply waited quietly for the system to trigger the task.
Sure enough, the mission was triggered within seconds.
[Triggering Task: Run a Bar.]
[Task Description: Develop a business strategy tailored to the bar's specific circumstances to achieve a daily profit of over 1.]
The current daily profit is -2000.
[Task Reward: Upon completion of the task, two marketing cards will be randomly drawn.]
[Marketing Cards: A variety of one-time effect cards are available to achieve various results such as increasing popularity and traffic exposure, eliminating negative feedback, and guiding traffic.]
"Here it comes! Finally, marketing cards have appeared!"
Su Ming had been waiting for this for a long time; his company was about to start making money through live streaming.
The premiere must achieve certain results, otherwise it will be a huge embarrassment for them.
The marketing card arrived just in time; I just need to complete the bar tasks first.
Su Ming calculated the timeline and, based on the company's current situation, it wouldn't be able to start anytime soon.
Then I'll go and finish the tasks at the bar first.