After washing up, I finally lay down on the bed that Mi Cai had prepared for me. This was the first time I stayed here with a clear conscience since Mi Cai bought this house. I hoped that Mi Cai wouldn't get upset with me one day and use her newly acquired landlord status to kick me out again.

 

I thought I should have a serious talk with her about renting the house tomorrow. Of course, I wouldn't live here for free. We could sign a formal lease agreement.

 

Resting my head on my arms, I thought about my main purpose for coming to Suzhou this time. I wanted to help Le Yao run her bar and turn a profit as soon as possible. However, the most urgent task was to help her solve the problem of her one million yuan debt, because repaying a high-interest loan was something that couldn't be delayed.

 

But who should I ask for help? Among my friends, only Xiang Chen and Jian Wei had the ability to help, but it was hard to ask them for such a large sum of money.

 

Suddenly, I thought of Mi Cai. She could definitely afford the one million yuan, but I was reluctant to borrow from her. It felt like I was asking her for a favor. Given the choice, I would rather borrow from Xiang Chen. Despite the awkwardness between us, I couldn't care less in the face of such a major issue.

 

Turning over, I saw the bottomless night outside the window, and my mood suddenly became gloomy again. This gloominess stemmed from my worry that I wouldn't be able to help Le Yao solve her high-interest loan problem.

 

***

 

I had a light sleep that night and woke up early. After that, no matter what, I couldn't fall back asleep, so I got up before sunrise.

 

After washing up, I started cooking porridge and then went downstairs to the familiar breakfast shop to buy some breakfast. When I returned, Mi Cai had already gotten up and was washing up in the bathroom.

 

In the living room, I said to Mi Cai, "I bought some potstickers and steamed dumplings. Do you like them?"

 

"Not bad, did you buy soy milk?"

 

"I made porridge, so I didn't buy any."

 

"Oh."

 

"If you want some, I can go buy it."

 

"No need to go through the trouble."

 

"It's no trouble." I said, putting on my shoes and running downstairs again.

 

When I came back, Mi Cai had already finished washing up and was sitting at the dining table, having served herself a bowl of porridge. I handed her the soy milk I bought and asked, "Didn't you want soy milk? Why are you eating porridge now?"

 

"I was hungry, so I started eating a bit." She took the soy milk from my hand but stopped eating the porridge.

 

I frowned and asked, "Aren't you going to finish your porridge?"

 

"I have soy milk now."

 

"That's a bad habit. If you don't finish it, it'll be wasted. That's very wasteful!"

 

"If you think it's wasteful, you can finish it." Mi Cai said indifferently.

 

I immediately refused seriously, "How can I do that? You've already had some. What would it mean if I drank it?"

 

"Then why didn't you say that when you used my toothbrush?" Mi Cai brought up the past.

 

"The two situations are different. They can't be generalized."

 

"Whatever you say. I can't eat anymore anyway."

 

I didn't argue with Mi Cai. I moved her bowl of porridge, which she had only taken a few bites of, to my side. I didn't mind eating it. It would be a pity to waste it. After all, this rice was sent by Mr. Ban, and he had paid real money for it.

 

"Weren't you just saying you wouldn't eat it?" Mi Cai asked in a mocking tone.

 

"I really don't want to waste it. You shouldn't waste food either. It's a bad habit. Let me tell you, many of my relatives are from the countryside. They know how hard it is to farm. You just haven't seen it." I said seriously.

 

Mi Cai finally nodded and said to me as if she had done something wrong, "I understand. From now on, I'll only serve as much as I can eat."

 

I also nodded, but didn't say anything else. My mind was once again focused on the impending crisis. Last night, I had indeed planned to borrow money from Xiang Chen, but when it came to actually doing it today, I felt like there was a hurdle I couldn't overcome. Moreover, I couldn't be sure whether Xiang Chen would lend me the money, because the amount was too large, and more importantly, I had no ability to repay it.

 

Because I was preoccupied, I ate very slowly, but Mi Cai finished before me. Then she took a key out of her bag and handed it to me, saying, "Here's the key to the house."

 

I took the key from Mi Cai, smiled, and asked, "Are you really planning to let me stay this time?"

 

"You can stay. I'll move to the other place."

 

Of course, I knew what Mi Cai meant by "the other place". It was her other house in Suzhou. I wasn't surprised by her decision. After all, she had always disliked the idea of a man and a woman living together, and it was indeed inconvenient, especially for a woman like her who had high standards for her living conditions.

 

I nodded and said, "Then let's talk about the rent. Can I pay you the same rent as I did when I rented from Old Li?"

 

"Whatever you want… I'm going to work now." Mi Cai said, getting up and walking towards the shoe rack.

 

"So I'll just pay whatever I want then." I called out to her.

 

"Okay."

 

"When are you going to move your stuff? Or are you going to leave it here?"

 

"I'll leave it here." Mi Cai made her choice without hesitation.

 

"Oh, are you planning to come back and stay occasionally?"

 

Mi Cai had already put on her shoes. I didn't know if she hadn't heard my question or if she just didn't want to answer me. In any case, she just left, and it was already past morning.

 

***

 

After cleaning up the dishes, I lit a cigarette and sat blankly on the sofa for a while. Then I took out my phone from my pocket and called Le Yao. I wanted her to take me to the bar to get a better understanding of the situation.

 

After calling Le Yao, I also called Robben and CC separately, inviting them to meet and chat. For example, Robben, I guessed he might know more about the current operation of the bar than Le Yao herself.A moment later, I arrived at the entrance of the bar run by Le Yao. The three of them hadn't arrived yet. I walked down the street and found it to be a new commercial street, mainly focused on entertainment. As for the business prospects of this commercial street, I couldn't make a judgment. However, it was quite a risky move for Le Yao to open a bar in a new commercial street with uncertain prospects. But I guess she had no other choice, after all, it's not easy to squeeze into a mature commercial street to open a bar.

 

Apart from the bar run by Le Yao, there was another bar, a disco, two newly opened KTVs, and several restaurants on this commercial street. However, it still hadn't formed a commercial climate, as nearly a third of the shops had not been rented out.

 

I quickly analyzed the geographical location, traffic, and surrounding commercial facilities of this street. It might form a commercial climate in about one or two years. But this requires sufficient funds to support. If it can be sustained, the prospects won't be too bad. However, Le Yao obviously doesn't have so much money to spend at present, and it's not very practical to transfer the bar in the short term. The only thing she can do now is to grit her teeth and run the business. After the business improves, she will have the opportunity to transfer the bar, or she can choose to continue running it. But these are all things to be considered later, the problem that lies before me now is the real tricky one.