Chapter 313: Wang Dali, The Entrepreneur (1/2)

Sun Tiger looked exhausted after just returning from his trip to study countermeasures against that mysterious organization. I was too preoccupied playing games with Bingxin to talk to him.

After lunch, Sun Tiger called me to the balcony and said earnestly, ”Son!

I thought he was about to say something important but his next words left me astonished. ”I noticed that you’ve been getting along quite well with my baby girl recently,” he began. “I’ll be honest with you, I’m relieved to hand her over to you! As an elder, I have to stress that I’m not a conservative parent and I understand that my daughter is all grown up now so certain things might come naturally in the course of dating. But as a man, you must have a sense of responsibility. Once a girl goes through an abortion, her body will be affected for the rest of her life.”

After contemplating the right words for a long time, I made my position clear, ”Uncle Sun, Bingxin and I are very good friends, nothing more. Besides, I...”

On second thought, my relationship with Xiaotao was a matter of privacy that needed no disclosure.

“Oh, my mistake!” Sun Tiger looked surprised. ”You two have been friends since you were little. If you do get together in the future, I’ll have no complaints. As a father, I worry that my daughter will be cheated and taken away by some good-for-nothing! I’ve seen news on TV about girls who elope with some deadbeat, and I thought that if this happened in my home, I would have to blow my head off!”

Embarrassment written all over my face, I squeezed out a few perfunctory replies and asked about work. But when it came to business, Sun Tiger chuckled and avoided my questions. I figured it involved state secrets so I didn’t insist on hearing an answer.

During this period of time, Dali had undergone the most changes. He successfully got his driver's license and drove the Mercedes-Benz allotted to me by the police, though it seemed the usage rights solely belonged to Dali.

On our first test drive, Dali came dressed in a casual suit. ”Before I knew it, I’ve become the person I used to despise,” I joked. “If you tried passing off as a rich kid, people might actually believe it!”

”How can I be insulted with the title, ‘Rich Kid’?” cried Dali. “I’m going to be a self-made millionaire!”

”Have you got any ideas about starting your own business?” I asked.

”We'll talk about this later!” Dali motioned with his hands. “I've just learned to drive and I haven’t quite gotten the hang of it yet. Don't talk to me, you’ll only distract me!”

Dali put his palms together and said, ”I really can't hide anything from you. Actually... um ... How should I put this...”

”Stop mumbling and speak up!” I interjected.

”I need some start-up funds,” admitted Dali, face flushed like a ripe apple. “Can you lend me some money?”

After all those twists and turns, it turned out this was what he wanted. ”How much?” I asked.

”The more the better,” he answered.

I had more than a million yuan in my account. It was pennies in the eyes of a rich kid but it was all my savings. ”Is one million enough?” I cut to the chase, paying little mind to his request.

”That’s enough! More than enough!” he cried excitedly.

I immediately transferred the money to Dali, after which he promised he would return what he borrowed. Starting a business was difficult and I didn't want to put too much pressure on him so I said, ”You don't have to pay back the money. Just think of me as a shareholder. It doesn’t matter if you fail or succeed, I’ll hold a million yuan worth of shares, alright?”

”Of course!” Dali nodded fervently. “I won’t let you down.”

”But here’s a word of warning,” I said. “Spend it wisely. A million yuan isn’t a small sum and I won’t be able to come up with that sort of money again...”

Wang Dali clapped his chest and assured, ”Don’t you worry! I guarantee every penny will be spent on essentials!”