171 171 - Wine Cellar

In a room brightly lit by temporary construction light, Qi Sho supervised a group of rough looking guys who were constructing walls with cinder blocks. The group of delinquents was mostly guys he knew from high school. They were used to running gambling dens, but as Shudi's gang entered the scene, they were frightened away. Some were absorbed into the gang, but the ones that left with Bing Tou sensed that if they stayed, their welfare might be in danger.

"Boss, what is this for?" asked Bing Tou wiping some sweat away from his face.

"Wine cellar," Qi Sho replied.

Many of the former gang members were recovering from substance abuse, and they needed a stable job. The best way to distract them from their cravng and rebuild their body was construction work. None of the guys had construction experience, but it wasn't necessary for the work they were doing.

"Boss, are you sure, the walls are going to look ugly," said Bing Tou looking at the wall with uneven mortar joints.

Qi Sho shrugged. "No one is going to see it anyway, and it's just practice."

"But boss, it's really ugly!" Bing Tou knew that Qi Sho had a poor aesthetic, but even he couldn't stand his own piece of work. The wall wasn't even straight!

"Then take it apart and redo it, we have time."

"Come on man! It's straight!" All the workers complained and glared at Bing Tou.

"Let's head upstairs, we will paint the cafe," said Qi Sho, sensing that the guys were tired.

The gang sighed in relief; they would rather paint than stack blocks.

"Bing Tou, can you supervise the paint job?" Qi Sho asked as he looked at the time.

"Yes Boss!" Bing Tou saluted with his hand to his fist.

Qi Sho left them alone and headed to a nearby office, but before he could knock, a voice called him from inside.

"What a freak," Qi Sho mumbled as he headed into the room that looked like a regular office accountant space with a front reception desk.

"Is it alright to leave your friend in charge of the painting?" Li Yun asked Qi Sho as he walked inside.

"How did you know?" Qi Sho took a seat across from Li Yun.

"They are a bit loud," Li Yun responded.

Li Yun spent most of his action points on maximizing his earring. The effect wasn't as powerful as his sight, but he wondered if it was because his hearing hadn't adapted fully.

People could detect sounds between 20 Hz and 18 kHz. He took an online test briefly before to test his range, and it was between 10 Hz and 30 kHz. If he spent some energy, it might be possible for him to detect higher and lower frequencies.

Wu Xing Status:

Fire (Taste): 76

Water (Hearing): 100

Earth (Touch): 76

Metal (Smell): 76

Wood (Sight): 100

AP: 1

"It's a big building, I didn't think you could hear them from here. But despite Bing Tou looking a bit irresponsible, loud and lazy, he can manage people."

Li Yun thought Bing Tou was lazy, but he was better at noticing flaws and making others do the work. Immediately after Qi Sho left, he started to play on his mobile phone. "How are the wine cellars?"

"Coming along," Qi Sho responded, although the real usage wasn't just wine. "Are you sure you want to have those guys build the cellars?"

"Cinder blocks are heavy on their own, so I'm not worried about poor construction or how nice it looks."

"Don't you have your own guys?"

"Most of them have their own work."

Qi Sho remembered that Kaishi High School's gang had around twelve members, but after Ju De's graduation, everyone dispersed. He wasn't sure what they were doing, but he knew that they were mostly guys who were from broken families.

"After my guys finish with the renovation, are you going to hire them to work in the cafe?" asked Qi Sho.

"I guess."

"Thanks for helping them out, but you really think a cheese and wine bar will work?"

"I'm not helping them out. I'm hoping for some decent profit." Li Yun shrugged. He really had no idea, but it was just a front, so it didn't matter. The office building he bought already had some small businesses on the upper floors, but the first floor was mostly vacant due to improper maintenance. If he put in a small cafe, it would mainly be used as a base.

Qi Sho chuckled. "You know I'm a vet? I can't supervise them once they start working here."

"Build a clinic here then."

"You're serious?"

"Partially. I have someone who will be coming here to work as well, he should be able to supervise them."

"You mean you need someone to guard this place."

"Hey, what are the odds of protection rackets being a part of Shudi's scheme? I'm going to need a lot of guards to protect this place."

Qi Sho nodded. The city wasn't a complete mess yet, but there was a turf war between some of the underground gangs who were openly against Shudi's gang.

Li Yun reviewed the documents of the existing tenants. There were 30 available rental spaces in the building, but only a quarter was occupied. The structure of the building was decent, but it hadn't been updated in 15 years since it was built.

"How are the existing tenants?" asked Li Yun.

"They were curious about the renovation, and they seemed excited when I told them we're renovating the ground floor into a wine and cheese bar," said Qi Sho. "They thought it sounded like a nice place to relax during break."

Li Yun nodded. They were mostly self-employed accountants, white collar workers, and lawyers who were starting out their business.

"Once you're done with the cellar, let me know, I'll send you the barrels of grapes," Li Yun had a couple of varieties of grapes in the greenhouse.

"You grow a lot of random things."

"It's not random. Resveratrol is a potent compound." Li Yun had found the correct dosage of resveratrol to add into his TCM formula for its anti-inflammatory effect. If the dosage was too low, it would be ineffective. If the dosage was too high, it was detrimental to the body. Since there was a lot in the latest harvest, he had decided to turn some into wine.

"There's a vacant office you can move your clinic into," said Li Yun before leaving.

"Gee, I don't know if I want you as a landlord." Although, after having said that, Qi Sho was considering it. The building was in a good location and it was close to the hospital.

Li Yun wondered if he was deciding it because of Mi Xuan. Despite them being friends, they were sleeping with each other. Anyone with a discerning eye could see it.

"You're okay with being just friends?" Li Yun asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Just wondering, Yang Kang has a webnovel up, and I'm just trying to see if I can get spoilers."

"You're s****** me?" Qi Sho wondered if Li Yun was just joking around. But then again, it was entirely possible. "What's the novel called?"

Li Yun patted Qi Sho on the shoulder. "Good luck."

"He named the novel Good Luck?"

"No, good luck to your endeavors, can't wait to read the next chapter."

Mi Xuan was career focused, and she wasn't going to treat any relationship seriously until she officially became an attending.

"Dammit! Just tell me the title!"

"Chill, it's not like he's using your real name."