Boss He, if you have any problems that you can't solve, just give me a call and I'll be there for you." Jia Simiao handed He Runxi a phone number and left this sentence without context. However, He Runxi didn't take it seriously. Challenge him? In the shop, he saw everything about Jia Simiao and Zhang Xixi selling ice watermelons. With so many people buying them to eat every day at 1,800 yuan per day, it shouldn't be a problem.

Now that Jia Simiao and Zhang Xixi have developed this area, as long as they are driven away, even if He Runxi spends 2,000 yuan to hire two people to come over here he could still make good money.

He wants to bribe me with only five hundred yuan? When he walked into the store, He Runxi also had some doubts in his mind: Is this five hundred yuan fake? Otherwise how could Jia Simiao and Zhang Xixi give it away so easily? He took out the money and pinched it several times before using a counterfeit detector machine to check whether or not it was real cash.

As a young man who has just entered society with little experience; he is really easy to bully.

He laughed happily but then felt his hands itching. So much so that he scratched his left hand with his right hand while scratching his right hand with his left one. This was getting serious because the more he scratched the itchier they became until both of his hands were almost torn apart by himself.

How did this happen?

His wife was also frightened immediately taking him to several hospitals such as City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), First People's Hospital of the city etc., registering for dermatology department appointments. But when doctors examined him thoroughly they found no skin disease whatsoever which made both Mr & Mrs.He anxious. He was scratching himself so much that it could be a psychological problem. Dermatology treatment would not work, and it is best to see a psychologist who can help him adjust his mental state.

Does he have any illness that he doesn't know about?

It's like throwing good money after bad; He Runxi and his wife went to see the psychiatrist as well. The specialist said that this kind of disease is not a psychological problem but may be due to nerve problems.

Nerve problems... damn, isn't this just an insult? Are they saying they are mentally ill? He Runxi was very angry and almost fought with the psychologist. This continued until noon on the second day when He Runxi finally couldn't bear it anymore. His hand accidentally touched his arm, which made his arm itch. And what made him most unbearable was when he held onto himself while urinating.

What kind of torture is this?

Tears streamed down He Runxi's face, but what could he do? It was his wife who reminded him: "Do you remember that young man surnamed Jia? He told you that if there were any problems you couldn't solve, just give him a call and he would come right away. Could it be that he helped you?"

It must have been him.

No wonder the 500 yuan he gave me had to be straightened out before I could take it.

Now, He Runxi didn't care about anything else and immediately dialed Jia Simiao's phone number. When he heard the tone in Jia Simiao's voice, he understood. He thought the guy was a pushover, but who knew he was actually a hedgehog and ended up hurting himself instead. Compared to his own life and shop, which one was more important? Of course it was his life.

"Here!" When Jia Simiao and Zhang Xixi appeared, He Runxi wanted to kneel down for them. Jia Simiao said calmly: "I heard on the phone that Mr. He wants to sell his shop? My girlfriend and I came over here so let's sign the contract."

He Runxi's hands were bloody from scratching himself so much as he cried out in pain: "Can you help me scratch first? Afterward I'll sign the contract immediately."

Jia Simiao replied: "Can we sign the contract first please? Afterward I'll help scratch your itch."

"I'll sign!" Every minute of delay meant another minute of agony for him. Finally understanding how ruthless this situation had become, He Runxi signed on the dotted line without hesitation and handed over the contract to Jia Simiao.

The terms of agreement were clear - this store now belonged to Jia Simiao for 500 thousand yuan with payment to be made whenever possible. However, Jia Simiao wasn't too harsh and added a clause at the end of the contract stating that he would definitely pay off his debt within one year. If he failed to do so, He Runxi had the right to take back the store. Jia Simiao also put up his family's old mansion as collateral so there was no need for concern.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

He Runxi was overjoyed when he heard about Jia's family mansion - with this clause in place, he could rest easy.

Jia Simiao took out some medicine powder and applied it on He Runxi's hand. Strangely enough, the itching disappeared like magic which left He Runxi even more amazed. Could this be traditional Chinese medicine? It seemed much more mysterious than Western medicine.

Zhang Xixi asked, 'Boss He, what are you planning to do with these things in your shop?'

He Runxi was really wary of Jia Simiao and secretly glanced at him before quickly saying, 'My wife and I have another shop on the pedestrian street that sells clothing. As for the things here, I don't need them anyway. If you think they're useful, just keep them so I don't have to clean up.'

Jia Simiao smiled and said, 'Thank you very much, Boss He.'

In fact, He Runxi didn't lose anything either. His wife had a clothing store on the pedestrian street and he had long heard that she was fooling around with other men which made him uneasy. This time Jia Simiao spent 500 thousand yuan to buy the shop instead gave him an excuse. Moreover, he couldn't make much money from this flower shop.

Jia Simiao handed over a cigarette and chuckled,'Boss He,I'm really sorry about this time.If there's any place where Jia Simiao can be of use in the future,you just need to say it out loud.'

Boss He grinned,held the cigarette between his lips,and helped light it for Jia Simiao.He whispered,'Brother Jia,it seems like we've...heh,don’t know each other until we fight.I must remind you since you’re doing business on Xuefu Road.This area is under Hu Ye’s protection.You'll have to pay protection fees.Hu Ye has killed several people himself.I’m afraid your temper will get into trouble with Hu Ye.I’ve heard that he’s ruthless.'

Jia Simiao laughed,'If someone doesn’t offend me,I won’t offend anyone.If someone offends me,I’ll endure it.If Hu Ye's men come over,I'll give them money.'

What is speaking nonsense? It refers to people like Jia Simiao. If someone offends you, you'll endure it? Then why didn't I see you endure when I offended you? You almost stepped on me with one foot. In fact, Jia Simiao really gave him a chance, but he was insatiable and greedy which is his own fault.

Boss He smiled and said, 'Yes, yes. Jia Laodi is not the kind of person who causes trouble. I'm just reminding you. Besides, even though Tiger Ye is powerful, compared to the people from Qing Bang and Hong Men, he's nothing.'

Jia Simiao asked: 'Oh? There are forces from Qing Bang and Hong Men in our Nanjiang City?'

Boss He shook his head and said: 'I don't know about that. We're just small-time players; how could we know about the power of Qing Bang and Hong Men? Their businesses and establishments are spread throughout the country but they keep a low profile. It's better for outsiders like us not to inquire too much. Nowadays, it's best to know as little as possible.'

Jia Simiao laughed and said: 'Thank you for your reminder Boss He. We're small-time players; even if we wanted to provoke them, we wouldn't be able to.'

Boss He chuckled and said: 'Yes, yes! You go ahead with your work while my wife and I go walk around on Pedestrian Street. If there's anything going on later on let's grab a drink together.'

This man was quite shrewd; despite having some grievances with Jia Simiao before this encounter he still managed to converse amiably with him now.

Zhang Xixi walked around twice feeling happy inside because Boss He had left everything behind including flowers outside the store in a large freezer box along with a transparent door refrigerator where drinks were sold plus tables chairs benches etc.. One could say that Boss He had sold his shop worth 500 thousand yuan to Jia Simiao then left without any possessions.

Naturally Boss He wasn't afraid that Jia Simiao would run away since he had put up the old mansion of the Jias as collateral anyway . Had he known earlier what would happen, he wouldn't have dared to harbor any ill intentions towards Jia Simiao. Being a court physician and having achieved the rank of third place in the imperial examinations, this was something that almost everyone in Nanjiang City knew.

The shop had an area of about thirty square meters with a small resting room inside where there was a double bed, television, bathroom and sink. Zhang Xixi walked around twice feeling more and more delighted as she looked at everything. She laughed and said: 'Jia Ge, now I'm officially the boss lady.'