No matter what, Chen Xu's side had the numbers and the advantage. There were only four city management officers, and they were beaten to a pulp. Even Guan Yi joined in and kicked them a few times... Tsk tsk, it was truly a pitiful sight!
The gang leader finally managed to get up, intending to kick Chen Xu in retaliation and get his revenge, but Chen Xu was incredibly cool right now. Although he couldn't use his hands, once he got into the zone, he was as energetic as a dragon.
As the saying goes, hands are like two doors, but it's all about kicking people.
It has to be said that these city management officers were inexperienced. When handcuffing someone, they should have cuffed their hands behind their backs, but instead, they positioned themselves in front of Chen Xu. This restricted Chen Xu's movement, but he could still use both hands to block. So, when the leader angrily kicked at him, Chen Xu blocked it with his hand and then, with a powerful kick similar to a Taekwondo strike, delivered a direct kick to his face!
The ringleader was kicked and sent flying five meters backward. Chen Xu was also amazed that his flexibility seemed to have improved again!
As for the other city management officers, they should be thankful. Apart from Chen Xu, who went all out, the others, while furious, still held back a little. However, the commotion had escalated so much that school leaders and police quickly arrived. Even after they pulled the crowd away, Chen Xu was still chasing and beating the ringleader, making the guy scream in pain. This made the surrounding women and men collectively shout in their hearts, "He's a true idol!"
It wasn't until Counselor Chen intervened that Chen Xu was pulled away. Counselor Chen glanced at the guy lying on the ground with a bruised and swollen face and said to Chen Xu, "Damn, you went way too far. This is a big problem!"
Chen Xu shook his head indifferently and said, "It's nothing. They attacked first and even handcuffed me!"
Counselor Chen shook his head and said, "Young man, don't be so impulsive. You've gotten yourself into big trouble!"
At this moment, two police officers got out of the police car. They first glanced at the urban management officer who was howling with a hint of disgust, then walked up to Chen Xu and said, "Young man, please get in our car. Assaulting a state law enforcement officer in broad daylight is a serious crime. Please notify your parents."
"And what about this?" Chen Xu raised his hand and gestured with the handcuffs. "Are urban management officers allowed to carry handcuffs? They started the fight and then handcuffed me. Shouldn't that issue be addressed as well?"
The two policemen's expressions changed upon seeing the handcuffs; investigating this would definitely cause trouble. At that moment, the policeman who had been driving outside suddenly said, "Wait! I know this student! Let me call Director Wang!"
Chapter 143: The Benefits of Community Networks
After Director Wang and Captain Xu of the Criminal Investigation Brigade arrived, the matter was resolved very easily.
Chen Xu leisurely got into the police car to give a statement, and Director Wang didn't complain at all. Because seeing the handcuffs Chen Xu was wearing, Director Wang knew that if this got out, it would be very detrimental to him. How could handcuffs be so easily taken away by a group of urban management officers? If a reporter seized the opportunity, they would surely say that if it was handcuffs, who knows when they might even take away his gun?
The leader got a beating for nothing, but Chen Xu didn't intend to pursue the matter further. From the guy, Chen Xu gleaned a rather strange thing… it turned out that the city management officers weren't just randomly causing trouble; someone had instigated them.
The manager of Hua Die Xuan... Li Jiannan!
Li Jiannan treated them to a meal and some drinks, then sent these guys over to cause them some trouble. As the saying goes, "He who eats another's food is bound to be obliged, he who takes another's money is bound to be obliged," so the gang leader and his men came over. However, their attempt to steal a chicken ended up losing the rice instead.
After learning the reason for this incident, Chen Xu naturally wouldn't let Li Jiannan off easily. As for these urban management officers, well, it's best to let it go once it's over... Anyway, to be honest, Chen Xu didn't suffer any loss and even beat them up. Moreover, out of respect for Director Wang, there would be no benefit in continuing the entanglement.
As the saying goes, the people can't fight with officials! Even if the urban management officers are low-ranking, they're still cadres! Chen Xu is quite adept at changing his tune, and this isn't the first time he's done something like this—taking advantage and then feigning innocence. Director Wang said it was all a misunderstanding, so Chen Xu readily accepted it, and of course, it was a misunderstanding! That very evening, Chen Xu hosted a dinner at the International Hotel, treating these urban management officers to a good meal and drinks, with Director Wang and Captain Xu in attendance. Thus, what wasn't originally a misunderstanding truly became one.
This was the best solution for the comrades who were beaten.
Unexpectedly, this young student had surprisingly strong connections with those in power. Upon hearing that they had caught the man who slit the throat, they had no choice but to comply. They couldn't afford to offend people like that, especially since the young man was quite sensible and took the initiative to reconcile, so they naturally went along with it.
Of course, this meal wasn't a freebie. As the saying goes, it's easier to see the King of Hell than his underlings. Chen Xu used this method to smooth things over, not wanting these guys to hold a grudge. It's not the thief you should fear, but the one who's got his eye on you. If these underlings really had their eyes on him, Chen Xu had no intention of playing along. Another point is that whoever brought this up should be held accountable. Chen Xu simply didn't intend to get involved with Li Jiannan; he'd let these frustrated city management officers keep an eye on him. Give him a lesson… as for what kind of lesson… well, looking at the leader's bruised face, you can probably guess pretty much what happened.
Chen Xu didn't bother with these trivial matters, but the drinks he had given them and the pack of Furongwang cigarettes he slipped to each of them before leaving hadn't been in vain. Not only had the afternoon's incident been forgotten with a laugh, but on the third day, a city management officer even came to give Chen Xu some photos of Li Jiannan with a bruised and battered face. Then he learned that the guy had resigned. Nobody knew where he went.
Chen Xu smiled, tore up the photo, and casually threw it into the trash can... Just kidding, why would he bother with such a small matter?
The cake shop is doing incredibly well. This Princess Cake Shop doesn't need any advertising; students from the nearby universities have all heard of it. Want to see beautiful women? Come to Princess Cake Shop!
And the cakes here are indeed delicious, and the prices are reasonable. Every morning, a bunch of kids come in to buy a cake and a cup of milk before going to class. It basically means Tang Bixuan has to get up early every morning to start, and Chen Xu, who's like a ghost and gets up incredibly early every day, occasionally gets Gao Xiaojie to help out… well. You need to call Gao Xiaojie by phone because after the start of the semester, everyone basically moved back to their dorms, only getting together at the small house outside on weekends. So now, Chen Xu's favorite thing to do every morning is to call Gao Xiaojie at five o'clock and yell: "Get up, time to pee!"
Based on the current foot traffic, we can sell about 400 cakes and milk every day, down to half that on weekends. Let's say a cake costs 2.5 yuan. The cost of eggs, other ingredients, etc., is less than 0.5 yuan. That means we make a profit of 2 yuan per cake, which adds up to 800 yuan a day. After deducting rent, utilities, etc., we'd make around 17,000 to 18,000 yuan a month, and that number is still increasing.
While this amount of money wasn't small, three of the four major shareholders were not short of money at all. So, after much coaxing and persuasion, Chen Xu and the others basically distributed the profits of 17,000 to 18,000 yuan to Gao Xiaojie and Tang Bixuan. Xiao Bixuan was paid 4,000 yuan a month. After all, this girl was busy with everything, basically taking on various roles such as waitress and pastry chef. She had to get up at almost four o'clock every morning, which was really tiring for her. This money was well-deserved.
Gao Xiaojie originally didn't want that much money, but when the web game "My Home, My House" officially launched paid items that were directly linked to the community network's virtual currency, Gao Xiaojie was completely dumbfounded.
In the month between March and April, this game earned 200,000 RMB from its paid items! After splitting the profits with the community website at 10/90, they still received a full 180,000 RMB!
This made Gao Xiaojie sigh, "There are so many rich people these days!"
It's not surprising, really. Within a month, the community network's users surged by 200,000... Of course, it's possible that some of them were fake accounts. And almost all of these 200,000 are players of this game; they all came specifically for this game!
This game isn't about dominating the game, so few people complained about the development of paid items. Furthermore, these paid items only target those who don't want to play slowly, allowing them to speed things up, which doesn't disrupt the game's balance, so player enthusiasm has only increased.
How much do the props cost?
For example, ten community coins are worth one yuan, which is equivalent to ten thousand yuan in the game... This is basically equivalent to the total daily income of an intermediate player. This price ratio was carefully set by Guan Yi and his team, so players who don't spend money don't feel that it's excessive, while players who do spend money feel that this calculation method is too cheap.
Is it really cheap?
Little by little, it adds up!
In reality, 10,000 yuan can last a while... but it depends on how you spend it. If you use all 10,000 yuan to buy roast duck, you'll eat it until you never want to eat it again. But if you use 10,000 yuan to buy a house... tsk tsk, you can't even buy a bathroom!
Moreover, there are many properties in the game, such as villas. Ten thousand yuan can't even buy one square meter of such a property. How can that cover your expenses?
After buying a house, there are renovations and appliances, all of which require money. So even if you spend a hundred dollars to get a million virtual currencies in the game, at most you'll just be a little better off than the average player.
Moreover, this game targets white-collar workers with relatively disposable income. Combined with its gameplay, which allows them to showcase their beautiful home decor and personal taste to friends, there are plenty of people willing to spend money on it! Other companies, envious, released 2D versions of this type of game, but few people played them… 2D is far inferior to 3D! The houses lack any sense of depth; what's the point?
Chen Xu hadn't expected to earn so much money. Two hundred thousand! That wasn't a small sum for him now... The main problem was that the money in Chen Xu's account was all transferred from his father; the real bulk of the money hadn't reached him yet.
At the time, a contract was signed with Zhong Ziyu, but how should this money be divided with Gao Xiaojie and the others?
Although this game can be said to have been independently developed by Chen Xu... well, excluding the compression algorithm provided by X... basically, Chen Xu solved the technical problems by himself. However, others also made a lot of efforts for this game. Chen Xu couldn't possibly take all the credit for himself, could he?
Regarding the money, Zhan Jing was the first to respond: "I haven't been involved in this game much from beginning to end. So don't consider me."
Guan Yi also said, "We agreed before that I would take the shares of the community network, but I have no interest in the money from the games."
So Chen Xu looked at Gao Xiaojie and said, "Um... how about we split it equally?"
Gao Xiaojie said, "Sorry, if we really calculate it according to the steps, I'm just your employee. You don't need to give me money according to the shares. At most, you can give me some bonuses. Also, there's Bixuan, Wu Yuan, and that bunch of animals from the Computer Association."
Chen Xu said with a bitter face, "How much is the bonus? Don't forget, we're not just here to make a quick buck and leave; there's still money to be made over the next few months!"
Gao Xiaojie shrugged and said, "I don't care. Anyway, you made this game. You can decide how much to give... Let me make it clear first, I don't want more than that. I don't think I played that big a role."
Chen Xu rolled his eyes. Now they have money but can't even give it away?!
Finally, left with no other choice, he could only give Gao Xiaojie and Tang Bixuan each a large red envelope containing 10,000 yuan. He even had to force it on the two women. Gao Xiaojie was alright; knowing Chen Xu was wealthy, she didn't mind, and besides, she had indeed given a lot. But Tang Bixuan initially refused to accept it. In the end, after Chen Xu spent the entire night persuading her until he was hoarse, she finally accepted it while crying.
For Tang Bixuan, Chen Xu and the others were truly benefactors and saviors. Their appearance changed her life... yes, her entire life.
Whenever Tang Bixuan sheds tears, the person most suitable to comfort her is Er Ya.
During this time, Xiao Er Ya and Tang Bi Xuan got along very well. Anyway, the art school was very close, and Er Ya didn't get along with the girls in her dormitory... In her words, she looked down on one of her dormitory girls, who was a year older than her, but at 16, she often stayed out all night, and there were often cars picking her up at the school gate.
So Chen Xu called his aunt and suggested that Er Ya come and sleep in the apartment he rented... He originally planned for Er Ya to sleep in his room, but the little girl was very clingy and took advantage of Bi Xuan's honesty and inability to refuse, so she happily slept in the same bed with Bi Xuan every night.
So among the girls, this girl was closest to Bixuan, so Er Ya very sensibly wiped away her tears and gently comforted her. Her mature demeanor made Chen Xu unable to help but find it a little funny.
To be honest, seeing little Bixuan so happy made Chen Xu feel it was all worthwhile. Sometimes helping others is a great pleasure, and seeing Tang Bixuan's joy and Wu Yuan's gratitude made Chen Xu happy to do it.
"But seeing how much money Chen Xu is making makes me envious. How about we develop another web game?" Gao Xiaojie said cheerfully. "I did some research online a while ago. Over 85% of community network users log in just to play this interactive game. Hmm, I originally planned to further develop this game, but it seems we don't need to rush that now. We should develop a few more new mini-games so that people have more games to play when they log in, instead of just clicking on one game and then having nothing else to do."
Chen Xu laughed and said, "Then you can make the proposal this time, and I'll work for you. When we make money, you can share the bonus with me."
Gao Xiaojie cupped her face and said, "Please, how easy is it to come up with a game? Especially a game that makes money... Your idea was really something that flashed into my mind. Oh dear, so frustrating, so much money, treat us to a meal!"
Chen Xu chuckled and said, "Sure. What do you want me to invite? Should I bring up all the snacks from the supermarket downstairs?"
"You'll turn into a little piggy!" Gao Xiaojie gave Chen Xu a disdainful look, then said, "By the way, what kind of moves do you and Guan Yi do every day? They look pretty funny, teach us, okay? We need to lose weight, this winter break has made my belly grow!"
Guan Yi glanced at Chen Xu; this was Chen Xu's "family heirloom." She had no say in the matter.
Chen Xu thought about it and decided it didn't matter. It was a good opportunity for everyone to get some exercise. Besides, he'd already passed this technique on to Guan Yi, so passing it on to a few more wouldn't hurt. There were five girls in the room: three were his close classmates, one was his future sister-in-law, and the other was his cousin—all family he could trust. But before he could answer, Er Ya asked curiously, "What kind of movement is it?"
Chen Xu winked at Guan Yi, and the woman said, "Okay, I'll show this little girl something today."
Then she walked to the center of the stage and, starting with the first movement, flawlessly executed over forty movements in one go! Look at the fluidity of her movements; she truly moved like a water snake. This set of movements was originally meant to combine strength and grace, but Guan Yi, based on her own physical condition, imbued it with a touch of femininity. After watching this set of movements, even Zhan Jing was somewhat stunned.
"Ah! Sister Guan Yi is so amazing! Teach me, teach me!"
Guan Yi looked at the excited Er Ya and said with some surprise, "Wait a minute, Chen Xu said this set of moves is a family tradition, you don't know it? Hmm, do you know this girl? He said she's his younger sister. You don't know her?"
Chen Xu then realized he had made a grave mistake… Er Ya here was his own sister, his genuine cousin! And Xiao Min… he had lied to Guan Yi, saying Xiao Min was also his sister! How do we calculate this?
Seeing Guan Yi and Er Ya looking over at the same time, Chen Xu chuckled dryly and said, "Cousin, a distant cousin. It's normal that you don't recognize this little girl. She's studying abroad right now."
Guan Yi's eyes showed a playful look, but he didn't pursue the matter further. Er Ya, however, scratched her head in confusion and said, "Huh, do I really have such a sister? She's so beautiful and talented! I must ask Mom when I get back!"
Chen Xu was sweating, thinking he needed to find a chance to fool this little girl. Just then, Er Ya excitedly said to Guan Yi, "Sister Guan Yi, you're doing so well now, can you teach me?"
Chen Xu said with a smile, "It's fine if Sister Guan Yi teaches you, but the key to this martial arts is perseverance. Some of the movements are very challenging to the limits of the human body. You can't give up when you're in so much pain!"
Hearing this, Wang Mingmei hesitated for a moment, but seeing Chen Xu's teasing smile, she couldn't resist puffing out her still-developing chest and said, "Hmph! Bring it on, who's afraid of who? Whoever gives up later is a little dog!"
Everyone chuckled. This girl is clearly fifteen, but her personality is like that of a seven or eight-year-old. Sigh, she'll never grow up!
Looking at Zhan Jing and Tang Bixuan, Tang Bixuan hesitated for a moment, her face flushed, and said, "Um, will it be difficult? I'm afraid I won't do it well."
This girl is just timid and has no self-confidence at all. Gao Xiaojie laughed and said, "It's okay, we'll just practice for fun. Miss Guan Yi, this looks a lot like yoga. I don't expect to get a figure like yours, just losing some weight and maintaining my figure would be great."
Chen Xu looked at Zhan Jing, who hesitated for a moment before smiling and nodding.
To be honest, Chen Xu had some ulterior motives in teaching them these moves... For example, he found it very enjoyable to see Gao Xiaojie and Er Ya screaming and yelling without any decorum while doing it... Fortunately, the soundproofing in this apartment was pretty good, otherwise, with that kind of screaming, the police would have come the next day to see if it was some kind of brothel.
As for Zhan Jing, Chen Xu thought this girl was remarkable. She was the one who had endured it all without uttering a sound. Moreover, when she found that she couldn't do some movements, she didn't force herself at all, but thought about it carefully, looked at the original text, and continued to do it later.
Chen Xu felt that this girl was indeed extraordinary. She was very patient and never did anything beyond her capabilities.
However, Chen Xu had another rather sordid thought. *Ahem*... Basically, this is what Chen Xu thought. He figured if he had a choice, it would probably be these three girls in front of him besides Tang Bixuan and Er Ya. He wanted to improve their flexibility now so that later on... oh dear, he blushed again.
Of all the girls, besides Guan Yi, Er Ya did the best.
Because Wang Mingmei's younger cousin has been practicing dance since she was little, and because she's still young and her body is still developing with flexible bones, she has the greatest potential for growth. However, even doing 20 moves at once was too much for the little girl to handle. She's quite stubborn, though; seeing Chen Xu laughing and rubbing his stomach without a care in the world, she gritted her teeth and refused to relax. If Guan Yi hadn't intervened in time, she almost injured her muscles and ligaments.
Chen Xu pinched the little girl's nose and said, "Oh dear, you're still so stubborn with your cousin." Then he gave her a few special instructions, saying that the worst thing you can do when doing these movements is to use too much force, otherwise you will definitely hurt yourself, doing more harm than good. So you have to proceed gradually. Don't be impatient.
After everyone practiced once, they easily worked up a sweat and felt warm all over. Gao Xiaojie said she was going to take a shower, and then asked with a smile, "Jingjing, do you want to shower with me?"
Zhan Jing laughed and cursed, "Go to hell!" Then she went to pack her clothes and said, "I'm going to take a shower too." Gao Xiaojie was about to speak with a lecherous look when Zhan Jing rolled her eyes at her and said, "Please, there are two bathrooms, okay? I'm not going to shower with you!"
Then the two girls laughed and joked as they went to take a shower. Guan Yi, who had been giving instructions the whole time, hadn't sweated much. He smiled, poured himself a glass of water, and sat on the sofa to watch an idol drama. This left Chen Xu and Wang Mingmei, the brother and sister, staring at each other blankly.
Then Wang Mingmei said, "Cousin, let's play games. Do you have King of Fighters installed on your computer?"
Chen Xu chuckled upon hearing this and said, "You play King of Fighters too? I have the '97 version."
Er Ya got excited as soon as she heard that and said arrogantly, "Of course! I'm really good at King of Fighters! None of my classmates can beat me!"
Chen Xu laughed and said, "You don't know that your older brother is known as the invincible fighter of Hexie University!"
Then the two experts connected two external keyboards, set up the keys, and started typing on Chen Xu's laptop.
However, after the three rounds were over, the older brother's face immediately darkened, because he lost all three rounds. In the last round, it was even more straightforward: all three characters that Chen Xu chose were easily defeated by Er Ya's Mai Shiranui!
"One against three! Haha!" Er Ya, who had won, excitedly pounded the bench, while someone's face turned ashen... Being defeated by such a little girl was truly the greatest humiliation of his life!
"If it doesn't work, let's try again!" Chen Xu was very unconvinced. He felt that the reason he couldn't beat Er Ya in King of Fighters was because Er Ya liked to use her special moves too much, and she was very skilled at it. This put him at a disadvantage.