Chapter 6: My Brother’s House Was Burglarized

“Brother Sun, don’t worry, let’s have a toast.”

Du Qiu raised his glass to clink with Sun Hongming while consoling him.

Sun Hongming took a drink and sighed, “I am 40 years old this year. In Magic City, this huge city, it wasn’t easy to find my footing, to take out a loan and buy a house.”

Liu Yaofeng laughed and intervened, “You mean you upgraded to a bigger house.”

“Don’t interrupt, let Brother Sun speak.”

Du Qiu and the others had been busy all morning collecting their personal belongings from the company, and decided to eat out together for a meal.

According to Liu Yaofeng, this was a farewell meal.

In fact, all three of them were close to Du Qiu. Today, when the company’s doors opened, it was Du Qiu who had exerted himself, so they found an excuse to express their thanks.

Now Luxing Technology, the company they had been serving together, had gone bankrupt, and they would soon part ways, which left everyone somewhat reluctant to leave.

After drinking some alcohol, the thin-faced Sun Hongming’s face turned red.

“From the time I graduated from university until now, I have worked hard for more than a decade and finally became a mid-to-upper level manager in a company, with an enviable salary that even allows my wife to stay at home and give birth to a second child, take care of the children.

Who would have thought that such a promising emerging technology innovative enterprise would shut down overnight?

Just last year, some old classmates and colleagues were still envious of me for working at a company developing autonomous driving technology and even asked me to refer them for jobs if the company expanded.

The employees worked hard, and the boss struggled too, so how come the capital chain broke?

Do you know? The day before yesterday, Vice President Xiao still told me that the second round of funding of 60 million U.S. dollars was about to arrive!”

After drinking, Sun Hongming became more talkative.

Yuan Minhua also lamented, “Yeah, I thought I could have a long-term job at this company. Last year, when we were recruiting Dr. Du, the company’s prospects were described so wonderfully, I didn’t expect it to end like this…”

“Hey, what are you all worrying about? We are capable people; finding a new job should be easy, right?” Liu Yaofeng was somewhat impatient.

Yuan Minhua immediately retorted, “Of course you’re not worried. At the age of twenty-eight with five years of work experience, such an electrical engineer is very popular in the job market.

But Brother Sun and I are not young anymore, we are already marginalized in the job market.”

“What do you know?” Liu Yaofeng seemed a bit upset and argued, “I’ve changed jobs seven or eight times in these five years. My salary has indeed increased quite a bit.

But the distance between that and being able to buy a house and settle down in Magic City is still out of reach.

Are you saying that my whole life is just for a house in Magic City?”

“Isn’t it just for a house? All these years I’ve been so busy, and I still haven’t bought a house. Now I have become an unwanted leftover woman.”

Sun Hongming finished his glass in one gulp and said, “So what if you buy one? Like a house slave like me, I have to pay a 20,000-mortgage every month. Now that I’m unemployed, I’m too anxious to go home and face my wife.”

“Didn’t you send out wedding candy before, Sister Yuan?” Liu Yaofeng said.

“Don’t mention it. Just thinking about it brings tears of bitterness.” Yuan Minhua picked up her glass, drank it all in one go, filled it up again, and continued drinking.

It seemed that she was trying to vent something.

The mood suddenly grew cold.

Du Qiu is a local from Magic City and didn’t share the deep feelings of three new residents of Magic City towards their housing woes.

He inherited a house from his father, and another one from his maternal grandparents. Although he doesn’t have a stack of property ownership certificates as some people do, he indeed has savings and no worries about housing.

“Hey, don’t let this farewell meal be so gloomy.”

“Boss, you have the ability, why don’t you lead us in starting a business?” Liu Yaofeng looked at Du Qiu and suggested.

“Yeah, Dr. Du, you are a local, and you have connections in all aspects. Starting a business would definitely not be a problem,” Sun Hongming added.

Yuan Minhua’s eyes lit up, staring at Du Qiu, hoping he would nod in agreement.

Sun Hongming chuckled and said, “Xiao Du, if you really start a business, although I can’t invest money, I can contribute my hundred and some pounds of weight.

The salary doesn’t have to be as high as at Luxing Technology, just enough for me to pay the monthly mortgage and provide for the family.”

Du Qiu was moved but replied with a smile, “Actually, I am the youngest here. Talking about starting a business, I’ve indeed had that idea before.

But you also know that I do technical research. Without a product in hand, what would I start a business with?”

“Boss, aren’t you developing a software program? How is it going?” Liu Yaofeng asked.

Du Qiu shook his head and said, “The foundation is there, but it’s still far from meeting my expectations.”

Liu Yaofeng seemed disappointed and silently drank a glass of alcohol.

Then he poured another glass which he held up to Du Qiu, “Boss, if your software is successful and you decide to start a business, you must notify me. I assure you I’ll be available at a moment’s notice.”

“Count me in,” Yuan Minhua joined in with her glass.

“Me too.”

After the four of them clinked glasses, they all drank up.

The conversation then became wide-ranging.

“This instant holds a million possibilities…”

Seeing “Two Golden Orioles” on the screen once more, his heart sighed and he answered the phone.

“Du Qiu, something serious has happened!”

“Why this alarming tone again? What sort of serious matter is it?” Du Qiu, frowning upon hearing Zhang Mingliu’s loud voice, couldn’t help but be perplexed.

“Last night, my brother’s house was actually robbed!”

“Your brother’s house? Weren’t your sister-in-law and the kid at home? I hope they’re okay.”

Du Qiu knew that Zhang Mingliu’s brother, Zhang Shangqing, had settled down in Magic City with his wife and had a three-year-old daughter.

Zhang Mingliu’s voice started to choke up, “They are fine. Last night after dinner, Xiao Yu had a fever, and my sister-in-law took her to the hospital for emergency care. When they returned home after her IV at about one in the morning,

They found the house in complete disarray. Thankfully they weren’t home; otherwise, I can’t bear to think about what might have happened…”

“If they’re okay, why are you crying?” Upon hearing Zhang Mingliu’s sobs over the phone, Du Qiu was taken aback.

During the time they were dating, he remembered that Zhang Mingliu never cried, with a personality tough enough to be considered a tomboy.

It was only a month ago that he saw Zhang Mingliu cry for the first time, and now he was hearing it again so soon.

“I’m currently on leave accompanying my sister-in-law. Can you come over after you finish work?” Zhang Mingliu asked, holding back her tears.

Du Qiu looked at the three people across the table. Sun Hongming was the first to speak, “Xiao Du, go ahead if you have something to do.”

“Yeah, we’re almost done here too. We’ll keep in touch by phone,” Yuan Minhua said.

“Boss, hurry over to take care of things.”

Du Qiu told Zhang Mingliu on the phone, “I will come right over.”

After hanging up, he said apologetically, “A friend of mine had a break-in at home. I’m going to check it out.”

After saying goodbye to the three, Du Qiu quickly left the restaurant, settling the bill before he left.

Unable to drive after drinking, he had no choice but to take a taxi.