Lu Yuan placed the bowl on the table, causing a few drops of soup to spill out.

"Say that again, how much?"

"Fifty thousand."

"Monthly salary?"

"Monthly salary."

Lu Yuan stared at Lu Ming for a full ten seconds, then reached out to feel his forehead again.

"No fever."

"You already checked."

Lu Yuan withdrew her hand, wiped it on her T-shirt, and sat back on the sofa.

"Brother, do you know how much I earned a month when I was doing accounting in Zhengzhou?"

"Three thousand five hundred, you mentioned it."

"Three thousand five hundred," Lu Yuan repeated the figure, "Up at seven every morning, off at six in the evening, one day off a week, and during month-end, quarter-end, and year-end, I worked overtime, even on weekends. Three thousand five hundred, after social security deductions, I took home three thousand one hundred. And now you're telling me fifty thousand a month?"

"Too little?"

"Too much!" Lu Yuan slapped the armrest of the sofa, "If you pay me fifty thousand a month, no accountant in Yunmeng County would earn more than me. In that lousy company in Zhengzhou, the CFO only makes twelve thousand."

Lu Ming ignored her excitement, pulled over a chair, flipped it around, and sat with his arms resting on the back.

"Listen to me. First, you're my cousin, I know you well, and I trust you. Second, this is your field of study and work, you'll get the hang of it quickly."

"How big is this thing you're planning?" Lu Yuan asked.

"Very big."

Lu Yuan was silent for a moment.

She wasn't someone who lacked judgment.

She knew Lu Ming's personality well, quiet, not one to boast, completely different from their third uncle who would brag without a second thought.

If it were someone else sitting here saying these things, she would have kicked them out long ago.

But Lu Ming was different.

This cousin she grew up with always kept his word.

"Is that certificate... real?" She glanced again at the red booklet on the table.

"Got it from the Housing Administration Bureau this afternoon, you can check."

Lu Yuan pursed her lips, her fingers rubbing back and forth on her knees.

"What if I don't do well?"

"If you don't do well, we'll find someone else. But you'll keep getting paid until you find another job."

"... Alright." Lu Yuan stood up, took the bowl to the sink, turned on the tap to rinse it, and with her back to Lu Ming, spoke in a low voice, "When do I start?"

"Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?!" She turned her head.

"Company registration, bank account opening, tax registration, you're more familiar with these than I am. You can handle it tomorrow."

"Have you even thought of a company name?"

"I have."

"What is it?"

"Yunmeng Investment Co., Ltd."

Lu Yuan turned off the tap, shook the water off her hands, and looked at him sideways.

"Registered capital?"

"Let's start with a hundred million."

"A hundred million?!" Lu Yuan's voice nearly cracked, "Registered capital of a hundred million? Are you crazy? Do you know that once the company is registered, you'll immediately be responsible for a hundred million in debt?"

"I know."

"Paid-in or subscribed capital?"

"We'll pay part of it first, isn't this building worth twenty million? It can be considered a fixed asset."

Lu Yuan didn't say anything this time.

She studied accounting and knew all too well what it meant to have a paid-in registered capital of a hundred million.

It's not just a number you fill in the Industry and Commerce system; it requires real money to be deposited into a verification account.

"How much money do you actually have?"

"Enough."

Lu Yuan opened her mouth but swallowed her words.

She pulled over a chair, sat across from Lu Ming, and took out a notebook and pen from a drawer.

"Scope of business?"

Lu Ming thought for a moment: "Enterprise management consulting, real estate development and operation, commercial operation management, construction engineering, catering services, cultural entertainment... add everything you can, to avoid changes later."

Lu Yuan scribbled down, filling half a page.

"Registered address?" she asked, looking up.

"Mid-section of Yingbin Road, Xincheng Commercial Tower."

"That building?"

"My building, my address."

Lu Yuan circled it on the paper and closed the notebook.

"Tomorrow at eight-thirty, when the Industry and Commerce Bureau opens, I'll go. Give me a copy of your ID tonight. Also, the company seal, financial seal, and legal representative seal need to be pre-ordered at a seal-making shop. Bank account opening requires an appointment, usually takes two or three days."

"Can it be expedited?"

"I'll try."

Lu Yuan stood up to tidy things up, suddenly remembering something: "What about your car? Did you really buy a Maybach?"

"It's parked outside."

Lu Yuan slipped on her slippers and headed out.

Lu Ming followed behind.

Outside the yard, under the streetlight, the black Maybach sat quietly.

Against the backdrop of Jianjun Auto Repair's iron sign, it stood out starkly.

Lu Yuan walked around the car.

She didn't know much about cars, but she recognized the three-pointed star emblem and the "Maybach" letters on the back.

"How much is this car?"

"Two hundred forty."

"... Thousand?"

Lu Yuan stood behind the car, looking down at the exhaust pipe, silent for a long time.

When she turned around again, her expression had changed.

"There are some things I can't explain to you right now," Lu Ming said, "but the money is clean, no problem with its origin. If you don't trust me, you don't have to do it, we're still cousins, and we'll still have dinner together during the New Year."

Lu Yuan stared into his eyes for a long time.

"I trust you."

"Okay."

"I'll do the work, what will you do?"

"I need to recruit and build a team, such a big company can't just be the two of us. HR manager, administrative manager, secretary, driver, and so on."

"Alright."

Lu Yuan lowered her hand, took a deep breath, and patted the Maybach's door.

"Alright then. Tomorrow at eight, come pick me up. Drive this one."

"Why?"

"I'm going to the Industry and Commerce Bureau to register the company. If there's a Maybach parked at the entrance, the staff will be more efficient with the paperwork. Don't laugh, that's how it is in the county, this car is more useful than any letter of introduction."

Lu Ming didn't laugh.

Because she was right.

On the way home, Lu Ming rolled down the car window.

A quick look at "pawread.com" will leave you more fulfilled.

The night breeze rushed in, carrying the scent of the fields.

The streetlights in the county were spaced far apart, with some sections almost completely dark, only the car's headlights illuminating a patch of light ahead.

When he entered the house, his father, Lu Jianguo, was sitting in the living room watching TV, CCTV-6 was playing "Let the Bullets Fly."

Lu Jianguo turned his head to glance at him: "Your third uncle called me."

"What did he say?"

"He said you bought a car worth over two million." Lu Ming thought Old Lu had promised not to mention it yet.

Lu Jianguo placed the remote on the coffee table.

"You, really made money?"

"Made some."

"How much is some?"

"Enough to spend."

Lu Jianguo stared at him for a while, then said, "Normally, you're cautious, wouldn't do anything wrong, but for something this big, you should at least tell me. I just want to know one thing, is the money clean?"

"Don't worry, Dad, I never do anything illegal."

Lu Jianguo picked up the remote and turned up the volume by two notches, continuing to watch the movie.

On TV, Jiang Wen rode a white horse into Goose Town.

"The county is tough," Lu Jianguo suddenly said, his eyes never leaving the screen, "this place, it's deep waters."

Lu Ming sat down on the other end of the sofa.

"I know."

"Good that you know."

The father and son sat in the living room, neither speaking again, watching Jiang Wen stir things up in Goose Town together.