Saving the Boss From a ‘Dog Blood’ Novel - Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Let Me Help You Flex Real Quick

Ye Li had an excellent memory. Just as he clearly remembered his first meeting with Lu Mingtang, his first encounter with Wu Yu was equally deep-seated in his mind.

To an eighteen-year-old “steel-headed” rebel, a boss with a strong will was just another “thorns-on-thorns” situation. His initial shred of goodwill toward Lu Mingtang had quickly turned into the agonizing friction of a needle facing a wheat awn. By comparison, falling for Wu Yu had been almost a matter of course.

Wu Yu catered to the secret heroism of an eighteen-year-old boy. He was weak yet hardworking, his mind brimming with many innocent and lovely delusions, all betrayed by those clear, crystalline eyes.

Who could dislike Wu Yu? With a face that beautiful, he would have had countless people defending him even if he lacked a resilient soul, not to mention that he actually possessed one.

Born into bitter poverty, yet possessing a steadfast spirit, harmless in character and purely kind-hearted. Though the world treated him as it did, he still maintained such a deep love for it. He was practically a “valiant man” from a sage’s writings—no, no, no—he was a little prince who had stepped out of a fairy tale.

At least, for all these years, Ye Li had indeed protected him like a little prince.

Now, the “Prince” persona was crumbling a bit—

Didn’t he say his grandparents, maternal grandparents, father, and mother were all dead and gone, and that he had grown up destitute on the charity of the neighborhood? That he relied on “high-interest loans” from Brother Lu just to study? Where did this loud-mouthed, vigorous grandmother spring from?

And…Grandma, you already have a grandson who is a star; why are you still scrounging for the minimum living allowance?

Ye Li the puppy was stunned.

This was more inconceivable than the secret research topics in his department.

The tangled mess at the village committee continued to unravel; no one cared about the bewilderment of a small dog.

Wu Yu’s grandmother was a master at quarreling, but she lacked the skill to debate an entire crowd. The neighbors, whose old and new grudges had been stirred up, were not polite. When she brandished her meat cleaver in an attempt to physically intimidate the masses, the scene spiraled out of control once again.

The old were unreasonable, and the young were hot-headed. A-Dong looked ready to stake her life on the line just to ensure the old woman didn’t take a single cent.

Fortunately, Lu Mingtang was there. He forcibly pulled the two of them apart; otherwise, someone would have shed blood on the spot before the police arrived.

He was like a “Sea-Calming Needle,” suppressing all the surging waves and fierce winds. Regardless of whether she liked it or not, even Grandma Long felt a bit intimidated by him. But when she heard him say to A-Dong:

“Give it to her.”

She immediately perked up again.

A-Dong’s eyes widened:

“On what grounds? Raising one little white-eyed wolf wasn’t enough, now we have to support an old white-eyed wolf too?!”

“It was meant for her in the first place. I gave my word back then.”

Lu Mingtang had no time to waste here, he just wanted to settle the matter quickly. But A-Dong wasn’t buying it—was her name printed on the money? If she called out to the cash, would it answer?

“Who did you give your word to? Who heard it? How old were you back then? Aside from the old shameless ones and the young shameless ones, what debt could possibly be pinned on your head?”

“Behave,” Lu Mingtang’s voice sank several degrees.

A-Dong stubbornly remained silent, her lips turning white with anger.

She thought: Who hasn’t faced financial difficulties? Is Lu Mingtang the only saint? What’s the situation now? How many people in the village are making sarcastic remarks? He’s still trying to save face while suffering!

From one end of the village to the other, which household hadn’t borrowed money from him? And now? They were all hiding from him like mice from a cat. The ones with a conscience still called him “Brother Lu,” while the ones without a conscience wished they could erase the memory of ever associating with him.

But compared to these two from the Wu family who sucked blood so righteously, the others seemed like normal people.

“I know what you’re thinking, but I really haven’t run into any major problems. The current cash flow difficulty is only because the company is bidding for a large project. Once the project lands, I will buy the shop back.”

A-Dong didn’t believe him, but the others did. Their hanging hearts settled back into their chests, and they became increasingly benevolent and kind-faced, comforting him:

“I knew it. Who among you could understand the twists and turns of a big company?”

“It’s just those women gossiping. Ah Tang is doing big business… what project is that?”

“A military project. It’s classified; I can’t say too much.” Lu Mingtang looked as if he held the winning hand; at least, everyone was bluffed by him.

“Oh, the military? No wonder. It must be a very big project.”

“Isn’t it? Otherwise, why would I have such a headache?” Lu Mingtang smiled, his few words triggering wild flights of imagination in the crowd.

Some people’s attitudes became even more affectionate. They completely forgot how they had avoided him earlier and asked:

“Your nephew studied electronic information and is graduating this year. Can he go over and help you out?”

Compared to the neighbors who didn’t know what on earth he was talking about but felt their hearts settle, Ye Li’s imagination was much more precise—

Military projects aimed at private enterprises were few and far between, usually involving “military-to-civilian” industrial upgrades. There was only one related to his line of work, and it happened to pass through his hands.

His ears twitched, and he couldn’t help but start calculating:

Biological Coordination was a track that only became popular after he entered the 17th Research Institute. It was obscure before, with little technical accumulation in the private sector. Since the “stove” had heated up, few “overachievers” had entered the field. Only an anomaly like Lu Mingtang was willing to tend a cold stove, and he went all in…

Thinking of this, his ears stopped twitching, and he tilted his head up to stare at him:

This man actually deserved a 90/100 on technical skill. It was just his interpersonal skills that lacked “finesse.” If he tried to serve those “Big Bosses” at the top with his “daddy” attitude, there would definitely be no good fruit for him. But if it was handled by him (Ye Li) when the time came, he could certainly give him a fair shake.

He hesitated for a moment, scratching his paw on the ground. Even if he wasn’t the one presiding over it, his presence these days would surely allow Lu Mingtang’s product and technical advantages to exceed other companies by an entire generation.

With that thought, the puppy’s thumping, rapid heartbeat finally calmed down.

He grandly jumped onto Lu Mingtang’s foot and, using his still-unpracticed leg-climbing skills, successfully caught the man’s attention and occupied a high position on his body.

Not many people were curious about the presence of a clever little dog by his side. Its appearance was like Lu Mingtang starting a company before finishing university, or him doing hundreds of millions in business daily and now dealing with the military—it was both bizarre and ordinary.

After all, his attitude was relaxed, as if this truly were just a small ripple on the road of his career that would soon be smoothed over.

It was just like what many companies on the verge of bankruptcy would claim in the early stages of a public relations crisis: Our company’s financial status is perfectly normal; the information appearing online is all rumor; please maintain confidence in the company.

Until it could no longer be contained—POP—it would scatter like a mess of chicken feathers, letting the whole world see his helplessness.

Ye Li occasionally harbored such speculations, only to feel a surge of self-satisfaction:

Fortunately, Lu Mingtang had him behind him. He wouldn’t let the man fall to such a state, at the very least, he would help him redeem his ancestral home so he wouldn’t have to show such dog-stomach-aching nostalgia for those broken old furnishings every time he locked the door.

After the storm of the “economic crisis” subsided, people began to care about Lu Mingtang’s life again, attempting to cover up the previous small disturbance with a dense air of domesticity. This allowed Ye Li to witness Lu Mingtang’s prestige in the local area.

Many cities have “urban villages” like this, submerged by the grand tide of urban development, surrounded by bubbles of prosperity. Then one day, the capital chain breaks, the tide recedes, and a mess is left behind.

They don’t have the deep poverty of the mountain depths, but they certainly cannot be called wealthy. There is government care, but care is just care; in the end, they must seek their own blessings. Therefore, places like this require “strongmen” for support. One leading enterprise drives an industry; the upstream and downstream channels are connected, and the livelihood of the entire village—even the whole town or a small half of the city—is solved.

If Lu Mingtang hadn’t encountered this hurdle, perhaps he could have successfully integrated his industry downward, established physical factory zones, and absorbed the vast majority of the village’s labor force.

But unfortunately, he had met a mysterious “Waterloo.”

Yet people were still simple. They looked to him for a living, and they also looked to him to solve their domestic trifles.

In the three days since he returned, excluding the night he was sick, the tailor shop was so crowded there was no place for a dog to step. It was fine that Ah Feng and Fourth Aunt sent him meals daily, but was it really Lu Mingtang’s business that Auntie Wu’s child wasn’t going to school?

Your kid got into a fight and ended up at the police station, why didn’t you go to the police station instead of coming here?

Uncle Wang’s child doesn’t send money home—so what? Are you looking for a new “son” to send money, and is his surname Lu?

Ye Li went from jaw-dropping shock to numb indifference.

Dealing with the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled is a world-class problem, especially with elders whose cognitive and expressive abilities are deteriorating daily. Admittedly, there are gentle people in the world filled with empathy who can solve all these “old lady” problems in an orderly fashion.

But that was definitely not Ye Li. Before turning into this puppy, Ye Li felt it couldn’t possibly be Lu Mingtang either.

He thought they were the same—equally hard, equally sharp, equally impatient. The meaning of life lay in the pursuit, even if the object of pursuit floated in the sky.

The fact that Ye Li could restrain himself from roaring right now while Auntie Wu wailed about her daughter refusing to pay to help her brother get a wife was purely based on his upbringing as a human being.

But Lu Mingtang only frowned slightly, advising the mother and daughter to reconcile in a calm, even somewhat gentle manner.

“That heartless girl! If I’d known, I wouldn’t have let her study so much. All that schooling went straight into a dog’s belly. Now that her wings are strong, she doesn’t know how to help the family.”

“A-Qing sends you money every month.”

“But what about her brother? As the elder sister, she’s like a mother, is she just going to ignore him? Little Feng’s legs are bad, he doesn’t have a good job. If she doesn’t help him, how is he supposed to marry a wife?”

Bad legs don’t mean a bad brain… is not marrying a wife such a catastrophic event?

Lu Mingtang truly had a good temper. He even unhurriedly comforted A-Dong, that little firecracker—

“What era is this? ‘Elder sister is like a mother’—was the sister born owing the brother? Auntie Wu is just biased; I think there’s nothing wrong with Sister Qing ignoring this!” A-Dong grumbled, becoming a human mouthpiece for Ye Li the dog.

If you don’t have capability, go cultivate it. Is capability something your mother can cry out for you? And you’re blaming it on your sister?

“Auntie Wu’s words were a bit blunt, but her heart isn’t bad. She only has two children; how biased can she be?”

A-Dong was unconvinced. She had an older brother and a younger brother; she was clearly projecting herself into the situation.

But Lu Mingtang clearly saw much more. He used his gaze to tolerate A-Dong’s childishness:

“If she were truly biased, she wouldn’t have worked so hard to put Ying-zi through university. She’s just afraid that after she’s gone, the two children will drift apart and not help each other.”

A-Dong hummed in a low voice: “Isn’t it always Sister Ying helping him? What can her brother help with? The little bloodsucker.”

Her words were quiet but clear. As soon as she finished, she got a tap on her head:

“Siblings are siblings. What’s this talk about bloodsucking?”

“It’s the truth. Without her brother, Sister Ying could have lived a very good life on her own.”

“They are kin. Blood is thicker than water…what’s your grudge with Chen Er? He hasn’t offended you.”

A-Dong curled her lip: “I just can’t stand his ‘waiting-to-die’ attitude. He’s just lame, not actually severed. Every day he clings to that little disability to sell his misery to everyone!”

It wasn’t just Chen Er; A-Dong looked down on almost anyone in this village who still walked on two legs, including herself. Her heart had already grown wings and was ready to fly out at any moment—if not to build a career, then at least to gain some skills.

Sometimes she really hated her “Brother Lu.” Why did he come back? What “hometown”? It was just a mud pit. Even she was just dragging him down into the depths. A village full of the elderly, weak, sick, disabled, and even a few lunatics—what could they possibly help him with?

The village couldn’t keep people. The capable ones had left long ago. Like Boss Wu, who only returned once or twice a year for the sake of prestige. There were others who brought money back, either because they were so successful they had to donate to show off their status, or because they held a sense of sentiment, thinking of returning to their roots later.

Mainly, it was because everyone had received some favor from Lu Mingtang, so they didn’t want to lose face for him. And this time, when he fell on hard times, they also did their best to help, pooling a sum of money to help him through the crisis, doing their part in human relations.

But it was a drop in the bucket.

The scale of investment needed for R&D was far beyond the imagination of ordinary people. When Ye Li left, Lu Mingtang’s company didn’t even have a proper laboratory; running data required borrowing machines from research institutes, and turning them on once cost six figures.

The money he brought back this time was barely enough to turn the machine on twice.

But as long as the product was right, twice was enough—at least enough for the bidding.

Ye Li couldn’t help but urge him to leave quickly. His human mouthpiece helped a lot. What was the point of “holding court” in the old tailor shop every day?

It was delaying the big mission!

Hurry back to the company and let Young Master Ye “flex” for him!