The atmosphere was incredibly eerie, with Lin Mengjie's clothes in disarray, and Ye Qing's hand less than half a foot away from her critical parts.

Ye Qing had good intentions and wanted to pull her clothes up to cover her, but it would have been easier to explain if Lin Mengjie had been awake. Unfortunately, Lin Mengjie had just been asleep and woke up to see this scene, making it somewhat embarrassing. It might even be misconstrued as an attempt at groping!

The most crucial thing was that there was not a single onlooker around, meaning Ye Qing couldn't find anyone to vouch for his innocence!

Lin Mengjie just looked at Ye Qing, who was also stunned for a while before hurriedly withdrawing his hand, saying, "Your... your clothes fell off, I... I was trying to pull them up for you..."

Lin Mengjie looked down at her clothes and also saw her accidentally exposed charms, her face turning red.

Seeing Lin Mengjie blush made Ye Qing even more embarrassed and he hurriedly said, "I didn't mean... I wasn't talking about your clothes, I meant my clothes. I was originally covering you with it, but somehow it fell off, I didn't mean anything else, don't misunderstand..."

This kind of matter was precisely the kind that becomes more complicated the more you try to explain it. Lin Mengjie looked at Ye Qing with a faint smile and softly said, "I don't blame you."

Ye Qing was stunned for a moment, then reacted as if stung by a scorpion, almost jumping out of the car. What did Lin Mengjie mean by that? Not blaming me? I didn't do anything! What is there to blame me for?

Just as Ye Qing was about to explain to Lin Mengjie, several cars behind honked their horns, seeming to urge Ye Qing's car to move.

"Damn, in such a hurry to be reborn, huh!" Ye Qing muttered, but still had to drive. Otherwise, if those people came over and saw the atmosphere, who knew what they might think!

Throughout the journey, Lin Mengjie kept her face red and her head down, occasionally stealing glances at Ye Qing. Ye Qing, on the other hand, was extremely embarrassed. He had never encountered such a melodramatic situation in his life, and it just had to happen to him. It looked like he couldn't clear his name even if he jumped into the Yellow River!

Nothing else happened on the road, and in the afternoon, Ye Qing and his group returned to Shenchuan City.

Ye Qing had no place to live in Shenchuan City, the house he previously rented wasn't large enough for so many people. Tian Sheng was also open for business now, so naturally it was no longer an option for housing, forcing them to rush back to the orphanage.

Upon their return, Li Lianshan was already waiting outside. Seeing Ye Qing's group come back in four cars, he promptly went up to greet them. When he saw a stunningly beautiful woman step out of Ye Qing's car, he widened his eyes and gave Ye Qing a thumbs up, saying, "Ye Zi, you are awesome!"

Ye Qing knew what Li Lianshan meant and was completely speechless. He simply ignored him and went straight into the orphanage.

Construction had already begun enthusiastically over there; previously, there were a few groups wanting to cause trouble. However, after Zhao Chengshuang returned and personally led a team over, no one dared to come close anymore and the project was proceeding smoothly.

On the grass behind the orphanage, Fang Tingyun, Huo Pingping, and Mo Xiang were playing with the children. Huang Fulin was sitting on a small stool nearby, smoking his dry pipe and watching the children play joyfully. His wrinkled face was full of smiles, and he seemed to have grown younger.

Huang Fulin's wife was next to him drying mushrooms and preparing food for the children. A dog was roaming around the old lady, occasionally looking up at the cured meat hanging on the wall, as if plotting something; this dog was Da Hei, stolen from the army unit by Black Bear and now settled here, beloved by the children.

"Ye Zi, this is your orphanage?" Qin Jing walked over, looking amazed at the bustling construction site, murmuring, "Such a large piece of land, how much does it cost?"

Not just Qin Jing, but also Chen Jun Hou San Yue Peng and others were shocked by the large piece of land. In those days, land was the most valuable asset. Such a large plot of land would be worth a lot in Jiuchuan County, let alone in Shenchuan City. It seemed that Ye Qing's financial strength was indeed strong; otherwise, how could he secure such a vast area?

On seeing Ye Qing, Huang Fulin quickly put away his pipe and greeted from afar, "Boss Ye, you're back!"

Ye Qing waved at him and soon, Fang Tingyun and the other girls noticed Ye Qing along with the children. The kids came running over, surrounding Ye Qing, all calling out for Uncle Ye.

Ye Qing picked up one of the smallest girls and playfully made her laugh. Fang Tingyun and the other women were also delighted to see Ye Qing.

"You darn soldier, have you sorted out your family issues? Finally rolling back here!" Huo Pingping spoke with dominance, but Ye Qing was already used to it.

After greeting the three women and seeing how happy they were living there, interacting with the children every day, which was much better than dealing with cutthroat corporate life, Ye Qing finally had a chance to join Li Lianshan to check on the progress of the work site. The construction was going well, especially since Ye Qing's funds were in place. In a little over a month, the work would be complete. Of course, the decoration would take some time, but they would definitely be able to move in before the end of the year. Also, the children could stay in Huang Fulin's previous building for now, so there was no immediate concern.

After making a round about the area, as the sky was about to darken, Ye Qing led everyone back to the city. Li Lianshan had already made arrangements, not only hosting a welcome back dinner for everyone but also briefing Ye Qing about what had happened in Shenchuan City after his departure.

Ye Qing's various establishments were still the same old, with hardly any income each day. If it weren't for Ye Qing's instruction not to make a move, Li Lianshan would have taken care of the managers of those places long ago.

"Ye Zi, these ten establishments are the foundation of your earnings. No matter what, we can't let these people keep messing around like this. Otherwise, it's not just about not making money, I'm afraid they might ruin your places," Li Lianshan said. "If you ask me, we should just be straightforward, sink all these bastards to the bottom of the sea. Then find a new group of people. Even if it means starting from scratch, it's better than the situation now!"

Ye Qing was quite calm, replying, "No rush, let's take it slow!"

"Damn, how can you not be in a hurry?" Li Lianshan's eyes bulged as he looked at Ye Qing with a mix of frustration and disappointment, saying, "I don't even know what to say about you. Sometimes you act so ruthlessly, but at other times, you're too merciful. I'm telling you, being merciful to these people is pointless. It's better to cut the Gordian knot and solve everything at once."

"Don't worry, this matter will be resolved very soon!" Ye Qing said as he glanced at Lin Mengjie beside him. With Lin Mengjie's arrival as a management personnel, Ye Qing was indeed preparing to take action against his own establishments.

"Fine, fine, I'm tired of nagging. You do whatever you think is best!" Li Lianshan waved his hand and said, "By the way, the Southern Suburbs Dogfight Arena is refurbished. I hired that friend of yours, what's his name, Liu Yuan, and he did a decent job. I'm planning to find an auspicious day for the opening. Last time you mentioned you could invite Huangfu Ziyu; was that true or not?"

"Let's talk about it when the time comes!" Ye Qing said.

"Damn it, you can't always be like this, saying 'let's talk about it when the time comes.' The time is almost here, and if we don't discuss it now, it'll be too late!" Li Lianshan exclaimed. "Ye Zi, recently, several gangs from other provinces have been stirring. They all know about the trick you played on them last time and now they all want to come look for trouble. I bet they're waiting for the dogfight arena's opening day to humiliate us. If we don't have someone impressive to hold down the fort at the arena that day, it's not just the outsiders we'll have to worry about; even the Tianqing Gang and Fu Bang will be tough to handle!"

"Rest assured, leave it to me!" Ye Qing said with a light smile, not certain about getting Huangfu Ziyu and Chen Si, but he was confident that he could invite Tie Yongwen.

With someone who had such a formidable reputation for over a decade in Shenchuan City, it definitely wouldn't be much worse than having Huangfu Ziyu and Chen Si!

Li Lianshan stared at Ye Qing for a while then said, "All right, all right, I'll trust you this once. That settles it, then. If anything happens that I can't handle, you have to take care of it. If the dogfight arena is disrupted again at its reopening, future business is definitely going to suffer. Don't blame me if we don't make money then!"

Ye Qing smiled and replied, "I trust you, making money with the dogfight arena won't be an issue."

Li Lianshan shook his head and said, "Damn, don't say that; I don't even trust myself. Tiger King was such a big deal, and it was expected for him to bring the dogfight arena to this stage. Together, we are not even half as powerful as the Tiger King was. To make the dogfight arena successful, that's tough!"

Ye Qing picked up his glass and took a gentle sip, saying, "Human effort is the decisive factor!"

"You always say that, and it's why I don't like to talk with you!" Li Lianshan shook his head and got up, saying, "I'm going to take a leak!"

As he watched Li Lianshan leave, Lin Mengjie leaned closer to Ye Qing and whispered, "Big Brother Ye, when will you bring the account books for the establishments for me to look at?"

"Don't be in a hurry; rest up today, and we'll start work tomorrow!" Ye Qing replied.

Lin Mengjie nodded, although Ye Qing had been the one mainly driving, she too was quite worn out, after all, she was a girl.

Chen Jun Hou San Yue Peng Qin Jing and others were sitting at the table, enjoying their meal so much that they did not hear what Ye Qing and Li Lianshan were discussing.

"This dish is really good!"

"Yeah, it's so delicious!"

"There's so much meat!"

The last sentence was said by Qin Jing, the little chubby guy. Back in the village, getting meat to eat was a big deal. He would only eat meat four or five times a year, and that too only during major holidays. Ever since following Ye Qing, his life had improved dramatically, and his happiness soared to unprecedented levels!

While everyone was enjoying their meal, the door was suddenly pushed open, and a man stumbled in. It turned out to be Li Lianshan. A dagger was stuck in his left shoulder, staining a large area of his clothes red, the pain was so intense that his face contorted.