Benefactor

[Underworld + Antiques + Furs + Scams]

Since ancient times, getting ahead has required three kinds of clout:

First, powerful connections in official circles.

Second, powerful brothers in the underworld.

Third, real skills of your own.

And the connections mentioned first often come, directly or indirectly, from the support and help of influential benefactors.

My name is Chen Xiaoqi. In 1997, when I was eighteen, a Han Dynasty pendant forced me to leave my hometown. After a long journey south, I arrived in Jiangcheng and turned to Li Fugui, a fellow villager.

But the first person in Jiangcheng to set me up was none other than Li Fugui.

One scam after another followed, leaving me struggling to keep up.

Just as I, still young and inexperienced, was about to fall apart, a woman suddenly appeared.

She told me, "That's how the underworld works. If you want to live with dignity, earn the respectful title of Master, and wear a long gown, mandarin jacket, and wool coat, you have to endure this world's cruel rules."

I never learned that woman's name.

I only knew everyone called her Sister Hua.

She was my first "benefactor."

And the first woman I slept with!