Chapter 229: Living Carefree

**Nighttime.**

Li Dong arrived at the small restaurant where he had arranged to meet Wang Jie. Wang Jie had already arrived ahead of time.

Compared to earlier in the day, Wang Jie was much more clean and tidy. He even wore glasses that he hadn't worn earlier, giving him a more scholarly appearance.

When he saw Li Dong, Wang Jie smiled and said, "Sit down. What would you like to eat?"

"Anything."

"I hate it when people say 'anything' but then end up not being casual about it."

Wang Jie joked, then turned to the busy lady boss and said, "Sister Ding, let's have Kung Pao chicken, sweet and sour pork ribs, braised crucian carp…"

He ordered five or six dishes in a row, and Li Dong quickly interjected, "That's enough. There's just the two of us; ordering too much would be wasteful."

Wang Jie laughed, "Okay, we won't order more, but we must have a serving of beer-braised duck. After all, I sold that duck to them. You should try it."

Li Dong also laughed and asked, "Since when did you start selling ducks?"

Hearing the tone in Li Dong's voice, Wang Jie knew what he meant and responded with mock annoyance, "Get lost, dirty-minded!"

The two of them burst into laughter, and the lady boss nearby also laughed along.

After a few more jokes, Wang Jie sighed, "We haven't seen each other for half a year, and you've changed a lot."

"Let's not talk about me. You've changed even more. Tell me about it."

Wang Jie shrugged and said, "What's there to say? You've seen it all."

"I got expelled from school, returned home to sell chickens and ducks. Technically, I'm now in the same line of work as your dad. From now on, if I call your dad Old Li, you'll have to call me Uncle Wang."

Li Dong glared at him, pretending to be angry, "You rascal, you've grown bold, daring to take advantage of me now!"

"Heh heh, your words can be easily misunderstood. I like women, not men. Next time, watch what you say." Wang Jie replied with a grin.

Li Dong saw that Wang Jie was dodging the topic with jokes and knew he didn't want to talk about it, so he didn't press further.

When the dishes were served, the two of them opened a bottle of white liquor and toasted each other.

After a few drinks, Wang Jie showed no sign of being affected. Li Dong noticed and asked, "Your alcohol tolerance is improving. How did you train?"

"Just drink more, and you'll get used to it."

Wang Jie smiled faintly and said, "During the time after the breakup, I drank a bottle of white liquor every day for a month. I almost had a stomach hemorrhage. After that, I rarely drank. But today, since we rarely get together, I'm making an exception."

Though he spoke casually, Li Dong could imagine what kind of days Wang Jie had gone through.

For someone who didn't usually drink, to drink a bottle of white liquor daily—it was a miracle Wang Jie didn't drink himself to death.

However, seeing Wang Jie now, it seemed he had made it through that phase. Li Dong then asked, "Was your expulsion related to Chen Yue?"

Wang Jie nodded at first, then shook his head, "It wasn't really about her. I just couldn't get over it in my mind, so I found a chance to break that guy's leg. Chen Yue pleaded for me; otherwise, I would have been expelled and likely ended up in jail."

Li Dong finally understood what had happened. He remembered Wang Jie mentioning last time that Chen Yue had gotten involved with a rich second-generation heir.

He hadn't expected Wang Jie to be so ruthless, directly breaking the guy's leg.

But if it had been Li Dong in Wang Jie's place, that guy might have ended up even worse.

Li Dong laughed, "It's probably for the best that you got expelled. Honestly, staying in the capital would have been pointless. Watching others being lovey-dovey would have made things even harder."

"You're still as sharp-tongued as ever. To be honest, my way of handling things has been corrupted by you. I used to be so innocent, always trying to avoid conflict. If it weren't for you constantly fighting, I wouldn't have turned out this way."

Li Dong rolled his eyes and said angrily, "Stop talking nonsense. You were already mischievous by nature; don't pin it on me."

Wang Jie chuckled and didn't argue back. He clinked his glass with Li Dong's and then said, "But you know what, after doing that, I actually felt a lot better."

Li Dong laughed, "That's called the anger of an honest man. You've held it in for so many years; venting is good for your mental and physical health."

"Twisted logic!" Wang Jie cursed with a smile, "But I like it!"

"Hahaha…"

The two of them laughed again and raised their glasses for another drink.

After a bit more idle chatter, Li Dong asked, "I heard you've set up a small website to sell poultry?"

Wang Jie picked up a peanut, chewed it, and nodded, "Yeah, something like that. But the results have been mediocre. Not many people in Dongping are online, and most internet users are young. The main customers at the market are middle-aged and older folks. I'm thinking of trying a different approach."

"Did you develop the website yourself?"

"I couldn't do it alone. A few classmates helped me out; we did it together. But making a website isn't the hard part; promotion is key. Without promotion, no one visits the site."

Wang Jie sighed helplessly, "Actually, I originally planned to open a Taobao shop to sell Dongping's local specialties. But my parents didn't agree; they said it was too risky. So, in the end, I just set up a website for poultry sales as a consolation."

Li Dong nodded without saying much, but inside, his thoughts were churning.

Wang Jie really had a good eye. In 2005, thinking about opening an online store to sell local specialties—he was truly ahead of his time.

If he had actually done it, maybe not getting rich, but earning a few million after ten years wouldn't have been too difficult.

But it was unfortunate that Wang Jie had the idea but not the resources, mainly lacking capital, which was a real pity.

Li Dong had some ideas. He had been planning to build an exclusive online shopping platform for his supermarket.

If he could pull Wang Jie into the project…

After thinking it over, Li Dong decided to put that idea aside for now. It wasn't just about whether Wang Jie would be willing; Li Dong also felt a bit uncomfortable about it.

He and Wang Jie were on good terms, and there was no need to complicate things by creating a superior-subordinate relationship.

Moreover, Wang Jie wasn't an irreplaceable talent. Although developing a website while still in his second year of college showed some real skills, there were plenty of people like him in the market.

If Li Dong really wanted to, he could easily find plenty of candidates.

Pushing the thought aside, Li Dong had a few more drinks with Wang Jie and finally said, "If you really want to start an online shop and need money, I can lend you some."

Wang Jie's hand, which was picking up food, suddenly paused.

He looked at Li Dong for a moment, then said with a sigh, "You're really loyal, man!"

Li Dong raised an eyebrow and said, "I've always been loyal."

"That's not what I meant."

Wang Jie waved his hand and said, "I mean, you're a billionaire now, but you still think highly of me, eating at a street stall with me and even offering to lend me money. I'm really touched."

Li Dong was stunned for a moment, then laughed, "You found out?"

"Heh, I'm not stupid. Don't forget what I studied; anything related to the internet interests me. When Baidu went public, you were in the spotlight—a university student, chairman of Yuanfang, from Qingyang, Jiangbei. Then I looked up some photos of you and Xu Yong, and you think I wouldn't figure it out?"

Wang Jie pursed his lips and continued, "But I didn't want to bring it up. Right now, I have a strong resentment against the rich. If you had brought it up first, I might not have been able to resist punching you."

As he said this, Wang Jie laughed.

There were some things he didn't say out loud. If Li Dong hadn't shown up today or had acted all high and mighty, Wang Jie would have just pretended he didn't have a friend like Li Dong.

But Li Dong had come, with the same attitude as before, and even offered to help him, which made Wang Jie feel that Li Dong was still the same person he knew.

Right now, Wang Jie was just a small-time poultry vendor. The fact that a big boss like Li Dong would take the time to drink and chat with him—well, it showed that Li Dong valued him.

Otherwise, Li Dong wouldn't have bothered; there was no reason for him to waste time chatting with someone down on their luck.

Li Dong glanced at him and laughed, "You're as sneaky as ever, but you've gotten smarter."

"Nonsense, was I not smart before?"

Wang Jie laughed heartily and added, "Honestly, I was shocked when I first found out. But now,

 thinking it over, it's no big deal. You earned your money through your own efforts, not by taking advantage of me. Jealousy won't change anything; what matters is that we each work hard for ourselves."

"So don't mention lending me money. The fact that you're here drinking with me today shows that you value me. When I make it big one day, I'll treat you instead."

Li Dong smiled and asked, "You're really not going to borrow money?"

"Really not. Don't look down on me. Maybe someday I'll be richer than you, and then I'll lend you money!" Wang Jie said, thumping his chest with a grin.

Li Dong gave him a thumbs-up and said, "That's the spirit. Let's just drink today and not talk about anything else!"

"Exactly! That's how you treat a brother! If I borrowed your money, I'd feel like I'm beneath you, and it wouldn't sit right with me."

"In this life, isn't living about being carefree?"

Li Dong genuinely laughed at that. He didn't think Wang Jie was being prideful or stubborn; he just thought Wang Jie was living carefree.

After that, Li Dong didn't bring up the idea of lending money again, nor did he mention hiring Wang Jie. They just drank and ate together.