Evening.
Following the address Vincent gave him, Raymond arrived at Chinatown in Washington, D.C.
Compared to New York's Chinatown and Flushing, D.C.'s Chinatown was clearly much quieter. But in return, it was also much cleaner, without the usual ss and chaos often seen in other Chinese districts.
The address Vincent gave him led to a well-known Chinese restaurant in D.C.'s Chinatown—Dongliu Seafood Restaurant. (TL/N: Dongliu is probably the owner's na so I kept it as it is)
In the original owner's mory, there were a few fragnts about this place. The restaurant had a decent reputation in the local Chinese community.
Although the prices were a bit higher than smaller places, for soone like the original Raymond who didn't worry about money, it didn't matter.
He had visited this restaurant before with more than one Chinese friend, including Vincent.
From what Vincent said, the person he was introducing—the one who could help solve all these little problems—also seed to be Chinese, so eting here made sense.
When Raymond arrived at the restaurant's lobby, he had just pulled out his phone and hadn't even made the call when he saw a chubby middle-aged Chinese man in sunglasses walking toward him quickly.
While walking, the man was wiping sweat from his forehead with a napkin and smiling as he asked, "Are you Dr. Raymond?"
"I am," Raymond nodded. He had already guessed the man's identity.
Sure enough, the man let out a sigh of relief and said, "I'm Ren Yan—English na Jan. You can call either. Mr. Vincent told to wait for you here."
"Jan… Ren?" Raymond looked at him with a strange expression.
That English na, paired with his last na, really sounded weird.
Ren Yan clearly understood why Raymond looked confused and smiled awkwardly. "You're probably wondering why I chose that English na, right?"
Raymond didn't reply, just waited for him to go on.
Ren Yan explained with a helpless smile, "When I first ca to North Arica, I couldn't speak much English. So I asked a friend to pick a na for . I wanted sothing that ant a fresh start, like the saying 'a year's plan starts in spring,' so I chose the na for January—Jan…"
"No one told you it sounded strange?" Raymond couldn't help asking.
"Not at first, no. Maybe my friends noticed but didn't want to embarrass . By the ti I realized it sounded odd, everyone already knew by that na. So I just gave up and stuck with it," Ren Yan shrugged.
"It's not bad—pretty unique," Raymond said with a smile.
Ren Yan gave a small, helpless smile and didn't continue the topic. He changed the subject and said, "The private room is ready. Shall we go inside and talk?"
"I'll follow your lead," Raymond replied casually.
"Alright then—"
Ren Yan waved his hand, and a waitress quickly ca over to guide them.
Soon, the two of them were seated in a private room on the second floor called "Autumn Charm." As soon as they sat down, Ren Yan signaled the waitress to start serving the dishes right away.
"The waitress seed really polite to you. Do you co here often?" Raymond asked with a smile after sitting down.
Ren Yan hesitated slightly before replying, "Well… this restaurant is technically one of the businesses under my na."
"Technically?" Raymond noticed his choice of words.
If Ren Yan was just the owner of the restaurant, that wouldn't be surprising. With the original Raymond's financial situation, opening a similar restaurant wouldn't be difficult at all.
But the fact that Vincent personally introduced Ren Yan and even hinted that Raymond could go to him for help with tricky problems definitely ant there was more to him.
So Raymond could already tell—Ren Yan definitely had another identity.
"Mr. Vincent has helped a lot, and since you're his friend, I won't hide anything from you," Ren Yan paused, then asked, "Have you heard of the 'Chee Kung Tong'?" (TL/N: The Chee Kung Tong or Gee Kung Tong, was a Chinese secret society established in 1880 and holds an active presence still. In earlier years, the society has also been recognized as the "Chinese Masons" and has been identified under various nas such as Hongn. The fraternity founded its headquarters in San Francisco in the United States.)
"Hongn in North Arica?" Raymond asked instinctively.
"That's not wrong either," Ren Yan shrugged.
Compared to "Chee Kung Tong," the na "North Arican Hongn" was more widely known.
Raymond's knowledge of it didn't co from the original body's mories, but from his previous life. That group also existed back on his original Earth and often showed up in movies and TV shows.
As the North Arican branch of China's largest secret society, "Hongn," the group held a special status in the Chinese community. Especially after secret societies were banned in China, the North Arican Hongn had essentially beco the headquarters.
Chee Kung Tong was the official na of the North Arican Hongn.
Whether it was the old Raymond or the current one, the na Chee Kung Tong was very familiar.
"You're part of the North Arican Hongn?" Raymond asked, a bit surprised.
"I'm honored to be the head of the Washington branch," Ren Yan said seriously. "People in the community call the 'Handso Flying Dragon'…"
Raymond, who had just taken a sip of tea, couldn't hold it in and almost spit it out.
Luckily, he turned his head in ti, so he didn't spray the table.
Cough cough cough "Sorry, I accidentally choked," Raymond said awkwardly.
"I understand, no worries," Ren Yan also looked a bit embarrassed.
Clearly, that nickna had made more than one person react the sa way. Raymond wasn't the first, and definitely wouldn't be the last. Still, Ren Yan felt the need to explain:
"Well, that nickna was given to before I gained weight. I used to be quite handso when I was slimr, really, I'm not lying…"
Realizing he was getting off track, he quickly steered the conversation back. "Let's not talk about that. Let's get to the real reason we're eting. Mr. Vincent said you had a little trouble you needed help with. Can you tell what it is exactly?"
Raymond nodded seriously. "Here's the situation…"
After hearing Raymond's explanation, Ren Yan quickly understood the issue.
He nodded and summarized, "So, you want to sell an apartnt downtown, and you're planning to open a private investigation office. That ans you need help finding a suitable location, and you also need to get a business license, right?"
"Exactly," Raymond confird.
"No problem—leave it to !"
Now that he understood everything, Ren Yan patted his chest confidently. "Other than the business license, which might take a few days, I can get everything else done within three days!"
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