"Boss, boss..." A familiar voice called softly in Jiang Hai's ear, gently pulling him awake. As soon as he opened his eyes, a sharp headache throbbed behind his temples. He knew exactly what it was — the aftermath of too much alcohol and overstimulated hormones.
Yesterday had been absolutely wild. After Jiang Hai and Du Famen arrived at the villa, Jiang Hai was quickly whisked away.
Then... Du Famen left, and Jiang Hai was left alone. While savoring the exquisite dishes that Du Famen had sent over—foods unique to Yislan—he was also surrounded by beautiful women. In such a setting, when men and women meet, the unspoken rule is clear.
The women quickly shed their simple clothes and began to explore every inch of Jiang Hai's body with their lips and tongues...
Jiang Hai had never experienced anything like it before. He couldn't remember exactly how many women he had been with last night, nor how many times he had been with them.
When he tried to recall, the number was probably no less than twenty. By his estimate, his older brother may have been with at least fifty women in total, but the specifics were fuzzy. Of course, he couldn't have climaxed fifty times — even he wouldn't be able to handle that. Drinking, eating, and sleeping with women all at once — such a decadent lifestyle was truly extreme. Jiang Hai seemed to have passed out around eleven o'clock in the evening; it was more accurate to say he fainted than fell asleep.
He had been asleep ever since. Honestly, the aftereffects were still strong. It was hard to believe those wealthy elites could stay healthy living like this every day.
"Ugh, what's going on?" Jiang Hai rubbed his temples, sat up on the bed, and glanced at the mess around him. The villa was already empty. Only he and Azarina—the one who had called him to get up—remained.
"Mr. Du Famen is downstairs," Azarina said with a smile. "Didn't he say today he'd take you to Dubai to have some fun?" Hearing this, Jiang Hai nodded and quickly got out of bed.
Though his legs felt weak at first, he soon steadied himself. After washing his face and brushing his teeth, he went downstairs. Du Famen had been waiting a long time already. Jiang Hai apologized, then the two left with smiles.
Compared to the grand procession that had picked him up yesterday, Du Famen was much more low-key today. The long convoy had disappeared, replaced by just three cars—two for bodyguards and one for them. Since Azarina might feel uncomfortable riding in the back, Jiang Hai made sure she sat in the co-pilot seat.
Originally, Du Famen wasn't supposed to share a car with bodyguards, but Azarina was both a bodyguard and Jiang Hai's companion, so an exception was made. Although the convoy was smaller, the cars were still Rolls-Royces—the symbol of the wealthy.
Once inside the car, they didn't go sightseeing first but headed straight for a meal.
Jiang Hai had seen Dubai's cuisine yesterday, and was happy to see it again today.
Dubai's food combines flavors from Lebanon, Iberia, Morocco, Egypt, Syria, Pakistan, and India. As a tourist hub, it also boasts unique UAE specialties.
Famous dishes include Arabic roast chicken, Arabic desserts, roast beef, and roast lamb.
Arabic cuisine somewhat resembles Western dining, with distinct courses: appetizers, soups, salads, barbecue, desserts, and various beef and lamb dishes.
Today, Du Famen was taking Jiang Hai to the Burj Al Arab, the world's only seven-star hotel.
He had only heard its reputation before, never dined there. The hotel's two standout restaurants were a must.
The premier restaurant, Aimahara Undersea Restaurant, is located on the bottom floor of the Burj Al Arab. When Du Famen dines there, the place is often empty.
After all, this is the real power of Dubai's royal family. If outsiders come to eat, it can get complicated.
For example, a tour group booking online pays $410 per person. If booked through a group, it costs 765 dirhams (around 1,300 RMB) for three dishes — and individual guests can't enjoy this.
Reservations for lunch and dinner are a must. A meal for two can easily cost four or five thousand RMB.
But Jiang Hai and Du Famen wouldn't be paying that — Du Famen alone had ordered fish worth $50,000. It was a rare Su Mei, also known as the rippled lip fish, a species so rare that no one dares to catch it in the U.S., let alone eat it. Here, Du Famen had the final say.
The restaurant's ambiance was incredible. Sitting beside the underwater world, surrounded by corals and swimming fish, the light filtering through gave the impression of dining inside an aquarium. It was truly a unique experience.
The other must-visit restaurant is on the hotel's top floor, reserved for evening visits by Du Famen.
Watching the underwater view by day, then enjoying the night view from above — this was the lifestyle of local elites.
After the meal, which was neither early nor late, Du Famen took Jiang Hai to explore Dubai.
Dubai had many attractions: the Burj Khalifa, nicknamed Dubai Tower by tourists, was the tallest building in the world — quite impressive.
The beach outside the Burj Al Arab was popular with tourists, as was Palm Island, dubbed the eighth wonder of the world, plus the Jumeirah Mosque, Miracle Garden, and World Trade Center.
There was also Taj Arabia, a recent Dubai project investing 665 million pounds (about 6.8 billion RMB) to replicate India's Taj Mahal. This replica was five times larger than the original and included a shopping mall, a 300-room five-star hotel, serviced apartments, wedding dress shops, and other amenities.
Once completed, it would become one of the top wedding destinations for the world's wealthy—assuming, of course, you were rich.
When it came to Dubai, shopping was paramount. Though there were many attractions, shopping was the real draw.
Dubai had numerous massive malls. Because it was a duty-free zone, prices for goods from all over the world were often cheaper than anywhere else except their home countries—much cheaper than Hong Kong in China.
To attract shoppers, Dubai held seasonal sales. For example, from June to July, new spring collections arrived, while last year's stock was discounted. From December to February—the current period—there were pre-sales for next year's spring collections, with many malls offering discounts.
Besides duty-free shops and famous brands, Dubai's gold and spice markets were particularly attractive.
The spice market's star was saffron — not from Tibet as many thought, but originally introduced to China from the Middle East and India.
In China, saffron was medicinal and usually soaked in water. In Dubai, it was used as a spice, though still very expensive.
Even more famous was the gold market. Dubai was the world's largest gold distribution center, handling one-tenth of global gold transactions. Locals loved gold, and jewelry here was both high quality and cheaper than in China.
This stemmed from local customs. In Dubai, bigger gold jewelry meant higher status. Brides had to be covered in gold, wearing several sets during their wedding, or risk social contempt. This tradition sustained Dubai's booming gold market.
There were even gold vending machines on the streets, selling gold as easily as drinks in China.
Jiang Hai found this hard to believe—didn't they worry about machines being smashed?
Du Famen smiled, explaining that vandalism was illegal, and the severity of punishment depended on the royal family's mood.
In other words, Dubai's criminal law was unpredictable. You could kill someone and get a light sentence if the royals were in a good mood, or be punished harshly for minor offenses if they were displeased.
Of course, this was an exaggeration. If the royal family truly acted this way, Dubai would be chaos by now.
In reality, laws were still enforced, and the royal family preferred maintaining social order.
As they strolled, Jiang Hai observed his surroundings. Before he knew it, the day's activities were over.
They took a car back to the Burj Al Arab. Du Famen had booked the top floor to entertain Jiang Hai that night.
On the way back, Jiang Hai noticed many homeless people along the roadside and saw some residential areas that didn't look well-off.
He realized Dubai wasn't as uniformly wealthy as he'd imagined. Yes, the rich were incredibly rich, but there were far more poor people than expected.
There was an old saying in China: "Come to Dubai to pick up rags and you'll become rich." Now, Jiang Hai thought it was nonsense.
The environment here was not ideal for living.
"The gap between rich and poor here is huge," Jiang Hai said, looking at the people outside.
Du Famen shrugged helplessly. "Those people aren't really from Dubai."
Jiang Hai was puzzled.
"They're foreigners who came here to work," Du Famen explained with a smile. "There are actually no poor people among Dubai citizens. It's all because of our policies."
According to Du Famen, there were no poor people in Dubai — if you were a Dubai citizen.
From birth, Dubai residents queued for free land — usually between 1,000 and 1,500 square meters. Once approved, which might take until you're about 30 years old, the land was yours to build on, forever.
You had to earn the money to build yourself, but for Dubai locals, that wasn't difficult.
The government mandated a minimum wage of 17,000 yuan for any job, even menial ones like dishwashing or cleaning. The poverty line was 37,000 yuan a month.
This meant any healthy Dubai citizen working could earn at least 50,000 yuan a month.
That was also the starting salary for college graduates—equivalent to about 3,000 yuan per month in China.
Even older workers could make more than 20,000 yuan monthly.
Though construction costs were higher than in China, for Dubai residents earning over a million yuan a year, saving for a house in one year was achievable.
With such policies, the number of Dubai citizens was naturally limited.
Obtaining citizenship was tough. First, you had to believe in the religion, and second, you had to meet immigration criteria.
Jiang Hai, with over a billion yuan and an income of the same scale, could go anywhere he wanted, but Dubai didn't welcome most skilled immigrants.
For women, gaining nationality through marriage was complicated: you had to follow strict religious customs, tolerate your husband's affairs with other women, cover yourself fully in public, and not work or socialize freely.
If your husband abused you, the law wouldn't protect you; divorce was nearly impossible, and legal recourse ineffective.
In short, immigrating to Dubai was challenging for men unless you were extremely wealthy or highly skilled. Women could immigrate more easily, but often faced hardships.
Unless you could endure all of this for the money — and wait until your husband died to remarry — it was a difficult life.