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Chapter 135: One Million
Brother Leopard wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, downed another shot of strong liquor, and let out a comfortable sigh, pointing at Zhang Qiu and saying, "You can't let my business get out."
"Don't worry, Brother Leopard," Zhang Qiu assured, patting his chest. Until now, he had finally begun to feel a sense of belonging to this group.
"Come on, cheers!" Brother Leopard raised his glass again after just finishing one.
Zhang Qiu and Abiao lifted their glasses as well. The three men, each ten years apart in age, sat together chatting and drinking, showing no signs of the age gap creating any distance between them.
Brother Leopard spoke earnestly, "Zhang Qiu, as a man, it doesn't matter if you have a few women by your side when you're doing big things; as long as you treat them well. In our country, throughout history, every successful man has had several women around him. They say behind every successful man stands a great woman. If you have several great women behind you, it would be hard not to succeed."
Zhang Qiu chuckled at Brother Leopard's twisted logic but thought about it and realized there was some truth to it. If he really had several women, he would need to be able to support them; an ordinary job wouldn't suffice—he would have to strive for more. Zhang Qiu smiled and didn't pursue Brother Leopard's line of thought further but instead put down his glass and said seriously, "Brother Leopard, could you do me a favor?"
Brother Leopard looked at Zhang Qiu and asked, "You?"
"This afternoon, my friend's phone was lost. It contains something very important. You know many people; could you think of a way to help find it?"
"Hahaha." Brother Leopard burst into laughter. Zhang Qiu was puzzled by Brother Leopard's amusement but remained silent and watched. Brother Leopard slapped his thigh and said with a grin, "You've come to the right person! Now tell me, where did you lose it?"
"Fire Fox KV."
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely. I saw the surveillance footage with my own eyes."
"Wait." Brother Leopard then said to Abiao, "Call Old Ghost and have his people deliver the stuff here."
"Yes, Brother Leopard." Abiao took out his phone and stepped aside to make the call. All that could be heard was Abiao on the phone: "This afternoon, Fire Fox's phone is ours. Send someone over; Brother Leopard is waiting for it."
A minute or two later, Abiao hung up and said to Brother Leopard, "Brother Leopard, it was their people who took it, and they will deliver it right away."
Zhang Qiu watched as Brother Leopard effortlessly handled the situation and thought to himself that this theft couldn't possibly be their doing.
Brother Leopard looked at Zhang Qiu with pride and asked, "How about that? Brother Leopard still got it, right?"
"Impressive!" Zhang Qiu exclaimed sincerely. After so much trouble at the police station with nothing but waiting, a single call from Brother Leopard resolved the issue. The taste of power was truly delightful, and Zhang Qiu felt a longing for it.
Zhang Qiu shared his experiences at the police station with Brother Leopard, who smiled and said, "The civilized world has its rules, and the underground world has its own. When you encounter something, find the right person." Suddenly, Brother Leopard sighed and asked, "Your uncle is Police Chief Wang Guodong; they still treat you like this?"
Zhang Qiu chuckled lightly and shook his head. "They don't know, and I don't want them to."
Brother Leopard patted Zhang Qiu on the shoulder and earnestly advised him, "Don't create conflicts with your family. The higher you are positioned, the harder it becomes. Especially for officials; many times, they are not in control of their own circumstances."
Zhang Qiu forced a smile and nodded.
Brother Leopard then said to Abiao, "Abiao, go call those few back and have Lan and the others come over too."
"Yes, Brother Leopard." Abiao replied before stepping outside. After exiting, he returned with his arms crossed, standing by the door.
Brother Leopard looked at Zhang Qiu and smiled. "You need to earn that money back for me. Do you have any plans?"
Zhang Qiu was caught off guard by Brother Leopard's question about ways to make money, so he asked Brother Leopard, "How much for half the market?"
Brother Leopard squinted his eyes and replied slowly, "One million."
"One million!" Zhang Qiu couldn't help but exclaim.
"That's one million a year."
One million a year—how many people wouldn't earn that much in their entire lifetime, and he had to make it in just one year?
"What, having second thoughts?"
"I agree, one million a year," Zhang Qiu said, committing himself. No matter how difficult it might be, he would give it a try. Dreams were still worth having; who knows what might happen?
At that moment, Abiao entered with Yang Yu and others. Seeing that Zhang Qiu was fine, they all relaxed. Zhang Qiu smiled helplessly as Gao Zhi and Wang Zhengxiang walked towards the sofa, each with a princess in their arms.
The princess named Lan ran towards Brother Leopard and jumped into his arms. Brother Leopard looked at her with affectionate eyes and gently stroked Lan's hair. Zhang Qiu discreetly moved aside to sit next to the equally lonely Yang Yu. Zhao Pingchuan noticed Zhang Qiu and Yang Yu whispering together and quickly escaped from the princess beside him to join them.
Seeing both of them had arrived, Zhang Qiu said, "I just talked with Brother Leopard about that half of the market. I asked how much it would cost, and Brother Leopard said one million."
Qiu Wan and Yang Yu gasped, "Brother Qiu, where are we going to get one million? Many people can't earn that much in their entire lives."
Zhao Pingchuan added, "Yeah, Brother Qiu, isn't that a bit too much?"
Zhang Qiu shook his head and replied solemnly, "It's one million a year."
“……”
“Damn, this is impossible.” Yang Yu spread his hands and leaned back on the sofa.
“Does Zhao Pingchuan have any ideas?” Zhang Qiu looked at Zhao Pingchuan.
Zhao Pingchuan shook his head, looking troubled as he gazed at Zhang Qiu. “Brother Qiu, unless…”
“Unless what?”
“Buy a lottery ticket.”
“……”
“Brother Qiu, that’s just too unrealistic. A million a year? If we could earn that much money, we wouldn’t need to be out here struggling.”
“Sigh, you hit the nail on the head. I do have an idea, but I’m not sure if it will work.”
“Brother Qiu, what’s your idea?” Yang Yu and Zhao Pingchuan asked in unison.
“Use the tiger skin to pull up the big flag.” Zhang Qiu pointed at Brother Leopard, with a knowing look.
“How do we do that?” Yang Yu still didn’t understand.
Zhang Qiu placed his hands on Yang Yu and Zhao Pingchuan's shoulders, bringing their heads together. “Since we’ve joined in, we can’t act like we did before. From now on, when we do things, we should use the name of the Stone Dagger Gang. This is the biggest gang in Beilan County; this name will definitely carry more weight than Hall Society.”
Zhao Pingchuan stared at Zhang Qiu for a while before saying, "Brother Qiu, I really admire you more and more."
Yang Yu asked again, "So how exactly do we do this?" Since they needed to make a million in a year, they had to implement it quickly.
"I haven't thought through the specific details, but here's what I'm thinking. In the Stone Dagger Gang, we're bound to have conflicts with Tao Ge and Sister Hua. Once we understand the situation better, we can take our Brothers and seize one or two of their venues. Then the money will come."
Zhao Pingchuan looked at Zhang Qiu with concern. "Brother Qiu, seizing venues is tough. With just us, it might not work."
"That's why we need to understand the situation first. During this time, we should keep a low profile and strengthen ourselves. We already have a reputation among the student community, and now we've allied with Brother Leopard, the biggest gang in Beilan County. We won't lack followers."
"But this gang isn't as powerful as it seems. If they keep fighting internally, I think the top position in Beiluan will change hands sooner or later."
"But others don't know that."
"I understand now, Brother Qiu." Zhao Pingchuan nodded.
"Brother Qiu, four years have passed, and you still have such ideas." Yang Yu sighed suddenly. He remembered how Zhang Qiu had come up with many great ideas for the club back in middle school. Now that Zhang Qiu still had his own thoughts, Yang Yu felt much more at ease.
Zhang Qiu continued, "Once we have people, we must also have money. It's not just about giving Brother Leopard that million. If we don't have money, who would follow us? That bastard Third Brother may be annoying and his words unpleasant, but he does have a point. The reality is like this: with money, you can go anywhere; without it, you can't move an inch. So our next steps are to develop and make money."
Just as Zhang Qiu, Yang Yu, and Zhao Pingchuan were discussing their future plans, the door to the private room opened. A younger brother walked in respectfully and said to Brother Leopard, "Brother Leopard, they have arrived."
Brother Leopard didn't even look up and said, "Let them in."
The younger brother went out, and two men walked in from outside. One was an older man whom Zhang Qiu did not recognize, but the other man had a profile that Zhang Qiu was very familiar with; he was clearly the one who stole Wang Zhengxiang's phone in the video!
Zhang Qiu had just gotten up when he heard a furious shout. Wang Zhengxiang had jumped off the sofa, not even bothering to zip up his pants, and charged at the man who had stolen his phone. The thief was startled and quickly waved his hand to block, simultaneously twisting his wrist.
Brother Leopard's expression changed as he shouted, "Don't hurt anyone!"
With a loud crash, Wang Zhengxiang and the thief collided with the wall. Wang Zhengxiang tightly grabbed the man's collar and yelled, "You stole my phone! Give it back now!"
Zhang Qiu coldly watched the man pinned against the wall by Wang Zhengxiang. He was very thin, looking frail and weak. His hands were tucked into his sleeves, and despite being held by his collar, he remained completely still, expressionless as he stared at Wang Zhengxiang.
Brother Leopard said to Zhang Qiu, "Tell your friend to let him go; don't ruin the rules on the street."
Although Zhang Qiu didn't understand what Brother Leopard meant by "rules," he shouted to Wang Zhengxiang, "Zhengxiang, let him go and see what he has to say."
Wang Zhengxiang glared fiercely at the man before pushing him away. After taking a few steps back, he continued to glare. Zhang Qiu noticed that Wang Zhengxiang's jeans zipper was still down and shook his head helplessly. He silently mouthed a reminder without making a sound. With so many people around, speaking out would be like announcing to everyone that Wang Zhengxiang's zipper was undone.
Wang Zhengxiang was confused about what Brother Qiu was thinking and why he wasn't speaking up. Just as both Zhang Qiu and Wang Zhengxiang were feeling anxious, the princess accompanying Wang Zhengxiang swayed her hips and walked up behind him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and slightly turned to stand in front of him.
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