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墨書 Inktalez
The next day, Liu Haoran was quite efficient; he delivered the eight hundred men he promised to my Tianchi.
"How about it, Xiang Dong? I've brought you the people you asked for. Make sure you put them to good use, understood?" Liu Haoran said with a cheerful pat on my shoulder. I naturally responded affirmatively. Liu Haoran didn’t inquire about Cao Hui’s situation, which indicated that Cao Hui had kept quiet about being beaten by me yesterday. For now, he wouldn’t be looking for a fight.
After chatting with me for a while, mostly offering praise and encouragement, Liu Haoran told me to call him if I needed any help. I nodded and saw him off.
Watching the eight hundred new recruits in Tianchi, a smile crept onto my face. With people comes power; it’s an unchanging truth throughout history.
From today onwards! You are all part of White Tiger Hall! My name is Xiang Dong! I am your leader!
“Dong Ge!”
In an instant, all eight hundred men shouted in unison. A grin spread across my face as this scene reminded me of three years ago when I was the boss in the Northeast. Those days were tough but filled with passion!
After exchanging a few pleasantries with my new subordinates, I handed them over to Liu Sen and Wan Fei. I instructed them to select their preferred subordinates from among the eight hundred and asked Wan Fei to handle the registration for the security office.
Currently, there were many issues awaiting resolution regarding the security office. First and foremost was the headquarters; with so many people, we would need a large space for future expansions. Renting such a big place in Kyoto wouldn’t be easy, and the cost wouldn’t be low either.
Logically speaking, this expense should fall on Tian Ye Group since I was starting the office and would have to contribute at least half of its profits to them. Liu Haoran knew about my plans but didn’t mention anything regarding funding, clearly indicating he didn’t want to get involved.
His reluctance could stem from two reasons: first, he didn’t want to spend money and preferred to reap the benefits without investment; second, as he mentioned, running such an office could easily offend people. If I ended up crossing someone powerful, he could easily distance himself by claiming it was my operation and had nothing to do with him.
That was fine by me; if he wasn’t putting up any money, then I would be the legal entity registered for the office—I would be the boss! This was my own strength.
With that thought in mind, I called Zheng Yu and asked him to come over. Since I wasn’t planning on asking Liu Haoran for funds, I needed to find a way to raise money myself. Zheng Yu was quick to respond; within an hour of my call, he arrived at my office.
“What’s up, Dong Ge?” Zheng Yu asked as he settled onto the sofa. I first inquired about the two gambling venues he was working on. He informed me that they were still in progress and might yield results in a couple of days.
I nodded in acknowledgment without pressing him further about the details. Instead, I pulled out the list Linna had given me yesterday and handed it to Zheng Yu.
“We need a location for the security office, and you should recognize these names on this list. I plan to approach them for potential partnerships—can you handle that?”
Zheng Yu glanced at the list and smiled.
“Ah, Dong Ge, these are all well-known wealthy individuals in Kyoto; their backgrounds aren’t exactly clean either. It won’t be difficult to work with them.”
He chuckled as he added an inappropriate metaphor: “Flies don’t land on seamless eggs; the less clean they are, the more likely they’ll become my clients!”
“By the way, keep an eye on Cheng Hai.”
I explained to Zheng Yu that my wife had instructed me to keep an eye on him, so naturally, I would pay more attention to him. After hearing this, Zheng Yu nodded and remarked that Cheng Hai was indeed quite a lucrative target.
Curious, I asked Zheng Yu what exactly Cheng Hai's background was that warranted Linna's special attention. Zheng Yu informed me that the Cheng Family was extremely wealthy, with the Cheng Group involved in a wide range of businesses. However, he also noted that the Cheng Family's reputation was far from stellar; they were notorious for being unscrupulous merchants who often engaged in fraudulent practices. For instance, one of their meat processing companies had been found using Lean Meat Powder to feed pigs, among other issues.
The Cheng Family had been wealthy for generations, accumulating significant commercial power. Even when problems arose, they had the means to weather the storm and continue their operations. As the young master of the Cheng Family, Cheng Hai was infamous for being a playboy who inherited his family's dubious traits. He was skilled in deception and manipulation, and his wealth only exacerbated his reckless behavior. Many young women had fallen victim to his charms.
In fact, Cheng Hai had a history with Linna that she hadn't mentioned to me. After Zheng Yu finished introducing the Cheng Family, he looked at me with a smile and asked if I had heard about it. I chuckled, unsure of how to approach the topic.
I recalled that this incident had occurred five years ago when Linna was just a teenager playing at her family's venue. She encountered Cheng Hai, who had just returned from abroad and didn't know her. He attempted to flirt with her, which led to a predictable outcome: the people at the venue gave him a good beating. In the end, the elder of the Cheng Family gifted Linna a top-of-the-line sports car worth fifty million as an apology. It seemed Linna still held onto that memory.
Zheng Yu grinned at me and asked if I knew about this incident. It was clear he had guessed that Linna had given me a list of people to watch out for. I could only smile helplessly; Linna was someone who never let go of grievances and always remembered past slights—qualities I admired in her.
He was the one! Our rent depended entirely on him.
I said this with a smile to Zheng Yu, who nodded in agreement before heading off to take care of business.
The following day, Wan Fei and Liu Sen began selecting their underlings. I must say, the quality of recruits from Tian Ye Group was quite impressive. Initially, I thought they would be lucky to keep five hundred out of eight hundred candidates, but Wan Fei and Liu Sen ended up selecting seven hundred!
According to them, these seven hundred were of good quality as well. I suspected this was due to Tian Ye Group's previous efforts in significantly reducing their ties with organized crime; what remained were the cream of the crop who weren't prone to stirring up trouble.
Having just recruited their new subordinates, Wan Fei and Liu Sen wanted to take them out for some fun and invited me along. However, I declined; I preferred not to be in noisy environments where they could easily handle things themselves.
Knock knock.
The sound of knocking interrupted my thoughts. I called for whoever it was to come in, and a young man entered.
"What’s up?" I asked him cheerfully. Over the past few days, he had been doing quite well as Hall Manager at Tianchi and seemed to have improved his demeanor; he no longer appeared as timid as before.
“Dong Ge,” he said, “I heard there are only a hundred people left from that batch today?”
I paused for a moment before smiling and replying, “Yes, there are only a hundred left. Why do you ask?”
“Uh, Dong Ge,” he hesitated before continuing, “I think it would be a waste to dismiss those remaining people. How about letting you take charge of them?”
I raised an eyebrow at him; his suggestion surprised me. I remembered he hadn’t shown much ambition before—had recent experiences opened his eyes to the importance of power?
I feel that this isn't a good opportunity.
No, that's not it. I just think it's a shame to let so many people go. I was wondering if we could utilize their remaining energy and perhaps organize an event or something.
Xiao Lima said something, and after hearing it, I smiled and told him, "You don't need to worry about this. There are reasons for their dismissal. How about this: in a few days, I might be moving to another place. You can take over as the General Manager of Tianchi."
I smiled as I spoke. Originally, I intended to give the position of General Manager of Tianchi to Wan Fei, as he had the capability. However, considering that Wan Fei already had a winery and was also responsible for his younger brothers, while Xiao's family situation required financial support, it seemed better to let Xiao take the position.
Xiao was taken aback for a moment and then quickly thanked me, saying I was too good to him. He still looked like the same honest person from before.
I chuckled and said, "Xiao, I know your family situation well. I understand your desire to improve yourself. But you must be careful; in this line of work, never let power blind your judgment."
After I finished speaking, Xiao was momentarily stunned. I understood his situation completely—he was a child from a poor family who had often been bullied and had become numb to it over time.
When he finally grasped the rope leading to a better future, he needed to hold on tighter than anyone else!
I knew Dong Ge well enough; perhaps I was being too greedy. Maybe I shouldn't take on the role of General Manager after all.
Xiao's face turned red as he told me that I had seen through his thoughts. He felt somewhat embarrassed. I smiled; this was the demeanor he should have.
"It's okay; striving for improvement is commendable. You don’t need to be so formal with me. We are brothers; your difficulties are my difficulties too. The position of General Manager is still yours—just do your best."
I smiled at him again, and Xiao looked at me with immense gratitude, almost moved to tears. He nodded and assured me that he would work hard and not let me down.
"Just do your best," I said cheerfully. "Now go ahead and get busy."
After Xiao left, it was already seven o'clock. I didn’t stay at Tianchi any longer and drove home.
Once home, aside from playing with Linna, there wasn’t much else for me to do. This little girl often got annoyed by my antics but found it amusing nonetheless; she quickly forgot any grievances with me, unlike Cheng Hai, who had upset her years ago—she still held onto that grudge for revenge.
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