Chapter 26

In the village of Huohua, the Huo and Hua families are the largest, with many members and deep roots. Huabao, in his forties, started a soil trading business ten years ago after being released from prison. At that time, the real estate industry was just beginning, and opportunities were abundant. By hiring a few thugs to block the construction site gates, he forced the other party to use his trucks for soil and sand transportation, making a fortune in a short time. Within a year or so, he became a wealthy man, transforming from a convict to a respected figure in the village.

Huabao established an engineering company, which not only had twelve dump trucks but also three excavators. His business was moderately successful, and he had considerable influence in the southeastern suburbs. The company was set up in a self-built small building with a large yard, where he kept several Tibetan Mastiffs. These dogs served both as guard dogs and as a symbol of his status, as only a person of considerable means could afford purebred Tibetan Mastiffs.

It was already late, but the building of Pengcheng Engineering Company was still brightly lit, with cars coming and going. A BMW 530 drove up to the building, and a man over 1.7 meters tall, bald with a gold chain and an alligator belt, got out of the back seat, exuding the aura of a nouveau riche and a local gang leader.

Huabao forcefully closed the car door, and the heavy,闷闷的 (muffled) sound of the BMW 5 Series door made everyone in the building jump. They all knew that Boss Hua was in a bad mood because he had suffered a significant loss in a business dispute with Shifeng Group, whose power was several levels above his. So, he had to swallow his anger, and no one dared to upset him.

Outside the gate, Shanpao looked at the BMW and said, "That's Huabao's car, he's back."

"Let's go find him," Liu Hanei said, with a large cleaver tucked in his waist.

At the entrance, the old security guard glanced at them and asked, "Boss Tu, who are you looking for?"

The old man often went to eat dog meat and knew Shanpao.

"Oh, I'm here to see Boss Hua about something," Shanpao said, offering a cigarette.

"Boss Hua is in a bad mood today, it's not a good time," the old guard advised.

"It's urgent, I can't wait," Shanpao replied.

"Then go on up," the old man waved his hand. The company's management was very informal, hiring mostly relatives from the village, and the yard was filled with drivers and operators. Liu Hanei and Tu Hongbin's demeanor was similar to theirs, so they didn't attract much attention as they walked through the building.

Pengcheng Engineering Company's building had only three floors, with eight rooms on each floor. The interior was decorated with imitation redwood and gold glass, and the doors had acrylic signs for various departments like Engineering, Business, and Finance. The general manager's office was on the third floor, easy to find. The corridor was empty, and the sound of Huabao on the phone could be heard from inside: "I don't care about that, get it done right away, or I'll kill you!"

Liu Hanei grabbed the doorknob and pushed the door open. The room was large, with a carpet and a statue of Guan Yu, and the air was filled with the scent of incense. Huabao was sitting behind a large desk, talking on the phone. Seeing the two men enter, he hung up and glared at them, asking, "What do you want?"

Liu Hanei stood by the door without speaking, while Shanpao walked over and said, "Boss Hua, I run a dog meat restaurant on Tiesha Street. Today, my brother-in-law, Zhao Yufeng, smashed my shop."

Huabao interrupted, "If Zhao Yufeng smashed your shop, go find him. Why are you coming to me?"

Shanpao replied, "Zhao Yufeng relies on you. Who else should I find?"

Huabao, impatient, lit a cigarette and said, "What the hell are you thinking, coming to me for trouble? Gangzi!"

"Here!" A young man responded, but was immediately kneed in the stomach by Liu Hanei, causing him to double over in pain.

Liu Hanei pulled out a large cleaver from behind his back and threw it to Shanpao, who caught it with a cold, eerie gleam in the light.

"Damn, you think you can play with knives in front of me? Do you think I'm scared? Come on, try me!" Huabao pulled off his Montag T-shirt, revealing a muscular body covered in scars, but his belly was fat, and the scars were from the past.

Shanpao, holding the cleaver, said, "Boss Hua, I'm trying to talk to you nicely, but if you don't give me respect, I won't give you any either. Your brother-in-law, Zhao Yufeng, groped my wife, and I hit him. It should have been even, but he brought three trucks of people to smash my shop. I, Tu Hongbin, am a well-known figure in Jiangbei. If I can't even protect my wife, what's the point of living?"

With that, he slammed the cleaver into the desk, the blade deeply embedded in the redwood surface.

Huabao smoked, exhaled a long puff of smoke, and stubbed out the cigarette: "I've already told you, Zhao Yufeng is Zhao Yufeng, and I am I. They are two different things."

Shanpao said, "If Zhao Yufeng didn't have your backing, he wouldn't be so arrogant. I'm not going to him, I'm coming to you. If you don't give me a satisfactory answer today, I'll give you one."

Huabao thought for a moment and picked up the phone: "Zhao Yufeng, get your ass over here, now!"

Zhao Yufeng was also from the village and lived on Tiesha Street. He was at a nearby KTV singing when he received his brother-in-law's call, ordering him to come immediately. Drunk, he went downstairs, got into his used Audi, and drove to Pengcheng Company. He asked the old guard, "Old Zhang, who's in my brother-in-law's office?"

"Oh, the owner of the dog meat restaurant on the street came with a young man, saying it was an urgent matter."

Zhao Yufeng became alert, went up to the third floor, and peeked through the door. Seeing the cleaver embedded in the desk, he realized the situation and ran, shouting, "Help! Something's wrong!"

Although it was evening, there were still many people in the company. In the first-floor lounge, a dozen drivers were playing cards. Hearing the shout, they immediately grabbed their weapons and rushed upstairs. Zhao Yufeng opened the cage and led out two Tibetan Mastiffs. The crowd quickly moved aside, as these dogs only recognized their feeder and would bite anyone, friend or foe.

A group of people and two Tibetan Mastiffs went up to the third floor, but strangely, the usually aggressive dogs were now cowering and whining, retreating. They could smell the butcher's scent on Tu Hongbin, and even the fiercest dogs would tremble in the presence of a butcher, their natural enemy.

With the advantage of numbers, Zhao Yufeng led the group into the office. He saw Huabao sitting behind the desk, not threatened, with two men standing in the room—Shanpao and Liu Hanei. Huabao's bodyguard, Gangzi, was squatting on the ground in pain, still recovering from the knee to the stomach.

"Zhao Yufeng, come here," Huabao said sternly.

Zhao Yufeng hesitated but walked over.

Huabao slapped him, "What the hell, causing trouble on the construction site, groping women, smashing shops, you're really something, I'll kill you!"

Zhao Yufeng covered his head, not daring to dodge, and let his brother-in-law beat him.

After the beating, Huabao sat back and said, "This matter is over. Don't cause any more trouble."

Zhao Yufeng replied weakly, "Understood," as he could already hear the distant sound of fire trucks.

Huabao, not noticing the noise, lit a cigarette and said to Shanpao and Liu Hanei, "I've settled the matter. Now, let's talk about your business."

Shanpao said, "Go ahead."

Huabao said, "I have some reputation in this area. You two came to my office with knives, damaged my desk, injured my employee, and scared me. Let's settle this."

Liu Hanei stepped forward, picked up a cigarette from the box on the desk, lit it, and said, "How do we settle this? You tell me."

Huabao, furious, said, "Pay me 100,000 yuan, not a penny less!"

Liu Hanei laughed, "Brother Leopard, you must have another solution, right?"

Huabao said, "Yes, leave one hand here."

Zhao Yufeng and the others clenched their fists, ready to attack.

Liu Hanei laughed and said to Shanpao, "There's something I don't understand. Brother Shanpao, help me figure it out."

Shanpao, not knowing what to expect, but understanding the importance of supporting his friend, replied, "Sure, go on."

Liu Hanei said, "You know Shifeng Group, right? Their security chief, Gu Changjun's brother, was killed by me. Gu Changjun sent eight assassins to deal with me, at No. 108 Tiesha Street. They had shotguns, hand grenades, and everything. I was in handcuffs, but I still killed five of them. The other two ran away when they saw they couldn't beat me."

Everyone listened in shock, as this incident was already well-known in the underworld. The event took place near Tiesha Street, and all the local gangsters knew it was a serious matter involving guns. Gu Changjun, the security chief of Shifeng Group, was a bitter enemy of Huabao. When news of Gu Changjun's death spread, Huabao had a grand feast for his subordinates, drinking until he was drunk. He never imagined that the person responsible for this major case was the young man standing before him.

Shanpao asked, "Did you kill Gu Changjun too?"

Liu Hanei replied, "No, I just broke into the Shifeng Group building with an empty gun, forced back over thirty security guards, and handed Gu Changjun over to the police. His death has nothing to do with me; it was probably an inside job."

Everyone swallowed hard, as if listening to a story.

Shanpao asked, "Will Shifeng Group let this go?"

Liu Hanei said, "Of course not. They filed a lawsuit against me for property damage, and I was detained for half a month. Wang Shifeng sent five assassins to the detention center to get me."

"Then what happened?" Zhao Yufeng couldn't help but ask.

"Then I sent them all to the hospital, the emergency room," Liu Hanei said, turning to Shanpao, "Help me figure this out. According to Brother Leopard's standards, how much should Shifeng Group demand from me for compensation?"

Shanpao said, "Your life wouldn't be enough."

Liu Hanei snapped his fingers, "Exactly, my life wouldn't be enough. So, my life is always at risk. What do I have to fear?"

He stubbed out the cigarette on the pristine desk, leaned on the table, and stared at Huabao, asking, "Brother Leopard, let's talk. Can you reduce the 100,000 yuan a bit?"