Chapter 97

Chapter 98: Developing Power

"Boss, what exactly is the Qing Gang?"

The next morning, Song Qingguan, watching Zhao Heng drink his meat porridge, voiced his doubts. For some reason, after being thoroughly beaten by Jiang Changlong's ancestral medicinal wine last night, Zhao Heng felt as if his body had fallen apart, but he had slept well and his injuries had improved significantly.

However, Song Qingguan and Qiao Yuncai were worried about him, so they insisted he not do morning exercises. They even bought a large pot of steaming hot meat porridge from the cafeteria and placed it in front of Zhao Heng, almost ready to feed him with a spoon: "Who is the masked woman? Why did Zhang Xiaolin save you?"

"You should ask them."

Zhao Heng slowly sipped the meat porridge. The cafeteria's cooking was indeed not as good as Jiang Changlong's: "If I knew who the masked woman was, I would have already gone up and killed her. As for Zhang Xiaolin, he was purely trying to clear his name. Forget it, let's not delve into these matters. In the future, we just need to be more careful."

"The situation is really chaotic."

Qiao Yuncai leaned lazily in his chair, biting into a large meat bun, and muttered: "But as Brother Heng said, we are weak and can only protect ourselves. Even if we know who the other party is, it's hard to do anything. Boss, I think we should recruit more people."

Qiao Yuncai offered a constructive suggestion: "These days, without manpower, we lack the confidence. In the incident of being imprisoned, we were too passive. We could only beg Ye Shishi for help at the First Floor. If we had our own power, why would we need to give Zhao Siqing face?"

"Why would we need to seek help from Ye Shishi? We brothers can handle it."

Song Qingguan nodded, biting his lip: "That's true. Zhao Siqing is a vengeful person, but she can only bully us who have no power. She wouldn't dare to make a sound against Zhang Xiaolin. And the prison dared to act against you because we are weak."

"Recruit more people?"

Zhao Heng laughed, leaning back on the bed: "A gang? First, we don't know if we can recruit people outside, and even if we can, they would be of mixed quality. Most importantly, would the three major bosses of Huahai allow us to rise? Whether it's Du Tianxiong, Zhang Xiaolin, or Ye Shishi..."

"None of them would allow us to develop power."

Zhao Heng slashed his hand, his voice stern: "They can fight each other, but they won't give us a chance to rise. As soon as we raise our flag, the three major bosses of Huahai will join forces to crush us. Ye Shishi, who is now on our side, would be the first to act."

As Qiao Yuncai and Song Qingguan pondered, Zhao Heng added: "If the situation in Huahai were so easy to break, why would it still be the three major bosses after so many years, and not four or five? Clearly, others have tried to rise, but they were all crushed by the three major bosses working together."

"So, establishing our own faction is a path to self-destruction."

The three major bosses can fight each other for their share, but they will not allow others to share their interests or allow other forces to rise and split Huahai's stability. Otherwise, the four major families would have long infiltrated and taken over Huahai. Zhao Heng saw the key, so he extinguished Song Qingguan's idea.

Qiao Yuncai stuffed the bun into his mouth, chewed a few times, and nodded: "Brother Heng is right. The current situation in Huahai is the Du family's bottom line. Du Tianxiong won't allow Ye Shishi and Zhang Xiaolin to fight to the death, nor will he allow anyone to stand out. If we raise our flag, we will die a terrible death."

"Then all the struggles will lose their meaning."

Song Qingguan also understood this point, smiling bitterly: "What you said makes sense, but relying on others is not a good feeling. As the second brother said, handing over our fate to others is very passive and dangerous. If Ye Shishi hadn't intervened this time, wouldn't you, Brother Heng, be in danger?"

Song Qingguan also thought about the number in Qiao Yuncai's hand and the mysterious benefactor Zhao Heng had left behind. These could be chips and trump cards, but ultimately, they were forces beyond their control. So he showed a deep concern and finally said:

"Brother Heng, don't you often say that our fate is in our own hands?"

Fate is full of twists and turns, which is Song Qingguan's greatest feeling over the past few months.

Qiao Yuncai thought for a while: "Brother Heng, what if we secretly develop our power?"

"It won't work."

Zhao Heng still rejected Qiao Yuncai's suggestion, smiling faintly: "Don't underestimate Du Tianxiong and the others. If I hadn't entered their field of vision, perhaps we could quietly cultivate our power. But now, many eyes are on us. It's impossible to do anything without leaving a trace."

Although Zhao Heng hadn't been in Huahai for long, encountering Du Ziyang had already pushed him into the spotlight. His grudge with the Qing Gang made every move he made watched by many. Although many just wanted to see how Zhao Heng would die, the attention was already greater than that of second- or third-tier celebrities.

Looking at Zhao Heng's smile, Qiao Yuncai seemed to understand something: "Brother Heng, do you have a foolproof plan?"

Seeing Zhao Heng's unfathomable depth, Song Qingguan suddenly slapped his head, realizing he still didn't understand his boss as well as Qiao Yuncai. Zhao Heng had never shown anxiety or unease, clearly having a plan from the start. He immediately lowered his voice and asked: "Boss, what's your brilliant plan to grow and strengthen us?"

"There's a move in business... a backdoor listing."

Zhao Heng left it at that: "We can learn from it."

Qiao Yuncai's eyes lit up instantly. He already knew what Zhao Heng was thinking, a hint of excitement crossing his face. He slapped the table and said: "Brother Heng, this move is brilliant. I understand a lot now. You think much further ahead than we do. I, Qiao Yuncai, am completely convinced."

"How should we start?"

Zhao Heng smiled faintly: "Step by step, there will be opportunities."

Song Qingguan scratched his head: "What exactly is it?"

Before Zhao Heng could answer, his phone rang. He put on his earpiece and heard Yan Ruyu's gentle voice: "Zhao Heng, Sister Ye wants to invite the three of you to dinner tonight to celebrate your safe return and apologize. Do you have time?"

Zhao Heng smiled: "I have time."

After hanging up, Zhao Heng informed the two of Ye Shishi's invitation. They had no objections and agreed to go. Although there had been some tension with Yan Ruyu the previous day, they were still collaborators, and the three were still shareholders of the First Floor, so they wouldn't let emotions overly influence their decisions.

Zhao Heng had considered telling the two about Changkong but decided against it, planning to wait until Changkong and the others were out of prison. This wasn't about trust but about caution. Zhao Heng didn't want their first batch of forces to be crushed in prison, making the battle with Changkong meaningless.

As the conversation ended, Song Qingguan suddenly understood the answer.

Meanwhile, Du Tianxiong, who had rushed back to Huahai overnight, pushed open the door to check on his frightened daughter. He only relaxed when Nangong Duoduo informed him that she was fine. He had two precious daughters, both beautiful and outstanding, but his elder daughter had decided years ago not to return to Huahai.

Thus, only Du Ziyang remained by his side. He never imagined she would be attacked, which made him put aside all his affairs and rush back to Huahai. Besides wanting to see if his daughter was okay, he also wanted to find the culprit... attacking a Du family member... the masked woman had set a bad precedent.

He had to strike hard to prevent it from happening again.

After leaving the bedroom, Du Tianxiong walked straight to his secret study. The spacious and luxurious study, though richly decorated, did not feel vulgar. Facing the entrance was a huge character, almost covering the entire wall. The character was a "nín" (endure), depicted with a long knife piercing the heart.

Signature: Zhao Dingtian!

This "nín" character was powerful and added a touch of elegance to the richly decorated study. The walls were lined with books from ancient to modern times, and some transparent sealed glass cases even contained ancient bound books, exuding a sense of historical depth.

Du's wife always liked to sleep until eight in the morning, so Du Tianxiong did not disturb her. Instead, he had Uncle Lu gather information about yesterday's incident. He had just leaned back in his chair, not even having time to brew tea, when Uncle Lu handed him a report: "This is the full account of yesterday's incident."

"It's all based on my objective recollection, without any exaggeration."

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Wishing everyone a fresh start in the new year, and all the best!

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