20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 886 A Great Villain Appears as a Loyal One
After leaving Shi Hospital, Xifeng went straight to the riverbank to gather the leaders of the Kaoshan Gang and convey the Jiang family's latest arrangements.

Nowadays, Shi Tou is in charge of things along the riverbank. He has been hanging around with Xi Feng for more than ten years. With a big tree to lean on, he has saved up some money by running his stall. Although he is not rich, he no longer has to worry about food and clothing compared to ordinary people.

A few years ago, he bought a small courtyard house in Sanchakou through a combination of buying and selling, and everyone naturally met at his residence.

Li Zhengxi remained seated in the main seat, yawning incessantly due to lack of sleep the previous night, and kept chugging tea to stay awake.

"It's not complicated, so I'll get straight to the point." He lit a cigarette and said listlessly, "This assassination attempt on our boss has nothing to do with you. Old Zhao is in charge now and has given a strict order: no one is allowed to act on their own or take advantage of Tang Wenbiao. Everyone stay put and don't cause trouble for the Jiang family. That's all, understand?"

The group looked at each other, nodded silently, and said nothing.

Li Zhengxi looked intently at Shi Tou and Lai Zi, then said, "Especially you two, if you have any complaints, we can talk about them later. In short, don't even think about Tang Wenbiao's territory for now. Like I said, if you don't fight, Tang Wenbiao will fall into chaos on his own. The more you fight, the more united they will become."

Lai Zi refilled the teacup with hot water and said in a low voice, "Third Brother, I have no complaints. As long as it's your idea, I will fully support it. Besides, I just arrived in the north of the city recently and I'm too busy to care about Tang Wenbiao!"

Li Zhengxi nodded, then turned to Shi Tou and asked, "And you?"

After a moment of contemplation, Shi Tou said, "It's fine if we don't beat Tang Wenbiao, but I just don't understand... Third Brother, the master was assassinated. No matter how you look at it, you should be the one in charge. How can it be Zhao Guoyan's turn?"

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone immediately echoed his sentiments.

"Yeah! I don't understand either, why isn't it you, Third Brother, who's in charge?"

"In terms of manpower, we, the Fan Gang, are not afraid of anyone; in terms of merit, let's not even talk about the night of the chaos in the pass, but even when the boss was shot, the ones who rushed over to donate blood were our brothers from the Fan Gang; in terms of friendship, Third Brother, you've been following the boss since you were a kid!"

"Is this reasonable?"

Everyone was talking at once, but Lai Zi remained silent.

Li Zhengxi waved his hand to stop the argument, but said, "Alright, alright, stop talking. When the boss was attacked, I was in charge of security. Now that there's a problem, it's good enough that I'm not punished. What kind of boss am I? Besides, Lao Zhao is a real man, and I admire him. Since this is my sister-in-law's decision, I have nothing to say. I'll just do as she says."

"What if this isn't your sister-in-law's decision?" Lai Zi suddenly asked.

"no?"

Li Zhengxi was stunned for a moment, and in a daze, he realized that he had never thought about this question before.

After pondering for a while, he muttered to himself, "Hiss, if it weren't for my sister-in-law's decision, Old Zhao wouldn't be able to run the household!"

"Oh!" Lai Zi scratched his head and chuckled. "It's nothing, I was just asking!"

Li Zhengxi continued, "Even if it's not Old Zhao who's in charge, I still have Brother Dong and Second Brother above me. I'm the third oldest, so it's not my turn!"

The crowd looked at each other, thinking to themselves, "So you have absolutely no ambition?"

Indeed, that was the nature of West Wind; he always put his brothers first and never thought of himself.

People who value loyalty and righteousness are bound to be somewhat indifferent to the word "profit." They don't like to worry about personal gains or losses, and they are even more reluctant to compete with their brothers for fame and fortune, always feeling that that's the behavior of a woman with bound feet.

At this moment, Shi Tou couldn't sit still any longer. He clicked his tongue and couldn't help but say, "Third Brother, don't blame me for being blunt, but in this world, 'the squeaky wheel gets the grease.' If you don't fight or grab, others may not appreciate your kindness."

West Wind said, "Hey, we're all family, what's there to argue about? It doesn't matter who's in charge!"

"Since we're all family, why did it always turn out so awkward when we went to my second brother's house to borrow grain?"

"Uh... Second sister-in-law is in charge of the accounts. Women are bound to be a little stingy, but in the end, she still lent it to you!"

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent again.

After a moment of silence, Lai Zi suddenly asked, "Third Brother, did we get in trouble because of the Fan Gang?"

"What kind of talk is that!" Li Zhengxi said sarcastically. "Who will be in charge is a decision made by my sister-in-law after careful consideration. The fan gang has its uses, which is to gather intelligence for the Jiang family. Don't overthink it. This is not your fault!"

That makes sense. When the Fan Gang was first established, its main task was to collect rumors and keep watch on the Jiang family.

The task of smashing the kiln and settling the score with the Jiang family was basically not their responsibility; it was handled by the brothers in Zhao Guoyan's household.

If it were to be an assassination, it would be Dongfeng who would arrange it, and the Kaoshan Gang would not have the right to overstep their bounds.

However, times have changed, and those young punks have now become big thugs, and it's inevitable that they'll act tough and belligerent.

The needs of those who relied on fans changed from "a full meal" to "making a name for themselves." This was a natural change that no one could stop.

After explaining things clearly, Li Zhengxi felt tired and sleepy, so he said, "Alright, it's already decided, so let's not waste any more time. I'm not going anywhere for the next few days, I'll just stay with you guys. Don't cause me any trouble. Have you all eaten breakfast?"

After saying that, he looked around, wondering if he could find someone to go out for breakfast with.

Just then, as dawn broke, everyone rushed over in a great hurry. They were all hungry, so some got up to keep them company, while others stayed behind.

Stone remained silent, only saying in a low voice, "I'm not too hungry yet, you guys go ahead!"

After the west wind left, the room was eerily quiet, and no one had anything to say.

After a long silence, Lai Zi suddenly shook his head with a wry smile, but didn't say anything more.

Hearing the noise, Shi Tou raised his eyelids and asked, quite puzzled, "Brother Lai, how can you still laugh?"

"What am I supposed to do if I don't smile? Do you want me to cry?"

Lai Zi picked up the teacup on the kang table, poured it out, then refilled it for himself. With his lips pressed to the rim of the bowl, he blew on it while glancing sideways at Shi Tou and said half-jokingly, "How about... we just start a rebellion!"

Stone laughed and waved his hand: "You were just saying that out of anger!"

The leper remained noncommittal, then asked instead, "Are you really angry?"

“The brothers’ revenge hasn’t been achieved yet, how can I not be angry?” Shi Tou lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and blew it away. “Tang Wenbiao killed and injured so many of our brothers, but now he acts like nothing happened. I feel disgusted whenever I think of him, and I feel sorry for the brothers who died!”

"Hey bro, I advise you to think more positively!"

"I can't think straight!"

"What's bothering you?" Lai Zi retorted. "I've long understood that in the eyes of the Jiang family, we brothers are just a bunch of waste materials, like the firewood in this stove. Even if we burn to ashes, the Jiang family won't care, as long as their kang (heated brick bed) is warm."

Shi Tou said, "That's what you think. Even if I'm burned to ashes, it'll just be warming the kang (heated brick bed) at Third Brother's house. What does it have to do with the Jiang family?"

"What are you saying? Do you think Third Brother isn't part of the Jiang family's household?" Lai Zi asked again. "If he's not part of the Jiang family's household, why isn't he in charge this time? If Third Brother were in charge, would we still have a chance to avenge our grudge against Tang Wenbiao?"

"Hey! Third Brother is a righteous man, that's just his nature, others may not know, but don't you know it?"

"That's not necessarily true!" Stone paused for a moment, then frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"

The leper said mysteriously, "Brother, I recently heard a story about Emperor Taizu of Song donning the yellow robe to become emperor. Do you know about it?"

"I knew!"

"Tsk! We're all buddies, if you don't know, just say you don't know, no one will laugh at you here!"

"I really know. Emperor Taizu of Song had some history with the Chai family. He mentioned it when telling the Water Margin!"

"Oh ho, you actually know that? That's perfect, it'll make it easier for me to explain."

Lai Zi put on a serious face and said earnestly, "As the old saying goes, 'If a man doesn't look out for himself, he'll be punished by heaven and earth!' But some people are too shy to actually steal. Take this old Song for example. He wants to be the emperor, but he doesn't say it himself. He lets his men do it!"

Stone muttered to himself, "How come I remember that Emperor Taizu of Song's surname was Zhao?"

"That's not important, what's important is this!" Lai Zi tapped the table with his hand. "Take that old Song or old Zhao, for example. He was sitting there, wanting to be the emperor, and his words were full of that implication, but none of his men were responding. How embarrassing was that? To put it bluntly, we underlings need to know when to cheer and when to shut up!"

Stone gradually understood and said, "But I feel like Third Brother didn't mean it that way..."

"See, you still don't understand! Let me ask you, if Third Brother becomes the leader, will he be happy or not?"

"Well...it must have been quite fun!"

"Isn't that settled?" Lai Zi clapped his hands. "Who wouldn't want to take over as the leader? Zhao Guoyan is in charge now, and we don't know him well. Do you think he'd be willing to take care of us? Do you think he wouldn't try his best to squeeze benefits into his own gang?"

"That's for sure!"

"Therefore, it is beneficial for both him and us to let Third Brother be the leader."

“I understand that principle, but the problem is that Third Brother himself doesn’t fight for it, so what can we do?”

"Indeed, we are ready to fight to the death, why has Your Majesty surrendered? This is a difficult situation!"

"Hey Lai, why have you been using so many literary phrases lately?" Shi Tou suddenly asked.

But the leper said, "What, can't a man be allowed to strive for improvement?"

Everyone burst into laughter and fell silent.

The topic seemed to have come to an end, and there was no need to continue the discussion, but everyone was secretly plotting something.

After a long silence, someone suddenly asked in a very low voice, "What if Zhao Guoyan dies?"

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone's eyes immediately turned to him.

The person who said this was Mole. His face stiffened, and he hurriedly waved his hands to explain, "No, no, no, I was just asking casually. Don't keep staring at me. Just pretend I didn't say anything, okay?"

"Then keep your mouth shut and stop spewing nonsense!" Lai Zi scolded sternly.

However, the words have already been spoken, and no one can pretend nothing happened.

Soon, someone picked up on the matter, saying, "Now that the master has been assassinated and the killer hasn't been caught yet, if Zhao Guoyan is also shot, the officials will naturally assume that it was done by the same assassin, or at least an accomplice."

Lai Zi immediately glared at him and said, "What, you're really planning to do that, kid?"

"No, no, I was just saying, but... if Zhao Guoyan dies, shouldn't it be Third Brother's turn to take charge?"

"Didn't you hear what Third Brother said? Second Brother and Dong Brother are also here!"

"Those two... don't seem like the kind of people who can be leaders!"

"That's enough, that's enough, let's leave it at that!"

Lai Zi quickly waved his hand and said, "Everyone, don't be impulsive. This is a big deal. You could lose your head if you don't handle it right!"

Stone asked, "What's wrong? Are you scared?"

"It's not a matter of being afraid or not. We're all doing this for Third Brother's good, and so am I! But if even the slightest word gets out, not only will we be in danger, but Third Brother might also be implicated. We can't do it, we can't do it!"

"As long as nobody knows, that's fine, isn't it?"

"Alas! If you don't want others to know, then don't do it in the first place!"

Lai Zi grabbed Shi Tou's shoulder and sighed, "Brother, I know you're capable, but our boss has just been assassinated, and the Jiang family's security will definitely be tightened. You can't act recklessly at a time like this. Just accept your fate. We're just firewood; once we're burned to ashes, that's it."

Stone didn't say anything more, silently stubbing out the cigarette between his fingers...

…………

On the other side, Zhao Guoyan took over as leader, representing Jiang and Hu to stabilize the overall situation, and was already extremely busy.

As predicted online, Zhao Guoyan naturally became extra cautious when representing the Jiang family in public after Jiang Lianheng's assassination attempt.

He first led his men to Xiaheyan and Shijianfang, where he settled Tang Wenbiao and Zeng Shouyi, respectively, and warned them not to overthink things. The Jiang family did not suspect that they were involved in the Daxiguan shooting incident.

Immediately afterwards, he withdrew a large sum of cash from the Northeast Official Bank and exchanged it for foreign currency at the Yokohama Masakatsu Bank. Taking advantage of the New Year holiday, he hurriedly took care of official favors and obligations.

Because of his limited status, Zhao Guoyan couldn't enter or leave the Marshal's Mansion. So he had to ask around for favors, arranging meetings with the Marshal's steward and driver, and offering them generous gifts. When people asked him about Jiang Lianheng's injuries or if he had any requests, he didn't elaborate, only saying it was a small token of the Jiang family's goodwill, hoping that people would speak well of the Jiang family in the future, and that would be enough.

After finishing all that, the day had passed in the blink of an eye.

The next morning, he went to various counters to reassure people and warned the managers not to try to take advantage of the chaos to embezzle the Jiang family's money.

Although all of this was just a matter of talking, Zhao Guoyan felt as if he had fought a major battle after all the work was done.

That kind of exhaustion doesn't come from the muscles and bones, but from the mental strain.

There's nothing more tiring than playing the fool. You have to fawn over others, smile insincerely, and appear glamorous on the surface, but feel disgusted behind the scenes.

Zhao Guoyan couldn't help but marvel at how his boss managed to get along so well with these people.

Little did they know that the key to success lies in the ability to read between the lines and to say things that don't reflect one's true feelings.

However, these tasks were actually quite easy to handle. When encountering government officials, one should speak softly, and when encountering the word "harmony," one should speak firmly. The only exception was when it came to setting up the Hengshe Society. When facing those wealthy merchants and gentry, one had to use both soft and hard tactics. One could neither push them too far nor give in at every turn, lest one diminish the Jiang family's prestige.

(End of this chapter)