Reborn in 1993, Dark Sea

"What happened to you?" Wang Tiejun peeled the orange, frowned, and stuffed a segment into An Xiaohai's mouth.

"It was an accident, I guess. It was pitch black, how could I see anything?" An Xiaohai rolled his eyes and said. Captain Wang is such a boor; he didn't even bother to clean the orange properly before eating it, leaving his mouth full of crumbs.

My little Xuan'er is so good; she always peels oranges so cleanly, leaving them white and tender...

"What's wrong with you? We've already pinpointed the enemy's location, so why aren't you issuing the attack command? Why are you making such a mess of yourself!"

Zhou Meng, who was standing to the side, also frowned and asked.

"Captain Zhou, I accidentally fell down the slope and my headphones fell off!"

Besides, you know what happened there. It was pitch black; how was I supposed to know if it was the same ship as before? What if I made a mistake?

"Alright, alright, don't give me that crap! Tell me, who killed the Beast?"

"Of course I killed him! He stabbed me with a knife, I couldn't just stand there and let him stab me, could I?!"

"Fine, you're just spouting nonsense!" Zhou Meng said, slapping his military cap hard twice in frustration.

"Captain Wang, are all my men alright?"

"Not too good..." Wang Tiejun sighed softly, "Several people had their tendons severed and can't be reattached. They'll probably be left with disabilities, but thankfully, no one lost their lives."

"It's good that you're still alive!" An Xiaohai breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he was alive, he was willing to give more compensation.

When you're out in the world, you're bound to get hurt!

Having gone through so much, An Xiaohai has become much more open-minded.

"Why don't you ask how the people on the other side of the ghost's side are doing?" Zhou Meng said irritably.

"How is it?"

"Nearly 50 people died! More than 70 were seriously injured, and 4 are still being treated. The others were injured to varying degrees, and 12 are missing."

"Director Xu and his team arrested so many people? Wow, that's impressive. I didn't even see when they did it."

"They only caught eight; four others are truly missing."

"...

So many people died... Is everything really alright? You won't have a lot to explain this to, will you?..." An Xiaohai was very uneasy. He knew the other side's casualties would be significant, but he didn't expect so many people to actually die this time.

"It shouldn't be a big problem!" Zhou Meng stroked his hair. "Anyway, it wasn't one of our people who died. They came here to fight amongst themselves; what's wrong with that? We have no excuse."

"..."

"Alright, now that you're all right, we'll head out. We still have a ton of stuff to deal with!"

Last night, both sides arrested over 2000 people in total. Everywhere is packed. I need to get there quickly, otherwise things will get chaotic.

After feeding the oranges, Wang Tiejun patted his thigh and stood up.

"Where is Wang Bulai? Where are they now? Are they alright?"

"They're not seriously injured; they're in a regular ward downstairs. Should I call them up?"

"Call them up, I have some things to tell them."

"Okay, then we'll head out first. I'll have them come up to you in a bit."

Thanks.

Wang Tiejun and Zhou Meng left together. Before leaving, Zhou Meng pointed at An Xiaohai menacingly.

An Xiaohai didn't take it to heart at all. That's just how Zhou Meng is—sharp-tongued but soft-hearted. He looks like a rough guy, but he's actually incredibly shrewd.

"Boss!" Wang Bulai and his men arrived shortly afterward, all wrapped in bandages, looking rather comical.

An Xiaohai asked them to sit down.

"Ah Lai, have you distributed the money to the brothers yet?"

"The money has been distributed. Everyone present received 5000, and the injured received an extra 3000."

"What about medical expenses? Do you have enough money there?"

"There's enough money, the police will cover the medical expenses," Ali chimed in, glancing unconsciously at the hospital room door as he mentioned the police.

"That's enough. Give the more seriously injured a couple of 5000 each. Is that enough?"

"That's enough! We made quite a bit more yesterday, and we still have a lot of the money the boss gave us last time. Also, the internet cafe business is booming. In just over 10 days, we've already made tens of thousands in net profit."

"This is terrifying! My goodness!" Ali said, sticking out his tongue, his eyes shining brightly.

"Yes, it's a bit scary. Xie Dan has a new hobby now. Every night he goes to two internet cafes to count his money, counting it several times. The guys running the internet cafes think he's going to rob them."

"Boss, you're really something! This is way better than collecting protection money, it's like robbing someone!" Wang Bulai rarely joked.

Xie Dan rolled her eyes, her face turning red.

"If the internet cafe is doing well, that's good!" An Xiaohai nodded.

Internet cafes weren't cheap back then; they could charge three or four yuan an hour. He wasn't surprised at all by the current rate of profit.

"We can't abandon our brothers who were injured this time. We'll arrange jobs for them in internet cafes, and if they want to do other businesses, we'll help them too. They risked their lives for us, so we have to support them."

"Okay, boss!" The three nodded heavily, their gazes towards An Xiaohai now carrying a deeper meaning.

"Alai, Ali, Xie Dan, I have an idea. I want to open internet cafes all over the city. We need to do it quickly and take over the market as soon as possible."

In this way, our family alone definitely can't handle it all. I'm thinking of getting some people to cooperate, so let's get two companies in each district.

"In Fuhai District, I want to invite Ah Huo and Dao Dou to play together. In Luotian District, I want to invite Lao Ba and Er Mao to play together. What are your opinions?"

"We have no objections, we'll listen to the boss," Wang Bulai said without any hesitation.

"No objection! Brother Huo and Brother Dao are both excellent, they are known for their loyalty and are also very senior, we have nothing to say;

Er Mao is also good; he treated us to a meal when we were down on our luck. We're not familiar with Ba Ge, but if the boss says it's okay, then it's definitely okay. Peng Li agreed.

Xie Dan didn't say anything; he had absolutely no interest in such matters.

"Hmm," An Xiaohai nodded: "In business, the higher the profit, the more you should avoid hoarding it. The bigger the business, the more you should know how to share the benefits with more people. Only in this way can you build a wider network of contacts and make your business bigger and bigger."

The more people who share the benefits, the more people will stand with us to resist risks, making us safer and allowing our path to become wider and wider.

However, we must maintain control over our business operations, and the shareholding of others should not exceed half.

The internet cafe business should be able to continue for several more years. It's easy to make money now, but that may not be the case in the future. You guys need to make more friends and use your brains in the next few years. Don't get carried away just because you have money.

Learn more from the Chaoshan people; they're very good at business. Don't just brag and talk nonsense all day long.

"Don't worry, boss, we'll remember!" Wang Bulai nodded solemnly.

"Boss, can an internet cafe business only last a few years?" Ali asked, frowning. His focus was often different from Wang Bulai's, which was indeed a good complement to Wang Bulai's.

"Yes, I estimate it will take no more than ten years."

Just look at the video game arcades now. Think about it, once all our internet cafes open, will they still have any business?

"That's true!" Ali nodded repeatedly. "Let's not even talk about the future. Right now, those video game arcades near our internet cafe are already struggling to make ends meet."

"Yes, you can't do a business forever. Times are constantly changing, and technology is constantly advancing. Internet cafes will eventually be phased out."

But you don't need to worry too much. If internet cafes are declining, there will always be other industries that thrive. In a few years, your horizons will broaden, and you'll have more money. Starting another business will be much easier than it is now.

"What the boss says is right!" Ali nodded repeatedly.

"Also, I have some news for you, so you should be aware of it!" An Xiaohai thought for a moment and then continued, "Now, the gambling, prostitution, and drugs in our area have basically been eradicated. I think you should have noticed that."

Next, there will definitely be people who want to revive these things.

If someone comes to you and asks you to play together, my advice is that you can participate to a certain extent in prostitution and gambling, but you must never get too involved and be prepared to withdraw at any time.

As for drugs, we will never touch them, including your subordinates. If anyone is found to be using drugs, get rid of them immediately without any leniency.

What's wrong? Why do you all look like that?

An Xiaohai noticed that Wang Bulai and the others had strange expressions.

"Boss, we're a bit surprised!"

Actually, we've wanted to take over those underground casinos in Baoshan District for a long time, but the brothers all thought you'd lead us to do legitimate business and walk the right path, so we didn't dare mention it to you. Who knew? Hehe!" Ali said, scratching his head.

"I'm going to lead you onto the right path! That won't change. But after careful consideration, I think these unorthodox paths aren't necessarily completely off-limits," An Xiaohai took a deep breath:

"No matter what kind of business it is, as long as there is profit, there will always be people who will do it. These shady methods will definitely still be used by some people."

Those who engage in these shady activities will quickly become powerful. If they know how to restrain themselves, we can coexist peacefully. However, if these people do not know how to restrain themselves and insist on acting recklessly, they will eventually affect us.

Since that's the case, we might as well take over these industries ourselves first, at least to get a share of the profits.

We have a lot of brothers to support, and that number will only increase in the future. Relying solely on internet cafes is unrealistic. In any case, only by becoming stronger ourselves can we better cope with risks in the future.

We cannot prematurely abandon our skills.

But brothers, the world is always progressing. Laws will become more comprehensive and systems will become more perfect. In the future, these black and gray industries will only become more and more difficult to deal with.

You must stay alert at all times while you're doing these things!

"Don't worry, boss, we know what we're doing."

"It's good that you all know what's going on."

An Xiaohai let out a soft, deep breath. His injuries were quite severe, and he was a little tired after talking for so long.

At this moment, the nurse pushed open the ward door. It was time to change the dressing. As soon as the ward door was opened, An Xiaohai heard a commotion outside, mixed with some shouts and curses.

"Nurse, what's going on?" An Xiaohai asked, frowning.

"It's all because of those Hong Kong patrons! They got arrested by the police and all they do is take it out on us, yelling and throwing things, they never stop..." the nurse said, pouting.

"Oh, is that so? They've fallen on such a state and they're still so arrogant? They're so noisy. Xie Dan, why don't you go over and take a look? And while you're at it, teach them how to get admitted to the hospital here."

"Okay, boss!" Xie Dan grinned and left happily, even taking the crutch that was placed at the door of the ward before leaving.