Suite on the second floor of the county party committee guesthouse.

The radiator was burning hot to the touch.

Mr. Huang, dressed in an expensive silk shirt, leaned comfortably against the sofa.

On the tea table in front of me were purple clay teaware, and boiling water was bubbling in the kettle.

He slowly and methodically rinsed the teacup with the small teacup, his movements exuding a calm and composed air of someone in control.

A series of hurried footsteps suddenly echoed down the corridor.

A muffled "bang" was heard.

The door was pushed open roughly, and Ah Biao rushed in, bringing with him a chill that seemed to carry ice shards. His leather shoes left two puddles of mud on the scarlet carpet.

Boss Huang didn't even lift an eyelid, steadily pouring the tea-rinsing water into the wastewater sink: "What's the rush? Have you run out of money?"

"Boss, that guy surnamed Zhao has gone mad!" Ah Biao rushed to the coffee table, panting heavily. "His henchman, Da Zhuang, came with 20,000 yuan in cash and started crashing our place, demanding a price of 1.5 yuan!"

Boss Huang's hand, which was holding the teacup, froze in mid-air.

He slowly raised his head, a cold, mocking smile playing on his lips.

He casually slammed the teacup onto the coffee table, making a crisp clanging sound.

"One dollar and fifty cents? He's even pulled out his savings for his funeral."

Boss Huang leaned back on the sofa, rhythmically tapping his fingers on the mahogany armrest: "Since he wants to die, then we'll grant his wish. As long as we kick him out of the game completely, the Soviets will only be able to get their goods from our Wenzhou gang, and then we'll be the ones to dictate the prices."

Boss Huang picked up the teapot and poured a steaming cup of tea: "How's the quality of the goods we received today?"

Ah Biao ripped open his mink coat, pulled out a burlap sack tucked under his arm, untied the rope, and tilted it upside down by the bottom corner.

Splash!

A dozen or so fine gray squirrel pelts fell onto the thick carpet.

Each one was enormous, with a glossy, smooth coat. The warmth of the heating in the room immediately released the tanned, slightly acidic smell of the leather.

"Boss, you've got an eye on me!"

Ah Biao squatted down, grabbed two large pieces of leather with both hands, and handed them over, his eyes filled with greedy fervor: "These are all top-grade leather! The ones we've collected in the past half day are all of better quality than the last. Kaoshantun, this poor mountain village, is a treasure trove! No wonder Zhao Shanhe was able to make such a fortune before!"

Ah Biao pointed at the hides on the ground, his voice trembling with excitement: "As long as we pay the money today and beat that Zhao guy to death, all the top-quality goods from this surrounding area are ours. We can then resell them at the border crossing, and we'll make a killing!"

Boss Huang reached out and took the leather, forcefully tugging at the taut edge of the leather. Feeling its unusually large size, greed burned fiercely in his eyes.

He threw the leather on the coffee table, stood up, and walked straight to the bedside.

He bent down and pulled out three extremely heavy black canvas travel bags from under the bed.

"Open it." Boss Huang said without turning his head.

Ah Biao quickly ran over and unzipped the three travel bags.

Inside were bundles of ten-yuan banknotes, neatly stacked.

The dark, ink-like background exudes a suffocating sense of oppression, and the strong smell of new banknote ink assaults the nostrils.

"Here's 150,000 in cash." Boss Huang turned around and walked back to the coffee table, looking down at Ah Biao: "Take it all and go to Kaoshantun."

Ah Biao grinned, gripping the handles of three heavy travel bags tightly with both hands, the veins on the back of his hands bulging.

"He pays one dollar and fifty cents, so you pay three dollars."

Old Master Huang picked up his teacup, took a sip of hot tea, and his eyes were as venomous as a snake's: "If he dares to bid three yuan and fifty cents, you bid four yuan. No matter how much he bids, always be one step ahead of him!"

Boss Huang slammed his teacup on the table: "Go all out and buy! As long as it's this large, top-quality stuff, I'll take as many as you can!"

Boss Huang stared into A Biao's eyes and said, slowly and deliberately, "Before sunset today, make sure Zhao Shanhe has his tail between his legs and gets out of Kaoshantun!"

"Understood!" Ah Biao, carrying three travel bags filled with a huge sum of money, turned around abruptly and strode out of the suite.

……

The entrance to Kaoshantun Village.

Dazhuang stood on the broken wooden box like an iron tower, with the artificial leather bag under his feet.

He slowly finished smoking a Daqianmen cigarette, flicked the butt into the snow pit next to him, and a tiny spark flew up.

The surrounding villagers crowded around, but the place was deathly silent; no one dared to breathe loudly.

Only the biting north wind swept through the bare branches of the old locust tree, producing an extremely sharp whistling sound.

Suddenly, two blinding beams of headlights tore through the wind and snow.

A jeep roared over and slammed on the brakes in front of the mahogany round table, splashing black mud all over the ground as its wheels kicked up the mud.

Ah Biao pushed open the car door and jumped out.

He strode to the table, carrying three bulging black canvas travel bags in both hands.

boom! boom! boom!

Three heavy travel bags slammed onto the mahogany table in succession, making the table legs creak.

Ah Biao ripped open the zipper of the first travel bag, revealing bundles of dark black unison bills inside.

"One dollar and fifty cents?" Ah Biao stared intently at Da Zhuang, a sneer spreading across his face. "I'll offer three dollars!"

Da Zhuang suddenly jumped off the wooden crate, kicked open the artificial leather bag at his feet, revealing 20,000 yuan in cash inside.

"Three yuan and fifty cents!" Da Zhuang roared angrily, his neck stiff.

Without even blinking, Ah Biao grabbed the bottom of the first travel bag and forcefully flipped it upwards.

Dozens of bundles of "Taiyuan" (a type of traditional Chinese currency) were dumped onto the mahogany round table with a loud thud, emitting a strong smell of ink.

Ah Biao turned around and opened the second travel bag: "Four yuan!"

Dazhuang gritted his teeth, and the veins on his neck throbbed.

He took a step forward, his heavy leather boots slamming into the mud, and roared with bloodshot eyes, "Four dollars and two jiao!"

Ah Biao paused for a moment, looking at Da Zhuang's desperate attempt to hold on, then threw his head back and burst into unrestrained laughter.

"Hahahaha! Adding two cents at a time? You think you can mess with me?"

Ah Biao flipped over the second travel bag, revealing the table covered in a thick layer of black banknotes.

He pointed directly at Dazhuang's nose, his voice extremely arrogant: "Four yuan and fifty cents!"

Dazhuang's breathing instantly became extremely heavy, and his chest heaved violently.

He turned his head sharply and stared intently at the leather bag at his feet.

The money in my bag was almost gone; I couldn't possibly out-bomb the other person.

Dazhuang clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white, and let out a hoarse roar: "Four yuan and eighty cents! The Zhao family compound will fight you to the death today!"

"Fuck your mother!"

Ah Biao laughed wildly, stepped onto the armchair, and flipped himself onto the large mahogany round table.

Expensive leather shoes brazenly trampled on piles of banknotes.

He looked down at Dazhuang, bent down and ripped open the third travel bag, grabbed two heavy bundles of yuan, and smashed them hard against Dazhuang's face.

The banknotes slammed heavily onto Dazhuang's chest, scattering into the muddy water.

"You poor wretch, you dare to challenge my Wenzhou gang's wealth?" Ah Biao kicked over the third travel bag and roared at all the villagers, "Five yuan and fifty cents! I'm offering five yuan and fifty cents today! As long as it's top-quality big board, I'll buy as many as you have!"

The entire room fell silent.

Dazhuang stood rooted to the spot, his face turning deathly pale.

Large beads of sweat streamed down his fleshy cheeks and dripped into the collar of his worn-out military overcoat.

He opened his mouth, but it was as if someone was choking him, and he couldn't make a sound for a long time.

Da Zhuang looked at the mahogany round table piled high with banknotes at A Biao's feet, then lowered his head and stared intently at the shrunken leather bag at his feet that only contained 20,000 yuan.

He took a step back in utter humiliation.

Then they took another step back.

Ah Biao stood on the table covered in banknotes, pointing at Da Zhuang's nose and laughing maniacally: "Shout! Keep shouting, you fucking bastard! No money? Go home and dig up your ancestors' graves to raise it!"

Dazhuang gritted his teeth, his eyes red and almost bleeding.

He suddenly bent down, grabbed the faux leather bag from the ground, and roughly zipped it up.

His hands were trembling violently, as if he had suffered a great humiliation but was helpless.

Da Zhuang suddenly turned around and waved his hand forcefully at the men he had brought with him: "Let's go!"

Dazhuang, carrying his briefcase, smashed through the crowd like a defeated dog, and ran frantically along the main road toward the Zhao family compound.

Several men, pushing empty carts, followed behind, their faces filled with panic.

Ah Biao watched Da Zhuang's retreating figure and felt extremely satisfied.

He stomped hard on the table piled high with unpaid bills, spread his arms wide at the utterly dumbfounded villagers, and roared recklessly, "Did you all see that?! I beat Zhao Shanhe's men so badly they ran away with their tails between their legs!"

"From today onwards, this Kaoshantun is under the control of our Wenzhou gang!"

Driven to madness by the exorbitant price and the table piled high with cash, the villagers surged forward in a frenzy.

"Five dollars and fifty cents! I'll sell them! I'll sell them all to you!"

"Take mine first! Mine are all top-quality, high-quality goods!"

Ah Biao jumped off the table with extreme arrogance, sat back down in his armchair with an air of superiority, and lit an imported Liangyou cigarette with a lighter.

He took a deep breath and shouted to his underlings, "Take everything! Anything this large and top-quality, it's all five dollars and fifty cents! Pay up!"

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