Inside the residence of Third Master Tiger in Shunyi Fang.
Third Master Tiger, holding the list handed over by Huang Bingcheng, smiled without saying a word. The middle-aged scholar by his side was gripping his fan tightly, his face filled with shock.
"Adviser Li, what do you think of my adopted son's capabilities?" Third Master Tiger asked, looking up.
Adviser Li, abruptly opening his fan, said in a deep voice: "He's ruthless, decisive, has a plan, but most importantly, he knows when to advance and retreat."
Third Master Tiger said leisurely: "Indeed, the most important thing is he knows when to advance and retreat. Without this, all other skills are futile. In that case, I shall take possession of the wealth from the Shunde Casino."
"How much should we leave for Su Xin?" Adviser Li asked.
"Just leave him two thousand taels. The original land of Shunde Casino will be his too. We only need the cash." Third Master Tiger made a carefree gesture, but his mood was quite good.
Tens of thousands of taels of silver, even for him, the Gang Leader of the Flying Eagle Gang, was a huge sum of money.
What's most important was that this money was obtained without any burdens.
Su Xin had taken care of the person, and also gathered all the money.
All Third Master Tiger had to do was mediate with the official residence using his status and pave the way from top to bottom.
Even if the official residence wanted to settle the accounts afterwards, the crime of seizing family wealth couldn't be pinned on him, Third Master Tiger, even though he has taken 90% of the silver.
In the Happy Forest, Huang Bingcheng excitedly reported Third Master Tiger's decision to Su Xin. But there wasn't a hint of excitement on Su Xin's face. He only sneered silently in his heart.
His adoptive father's appetite was much larger than he had imagined, gobbling up 99% of the silver and leaving him only two thousand taels.
Luckily, Third Master Tiger wasn't interested in the land of Shunde Casino, which ultimately belonged to Su Xin.
"Old Huang, subtracting 1,300 taels from these 2,000, that leaves about 700. Is this enough to renovate Shunde Casino and turn it into a hall?"
"Boss, you want to build a hall? The money is enough and there may not even be a need to renovate. Just changing some plaques and buying some tables and chairs should do. But this breaks the rules." Huang Bingcheng scratched his head, seemingly always unable to keep up with his boss' train of thought.
Su Xin asked, "Why does it break the rules?"
Huang Bingcheng explained: "In the Flying Eagle Gang, only the Gang Leaders have the privilege to build a hall. Other small bosses just rent some houses to live in."
Su Xin tapped the table and said: "You're saying it's a privilege, so it's not explicitly stated in the gang rules that only a Gang Leader can build a hall, right?"
Huang Bingcheng paused, saying: "It seems so."
"In that case, what's the problem if I want to build a hall?"
Su Xin's purpose for building a hall was simple - to increase the cohesion of his subordinates.
The feeling of discussing matters inside a shabby house and inside a spacious and bright hall was totally different.
After thinking for a while, Huang Bingcheng also seemed to understand.
It's not that a small boss was not allowed to build a hall, but rather, no one would.
A small boss in the Flying Eagle Gang only managed around three or four streets. The monthly regular money at most would be about a thousand taels, and sometimes even just a few hundred.
Yet, building a hall required tens of thousands of taels of silver just for the land.
Instead of spending the money on a hall, it would be better to keep it for leisure.
"Fine, I'll leave this matter to you. Out of these 700 taels, after the necessary expenses, keep 100 taels for yourself. I'll let you take care of the rest." Huang Bingcheng was a bit slippery but meticulous in his work. Su Xin was very at ease with him.
If you want someone to serve you, you have to offer substantial benefits first, otherwise why would they risk their lives for you?
Thus, whether in his past life or the present one, Su Xin has always been generous with his subordinates.
"Thank you, boss! From now on, my life belongs to you!" Huang Bingcheng pounded his thin chest, his eyes welling up with tears of gratitude.
Of course, his display contained considerable flattery, but he genuinely was moved.
He had been mixed up in the Flying Eagle Gang for over ten years, but due to his own limitations, he was not valued, despite being a smooth-talker.
Now, Su Xin not only granted him authority but also entrusted him with the silver in his hands. This instantly made Huang Bingcheng feel a sense of loyalty.
After dismissing Huang Bingcheng, Su Xin returned to his own home. On the way, he bought a roasted chicken to bring home.
As he pushed the door open, Xin'er rushed over. Her little nose twitched, and she exclaimed joyfully: "Ah! It's roast chicken!"
"All right, little glutton, wash your hands and get ready to eat." Su Xin ruffled Xin'er's hair.
Xin'er nodded obediently and ran off to wash her hands.
After dinner, Su Xin had two wooden stakes brought into the yard, then summoned Huang Bingcheng, asking him to fetch a pair of swords for him from the government office while he was running his errands.
Regularly created weapons in the blacksmith's shop were of inferior quality, and Su Xin would rather use the current piece of iron in his hand than any of those weapons.
The finest weapons in Changning Prefecture bore the stamp of the Imperial Court.
The swords, spears, and halberds within the Changning Prefecture Government Office were all replacement weapons originally used by the Imperial army. These highest quality weapons were crafted by artisans within the military and distributed to the government offices in different prefectures. They were all primed and had seen combat.
Huang Bingcheng made a trip to the government office and, using merely fifty taels of silver, brought back two longswords for Su Xin.
In recent years, the Great Zhou dynasty had seen many fewer battles and as a result, many soldiers had been discharged. Their equipment was distributed among the various prefectures, in not insignificant numbers.
In a single storehouse of Changning Prefecture, there were enough weapons and armor to arm a thousand men. However, the total number of constables in Changning Prefecture barely exceeded a hundred.
Hence, most of these items were simply left in the storehouse to rust. Even for twenty, rather than fifty, taels of silver, the storehouse keepers would happily sell them off.
One of the longswords was a fine sword, three feet long and two fingers wide, light and agile.
The other was a heavy sword, a full four feet long and four fingers wide, stable and heavy, suitable for slashing.
The blades of these two swords were cold and sharp. Only upon a closer inspection could one see the faint signs of previous battles, but they have been resharpened, almost like new.
Su Xin held the fine sword in his left hand and the heavy sword in his right, constantly stabbing at the wooden stakes.
However, what he was practicing was not the power of his thrusts, but their accuracy.
Every stab had to stop just upon making contact with the wooden stake. If he left a mark on the stake, it would be considered a failure.
Currently, Su Xin had mastered two swordsmanship styles. One was the Jing Wuming's Fast Sword and the other was the Mahamayuri Swordsmanship.
The Mahamayuri Swordsmanship primarily focused on defense, with its numerous complex moves. Su Xin intended to use it to cover the gaps when he used the Fast Sword technique, preventing him from being completely helpless when the Fast Sword was restrained.
Although Su Xin could not perfect Jing Wuming's Fast Sword to one hundred percent, this was a simple and deadly sword technique, focusing on the absolute extreme of speed, lethality, and precision.
These three aspects could not just be seen in Jing Wuming's Fast Sword, but could also be utilized during the training of other martial arts.
So, right now, Su Xin was simply focusing on improving his proficiency with the Jing Wuming's Fast Sword, which could also double as a basic form of practice.
Watching her brother train, Xin'er sat obediently on the steps in front of the house.
When Su Xin practiced until he was covered in sweat, Xin'er would bring water and a towel to wipe his sweat.
"Brother, can I learn swordsmanship?" Xin'er, eyes wide open, stared lovingly at the fine sword in Su Xin's hand.
"You can. But why do you want to learn swordsmanship?" Su Xin looked at Xin'er in surprise. At her age, most girls were interested in things like dolls, not swords, which were typically more popular among boys.
With clenched little fists, Xin'er said: "If I learn swordsmanship, I can protect Brother and chase away all the bad guys who try to bully us."
"Alright, Brother is looking forward to Xin'er protecting me." Su Xin laughed and ruffled Xin'er's hair.
Su Xin handed the fine sword to Xin'er. When she happily received it but made a pitiful face, looking at Su Xin.
Though the blade was a fine sword, it was made from refined steel and weighed over ten jin (approx. 5 kg). To Xin'er, a seven-year-old child, it was far too heavy.
Xin'er could barely lift the fine sword with both hands together, much less wield it.
When Su Xin saw this, he chuckled, took the fine sword back, sliced a piece of the wooden stake and quickly whittled it into a wooden sword for Xin'er. Only then did they, big and small, stand in front of the wooden stake, stabbing repeatedly with the swords in their hands.
A month passed, not long, yet not short either.
While Su Xin remained in his little yard, solely focused on his training, all the stores in Happy Forest had been renovated and were ready to reopen.
When it came to the crunch, the bosses of Happy Forest found themselves between a rock and a hard place.
After all, they had already shared their stakes with Su Xin and the shops had been decorated as well. A considerable amount of money had been invested. Success or failure depended on this move.
As night fell, one cart after another drove into Happy Forest. This was truly the time when Happy Forest should come alive.
Young Master Sun from the Sun Family in the east of the city stepped down from the carriage, looked at the newly refurbished Happy Forest and wondered, "Oh, the renovation is quite good after not coming for a month. Today, I must enjoy myself thoroughly."
Young Master Sun's family was the largest illicit dealer of medicinal herbs in the east of the city, specializing in smuggling rare herbs from the Southern Barbarians and the Land of Three Xiang to the Eastern Jin.
Although this business was perilous, with immediate execution being the consequence if found by the border garrison of the Great Zhou empire, it was extremely profitable. The wealth of the Sun Family was one of the greatest in Changning Prefecture.
With the financial strength of the Sun family, even if Happy Forest had been closed for renovation, he could have spent his time elsewhere. However, he had instead chosen to restrain himself from going out for a month.
There was no other reason but that Young Master Sun was a nostalgic person.
Many years ago, when he was just thirteen years old, his immoral cousin had taken him to Happy Forest where he had his first sexual experience. This gave him a genuine sentimentality towards the place.