In Changning Prefecture, among the three gangs and four associations, the Green Bamboo Gang and the Flying Eagle Gang are the weakest, and the two gangs are evenly matched.
Although the Green Bamboo Gang lost the battle at Happy Forest, they actually did not lose many hands and it was their voluntary decision to give up the place.
After all, there was not much money to be made at Happy Forest previously, and the monthly income was well if it reached four to five hundred silver at most. Why would they risk their lives for such a place against the Flying Eagle Gang?
So the two gangs only fought once, the Green Bamboo Gang gave up Happy Forest and retreated directly to Yongle Square, which was next to Changle Square.
But now, to see Happy Forest thriving under the management of Su Xin, and hearing that the monthly dividend of Happy Forest is close to 100,000 silver, Green Bamboo Gang became even more envious.
In particular, Zhang Hong, who used to be in charge of Happy Forest, was almost choked on his own anger.
When he was in charge of Happy Forest, he had a hard time. The income barely covered the tribute to the higher-ups and payment to the lower ones, leaving him with little money left.
But as soon as the guys from the Flying Eagle Gang took over, Happy Forest became a gold mine. A lot of Green Bamboo people have been making fun of Zhang Hong saying he had been begging with a golden bowl in his hand.
Moreover, after leaving Happy Forest, Gang Leader Dai Chong only gave him a short street next to Happy Forest to manage, which had only dozens of shops, even less than Happy Forest.
One night, after having a meal, Zhang Hong looked up and saw the brightly lit scene of Happy Forest on the opposite side, which made him even more upset.
"Damn it! Why don't those merchants pay me dividends when I'm in charge of Happy Forest? Looking down on Green Bamboo because we are short of people?"
A junior standing behind Zhang Hong said, "Brother Hong, don't be angry, those merchants are just cheap! I heard this kid from the Flying Eagle Gang directly crippled Old Huang who opened the gambling house, and everyone obediently handed over their dividends."
Zhang Hong pinched his nose and scoffed, "Damn it, I knew I should have been harder as well, I could at least make a fortune before leaving, instead of being down and out now."
"Eh? Brother Hong, isn't that one of the guys from the Flying Eagle Gang?" One of the gang members pointed to the corner of the restaurant.
The restaurant was right between Yongle Square and Happy Forest, they could see it with one glance. Now, a man dressed in Flying Eagle Gang's clothing was peeing over there, very drunk.
Today was the day when they received their monthly payment, and it was ten taels at one time, which made these gang members very excited.
Those who joined the gang were not living honest lives in the first place; most of them lived each day to the fullest with drink, so once the monthly payment was handed out, they would immediately go out looking for fun.
So, a few gang members who had a good relationship came to the restaurant for a big meal, but this time they did not dare to eat and drink for free, they honestly paid for it.
After all, what happened during the day was still fresh in their mind. This Boss Su was not an easy person to deal with.
The gang member shook his body to put on his pants, and a silver ingot fell out from his bosom.
Seeing that fist-sized ten tael silver, the eyes of the gang members behind Zhang Hong all turned red.
Sometimes they didn't even make ten taels in a year, but now a random member of the Flying Eagle Gang could readily take out ten taels of silver.
The gang member finished peeing and turned around to see Zhang Hong and his crew.
The Flying Eagle Gang and the Green Bamboo Gang had fought several times, of course he recognized the people of the Green Bamboo Gang, but he scoffed arrogantly, weighed the silver in his hand, and walked away.
So what if it's a gang leader? Wasn't he still driven away by our Flying Eagle Gang? Moreover, following Boss Su is more lucrative than following your gang leader!
Seeing this disdainful smile, Zhang Hong exploded instantly.
"Damn! A mere punk dares to laugh at me? Drag him over here and beat him!"
The gang member saw something wrong and wanted to run, but he was a bit drunk and wobbled as he walked. He hadn't taken two steps when Zhang Hong and his crew pushed him to the ground and started to beat him up.
"I'm from the Flying Eagle Gang! This is the Flying Eagle Gang's territory, you dare to mess around, my boss won't let you go!"
Zhang Hong sneered, "Your boss? That immature little lad? I'll kill you today and see what he can do to me!"
Like rain, the punches fell. The gang member initially howled in pain, but eventually, the sound disappeared.
"Stop!"
Zhang Hong shouted, a junior went over to have a look, swallowed and said, "Brother Hong, this guy is beaten to death!"
Everyone looked at each other, feeling that things were a bit serious.
They just wanted to teach the guy a lesson, but they had some drinks before they came out, so they got a bit out of control, and ended up killing him.
Fighting between gangs was a trivial matter, and even killing during a gang war was normal.
But those were decisions made by the higher-ups of the gang. If they killed someone, they would negotiate with the Official Residence and manage the aftermath.
But if their people killed someone at will, it wouldn't be so easy, and their action might even trigger another big battle between the two gangs.
"Brother Hong, what shall we do now?" A few gang members were at a loss what to do.
Zhang Hong looked around, there were no people from the Flying Eagle Gang around, the ones who came with him were probably still getting drunk in the restaurant.
"No one saw us, let's go. After all, this is Flying Eagle Gang's territory, we should report to the gang leader."
Zhang Hong silently scolded himself for being too heavy-handed. Now he had killed a member of the Flying Eagle Gang, it was definitely something he couldn't handle alone.
If he were to inform Head Gang Leader Dai Chong, considering his greedy nature, it would inevitably cost him dearly.
Dai Chong, the leader of the Green Bamboo Gang, was incredibly fond of gambling. His love for money was primarily due to his love for gambling.
Zhang Hong directly went to the largest gambling house in Yongle Square, Jinsheng Gambling House, and found Dai Chong without any difficulty.
Dai Chong, in his fifties, tall and robust, also had at his disposal a Leiguweng Golden Hammer that was as tall as a half-grown man.
Because of this strange weapon, he had an acclaimed alias in Changning Prefecture, the Bombarding Sky Hammer.
"Boss, I've run into a little trouble," Zhang Hong carefully reported.
Dai Chong seemed to be in a good mood because he had won some money, so he lazily asked, "What problem have you caused this time?"
"I accidentally killed a member of the Flying Eagle Gang."
"Oh, it's just a minor issue, I'll talk to the Flying Eagle Gang, and compensate them with ten silvers for the funerary expenses," Dai Chong still spoke with an indifferent tone.
Zhang Hong was dumbfounded. Was that it? Solved just like that? Why did it feel off somehow?
"Boss, isn't the Flying Eagle Gang going to retaliate over this issue?" Zhang Hong couldn't resist asking.
Dai Chong waved his hand: "Don't worry, there won't be a fight. Even if we want to fight them, the Flying Eagle Gang wouldn't, you wouldn't understand these higher-level matters.
By the way, we're short of one player since you're here, join us for a few rounds."
Zhang Hong was bewildered as he was pulled to the mahjong table, he knew one thing for certain, he did not have to take any responsibility anymore.
Early the next morning, within the hall of the Happy Forest, Su Xin was sitting in the main seat looking gloomily at the corpse on the ground without uttering a word, and the other gang members silently standing below.
"What the hell happened?" Su Xin slowly broke the silence.
"It was the work of the Green Bamboo Gang," Huang Bingcheng said, his face filled with grief, "These brothers were out drinking last night, when they came home, they found him beaten to death and dumped on the street."
The gang members below were filled with anger. Their eyes were red, they felt guilty for their lack of carefulness, causing their brother to be killed by the Green Bamboo Gang.
"Did you notify the gang?" Su Xin asked.
"The gang knew even before us. Today, Third Master Tiger sent someone with ten silver pieces as consolation money for the funeral, saying it was sent by Dai Chong, the head gang leader from the Green Bamboo Gang," said Huang Bingcheng, his face filled with bitterness.
"Bang!"
Su Xin slammed the cup he was holding onto the floor.
The gang members below were equally furious.
They earned ten silver pieces a month. Now, after killing a man, they compensated with ten silver pieces for a funeral, this was clearly an insult!
"What does the gang mean? Just swallow it like that?"
Su Xin found it confusing, the grudges between the Green Bamboo Gang and the Flying Eagle Gang have been around for a long time. A member of the Green Bamboo Gang killed a member of the Flying Eagle Gang, yet the higher-ups in the gang chose to swallow it. Something's wrong.
Huang Bingcheng helplessly said, "They didn't say it directly, but it does seem to be that way."
The eager gang members below looked at Su Xin, unsure how Boss Su planned to handle it.
Apart from the few elderly members of the Flying Eagle Gang working under Su Xin, the rest were newly recruited young men.
These young men still had blazing passion in their hearts.
Even if they knew that going head-to-head against the Green Bamboo Gang could lead to their death, they refused to swallow their pride and watch the Green Bamboo Gang kill their brother, toss out ten silver pieces, dust off their hands, and just walk away.
Unlike the older members, who have been around for years and were much more level-headed.
The struggle between two gangs was never a simple matter. Even if they wanted to fight, they required approval from their higher-ups.
Now that the upper echelons have explicitly stated their unwillingness to take action, relying on the few men Su Xin had would only be suicide.
"Boss, what should we do now?" Huang Bingcheng quietly asked.
Su Xin rubbed his chin, now he was in a bit of a bind.
Given the current situation, if they don't fight, his hard-earned respect could go down the drain.
But if they were to fight, without support from above the Flying Eagle Gang, what could he rely on to lead this fight? Just these freshly recruited young men?
After mulling it over for a while, Su Xin decisively said, "I, Su Xin, will never let my brother die in vain! I will request my godfather's help to demand justice from the Green Bamboo Gang!"
The gang members present immediately brightened up, Boss Su indeed did not disappoint them!
After arranging for the fallen gang member's coffin to be taken out for burial, Su Xin requested Huang Bingcheng to bring out a 5000 silver note and accompany him to see Third Master Tiger.