Lin Wanrong sighed inwardly, unsure about what stroke of luck led him to encounter my lovely Qiao Qiao. It truly pains my heart. He tightly held Qiao Qiao's hand and said, "In the future, don't keep these matters in your heart. You must tell your big brother. If there are any difficulties, big brother will handle them."
Dong Qingshan's eyes were moist, and she lightly bit her jade lips before softly saying, "Qiao Qiao understands. Big brother, you are Qiao Qiao's heaven."
Lin Wanrong felt an unprecedented sweetness in his heart. Unexpectedly, this little girl, Qiao Qiao, is not inferior to me in expressing affectionate words. Lin Wanrong was overjoyed and whispered, "Qiao Qiao, my treasure—" Qiao Qiao's heart skipped a beat twice, and she lost all ability to think.
Cough, cough, Luo Yuan couldn't bear to watch any longer. He coughed twice to interrupt the lovey-dovey scene. Lin Wanrong looked up and saw several people staring at him, clearly displeased with him corrupting the innocent Qiao Qiao.
Lin Wanrong laughed heartily and said, "Qiao Qiao, how much silver do we have left now?"
Dong Qingshan shook her head and said, "Big brother, we still have five hundred taels left. Let's use it sparingly, and after the opening, we'll have income."
Lin Wanrong nodded, took out a handful of broken silver from his pocket, and generously said, "Qiao Qiao, big brother has plenty of silver. You can use it as you please. Don't mistreat your body anymore. Remember, you are my priceless treasure."
"Big brother—" Qiao Qiao blushed, softly calling out, her body feeling a bit weak. She couldn't bear to hear these words that made her heart beat faster but also loved hearing them more and more.
Lin Wanrong inquired about the preparations for the opening and sincerely tried to win over Luo Yuan, treating him like a close friend. He also asked about the tavern. Dong Qingshan, intelligent and capable, had already prepared everything according to his instructions, and Lin Wanrong was very satisfied.
"Qingshan, how is Hongxing doing?" Lin Wanrong casually glanced at Luo Yuan and asked.
Seeing the men talking, Dong Qingshan obediently pulled the pretty woman aside for a chat.
Dong Qingshan was also clever. Seeing big brother asking in front of Luo Yuan, he knew there must be some deep meaning. He straightforwardly replied, "Recently, we've been accumulating strength as per big brother's instructions. The manpower in the three branches of Hongxing is sufficient. Following your advice, we've enlisted experienced brothers to train others, enhancing our combat capabilities. However, things seem uneasy with Wu Zhenghu's side. Several times they've come to provoke our territory in the south of the city. Big brother, I think a confrontation with Wu Zhenghu is inevitable."
Luo Yuan was a person who loved excitement. Hearing this, he couldn't help himself. He quickly grabbed Dong Qingshan's hand and said, "Brother Qingshan, what's the story with Hongxing? Provoking territory, that sounds interesting. Tell me all about it." Luo Yuan was a year older than Dong Qingshan, lacked the airs of a rich young master, and the two hit it off well.
Dong Qingshan gave Lin Wanrong a glance and, seeing big brother nodding, explained the situation to him.
Luo Yuan, hearing about the intense battle with Li Ergou outside the city that day, widened his eyes, exclaiming, "Exciting, exciting! How did I miss such an exciting event?"
Dong Qingshan explained Hongxing's principles and structure, emphasizing its goal of protecting the weak and preventing violence. Luo Yuan was inspired, feeling the blood boiling within him. What a noble ideal! Following this path, once Hongxing grew and eliminated the tyrants, uniting Jinling City, there would be no more underworld in this city.
Lin Wanrong secretly chuckled at Dong Qingshan's ability to adapt his storytelling. Faced with the young ruffians, Qingshan talked about robbing silver and women. Now, in front of the sophisticated scholar Luo Yuan, Qingshan came up with the idea of eliminating tyrants and creating harmony. Truly tempting. There was no need to say more. This guy had developed Hongxing during this time, using these tactics. How did I not discover his genius earlier?
Luo Yuan stood up abruptly and said, "Brother Qingshan, I want to join Hongxing. You don't mind, do you?"
"This?" Dong Qingshan looked at Lin Wanrong with a dilemma, and upon seeing him smile, he said, "I don't have any objections, but I need to ask for my big brother's opinion."
Luo Yuan looked at Lin Wanrong and asked, "Brother Lin, you are the big brother, right?"
After waiting for half a day just to hear this sentence, Lin Wanrong nodded. His expression became serious, saying, "Brother Luo, as Qingshan mentioned earlier, although Hongxing's goals are lofty, the path to achieving them is winding and long. It may involve the use of violence, even in large quantities. You must consider it carefully. Moreover, with your distinguished identity—"
Luo Yuan hurriedly shook his head and said, "My family won't have any issues. My father is very enlightened and won't interfere much in my affairs with my sister. As for the issue of violence, as Brother Lin said, it is a means to an end. To be honest, Brother Lin, I've never experienced the taste of fighting before."
Wonderful, Lin Wanrong was overjoyed. I was just thinking about how to persuade you, but you've already convinced yourself. He pretended to be serious and said, "Brother Luo, if you want to join Hongxing, it's fine, but our society has rules that everyone must abide by. Upholding righteousness, being loyal and courageous, being loyal to the society, never betraying—can you adhere to these?"
"Upholding righteousness, being loyal and courageous, being loyal to the society, never betraying." Luo Yuan stood up, pointing to the sky, and solemnly swore.
"Good brother, from now on, you are a member of Hongxing." Lin Wanrong laughed heartily, holding his hand, feeling extremely pleased. In this era, people attached great importance to oaths. With these few words, Luo Yuan had tightly bound himself to the Hongxing chariot. How could this not make him ecstatic?
Lin Wanrong thought for a moment. This Luo Yuan was intelligent, flexible, and quite clever. Combined with Dong Qingshan's straightforwardness, they complemented each other well. He said, "Brother Luo, I'll leave Hongxing matters to you and Brother Qingshan. Qingshan is still young and easily impulsive. You must guide him."
Luo Yuan was also a smart person. He knew that when big brother said this, he was positioning himself as Hongxing's strategist. He admired Lin Wanrong and had a good impression of Dong Qingshan, so he laughed heartily and said, "Big brother,
rest assured. Brother Qingshan and I will work hard. No one should underestimate Hongxing."
The three men laughed heartily, and Dong Qingshan told the story of Wu Zhenghu in the city. "This Wu Zhenghu has formed the Black Dragon Society, and he has several hundred brothers under him. He can stand firm in the city, and I heard that he has someone supporting him behind the scenes. I've been inquiring for a long time, but I haven't found specific information. I only heard that the person behind him has the surname Cheng."
Lin Wanrong wasn't very familiar with the official circles of Jinling City, but he knew a gentleman named Cheng. Could it be Cheng Ruinian, the commanding general? "Cheng's surname?" Luo Yuan frowned and said, "Big brother, there aren't many powerful Chengs in Jinling City. Is it Cheng Ruinian?"
Lin Wanrong chuckled and said, "Apart from him, I'm afraid you won't find anyone else."
Luo Yuan already had a rift with Cheng Ruinian. Hearing this, he became spirited. "Hehe, even better. Let's defeat the Black Dragon Society first and then see what skills that Cheng guy has."
If it were before, Lin Wanrong would have to carefully consider this. But now it's different. Wu Zhenghu of the Black Dragon Society only has the son of the commander supporting him. But I've taken the governor's son as my little brother, which is much more impressive.
"Big brother, if they come to provoke our territory in the south again, what should we do?" Dong Qingshan asked.
"Luo brother, how do you think we should handle it?" Lin Wanrong turned the topic to Luo Yuan.
After thinking for a moment, Luo Yuan said coldly, "If they come again, we fight. If we keep avoiding, we'll only show weakness. Moreover, Hongxing has just been established, and many people are watching. If we appear too weak, it will harm our reputation. It's better to take advantage of this opportunity to promote Hongxing, raise our banner, and further expand our influence. The Black Dragon Society won't dare to act recklessly until they figure out our strength. My only concern is that our strength is still somewhat inferior to the Black Dragon Society. Once we start a real fight, how should we cope?"
Lin Wanrong nodded in agreement. Luo Yuan's analysis made sense. If the enemy comes knocking on the door, and we don't retaliate, it would damage Hongxing's reputation. However, with the current foundation, Hongxing is not yet the Black Dragon Society's opponent.
He pondered for a moment, then waved his hand and said, "Fight, we must fight fiercely. Hongxing's foundation is thin, and we lack experience. We can only grow slowly through struggles. But we can't fight blindly. We need to concentrate our superior forces, eliminate their fighting strength one by one, and catch them off guard."
Luo Yuan pondered, "Big brother, what strategy is this?"
Lin Wanrong said, "Let me give you a simple example. In some areas, we can deliberately appear weak, lulling them into a false sense of security. When they relax their guard and advance into our territory, we can gather our strongest forces and gradually defeat them, depleting their strength."
Luo Yuan asked, "Big brother, do you mean we won't fight them head-on, and we'll leave after the fight?"
"Yes, concentrate our superior forces in certain areas, deplete their fighting strength. Once we get stronger, we can easily eliminate them with a single blow," Lin Wanrong confidently explained.
Luo Yuan and Dong Qingshan nodded together. Brother Lin's strategy indeed made sense. Excited, Luo Yuan shouted that he wanted to see Hongxing's brothers. Lin Wanrong also had some concerns about Hongxing expanding too quickly, potentially attracting spies, so he decided to go and have a look. The three of them left the house and headed towards the south gate of the city.