"Xiang Yu, you little rascal, still sleeping here? Get up, it's time," Shi Jian dashed into Xiang Yu's room to see him still fast asleep, then pinched his nose, taking the opportunity to rough him up a bit.
"Don't disturb my sleep, or you'll have a tough time later," Xiang Yu lazily said.
"Time's up, come on, get up. We still have to follow Boss Fang to a meeting," Shi Jian saw his trick was not working, so he began to forcefully pull Xiang Yu.
Only then did Xiang Yu remember that there were still things to be done, so he hurriedly got up and changed into freshly bought clothes. Dressed in a white suit, he instantly transformed from a nobody to a tall, rich, and handsome guy. When he walked out of his room, it elicited murmurs of amazement from his brothers.
When Fang Kuohai saw Xiang Yu, he too was stunned for a moment, not expecting the lad could clean up quite well. "Are you ready, Xiang Yu?" Fang Kuohai asked.
"All set, just look at my outfit, and you'll know everything is in place," Xiang Yu chuckled.
Fang Kuohai shook his head, smiling. In his view, Xiang Yu wasn't really prepared. He had just changed his clothes. But no matter, after all, this was his first time taking Xiang Yu to a meeting, mainly to test the lad and give him a bit of schooling.
At eight in the evening sharp, they set out. Including Xiang Yu, there were three people, with Shi Jian driving. The meeting place was not far, just about a ten-minute drive.
The three got out of the car, Xiang Yu and Shi Jian following behind Fang Kuohai. When they arrived in front of a villa, the security personnel took away the dagger and pistol Shi Jian carried. However, when they searched Xiang Yu, they found nothing. The security staff couldn't help but give Xiang Yu an extra glance.
"What are you looking at? You fancy handsome guys too?" Xiang Yu glared at the security guard. Shi Jian pulled him along, and then they followed Fang Kuohai inside.
"Sorry, brothers, something came up today and I'm late, really sorry," Fang Kuohai said as he took his seat.
In a large room on the second floor, there was a huge oval table. Four people sat on either side of the table, with one person sitting in the middle. The man in the middle, with much of his hair already grey, seemed to be around sixty years old, this person was Chairman Sheng Wantao of the group.
The group was founded by Sheng Wantao, who in his youth, was also a prominent figure in the underworld. As the economy developed, pure gangsterism became increasingly unsustainable, thus he founded the group, although on the surface it was a corporate group, it was actually supported by the bosses of eight underworld forces below it.
"Alright, since everyone is here, let's start the meeting. Xiao Wu, why don't you share the recent situation of your company first?" Sheng Wantao said.
A young man sitting at the forefront nodded, "Our Yijing Real Estate Company, after a year of establishment, has begun to take shape and is developing rapidly..." Another speaker, a factory owner, placed Fang Kuohai last.
"The few bars I manage have always been the same, nothing much to say," Fang Kuohai said.
"That's because you manage poorly. Why didn't you sell the goods sent to your bars recently? If all those items had been sold, your profits could have doubled," someone retorted with a sneer.
"Yeah, don't you know how to do business?"
The room buzzed with voices all aiming at Fang Kuohai. "You think those things are so easy to sell? The police have been clamping down hard, it's not easy for me to unload them."
"Nonsense, we've already made arrangements with the police; nobody's going to check your bars. Little Eight, did you already sell those goods and pocket the money yourself?" said a tall thin man, Zhu Qingyuan, who ran a logistics business.
"Bro, you can't just say that. Why don't you come try running my place, let's switch?" Fang Kuohai sneered back.
"Hmph! You could hand your place over to me, I guarantee I'd earn twice as much as you in two months," Zhu Qingyuan said coldly.
"I'm just afraid that in two months, not only will the money not be made, but you'd also have my bar shut down," Fang Kuohai stood his ground.
"What are you saying? Little Eight, be careful with your words, or you won't know how you died," Zhu Qingyuan's threat was obvious.
"Everyone dies, I just can guarantee you, you'll definitely die before me," Fang Kuohai said.
"Hey, Boss Fang, that's well said. Looking at that fellow, with no color in his face and yellowish skin, you can tell his days are numbered. But look at Boss Fang, glowing with health, brimming with vigor and vitality…" Xiang Yu joked seeing the situation.
"Insolent! Who's this brat daring to run wild here? Someone, drag this kid out and kill him," Zhu Qingyuan shouted angrily.
He was already upset because he couldn't out-argue Fang Kuohai. Against Fang Kuohai, he still felt some fraternal respect and was somewhat wary, but this unknown kid just popped up out of nowhere.
After Zhu Qingyuan finished speaking, his two bodyguards quickly moved toward Xiang Yu, ready to grab him. Shi Jian, seeing this, stood with Xiang Yu, ready to confront the two men. "Who dares!" Fang Kuohai slammed the table and stood up. "Bro, you've got a fiery temper, thinking of killing one of my men?"
"All of you shut up, what kind of place do you think this is? I won't tolerate such disorder here," Sheng Wantao said angrily.
Don't be fooled by this old fellow's age; when he gets angry, he's not to be trifled with. Although they internally disrespected the old man, they still had to save face.
"Since it's no good here, shall we take it outside?" Xiang Yu looked at the two bodyguards.
"Let's go outside; who's afraid of whom?" The two bodyguards said and headed outside.
"Let's go and meet them," Shi Jian said.
"Stop with the 'us'. You stay here and look after Boss Fang, I can handle this sort of thing alone," Xiang Yu casually walked outside.
"Hmph! Senseless fool," Zhu Qingyuan sneered. Clearly, he had a lot of confidence in his two bodyguards. Initially, he had chosen these two guys from the Underground Boxing Ring. The fighters in the Underground Boxing Ring were those types who'd risk their lives for money, and these two were the top fighters there.
When he first got these two guys, he was proud for a while. At every gathering, he'd show them off and provoke the other bosses. Everyone present had suffered his arrogance, so today, seeing that there might be a show, nobody interceded.