Seeing Chen Chu and Shao Xiaodong shaking hands and chatting happily, the relationship between the two sides eased instantly. Jin Xing also breathed a sigh of relief. After all, the other side had forty people, four times more than his own side. If a fight really broke out, he wouldn't be confident.
Moreover, Jin Xing only understands himself. Xiao Wu and Chen Chu are quite good fighters. As for Ma Huaqiang and the others, they are just small-time thugs in his eyes and not worth mentioning. The only one he can take a liking to is that kid Cao Yunfei.
That kid killed someone when he was fourteen. He was ruthless and vicious. Back then, he clamored to fight Ji Yang one-on-one. At that time, Cao Yunfei was only fifteen years old, and Ji Yang already had some fame. In any case, Cao Yunfei dared to make such a statement, which made him a real man.
That kid is too headstrong and easily provoked. Jin Xing saw Chen Chu walking back and naturally thought it best not to fight. Even the most powerful person doesn't want to fight every day. He also glanced at Cao Yunfei next to him.
Cao Yunfei kept one hand inside his chest, and even though he hadn't pulled it out yet, his expression was calm and collected, unlike the others. Ma Huaqiang and Huang Mao, though loud and boisterous, were clearly trembling and couldn't maintain order at all.
Only Cao Yunfei remained unhurried. Jin Xing thought to herself, "With some training, this guy could be quite something."
Although the distance wasn't long, Chen Chu and Shao Xiaodong talked as they walked, and they walked very slowly.
Shao Xiaodong then said, "Brother Chu, I feel like you have a few tough guys under you, but I don't know if they've ever been in a fight?"
Shao Xiaodong had been in countless fights, both small and large, so he was naturally very experienced. Just by looking at Ma Xiaohe swinging his stick, he knew that the kid had never been in a fight before.
So, fights can result in death. Thugs mostly fight to intimidate; nobody's that powerful. They can kill this person today and that person tomorrow, and they won't pay for their crimes! They can injure people and then refuse to provide medical treatment!
How much money and how powerful a backer must they have to kill people every day! A thug, on the other hand, might stab someone in the thigh, draw blood, scare them, and that's it.
But you can't just dismiss someone like you did with Ma Xiaohe. You won't make it that way. You've only been here a few days and you've already killed someone. Your family doesn't have the money to settle things. You're going in!
He was incredibly awesome, but he ended up in jail in just a few days. Once inside, he was completely disoriented. There were no truly awesome people there, only those who were even more awesome.
Chen Chu smiled and said, "These guys really haven't been in many fights..."
"That won't do! You have to practice this. How can you get by without practicing?" Shao Xiaodong chuckled.
Chen Chu never intended to become a criminal; he just wanted to stand up for Ji Yang. If he was in trouble, Ji Yang would help him; if Ji Yang was in trouble, he absolutely couldn't stand by and watch him make a fool of himself.
This is also what he feels is the basic principle of being a person.
"Here's what we'll do, Brother Chu. I can tell some of your men are ruthless. How about you come with me for a little practice? I don't mean anything by this. I've already gathered about forty people, that's enough manpower. Your men don't need to lift a finger. Just watch how we fight. Fighting isn't always about beating someone into submission. The best way is to subdue them, that's the most powerful. To put it bluntly, it's about intimidating them and making them back down, then we win..."
Chen Chu chuckled, thinking to himself that although Shao Xiaodong was a pimp, he hadn't expected him to come up with a military law and even subdue the enemy. Damn!
However, this principle is correct. Subduing the enemy without fighting is indeed the best strategy. It's like two countries starting to boast to each other. One says, "My missiles can reach the moon." Satellites? Just put explosives inside a satellite, and that's a missile!
One claims their radar can instantly destroy your missiles, while another boasts that their missiles can curve, splitting into two, four, sixteen, or even hundreds, making them impossible to intercept… They flaunt all sorts of advanced weapons, revealing their entire arsenal to brag about, boasting about aircraft carriers, bombers, and atomic bombs lined up, tearing apart Japanese soldiers with their bare hands, and even throwing grenades to destroy planes… Basically, it's all about winning without fighting.
Chen Chu nodded and chuckled, "Sure, I'll learn from you too."
The two had already made their plans. When Chen Chu suggested going to fight with Shao Xiaodong, Jin Xing was not happy, thinking that Shao Xiaodong was not worthy. However, since Chen Chu was alright, he was relieved and led Xiao Wu away.
Wang Wei said he needed to go back to class, and Ma Huaqiang glared at him and said, "Go to class my ass!"
Chen Chu smiled and said, "Wang Wei, there's no point in you going back. The school is almost closed down, and we'll probably need a new teacher, otherwise we can't continue our classes. How about this, if there's anything you don't understand, I'll teach you. Do you trust me?"
Wang Wei was overjoyed to hear this. Although he had previously been unconvinced by Chen Chu, Chen Chu was now the class monitor and had gotten full marks on many papers last time. Wang Wei had to admit that Chen Chu was a good student, but he was too embarrassed to ask Chen Chu for help.
Upon hearing this, he immediately nodded.
Wang Wei also enjoyed fighting, but after being taught a lesson by Chen Chu and beaten up by Ma Huaqiang a few times, he became much more obedient and restrained his sharp edge. Among these people, he couldn't stand out.
Chen Chu, Ma Xiaohe, and Ma Huaqiang's group infiltrated Shao Xiaodong's group. Originally, these people had all come by bus, but Shao Xiaodong came first to greet Chen Chu.
However, Xiaoliuzhuang is more than ten miles away from here, but Ma Huaqiang and his group know the shortcut. If they take the main road, it will be more than ten miles, but if they take the shortcut, it will be only five or six miles.
The group walked forward through the weeds and, sure enough, they could vaguely see the small willow village.
With so many people, there was a lot of chatting and laughing, and a lot of bragging. No one felt tired, and it felt like everyone was getting excited to fight together. Even Wang Wei was eager to try. All the teenagers had a restless heart. At the age of sixteen or seventeen, they were all willing to show off and were also eager to prove themselves.
The group rushed into Xiaoliuzhuang like bandits entering a village. The villagers kept their distance, and this large group, no matter what, immediately intimidated everyone with their imposing presence.
As soon as we arrived in the village, someone led the way. That person was none other than the son of the old man who sold pigs. He led us directly to Liu Laoqi's house. The pig butcher was called Liu Laoqi. He had eight brothers. Now, the idea of seven or eight brothers sounds like a joke.
However, the previous generation, during Chairman Mao's time, believed that there was strength in numbers, so it was not uncommon for families to have seven or eight children, and some even had more than a dozen.
This family of seven brothers made a living by slaughtering pigs and selling horses. In the countryside, people called these people "donkey and horse scum," meaning they were livestock dealers and that none of them were good people. They often forced people to buy and sell things and bullied others.
The pig seller's son had already inquired and learned that Liu Laoqi had gone to his father-in-law's house. When Shao Xiaodong and Chen Chu arrived at Liu Laoqi's father-in-law's house, Chen Chu was dumbfounded. "Holy crap! Isn't this Wang Hongmei's house?!"
Chen Chu understood. He had heard that Wang Hongmei was getting engaged. Getting engaged? Damn it! She's going to marry Liu Laoqi!
Although Chen Chu didn't like Liu Hongmei, the two had still had a relationship. It would be a shame for that big, white buttock to marry Liu Laoqi, who was twenty-eight years old, a full twelve years older than Wang Hongmei.
If this were to happen in the future, Wang Hongmei would be in for a lot of trouble. Chen Chu's mind was racing, but Shao Xiaodong nudged him and said, "Brother, don't get agitated. This is infuriating enough, but getting so agitated will only cause trouble!"
Shao Xiaodong said to the butcher's son, "Give me the rest of the money, and you can leave!"
"No way! I have to watch him get beaten up!"
"Alright! You've got guts, kid!" Shao Xiaodong took the money, didn't even look at it, and stuffed it into his pocket.
By this time, Liu Laoqi had already heard the news and came out carrying a shovel.
And this guy was holding a phone, trying to find his buddies or something.
Ma Xiaohe, who was behind Chen Chu, was about to rush forward with a stick when Shao Xiaodong quickly waved his hand, signaling not to move, and then told everyone to step back.
Shao Xiaodong stood in the middle and shouted, "Liu Laoqi, stop acting tough! If you've got the guts, come out and fight! Don't smash other people's property..."
Shao Xiaodong understood this: if he really smashed someone's property, the nature of the crime would change, and people would say he was committing robbery.
He's a shady character, or rather, anyone who's a shady character knows the law better than the police. Those who don't understand how to get ahead have all ended up in jail. Those who do understand how to get ahead operate within the bounds of the law, walking along the riverbank without getting their shoes wet. Getting ahead is an art...
Liu Laoqi brandished his large iron shovel and cursed, "You damn little bastards! Have you even grown any hair yet? Is your genitals black? You still dare to fight me?! I'll chop you all to pieces!"
As he spoke, he still jumped over. The walls in the countryside weren't very high, and after jumping over, Shao Xiaodong told everyone to step back, then shouted, "Show your weapons!"
The group brandished their machetes and sticks, but Liu Laoqi wasn't afraid at all. He grabbed a shovel and swung it at them.
Shao Xiaodong waved for everyone to retreat, then frowned and suddenly shouted, "Pack up your gear, pick up the bricks!"
Forty or fifty people started picking up broken bricks from the ground. There weren't many bricks in the countryside, but there were plenty of stones and tulaka. Liu Laoqi rushed over, and Shao Xiaodong waved his hand. All the stones and tulaka hurled at him. After just one round, Liu Laoqi was knocked down.
His head was already bleeding from being smashed, and his arms and legs were swollen. Shao Xiaodong waved his hand and seven or eight of his lads came up and started kicking and punching him in the stomach. Just then, they saw Ma Laoqi's brothers rushing over with knives.
Shao Xiaodong then told everyone to pick up stones and throw them. Ma Laoqi and his brothers also picked up stones to retaliate. In an instant, stones flew everywhere, and Ma Xiaohe was hit on the back.
Shao Xiaodong pulled Chen Chu and said, "Lower your head, crouch down, and hide behind the wall!" Shao Xiaodong directed from behind the wall. The seven brothers from the Ma family were covered in red marks from being hit by stones, and Shao Xiaodong's group also had some bleeding from being hit by stones.
Finally, Shao Xiaodong shouted, "Charge! Circle and kick them!" The group rushed forward with a whoosh. They didn't fight much; forty or fifty men grabbed one by one and took down all of Lao Ma's guys. Then they kicked and stomped them, without even using their weapons.
But that was already bad enough. Seeing that things had gone too far, Shao Xiaodong grabbed Ma Laoqi, who was being held down, and cursed, "Damn it, are you convinced or not!" As he spoke, Shao Xiaodong picked up a machete and swung it at Ma Laoqi's head. However, although the knife looked like it was going to strike hard, the force of the blow was not enough.
"Damn it! I give up! Stop hitting me!"
Shao Xiaodong cursed, "Damn it, we can't come here for nothing! You decide what to do! You son of a bitch, don't you know what's good for you? I'll sever your tendons right now..."
...
Chen Chu had to admire Shao Xiaodong's shrewdness; he managed to extort 10,000 yuan from Ma Laoqi. If he didn't have the money, he could borrow it or withdraw it from the bank—it didn't matter. In any case, these brothers couldn't come for nothing.
After a morning of commotion, the group boarded the bus from the highway, in segments. Shao Xiaodong took out his money and distributed it on the spot, giving the injured two hundred more, leaving him with almost ten thousand.
When the third bus arrived, Shao Xiaodong and Chen Chu boarded. Shao Xiaodong immediately gave each of Wang Wei and Ma Huaqiang's group two hundred yuan on the bus. Ma Huaqiang and the others tried to refuse, but Shao Xiaodong laughed and said, "We're all brothers, don't be so formal!" Ma Huaqiang and his group accepted the money.
After passing one stop, Shao Xiaodong pulled Chen Chu aside and said, "Brother Chu, my relatives live here. Let's get off."
Chen Chu hesitated for a moment, but still got out of the car with Shao Xiaodong. However, Shao Xiaodong took a taxi directly to the town's police station.
They then went directly to the station chief's office, where a short, dark-skinned, overweight man in a police uniform was smoking.
Upon seeing Shao Xiaodong, he squinted his eyes but didn't speak. Shao Xiaodong chuckled, took a prepared envelope from his pocket, glanced out the window, and then pushed it out horizontally.
The director didn't take it immediately, but tapped it on the surface with his finger, then chuckled, "Damn! You're always so formal with me!"
Shao Xiaodong chuckled and said apologetically, "Brother Wang, please buy me a pack of cigarettes... I don't mean anything by it, I'll head back now..."
"Uh... Xiaodong!" The chubby man glanced at Chen Chu, and Shao Xiaodong chuckled, "It's alright, don't be shy."
"Hmm… lately, keep a low profile. I've heard some bad things, and I don't know what to say, but you've always been a good brother to me. I have something to say to you, and I don't care if you don't like it: we're dogs, so let's do what dogs do, know the rules of being a dog, don't mess with wolves, and don't fawn over tigers, you understand what I mean? Hmm…" Before Shao Xiaodong could say anything, the chubby man continued, "I think you understand what I mean." He stuffed the envelope into his pocket and chuckled, "Come to my house sometime, your sister-in-law will cook a few dishes, and we'll have a few drinks together…"
Shao Xiaodong's eyes darted around: "Definitely, definitely, Brother Wang, I'll be going now if there's nothing else..."
"Sigh, go ahead, go ahead!"