Jin Ziliang raised his glass to Gong Jiu. He'd heard Gong Jiu mention that he used to raise horses in the army, his title being "Soldier's Horse Keeper," and that he was an excellent horseman. Jin Ziliang himself loved riding horses and owned several. Hearing Gong Jiu's story naturally made him eager to join in.
Lu Chen quickly tossed down a pig's trotter, raised his glass, and said, "Gong Jiu, I wish you find your second spring soon, someone even prettier and more elegant! We should be real men, real men don't worry about women, okay?"
He noticed that although Gong Jiu was drinking heartily with everyone, there was a hint of melancholy on his face, and he seemed to be trying to drown his sorrows in alcohol. He knew that Gong Jiu was still thinking about his girlfriend, Su Qing.
"Okay!"
Gong Jiu shouted, his voice brimming with pride, and raised his glass.
The three glasses clinked together with a loud bang.
This made Gong Jiu's temperament even more lively. But not long after, Lu Chen noticed that his eyes suddenly darkened, even revealing a hint of murderous intent, his gaze fixed intently on a certain spot.
Then, with another loud bang, this time it wasn't a clinking of glasses, but Gong Jiu actually crushed the glass in his hand. Blood immediately flowed out.
Jin Ziliang also noticed the strange occurrence and turned his head with Lu Chen, following Gong Jiu's gaze.
To their right, there were about six or seven people. Leading them was a man around thirty years old, holding a beautiful young woman in his arms. The woman wore a black lace dress, and although her breasts and hips weren't particularly prominent, they were still quite attractive. She held the man intimately.
Around them were several burly men in black, with fierce eyes, like bodyguards or thugs.
The group walked to another shed next to Lu Chen and the others. A bald man in black with a nose ring walked over and slammed three hundred yuan on a table.
There were four or five people sitting at that table, and they looked like gangsters, with tattoos on their exposed arms. The bald man slapped down the three hundred yuan without saying a word, just staring at them with a sinister look. They panicked and quickly stood up, stammering, "Brother Dao's here? Brother Dao, please have a seat!"
"Yes, yes, please sit down, don't be shy, keep the money!"
"That's right, how could we dare take Brother Dao's money?"
...
A man who looked like the gang leader hurriedly picked up the three hundred yuan, presented it with both hands to the bald man called Brother Dao, and said with a fawning smile, "Brother Dao, please take the money back. We brothers have always admired you, how could we dare take your money?"
Brother Dao's face was cold, but his eyes held a hint of smugness. He said coldly, "Then hurry up and leave!"
The thugs quickly tried to leave, but the gang leader shouted again, "Boss, hurry up! Clean this up, Brother Dao wants to eat here! Let me tell you, make sure he doesn't take any money, keep the money on my tab! Understand?"
The chubby boss quickly shook his head and replied, "Yes, yes! Yes!"
The thug turned his head and said obsequiously, "Brother Dao, please enjoy your meal. We'll be going now!"
With a wave of his hand, the thugs slunk away.
The owner quickly packed up.
The man with the beautiful woman on his arm smiled faintly, "Ah Dao, you have quite the presence. You scared them away right away. What? Are you going to treat us to something?"
Ah Dao turned his head, this time with a fawning smile, "Mr. Xin, this is nothing. Back when I, Ah Dao, was ruling this place, those kids were even stealing schoolchildren's pocket money! This whole area is my territory. A few phone calls and two or three hundred men can come and give me orders anytime!"
"Brother Dao is so domineering!" the girl in Mr. Xin's arms said sweetly with a giggle.
Ah Dao chuckled, his eyes brazenly lingering on her soft, white breasts beneath her low-cut V-neck, and said smugly, "So-so!"
Just then, the owner had already cleared away the leftover soup and wiped the table clean. He quickly said, "Brother Dao, and this Mr. Xin, everyone, please have a seat... Hey, Brother Dao, what would you like to eat?"
Brother Dao said, "Braised fish in a jar, braised ham slices, stir-fried sardines with vinegar... bring me all your signature dishes!"
Then he beckoned, and a thug came over, pulling out two bottles of Moutai from a bag.
Meanwhile, Lu Chen had Gong Jiu open his palm, and with the tip of his chopsticks, he gently removed the shards of glass from the wound, subtly using his healing powers to stop the bleeding.
Jin Ziliang asked calmly, "Have you run into enemies?"
Gong Jiu smiled coldly, "Not just enemies, but mortal enemies. That 'General Manager Xin' is Xin Zhida, the boss of Keda Real Estate Company. He's the one who's demolishing the area where I live. That 'A Dao' is the one who broke both my legs. And that woman, she… she's Su Qing!"
As he spoke, his face contorted with intense pain, his fists clenched tightly. Blood seeped from his previously injured hand, dripping onto the ground.
"Relax. We need to make the enemy feel pain, not ourselves."
Lu Chen said calmly, placing a hand on Gong Jiu's fist. A surge of healing energy emanated from him.
The miraculous energy caused the small wounds to slightly close, and the bleeding stopped shortly.
A flash of killing intent appeared in Lu Chen's eyes.
The pain of a destroyed home, the hatred of a broken leg, the resentment of stolen love—these three things would be unbearable for anyone! Although Lu Chen hadn't experienced such intense hatred—at most, he'd been chased by a tigress—he still felt the pain deeply.
Jin Ziliang's face was also grim. He naturally knew about Gong Jiu's situation. Although Gong Jiu wasn't exactly his brother, Lu Chen was, and Lu Chen's brother was practically his brother.
He chuckled, making no apparent move, but his joints cracked repeatedly. He said with murderous intent, "Come on, let's drink. After we've had our fill, we can stretch our muscles and have some fun. That bald guy, A Dao, is mine."
Jin Ziliang could easily spot a level six martial arts expert. Among that group, bald A Dao was the strongest. But even he was clearly not as strong as Jin Ziliang, though he could at least be considered a worthy opponent.
Jin Ziliang was confident he could handle those few people alone.
Besides, Lu Chen, who could project his internal energy, was definitely no pushover.
The three of them clinked glasses again, downed a drink, and Gong Jiu drank particularly heavily.
Lu Chen shrugged: "Right, we'll eat and drink our own food, then let them come and play with us! Then, we'll seize the opportunity and rip them off!"
"Let them come and play with us?" Jin Ziliang was taken aback: "Would they even do?"
"Normally, we don't have any beauties here, so of course they wouldn't." Lu Chen winked: "But if there's no opportunity, we can create one; if there aren't any beauties, we can find some!"
"Find some beauties?"
Jin Ziliang's eyes lit up. Ah, although he was a commander of a special forces division, he was still a hot-blooded man and very interested in beauties. Besides, drinking without beauties was like eating without food.
Lu Chen chuckled, "Yeah, find a few beauties to keep us company while we drink, and they'll all be top-notch in terms of figure and looks."
Then, looking at the still sullen Gong Jiu, he patted him on the shoulder, "Brother, it's okay! Your Su Qing isn't all that great. I'll just call a few beauties, each one better than her! You can pick any two, take them home, and show them off in front of Su Qing to make her jealous!"
Gong Jiu smiled wryly, shook his head slightly, and remained silent.
Jin Ziliang said, "Hey, give me two too!"
Lu Chen took out his phone and scrolled through his contacts. Should he call Nie Rong or Long Lili?
These two beauties were the leaders of the two mermaid groups under Yang Jiangyu, each leading several beauties.
That day, in the "underground aquarium" below Yang Jiangyu's seawater pearl shop, those mermaids truly performed a magnificent underwater dance for Lu Chen; the allure was still unforgettable. Yang Jiangyu, that strange beauty, actually bestowed all her beautiful subordinates upon Lu Chen, allowing him to amuse himself.
Since that's the case, it would be a waste not to call them out.
Thinking about it, it seemed that Nie Rong was more lively than Long Lili that night, so Lu Chen called her.
Soon, the call connected.
"Brother Chen, I thought you'd forgotten me!"
Nie Rong's sweet and sexy voice rang out, tinged with a hint of resentment. It was as if Brother Chen had had a very intimate relationship with her, and then ignored her afterward.
Gong Jiu and Jin Ziliang, who were nearby, heard this and couldn't help but look at Lu Chen with admiration.
Nie Rong's voice clearly indicated she was a beauty!
Lu Chen thought to himself, "Really, we're not even that close, it's embarrassing for you to say that!"
However, it's good that her tone is so affectionate; it makes communication easier.
Lu Chen then expressed his wishes, including introducing his two male friends to Nie Rong's sisters. If they felt a connection, they could become friends.
Nie Rong hesitated for a moment before speaking frankly: "Brother Chen, let me bring my sisters to keep you company, absolutely no problem. Forget about dinner, it's just that…"
She finally felt a little embarrassed but insisted on continuing.
"...It's just that, it's only right. But Sister Jiangyu instructed that we can only serve you. So, if you want to play matchmaker for your brother, firstly, we sisters have to be on the same page; secondly, we have to get Sister Jiangyu's permission!"
Lu Chen scratched his head and said, "Okay, then come and have a drink with us now, okay?"
"Of course!" Nie Rong said cheerfully, "No problem, but because we sisters often work in the water, we can really drink! Should we bring our own wine?"
"What a joke!" "Lu Chen said, 'I'm treating you to drinks, and you expect me to bring your own? Just come directly!'"
"Okay!" Nie Rong added, "But I only have eight sisters here, including myself. Is that enough? Should we invite Lili's group too?"
"Uh..."
Lu Chen thought for a moment. Eight beautiful women accompanying three men was already extravagant enough. Adding a few more would be too ostentatious, absolutely not! It's better to be low-key.
However, he still needed to ask his brothers' opinions.
He turned to Jin Ziliang and Gong Jiu and asked, "Eight beauties, is that enough?"