Shao Xiaodong dismissed the helpers behind him. He knew that these people could win with numbers, and if they knocked someone down, they could kick and punch them, but if it came to a face-to-face fight, they were no match for Jin Xing's group.
These guys all came temporarily this morning, and there are only seven or eight of them he can rely on. The main thing is that he's not a gangster and doesn't want to support so many brothers. How much would it cost to support so many people every day? The people he can rely on now, including food, drink and money, each of them costs more than a hundred yuan a day!
Of course, that was in 2000. Now, the price of reliable brothers is hard to say.
Yan Zi followed next to Shao Xiaodong, while Ma Xiaohe followed behind Chen Chu carrying the stick. Chen Chu wasn't worried about Shao Xiaodong and Yan Zi, but he was quite worried that Ma Xiaohe's stick would hit the back of his head. He would take a few steps and then look back at him. He had suffered quite a bit at the hands of this kid today.
The back of the head is a vital part of the human body. If you hit it with a stick, your head will be cracked open. If Ma Xiaohe were to poke it with that stick, it would hurt for half a day.
The group walked forward for thirty or forty meters and stopped at a gentle slope. The wind howled and the yellow sand swirled. Hancheng is a windy place, especially in spring and autumn, when the wind and sand are so strong that sandstorms often occur.
Because the desert region is more than 300 miles away from Hancheng, there is a lot of sand and dust. However, the villages and towns have relatively good greenery. As the saying goes, one generation plants trees so that another can enjoy the shade. The tall poplar trees, which are thirty or forty years old, completely cover the towns and villages. Therefore, the villages, townships, towns, and even the county seat are all named after the big poplar trees.
The town's middle school is located on the west side of the town, where there are no houses or trees. Although it is not far away, the wind and sand are blowing everywhere, and the cold wind tells people about the madness of autumn and the approaching winter.
The wind and sand made the tip of Shao Xiaodong's stick fly. Shao Xiaodong took out a cigarette and offered it to Chen Chu, but Chen Chu waved it off. He then offered it to Ma Xiaohe, who just pursed his lips.
Shao Xiaodong chuckled, lit a cigarette for himself, and then said to Yan Zi next to him, "You go over there too, I'll have a private chat with Brother Chu for a while."
Yan Zi was taken aback: "Brother Dong, this won't do!"
"Hahahaha..." Shao Xiaodong laughed heartily: "Yanzi, are you afraid Brother Chu will mess with me? Don't worry, Brother Chu isn't that kind of person!"
After laughing, Shao Xiaodong patted Yan Zi on the shoulder. Yan Zi glared at Chen Chu and said, "Chen Chu, you're not even a human being, Brother Dong has been good to you! Damn..."
"Damn it!" Without warning, Ma Xiaohe swung the stick. Chen Chu quickly pushed Ma Xiaohe away, and the stick went astray, grazing Yan Zi's forehead. Yan Zi had a buzz cut, but even so, the whooshing sound of the stick made him feel the wind whistling across his face whenever his hair moved. It wasn't the natural wind, but the whooshing sound of the stick.
The stick missed its mark and landed on the ground, scattering clods of dirt that landed on Yan Zi and Shao Xiaodong's faces. Shao Xiaodong moved slightly, his eyes fixed on the ground, then glanced at Ma Xiaohe without saying anything.
Yan Zi was a little dumbfounded. The force of the blow made him feel like his head was being ripped off. If Chen Chu hadn't pushed him, the blow would have definitely hit his head.
Forty meters away, Shao Xiaodong's men saw the fight had started and quickly drew their weapons. Jin Xing also shouted, "Attack!" Ma Huaqiang's group also drew their machetes, pickaxe handles, and the two sides were about to charge at each other.
At this moment, Yan Zi, who was in the distance, shouted, "Misunderstanding! Misunderstanding! Don't fight, don't fight..." Yan Zi ran towards this side while shouting.
At this moment, Shao Xiaodong smiled at Chen Chu: "Brother Chu, you're good, you're good. No wonder you have a relationship with Ji Yang, you really have some tough stuff under your command! Hahahaha..." Shao Xiaodong stroked the end of the stick.
Chen Chu also said to Ma Xiaohe, "You can go now, this is none of your business."
Ma Xiaohe pursed his lips, but still snorted at Shao Xiaodong before striding back with the stick in his hand.
Shao Xiaodong then walked down the slope, and Chen Chu followed. Shao Xiaodong checked that no one had noticed, looked around, and then whispered, "Brother Chu, I'm not here to fight you, I really have something to tell you! And this is something I can only tell you; I can't trust anyone else..."
Chen Chu chuckled: "Brother Xiaodong, haha... You really think highly of me, Chen Chu? I'm just a little brat, do you really need to think so highly of me?"
"Sigh!" Shao Xiaodong threw away his cigarette, stomped it out, and let out a long sigh: "Damn it, there's no turning back once you enter this line of work. What goes around comes around..."
Seeing his sarcastic expression, Chen Chu's eyes flickered, and then she said, "What's wrong? Is Ji Yang going to mess with you again? You two are done, aren't you?"
"Hehe... Who said Ji Yang? Yes! I really did come here today to talk about Ji Yang. Brother Chu, I... I have some things I don't know whether I should tell you or not, but I thought about them all night and decided it's appropriate to tell you. But you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone after I tell you these things. If... if I die one day, you have to avenge me. Otherwise, I won't tell you these things."
As he spoke, Shao Xiaodong lowered his head, his brows furrowed, and took out a cigarette, lit it, and started smoking.
Chen Chu laughed: "Shao Xiaodong, I'm sorry, we're not that close. It's true that we're all in this together, but our friendship isn't at the level of risking our lives for each other. Besides, if someone wants to get you, you fight them to the death! If you can't beat them, what kind of relationship would it be if I helped you get revenge? I have no obligation to do so, nor do I have the skills."
Chen Chu chuckled a few times, thinking to himself that he wasn't an idiot. After saying that, he turned around and was about to leave.
"Hey, Brother Chu, wait a minute. We're all in this together now, not just you and me, but also Ji Yang..."
"Huh?" Chen Chu was taken aback, then turned around and looked at Shao Xiaodong with a puzzled expression: "Shao Xiaodong, let me tell you, I hate people who beat around the bush the most. Not only do I hate people like that, but Jin Xing and Ji Yang also hate them. If you have something to say, just say it. If you want to fight, just say it. Don't beat around the bush!"
"Alright…" Shao Xiaodong climbed up the earthen slope, looked around and saw that neither side had moved, and the surrounding area was vast and deserted for miles around. Only then did Shao Xiaodong feel relieved, but he still stammered, "Brother Chu, someone wants to harm Ji Yang…"
"Hmm...who?" Chen Chu was shocked, but he kept his composure. After all, he had experienced some things and was no longer as clumsy as before. If it were a few months ago, he might have started shouting.
Shao Xiaodong nodded at Chen Chu's performance and then said, "He's the guy who asked me to tie up Ji Xiaotao last time. Ji Yang didn't actually hit me much last time, but I felt he was a good friend, so I told him. Ji Yang even said not to tell anyone about this... Maybe, maybe you don't know either."
"Tell me quickly, who is that person?"
"Fatty Yin..." Shao Xiaodong finished speaking, his body trembled, and then he said, "Chen Chu, my life is in your hands now, so please don't tell anyone!"
"Phew..." Chen Chu let out a long breath: "Fatty Yin? Why would he harm Ji Yang?"
Shao Xiaodong rubbed his face and said in a low voice, "Ji Yang got into trouble yesterday. You, you probably don't know, but Ji Yang stabbed three of Ma Houzi's men while trying to save a woman. The police are investigating the case, but Ma Houzi won't report it. He wants to settle it privately, which means killing Ji Yang. One of the men Ji Yang stabbed is Ma Houzi's nephew."
Shao Xiaodong took a breath and continued, "The one who asked me to arrest Ji Xiaotao last time was Qu Jiu, one of Fatty Yin's men. Qu Jiu had Lao Ba call me. I didn't know why Fatty Yin wanted to arrest Ji Xiaotao. Did he still care about her? Later I realized he wanted to get rid of Ji Yang. Ji Yang knows too much about Fatty Yin's affairs, it's not safe. But I didn't succeed in that matter. This time, Ma Houzi is searching for Ji Yang's whereabouts, and Fatty Yin is also searching. He sent someone to contact Ji Yang and say they would protect him, and then kill Ji Yang. That way, Ji Yang's disbanded brothers can avenge him. While they're fighting Ma Houzi in a mess, Fatty Yin will make his move..."
After hearing this, Chen Chu's head was buzzing. He was stunned for a moment, not knowing what to do or what he could do.
He looked at Shao Xiaodong and asked, "How did you know?"
"Sigh... Brother Chu, I may not have many other skills, but I'm pretty good at pimping, right? I have all sorts of people working for me, and the most shameless of all is that I have a bunch of prostitutes. Half of the prostitutes in Hancheng are my people. Yesterday, one of the prostitutes was raped by Fatty Yin's men, and they even did a threesome. Two men took turns raping two women, and they were all drunk. They were raping the prostitutes until the middle of the night, and they were talking about it while they were raping the prostitutes..."
Shao Xiaodong rubbed his hair in frustration and said, "I played with my young lady for so long last night, and she didn't even pay me much. I wanted to take her away, but luckily I had Yan Zi scout ahead. When he saw that she was one of Fatty Yin's men, he quickly turned back."
Chen Chu then asked, "What about the two young ladies?"
"Damn! How could I dare keep them here? This morning, I gave each of them a thousand yuan on the long-distance bus and told them not to come to Hancheng again. If this gets out, they're finished... Brother Chu, I can't speak for other things, but there's nothing I don't know about this mess in Hancheng. I even know the color of the police chief's wife's underwear..."
"Alright!" Chen Chu frowned. He thought for a moment and decided that Jin Xing shouldn't know about this. That person had a terrible temper and was likely to cause trouble. However, he needed to tell Ji Yang about it as soon as possible.
"Brother Chu, I was the one who arrested Ji Xiaotao last time. I feel like after Fatty Yin takes care of Ji Yang, it'll be my turn. Otherwise, if Ji Yang's former gang of brothers knew about this, they would fight Fatty Yin to the death!"
"Hmm... I understand. Let me think about it. By the way, why did you bring so many people here?"
"I...I came here to fight?" Shao Xiaodong blinked, then quickly added, "But, but not to fight you. We're in this together now, we should be on the same side. Fatty Yin has killed more than ten people, and he also has a submachine gun, everyone in the underworld knows that...Um, today I fought with a pig butcher from Xiaoliuzhuang. Damn it, it was like robbery. I forcibly bought and sold dozens of pigs from his pig farm at the market. The old man who raised the pigs was so angry that he got sick. Going to the police station was useless, there was no evidence. So the pig farmer's son came to me, saying he didn't care about the money, he just wanted to get revenge!"
"Oh my god! There's this stuff going on!" Chen Chu muttered.
"Yeah, all sorts of things happen. The old pig farmer's son said he wanted to find more people to vent his anger. I heard the pig farmer is a local thug with a bunch of brothers and relatives. I only managed to gather about forty people. I gave the pig farmer a hundred each, and I gave them fifty each..."
Chen Chu slapped his forehead, thinking that Shao Xiaodong was indeed smart enough. Look how easily he made money. He gathered a group of people and each of them earned fifty. He felt that if Fatty Yin wanted to make a move against him, he would come to him first. They were in the same boat. This kid was just looking for a scapegoat. However, Ji Yang's matter could not be underestimated. The truth of this matter was very likely.
Shao Xiaodong then said out of the blue, "Brother Chu, how about I take you to see a girl when I'm done with my work? She's absolutely gorgeous, that little ass, tsk tsk..."