Shao Xiaodong sat in a chair with a backrest, crossed his legs, and tapped the mahogany tea table next to him with his long, slender fingers, which were whiter than a woman's. The rhythm of the tapping was like the Japanese invading the village.
Jin Xing rolled her eyes in anger: "You...you're still saying I have no brains! You..."
One of them was so angry that his face turned red and his neck was thick, while the other was leisurely laughing. Even Ji Yangdou couldn't help but find it interesting to watch Jin Xing, who was so angry that he was holding back his anger and his face turned red like he couldn't poop.
Ji Yang covered his lower abdomen and laughed.
"Brother Jin, don't be angry. With no one protecting us in the officialdom and no big boss backing us in the underworld, do you really dare to kill someone? Forget killing, you'd get arrested for fighting! Besides, they're already waiting with their mouths open, and you're going to go? Are you stupid?!"
Jin Xing snorted. Although he was angry, he thought it over carefully and realized it made sense. He asked, "So what do you suggest? Just give up on this revenge? Just endure it?"
"Of course not! We have to get revenge, we have to get revenge hard! We cursed the neighbors, and they're going to make things difficult for us. Today it's Ji Yang, tomorrow it's me, Shao Xiaodong, the day after tomorrow it's Chen Chu, and it's you, Jin Xing! We have to grab his head and beat him up!" Shao Xiaodong's handsome face contorted with rage. Seeing Jin Xing standing there dumbfounded, Ji Yang was also stunned.
Then he said, "If we were to go out and fight, or even if we were to play a game of chess, what would we be most afraid of?"
Jin Xing waved her hand: "Bullshit! Nonsense! All this useless talk! Just tell me your idea directly, instead of bringing up chess! What a load of crap!"
Shao Xiaodong didn't say anything, but walked into the room, took out a chess set, and said, "Come on, Brother Jin, let's play a couple of games. After we finish, you'll know what to do!"
"Damn it! I don't have time for you to spout nonsense and play chess."
At this moment, Ji Yang coughed twice and said, "Jin Xing! Play chess with Brother Xiao Dong..."
"You... fine, I'll play with him, okay? Damn it! I'll play a few rounds, you think I'm afraid of you!"
The two set up the chessboard. Chen Chu understood a bit about chess, but he didn't play well. Jin Xing started by moving his cannon, jumping his horse, and moving his chariot. Then he captured Shao Xiaodong's pawn with a quick move. Jin Xing was very pleased with himself.
Shao Xiaodong just chuckled. The Flying Elephant and the Rising Advisor were also defensive moves. Venus played well, with a wide and sweeping style. It seems she plays chess all the time, and she completely thrashed Shao Xiaodong.
He kept losing cannons and horses, and finally, with a thud, he captured one of Shao Xiaodong's chariots.
Jin Xing laughed heartily, while Shao Xiaodong lightly jumped a step and then a smile appeared on his handsome face: "Brother Jin, sorry, you're dead."
"I..." Jin Xing dropped the clumsy chess piece in her hand and hurriedly said, "Hey, hey, that doesn't count, that's a sneak attack, no way, wait a move, wait a move..."
Shao Xiaodong shook his head and said, "You're already dead, can you slow down the game? Once you're dead, you're dead, there's no going back! Come on, let's play another game!"
Shao Xiaodong swiped the pieces, and Venus's advantageous position was instantly thrown into chaos.
Jin Xing retorted indignantly, "Shao Xiaodong, you cheated! You're so treacherous! Fine, I'll remember this one, and you'll see how I kill you! Hmph!"
At the start of the game, Jin Xing played steadily, not as fast as before, and began to attack Shao Xiaodong's pieces relentlessly. Shao Xiaodong defended his pieces, as solid as a fortress, losing his knight and cannon, but not a single advisor or bishop, protecting his king well. Meanwhile, Shao Xiaodong had eliminated all of Jin Xing's advisors and bishops.
Although he had more and stronger pieces than Shao Xiaodong, he was ultimately checkmated by Shao Xiaodong with a single horse and a cannon.
"Hey! Hold on! Hold on! That doesn't count, you're cheating!"
Shao Xiaodong laughed heartily and then played two more games in a row. Jin Xing defeated Shao Xiaodong badly, but in the end, he was checkmated.
Jin Xing slammed the chessboard down and said, "I'm not playing anymore, Shao Xiaodong! You cheated! If you let me have a chance, you're definitely going to lose!"
Shao Xiaodong frowned, while Ji Yang and Chen Chu both shook their heads and smiled wryly.
Chen Chu sighed, "Brother Jin, chess is like life. Once you lose a game, you can't recover, just like a person who dies can't be brought back to life. A person only has one life. To survive, you have to endure humiliation and hardship, and then deliver a fatal blow to your opponent. Strike while the iron is hot, take advantage of his arrogance and pride, and make him kick the bucket in an instant!"
After Chen Chu finished speaking, Shao Xiaodong clapped his hands and laughed heartily, "Brother Chu is right. It's not about the quantity of soldiers, but their quality; it's not about the number of generals, but their application. Brother Jin, with a brain as smart as yours, you can't possibly not understand!"
Jin Xing frowned, slapped her forehead, and had no idea what the two of them were talking about. But she just grunted and said, "Pah, you both understand, how could I not understand! I understand better than any of you!"
Shao Xiaodong chuckled and said, "It's good that Brother Jin understands. We'll just wait for them to let their guard down and then kill him. Right now, all we have to do is wait for the right opportunity and gather intelligence..."
Shao Xiaodong explained at length before Jin Xing finally understood, and she couldn't help but scoff, "You mean you just wait? Bah! Chess is chess, and people are people, they're not the same. You can wait all you want, you coward!"
"Sigh!" Shao Xiaodong sighed and said, "Who said we should be cowards? Winning a game is about checkmating the opponent in the end. We can raid their base too! There's a saying that misfortune shouldn't befall one's family, but at a time like this, if we curse the neighbors, don't blame us for playing dirty tricks!" As Shao Xiaodong spoke, his eyes narrowed into slits.
Venus teased, "You, you mean..."
Ji Yang frowned, while Chen Chu remained calm.
Shao Xiaodong said, "I heard... Ma Houzi has a father in the countryside! I think he lives in some kind of prosperous village, and he's the richest man there! Ma Houzi has no children left, and his nephew was stabbed by Brother Ji and is still in the hospital! But Ma Houzi's father has two sons, and he has a younger son, who is... Ma Houzi's brother. Damn it, if we kill that kid, Ma Houzi's Ma family line will be wiped out..."
"Phew..." Jin Xing grinned, her body trembling slightly: "Shao Xiaodong, you...you're being too mean..."
"Hey, Brother Jin, Master Jin, thank you for praising me. I haven't even mentioned killing that old man and his son together yet! Damn it, I heard that old man is doing quite well in the village, always bullying men and women. The police station and his family are in cahoots. Killing that kind of bastard would be doing the people a favor! In ancient times, we would be heroes who eliminate evil and uphold justice!"
"Alright, tell me when we should make our move, and I'll take some men to chop them up..."
Shao Xiaodong waved his hand: "Damn! Two of the girls under me have AIDS..."
"Cough cough..." Jin Xing choked, Ji Xiaotao's face turned red, and Ji Yang's eyebrows twitched. He thought to himself, "Like attracts like, this damn Shao Xiaodong..."
"Hoo hoo..." Chen Chu suddenly laughed.
Everyone looked at him, but he remained silent.
At this moment, Chen Chu stood up and paced back and forth a few times. Ji Yang grinned and said, "Alright, my dear Master Chu, you're making my eyes dizzy."
Chen Chu then said, "Xiaodong makes a good point, but that method won't satisfy our hatred. To truly quell our anger, we must personally kill our enemy! How about we compromise by sending him a woman with AIDS? After he contracts the disease and suffers greatly, we can stab him in the back."
At this moment, Ji Xiaotao pouted and said, "I disagree! You grown men, why do you...why do you have to harm women?! Women with AIDS are still women, letting that old man harm them? How could you even think of that! Humph..."
Jin Xing grinned, her face full of disdain, and said in agreement, "That's right! Little Tao is right, Shao Xiaodong is a despicable person, and..." Jin Xing pointed at Chen Chu, then looked at Ji Xiaotao and Ji Yang and said, "Shao Xiaodong is a despicable person..." Jin Xing wasn't stupid. The three of them were now a family. If she spoke ill of Chen Chu, she would directly offend Ji Xiaotao, who was Ji Yang's darling.
In reality, those who ultimately gain power in this world are often the petty people, only they disguise themselves as upright and honest, and they do it convincingly.
If he didn't use tricks and was always serious, that would have been Xiang Yu, who would never have won the world.
Ji Yang coughed twice. He looked at the three of them. At this moment, Hei Zi also arrived. Only these four people knew where Ji Yang was.
Ji Yang looked at the group, his eyes squinting as he scanned each person's face.
He then said calmly, "I can't do this myself, but we brothers are all in this together. They won't let any of us go, so we have to take action. I'm not feeling well right now and need to rest for a while. You guys go and fight them, but you need a leader. You must listen to this leader, otherwise we'll still be a disorganized mess..."
The four nodded: "Yangzi, don't worry. If you're going to come back, we'll all listen to you. Now... whoever you say should lead, we'll all listen to him..."
Ji Yang nodded, his eyes sweeping over their faces like a hawk's, and said calmly, "This matter concerns the life and death of us brothers, Jin Xing!"
As Ji Yang finished speaking, Jin Xing quickly stepped forward, her face full of solemnity.
Jin Xing hummed in agreement and nodded, her face flushed.
Ji Yang continued, "Hei Zi, you've got the same problem. You're already twenty-eight and still have a fiery temper. You're no good either. Shao Xiaodong, you're smart enough, but you're not ruthless enough. Being too cunning sometimes makes your subordinates resentful... Chen Chu! You're too young."
Everyone chuckled.
Chen Chu smiled too.
Ji Yang sighed and said, "You're only sixteen years old. Nobody respects you. You can't command respect at all. Letting you lead is a joke. Well, I'll make a joke today. Chen Chu, you lead!"
"I..." Chen Chu's eyes widened, and he pointed a finger at his own nose: "Yangzi, I, I can't do it! Haha, me leading? I can handle small-scale operations, but no, no, I can't do it. Let Brother Jin, Brother Hei, anyone can do it..."
"Sigh, you're hopeless! But I'm really going to stick you to the wall, what's there to be afraid of? When I, Ji Yang, led my brothers out into the world, I was only sixteen or seventeen. Shao Xiaodong was also sixteen or seventeen when he started out! Chen Chu, I have over twenty brothers under my command, all good guys. Don't you have your own little group too? A real man can't just laze around all day! A man should be independent, strong, and responsible. Look at you now, so pathetic. If I don't give you some tough medicine, you'll keep wasting your days! Chen Chu, I didn't care what you were like before, but now..."
Ji Yang narrowed his eyes and stared at Chen Chu, saying, "Now I'm not afraid for the brothers to know about you and my sister... How can I entrust my sister to you with the attitude of someone like you! If you don't act like a man, like a real man, how will my sister feel? Let me tell you, I'll only say this once, today you're going to stick around whether you want to or not. If you don't lead the way, you're out! But if you do lead the way, you won't get out of here, because you'll have a bunch of brothers under you, just like me, I'm in this mess now!"