Ji Yang's gaze was intense, and Jin Xing and Hei Zi were also staring intently at him.
Chen Chuhan came down. His ultimate goal was to play with women. How interesting that was! He could play with this one, then play with that one, deceive girls, and seduce old women.
"Phew..." Chen Chu let out a breath, but the way he used to be still looked down upon, and being a scoundrel was also looked down upon.
Chen Chu's eyes flickered; after all, this wasn't the era anymore.
"Hehe, Brother Ji, how about this, I'll take the lead for now, and once you're healed, you can take the lead while I go back to studying, what do you think?"
"Hmm." Ji Yang nodded: "You should go back to your studies. You'll understand when you become the boss. The brothers will handle everything. You just need to lead them in the right direction."
"Alright, then I'll take the lead for now."
Ji Yang's eyes blazed as he stared intently at Chen Chu and said, "Chen Chu, if you don't work hard, or if you try to run away halfway through, I, Ji Yang, will cripple you! Don't think I'm lying here; I can still cripple you!" As he spoke, Ji Yang glanced at Jin Xing, Hei Zi, and the others, and said, enunciating each word clearly, "You too! I've put Chen Chu in charge, and you all must listen to him. Anyone who doesn't will face the family rules! Do you understand what that means?"
Hei Zi and Jin Xing whispered to each other, "Tendon severing..."
"Speak louder!"
"Tear off the tendons of your hands and hamstrings!"
Ji Yang nodded in satisfaction, then gritted his teeth and said, "Today, Chen Chu is officially representing me, Ji Yang, in coming out of retirement! Hei Zi, gather the brothers together in the next couple of days, we'll meet Boss Chen Chu then!"
"Brother Ji, I understand!" Hei Zi nodded, bowed to Chen Chu, and said, "Brother Chu..."
Chen Chu was startled and quickly bowed to Hei Zi, saying, "Brother Hei Zi..."
Ji Yang sighed and pointed at Chen Chu: "Chen Chu, you fucking coward! You're the boss now, understand?" Ji Yang coughed angrily as he spoke.
Jin Xing then bowed respectfully to Chen Chu and said solemnly, "Brother Chu!"
Chen Chu was about to return the greeting when Jin Xing quickly grabbed his shoulders and straightened him up, saying, "Brother Chu, you're the boss now. Whatever you say, the brothers will do. We'll listen to you from now on. You have to be the boss. You have to start being domineering."
Chen Chu grinned, looked back at Ji Yang, then at Ji Xiaotao, and finally grinned again, saying, "I... have I joined the underworld now...?"
"Huff..." Everyone took a breath, and Ji Yang coughed.
It's anger.
Ji Xiaotao rushed over and patted Ji Yang's chest to help him catch his breath.
Jin Xing patted Chen Chu on the shoulder and said, "Brother Chu, come out with me first..."
The two stayed outside for a while. Soon after, two doctors in white coats came in and out quickly. Then Jin Xing's phone rang, and the two went back into the ward.
The doctor took off his mask and said, "Which of you is a family member? Come here..."
Ji Xiaotao, Chen Chu, and Jin Xing went to the next room. The doctor sighed and said, "This person is essentially crippled. Although he can live, the knife wound was too severe. He will never be able to exert any strength again and will be unable to do heavy work. If he recovers well, he will be able to walk and take care of himself. His internal organs were not damaged, but the area around them is severely damaged, and the soft tissue damage is too great. He will be half a cripple for the rest of his life..."
"You son of a bitch!" Jin Xing reached out and grabbed the doctor by the collar.
The doctor hurriedly said, "This is the truth. It's a miracle you're still alive with injuries like this..."
"Jin Xing! Let go!" Hei Zi came over and pulled Jin Xing away, then stuffed a thousand yuan into the doctor's hand: "Doctor, you can't just say things like 'You came to see a doctor'..."
"Oh, don't worry, I was afraid you'd tell people. The hospital doesn't allow us to take on side jobs, so I took leave to come here... Okay, I have to go now..."
Hei Zi then pushed Jin Xing aside, walked up to Chen Chu, and said, "Boss, what do you think we should do about this? We'll listen to you..."
Chen Chu smoothed his hair, gritted his teeth, and cursed, "Damn it, I'm gathering the brothers today! I'm having a fucking meeting!"
"Got it, boss!" Hei Zi said.
"Understood, Brother Chu," Jin Xing replied.
Chen Chu said, "Jin Xing, you stay here and take care of Yang Zi. Don't let him know about this. Tell him he's fine in a bit. Hei Zi, go and call the brothers, the sooner the better. I have a meeting. Shao Xiaodong, take me to see one of your reliable men now!"
Shao Xiaodong nodded: "Brother Chu, I understand!"
Chen Chu turned to look at Ji Xiaotao: "Take good care of Yangzi..."
As Chen Chu spoke, he strode out with Shao Xiaodong.
At this moment, Hei Zi and Jin Xing burst out laughing.
Jin Xing said, "See? This donkey has to be touched while its mane is bristling before it can kick up its heels, hehehe..."
...
Shao Xiaodong's gang only has seven or eight reliable members. Apart from Yan Zi, who is quite skilled, the others are all average.
Shao Xiaodong kept changing his hideout, otherwise it would have been raided long ago. He rented a house in a residential area in Hancheng, which served as his temporary hideout. When the two of them arrived, there were seven men inside, including Yan Zi.
In the next room sat a dozen or so scantily clad women, with sunflower seed shells scattered all over the floor. Each of those women was dressed extremely sexily, and Chen Chu got an erection just from looking at them.
However, Chen Chu had a cold expression on his face at this moment.
Shao Xiaodong coldly said that starting today, they had a new boss and would all be under Chen Chu's command. Although Yan Zi was somewhat dissatisfied, he also knew about Ji Yang's situation. Shao Xiaodong had also informed his subordinates in advance, and they all called him Brother Chu.
However, his voice was low, clearly indicating his dissatisfaction.
Chen Chu then received a call from Jin Xing, who said that Ma Huaqiang and his group had informed him of the news and that they would be having a meeting that evening.
The meeting was to be held in Hancheng, where Shao Xiaodong was. The county town was 60 miles away from Hancheng, making travel inconvenient. If they were to take action, they could only do it here.
In the afternoon, Chen Chu changed his outfit, wearing a tight-fitting black casual suit with a stand-up collar half-blazer over it.
Chen Chu's youthful, dashing, and capable demeanor was on full display. He was already 1.72 meters tall, which wasn't much of a height, but the muscles that shone through the black shirt under his stand-up collar suit exuded a masculine wildness.
At this moment, Chen Chu harbored a deep-seated hatred, which made him appear calm and his gaze held a chilling, autumnal intensity.
So much so that when Ma Huaqiang and his group arrived, they were startled and almost didn't recognize him, thinking, "Is this still Chen Chu? He's completely unrecognizable!"
The blond-haired guy patted Chen Chu's clothes and said, "Holy crap! You've upgraded from a slingshot to a cannon!"
Shao Xiaodong gave him a cold look: "Watch your step!"
The blond-haired guy blinked and said, "Is this how we usually talk?"
Ma Huaqiang's eyes darted around, and he quickly kicked the blond-haired guy, yelling, "Damn it, behave yourself!"
As Ma Huaqiang spoke, he winked at the blond-haired man.
After a while, Hei Zi led in nine of Ji Yang's former subordinates. Hei Zi immediately introduced Chen Chu as Ji Yang's brother-in-law before taking charge of the situation.
Ma Huaqiang and his gang grinned, while the haters said this to convince Chen Chu; otherwise, who would respect him?
Chen Chu glanced at him coldly. He had been pondering all afternoon, and finally made up his mind. He did not take Shao Xiaodong's advice. He still wanted to take down Ma Houzi first. Although he knew he could not defeat Ma Houzi, he had to get back at Ji Yang and teach him a lesson. It was also a strategic retreat. Otherwise, people would think these people were easy to bully. After dealing with Ji Yang, they would be the next one.
These people are not familiar to me. Although they are reliable brothers, it is hard to say whether they can unite.
Chen Chu glanced at everyone indifferently, but had nothing to say. Everyone knew that he was temporarily taking the lead.
I just listened to what he was going to do next.
Chen Chu let out a breath and then said, "Go back to sleep!"
"What? Sleep?"
At this moment, Hei Zi glared coldly at everyone and shouted, "Didn't you hear the boss tell you to go to sleep? Go to sleep!"
A hero needs three helpers, and Chen Chu wasn't exactly a good leader, so Hei Zi Ma Huaqiang became his right-hand man.
And Ma Xiaohe actually came too.
Some people were muttering something under their breath, saying that the room wasn't big enough and they had to sleep on the floor, while the girls had already been moved elsewhere by Shao Xiaodong.
While his brothers slept soundly, Chen Chu stood on the balcony, looking at the pitch-black night outside. He casually pulled out three copper coins from the pocket of his crisp, semi-casual suit, shook them a few times—and unfolded them to reveal the Qian hexagram.
Of the sixty-four hexagrams, the Qian hexagram represents a flying dragon in the sky, capable of leaping up or falling into an abyss of no return.
The outcome hinges on this one move.
As Chen Chu was pondering, Shao Xiaodong walked over, offered him a cigarette, and said, "Brother Chu, want one?"
Chen Chu shook his head: "Please don't call me that in private, I really don't feel comfortable with it!"
"Hehe... Alright, Brother Chu, there are many things you're not used to, and many things you're forced to do. I understand you!" Shao Xiaodong lit a cigarette and took a puff, the autumn wind blowing against the tip of his stick.
"Brother Chu, as you can see, no one can lead this group. If we use Jin Xing, Brother Hei Zi will definitely object. If we use Brother Hei Zi, Jin Xing will object. If we use me, no one will accept me. If we use you... you can openly say that you are Brother Ji's brother-in-law, which is somewhat acceptable. You are a bit young, but as long as you fight a few good fights and make a name for yourself, you'll be fine!"
"Huff..." Chen Chu exhaled and said, "I never thought Yangzi's later life would be wasted like this?"
Shao Xiaodong's lips twitched, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he swallowed it back.
"Hehe, Brother Chu, I've taken care of things with the Public Security Bureau. They're fucking shady; they asked for 20,000 yuan right off the bat. The police will be leaving in the middle of the night. The chief gave us half an hour, so we need to get going..."
"Phew..." Chen Chu put his hand on Shao Xiaodong's shoulder and said, "You've spent money again!"
"Hehe..." Shao Xiaodong laughed, "Brother Chu, you're our boss now, so my money is your money. Besides, I'm not the kind of person who'd risk my life for money. I've been in Hancheng for so long, I can't leave here. The network of connections I've built up can't be replicated in a strange place in just two or three years. In the end, being a big shot is like the roots of a tree. Wherever you're rooted, if the main root doesn't move, the other roots can only spread deeper and farther elsewhere. A big shot who's powerful here might be nothing but a nobody elsewhere. In other words, even a big shot who's powerful in Shencheng would have to be a dragon lying low or a tiger crouching low here in Hancheng..."
Shao Xiaodong took a deep drag on his cigarette, the smoke drifting away with the autumn wind.
Chen Chu took out his phone and checked the time; it would be 2 PM in an hour and a half.