Ma Huaqiang asked, trembling, "Brother Chu... is this reasonable?"
"Damn it!" Chen Chu laughed: "What kind of people are we dealing with? Bad guys, right? This doesn't make sense! Right? We haven't bullied ordinary people, have we? If we were in ancient times, we'd be heroes! In ancient times, we'd be like... the White-Browed Hero, you know? And all sorts of heroes, we'd be the embodiment of justice!"
Chen Chu put his hand on Ma Huaqiang's shoulder: "Huaqiang, you're the person I have the most faith in. That bastard Ma almost killed Ji Yang, and we're next. If he kills us, he'll kill someone else. That kind of guy is a bad guy. We took care of him for the police, and the police will be thanking us! Huaqiang, the brothers are all united now, so don't let us down or hold us back. You... you're right to work with me now. Go back to sleep, and when you wake up, everything will be fine by tomorrow morning!"
"Oh! I understand, Brother Chu. Please visit this site."
Ma Huaqiang extinguished his cigarette, feeling much better than before, and then walked out the door.
Chen Chu sat back on the bed, ran his hand through his hair, pulled a machete from under the covers, touched the bloodstains that were still not cleaned, and suddenly the thought of killing Ma Huaqiang popped into his mind.
He was startled and quickly put down the knife, then gripped the jade thumb ring in his hand, which calmed him down a bit.
Chen Chu was afraid that Ma Huaqiang wouldn't be able to handle it and would tell others, but the next day, Ma Huaqiang was much better. He wasn't exactly full of energy, but he was much more lively than the day before.
Hei Zi had dark circles under his eyes, and Cao Yunfei yawned. When Shao Xiaodong bought breakfast in the morning, Hei Zi said, "Hua Qiang, are you feeling better now? It's just that you chopped a few people. Is it really necessary to act like this? Yunfei and I spent the whole night trying to talk you out of it. Damn, you're full of energy, but we were exhausted."
With Hei Zi here, Chen Chu felt relieved. After finishing breakfast, he said to Shao Xiaodong and Yan Zi, "You two come out with me for a bit..."
The two nodded, then tidied up and walked out with Chen Chu. Chen Chu then said to Hei Zi, "Brother Hei Zi, from now on... from now on when I'm not around, these people will listen to you. Xiao Dong is a sergeant, the same rank as you. That's the arrangement for now. In the future, when there's a fight, whoever has the most merit will be the leader. Does everyone have any objections?"
"No...no objection..."
Chen Chu glanced at Cao Yunfei out of the corner of his eye and saw a faint look of resentment on his face. Chen Chu didn't say anything and led Yan Zi and Shao Xiaodong out.
The three walked a while further on, and when the streets were less crowded, Shao Xiaodong said, "Brother Chu, I feel that Hei Zi is still on Brother Ji's side... You, maybe I shouldn't say this, but you still need to support your own men. One day, Brother Ji's men will still return to Brother Ji's side..."
Chen Chu stopped, touched the corner of his eye with his finger, then rubbed it, yawned and said, "I didn't sleep well last night, the police were too noisy. By the way, Xiaodong, what do you think we should do now, hide or go our separate ways?"
Shao Xiaodong let out a breath, thought for a moment and said, "Brother Chu, we are weak right now because we have no one in the legitimate world. We can't rise like this. We should disperse and gather together when we need to use them. It's like five fingers. When there's nothing to do, they are spread out, but when we fight, they come together into a fist."
"Not bad!" Chen Chu nodded.
Shao Xiaodong continued, "Brother Chu, besides, it's not a good time for us to hide. There are all sorts of troublemakers around right now. Our place was just smashed, you slashed my face, our house was ransacked in the middle of the night, and the next day my nephew was slashed. He's completely bewildered and fighting with Fatty Yin right now. If they find out we're all hiding... wouldn't we be burying our heads in the sand?"
Chen Chu patted his forehead: "Right, Yanzi, you go back now, distribute some money to the brothers, and everyone go home. Hei Zi's family is from this city, so he'll stay with us. I'll go back in a bit too. Oh, and tell the brothers to go separately, absolutely no one can go together..."
"Understood, Brother Chu!" Yan Zi said softly and walked back.
Chen Chu and Shao Xiaodong walked slowly, and there weren't many people around in the morning. Chen Chu asked again, "Xiaodong, what do you think I should do most right now?"
Shao Xiaodong said, "Brother Chu, I think you... you should study hard."
"Huh? Haha..." Chen Chu chuckled as softly as possible.
"Brother Chu, I'm not joking with you. I know you're a good student, you've studied very fast. Brother Chu, the underworld is always the underworld. As long as the legitimate world says a word, if they want him to live, he will live; if they want him to die, he will die. If you can have connections in both the underworld and the legitimate world, who would dare to destroy you? Who would dare to disrespect you? ... The official path is still the right one."
"You mean you want me to become an official?" Chen Chu was taken aback.
Shao Xiaodong smiled and said, "Brother Chu, I can help you change your household registration. If you finish your high school courses as soon as possible, I can arrange for you to take the college entrance examination directly. I can even help you establish a household registration."
Chen Chu laughed: "Holy crap! You're awesome!"
Chen Chu laughed and stroked his forehead: "This is really awesome! Damn... power is still the best!"
Shao Xiaodong laughed too: "Brother Chu, it's really just about being well-connected. A local official is more powerful than a distant one. In reality, fighting your way through the underworld and shedding blood is no match for a government official who can just open their mouth and say a few words..."
"Well said!" Chen Chu nodded repeatedly.
"Also, Brother Chu, you and the brothers were the ones who carried out these past few days. Sooner or later, the truth will come out. Take Fatty Yin and Monkey Ma, for example. Everyone knows what happened to them. They had connections, so they're still fine. But the day those connections are gone, that's their end... Brother Chu, you should find someone to protect you too..."
Chen Chu couldn't help but wonder who he could turn to. He could ask Liu Haiyan for help to change his household registration. Don't underestimate her just because she's a lowly women's director. She has a good relationship with the township head. You can't underestimate this woman. A woman's words are more effective than a man running himself ragged.
Liu Haiyan's intervention made changing the household registration easy, but for officials... He couldn't help but think of Sun Guohua, the deputy director of the Education Bureau. Don't underestimate him just because he's the deputy director of the Education Bureau; he's a bureau-level cadre, equivalent to the deputy director of the Public Security Bureau.
Moreover, even though the deputy director of the Public Security Bureau is powerful, when it comes to his children's school entrance exams or other tests, he can just ask Sun Guohua for help with a single word... And if Sun Guohua is in trouble or is threatened, he can easily deal with the underworld thugs by sending police cars and officers with just a word.
In this world, things are said in two different ways. This kind of thing can be described as a mutually beneficial friendship, or it can be described as a corrupt relationship of mutual protection among officials. It all depends on how you view and evaluate this matter.
For example, when giving gifts, one could say it's due to official corruption, or one could say it's a gift from a good friend.
As Chen Chu listened to Shao Xiaodong's words, he seemed to have a sudden realization. Going astray was a low-class path, while being an official was always the right one. A lifetime of fighting and killing was not as good as gesturing with a finger at an office desk. Moreover, being an official meant being surrounded by countless beautiful women, with a higher quality than going astray. Of course, the tastes were different.
Chen Chu was now thinking that he should either live a life of mediocrity or become an official, and he needed to think it over carefully. Before they knew it, the two of them had arrived at the bus station.
Shao Xiaodong said, "Brother Chu, let's take a taxi to Yangzi's place! After all, Hancheng is in chaos now, and Ma Houzi and Fatty Yin's men could easily start a fight at any time."
"OK!"
The two took a taxi and stopped in the county. They then walked to the development zone. The county town was small, and it was only a ten-minute walk. Soon, they went upstairs. Shao Xiaodong knocked on the door, and after a while, Jin Xing opened the security door. Then, through the peephole of the second door, he saw Shao Xiaodong and Chen Chu.
Shao Xiaodong had a key, but he still chose to knock on the door.
Jin Xing opened the door with a smile: "Brother Chu, you're back! Hello, Brother Chu!" Jin Xing chuckled and stood at attention for Chen Chu.
The two immediately closed the door tightly. Jin Xing and Xiao Wu were both there, and Ji Xiaotao also came out of the kitchen. When she saw Chen Chu, her face flushed slightly.
"You're back..." Ji Xiaotao said softly.
Before Chen Chu could speak, Jin Xing laughed and said, "Brother Chu, these past two days while you were gone, Little Tao hasn't been eating or drinking at all. And to make matters worse, the food she made for us was inedible! It was either terribly salty, burnt, or terribly bitter. We didn't dare say anything, because if we did, no one would be cooking..."
Venus grinned, looking utterly miserable.
Ji Xiaotao's eyes were moist.
Jin Xing's eyes lit up, and she quickly said, "Oh, right, Brother Chu, Little Peach made you a dress these past few days, come inside and try it on..."
Ji Xiaotao was stunned for a moment, then bit her lip and said, "What kind of clothes would I make... I..."
Without saying a word, Jin Xing pushed Chen Chu and Ji Xiaotao into the bedroom and then closed the door.
He chuckled and patted Shao Xiaodong on the shoulder: "Brothers, you've worked hard. We all know you guys have done a terrible job, Monkey King..."
...
Ji Xiaotao's face was flushed, just like a ripe peach. When Jin Xing pushed her into the room, she couldn't suppress her emotions. She touched Chen Chu's face and rushed into his arms like a little bird returning to its nest.
Ultimately, she is still a woman. No matter how strong a woman is, she is vulnerable. No matter how much she pretends, once her vulnerability is exposed, her icy exterior will melt away...
Chen Chu stroked her cute little braids, kissed her rosy, excited face, and said, "Xiao Tao, why are you crying? I'm perfectly fine..."
"I was so worried..." Ji Xiaotao was truly heartbroken, her tears soaking Chen Chu's undershirt. She sobbed, her tear ducts secreting tears like a never-ending drizzle...
Chen Chu patted her weak, trembling shoulders, her red cheeks pressed against his chest, hot and burning, and her hot, wet tears that moistened his chest.
As Chen Chu held her delicate body in his arms, he suddenly realized that the greatest happiness and sweetest moment in a man's life is to have a woman who truly cares about him and truly loves him.
At this moment, Chen Chu suddenly felt even happier than when he was with Ji Xiaotao, or rather, two different kinds of happiness. The first was the happiness of excitement, and this was the happiness of being moved.
Chen Chu suddenly remembered that Old Zhang had said he was vulgar, only knowing about physical love and not spiritual love. Could it be that at this moment, he and Ji Xiaotao were experiencing spiritual desire? But I, Chen Chu, want both.
Suddenly, Chen Chu grabbed Ji Xiaotao's face, pressed his lips tightly against her fiery red lips, and kissed her fiercely. He then grabbed half of Ji Xiaotao's big buttocks from behind with his fingers spread wide.