"This..." Chen Chu hesitated. He had never heard of fighting in the underground boxing scene, but he had heard of DL City, a very prosperous coastal city.
It's better than Kunming and Shenyang. It's probably not as big as Shenyang, but... when I mentioned that kind of big city to Chen Chu, he felt a little uncomfortable.
Although the sea is wide enough for fish to leap and the sky is high enough for birds to fly, it still has to be done step by step. Having lived in Xiaoyangshu Village for so many years, he hadn't even been to Hancheng many times. Suddenly being sent to DL City and having to fight in some underground boxing match left him a bit bewildered and apprehensive.
If Chen Chu had drunk seven or eight bottles of beer, he might have agreed immediately. Alcohol easily excites people and gets their blood pumping. Hearing about DL City? White-collar girls, beautiful women in briefs strolling back and forth on the beach, and even underground boxing—it would definitely be exciting.
But Chen Chu is not the same person he was two months ago. He now thinks things through before making a decision.
Besides, Liu Bingbing already has a child, why would he smugly go to DL to earn that money? In addition, he's also a little reluctant to part with such a beautiful woman as Liu Bingbing.
"Hmm... Seventh Brother, I'll think about this some more. You know my wife is pregnant. Maybe we can change our household registration and then get married... this..."
"Hehe..." Long Qi laughed for a while and said, "Brother, a real man should roam the world. What kind of man is he, always tied to a woman's waist? Besides, isn't your wife going to have a child? How far along is she in the pregnancy?"
"I don't know either, it should have been a month..." Chen Chu chuckled.
Long Qi coaxed, "Hmm...it's the perfect time to spend money..." Long Qi chuckled and said, "Brother, I think you're a talented person, that's why I'm taking you. A few years ago, Ji Yang wanted to go with me, but something happened to him, his heart can't handle it anymore...cough cough, let's not talk about him, let's talk about you..."
Long Qi took a swig of his drink, then opened two more bottles of beer, handed one to Chen Chu, took a sip himself, and said, "A woman who is one month pregnant needs to take care of herself. Although she needs someone to look after her, can you and your wife not do 'that' kind of thing when you're together? Right? It's easy to miscarry, which is extremely bad for a woman. Miscarrying a child can easily lead to lifelong infertility. Also, it requires a lot of money to recover."
"Ahem... For example, you need to eat and drink well, and not suffer any mistreatment. You don't have a house yet, right? You need to buy a bigger one, on a better floor, so the whole family can live comfortably! You'll need money for the wedding, money for daily life, and even more money after the baby is born. If you don't have enough breast milk, you'll need formula. And when the baby gets sick, going to the hospital is expensive. And then you'll be supporting the whole family; money will just keep falling like rain. Do you still want to stay cooped up in the countryside? Besides, you have such a good wife; can you bear to let her suffer with you in the countryside? A man should shoulder the responsibility..."
"And another thing, now that Gao Jin from Hancheng is back, Ji Yang doesn't dare to act arrogantly anymore. Ma Houzi and Fatty Yin will also have to behave themselves. Nobody dares to cause trouble. You might not know what Gao Jin does, but even in Chuncheng, people in the underworld behave themselves when they hear Gao Jin's name. Otherwise, how could he have been transferred directly to the provincial level? Besides, he doesn't have any powerful backers; he relies on his ruthless methods. I estimate that these thugs in Hancheng will be quiet for at least three or four months, so don't even think about doing business for the next three or four months..."
...
Chen Chu let out a breath and asked, "Seventh Brother, is Gao Jin really that powerful?"
"Hmm... I don't know what Gao Jin did before, but he's pretty capable. It's best not to go after him now. Besides, he's backed by law enforcement, but what about you? You're breaking the law. Regardless of whether the person you killed was a bad guy or not, not following procedures is going against Gao Jin. Why don't we move to a place where we can make money, fight a dozen or so matches, earn a hundred thousand or twenty thousand, and then you and your wife can live a good life... By the way, you need an ID card to come with me, otherwise it'll be troublesome if someone checks. A fake one is fine too. Hmm... Get your photos ready, I'll get it for you..."
Seeing Chen Chu still hesitating, Long Qi stood up and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "Brother, what are you hesitating for? Fighting in the underground boxing scene, you can make money every day, isn't that great? Plus, nobody will interfere. If all else fails, I'll take you to the ring and you can become the Liaoning Province Sanda King or something. Wouldn't that make you successful? But you have to take it one step at a time..."
Chen Chu thought for a while, then let out a breath. Just then, the phone rang, and he saw that it was Jin Xing calling.
Long Qi asked who hit him.
Chen Chu told the truth.
Long Qi took a sip of his drink and said, "Don't pay any attention to those little brats, they're all nobodies..."
Chen Chu smiled, but still accepted the answer.
"Hey... Brother Jin, oh, nothing, I'm having a drink with Brother Qi, um... Brother Qi was just praising you..."
Long Qi pouted, unwilling to listen, and took his beer to drink elsewhere.
Jin Xing didn't have anything else to do, she just wanted to see Chen Chu and say that the brothers missed him.
Chen Chu thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay, I'll tell Brother Qi. We're still at Hei Zi's pool hall, right? I'll take a taxi there with Brother Qi..."
At this moment, Long Qi shouted, "You go if you want, I'm not going..."
Chen Chu shook his head, greeted Long Qi, and then went downstairs to take a taxi to Hei Zi Da Da Billiards Hall.
He didn't ride a motorcycle because it was a critical time. Last time, he and Long Qi rescued Ji Yang on a motorcycle. He was worried that the police might have sentries and become suspicious, so he decided to take a taxi this time to be on the safe side.
Upon arriving at the Kuroko Billiards Hall, Chen Chu noticed several suspicious people around him, guessing they were probably plainclothes police officers.
But I haven't done anything wrong, so it's none of your business!
He then strode inside.
Jin Xing was already waiting at the gate. Her face was wrapped in bandages, indicating that she had also been injured that day, having been slashed.
Of the seventeen or eighteen brothers inside, almost all of them were injured. However, upon seeing Chen Chu, they all stood up and respectfully bowed, saying, "Brother Chu..."
Face isn't given by others; it's earned. If you do your duty, face will naturally follow. Ji Yang and his gang of scoundrels also value loyalty. Last time, they were dissatisfied with Chen Chu, but after Chen Chu and Long Qi came to save Ji Yang, they all saw it and remembered it.
They admired Chen Chu, even to the point of worship, and when Chen Chu arrived, he naturally commanded the respect of an elder brother in their hearts.
They stood respectfully to one side, heads bowed.
Chen Chu chuckled and said, "Brothers, please sit down. Um... where's Brother Ji...?"
Jin Xing patted him on the shoulder and said, "I'm waiting for you upstairs..."
The two went upstairs, where Ji Yang and Hei Zi were, while Feng Meng was downstairs.
As soon as the two went upstairs, Jin Xing said, "Yang Zi, Brother Chu asked me to invite him..."
Ji Yang was using crutches. His wound on his lower abdomen had reopened, but it wasn't a big deal; he just needed to rest.
He had an injury to his lower abdomen and couldn't use his waist, so he was using crutches.
"Oh, Brother Chu, please have a seat..." Ji Yang extended his large hand to Chen Chu.
The group sat around a small dining table, and then one of the brothers set out wine and dishes.
Chen Chu smiled and said, "I just finished drinking, are you going to drink more?"
Ji Yang laughed and said, "You were drinking with Brother Long Qi just now, but now it's our turn to drink with us brothers, so drink less."
Chen Chu smiled and started drinking as well. Chen Chu and Long Qi had already drunk two bottles, and now with another bottle of beer down their throats, they were perfectly fine.
Only then did Ji Yang say, "Brother, I was wrong before. But if I didn't do that, my men would still cause trouble. Now that we've all seen your strength, come back and let's work together again!"
Ji Yang waved his hand, and Long Qi brought over a brown paper bag and placed it in front of Chen Chu.
The paper bag is quite thick.
Chen Chu glanced at it but didn't touch it.
"Hehe... Brother Ji, what do you mean by this?" Chen Chu said, glancing at Ji Yang.
Ji Yang lowered his head slightly, then raised it again, his narrow eyes flickering slightly, and said, "This is just a small token of our appreciation. We hope you'll accept it, as a token of our brotherhood..."
"How much?" Chen Chu smiled.
Jin Xing then said, "Brother Chu, it's not much, just 100,000 yuan..."
"Hoo..." Chen Chu let out a breath. He wanted to settle down now, which required money, but he couldn't accept it. If he did, he would simply be back on that path. He now wanted to become an official because he realized that being a nobody was never as good as being an official.
Secondly, from a sentimental standpoint, he couldn't accept the money; 100,000 was a considerable sum. But holding the money and looking at his wounded brothers, he felt ashamed and embarrassed...
Chen Chu let out a breath and said, "Brother Ji, you just said we're brothers, but do brothers give money as thanks?"
Ji Yang was taken aback, and Jin Xing also gave an awkward smile.
"Okay!" Chen Chu nodded, then stood up, picked up the brown paper bag, and said, "One hundred thousand, right?"
As Chen Chu spoke, he carried the brown paper bag downstairs, tore it open, and said to the brothers downstairs, "Brothers! Brother Ji has given everyone money. It's nothing special, just so you can use this money to recover from your injuries, buy some nutritional supplements, and send some back to your parents. If you have children, send some to your wives and kids... Anyone who doesn't take it is slapping Brother Ji in the face..."
...
Upstairs, Ji Yang's eyes were a little moist. He cursed, "Fuck your mother Chen Chu..." After saying that, he walked unsteadily to the bedside on the second floor with his cane and looked at the commotion outside.
Jin Xing then said, "Brother Ji, it's a good thing that Gao came in. We're already exhausted, and if that monkey Ma attacks us again, we won't be able to hold on."
Ji Yang took out a cigarette, lit it, and started smoking.
He rubbed his temples, thought for a moment, and said, "Hmm... I thought about it later, and actually Chen Chu's approach was right. After all, we're outnumbered and weaker. If we had done what Chen Chu did, Ma Houzi would be crying for his parents by now. If we had gone head-to-head, more than ten of our brothers would have been injured. Ma Houzi has hundreds of men; even if a hundred are injured, a hundred can still come up. We can't do that... Luckily, things have gotten out of hand, and Gao Jin is back. That idiot is actually helping us out. After he stays in Hancheng for three or four months and gets out of here, our injuries will have healed, and then we'll fight Ma Houzi to the death. But... we have to follow Chen Chu's methods. This time, my brothers almost got killed by me..."
Jin Xing nodded and said, "Alright, I'll talk to Brother Chu about this..."
Jin Xing went downstairs. Chen Chu had already distributed the money, and the rest was given to the two seriously injured men whose heads were wrapped up like mummies.
Seeing that Jin Xing meant she wanted to talk alone, Chen Chu and Jin Xing went to the next room, which also had a pool table.
Chen Chu picked up a pool cue and tried to play, but he had no idea how to play and was just aiming randomly.
Jin Xing thought for a moment, his eyes flickered, and then he said, "Brother Chu, Ji Yang has agreed to your relationship with his sister, Ji Xiaotao."
Chen Chu's hand trembled, and the cue slipped, causing him to hit the ball off course.