Chapter 13 Bribing for Favor_1

Inside the mansion of Third Master Tiger of Shunyi Fang.

Playing with the silver sent by Su Xin, Third Master Tiger's lips curled up in a satisfied smirk.

"Adviser Li, how about my adopted son's performance? In just over a month, he has brought me thirty thousand liang in silver, hahaha!" Third Master Tiger laughed heartily.

However, when one compared, it did sting. As the saying goes, comparison can kill, both between people and possessions.

The adopted son he had previously taken in, Chen Dao, had cost Third Master Tiger considerable efforts, and he had thrown in several tens of thousands liang in silver for him.

Cultivating the Iron Sand Palm required a lot of medicinal herbs to soak the hands, in combination with the cultivation exercises of the Iron Sand Palm.

Despite providing for him for twenty years, and having expended several carts full of medicinal herbs on him, what was the result?

He almost nurtured a traitor and a severe problem.

Now, having adopted Su Xin, all he had invested was a few words, and less than a month in, Su Xin had already presented him with such a big gift.

Adviser Li at his side praised, "Third Master, your far-sighted wisdom is unparalleled. If we had directly killed Su Xin back then, we would never have had this inflow of income."

As the two were talking, a gang member came in and handed a small note to Adviser Li.

"Who sent this message?" asked Third Master Tiger.

After a moment of hesitation, Adviser Li replied, "It's a message from Ji Gang. It says that Su Xin received a total dividend of eighty thousand liang this month."

Third Master Tiger dropped the silver in his hands, the smile on his face gradually fading.

At this moment, inside the Happy Forest, Su Xin had men carry a box of silver straight to their new hall.

The former Shunde Casino had already been renovated. Inside, only some of the gambling equipment had been removed and replaced with a large number of tables and chairs. The exterior was slightly overhauled, and a new plaque with golden characters on a black background was hung: Flying Eagle Gang!

At this time, all the gang members of the Flying Eagle Gang had already assembled. Over the past month, due to the thriving business of Happy Forest, dozens more had joined Su Xin's ranks, bringing his gang up to over a hundred and ten men.

"Boss Su!"

Seeing Su Xin come in, the gang members quickly stood up, shouting in unison. They were certainly full of energy.

Su Xin held up his hand to signal for the box to be placed in the center of the hall, then declared loudly, "Today I've gathered everyone here for two things. The first is to distribute money."

With a 'clatter', Su Xin kicked open the box, and the glittering silver inside momentarily dazzled the gang members.

They had seen silver before, but seeing so much all together was a huge shock for these gang members at the bottom of the hierarchy.

The Flying Eagle Gang's rules had always been: if the boss made a lot of money, then his subordinates would earn a lot that month.

If the boss were penniless, then his men would only have scraps to live on.

They had all witnessed the business of Happy Forest over the past month, and knew that the monthly wage would not be small.

As expected, Su Xin continued, "You're all following me, Su Xin. I won't make you starve and fight for me. For this month's wage, everyone gets ten liang of silver!"

When these words came out, the gang members present were close to screaming out loud in excitement. Su Xin was giving much, much more than they had imagined.

Considering the income of the common folk in Changle Square, those who worked as waiters or earnest laborers could take home one liang of silver a month if they were lucky, barely enough to feed a family.

Those involved in gangs fared even worse. Despite some of them appearing tough, those at the bottom of the hierarchy were approximately as well off as menial laborers, or sometimes even worse off.

If they served a good boss, they could earn one to two liang. If they were unlucky, they might not even make one liang.

In the Flying Eagle Gang, even if they were part of the boss's direct line, they only got five liang of silver a month. Now Su Xin was giving them each ten liang, which made them all question if they were dreaming.

"But!" Su Xin waited for their excitement to subside a little, then he continued, "If you're taking my silver, you must abide by my rules!"

"The saying goes, 'You eat what you do for a living'. Haven't you guys often acted like bandits towards the businesses in Happy Forest? Eating without paying, sleeping with girls and then running off without paying, I suspect quite a few of you have done these things, right?"

Su Xin looked around, many gang members in the room lowered their heads, not daring to meet his eyes.

Indeed, they had quite often done such things, and to be fair, some had even done worse, like subtly skimming off the top when collecting monthly monies.

"If you did so in the past, I, Su Xin, wouldn't say anything. But do know what the implications are if you do it now? You are not making a quick buck off these businesses, you are undercutting your own income!

Ten percent of the profits from each shop in Happy Forest is ours, and your monthly wage comes from them too.

This month's wage is ten silver pieces. If Happy Forest's business is good next month, you all could earn up to eleven, twelve, or even fifteen silver pieces.

You thought you could profit by exploiting the merchants, taking advantage of them. In reality, you're undermining the group, siphoning off your own benefits!"

The gang members came to understand; whenever they tried to profit in Happy Forest's domain, it ultimately affected the overall revenue. The victims were indeed themselves because their wages were tied to Happy Forest's collective earnings.

"Once you take the money, you must abide by the rules. If you break them, don't blame me, Su Xin, for being ruthless!"

Su Xin returned to his seat and said solemnly, "Old Huang, read the names."

Huang Bingcheng nodded, pulled out a little notebook from behind him like a magician would, and began to read, "Zhao Chendong, Liu San, Old Knife Chen, Zhang Hu... "

Over twenty names were called out, rendering the guilty parties' faces pale.

"Twenty sticks for each person, to be administered in front of everyone," declared Su Xin.

Huang Bingcheng signaled, and the other gang members immediately brought in the rods and began to administer the punishments under his command.

No matter how good their previous relationships were, Su Xin, now their boss, was watching. They didn't dare to hold back; each rod came down solid and real.

After twenty beatings, the twenty some men could barely get up, their legs trembling.

Su Xin tapped the table and said, "Let these twenty sticks remind you of the importance of rules! Now I ask you, do you accept them?

If not, you can take your wage right now and leave. I, Su Xin, won't hold you back."

The beaten gang members hastily shook their heads; Who would want to leave when they received ten silver pieces per month? Only a fool would pass this up!

"Alright, come and get your wages. For the twenty or so brothers who have been beaten, each person will get an extra two silver pieces as medicine expenses."

With Su Xin's statement, the last bit of resentment in the beaten gang members vanished into thin air.

Not only did they not hold grudges, they felt greatly touched. Clear reward and punishment, that's what makes a good boss!

Compared to the likes of Liu Sandao who was smug when he was in power, what a difference!

Standing amongst the crowd, Ji Gang looked at Su Xin, a puzzled look in his eyes.

He is increasingly unable to comprehend this young man. How is it that he, a teenager, is so incredibly cunning?

At that moment, Su Xin held two one-hundred-silver banknotes in his hand and handed them to Ji Gang and Li Huai

"Of course the two of you cannot be compared to the ordinary gang members, this is what you deserve."

"We thank you, Boss Su."

Ji Gang happily accepts the silver note, but Li Huai says: "I won't accept rewards without merit."

Third Master Tiger had primarily sent them to help Su Xin stabilize the situation in Happy Forest.

Unexpectedly, Su Xin's tactics were so strong. Impressively combining grace and might, he had both the shop owners of Happy Forest and his subordinates bowing before him.

The two top fighters, handpicked by Third Master Tiger, had ironically yet to be put to use.

"Whether you've contributed or not, is for me, Su Xin, to decide. This money is what you deserve."

Su Xin directly stuffed the silver notes into Li Huai's hand. This time, Li Huai doesn't refuse, and his attitude isn't as hostile as when he first met Su Xin.

After all, no matter how proud Li Huai was, he still needed to eat.

As a top fighter under Third Master Tiger, his monthly allowance was over ten silver pieces. If he accomplished merit, he'd also have a bonus of dozens of silver pieces.

But now, without lifting a finger, he was receiving a hundred silver pieces. This was a first.

Using a little over a thousand silver pieces to win over his subordinates was quite a good deal for Su Xin at this point.

Being ruthless alone wasn't enough, especially given his shallow experience.

He also needed to show kindness. At least the wages he handed out, no other gang leader in the Flying Eagle Gang could surpass.

Happy Forest was thriving in peace and prosperity, but some people were quite unhappy.

These people were from the Green Bamboo Gang.