Chapter 17 The Police Station's Boiler is Fired Every Day (Continued Reading)
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Chu Ning has recently encountered a happy predicament.
More merchants have started to flock to Xiazhen Town.
Villagers from several neighboring villages have all been coming to Xiazhen Town to shop or set up stalls.
The reason is Chu Ning's protection tax, which is rather "Buddhist" in its approach.
With lower protection fees, merchants earn more, and shoppers have more room to negotiate prices.
A pound of soy sauce sells for ten wen in the county town, and merchants in other towns usually sell it for thirteen wen, but the merchants in Xiazhen Town sell it for twelve wen.
Do not underestimate the difference of a single wen: one wen cheaper for soy sauce, one or two wen cheaper for other daily necessities; this allows ordinary people to save up to more than ten wen per shopping trip.
Ten wen can buy two pounds of grain, which is enough for a three-person family for a day.
For those who live on the border with Xiazhen Town, the distance to the town center and Xiazhen Town is about the same, so walking a few extra kilometers for half an hour is not a big deal.
The time of commoners is not valuable, but money is.
The increase in merchants and shoppers has led to a rise in protection fees collected.
This month, Chu Ning collected thirty percent more in protection fees than the previous month, and at this rate, it would double in a few months.
Chu Ning would not refuse incoming money.
Money is a good thing.
He needs money to continue his martial arts practice, and to provide for his old aunt's healthcare.
His main concern is that Xiazhen Town might become a target for others.
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In a yard in Daning County.
About a dozen strong men are gathered.
"Our gang is still small, and most of the lucrative areas in the county are dominated by the Three Bamboo Gang, the Flying Tiger Gate, and the Blood Saber Sect. In the county, we might never have our chance."
"Boss, you just say the word, and the brothers will follow you."
"Let's go to Xiazhen Town. I have a distant relative there. He says there are a lot of merchants in Xiazhen Town. We can collect protection fees there, and once we've made enough money, we can recruit more followers and break into the county town."
"Boss, won't the arrest office cause troubles?"
"Xiazhen Town only has one constable. We're not getting in the way of his tax collection, so why would he dare to oppose our Thirteen Eagles?"
"Right, if he dares to cross us, we'll kill him!"
They dare not and fear to kill an arrest officer, but one constable does not merit their consideration.
The leader of the Thirteen Eagles has a vicious look on his face. The most important quality for surviving in the underworld is ruthlessness, and it is with ruthlessness that he has gathered these twelve brothers, creating the Thirteen Eagles gang and taking over a street in Daning County.
However, that street is infamously poor, even scraping the ground three feet deep yielded little wealth, causing unease within the gang.
Without change, the Thirteen Eagles might soon become the Seven Wolves.
"While the other gangs have yet to notice the fat prey that Xiazhen Town represents, we have to take it first. We'll leave six brothers to guard our territory, and the rest will come with me to Xiazhen Town."
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"Lord Chu, a gang has come to our town to collect protection fees. Please come and have a look."
Chu Ning was practicing martial arts in the backyard when Liu Da rushed in, panicked. Chu Ning furrowed his brows and asked, "What do they call themselves? How many are here?"
"They call themselves Thirteen Eagles. Six of them have come, and they even injured a merchant who refused to pay up."
"This is outrageous!"
Enraged, Chu Ning strapped on his sword and headed outside.
In the street, the merchants looked terrified as the leader of the Thirteen Eagles, Zhou Zijie, held a broad cleaver in his hand.
"From today onwards, each of you will hand over thirty percent of your earnings as a protection fee every month. Anyone who dares to underpay will end up like this."
At Zhou Zijie's feet, a merchant lay wailing on the ground with a slash on his arm.
"Lord Chu has arrived!"
The arrival of Chu Ning brought a glimmer of hope to the merchants. Examining the scene, Chu Ning frowned and asked, "So you are from the Thirteen Eagles. I've long heard of your gang's reputation. May I ask what your rank is within the Thirteen Eagles?"
"He's our Gang Leader," shouted one of the Thirteen Eagles' members.
"So it is the Gang Leader. My apologies for the oversight. May I suggest we discuss this matter further at the arrest office?" Chu Ning said courteously, though he felt increasingly assured inside.
"Alright, I'll give you that face."
In Zhou Zijie's view, this constable was surely not going to side with the merchants, most likely wanting to discuss a cut of the protection fees.
"Why has no one taken this man to the clinic?" Chu Ning glanced reproachfully at the merchants, who then sprang into action.
Effortlessly leading Zhou Zijie and his seven men to the arrest office, Chu Ning also arranged a banquet.
The wine was fine, and the dishes were sumptuous.
Everything was arranged as per the standards of the local funeral banquets.
They drank and chatted amiably, and Zhou Zijie even suggested changing the gang's name from Thirteen Eagles to Fourteen K on the spot.
After the meal, Chu Ning saw Zhou Zijie and his men off, assuring them that he would take three days to work on changing the merchants' minds, and guaranteed that the protection fees would be paid monthly as agreed.
An hour later, the furnace in the backyard of the arrest office was fired up again.
"We're still too reactive. These gangs vanish as soon as they come to Xiazhen Town, which might attract the attention of interested parties. We need to shift from defense to offense," Chu Ning mused for a moment before summoning Liu Da.
"Liu Da, have you considered joining the underworld?"
Liu Da shrank his neck in fright, "Chu... Lord Chu, that was just a past thought of mine, I've already discarded it and am content with running my business."
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"How could I not harbor such thoughts? As a man born into this world, how can I be content living beneath others for long?" Chu Ning's eyes widened. "You have two sworn brothers as well?"
"Yes... yes, sir."
"In that case, take your two brothers to the county town and join a gang. I will support the three of you with a monthly stipend to mix in the underworld."
"Ah!?"
"Ah what? Do it today, and it's best if you three brothers join different gangs. Should any gang take an interest in Xiazhen Town, you come back and inform me."
"Sir... are you asking me to be an... an undercover?" Liu Da's mind spun quickly and he instantly grasped Chu Ning's intention.
"Rest assured, I guarantee to complete the mission you've entrusted to me."
Watching Liu Da leave, Chu Ning was quite pleased with his own maneuver. He had to take the initiative; by nipping any gang's aspirations to march into Xiazhen Town in the bud, suspicions wouldn't turn towards him.
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In Daning County, a strange incident caused widespread unease.
It unsettled the members of the gangs, but ordinary citizens were delighted because over the past six months, six or seven gangs in Daning County had been wiped out.
Wiped out isn't quite right; the leaders and some elite members of these gangs had mysteriously disappeared.
With the Gang Leader and Vice Gang Leader gone, the remaining members naturally defected to other gangs, and so the gangs disbanded.
Three Bamboo Gang.
Li Yunshu and the two Vice Gang Leaders had grim expressions. With a master targeting the gangs in Daning County, they were extremely cautious even when stepping out recently.
Because that person could very well be a martial master.
Based on their speculations, this person might have suffered at the hands of a gang previously and now, having attained martial prowess, was seeking revenge.
After much discussion, they made no substantial progress on the mysterious strongman. Eventually, the Vice Gang Leader said, "Big brother, Flying Tiger Gate and Blood Blade Hall have set their sights on Xiazhen Town. What about our side?"
"Let Flying Tiger Gate and Blood Blade Hall take Xiazhen Town if they want. With such a mysterious figure lurking, I'm restless. Our Three Bamboo Gang's territory is big enough; there's no need for expansion."
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The constable office.
Chu Ning slammed a fist onto a stone slab in the courtyard, shattering it outright.
Then, Chu Ning hurled another punch at a different stone slab, which disintegrated into powder.
"My sheer strength has now reached two thousand jin. If I harness the Bull Demon Strength, one punch would exceed five thousand jin, enough to match a row of Tang Ruoweis."
Over the past six months, although he had not yet broken through to the fifth layer of Bull Demon Strength, he felt he was close, that thin membrane of a bottleneck nearly punctured.
"It's time to consult Instructor Liu about the affairs of martial masters."
Chu Ning left the constable office and walked into town, where the townspeople greeted him one after another.
"Chu Sir, my granddaughter turns one month old the day after tomorrow, you must come and celebrate."
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"Congratulations, Old Sun, this is your eighth granddaughter, isn't it? Aim for an even number!"
Old Sun: ...
"Lord Chu, on the sixth day, my son is getting married. You must come and have a drink."
"Sure, I'll check out how the bride looks for your son then."
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While chatting with the villagers, Chu Ning selected gifts, eventually choosing two plump carps and some game before leaving Xiazhen Town for the county town.
Daning County School.
No sooner had Chu Ning stepped into the school than he heard a loud shout.
"Double Fist Piercing Ears!"
"Carry the Heavens on Your Back!"
On the practice field, two figures were fighting, yelling out moves from the Bull Demon Strength boxing style, but the moves they executed were complete opposites of what they called out.
This scene felt oddly familiar.
Ji Yang and Jin Le, who were sparring, also saw Chu Ning enter the school, and both stopped.
Ji Yang looked somewhat awkward, like a kid who had been caught doing something wrong by a parent, while Jin Le was the one who greeted him.
"Chu Ning, are you here to find Teacher Liu?"
"Yeah, what's going on with you guys?"
"Recently, Tang Ruowei and Zhao Qin had a match, and Tang Ruowei defeated Zhao Qin using a strategy of feinting to the east and striking to the west. She said she learned it from you, and we think it's really useful, so everyone has been practicing it lately."
Jin Le explained to Chu Ning. That battle had indeed caught everyone by surprise, and when they learned from Tang Ruowei that it was Chu Ning's idea, and that he had also defeated Tang Ruowei, it caused quite a stir among them.
"Tang Ruowei said you didn't hesitate at all in your movements, but every time I shout a move, I have to run it through my mind first, otherwise, I'll unconsciously call out the move I'm about to make. Not only does it fail to misdirect, but it actually ends up alerting the opponent."
Coming from a family that ran a restaurant, Jin Le knew the importance of building connections. He didn't look down on Chu Ning, and after hearing about Chu Ning's prowess from Tang Ruowei, he became quite interested in forming a strong bond with him.
So what if he left the school after six months? Among those who stayed, probably only Zhao Qin and Tang Ruowei could become martial masters within three years.
"There's no trick to it, just needs more practice."
Chu Ning replied with a smile. He was so proficient because, firstly, he had practiced a lot and, secondly, in his previous life, he often played insincere games with the girls in nightclubs.
Rock-paper-scissors, for instance, where what he shouted didn't match the hand he played. If he lost, he drank alcohol; if the girls lost, they drank milk.
Watching Chu Ning walk towards the back of the school, Jin Le glanced back at the silent Ji Yang, probably guessing what Ji Yang was thinking. After considering it, he still advised, "Ji Yang, you and Chu Ning used to be roommates. I don't think there's any need to be so stiff with him."
"Honestly speaking, if Chu Ning could defeat Tang Ruowei while neither of us stands a chance against her, his martial talent is above ours. To be more realistic, think about how much silver we spent just to pass the three-month assessment, and how much he spent. If Chu Ning's family was as well-off as ours, he might well give Zhao Qin a run for his money."
Ji Yang remained silent, and Jin Le didn't try to persuade him any further. He had said all that needed to be said; if Ji Yang was stubbornly set in his ways, it was his own business.
PS: Dear Wu Yanzus, with the new book's first round of recommendations, following the updates is very important. 'Following the updates' means reading the latest chapter within twenty-four hours of its release, so don't hoard the book, folks. If you're going to hoard, at least flip through the latest updates.