Chapter 44: Master Chen of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai

An hour later, in the hotel room.

Lin Jian stood against the wall like a child who had done something wrong. Where was the majesty he had shown earlier when taking on twenty people at once?

Since he was young, he feared nothing in heaven or on earth—except Lin Jing getting angry. Right now, Lin Jing was so furious she was rubbing her temples; his antics had even triggered her headaches. Therefore, Lin Jian stood against the wall, feeling both guilty and heartbroken for her.

Naturally, he had already explained what happened tonight. However, he hadn’t told the complete truth. He only claimed that he had arranged a fight, the other party lost the bet, and then refused to honor the agreement. Lin Jing wanted to get to the bottom of it, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to pry anything else out of him. Her head throbbed with anger.

"If there’s a next time, I’ll... I will disown you!"

Lin Jing had worried her heart out for Lin Jian. She had thought that once he grew up, he would become sensible and learn to care for others. Today, he had indeed shown his caring side by buying a new house and picking her up to move in. But just as she was feeling gratified and joyful, this incident of being placed under house arrest had happened.

Lin Jing still felt terrified just thinking about it. Because of this, Lin Jian made her both angry and frustrated at his failure to meet her expectations.

"I know, Mom," Lin Jian said with his head lowered.

At two in the morning, in Modu, at the Green City Villa District.

Young Master Chen’s father, Chen Zhiyuan, sat in a grand armchair in the courtyard with a thick cigar clamped in his mouth.

Chen Zhiyuan was one of the big bosses in Modu’s underworld. He wasn’t just famous in Modu; he also had quite a formidable reputation across the Jiangsu and Zhejiang region. In the underworld, those who knew him called him Yuan, while those who didn’t called him Master San.

Master Chen of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai!

It was a formidable title. It was safe to say that anyone in the underworld had to give him at least a bit of face. Furthermore, Master Chen’s immense reputation and current enterprise were entirely earned through his own hard work. He had no influential background; his ancestors had been farmers for ten generations. Yet over the past thirty years, there was no one in the underworld across Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai who didn’t know him.

Naturally, Chen Zhiyuan had already washed his hands clean and gone legitimate. His corporation was massive, encompassing real estate, hotels, debt collection agencies, bars, bathhouses, and nightclubs spread across large, medium, and small cities in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai.

At this very moment, there was a burlap sack in front of Chen Zhiyuan. It had been dyed red with blood. Several fierce-looking muscular men stood to the side. Aside from the muscle, there was also an elder around fifty years of age.

"Open it!" Chen Zhiyuan commanded coldly.

One of the muscular men immediately untied the sack. The moment it was opened, a man covered in blood crawled out from inside.

THUD! He fell straight to his knees in front of Chen Zhiyuan.

He had been beaten so badly he was swaying, but he still knelt before Chen Zhiyuan. If Lin Jian were here, he would definitely recognize this person as Long from Ruyi Commerce! Long had been dragged all the way from Jiang City to Modu, though Jiang City was only an hour’s drive away.

"Do you know why you were beaten?" Chen Zhiyuan asked coldly.

Long’s face was swollen like a pig’s head. Hearing this, he immediately nodded. "I shouldn’t have let Young Master Chen get hurt. I shouldn’t have left his side. It’s my fault, my fault."

"It seems you still don’t understand!" A fierce glint flashed in Chen Zhiyuan’s eyes. "Beat him again!"

"Yuan, if you beat him again, he’ll die!" At this moment, the fifty-something elder stepped forward and shook his head. "Long was just momentarily foolish. For the sake of his loyalty, spare him this once!"

Chen Zhiyuan snorted coldly.

The elder looked at Long with frustration at his incompetence. "Long, do you know why the boss is so angry?"

Long shook his head blankly. He genuinely didn’t understand. He had assumed he was being beaten because he failed to protect Young Master Chen. However, it was clear that Chen Zhiyuan’s intense anger had little to do with Young Master Chen getting beaten.

The elder took a deep breath. "The boss isn’t angry at you because Li Chun was beaten. He’s angry because you didn’t tie up loose ends, and you broke the rules of the underworld!"

"Didn’t tie up loose ends?" Long was still confused.

Naturally, breaking the rules of the underworld was indeed an underhanded move, but that was what Young Master Chen wanted to do. As a small fry, he could only follow orders. He dared not argue back now, though.

"Yes, leaving loose ends." The elder sighed. "When dealing with Li Chun, the other party acted seasoned and followed the rules. But on your end, didn’t they claim that the matter wasn’t over yet? That is what it means to leave loose ends."

Long lowered his head. "He wants to break my legs. I’ll just let him break them tomorrow."

"Bullshit!" Upon hearing Long’s words, Chen Zhiyuan leaped up in anger and kicked him. Pointing at Long, he looked at the elder and asked, "Who brought in this brainless idiot?"

The elder shook his head. "Yuan, the world is different from thirty years ago. Nowadays, people value profits. Who still values loyalty?"

Chen Zhiyuan waved his hand. "Tell him to get out of here. This matter isn’t over!"

Fuming, Chen Zhiyuan said, "Dachun got beaten because he broke the rules. I won’t stick my neck out for Dachun on this; the other party was right to beat him!

"But wanting to break Long’s legs is out of the question. No matter how useless Long is, he’s still my man, Chen Zhiyuan’s man. He represents the company.

"Breaking his legs is equivalent to slapping my face!

"So, in three days, I’ll personally take a trip to Jiang City and meet this greenhorn!"

"Alright, I know what to do."

After the elder gave the muscular men a meaningful look, they hauled Long out of the courtyard and loaded him into an Alphard commercial van parked outside.

A moment later, only the elder and Chen Zhiyuan remained in the courtyard. The two sat down to drink midnight tea.

"Taking on twenty people at once. It’s been many years since I’ve encountered such a ferocious greenhorn!" Chen Zhiyuan smiled faintly. "The other party is quite principled too. I heard he’s only a little over twenty?"

"Yes, he is currently a security guard for the Recovery Group," the elder nodded and said.

Chen Zhiyuan said, "In three days, let’s see if there’s a chance to recruit him. If someone like that is properly trained, they can become a top-tier asset. He’ll be of great use in the future."

"Yuan, you and I are on the same page!" the elder nodded with a smile.

Chen Zhiyuan picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said, "Tell the men below that they are no longer allowed to take private jobs. The company is already on the right track. We’ve all washed our hands clean and come ashore; there’s no need to drag ourselves back into the mud!

"Cancel the registrations for those consulting and debt collection agencies like Ruyi and Xingfu!

"Didn’t Long take a job from Young Master Xingsheng, Su Zhiwei? If the other party hasn’t paid yet, tell Long to call and cancel the job. From now on, absolutely do not accept this kind of work. Furthermore, the Su Family are no saints. Stay far away from them!

"As for the personnel from the disbanded companies, redistribute them to other departments based on merit."

"Understood."

"Also, call Xu Fengbin and Qi and have them come back. That greenhorn isn’t easy to deal with. We don’t want to capsize in a mere gutter."

"Alright."

The elder nodded. Seeing that Chen Zhiyuan had no further instructions, he stood up and left.

Chen Zhiyuan remained alone in the courtyard, smoking his cigar and drinking tea. Tonight, after hearing what happened in Jiang City, he had actually grown interested in that greenhorn!

If his men’s reports were true, then that greenhorn definitely had the potential to become a top-tier enforcer. Therefore, he had already decided to personally go to Jiang City in three days to meet this greenhorn. Over the past few years, very few people had managed to pique his interest. And this greenhorn had successfully done just that.

As for his son? His son didn’t die, did he?

Besides, his wife and daughter had already rushed over to Jiang City, so they didn’t need him.