Chapter 006: Collecting Protection Fees (Seeking Recommendations and Bookmarks!)

  "Huang Lao'er, quickly bring over my 'Little White Dragon'!" Xu Xuan said calmly.

  "Yes!"

  An old man in a linen robe quickly walked into the courtyard, and in just a few breaths, he led out a white horse with a white coat and high stature.

  It's strange to say, but this white horse called 'Little White Dragon' suddenly lit up its lackluster eyes after seeing Xu Xuan, and then broke free from the reins, rubbing its head wildly against Xu Xuan's arm.

  Woof! Woof! Woof!

  Wangcai saw Xiaobailong daring to show off in front of him beside Xu Xuan, and suddenly let out a loud bark.

  "Prosperity, what's going on! Be quiet!" Xu Xuan stroked the little white dragon and said.

  As soon as this was said, the yellow-haired wolf dog called Wangcai suddenly quieted down, and Xu Xuan flipped over and sat on the saddle of the little white dragon.

  "Drive!"

  Xu Xuan gave a loud shout and cracked the whip. The little white dragon received the command, exerted its four hooves, and instantly kicked up a cloud of dust!

  "Keep up!"

  The blind man made a forward somersault and jumped two zhang away, then immediately pushed off with both feet and chased after Xu Xuan.

  Fatty Ox, Bookworm, Wildman and the other six members of the Tiger Gang also pushed off with both feet!

  Actually, Weihu Mountain is at least thirty miles away from Bailand Town. This kind of trekking can be considered a marathon.

  Half a time later, Xu Xuan sat on the back of Xiao Bai Long, looking back with a fierce light.

  "What's taking so long! I've been waiting for half a day!" Xu Xuan said, displeased to see the blind man and others finally appear within his line of sight.

  Everyone looked at Xu Xuan with bated breath, and the blind man even ran to Xu Xuan's side, with fine beads of sweat dripping from his temples.

  "Master, it's not that we're running slow! I suppose the little white dragon hasn't been out for a long time, and its speed has increased significantly today!" The blind man explained with a bitter smile.

  "Don't give me excuses! It's been a long time since you've come out, right? Speak up! How long has Bailian Town not collected protection fees?" Xu Xuan suddenly shouted.

  "Three months! Master, since the day you fainted, we haven't come to collect rent! We were all worried about your safety!" Fat Cow was sweating profusely at this moment, and his gaze towards Blind Man had a hint of ambiguity.

  But among them, only Shu Sheng seemed to be fine, as if the previous thirty-mile pace was just a small dish for him.

  "I heard you and Blind Man have a leg!"

  Xu Xuan glanced at Mang and Fei Niu, then immediately got back on the small white dragon, heading towards the White Lotus Town in front of him.

  Seeing Xuan Xu no longer paying attention to them, the blind man turned around and glared at Fei Niu, his expression stiffening: "Who told you to interrupt! You're in trouble now, wait and see how I'll deal with you later!"

  Fei Niu helplessly shook his head, knowing in his heart that the people of Meng Hu Bang, whether it was Xu Xuan or Mang Zai, were all tough on the outside but soft on the inside. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to stay in Meng Hu Bang for so long.

  This Bailian Town is actually a small town, but there are all kinds of wine houses, brothels, inns, tea houses, and casinos... All these places can be consumed by some local landlords or traveling merchants, ordinary people here just set up stalls and do business.

  Bailian Town is divided into four main streets: East, West, South and North. In the central location, there are two horizontal and vertical streets. From a high altitude, looking down at the six streets, it forms a "田" character!

  Xu Xuan rode the little white dragon and suddenly appeared at the city gate, immediately causing the people selling goods on the ground and other businessmen to be in an uproar.

  "Bad! It's the Tiger Gang!"

  "Run away!"

  "Hey you, what are you staring at? Go home!"

  "Old Wang, what are you still standing there for? Hurry up and pack up your stall!"

  One after another terrified voice did not stop, and in just a few breaths, Xu Xuan suddenly discovered that all the street vendors within his line of sight had disappeared.

  "My god! Grandma's, I'm not a city administrator!" Xu Xuan cursed and immediately saw the blind man and others appear on East Street with a fierce and evil presence.

  "Go, first go to Li Yuanwai's rice shop!"

  Xu Xuan dismounted and walked straight towards a shop with the character "rice" written on the sign above the door.

  After slightly adjusting his appearance, Xuan took a step into the store and immediately saw a man with a round face wearing a yellow shirt, who came up to him with a smile.

  "Xu Bangzhu, it's been a long time since we last met, you're still so handsome and elegant!" The fat-faced man flattered.

  As soon as this was said, Xu Xuan glanced up and down at Li Yuanwai with his eyes, and immediately said: "Less nonsense, fifty taels of silver!"

  "What? Not thirty taels?" Li Yuanwai was shocked upon hearing this.

  Generally speaking, Hu Bang's protection fee for their rice store is 10 taels of silver per month. Now that it's been exactly three months, how did it suddenly increase by 20 taels?

  The blind man took a few steps forward and grabbed Li's collar with one hand, his eyes gleaming with ferocity.

  "Hum! Is the old man tired of living?! Our master hasn't come for three months, originally it was supposed to be thirty taels, but now our Mighty Tiger Gang has a big expense, so we added one percent on top of that, which is thirty-three taels. As for the remaining seventeen taels of silver, that's the interest for these three months!"

  As soon as this was said, Fat Cow and others immediately surrounded Li Yuanwai, with an attitude that if you don't give us money, we'll fight.

  "This... this interest is too expensive, isn't it? Xu Bangzhu, look at my small business here, where can I get so much silver?" Li Yuanwai looked at Xu Xuan with a bitter expression.

  Xu Xuan smiled slightly and immediately looked at the black-shirted old man who was making a terrified expression on the other side, saying: "Master Wang, bring me the account books for the past three months!"

  The old man in black heard this and suddenly looked at Li Yuanwai with a bitter melon expression.

  "I'm giving! Isn't that enough?" Li Yuanwai seemed to be caught in a painful spot, and he didn't know what was going on with this so-called account book.

  "Hmm!" The blind man released his right hand from grabbing Li Yuan's collar and crossed his arms.

  After that, things became much simpler. When Li handed over the fifty taels of silver to Xu Xuan, Xu took the members of the Menghu Bang and left with a flourish.

  Li Yuan saw Xu Xuan and others walking away with silver, and he was puzzled: "Wang Shijie, wasn't this Xu Bangzhu seriously injured and on the verge of death before? How come he's now full of energy?"

  "I was also deceived at first! Now it seems that Xu Bangzhu is deliberately coming once every three months, presumably to find an excuse to collect interest!" The old man in black robes shook his head helplessly.

  The Měnghǔ Bāng gang members, under Xu Xuan's leadership, soon collected protection fees from the four major streets of east, west, south and north.

  "It's time to go to Cross Street, this is where the biggest profits are!"

  Xu Xuan followed his impression and drove the small white dragon around a bend, directly arriving at a bustling street.

  A savage with a bundle on his back, this must be the protection fee collected by Xu Xuan on the four main streets earlier. On the other side, the blind man's gaze wandered around, and when he saw a three-story pavilion with lanterns and streamers, he stopped.

  "Chunyuan! This is it!" The blind man slightly adjusted his appearance and said.

  Xu Xuan turned over and got off his horse, immediately waving his hand.

  "Go!"

  The blind man saw this and shouted loudly: "Whoever you are, take good care of our leader's precious horse!"

  At this point, a man in a yellow shirt standing at the entrance of "Jiang Chun Garden" nodded repeatedly and led Xiaobai Long to a horse shed on one side.

  Just then, a old procuress wearing a cheongsam and with flowers in her hair walked out of the Chunyuan Gate.

  The old procuress saw Xu Xuan bring people from the Menghu Gang and immediately beamed with joy.

  "Oh, isn't this Master Xu? It's been a long time since we last met, and you're still so spirited and refreshing!"

  Xu Xuan glanced at the old procuress and calmly said: "Don't you prepare a table of good wine and dishes for me yet?"

  "Yes! I'll arrange it for you right away! Waiter, why don't you lead the gentlemen to the second private room on the second floor of the Tianzi Building!" The old procuress instructed hastily.

  As soon as this was said, a small, thin man dressed as a waiter came forward and bowed deeply to Xu Xuan and the others.

  "Excuse me, sir!"

  Xu Xuan nodded slightly in appreciation, and then suddenly Blind Man's eyes rolled around!

  "Tie Ya, Zuo Lun, Da Dan, you three go and take a look around the Qing Chun Garden for me, see if there are any beauties waiting for our master to make his move!"

  "Got it." The tall and thin man called Zuo Lun was overjoyed upon hearing this.

  Zuo Lun is a notorious flower thief and god of theft in the Meng Hu Bang, with an innate sense of smell for women that few others possess.

  This is called Chun Lou, originally a place where fish and dragons are mixed, but at this moment, so many guests see Xu Xuan and others visiting Chun Yuan, they also roughly know Xu Xuan's identity, in order not to provoke trouble, of course, they would turn a blind eye.

  They were divided into two groups, Xu Xuan, Mangzi, Shusheng, Feiniu, Yeren and Wangcai followed Xia'er to the third floor, while Tieya, Zuolun and Dabao wandered around in all directions.

  The prestige of the Měnghǔ Bāng is still quite loud in the vicinity of Bailian Town, and no one dares to provoke Xu Xuan and others without reason.