Chapter 40: The World's Way is Difficult, People's Hearts are Evil, and the Gates of Hell Open

  October 28, 1995. This day had a profound impact on Ye Haodong's life from then on. For Nong Junding, the complicated love-hate relationship with Ye Haodong began with that drunken night, while for Ye Haodong, his story with Nong Junding started on this day.

  The three of them had a great time eating, until Nong Juntin couldn't sit for long and felt tired, so they parted ways with the host and guest both satisfied. Before leaving, Nong Juntin handed Ye Haodong a Motorola latest model mobile phone, the world's first flip phone 8900.

  Nong Junting gently adjusted Ye Haodong's collar, stroking his cheek and said softly: "Take this phone with you, it has my number in it. If anything happens, just give me a call. I won't interfere with your business in Gangcheng, but if you need my help, just let me know anytime. No matter what, I'll always be here to support you: the sky may fall, but I'll be here to hold it up for you."

  Nong Juntin's unusually intimate behavior, Ye Haodong understood that perhaps she really regarded herself as her brother who had already passed away due to leukemia. Ye Haodong did not refuse Nong Juntin's gift, on the one hand he didn't know the value of this year's latest Motorola mobile phone model, and on the other hand he also didn't think he was incapable of repaying his sister's care for him.

  Xinguang District Cinema is surrounded by a spontaneously formed commercial street, mainly operating with entertainment industry as the main feature, including video halls, game halls, billiard halls, and even stalls renting out wuxia novels.

  Ding Dawei came out of the game room and saw that the four monks who used to hang out at Shahekou were handing a small package to a young man behind the video hall, then took over a roll of money from the young man and walked away nonchalantly.

  Ding Dawei waved his hand, and led Er Qiu, Juanmao and others, a total of five people, to walk over. He ignored Si Heshang, but blocked the young man in the alley, not saying a word. He stretched out his hand and took out the small package that the young man had just put into his pocket. With a stern gaze, he stared at the young man's worried face, ignoring his pleas, and said fiercely: "Get lost quickly!"

  Four monks were brought over by two other young hooligans with knives. Ding Dawei's face was cold: "Fourth monk, you're quite bold, your hands are long enough, and you dare to come here alone to sell white goods."

  Fourth Monk: "Sorry, Big Brother Wei, this is my first time too. Besides, I was forced to come here and sell goods by someone else. Please consider the friendship between my big brother Guo Baokun and your boss Hao Dong, and give me a chance."

  Ding Dawei spat, his face red with rage, and charged over, slapping him hard while cursing: "Fuck your mother, you've crossed the line and still dare to talk back, selling white goods and daring to mention my brother. You want to lose face? I'll help you fix your face, anyway this face of yours is useless."

  The four monks were beaten until they wailed loudly, their cheeks swollen, teeth knocked out, and mouths full of blood foam. They finally couldn't shout anymore and lay limp on the ground, letting out muffled and unclear mournful cries. Ding Dawei took away the poisonous funds he had just obtained and finally showed mercy: "Get out of here, remember, if you come back to do this again and I catch you, I'll give you a big opening."

  In Ye Haodong's new home, Zhong Zhimin and the newly appointed sales manager Lin Mengyu had just finished reporting on the latest production and sales dynamics of Xinlv Paper. Li Weidong also introduced the expansion of the waste paper recycling company in various secondary cities within the province. Zhu Saniu reported on the situation with scrap metal recycling and the steel mill. This former big brother figure, who once dominated the Steel City Road, had thoroughly become one of Ye Haodong's subordinates, with a status slightly higher than his former younger brother Li Weidong, but still showing respect and obedience to Ye Haodong.

  Ding Dawei was in charge of the affairs on the road for Ye Haodong's small group. Bao Li Gang would occasionally cooperate with him, as long as Ye Haodong's safety was guaranteed. Generally, Ding Dawei rarely came to find Ye Haodong to report anything. But today's matter was somewhat unusual, this Fourth Monk must have been instructed by someone to come and sell the white stuff, if the person who instructed him was Er Xinzi, then Ye Haodong had to be informed of this matter.

  Zhong Zhimin, Lin Mengyu and Li Weidong saw Ding Dawei enter the house. Ye Haodong stood up and walked towards the study room. The three of them looked at each other and said in unison: "Haodong, boss, then we'll take our leave first."

  In the study, Zhu Saner sat on the sofa with his eyes closed, listening to Ding Dawei finish telling what had happened, and inquiringly looked at Ye Haodong standing in the corner with a expressionless face.

  Ye Haodong: "Third Brother has a lot of experience, what's your take on this?"

  "Four words: The picture is worth a thousand pieces of gold!"

  Ye Haodong: "Your meaning..."

  "Er Xinzi is going to take action, he didn't plan to avenge Shan Longjun this time when he came back. For so long, he has been integrating the territories of other dragon groups without leaders. Guo Baokun's Shahekou, Zhou Laofu's old temple, Dadingzi's Laojunfeng market... The shooting incidents that have occurred on the road in recent days are mainly concentrated in these places. His goal has already been achieved, which is not satisfied with our brothers' dominance in Xinguang District. He plans to make a comeback and take care of you and me under the pretext of revenge."

  Ding Dawei was puzzled: "He just sent a fourth monk over to sell two packages of white flour, what can he do? How did you see that this is his signal to take action against us?"

  Ding Dawei's family has a long history of being mixed, and he naturally has the advantage of inheriting his father's legacy. However, in terms of seniority, he often can't avoid being at a disadvantage, and whenever he meets an older generation of mixed children, he has to address them as seniors. Zhu Saner is about the same age as Ding Dawei's father, and back then, he was also friends with his father, so naturally, he is also one of the uncles in the sequence.

  Before Zhu San'er could respond, Ye Haodong interjected: "Fourth Monk is a small fry, but as a test stone to gauge the waters, he's just right. Firstly, Fourth Monk was originally under Guo Baokun's command, so we can't push things too far; secondly, Er Xinzi mainly wants to know our attitude towards his selling of white flour and see if there's any possibility of cooperation. His money is definitely not as much as mine, and I'm not afraid of him in terms of manpower either. He has connections above him, but he can't cover the sky with one hand. If others knew about the things he's done, they might not dare to get involved with him. So, there's no need for him to fight us head-on. Now that you've already represented me and expressed our stance, I reckon this matter is unlikely to end well."

  Ding Dawei suddenly realized and was somewhat worried: "Then didn't I handle this matter well?"

  Zhu Sān ér glanced at Ye Hǎo Dōng, and they exchanged a smile.

  "Should say you've done a great job, not only saving face for Bao Kun but also making our stance clear. Now we need to prepare for how to deal with Er Xinzi's next move."

  Ye Haodong said fiercely: "Don't just deal with it, this matter is not something to be dealt with. We must take the initiative to attack and get rid of that son of a bitch."

  Zhu San'er didn't get angry because Ye Haodong used dirty words to scold him. He just raised doubts based on the actual situation: "Take the initiative to attack? We only have a dozen or so crude flintlock guns and a few hard crossbows, and only you and Gangzi can use them. Erxinzhi has at least ten 54 handguns in his hands, and our strength is already a problem for self-defense. Do you dare to provoke him?"

  "Right! It's precisely because we're not as strong as him that we need to take the initiative and strike first. There are many reasons why we can't wait for him to come to us. Firstly, the gap in strength is too big, we can't even defend ourselves; secondly, we're like fine china, while he's just a rough tile, if he comes at us, no matter what the outcome, we'll end up losing. So I want to catch him off guard and launch a surprise attack, take him down with one blow."

  Zhu Sān ér understood that Ye Hǎo Dōng was telling the truth, and didn't raise his head again. He asked: "What about the Public Security Bureau? At that time, we will be the ones who provoked the trouble, and in terms of law, we won't have a leg to stand on. If someone gets killed, the Public Security Bureau will definitely deal with us severely. In their eyes, we are no different from èr Xīn Zi."

  Ye Haodong: "Can't manage that much anymore, no matter how big this thing gets, in the end it's all on me. You guys just get ready over the next few days and be prepared to take action at any moment when I give the word."

  Baoli, who had been silent all along, spoke in a low voice: "The matter of the Shanlong Army, we didn't handle it without any consequences."

  Ye Haodong's face turned gloomy, and he glared at him fiercely: "Do you think Er Xinzi is the Shanlong Army? Am I still the little Ye Haodong from back then?"

  Baoli stopped talking.

  Ye Haodong was still not satisfied: "Stupid brain still wants to pretend to be smart and play with noble language, you think about it yourself, how stupid is this idea of yours...... Ah~ right, your idea isn't completely stupid after all, you actually reminded me, I have a way now!"

  "What's the solution?"

  "Just thinking of fighting and killing, such a simple thing was forgotten. Anyway, we've already made up our minds to provoke him, why not do it thoroughly? You say if we send someone to contact him, wanting to buy his goods, and promise to bring people to his place for the transaction, you think this kid will make up his mind to cheat?"

  Zhu San'er nodded resolutely: "He will definitely do it, as long as he takes us in, he doesn't need to cooperate with anyone on the side of Xin Guang District. He can handle it himself and settle accounts with us, avenge his grievances and make some money, why wouldn't he be happy to do so?"

  Zhu Saner is also a guy with a story, this old rascal who was forced to go down to the countryside after only 25 days of university, normally speaks more eloquently than Ye Haodong.

  Ye Haodong: "You make contact, invite him to discuss the deal, and offer a higher price. Don't worry about him being suspicious, just worry that he won't agree to the transaction. Once the location is set, you'll bring people but not guns to meet with him. Since he can't see me, I definitely won't make any rash moves. When he's hesitant and indecisive, I'll hide with Zhangzi and use a crossbow to take care of him and that traitor. Then, I'll surrender myself. With Erxinzi dead, their people will be in disarray, and the scene will be chaotic. At that point, it won't be clear who made the first move. Anyway, they have drugs and guns, so we can just say they were trying to harm us. You guys don't have any weapons on you, so you'll definitely be more credible than them in the eyes of the police. I'm surrendering myself, and this is a case of self-defense against an escaped fugitive with an illegal gun who threatened my life. Plus, I'm only three months away from turning 18. With these factors combined, at most, I'll get sentenced to 10 or 20 years. With our abilities and the way things are in this world, it won't take a few years for me to be released."

  Zhu San'er listened to Ye Haodong's words with a stern expression, shook his head and said: "I'd better go surrender myself. Just that matter of the two crossbows, we can't make it clear, Er Xinzi's family isn't someone without background. As long as there is a bit of suspicion, we won't be able to escape punishment. Moreover, at the scene later on, people won't be missing, even if we don't have the qualifications to testify, but the police will record our statements. Later on, these testimonies will be enough for Er Xinzi's arrogant family to take your life!"

  Ye Haodong smiled: "What you said makes sense, but I don't agree with you going to surrender for me. The biggest difference between us is not just age, but also that I have a background that's not ordinary - an older sister who will definitely come forward and save me from death if something happens to me. If it were you who went to surrender, as you said, it would be certain death!"

  Zhu San'er no longer insisted, if it was a result that could not be avoided, he really had the heart to replace Ye Haodong. But since Ye Haodong could save himself from death, Zhu San'er naturally didn't need to insist on replacing Ye Haodong to surrender. Life is only once for everyone. In fact, he didn't know that Ye Haodong's words just now were just comforting him, and Ye Haodong had no intention of relying on Nong Junding. His greatest reliance was that he was still under the age of 18, and even if the law was strict, as long as there was a self-defense circumstance, at most it would be a death sentence with reprieve.