Chapter Fifty-Three: Enormous Wealth

  Lu Guoyong came to invite Ying Tianlong and said he wanted to have a good chat.

  Ying Tianlong didn't bring anyone with him, and went alone to the "Black Wind Camp". He was clear in his mind that Luo Guoyong's arrangement this time was not a feast at Hongmen, but rather a showdown.

  Lu Guoyong specially arranged a sumptuous banquet at his residence, with chicken, duck, fish and meat all available. The wine was aged Changbai Mountain grape wine, which filled the room with fragrance as soon as it was opened. After driving away the women waiting on the side, when only the two of them were left in the house, Lu Guoyong became more casual, holding his wine cup to say to Xiang Tianlong: "Old brother, you are the first person I admire, I am not flattering you, just telling the truth."

  Ying Tianlong said: "Elder brother praises me so much, I feel a bit ashamed. Ying Tianlong is just starting out, and hopes you will continue to support him."

  Lu Guoyong waved his hand: "You and I don't need to say these polite words, it's too pretentious. 'Wild Dog' has already told me about your situation, he can't represent me, he's just a messenger."

  Ying Tianlong took a sip of wine and praised: "Good wine, it's indeed the grape wine from Changbai Mountain, its reputation is not in vain. Actually, 'Wild Dog' Wang Qing was just a friend who came with me, we didn't have any deep connections, why should I believe his words?"

  Luo Guoyong replied: "It's not entirely true, for example, what he said about my interactions with Chen Fu is indeed the truth."

  "I also know a thing or two about Chen Fu, and there are all sorts of rumors about him on the streets. Many people admire him, and some even envy him. It's said that he's as rich as a country, but I don't think so - after all, it's not like he's in the business of arsenic, nor is this the era of the Tang Dynasty. Still, as a notorious crime lord with unparalleled wealth, he must have plenty of money."

  Lu Guoyong smiled slightly: "It's not just that he won't be short of money, his personal assets, plus the ill-gotten gains from robbing banks, add up to an astronomical figure. The transfer of assets before being caught was done so stealthily that even his family members and children are unaware."

  "Is that so." Tian Long Man said with great interest: "For someone like him, money is just a concept and he won't bother to calculate exactly how much. Just like Li Ka-shing in Hong Kong, if you ask him how much money he has, probably even he himself wouldn't be clear. Money can be divided into two kinds, one is cash that can be seen and touched. For salaried workers, only visible money is considered real money. But for the truly wealthy, invisible money is likely to exceed the visible banknotes."

  "Very insightful. It seems that your concept of wealth has transcended mere numbers and reached a certain height."

  Ying Tianlong smiled and said, "Don't keep giving me the 'forget-the-soul soup', I'm just a poor man. Although I was in the army where everything is taken care of, I've never had more than 2,000 yuan in my hands before. It's really embarrassing."

  Lu Guoyong looked at him: "Ying Xiong, do you want to get rich?"

  "Who doesn't want to get rich? I dream of getting rich, with a big handful of cash, spending money like crazy every day, drunk and dizzy. But thinking is just thinking, the sky won't really drop meat pies."

  "Money won't fall from the sky, you have to go out and fight for it, isn't that right?"

  "I'm not saying it's impossible, but wealth is not something everyone can attain. I've heard that Luo Da was once incredibly wealthy, living a life of luxury and excess, but what happened to him in the end? He ended up as a prisoner, just like the two emperors of the Northern Song Dynasty, Emperor Zhao and Emperor Qinzong, who were taken captive by the Jin army and left to stare at the sky from the bottom of a well on their island prison."

  Lu Guoyong's facial muscles twitched. Ying Tianlong had struck a sore spot, hitting the nail on the head. He smiled wryly: "Duoming Island is not the 'Five Nations City' of the Jurchen tribe, and I, Lu Guoyong, am not the imprisoned Second Emperor. Besides, people always have to go through hardships before they can enjoy life. Thirty years on the east bank, thirty years on the west bank, this is one moment, that is another. Yesterday's success does not equal today's loss, and today's loss does not equal tomorrow's resurgence, don't you think?"

  "You're quite a bit like Ah Q, are you consoling yourself or daydreaming?"

  Ying Tianlong spoke very rudely, but Luo Guoyong didn't get annoyed, instead he was very calm: "A person who doesn't even have dreams, what earth-shattering things can he do?"

  Yīng Tiān Lóng said: "If you're really the master of this house, then stop beating around the bush with me. Let's just be straightforward."

  Lu Guoyong said: Today I invited you to drink and chat, nothing else.

  Ying Tianlong replied: "Great, thank you for your kindness. As for the wine and song, it's just missing one thing."

  Lu Guoyong said something.

  "Good wine should be paired with good company, just us two drinking here is no fun."

  "Haha……" Luo Guoyong burst out laughing, patting his head: "Look at you, look at you, I was so busy thinking about chatting with you that I forgot about this." He clapped his hands and the door immediately opened. Two women walked in, familiar to Tianyulong, they were the two women who had been inseparable from Luo Guoyong for many years.

  "Come on, don't be formal, this is the 'Whirlwind Camp' master's good friend, my best friend. You all take good care of him. Remember, whatever he wants to do, you can't refuse."

  A slightly younger woman sat down beside Ying Tianlong, the woman was very pretty, with beautiful eyes and a good figure. Her raven-black hair shone brightly, she was charming and delicate, full of charm, her body pressed against Ying Tianlong's, coquettishly saying: "Great hero, we've long heard of you, I like men like this."

  Ying Tianlong gently pushed her away: "The master's woman, I don't dare to touch, I Ying Tianlong am a human not a beast, won't do those filthy things, is the master insulting me?"

  Lu Guoyong didn't respond, but instead gazed at him with a burning passion, his eyes filled with a few more parts of admiration and astonishment.

  The woman didn't dare stick it up again after all.

  Lu Guoyong waved his hand and told the woman to go down. The two women quietly left. The door was closed again.

  Lu Guoyong personally poured wine for Ying Tianlong and then raised his cup saying: "Come on, let's drink this cup."

  Yīng Tiān Lóng says slowly: "There must be some excuse, after all."

  Lu Guoyong smiled: "Brother Tianlong is always so pressing. This cup of wine is for our sincere cooperation from now on."

  "What's cooperation? How to cooperate? You didn't make it clear, how can I do it?"

  Luo Guoyong said in a low voice: "Yingxiong, what's the hurry? After drinking this cup of wine, we'll be sworn brothers from now on. You have to give me some time, don't you?"

  "Should we learn from Liu, Guan and Zhang's oath of brotherhood in the Peach Garden?"

  "The Peach Garden Oath became a legendary tale because the three brothers truly achieved 'same birth and death, shared hardships', it's not easy. Nowadays, people probably find it difficult to achieve." Luo Guoyong replied with emotion.

  "What you said is not entirely correct, the Oath of the Peach Garden had a specific context at that time, when society was in turmoil and life was cheap. If they didn't unite, they would be isolated and helpless. What kind of society is this today? What are people thinking about these days? Spouses turn against each other, brothers become enemies, betraying and abandoning each other, deceiving and cheating each other. Don't we still see these things happening rarely? However, I do admire your sworn brotherhood with Chen Fu, that's what true friendship is all about."

  Lu Guoyong's eyes lit up: "What you said is right, it can be seen that there are still true friends in life and death."

  "Yes, so I should be willing to form a bond of life and death with my seniors."

  "A gentleman's word is his bond."

  "It's hard to catch up with a team of six horses." Yingtian Long replied.

  "It's refreshing! Dealing with Brother Ying is always refreshing. Come on, let's down this cup!"

  The two men picked up their cups and downed their drinks in one gulp.

  Ying Tianlong put down his wine cup and wiped his mouth: "From now on, I'll call you big brother. If there's anything you need help with, just speak up. Ying Tianlong will not hesitate to go through thick and thin for you."

  Luo Guoyong said: "What 'Qiangou' Wang Qing said is true, Chen Fu's property is indeed only known to me. The property accumulated from his drug trafficking business, plus the funds robbed from the bank, totals 600 million yuan."

  Ying Tianlong's mouth was agape, and he couldn't speak. Unlike Luo Guoyong, who mentioned the figure with a greedy glint in his eye, Ying was shocked that such a large sum of money could be accumulated by a big-time drug lord through what means, how much narcotics had to be sold, and how many people had to die before such a huge fortune could be amassed.

  Chen Fu robbed a bank, taking away 50 million yuan and killing two security guards. His crime was heinous. However, this 50 million yuan only accounted for one-sixth of his total assets. Logically, he already had plenty of money, so why did he still carry out the robbery?

  It seems to respond to Tianlong's question, Luo Guoyong said: "Chen Fu robbed more than 50 million yuan from the bank and transferred it out. In fact, he played a trick of hiding his real assets. Nobody knows how much money he has or where it is hidden. This 5 million yuan became evidence of his crime and was sentenced to death. The other huge sums of money were not pursued by anyone."

  Ying Tianlong had asked Chen Fu how much property he had transferred and hidden, but even the Public Security Bureau couldn't find out the exact figure. He just vaguely replied that it was a huge sum of money, no less than 500 million yuan. After hearing Luo Guoyong say this, 600 million should be the most accurate number. 600 million yuan! If you lay all this money on the ground one by one, how many people would need to work for how many days, and how much area would it cover? No one has ever calculated it. No wonder Luo Guoyong used all his tricks to leave the island, and after he left, he immediately became a billionaire.

  All these years, he has been choosing to wait for the right person who can help him carry out this escape plan, hoping to get his hands on the huge sum of money as soon as possible and live a life of indulgence abroad.

  Just when he was about to give up in despair, Tianlong arrived.

  Ying Tianlong was his last hope, he believed that as long as Ying Tianlong sincerely cooperated with him, they would definitely be able to escape the island and head towards the Western Paradise. He had plenty of money, and as long as Ying Tianlong opened his mouth, he was willing to pay whatever amount he asked for.