Chapter 50: One Finger
At 7:30 PM, in a private room of the Chinese restaurant on the 16th floor of Ronghai Building in Zha'nan District, Yu Mingyuan sat in the main seat with Tang Baiqing to his right. The two were chatting while waiting.
After a short while, the door of the private room was pushed open, and the burly, friendly-faced Xu Hu entered with two followers.
"Oh my, I'm late, I'm late. I'm sorry, Boss Yu," Xu Hu, who was 37 or 38 years old, about 1.8 meters tall, with an extremely sturdy build and dark skin, said. Though his face wasn't fierce, it was square with regular features.
Yu Mingyuan immediately stood up upon hearing this, shook hands with him and replied: "You've been troubled these past few days, Brother Xu."
"Oh, it's nothing, nothing!" Xu Hu took the opportunity to flatter Tang Baiqing: "Our little dock business relies entirely on Baiqing's care. He asked for a favor, how could we not help?"
"Come, come, everyone sit down," Tang Baiqing arranged, calling out to everyone.
The five people sat down, and the feast was served.
Yu Mingyuan picked up the wine bottle and said to Xu Hu, who was sitting to his left: "Brother Xu, Baiqing has told me your thoughts, but this little sea business seems simple yet is actually quite complex. When I first set up this company, the original intention was also to unite the dirty gang brothers."
"Hehe, yes," Xu Hu smiled in response.
Yu Mingyuan finished pouring the wine and continued, his eyes fixed on Xu Hu: "Brother Xu, how about this? You help me get the people and goods back first, and we'll discuss the matter of buying in after this is over. Of course, I won't let you do this favor for nothing. I'll give you 300,000 yuan as a token of my appreciation."
Hearing this, Tang Baiqing immediately kicked Yu Mingyuan under the table, meaning that he was talking in the wrong direction, but the latter gave him no response.
After a moment of silence, Xu Hu replied with a smile on his face: "Boss Yu, if it was just for a little favor fee, I wouldn't have come today. There are no outsiders here, so let's speak frankly. For me, ransoming people, retrieving goods, and the sea business are one matter. If I'm in on the deal, I'll definitely help because it's our own business. I can negotiate with the old Thunder Boys from outside the district first, get them to spit out the goods and people. If negotiations fail, I can even fight them until they spit out the goods. However, if I'm not in on the deal, I can't break the rules of the sea. The old Thunder Boys worked hard to hijack the goods, fair and square. As an outsider, why should I get the people and goods back with just one word? You say 300,000, but let me ask you, are that batch of goods and people only worth 300,000?"
Hearing this, Yu Mingyuan frowned slightly but didn't say anything.
Xu Hu smiled: "Boss Yu, don't blame me for speaking directly. The sea has its own rules. If we want to do business, we must follow the rules, don't you agree?"
"Does Brother Xu mean that we must settle the matter of shares today?" Yu Mingyuan asked.
"Yes, we came today to discuss buying in," Xu Hu looked at Yu Mingyuan relaxedly, his calm words full of confidence and dominance. "Boss Yu, let me say something off-topic. The dirty gang couriers you're using now are nothing at the docks and on the sea. They have no connections, no formation. You're giving them 30% of the shares for nothing. Isn't that just charity, hehe!"
Yu Mingyuan remained silent.
Xu Hu paused slightly, then continued: "Boss Yu, are you perhaps uncomfortable telling those three dirty gang families about withdrawing their shares?"
Yu Mingyuan looked up at him: "The interpersonal relationships in this circle are indeed quite complex..."
"Haha!" Xu Hu laughed loudly. "For complex matters, can't we just handle them simply? If you're uncomfortable saying it, I'll be the bad guy."
With that, Xu Hu picked up the phone and dialed a number directly.
"Hey, Brother Xu, what are you doing...?" Yu Mingyuan didn't understand his intention, so he tried to stop him.
"Hehe, it's nothing," Xu Hu waved his hand, hearing that the call had connected. "Hello, Little Two!"
"What's up, Big Brother?" Xu Er replied on the other end of the phone.
"I'm having dinner and chatting with Boss Yu. He says he's not comfortable telling those three dirty gang companies about withdrawing their shares," Xu Hu instructed in a calm tone. "Do this, call the Thunder Boys from outside the district, ask them to do me a favor and help chop off one finger from that Su family kid who's leading the team, then send it to the Su family."
"Got it!" Xu Er replied.
As soon as Yu Mingyuan heard this, he immediately stood up: "Brother Xu, what do you mean by this?"
"If you're not comfortable, then I'll handle it!" Xu Hu hung up the phone directly. "I'm not afraid of offending them. Give them a lesson, and won't they withdraw their shares on their own?"
"Old Xu, there's no need to..." Tang Baiqing frowned, about to persuade him.
"Hey, Baiqing, I just said, the sea has its own rules," Xu Hu looked up at Yu Mingyuan and said word by word: "If you agree to let us buy in, I'll talk to those three families. I won't let you be the bad guy, okay, Boss Yu?!"
Yu Mingyuan looked down at Xu Hu from above, fully understanding his meaning in his heart.
Was this behavior meant to teach the Su family a lesson? Obviously not entirely. Xu Hu was openly pressuring Yu Mingyuan, telling him bluntly and concisely that around these docks, the Su, Bai, and Kong families were nothing, and if the Yu family wanted to do business, they couldn't bypass the dock gang!
If I, Xu Hu, want to chop off your finger, I'll chop off your finger. If I want to detain your goods, I'll detain your goods. You, Yu Mingyuan, have no two-way choice. You can only choose the dock gang and Tang Baiqing, otherwise you can't continue your business!
Yu Mingyuan looked at Xu Hu, clenched his fists, and then bent down to sit again.
......
In a courtyard in the middle section of Tianhong Street at Tianhong People's Port, Xu Er, carrying a knife and leading three men, walked into a warehouse on the left side.
Xu Er was over 1.80 meters tall, but extremely thin. From a distance, he looked almost like a long stick. His facial features were small, and his face was full of pockmarks, looking extremely ugly, completely unlike his relatively good-looking brother Xu Hu.
Xu Er walked up to Zhang Hao, squatted down, and waved his hand, saying: "Hold him down."
Zhang Hao had been tormented beyond recognition these past few days. The wound on his thigh was infected, and he had a bit of a fever. He was lying on a burlap sack when he suddenly sat up: "What are you going to do...?!"
"Your boss doesn't understand the rules, so I'm borrowing one of your fingers," Xu Er bent down and said calmly. "The knife is sharp, bear with it!"
"Fuck your mother!!" Zhang Hao cursed with red eyes.
Three men held down Zhang Hao's right hand, and Xu Er pointed the tip of the knife at Zhang Hao's little finger, saying: "This one."
"Swoosh!"
"Squelch!"
A finger was chopped off alive. Zhang Hao's whole body convulsed in pain, and he fainted on the spot.
"Send it to the Su family," Xu Er threw away the knife and turned to leave. "I'm going back to play mahjong."
Half an hour later.
Two vans entered Tianhong People's Port. In the car, Kong Zhenghui looked down at his watch and said: "My friend will call me soon."
At the same time.
Firecrackers went off in the Su family courtyard. Su Zhengcai and Su Tiannan rushed over upon hearing the sound and found a white cloth bundled up on the ground.
When they opened it, they found a finger inside with a few words written on it.
"Don't withdraw shares, next time it'll be a thigh!"
"Son of a bitch!!" Su Zhengcai held the finger, his eyes red. "Yu Mingyuan really can't cover for us! In a while, we don't need you anymore. I'll go myself."