Chapter 4: Four Families' Meeting

After midnight, past 12 o'clock, Su Tiannan finished talking with the workers and drove Su Tianyu home.

"This kind of worker sentiment won't last long. If you really think they'll help us fight Changqing Company to the death, you're wrong," Su Tiannan, with his steady character, thought things through very thoroughly. "Uniting workers is uniting around the word 'profit,' and this definitely carries risks."

Su Tianyu slowly nodded: "That's true."

"Tomorrow you'll come with me, we'll arrange to talk with the other three families," Su Tiannan had now begun to treat his brother as someone he could discuss family matters with.

"Big Brother, I just arrived in Dragon City and don't really understand the situation here. Many things I'm just guessing at, so you'll have to make the final decisions yourself," Su Tianyu, who didn't like to oversell himself, reminded his big brother.

Su Tiannan drove in silence for a while before suddenly changing the subject: "Little Six, what are your future plans in Dragon City?"

"I want to take the civil service exam," Su Tianyu replied directly.

"What I mean is, if our family can get through this crisis, you should stay and work with the family," Su Tiannan said softly. "Although the dirty gang work isn't presentable, it has good prospects when done on a large scale. Our generation of brothers can stick together and make something of ourselves in Dragon City."

Su Tianyu paused before replying: "Brother, I still want to eat the official rice bowl, that way I can also help the family."

Su Tiannan thought for a moment: "That's good too, having someone in the family eating from the official rice bowl makes everything more convenient. If we can get through this crisis, the family will spend whatever it takes to get you into the system."

"Hehe," Su Tianyu grinned.

These two brothers were both very astute people, not only able to clarify matters in just a few words, but also not prone to superficial expressions of personal feelings, with much of their familial affection shown in silent details of their interactions.

Su Tiannan glanced at his cousin brother from the corner of his eye, suddenly feeling that this kid had become different from before he went to school, though he couldn't quite put his finger on what exactly was different.

......

After the brothers returned home in the early morning, they each went to their rooms.

Su Tianyu entered the room to find his Second Brother still hadn't returned, with everything exactly as it was when he left. After quickly washing up, he called Tianbei: "Second Brother, you haven't come back?"

"...I'm whoring, very busy, won't be back tonight," Su Tianbei said frankly.

"?" Su Tianyu's head was full of question marks: "Damn, at a time like this, you still have the mood for that?"

"I found some friends in the city to look after Second Uncle inside, no choice, have to entertain them," Su Tianbei hiccupped from drinking. "We'll talk when I get back."

"Alright, get some rest then."

"Mm, you sleep."

After ending the call, Su Tianyu yawned and fell into a deep sleep as soon as he lay down.

Early the next morning, as the sun rose in the east, the sunlight was bright.

Su Tianyu, habitually an early riser, ran four laps around the road outside the compound.

"Oh my, Little Six, you still do morning exercises?" Cousin Sister Su Miaomiao, wearing pajamas, stood in front of her door wiping her face with a towel.

"Got used to it at school," Su Tianyu's white T-shirt was soaked with sweat, his short hair also wet, looking very sunny and healthy.

Su Miaomiao looked her cousin brother up and down, commenting with surprise: "Wow, you've got quite a good build! I couldn't tell when you were dressed, but you've got muscles!"

"I have low body fat, so it doesn't show much," Su Tianyu was actually the type who looked thin in clothes but was quite solid when shirtless.

Su Miaomiao, her beautiful hair standing up, walked up to Su Tianyu and casually patted his abdomen: "Wow, it's quite hard!"

Su Tianyu quickly tensed his stomach: "Don't you have any sense of propriety?"

Third Sister Su Miaomiao was two years older than Tianyu, as beautiful as a flower, but had a bold personality. When they were children and the kids fought, she could fight Su Tianbei to a draw, showing how fierce she was. That's why Su Tianyu had always been somewhat afraid of her, and the title of Su family's biggest coward was also given to him by Third Sister.

"Oh my, now you're being shy? Forgot about when I caught you and Second Brother watching porn when you were little?"

"You're crazy!" Su Tianyu broke out in a cold sweat and turned to run.

"Go to the front hall, it's time to eat," Su Miaomiao called out with a laugh.

"Got it."

......

With so many people in the Su family, they needed five or six tables in and around the front hall for meals, with rice porridge, steamed buns, fried dough sticks and other foods being brought to the tables in large quantities, creating a very lively and warm atmosphere.

After quickly finishing breakfast, Su Tiannan said softly to Su Miaomiao: "Later you and Second Brother watch things at the storage yard, don't let anything happen. Tianyu and I are going out for a while."

"Okay," Su Miaomiao nodded.

After giving instructions about family matters, Su Tiannan again drove off with Su Tianyu, while at this time Su Tianbei still hadn't returned home.

On the road.

Su Tiannan explained softly: "I've arranged to meet with the Bai, Liu, and Kong families for tea at Fuhai Tower in Zha'nan. These three families are about our size, each with eight hundred to a thousand workers."

Su Tianyu slowly nodded: "Are they close with us?"

"Actually, not really. In recent years, Changqing Company's influence in Zha'nan District has been growing stronger, and our families' frequent contact was mainly about banding together for mutual protection. In fact, a few years ago we even fought with the Bai family over garbage processing contract issues," Su Tiannan replied.

"I understand," Su Tianyu nodded.

"The Bai family is also in contact with people at the Police Bureau now. They've prepared quite a bit of money, hoping to get Old Bai classified as an accomplice, which might get him a lighter sentence. But if Old Bai is classified as an accomplice, your Second Uncle will likely be pushed into being the main culprit," Su Tiannan continued explaining. "The Liu family has always been rather timid, they're quite scared now and are preparing to submit to Changqing Gang, handing over their territory to settle the matter. Finally, the Kong family is in a similar situation to us, not wanting to give up their territory, but lacking somewhat in connections, so they're also looking for relationships everywhere."

Su Tianyu frowned: "So you're saying all four families involved in this incident have their own thoughts?"

"Right," Su Tiannan nodded. "Do you have any thoughts?"

"We need to band together," Su Tianyu replied decisively. "I think when you talk, you can make use of what happened last night."

Su Tiannan pondered for a moment: "Disarm then kill, is that what you mean?"

"Yes, that's exactly it."

"Alright, I understand," Su Tiannan slowly nodded.

......

At ten in the morning, in a private room at Fuhai Tea House on Timeline Avenue in Zha'nan District.

The Bai family's eldest son Bai Hongbo from the Chaozhou Gang, the Liu family's second brother, and the Kong family's eldest son Kong Zhenghui were all already seated in the private room.

At the end of the table, Su Tiannan actively poured tea for the three of them and said softly: "I called everyone here today to discuss how we can break through this case."

On the sofa, Su Tianyu observed the three family leaders at the table in silence. Having just arrived in Dragon City, he didn't understand many of the deeper situations, so he only planned to listen and watch how his big brother handled things.

"What's there to break through anymore?" Bai Hongbo, thirty-one or thirty-two years old, said in a loud voice: "The Management Council and Police Bureau have all been arranged by Changqing Company now. We have no one in the judicial system, and the upper levels won't speak for us. Tell me, how do we break through?"

The Liu family's second brother wasn't of the same generation as Su Tiannan and the others, he was the Liu family patriarch's younger brother, so his words carried more weight: "Tiannan, now that things have reached this point, we should be more cautious. The leaders of all four of our families have been locked up, our lifelines are in their hands. If you're slightly careless, something big might happen."

The Kong family's eldest son Kong Zhenghui listened to everyone speak without making a sound.

After Su Tiannan filled the teacups and pushed them in front of everyone, he finally said softly: "Let's not talk about breaking through first, just say if we all submit now, all admit defeat and honestly hand over our territory, will Changqing Company let us off?"

Everyone fell silent.

"My personal inclination is that even if we hand over everything we have, Changqing Company still won't let us off," Su Tiannan had a natural steadiness about him, and although he was the youngest at the table, he spoke with clear logic. "The leaders of our four families have been arrested for several days now, but so far the Police Bureau hasn't officially characterized the case, telling the public they're still investigating. So if Changqing Company wants our territory quickly, why not rapidly characterize the case and put direct pressure on us?"

"What's there to think about? They're just dangling you, making you anxious," Bai Hongbo said directly.

"It's like that, but also not like that," Su Tiannan waved his hand and replied. "I think Changqing Company's idea is to wait for us to surrender our weapons before killing us."

"What do you mean by that?" the Liu family's second brother asked with furrowed brows.

"It's simple, they don't just want our work territory, they also want us to spit out all the profits we've made over these years. Why is the Police Bureau helping Changqing Company? It must be for profit! If we don't pay that money, Changqing Company will have to pay it, so they're waiting for us to surrender," Su Tiannan followed Tianyu's line of thinking and said in a stern tone. "With people in jail, we'll be anxious. If we find connections and send up money, but the Police Bureau still doesn't release people and still wants to sentence the four old men, what can you do then? At that time, you'll still have to hand over territory, right?"

Everyone's expressions darkened upon hearing this.

"Now that faces have been torn, if I were Changqing Company, I would definitely take down all four families in one go, not giving you a chance to fight back," Su Tiannan continued. "To be honest with you, these past few days I've been running around building relationships, and have had contact with people at the Police Bureau. Let me tell you clearly, trying to resolve this matter by finding connections with money ourselves is simply impossible. The Police Bureau's deputy chief has a very close relationship with the Fuzhou people at the Management Council. The people below want to take our money and help us, but they don't dare reach out openly."

"Tiannan isn't lying, these past few days I've also been looking for connections, and the situation is indeed like this," the silent Kong Zhenghui interjected.

"Damn it, handing over territory isn't enough, they want to disarm us before killing us," Bai Hongbo gritted his teeth. "They're going too far!"

"I think we need to band together, make some noise together," Su Tiannan glanced at Tianyu's eyes and said with good tacit understanding. "We'll die if we don't resist, so we might as well clash with them."

"What if we're crushed?" the Liu family's second brother asked worriedly. "Your father is still in their hands!"

"Uncle Liu, if we can reach consensus, I, Su Tiannan, am willing to be the vanguard and take up this burden. If something happens, I'll bear it, but we need everyone to contribute strength together," Su Tiannan resolutely promised the three men.

After careful consideration, Kong Zhenghui immediately said: "I have no choice, I'm willing to do it."

Bai Hongbo took a sip of tea: "If you take the lead, I'm willing to play along."

"We still need to be cautious," the timid Liu family's second brother hesitated.

"Second Uncle Liu! If you don't fight back today, then after Changqing Company finishes with your big brother tomorrow, they'll come for you the day after," Kong Zhenghui said concisely.

The Liu family's second brother pondered for a long while: "Alright then, with Tiannan taking the lead, let's give it a try!"

......

An hour and a half later.

Su Tianyu left the tea house and said to his cousin brother: "If we're going to act, we need to move quickly. These people aren't sure in their hearts and might go back on their word."

"Right, let's go find our connections at the Police Bureau right away, start talking..."

Just as the brothers were discussing, Su Tiannan's phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Tianbei's in trouble, he's been cut."

"What?!" Su Tiannan asked with raised eyebrows. "Where is he?"

"He just got home."