Chapter 90: The Road Home

By the river.

After finishing his call, Yu Mingyuan said softly to Su Tianyu: "A lot of dock gang people came out tonight, they're all outside Haiyan Pit, Xu Hu is there too."

"Got it," Su Tianyu nodded, looking at Yu Mingyuan with both eyes: "...I'll go with them."

Yu Mingyuan patted Su Tianyu's shoulder and said in a low voice: "The logic is this - if I had thought we were just business partners back then, I wouldn't have shown up at the dock gang warehouse that time."

Su Tianyu nodded heavily: "I'm going."

With that, Su Tianyu got into Bai Dabiao's car and closed the door, saying: "Let's go."

"Where?" Bai Dabiao loosened his collar.

"Uncle, how about we do it this way...?" Su Tianyu began discussing quietly with Bai Dabiao.

......

In Dragon City, in an apartment in Longkou District.

Gu Tongshan sat on the sofa, looking down at his tea set as he said: "Old Dong, honestly, losing these goods at sea has been very troubling me."

Across from him, the middle-aged man called Old Dong sat with his legs crossed and his hands inserted in his sleeves as he replied: "Yes, it's made quite a mess."

"Losing goods at sea - I put in 6 million worth of gold bricks, but in the end the maritime police found nearly 8 million worth of goods. Hehe, the kids in Zha'nan playing 'official road private goods' with me, this shows some people think I'm old and want to set up their own channels," Gu Tongshan said softly, rubbing prayer beads with his left hand.

"Did Xu Hu do it himself?" Old Dong asked.

Gu Tongshan waved his hand: "It's him, but not just him. With over a million extra in goods, he definitely couldn't handle it alone. Daring to do it means the brothers below are supporting him."

Old Dong nodded.

"With the goods lost, Old Mo from Zone One isn't happy, brought two cars of people, still waiting for my news," Gu Tongshan poured a cup of tea. "Our dock gang and these black devils have been cooperating for a long time. Though their prices are a bit high, the stability makes up for it. This time with Zha'nan selling private goods on official roads, they're not happy either."

"It is quite difficult," Old Dong sighed.

"Then there's the Yu family, they've been hard for me to read lately," Gu Tongshan picked up his teacup and took a small sip before saying: "Does Yu Jinrong's son just want to do some business at sea and make some money, or does the Yu family want to plant their flag in Zha'nan!"

"Is there a difference?" Old Dong asked, perking up.

"If it's just doing business, when there's friction below, after a couple of rounds we can sit down and talk," Gu Tongshan looked up. "But if the Yu family's demands aren't just about money and business, that's different."

"You mean...?"

"Yu Jinrong came from Zone One, from a military-political family background. I always feel he's not the type who just wants to grab some money," Gu Tongshan replied with furrowed brows. "The kids in Zha'nan are unstable, our dock gang's upper levels all have their own calculations, and with the Yu family adding fuel to the fire, it's really giving me a headache."

Old Dong nodded.

"Today Xu Hu's brother fired guns in Karl Living Village, the matter wasn't handled well," Gu Tongshan said straightforwardly. "Why don't we take this opportunity for you to directly contact the military connections and go pressure Old Yu a bit, test what his real intentions are."

"Speak plainly?" Old Dong asked.

"Yes, speak plainly and see what his attitude is," Gu Tongshan played with his teacup. "When Xu Hu comes back, I'll talk with him, then we'll find Old Yu."

"What about you?"

"I won't show my face," Gu Tongshan said self-mockingly. "How could I, a lowly underworld figure, dare to sit at the same table as politicians? The weight isn't enough! Let the people above go."

"Mm," Old Dong nodded slowly.

......

After the New Era began, in order to effectively control population movement and prevent wars breaking out over resources, several major living districts built special district walls and city checkpoints around their main cities. Their architectural form was similar to ancient city walls and the Mexican wall, but their function was more modernized, with some war defense capabilities.

After temperatures warmed in Year 42 and the earth thawed, resources began to recover. Areas rich in resources that originally belonged to ungoverned or planning districts also began to gather population and rebuild homes. But many of these cities and living towns didn't build special district walls again. This was firstly to absorb new population, and secondly because with resources recovering, the probability of plunder and riots decreased greatly, making building special district walls just for war defense not cost-effective.

Dragon City was such a region. It had no special district wall, was built along the coast with many trade routes, but because it had no historical foundation, it was planned very modernly from the beginning, with clear roads in and out of the city. Moreover, it was surrounded by mountains and water, so the entry and exit points into the city were limited.

Outside Haiyan Pit, there was one road into the city, officially called Highway 302.

Four cars were driving on Highway 302, heading toward Karl Living Village.

In the lead car.

A middle-aged man with a pockmarked face frowned and commented: "I really can't believe it. Brought over twenty people, staked out for three or four days, had the person in hand, and still let them snatch him back."

"Yeah," a young man in the back seat replied lazily. "I think Second Brother is confused from taking too many shots now, doing everything like he's half asleep."

"Damn it, goods lost, port not working, we don't see any money every day, what are we living the high life on?" the middle-aged man said irritably. "Originally thought that catching the Thunder Boys who did the job would draw out the Yu family, at minimum they'd have to pay compensation, sit down and submit, so we could resume work after a while. Fuck, who'd have thought... Second Brother would mess it up completely. Ah, really nothing to say."

"I heard Old Gu put in 6 million worth of goods this time, but they found nearly 8 million worth of gold bricks on the boat. Do you think this matter is..."

"Fuck!" Just then, the driver interrupted: "You're talking off track! Don't fucking discuss this behind people's backs."

Hearing this, the others in the car didn't argue.

"Ring ring!"

Suddenly, a phone rang.

"Hello? Big Brother!"

"Have you picked up Little Two yet?" Xu Hu asked.

"Not yet, heading that way now, not far."

"How many cars went?"

"Four cars," the driver replied. "We have twenty people."

"Alright, call me as soon as you pick him up," Xu Hu replied in a low voice. "I'm going to Old Gu's place."

"Got it, Big Brother!"

With that, they ended the call. The driver held the steering wheel with his left hand and was about to dial Xu Er's number with his right.

About fifty kilometers from Dragon City's border checkpoint, three cars were speeding along. Xu Er sat in the car smoking, his mood seemingly very bad.

"Whoosh whoosh!"

Just then, three SUVs with covered license plates suddenly rushed out from a side intersection, charging straight at Xu Er's convoy.