Chapter 54: Chapter 26: The Hunt, Part 2
Zhou Chu had told his second uncle, Zhou Changlin.
These days, life was tough even for gang members. After hearing the news, Zhou Changlin didn’t just blindly believe it. He sent men to investigate first. Only after confirming the facts did he agree to the plan: to take down this fat sheep, Fang Rui.
The date of the operation... was today!
Zhou Chu had specifically pleaded to come along, just to watch the show and vent the malice in his heart. He had even volunteered earlier to confirm Fang Rui’s arrival.
That was the real reason he was here today.
"Hmph, hmph. You’ve dug your own grave!"
Zhou Chu’s triangular eyes were filled with jealousy. "A business making over ten silver taels a month... He should’ve considered if he could stomach it. He’s simply courting death!"
He pictured Fang Rui beaten to the ground, begging for mercy like a dog. A vicious smile crept onto his lips, and his pace quickened as he headed for the rendezvous point with his uncle.
...
Business today was as booming as ever.
In less time than it takes to drink a cup of tea, all the medicine packets were gone. The Scar Remover, in particular, was in such high demand that it sold out well ahead of time. For a while after, customers were still coming up to ask about it.
Fang Rui sold his last medicine packet, packed up his things, and was about to leave.
"Lord Fang!"
A familiar voice called out. It was Gao Yao.
There he was, hunched over with a fawning smile plastered on his face. Combined with his tall frame, he looked utterly ridiculous, like a lapdog.
This wasn’t Gao Yao’s first time here. For the past few times Fang Rui had come to the Black Market, he had been waiting.
His purpose?
It went without saying. He wanted to partner with Fang Rui again to sell the finished medicine.
"Lord Fang, I’ve been keeping an eye out. I know you’ve been buying up scarce goods like meat, eggs, oil, and beans... I specially procured some soybeans for you. Two whole pounds of them!" Gao Yao said, bowing and scraping as he offered a burlap sack.
After being rejected the first time when he came empty-handed, he hadn’t shown up with just empty words the last few times. In addition to his fawning smiles, he would also bring small gifts.
"Forget it."
Fang Rui waved his hand dismissively and turned to leave.
He hadn’t accepted the last few times, and he wasn’t going to accept this time either.
Taking things from someone like him was never a good idea. Fang Rui didn’t want to give him any false hope. And, to be cynical, who knew if there was something wrong with the gift?
"Well then, Lord Fang, take care!"
Though his efforts were once again futile, Gao Yao wasn’t disappointed. He chuckled, already resolved to try again next time.
For a street hustler like him, thick-skinned and unafraid of losing face, what did dignity matter as long as there was profit to be made, money to be earned? How many large coins did a pound of face even cost?
However, if Gao Yao hoped that by pestering relentlessly, he could move Fang Rui with his "sincerity" and change his mind, he was... dead wrong.
It wasn’t that Fang Rui was unwilling to listen to reason, but once his mind was made up, he wouldn’t change it easily.
The crux of the matter was this: he had seen Gao Yao’s true nature. The man valued profit over principle, grew arrogant with the slightest success, and was a bona fide trouble magnet. Cooperating with him meant being prepared to get dragged into his messes and clean them up...
And Fang Rui, who at his core just wanted a quiet life and was a master of the art of lying low, had no desire to invite that kind of trouble.
’This pest... he’s not causing any real harm, but he’s as annoying as a fly. Like a toad on the back of my foot—it doesn’t bite, but it’s utterly revolting!’
Thinking this, Fang Rui stopped in his tracks. "I’ll be blunt: I have no interest in anything you can offer, and I will never agree to what you want. It’s impossible for us to work together again."
’This is bad!’
Gao Yao’s heart sank.
He wasn’t afraid of a long, drawn-out process; he was afraid of Fang Rui setting his mind in stone.
"Sir! Lord Fang!"
Gao Yao pleaded, "Let’s work together! We can go back to the old profit-sharing. Just give me twenty percent, I swear I won’t be greedy this time... No, ten percent is fine too..."
"Heh."
Fang Rui let out a short laugh and left him with one final sentence. "Forget ten percent. It’s impossible now, even if you offered to work for free, or even if you paid me."
"You... should watch yourself." With that, he walked away without a second’s hesitation.
"Fuck! Is that Fang bastard heartless? That fucking piece of shit!" Gao Yao snarled, baring his teeth viciously at Fang Rui’s retreating back.
...
Fang Rui bought a few things and left the Black Market.
Not far from the exit.
"That’s him! Uncle, Elder Gao, let’s get him!" Zhou Chu’s voice was sharp with a mix of urgency and excitement.
"Don’t worry, he’s not getting away."
Zhou Changlin had a narrow face and a gaze as sharp as a hawk’s. "In a moment, I’ll have to ask Brother Gao to provide support."
The man he called ’Brother Gao’ was named Gao Tong. He was a burly man with dark skin and large-knuckled hands that looked like they were forged from iron.
Hearing this, he answered in a deep, booming voice, "Right!"
"Hehe, Uncle, you’re giving that guy too much credit. Bringing a machete *and* asking Elder Gao for backup? Isn’t that a bit of overkill?" Zhou Chu said with a sycophantic laugh.
"Don’t say that. Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit."
Zhou Changlin shook his head and unwrapped the machete from the cloth bundle on his back. "Let’s go."
Despite his words, in his heart, he felt it was a sure thing.
After all, to deal with a mere Ninth Grade, not only had he come himself, but he’d brought a machete and even asked his good friend Gao Tong to act as backup...
It was like Mount Tai crushing an egg. ’How could we possibly lose?’
...
As Fang Rui and Zhou Chu’s group left one after another, a buzz of discussion erupted at the Black Market’s exit.
The bystanders often see things most clearly.
With a business as successful as Fang Rui’s, it was natural that more than just Zhou Chu’s gang had their eyes on him. And as for menacing figures like Zhou Changlin and Gao Tong, they had such distinct features that even if they were masked, perceptive onlookers would still notice them.
