I've Already Made Arrangements

I've Already Made Arrangements

Lin Li was eating at a restaurant when he suddenly received a call.

He quickly wolfed down two mouthfuls of noodles, answered, and said, "Hello, Kun Ge, what do you need me for?"

Then he said in surprise, "Huh? There's a job tonight? On such short notice?"

"What? Ma Ye is personally overseeing it?"

Lin Li's voice wasn't particularly loud, but it wasn't quiet either. Who didn't talk a little while eating at a restaurant?

Some people talked loudly on the phone. With the phone pressed to their ear and the sound filling their eardrums, they couldn't hear their own voices clearly and unconsciously raised them.

It was like listening to music with headphones on—your voice would instinctively get louder. The effect was just more obvious with headphones than with a phone.

Most of the people around them paid no attention to Lin Li. They kept eating and talking as usual.

Only two men nearby who were drinking beer paused when they heard the words "Ma Ye." They glanced at Lin Li and pricked up their ears.

"Where? Zhongshan? No, explain it clearly. There are so many parks in Zhongshan—which one? Oh, okay, I get it."

"I'm not far away. It's only a little over twenty minutes away. I'll be there right away!"

After saying that, Lin Li hung up, hurriedly paid, and left the restaurant.

The two men drinking beer set down their glasses, exchanged a look, and followed him.

But after Lin Li stepped outside, he got into a car and drove away. Since they hadn't come by car, they could only watch.

"The Ma Ye he mentioned... was that Ma Ye?"

"Sounded like there was a job tonight, in Zhongshan."

"Something must be going on. Tell Jin Lao Da immediately."

The so-called Jin Lao Da was Golden Tooth, Ma Ye's sworn rival.

Their businesses clashed. Ma Ye was good at using and cultivating people, promoting many capable subordinates. Tie Long and several other trusted men had contributed greatly to his rise.

Golden Tooth didn't have many formidable subordinates. He was only skilled at schemes and intrigues, so he often tried to drive wedges between Ma Ye's men and recruit capable people.

Because of this, Ma Ye suspected that Golden Tooth was the one who had sabotaged him in the White Powder business. He had finally won over one of Ma Ye's trusted men.

"Oh? The Old Beggar is personally making a move? Has he run out of people to use?"

Golden Tooth quickly received the news. Ma Ye had taken men to Zhongshan tonight for a job!

"Old Beggar" was Ma Ye. It was a derogatory name only bosses at Golden Tooth's level could use.

The reason was that in his early years, Ma Ye had been doing terribly. He loafed around, mooched meals and drinks, and had no shame. When he was truly out of money, he would sit outside other people's shops and pester them for cash. For a time, he really had been a beggar.

Later, he mooched off a boss and was nearly beaten to death. He kowtowed and begged for mercy. That boss was broad-minded; not only did he refrain from driving him away, he even gave him food.

Over time, Ma Ye went to that boss almost every day to scrounge meals, kowtowing whenever they met. Seeing how thick-skinned he was, the boss instead took him in and put him to work.

Over the next few years, Ma Ye proved somewhat capable. He wasn't outstanding, but he handled every task properly. The boss promoted him again and again, eventually making him one of his trusted confidants.

Later, a harsh crackdown came, and the boss was executed.

Many of the successors who had originally held the advantage were arrested as well. For a time, the local gangs in the city behaved themselves, and no one dared cause trouble.

Ma Ye took the chance to step forward, arranged the boss's funeral, knelt on the ground and kowtowed, then walked a hundred meters on his knees, winning people's hearts.

After that, he led everyone to keep their heads down and endure that period. Then he gradually promoted many formidable subordinates, eventually becoming one of the major powers among the local gangs.

Only people of Golden Tooth's generation could call him "Beggar." Even Golden Tooth's subordinates, enemy or not, had to address him as Ma Ye. That was the rule.

"One of Ma Ye's men was answering a call in a restaurant. We happened to overhear it nearby," Golden Tooth's subordinate said.

"Mm." Golden Tooth made several more calls to check. Sure enough, a lackey responsible for watching Ma Ye's movements said that Ma Ye had indeed gone out, though he didn't know where. He had tried to follow him but lost him.

"It's normal that you lost him. Do you think the Old Beggar doesn't know you've been watching him outside his house? He knows you're my men. It'd be strange if he let you keep up with him," Golden Tooth said calmly.

After speaking, Golden Tooth thought it over. Ma Ye had deliberately avoided the people he had stationed outside his house and gone to Zhongshan Street. If a lackey hadn't happened to leak his whereabouts, Golden Tooth wouldn't have known at all.

"For him to go personally, it must be a big deal! Do you know which park?" Golden Tooth asked.

His subordinate shook his head. "No. There are so many parks in the Zhongshan district, and the man on the phone didn't say which one."

Golden Tooth sighed. "What else did the man on the phone say? Repeat every word to me!"

Without knowing the specific park, it would take far more effort to find him. By the time he arrived, it would probably all be over.

But after the lackeys repeated everything, Golden Tooth was stunned.

"Hm? He said it was only a little over twenty minutes from that restaurant?"

After hearing this, Golden Tooth pondered for a moment before angrily saying, "Are you idiots? He said it was only a twenty-minute drive. It has to be Di Feng Park!"

From that restaurant, there was only one park reachable within twenty minutes by car!

"Oh, right..." The two subordinates froze, then hurriedly laughed. "The boss is still the smartest..."

"..." Golden Tooth took a deep breath, shook his head, and said no more.

He was used to it. His subordinates were all yes-men, with only a few who were truly clever.

Compared to them, Ma Ye had quite a few sharp subordinates, especially Tie Long. He was both clever and good at fighting. Even if he went out on his own, he could establish himself in any area.

Unfortunately, Tie Long had once been hacked nearly to death. Ma Ye had saved him.

Afterward, he took him in, trained him, and even sent him to learn Muay Thai. He had promoted him from nothing. Seeing that Tie Long was capable and ambitious, he had even married his daughter to him.

In recent years, Ma Ye had also spread word that he was getting old and would retire in the future, letting Tie Long take his place.

With all those measures, Tie Long could be said to be the least likely person to betray Ma Ye. Ma Ye had no son, only one daughter. As his son-in-law, Tie Long would naturally do everything possible to preserve and expand Ma Ye's power, because it would all be his someday.

"Let's go! Bring A Meng. We'll go take a look." Golden Tooth led his men toward Di Feng Park.

Twenty-five minutes earlier, when they got onto the intercity expressway, Tie Long noticed someone following them.

He deliberately slowed down in violation of the rules on the expressway and noticed that a car behind him slowed down as well, acting as though Tie Long had cut it off and forced it to slow down.

But that wasn't the case. Most people would have chosen to overtake at that point.

On one hand, they would be impatient; any experienced driver would overtake. On the other hand, they would feel it was unsafe to follow someone like that. What if the sudden slowdown meant there was something wrong with the car? So instinctively, they would pass.

The car behind them was an old wreck. A novice wouldn't dare drive something like that onto the expressway, so its driver had to be experienced. Only someone with a guilty conscience would refuse to overtake even after Tie Long slowed down so awkwardly in front of him.

After a brief test, Tie Long returned to normal speed. Yet that car still did not choose to overtake.

"Ma Ye, someone's following us again," Tie Long confirmed.

Ma Ye sat in the back seat. He glanced at the shabby car tailing them, his face darkening. "When we set off earlier, we already shook off one car. That was someone Golden Tooth had watching my movements regularly. I didn't expect another car to appear halfway through and follow us."

"Someone tipped them off!"

Tie Long nodded. "It could be one of the brothers in the first three cars..."

Ma Ye had brought four cars this time. The first three carried six trusted men acting as the advance guard.

He and Tie Long were in the last car, alone, so they could discuss confidential matters.

"And you still call them brothers? Those ingrates. It's fine. Once we get off the expressway, don't shake that car either. Let it follow us. I want to see who's trying to screw me over in the end," Ma Ye said with a grim expression.

It had been perfectly normal for Golden Tooth's men to spot them when they left, which was why Ma Ye had ordered someone to shake them off.

But having another car follow them halfway through was wrong. The other side had clearly received word and known that their four cars would enter the expressway here, so they had waited in advance.

That completely proved there was a mole—and that mole was among the people in these four cars!

He couldn't possibly suspect himself or Tie Long, so it could only be someone in the first three cars.

The trusted men in those cars didn't know the final destination, but since they were in the convoy, they could alert the enemy to wait and follow them at the expressway entrance just before they got on. Everything fit.

"Li Kun or Xiao Dao? Damn it!" Having confirmed that the mole was one of those six men, Ma Ye was furious.

Tie Long frowned in thought, considering who it could be.

As he drove, he said, "If someone comes to sabotage the deal later, Ma Ye, I suggest we don't fight them head-on."

"Mm. The other side must be prepared. I deliberately chose a park so we could retreat easily. Tie Long, if Golden Tooth is coming after me, how do you think he'll do it?" Ma Ye asked.

Tie Long said, "Most likely, he'll attack our supplier and ruin our reputation."

"Exactly! That way, it'll be hard for us to sell goods in the future, or they'll raise our prices. He'll suppress my business at the root. That's Golden Tooth's style... Tie Long, you didn't contact the real supplier, did you?" Ma Ye asked.

Tie Long calmly replied, "I did."

"What?" Ma Ye was stunned.

Tie Long said, "I already told them in advance that someone would sabotage this deal. I told them not to bring the real goods, just put on an act and watch the show."

"Ma Ye, don't worry. I've already made arrangements. All we have to do is turn the tables and expose Golden Tooth's identity and plan. Then he'll be the one whose reputation is ruined. He's in this line of work too. Once word spreads among the suppliers, how will he get goods in the future?"

Ma Ye nodded in satisfaction. "Very good. As expected of you, Tie Long. When the time comes, you can take my position. I'll rest easy."

P.S. Sorry.