Who Would Regret It?

At noon,

Li Hu led his group of lackeys in a stroll through the streets.

When the merchants saw Li Hu and his men, their eyes darted away, and they instinctively stepped back.

Their fearful reactions left Li Hu deeply satisfied.

Smack!

He arrived at a noodle shop and slapped the table loudly.

"Shopkeeper, tomorrow is the day to pay the protection money. Have you got it ready?"

The noodle shop's owner hurried over and bent at the waist before him.

"Yes, yes, it's ready, Master Hu."

"Has Master Hu eaten? Would you like this humble one to serve you some noodles?"

Li Hu sneered.

"Do you even need to ask? Hurry up and bring noodles for me and my brothers!"

The shopkeeper nodded repeatedly, then hurried toward the kitchen as though taking three steps in two. He did not dare voice the slightest complaint against this newly appointed minor boss.

Li Hu and the others burst into laughter at the sight.

"Look at that pathetic bird! He doesn't even dare let out a fart!"

Zhang Tao asked with a grin, "Brother Hu, where are we going next to show off our might?"

Li Hu thought for a moment, then sneered. "Let's go urge Fang Chen's family along. We need to make sure they can pay the protection money tomorrow."

The lackeys exchanged looks, then all flattered him. "Good, good! Fang Chen has gone off to practice martial arts now, so he must have spent plenty of silver from home. Maybe his family really can't pay the protection money!"

"Then we can take the opportunity to teach his family a ruthless lesson and make Fang Chen regret the decision he made back then!"

Hearing this, Li Hu felt greatly pleased.

He had always believed that he was more suited than Fang Chen to be the boss.

So when he had previously been Fang Chen's lackey, he had already bottled up a great deal of resentment.

Now that he could trample his former boss beneath his feet, the sheer pleasure was beyond words!

"The noodles are here, honored sirs!"

The shopkeeper personally brought the noodles over, placing large bowls before Li Hu and the others.

Just as Li Hu was about to start eating, someone suddenly called out to him from behind.

"Master Hu, the Steward has urgent business with you. He wants you to go over immediately!"

The newcomer was a Three Rivers Gang disciple specially tasked with relaying the Steward's messages.

Li Hu was somewhat puzzled.

"What could be so important that I have to go right away?"

Though Li Hu was unwilling, the Steward had given him his current position. He had no choice but to go.

He set down his chopsticks and looked at the others.

"Let's go. We'll head back first. We can visit Fang Chen's family this afternoon."

Very soon, Li Hu arrived at the Steward's residence.

"My lord, what important matter did you summon me for?"

The Steward asked, "In the territory you currently oversee, there is someone named Fang Chen. Do you know him?"

Li Hu froze. He had never expected the Steward to ask about Fang Chen.

Could Fang Chen have accidentally angered the Steward?

Li Hu answered respectfully, "In reply to my lord, I know him. Did he do something wrong? If he did, I will certainly capture him and punish him severely!"

The Steward's expression changed upon hearing that, and he cursed furiously, "Idiot! That man is connected to the Young Gang Leader. Watch your mouth!"

Li Hu felt as if he had been struck by lightning. He stood rooted to the spot, mouth hanging open, his mind blank for a moment as he did not know what to say.

Seeing Li Hu like this, the Steward grew somewhat suspicious.

"So you knew each other before? Have you done anything to offend him?"

"If you have, I advise you to apologize and make amends as soon as possible."

"If not, then do your best to befriend him in the future. It may benefit your standing in the gang someday."

Li Hu nodded repeatedly, but he did not take in a single word. No one knew what he was thinking about.

The Steward continued, "Oh, and the Young Gang Leader specifically instructed that his family's protection money is no longer to be collected."

"Furthermore, at this time every month from now on, you are to send men to buy some meat, vegetables, and rice, then deliver them to the Fang Family. Say that they are a token of the Young Gang Leader's regard."

He took out some silver and tossed it to Li Hu.

"Handle this properly. Do not disappoint me!"

Li Hu snapped out of his daze, caught the silver, and revealed an extremely complicated expression.

"I will handle it properly, my lord!"

The Steward nodded and waved his hand, dismissing Li Hu.

Li Hu's entire body felt numb. He nearly stumbled while walking, making the Steward behind him knit his brows tightly.

Carrying the silver, Li Hu went to where his lackeys had gathered, his mind crashing with all sorts of thoughts along the way.

Seeing the silver in Li Hu's hand, Zhang Tao thought Li Hu had received another reward. He congratulated him with a smile.

"Haha, Brother Hu, it seems the Steward rewarded you again. What was it for this time? He gave you so much silver!"

Li Hu's expression abruptly turned ugly as he stared straight at Zhang Tao.

Zhang Tao had no idea why and only felt his scalp tingle.

Li Hu stuffed the silver into Zhang Tao's hands and looked at the other lackeys.

"You lot, go buy some meat, vegetables, and rice. Deliver them to the Fang Family tomorrow."

"We will no longer collect protection money from their family."

One lackey asked in confusion, "Why, Brother Hu? Weren't we going to go show off and make Fang Chen regret it?"

Hearing that, Li Hu felt as though the lackey were mocking him.

His heart suffered another crushing blow, and his expression became even uglier.

Yet faced with his lackeys' puzzled gazes, he could only grit his teeth and explain.

"Fang Chen somehow managed to curry favor with the Young Gang Leader and establish a connection with him. In any case, do not provoke him for now!"

"Hmph, how could a great figure like the Young Gang Leader possibly be someone Fang Chen can cling to? Maybe in a few days, the Young Gang Leader will no longer favor Fang Chen!"

"So don't be discouraged. Perhaps we can become Stewards in the future, or even Hall Masters. We won't necessarily end up worse off than Fang Chen!"

As Li Hu spoke, he did not forget to comfort himself.

In truth, he understood perfectly well that he was just a dead duck with a hard beak, unwilling to lose too much face before these lackeys!

Looking at it now, everything he had said before his lackeys seemed to have turned into a joke, slapping him hard across the face!

He already felt so ashamed that he wanted to burrow into the ground.

But at the very least, he could not yield to Fang Chen in words. Otherwise, Fang Chen would truly trample him beneath his feet, and there would be no talk of saving face at all!

At this moment,

Zhang Tao and the others, upon hearing those words, also felt as if they had been struck by lightning.

None of them had expected their former boss, Fang Chen, to be doing so well now!

While they had still been smug over Li Hu becoming a minor boss,

Fang Chen had spent merely two days establishing a connection with the Young Gang Leader!

Such an enormous sense of disparity left every one of them feeling terrible.

Especially since they had previously declared that they would make Fang Chen regret it. Thinking about it now only made them feel ridiculous!

No wonder Li Hu's expression had been so ugly!

Among all the lackeys, Zhang Tao was naturally the one whose emotions fluctuated the most!

Zhang Tao's expression changed wildly.

He could not help recalling what Fang Chen had said back then...