Wealth Wins Hearts

Inside Third Master Hu's residence in Shunyi Ward.

Third Master Hu toyed with the silver Su Xin had sent him, a smug smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

"Master Li, how do you think I've done taking in this adopted son? It's only been a little over a month, and he's already brought me thirty thousand taels. Hahaha!" Third Master Hu burst into laughter.

There was no comparison. As the saying went, people looked worse beside other people, and goods were fit for the trash beside better goods.

He had once taken Chen Dao as an adopted son, and Third Master Hu had poured countless resources into him. He'd thrown tens of thousands of taels of silver at him alone.

Training in Iron Sand Palm required soaking one's hands in large quantities of medicinal herbs while practicing the technique.

After twenty years of cultivation, Third Master Hu had gone through several cartloads of herbs.

And what had come of it? He'd nearly raised a grave threat to himself.

Now he'd taken Su Xin as an adopted son, and all he'd had to invest was a few words. Yet in less than a month, Su Xin had brought him such a generous gift.

Master Li, standing nearby, flattered him. "It's all thanks to your far-sighted wisdom, Third Master. If we'd killed Su Xin outright back then, we wouldn't be taking in all this money now."

As they spoke, a gang member came in and handed Master Li a small note.

"Who sent this message?" Third Master Hu asked.

Master Li hesitated before answering, "It's from Ji Gang. It says Su Xin received a total of eighty thousand taels in dividends this month."

Third Master Hu let the silver in his hand drop. The smile on his face slowly faded.

Meanwhile, in Happy Forest, Su Xin had people carry a chest of silver straight to the Flying Eagle Gang's new headquarters.

The old Shunde Casino had been renovated. They'd removed some of the gambling equipment inside and replaced it with a large number of tables and chairs. The exterior had been touched up, too, and a new sign with gold lettering on a black background now hung above the entrance: Flying Eagle Gang!

All the Flying Eagle Gang members had gathered there. Business in Happy Forest had been booming over the past month, and dozens more had joined Su Xin's crew. He now had over a hundred and ten men under his command.

"Boss Su!"

When Su Xin entered, the gang members sprang to their feet and shouted in unison. They made quite a show of strength.

Su Xin waved a hand, had the chest placed in the middle of the hall, and spoke in a clear voice. "I called everyone here today for two things. The first is that I'm going to pay you."

With a bang, Su Xin kicked open the chest. The dazzling silver inside instantly blinded the gang members.

They weren't strangers to silver, but seeing so much piled together was an immense shock to men who lived at the very bottom.

The Flying Eagle Gang had always followed one rule: the more money the boss made, the more his men got paid.

If the boss was dirt-poor, the men under him could only scrape by.

They'd all seen how well Happy Forest had done over the past month. Their pay was bound to be generous.

Sure enough, Su Xin continued, "You've chosen to follow me, Su Xin. I won't have you risking your lives for me on empty stomachs, with nothing but cold water to wash down your steamed buns. This month, each of you gets ten taels of silver!"

The gang members nearly shouted with excitement. Su Xin was offering far more than they'd ever imagined.

For an ordinary person in Joyful District, working as a waiter at an inn or doing honest labor for someone else might earn a tael of silver a month—just enough to scrape by and feed a family.

Men in gangs had it even worse. Some might look imposing, but the low-ranking members were no better off than laborers and errand boys. Some even had it worse.

With a good boss, they might get one or two taels. With a bad one, they might not even get a single tael.

Even the Flying Eagle Gang members who served directly under the gang leader only got five taels a month. Now Su Xin was offering each of them ten. They could hardly believe they weren't dreaming.

"But!" Su Xin said, seeing that they'd had their fill of excitement. His tone shifted. "If you take my silver, you follow my rules!"

"As the saying goes, when you work in a trade, you eat from that trade. You've probably been taking advantage of the merchants in Happy Forest, haven't you? Eating without paying, sleeping with a girl and leaving without a word—you must've done that plenty of times, right?"

Su Xin's gaze swept the hall. Many of the gang members lowered their heads, afraid to meet his eyes.

They had indeed done it often. Some had even done worse. When collecting monthly dues, a few had quietly skimmed a little off the top.

"If you'd done this before, I wouldn't have said a word. But do you know what it means now? You're not just squeezing those merchants—you're cutting into your own share!

"Each shop in Happy Forest gives us a tenth of its profits. Your monthly pay comes from that, too.

"This month, you're getting ten taels. If business in Happy Forest gets better next month, you could get eleven, twelve, or even fifteen.

"You think you're taking advantage of the merchants, but really, you're cutting into everyone's share and cheating yourselves!"

The gang members understood. By taking advantage of the merchants in Happy Forest, they were hurting its profits—and in the end, they were the ones who'd lose out, since their pay was tied to Happy Forest's overall earnings.

"You take my money, you follow the rules. If anyone breaks them, don't blame me, Su Xin, for showing no mercy!"

Su Xin returned to the seat of honor and sat down. In a low voice, he said, "Old Huang, read the names."

Huang Bingcheng nodded and produced a small notebook from behind his back as if by magic. He began reading: "Zhao Chendong, Liu San, Chen Laodao, Zhang Hu..."

He read out more than twenty names in one breath. Everyone whose name was called went deathly pale.

"Twenty blows each. Beat them in front of everyone," Su Xin ordered.

Huang Bingcheng waved a hand, and the other gang members immediately brought over clubs. At his direction, they began beating the offenders.

It didn't matter how close they'd been before. Boss Su was watching, so they didn't dare hold back. Every blow landed with full force.

By the time the twenty blows were over, the more than twenty men could barely get back to their feet. Their legs were already trembling.

Su Xin tapped the table. "Let those twenty blows teach you what the rules are. Now tell me, do you accept them? If you don't, you can take your pay and leave. I, Su Xin, won't stop you."

The beaten men hurriedly shook their heads. Ten taels a month—only a fool would walk away!

"Good. Now come up one by one to collect your pay. The twenty-odd brothers who were beaten will each get another two taels for medicine."

At Su Xin's words, the last trace of resentment vanished from the beaten men's hearts.

Not only were they no longer resentful, they were moved. A boss who rewarded and punished fairly—that was what made a good leader.

That petty upstart Liu Sandao from before? What a piece of trash!

Ji Gang stood among the crowd, watching Su Xin with a puzzled look in his eyes.

The more he saw of this young man, the less he understood him. He was only in his teens, so how could he be so skilled at handling people?

Su Xin then took two hundred-tael notes and walked over to Ji Gang and Li Huai, handing one to each of them.

"Of course, your pay can't be the same as that of ordinary gang members. This is what you deserve."

"Then thank you, Boss Su," Ji Gang said with a cheerful smile as he accepted the note. But Li Huai said, "I don't take rewards I haven't earned."

Third Master Hu had sent them over primarily to help Su Xin stabilize Happy Forest.

They hadn't expected Su Xin to be so capable. With both favors and force, he'd won the complete obedience of the merchants in Happy Forest and the men under his command alike.

The two top enforcers under Third Master Hu had ended up with nothing to do.

"Whether you've earned it is for me, Su Xin, to decide. This money is yours."

Su Xin simply pressed the note into Li Huai's hand. This time, Li Huai didn't refuse, and his attitude was no longer as hostile as it had been when he first met Su Xin.

No matter how arrogant Li Huai was, he still had to eat.

Under Third Master Hu, a man of his standing earned a dozen or so taels a month. If he accomplished something, he might get a few dozen taels as a reward.

But he'd never before received a hundred taels for doing nothing at all.

Spending a little over a thousand taels to win the loyalty of everyone above and below him was a very good deal for Su Xin at this stage.

Being ruthless wasn't enough, because he lacked seniority.

He needed to show kindness, too. At the very least, no other senior officer in the Flying Eagle Gang could match the monthly pay he offered.

Happy Forest was bustling with song and dance, but some people were far from pleased.

Those people were members of the Green Bamboo Gang.