Shengxing Society (Please Keep Reading)

Fortune Restaurant was filled with clinking glasses and lively toasts.

After raising their glasses together, Li Nanshu said, "I can put in some money."

Li Xiuwen could not help giving the girl another look.

She appeared delicate and gentle on the surface, but she had ambition within her too.

Zhao Dalong was organizing a hometown association in Fragrant Sea, gathering factions and forming cliques. It certainly was not as simple as mutual support. Perhaps he wanted to strike out on his own and establish a society in the future.

After thinking for a moment, Ding Sheng said, "I can find you an office. As for the troublesome matters of registering a society, I'll get someone to handle them."

Although he had found his newspaper tycoon grandfather, the old man had many children and grandchildren now. Ding Sheng's standing within the family was not high.

Having only just arrived, it would be difficult for him to build influence within the family, so he could only seek opportunities outside.

Since Zhao Dalong wanted to establish a hometown association, Ding Sheng would go along with it. He could borrow its strength in the future as well.

Zhao Dalong looked at Li Xiuwen and smiled. "Awen, what about you?"

Li Xiuwen hesitated for a moment, then smiled. "I don't have the capital for it. I'd be afraid of dragging you down if I joined."

Zhao Dalong smiled. "It's fine. Just put your name down. We've only just started up, and it won't look good if we have too few people."

Li Xiuwen said, "Wouldn't I just be making up the numbers? Wouldn't that disgrace you?"

Zhao Dalong laughed halfway through. "Yeah, you're just here to make up the numbers... Hahaha, I'm joking. Don't take it seriously.

"Awen, I feel that the four of us escaped that snake den because we're all blessed with great fortune! Our luck must be strong!

"You're having a rough time now, but that doesn't mean you won't have even the slightest chance of soaring to greatness in the future. Don't you agree?"

Zhao Dalong looked toward Li Nanshu and Young Master Ding. Both smiled and nodded faintly.

Young Master Ding smiled. "Awen, you still have to dream. What if it comes true? Before I came to Fragrant Sea, I never imagined I'd be where I am today."

Zhao Dalong said, "Come on. With the hometown association backing us, we can share plenty of insider information and resources that outsiders can't access."

The corners of Li Nanshu's eyes curved as she gave Li Xiuwen a meaningful look, then smiled faintly. "Awen, come join us."

Li Xiuwen thought for a moment. "All right, then. I'll join and see how it goes."

He was weak now, so having a hometown mutual-aid organization was not a bad thing. Whether it proved useful or not, it was still a network of connections.

In his previous life, he had been too solitary. He had always thought university societies were useless, only to discover after graduation and job hunting that they did have their uses.

In the legal profession, circles from the capital's law schools also stuck together. The more people one knew, the more chances one had of getting referred for a good position.

Martial arts were no different.

Once he became strong enough, whether he stayed or left would be entirely up to him.

Zhao Dalong patted Li Xiuwen on the shoulder. "Think about it. Our hometown association has the heir to a newspaper tycoon and Ye Tiannan's disciple. Doesn't that sound promising?

"If someone bullies you out in society, just say you know Sister Shu and Young Master Ding. Wouldn't they have to think twice? It'll also be easier to get people to handle things for you. That's how a society built on favors works!"

Once the four had settled on it, Li Nanshu asked, "What should we call the hometown association?"

"Prosperity Society," Zhao Dalong said. "Those foreign devils look down on Dasheng Technology for lagging a step behind in development and impose technological blockades on us. Then we'll use martial arts to hold up the falling sky and revive Dasheng!"

"With a name like that, the foreign devils in the colonial government probably won't be pleased," Li Xiuwen said.

"That's true..." Zhao Dalong smiled. "See, Awen? You think things through so carefully. You're still very useful. I'm just a crude brute."

"Then how about Shengxing Society? If the foreign devils ask, we'll say it was named after me," Ding Sheng said with a smile.

Zhao Dalong's eyes shifted as he smiled. "Good name. Once we grow bigger and stronger, we'll change it back to Prosperity Society."

"As for the position of president..." Ding Sheng pondered.

"If none of you mind, let me, Zhao Dalong, shoulder the burden. I'll handle the rough work. After all, I run around the underworld and know quite a few people." Zhao Dalong thumped his chest and volunteered himself.

"Fine. My master won't allow me to be too distracted by worldly matters anyway. You're the best choice," Li Nanshu said.

Ding Sheng smiled. "Works for me."

Naturally, Li Xiuwen had no objections. He was focused on practicing boxing, and he was poor, lacked status, and had neither the time nor energy to take part in management.

"I declare! The Shengxing Society is officially established! Zhao Dalong as president, Ding Sheng as vice president, and Li Nanshu and Li Xiuwen as members! Cheers!" Zhao Dalong raised his glass.

Everyone drained their glasses. Looking at the lavish feast spread across the table, Li Xiuwen smiled. "Can we start eating now? This meal is why I came."

Sizzling dry-braised shrimp, diced chicken with chili, boiled beef in chili oil, Nine Kings braised eel... the sight alone made mouths water.

"Eat! If it's not enough, order more! It's on me, so eat as much as you want!" Zhao Dalong declared grandly.

Ignoring everyone else's looks, Li Xiuwen dug in with gusto.

Li Nanshu watched the scene with a faint smile, as though she had returned to the days when they fought over those bits of rotten meat-filled char siu buns in the snake den.

Zhao Dalong drank wine with his female companion in his arms, looking out at the ships coming and going through the harbor and the flourishing forest of neon lights. He was full of high spirits.

Ding Sheng remained expressionless and did not touch his chopsticks. Over the past year, he had eaten so much delicacy from land and sea that he was sick of it.

He calmly watched Li Xiuwen gorge himself, while from the corner of his eye, he occasionally glanced at Nanshu.

Meanwhile, Zhao Dalong's gaze occasionally swept toward Ding Sheng.

"By the way, Young Master Ding, you don't practice boxing?" Zhao Dalong asked casually.

Ding Sheng shook his head and said blandly, "I don't have the natural talent for it, so I couldn't be bothered. Boxing is pretty boring too.

"Training through the bitter cold of winter and the scorching heat of summer, practicing until you're old and covered in injuries and hidden ailments, only to be no match for a single shot from a 'Palm Thunder.'"

"What's a Palm Thunder?" Li Xiuwen asked curiously.

Zhao Dalong smiled. "It's the handgun martial artists in the underworld like to use most. It can be hidden in the palm, it's compact, but one shot can blow apart a trained fighter."

"Oh." Li Xiuwen continued eating and drinking as he looked at Zhao Dalong. "Is there any way to get one? Things are chaotic in the village, and it'd be good for self-defense."

Zhao Dalong said, "I'll keep an eye out for you. They're not easy to get. They're all made by the foreign devils... and they're expensive."

Li Xiuwen smiled. "All right. Tell me how much it costs when the time comes."

"Talking about money hurts our friendship!" Zhao Dalong agreed readily, though he did not really take it to heart.

After learning that Awen was doing only so-so, he had shifted his focus to Ding Sheng and Nanshu.

When the Shengxing Society rose in the future, it would need the support of those two.

After a year apart, everyone had changed.

They belonged to different circles and saw things differently.

Though they had gathered together, they were no longer as pure-hearted as they had once been.

That was simply human nature. The fact that he was still willing to include Awen was already loyal enough.

"Burp..." After three rounds of drinks, Li Xiuwen rubbed his stomach. On the table were some untouched dishes he had packed up. "Everyone, it's getting late. Time to head back."

Zhao Dalong said, "All right. If we have the time, it'd be best to gather at this restaurant every so often."

"Okay." Li Nanshu stood and cupped her fists. "Take care of yourselves in Fragrant Sea, everyone."

With that, she got up and left. Her steps were light as a dragonfly touching water, and she soon appeared downstairs.

Ding Sheng watched Li Nanshu depart, then withdrew his gaze. "I'm leaving too. Dalong, come find me if you run into any trouble."

After everyone had left, Zhao Dalong entered the restroom with his female companion in his arms, his face dark with displeasure, completely unlike the man he had been moments earlier.