Typos

Zhang Han frowned and asked, "Then who's going to drive the young master?"

"I'll take Dad's car. Come back for the car after everything's done." As Zhang Xianyang spoke, he spotted Wang Zhaoyi making his way over through the crowd. The corners of Wang Zhaoyi's eyes were bruised, and his lip was split. One look was enough to tell he had been beaten badly.

Zhang Xianyang patted Zhang Han, signaling for him to hurry off and handle things. Then he stepped forward with a smile. "Isn't this Wang the Eldest? What do you think of our little business? See anything you like? I saw Sister-in-Law pick out quite a few outfits just now!"

Wang Zhaoyi replied with a forced smile, "How could the Third Young Master's methods possibly be lacking? Can't you see everyone likes your clothes?"

"My store's clothes," Zhang Xianyang added with a grin. "If Wang the Eldest thinks they're good, bring your little sweetheart by another day to show your support. As they say, women dress for those who please them, and men open their wallets for women who please them!"

He really knew how to bring up the sore spot!

Wang Zhaoyi smacked his lips impatiently. Zhang Xianyang feigned concern and asked, "Oh, right. I've been so busy I forgot to ask—how's your brother-in-law doing?"

Wang Zhaoyi's face darkened. He gave Zhang Xianyang a long, serious once-over, then said sternly, "With the Third Young Master's temperament, if not for Old Zhang Family backing you up, you'd have died who knows how many times already."

Now it was Zhang Xianyang's turn to look unpleasant. That one sentence made him think of his miserable end ten years later. Waves of acidic nausea rose in his stomach. Zhang Xianyang forced a smile and brushed him off. "The clothes in the shop were all carefully designed by me. Wang the Eldest, feel free to look around. Please excuse me."

After parting with Wang Zhaoyi, Zhang Xianyang went to his father's side and quietly brought up reserving a restaurant for the guests. Zhang Linmo raised his wrist and checked his watch. It was nearly eleven. He immediately announced in a loud voice, "Today marks the opening of my son's business. Thank you all for honoring us with your presence. It's getting late, and my son has prepared a modest meal. I hope all of you will grace us with your company."

Hearing Zhang Linmo say that, everyone subconsciously lowered their heads to check the time and realized it had somehow gotten this late. Though they were not particularly hungry, no one would refuse Old Zhang Family's hospitality. The various bosses immediately instructed their men to carry the clothes, then took their families to the cars and headed for the restaurant Zhang Xianyang had booked.

Once all the bosses had left the clothing store, Zhang Xianyang called over the manager, who had also been busy all morning, and said with a smile, "It's opening day, and everyone's worked hard. After the shop closes tonight, I'll treat everyone to dinner and karaoke at Nightfall. Let the people from the other brand stores know as well. Gather at First-Class Tower at six-thirty tonight."

The manager immediately thanked him. "Thank you for being so considerate, Boss. We'll definitely work hard."

"Of course. I can rest easy leaving this to you." Zhang Xianyang was about to say more when Zhang Linmo, who had been waiting outside and was getting impatient, signaled for the driver to honk. Zhang Xianyang immediately stopped talking and turned to leave.

As he got into the car, Zhang Xianyang caught sight of a dark shadow flashing past the corner at the end of the street. Suspicious, he straightened and looked over there. Zhang Linmo, sitting in the car, said impatiently, "What are you looking at? Get in already."

Zhang Xianyang gave an "oh," shook his head, and bent down to get into the car. Naturally, he did not see the group of gloomy-looking grown men in the alley at the corner of the street...

Author's note: Thanks to Maomao for the landmine ╭(╯3╰)╮

Demeter threw a landmine ╭(╯3╰)╮

Thanks to Yale for throwing a landmine in Imperial Merchant ╭(╯3╰)╮

Chapter 17 (Typos)

Lunch with the bosses from the Old District lasted until after three in the afternoon. Throughout the meal, many of them openly and subtly probed to see whether Old Zhang Family truly intended to wash their hands of the underworld and gradually move into legitimate business. Zhang Linmo answered vaguely, saying only that the gang had too much idle money and was indeed preparing to invest in several worthwhile projects. However, he never mentioned washing his hands of the underworld or giving up their criminal businesses. After listening for a while, everyone understood that the Zhang Family wanted to have it both ways, black and white, and quietly began making their own calculations.

After several rounds of drinks, Feng Daoxin, who had been keeping a close eye on Old Zhang Family's movements, felt the atmosphere was about right. Smiling, he said, "A few days ago, I heard Zhang the Eldest intended to work with the city government to renovate the Old District. I thought it was just a rumor from people in our line of work. But now it seems there may be some truth to it."

Zhang Linmo laughed heartily. "The army and the people are as close as fish and water; officials and citizens are one family! As local residents, we have an obligation to cooperate with the city's actions."

Feng Daoxin smiled meaningfully. "Whether we're family or not doesn't matter. But Zhang the Eldest, you'd better remember who you are, and remember us brothers. Just don't do anything that betrays everyone."

Zhang Linmo continued smiling as he replied, "How could I? We've been together for so many years. Do you really still doubt what kind of people Old Zhang Family are?"

"Money moves the heart. No matter how close the brothers are, they can't compete with naked profit. Zhang the Eldest, you've been in far too close contact with the city lately. It's completely unlike your old habits. It's only natural that we brothers would worry."

Meng Qingsheng, the boss who controlled North City District, sneered. "Exactly. No matter what, Zhang the Eldest, you're the leader of our Old District. Everyone follows your lead. Back then, it was you—your Zhang Family—who said we needed to guard against the city people's schemes, to keep them out of our circle and prevent anyone from driving a wedge between us brothers and reaping the benefits. Yet now, you, Zhang the Eldest, are the first to break the rules and make contact with the city. Aren't you afraid of letting the wolf into the house and plotting with the tiger?"

Zhang Linmo waved a hand casually. "The great leader once said that we should come from the people and return to the people. The people's strength is the greatest, and also the safest. I'm doing this out of caution. Haven't you noticed that our current situation in the Old District is a little too conspicuous?"

The crowd froze for a moment and exchanged looks.

Zhang Linmo had long intended to gather everyone together to discuss renovating the Old District. Now, taking advantage of Little Third's thank-you banquet, he could say it all at once.

"Our old families have occupied the Old District for nearly a century. When we speak or act, we carry even more weight than the city government. I'm sure those above have had their eyes on us for a long time. This plan to renovate the Old District may well be a test."

Everyone was startled. Feng Daoxin blurted out, "Zhang the Eldest, isn't that a little alarmist?"

Shen Donglin, the hot-tempered boss of Northwest District, snorted coldly and spat, "I think Zhang the Eldest has gotten softer with age. You're even wary of these spineless cowards now? Are you still the same boss who dared to take up a blade and fight alongside us on Long Street?"

Zhang Linmo silently gave Shen Donglin a look. With that one look, Shen Donglin, who had been indignantly carrying on, immediately realized who he was speaking to and awkwardly turned away. Zhang Linmo did not take offense and said, "As the old saying goes, one mountain cannot hold two tigers, and how can one allow another to sleep beside one's bed? The world now belongs to the ruling party, yet the Old District has remained a state within a state ever since the founding of the country. Do you think the ruling party will simply let that continue?"

The various bosses set down their bowls and chopsticks. Zhang Xianyang immediately signaled for the waiters waiting outside the hall to come in and clear the tables, then bring tea, fruit, pastries, and other after-meal refreshments. Zhang Linmo waited until the waiters had finished and left the hall before continuing, "I have my own reasons for agreeing to the Old District renovation plan. I never told everyone before, but I'll make things clear today."

Everyone straightened slightly, showing their respect for Zhang Linmo's words.

Zhang Linmo cleared his throat and continued, "From the perspective of the country as a whole, Guandong Province is a rather special place. To them, people from Guandong Province are all bandits, hooligans, gangsters, and barbarians. Closed-off, backward, unreasonable. Especially the Old District, where gang influence has been entrenched for years—there is even less room for the ruling party to intervene."

Meng Qingsheng, who had been quietly listening, could not help cutting in. "Hasn't it always been this way? The gangs in our Old District existed before the founding of the country. When they founded the country, they never said they wanted to suppress us. Zhang the Eldest, aren't you worrying too much?"

Zhang the Eldest scoffed and shook his head. "They didn't suppress us back then for two reasons. First, the regime they had just established was not yet secure. Second, they didn't have the strength. The war against the invaders and the civil war had only just ended. Foreign devils and those from the Northern Expedition government were all watching like tigers, and none of them were easy to deal with. They didn't dare make enemies on all sides, much less spare the resources to deal with the relatively neutral Old District. But more than sixty years have passed since the founding of the country. The regime is very stable, and the economy has developed well. Everything outside has mostly been taken care of, and all affairs are basically on track. Do you think they'll still stand by and watch the Old District become a power unto itself?"

Feng Daoxin sneered uncomfortably. "Then what do you want? Open the gates to thieves and surrender without a fight? We in the Old District aren't cowards!"

"Right! At worst, we'll meet them head-on. I refuse to believe there isn't any justice left in this world. The Old District has always been ours. Our families have lived here for over a century. I refuse to believe they'd dare drive us out!"

"Just look at those weaklings from the city. Every last one of them is practically spineless. They want to fight us over the Old District? Wipe out their whole families!"

Zhang Linmo sat at the head of the table, watching the crowd's furious reaction. Smiling, he waved a hand and said, "The common people do not fight officials. Besides, these are not the times of decades ago. If you want to fight them, you also have to see whether they're willing to fight you. In my opinion, the entire Old District is now filled with people from our line of work, with barely any ordinary civilians. That is clearly not a very good situation. If the government gets ruthless and tosses a missile over here, you could be blown away before you even see anyone. There's no guarding against that!"

Zhang Linmo's words left everyone horrified and nearly speechless. The three Zhang brothers also stared at their father in alarm. After all these years, they had not expected his habit of scaring people to remain unchanged.

What kind of nonsense was this about casually firing a missile when they had nothing better to do? The ruling party was not a group of terrorists who treated human lives like grass. How could such a thing possibly happen? Back then, the big shots in Yanjing had hated the Old District's arrogance enough to want to get rid of it immediately, yet they still spent ten years dismantling Old Zhang Family's power, all to avoid causing public panic and social unrest... For their father to say something like this so casually now was simply too irresponsible.

The younger generation of the Zhang Family all curled their lips in unspoken disdain. No one believed Zhang Linmo's crazy talk. However, the other bosses of the Old District all wore thoughtful expressions. It seemed they believed six or seven parts out of ten.

The Zhang juniors shook their heads regretfully. Look at that—this was the miserable result of judging others by themselves. They had been fooled, hadn't they?

Zhang Linmo paid no attention to his juniors' complaints and continued enthusiastically, "So I thought it over, and renovating the Old District is actually a good plan. Once the renovation is complete, we can turn the place into a tourist destination. At the same time, we can lease the buildings and shops in the Old District to outsiders, letting them come in and help us draw some of the fire. With so many ordinary people here, I'm sure the government won't dare casually drop bombs."

Zhang Xianyang's face darkened. He was utterly impressed by the thickness of his father's skin.

The bosses from the other Old District gangs, however, all nodded in agreement. They greatly approved of Zhang Linmo's idea of forcibly dragging others in as cannon fodder.

Some people still felt uneasy. They had been cut off from the outside world for too long, and it had naturally made them hostile to outsiders and inclined to band together. They were clearly resistant to interacting with the outside world. Feng Daoxin was one of them. With worry and faint dissatisfaction, he complained, "But if we suddenly bring in so many outsiders, how will we know who is an ordinary civilian and who is a spy for outside forces? What if they harbor ill intentions and deliberately lie in wait in the Old District to monitor us?"