Chapter 39

"At the very least, some taxes can be reduced or waived. As for other preferential policies... when I have time, I'll have my secretary draw up a document for you. You can look it over yourself."

At that, Mayor Gu, seeing that the Zhang father and son likely had something to discuss, considerately rose to his feet. "I drank a little too much porridge. I'm going out to relieve myself."

Watching Gu Zhaohuan leave the office, Zhang Xianyang turned back to Zhang Linmo. "I never planned to hand management over to Uncle Feng. Uncle Feng himself knows he isn't cut out for business. He only asked me for control over the kitchen. I thought that was what he was best at, and he's straightforward and conscientious by nature. It wouldn't be bad to let him manage the kitchen. At least I won't have to worry about quality."

Zhang Linmo said, "Old Feng really is a bit too particular about things. If you think it'll work, then it's fine."

Zhang Xianyang added, "But I don't have anyone capable of management on hand. How about introducing someone for me, Dad?"

Hearing this, Zhang Linmo smiled. "I'm a gangster. What would I need to manage? I know even less than you... How about I lend you your brother? When brothers work together, they can cut through gold."

He had figured it out by now. The Zhang Family Gang would have to go legitimate eventually anyway. He could let Zhang Muyang use Zhang Xianyang's business to get some practice, then have him manage the family's own businesses once he had gotten the hang of things. In truth, business methods and channels were largely the same no matter what one sold. It all came down to competing with others for profit; only the merchandise differed. With a change in perspective, arms dealing was also a form of sales, fighting over territory was real estate, usury was finance, and running nightclubs was entertainment. They were all pretty much the same.

Of course, Zhang Xianyang knew Zhang Linmo could not produce a management talent out of thin air anytime soon. The person he had his eye on was actually his own older brother. Although having his brother manage a restaurant seemed like overkill, Zhang Xianyang had become deeply suspicious after what happened in his previous life. Other than members of the Zhang Family, he simply could not trust anyone else. A restaurant was different from a clothing factory. It dealt with food. If poor management gave someone with malicious intentions an opening to slip in some rat poison or something, Zhang Xianyang would be buried in trouble.

With that thought, Zhang Xianyang clung to his older brother and said with a grin, "I'll be counting on you, Big Brother. Help me keep an eye on it!"

Zhang Muyang had never refused a request from his younger brother. Thus, the final arrangement was that the eldest Zhang brother would take charge of all personnel and management matters for the breakfast shop. Every day, he would still have to remain at Zhang Linmo's side to learn how to handle affairs, and at night, he would have to go out on missions with the Dark Dragon Guard...

Well, with the endurance of a good top, surely he would handle it all with ease.

As for what Zhang Xianyang could do, with his father and brother both agreeing, he asked the Brain AI to draw up restaurant regulations based on the world's most comprehensive modern restaurant management models and the local conditions of the Old District. Not finding the task difficult at all, the Brain AI promptly ordered Zhang Xianyang to gather the necessary information as soon as possible, then turned back to its own work.

After nearly a year of training and conditioning by the Brain AI, the boy's body had finally reached the highest standard required to use genetic nutrient solution. The Brain AI was now busy formulating a nutrient solution best suited to Zhang Xianyang's genetic chain. Once the boy successfully advanced, springtime would come for the Brain AI.

Busy concealing his own forces among the common people as quickly as possible, Zhang Xianyang did not notice how occupied the Brain AI was. With nothing weighing on him, he complained to Zhang Linmo a little more about his perverted second uncle's horrors and the tearful, bloody history of his abuse. Then Gu Zhaohuan, who had used relieving himself as an excuse to leave, returned.

In truth, the real trouble lay with him. As the Old District's redevelopment plan neared completion, the ambitious mayor began promoting the beauty and grandeur of the Old District's scenic spots throughout the country. Unfortunately, the Old District had been far too isolated and closed off for the past several decades, leaving outsiders with a demonized impression of it. Everyone believed the Old District was an undeveloped bandit den, a poor backwater where ordinary people could not even guarantee their personal safety. Naturally, no one had ever considered coming here for tourism. For Mayor Gu, who had already put the construction of a tourist resort on the agenda and was dedicated to turning the Old District into a renowned tourist city, this was no small blow.

How to quickly change the Old District's image in the minds of the nation had become the mayor's most troubling problem lately. Whether through media campaigns, inviting people over, or even using his old man's influence to indirectly push the higher-ups toward favorable policies, Gu Zhaohuan had considered every possible method. Yet every attempt went against his wishes.

For Zhang Linmo, the leading power in the Old District, changing the public's impression of the Old District and its local forces was also something he wanted to do recently. But unlike Mayor Gu's various flashy solutions, Zhang's way of looking at the problem was simple.

"Since people don't understand our Old District, then let them understand it. People these days love watching television dramas to pass the time. Doesn't your government make a couple of patriotic dramas every year to promote its image? Then we can make a television drama about the Old District. Film the scenery beautifully, make the plot moving, and once viewers get used to seeing it, maybe they'll want to come take a look for themselves."

Mayor Gu, whose thoughts were still focused on how to use the higher-ups to introduce the Old District to the public, could not help but blank out when he heard Zhang Linmo's method. Seeing the mayor's dazed look, the Zhang Family boss raised a brow. "What? You think it's no good?"

"Not at all." Snapping back to his senses, Mayor Gu shook his head with a smile. "I just think experience really does count. Boss Zhang's method truly is..."

Simple and direct—and also an excellent way to launder money.

Gu Zhaohuan blinked, uncertain whether Boss Zhang was thinking the same thing he was.

"But if we want to make a television drama, we'll need a good script and a good director—"

"That's not a problem." Zhang Linmo waved him off and interrupted with a smile. "As for the script, all the major gangs in our Old District left behind some stories worth boasting about from the time of the war of invasion. Every family genealogy records the heroic deeds of its ancestors. Have them write out their ancestors' stories, and we'll choose a couple of good ones to polish up. That gives us a script. As for a director... Mayor Gu is resourceful and well-connected. I'm sure finding a director skilled at filming this sort of drama won't be difficult for you. And as for the actors..."

Zhang Linmo frowned slightly, and Gu Zhaohuan immediately picked up the thread. "I can help with that as well."

Zhang Linmo nodded and said casually, "We can get a few famous names for the main roles to draw attention, then use open auditions for the rest. Just having people come to the Old District to film a drama about its history will be something worth talking about. If handled properly, it can also serve as publicity for our Old District."

Gu Zhaohuan's heart stirred. Thinking of the nearly masterful public-opinion pressure Zhang Linmo had used against the Li Family, he could not help but smile. "I imagine Boss Zhang has more experience in this area."

Zhang Linmo smiled faintly. Water could carry a boat, but it could also overturn one. The people of the Old District had always kept their ancestors' lesson firmly in mind.

"If we're filming a war drama, there will inevitably be scenes involving troops. If we can directly find units that actually existed during the war of invasion and are still preserved today to make a friendly appearance, that would be a good hook as well." Zhang Linmo smiled meaningfully. "The military has always been curious about our Old District, hasn't it? We can take this opportunity to let them come visit first. That wouldn't be bad either. As for expenses... I can make the call and give them a twenty percent discount."

Gu Zhaohuan listened in stunned disbelief and could not help asking, "Boss Zhang is making such a grand gesture. Aren't you afraid..."

Of inviting wolves into the house—or bringing fire upon himself?

Zhang Linmo smiled faintly. If they lacked even the confidence to receive friends on their own turf, then the Old District did not deserve to have stood firm for a hundred years through storms and war.

"Sooner or later, we have to open ourselves up and let others see us. Since we've already made the decision, why be so secretive and petty about it? Our Old District isn't something shameful. What's the point of hiding?"

Besides, ever since the Old District redevelopment plan began, Yanjing's informants had already combed through the Old District so thoroughly that nothing was left hidden. The informants who came secretly had all returned empty-handed. What could those who came openly possibly achieve?

Zhang Linmo, who was best at hiding himself, truly was not afraid of this. The Old Zhang Family had dealt arms in secret for decades, yet even now their files remained perfectly clean, without anyone finding a shred of evidence. Did they think he was Wang Zhaoyi, someone immature and unreliable who made even the smallest matter known to everyone?

Watching Gu Zhaohuan sit in silence, deep in thought, Zhang Linmo smiled. "Since ancient times, the military and the people have been one family. The people of our Old District miss our old friends from back then as well."

39

Chapter 39

Zhang Linmo's plan to film a production about the Old District during the war of invasion in order to clear the Old District's name quickly reached the ears of the leaders of every gang. Having learned enough lessons, the Old District's bosses did not even think of opposing or questioning Zhang Linmo's decision. So when Zhang Linmo asked for each family's historical records, legendary archives fluttered onto his desk like snowflakes. Looking at these already embellished heroic legends, Zhang Linmo, whose head was aching, simply piled them in front of Zhang Xianyang.

"These are yours now. Have the Brain AI come up with a good script as soon as possible."

Zhang Xianyang nodded and obediently began reading through the stacks of materials on the desk.

Because this was the Old District's first publicity effort directed at the outside world, and it would almost determine the Old District's future course of development, Zhang Xianyang dared not take the responsibility lightly. After reviewing every family genealogy one by one, he went to the city library to consult historical materials from the past century. He even carefully looked through the firearms, ammunition, and local customs popular at the time before telling the Brain AI that it could begin writing.

For a Brain AI skilled in logic and equipped with abundant historical information, writing a rigorous script without plot holes was not particularly difficult. Moreover, the Old District's local legends of resistance were inherently full of drama and passion. Thus, when Zhang Xianyang handed over the script, even Gu Zhaohuan, who was not very familiar with the Old District's history, praised it to the skies.

"On xx/xx/xxxx, the Japanese invading army brazenly manufactured the 'xxx Incident' and launched a full-scale invasion of China. Citing 'stabilize the interior before resisting external aggression,' the Northern Expedition Government issued a nonresistance policy. Under orders from their superiors, the troops stationed in Guandong Province all withdrew from the Three Northeastern Provinces. Without losing a single soldier, the Japanese invaders occupied the White Mountains and Black Waters, rich in mineral resources. The following year, they installed Puyi, the last monarch of the former Qing dynasty, as a puppet emperor and proclaimed rule China through Chinese. For a time, the vast lands of the White Mountains and Black Waters became the enemy's base for occupying China. And the story of the Old District began there..."

The story opened with a group of hooligans who made their living collecting protection money and lending at usurious rates going to Sun Family Stockade in the Old District to collect rent. There, they ran into Japanese devils on patrol swaggering through the market. The stalls that street vendors depended on for survival had been overturned into a complete mess, food and sundries rolling all over the ground. Several elderly vegetable sellers who had been beaten lay on the ground, groaning. A few drunken Japanese devils were tugging at a rather pretty young wife and teasing her. Her piercing screams of terror only further excited these inhuman invaders. Among the men at the market, some were timid and hid in the back, afraid to show themselves. Some could only watch helplessly without daring to act. Others, hot-tempered, stepped forward to help, only to be beaten back by the devils.

Almost at the exact moment those invaders were about to violate her in broad daylight, a sharp-eyed local man lying on the ground with a bruised and swollen face spotted the little thugs who had come to collect protection money, skulking through the crowd. In his resentment, he cursed outright, "Fuck you, you little bastards! When it's time to collect money, you come faster than anyone. Didn't you say it was protection money? Now we're about to be bullied to death by these Japanese devils, and you're hiding behind everyone else. What the hell are you good for? You're really not worth a damn."