Conflict at the storage yard

Although the Su Family was hardly one of Dragon City's wealthy clans, and its business belonged to the lowest rung of society, its younger generation had one defining trait: whatever happened, they stuck together. Perhaps that was because the previous generation had all served in the military, or perhaps it came from the family rules. More than anything, though, in times like these, if they failed to stand together, people would bully them and encroach on their interests.

Su Tianbei had been a troublemaker since childhood, perfectly inheriting his father's combative nature. With him whipping everyone into a frenzy, the younger members of the Su Family were seething with anger, their blood boiling.

Two seven-meter garbage trucks pulled out of the courtyard, and the Su Family's younger generation piled aboard with all sorts of work tools. Apart from the elderly and children, practically everyone in the household, men and women alike, was ready for battle.

Su Tianyu climbed into an SUV with his Third Sister. The moment she saw him, she said with concern, "Six, you don't need to come. Stay home and wait. We'll go take a look."

"It's fine. I'll come along." Su Tianyu shut the door.

"Miaomiao, call Wang He and Dong Gang. Tell them to bring their workers over too," Su Tianbei instructed as he drove.

Third Sister followed her second brother's instructions and called the family's foremen.

The convoy set off straight for the Su Family's storage yard on the outskirts of Zhannan District.

Half an hour later, more than a dozen vehicles were parked outside the garbage storage yard on the northern outskirts of Zhannan District. A large crowd gathered at the entrance. All of them wore white T-shirts bearing the Changqing Company's name and logo, loose black cotton sweatpants, and black cloth shoes.

Although the Changqing Company also worked in municipal waste disposal, everyone here wore matching outfits, making them look highly organized.

On the nearby road, two SUVs and two trucks came racing up from the south.

At the yard entrance, beside a large European SUV, a burly man of thirty-five or thirty-six with a close-cropped haircut stood with his hands behind his back. "The second Su boy's here," he said.

As the vehicles stopped, Su Tianbei was the first to push open his door and climb out. He looked up and shouted, "Lu Feng, what the hell is this? You brought all these people here to stir up trouble?"

The younger members of the Su Family got out, their faces grim and full of hatred, and crowded behind Su Tianbei.

Among them, Su Tianyu studied the man named Lu Feng and quietly asked his cousin, "What does he do?"

"He's Lu Feng, one of Li Hongze's key men at the Changqing Company," Third Sister explained softly. "He handles everything south of Six-Yuan Street. He's somebody around here."

"Oh." Su Tianyu looked Lu Feng over and gave a slight nod.

The Su Family had brought more than thirty younger relatives to the yard entrance, along with a dozen or so trusted workers from their compound. Their turnout looked substantial too.

The two sides gathered outside the yard, facing off with dark expressions. The air was thick with tension.

Lu Feng walked up to Su Tianbei with his hands behind his back and a smile on his face. "I'm here to take over your family's operation."

"What gives you the right to take over our operation?" Su Tianbei replied coldly. "Our company answers to the Management Council. What does it have to do with your Changqing Company?"

"Now, you've hit the nail on the head." Lu Feng leisurely raised his right arm and took a document from a worker. "Your dad smuggled military supplies and hid them in the storage yard. The Police Bureau has launched a full investigation, and even the Management Council has been implicated. Criminal charges aside, you've also violated your contract. The Management Council issued an order for us at the Changqing Company to take over. Let's not waste words. Clear your stuff out of the yard. I'm taking possession today."

Lu Feng handed the Management Council's document straight to Su Tianbei. After a single glance, Su Tianbei tore it up on the spot. "Cut the crap! For starters, my dad's case hasn't even gone to judgment. Even if he did commit a crime, it has nothing to do with our company. It was his personal conduct. What fucking contract did we violate?"

"Are you out of your mind, Su Tianbei? You even dare tear up a Management Council document?" Lu Feng asked, stunned.

"Anyone who touches my family's business is going to have to kill me first!" Su Tianbei roared, glaring at him.

Nearby, Su Tianyu listened to their exchange and felt that Tianbei was letting the other man dictate the confrontation completely. Worried, he asked his Third Sister, "The talks broke down. Are they going to fight?"

Third Sister ground her teeth and answered viciously, "Then we fight. I'll claw the bastard to death!"

Su Tianyu was puzzled. "They managed to bring more than seventy people. Where are our workers? Why aren't they coming to help?"

"Workers will work for you, but they won't fight for you. Besides, after what happened to your second uncle, plenty of people think the Su Family's finished. Everyone who could hide has hidden." Third Sister answered briskly, "Once the fighting starts, you just..."

Before she could finish, Su Tianyu took off his glasses and carefully slipped them into his shirt pocket.

"You don't have to fight with us. The Changqing people fight dirty. With those skinny arms and legs, you'll get hurt." Third Sister thought Su Tianyu was preparing to join the brawl.

Su Tianyu paused, then immediately replied, "I wasn't planning to fight. I took my glasses off so I could run away."

"..." Third Sister was dumbfounded. "Little Six, you haven't changed at all. You're the biggest coward in the whole Su Family!"

"Fighting won't solve anything, sis..." Su Tianyu turned to scan his surroundings, already checking escape routes.

At the yard entrance, Lu Feng rolled his neck, pointed at Su Tianbei's chest, and said deliberately, "You're just like your dad. You won't learn until you hit a wall. Fine, I'll oblige you today. If you insist on settling this the street way, I'll beat you badly enough to pay a hundred thousand in compensation!"

Su Tianbei pulled a hammer from behind his waist, and the other Su Family members all brandished their weapons.

Whoosh!

The Changqing Company's men all crowded forward.

"Third Sister, I'll head home first. Be careful. Don't take this too far..." Looking in the direction of home, Su Tianyu was already poised to sprint.

"Put them on the ground and throw the equipment out of the yard!" Lu Feng pointed at Su Tianbei and the others, shouting, "I'll take responsibility for whatever happens!"

"Get them!"

Hotheaded as ever, Su Tianbei charged at Lu Feng with his hammer.

Vroom!

Just then, engines roared. Two SUVs drove into the crowd from a distance and stopped in the middle of the gathering.

A door opened, and a handsome, slender man of about thirty climbed out. He raised his head and shouted, "Everyone from the Su Family, stand down!"

At the yard entrance, Su Tianyu saw the man stepping out of the vehicle and immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Su Tiannan, the eldest of their generation, had arrived.

"Brother, they're trying to kick our people out and clear away our equipment," Su Tianbei said, turning toward him.

Su Tiannan glanced around. Rather than answer his brother, he walked up to Lu Feng and said simply, "Give me a week to sort out the yard."

"No. The company wants us to take over now," Lu Feng refused. "If this isn't settled today, I can't answer to my superiors."

"If more than a hundred people fight and a few end up crippled or dead, none of us will have an easy time, will we? You want the yard for profit. A brawl is an unnecessary step. Wouldn't you agree?" Su Tiannan countered.

"Don't try playing mind games with me..."

"I've never broken my word doing business in Zhannan. Give me a week. If my father's case is definitively ruled against him, I'll hand over the storage yard and work area unconditionally and accept the penalties. I'll keep my word." Su Tiannan paused. "Will that do?"

Lu Feng was clearly wavering.

Su Tiannan took out his phone. "I went into the city this morning and spoke with Superintendent Wang at the Police Bureau. Why don't you talk to him?"

"Heh." After considering it carefully, Lu Feng decided there was no reason to get on the phone with someone from the Police Bureau and risk saying too much. "That's too long. I'll give you five days. Five days from now, same time, same place, I'll come take over the company."

Su Tiannan was equally decisive. "Fine. That's settled."

Lu Feng turned toward Su Tianbei and pointed at him. "Learn from your older brother. Use your brain. In the old days, our Changqing Company wouldn't even have given you a chance to talk. Understand, you little punk?"

"Dumbass!" Su Tianbei replied with his usual eloquence.

Lu Feng grinned. "Let's go, boys."

As the Changqing Company's men climbed into their vehicles to leave, Su Tianbei said to his older brother, "What good will these five days do? You and the Police Bureau..."

"We'll talk at home," Su Tiannan replied dismissively. He walked over to Su Tianyu and smiled, patting his shoulder. "You're back, little brother?"

"Big Brother!" Su Tianyu greeted him respectfully.

"Good. It's good to have you back." Su Tiannan nodded emphatically, then called to the others, "Everyone, let's go home!"

With Su Tiannan's return, the clash was temporarily defused.

Everyone from the Su Family rode back to their shared courtyard compound. Leaving aside the older generation's worries and admonitions, once the greetings in the living room were over, Su Tiannan sent the younger relatives away and took only Su Tianbei, their third sister Su Miaomiao, and the newly returned Su Tianyu upstairs.

That detail showed that after the trouble involving their second uncle, Su Tiannan and the younger generation had taken charge of the household's affairs. Even their second aunt and the other elders rarely interfered.

In the second-floor dining room, Third Sister brought Su Tianyu several hot dishes and some liquor. "We were planning to have everyone eat together tonight to welcome you home. Then that bastard Lu Feng came to make trouble, and all the food went cold. I reheated a few dishes, so have something for now. Tomorrow we'll hold your welcome-home dinner."

"Third Sister, don't trouble yourself." Su Tianyu ate heartily. "Go ahead and discuss business."

Su Tiannan sat at the head of the table, smoking as he looked at Tianyu. "Little brother, keep eating. We've got a few things to discuss."

"Sure." Su Tianyu nodded.

The mood in the room was rather heavy. Su Tianbei spoke first. "Will Wang from the Police Bureau help us?"

"No." Su Tiannan shook his head. "I gave him fifty thousand. He agreed to buy us a few days, that's all. And he only did that because he and Dad were old army buddies."

"What does he think of Dad's case?" Third Sister asked urgently.

"It's difficult. Wang was willing to take money to stall things, but not to put in a word for Dad." Su Tiannan frowned slightly. "Personally, I think the Changqing Company has been planning this for a long time. They're well prepared. We're not the only ones in trouble this time. The Bai Family, Liu Family, and Kong Family will all have a hard time getting through it. Worst-case scenario, we hand over our operation and cough up the profits we've made over the years to save the old man's life."

"They're trying to destroy us!" Su Tianbei gritted his teeth, his eyes full of hatred.

"Our only chance now is for the Su Family, Bai Family, Liu Family, and Kong Family to pool their money and throw it at the Police Bureau. If we can get them to speak up for us, there's still room to maneuver. That's Dragon City for you: power decides the big things, money decides the small ones." Su Tiannan paused. "But the other three families are panicking. They're focused entirely on clearing themselves and getting their family heads out. Not only can we not sit down and talk, they're blaming the other families for hiding contraband. So now, besides defending against the Changqing Company, I have to deal with infighting among these idiot allies."

Everyone fell silent for a while. Then Su Tianbei suddenly said, "If they won't leave us a way out and they're playing this dirty, we shouldn't stick to the rules either. I'll bring in a couple of Daq Quanzi and just..."

Before he could finish, Su Tiannan waved him off. "Don't start thinking about crooked solutions. Stay put and behave. I'll work on the people higher up."

At the table, Su Tianyu listened to their conversation and pieced together the general course of events. He felt the Su Family's current approach to breaking the deadlock was misguided, but he didn't want to point that out at the table.

"It's getting late. Everyone, get some rest. Miaomiao will go downtown with me again tomorrow. We'll see if we can reach any of Dad's old military contacts and get someone to put in a word, buy us some time." Su Tiannan stood and patted Tianyu's shoulder. "Little brother, you've come back at a bad time. Something's happened at home, so I won't be able to spend much time with you these next few days. Let Tianbei take you around and help you get used to the place."

"Sure, Big Brother." Su Tianyu nodded.

A little after nine that night.

Su Tianbei brought Tianyu into his room and pointed to the spacious bed on the left. "There are a lot of people at home, and your room hasn't been cleared out yet. Share with me for now."

Looking at his tidy bed, brand-new bedding, and personal cabinet, Su Tianyu smiled and asked, "You bought these for me?"

"When would I have had time? Miaomiao bought them. Once she heard you were coming back, she spent two days shopping." Su Tianbei pointed at the bed. "Get some sleep. I have something to do, so I'm heading out."

Su Tianyu blinked, then suddenly reached toward Su Tianbei's waist. Su Tianbei reacted sharply, stepping back and demanding with a frown, "What are you doing?"

"Why are you carrying that?" Su Tianyu asked.

"With everything going on at home, I got it for protection," Su Tianbei replied quietly.

"Don't do anything reckless. You'd better listen to Big Brother," Su Tianyu warned him.

"I know." Su Tianbei nodded. "I'm heading out to meet a few foremen."

"All right."

Su Tianbei left, while Tianyu sat on the bed and slowly unpacked his luggage. He did have some thoughts about what had happened to the Su Family, but he had assumed his eldest cousin and the others could handle it, so he hadn't said much. Now that even Su Tianbei was carrying a "piece," it was clear how difficult the family's situation had become.

After the upheaval in his family, Su Tianyu had been studying at the Special Talent Base in Bozhou, District One. But his family knew little of what he had experienced over those four years, and his views on many things had long since changed.

After putting away his belongings and weighing it over carefully, Su Tianyu decided to speak with his eldest cousin after all.

Outside the Su Family's courtyard, Su Tianbei sat in a car and told a young man, "Contact them. This stays between you and me..."