Chapter 93

Xie Wendong got along well with Yu Chao, who seemed to be a very down-to-earth person. A few days later, Xie Wendong’s Dongxing Company officially opened. Some prominent figures in City H were invited by Xie Wendong, and even the provincial party secretary sent a bouquet of flowers to offer congratulations, which greatly enhanced Xie Wendong’s reputation. It could be said that Dongxing became well-known right from its inception. Through his relationship with the provincial party secretary, Xie Wendong secured several deals, investing over five million yuan, most of which came from bank loans. No one taught Xie Wendong this; he figured it out on his own. Even if one has money, it’s still necessary to borrow from banks. As the saying goes, if you owe millions in loans, neither the police nor the courts will dare to take action against you!

A month after the company was established, the city government of City H planned to build a large shopping mall in the PF area, choosing a site in an old residential district. Seeing potential profits, bidders flocked to submit proposals, and they secretly tried to please the provincial leader by offering whatever he desired—money or women. However, the most troublesome part were the local residents. Some had lived there for generations, even before liberation, and now they refused to move, especially the elderly. Despite the favorable conditions offered by the government, they still wouldn’t budge. Some of the old people simply sat on their kang beds, saying, “Destroy it if you want—I’m not leaving no matter what. If you have the guts, let the bulldozers roll over me.”

Anxious, Chen Zhongwen paced back and forth in the provincial government office, at a loss as to what to do with these people. He couldn’t arrest them or beat them, so he finally declared that whoever could deal with these “difficult residents” and complete the project would get the contract.

When Xie Wendong heard this, he was secretly pleased and immediately sent people to secretly support the local residents. Any real estate developers who came to the area were attacked by Xie Wendong’s men, who disguised themselves as ordinary people.

Chen Zhongwen was smart enough to realize that someone was behind the scenes, and Xie Wendong, who had just founded his company, was the most likely suspect. He approached Xie Wendong, hoping for his help to resolve the situation. Xie Wendong readily took on the task.

The next day, Xie Wendong and Sanyan led no less than fifty people there. As they approached, the roads became increasingly difficult to navigate. Sanyan, sitting in the car, felt dizzy from the bumpy ride. He turned to Xie Wendong and said, “Brother Dong, is this really a place where people live? I guess this is the worst road in City H. Will building a mall here really make money?”

Xie Wendong smiled and replied, “Whether it makes money isn’t our concern. As long as we get this project and make some money, that’s enough!”

Sanyan thought the same. Xie Wendong said, “But from Yu Chao’s words, it seems this place has potential for development. The urban area is expanding, and it might become a new bustling area!”
Soon, the car arrived at the site where construction was to begin.
Many houses here were already empty; the windows, doors, and even the wooden beams on the roofs of the dilapidated bungalows had been removed, making them look precarious. Only about twenty houses remained as before, with smoke still rising from their chimneys.
Xie Wendong counted and found that there were twenty-one houses still inhabited. He sighed inwardly—he really had to become a complete scoundrel now! But for development, for survival, conscience no longer mattered! Turning around, he shouted, “Guys, grab your weapons!”
Fifty young men got out of the car behind him and responded, pulling out sticks, gasoline, and other items. Some went to the doors of the houses and started beating on them with sticks, shouting, “Come out! Come out!”
Others began pouring gasoline on the open spaces in front of the houses. When enough was poured, they set it on fire. Soon, flames shot into the sky, and the sound of pounding on the doors caused chaos.
The residents, not knowing what was going on, opened their doors to check. They were shocked to see over fifty fierce-looking men standing outside, all holding sticks. Unoccupied houses and open spaces in the vicinity were also on fire. These were ordinary people who had never seen such a scene; several of them were terrified and ran back inside.
At that moment, a young man in his twenties helped his trembling grandmother back inside, then came out holding a kitchen knife, shouting, “Is there any law left? How dare you set fires in broad daylight! Who’s your leader? Come out!”
Sanyan laughed in anger. As he walked over, he sized up the young man—no older than 25, thin-built, but full of energy. Sanyan tapped his palm with a stick and said, “Kid, what law are you talking about? Let me tell you—I’m the law. Move out now!”
The young man retorted angrily, “I don’t believe this is a world ruled by thugs! I won’t move. What can you do to me?”
Sanyan sneered, “You think you can act shameless just because I’m not pressing you? If you provoke me, do you think I won’t cripple you?”
“Then I’ll cripple you first!” The young man roared and swung the kitchen knife at Sanyan. Seeing that the other man had a knife, Sanyan thought it was just a threat. The young man seemed like a scholar, but he attacked suddenly from close range. The knife struck Sanyan right on the forehead. Sanyan felt a buzz in his head and saw stars before his eyes.

It turned out that as the young man swung his knife, he had pulled the blade back, so it was actually the flat side of the knife that hit Sanyan’s head. Even so, Sanyan let out a groan, stepped back several times, touched his forehead, and found a lump about the size of half a fist—so painful it brought tears to his eyes. Sanyan stared at the young man, sweating profusely, realizing that if the other hadn’t shown mercy, his head would have been split open.

Seeing what had happened, the others gathered around, waiting for Sanyan’s order to attack the young man.

Sanyan shook his head, waved at the crowd, and said sternly, “Kid, you’re pretty skilled! Thanks for being merciful!”

The young man replied loudly, “Hmph, killing you would dirty my hands. How could I trade my life for yours, you scoundrel?”

“You…” Seeing the young man’s arrogant expression, Sanyan became angry but also felt challenged. He waved his hand and threw away the stick he was holding. “Kid, I was too careless earlier and let you strike first. Dare you fight me again? Whoever loses is a fool!”

The young man sneered, “Am I afraid of you?” With that, he swung his kitchen knife at the wooden door panel and casually took off his coat. Sanyan inwardly praised him—facing so many people, the other guy showed no fear at all, which was truly admirable!

Xie Wendong also saw what was happening and strode over, with nearby residents following to watch.

Sanyan and the young man stood in the center of the area, surrounded by Wendong’s followers who formed a large circle, cheering for Sanyan. Although the residents favored the young man, they feared trouble and could only cheer him on in their hearts.

Sanyan shouted, “Kid, are you ready?”

“Nonsense, I’ve been waiting for you!”

“Great!” Sanyan yelled, charging forward and punching at the young man’s face. The young man, sensing the fierce attack, didn’t dare be careless. He bent down to dodge and then used his head to slam into Sanyan’s abdomen. Sanyan quickly raised his arm to block.

“Bang!” The young man’s head hit Sanyan’s, forcing him to step back two steps with a slight pain in his arm. Without giving Sanyan a chance to recover, the young man rushed forward and kicked him in the abdomen. Sanyan chuckled, blocked with one hand, and punched the young man in the cheek.

The two fought fiercely, evenly matched. The onlookers cheered at times and sighed in regret at other times—missing that punch!

Xie Wendong knew best about Sanyan’s strength. When it came to fighting skills, he was definitely among the best in the Wendong Gang, yet he ended up in a tie with this young man, which surprised him greatly. He turned to the onlookers nearby and asked, “Excuse me, what does this young man do?”
The person Xie Wendong asked was an old man who was deeply engrossed in watching the fight. He casually replied, “His name is Qu Fei; he’s from the martial arts team! Look how amazing he is…” Suddenly, the old man felt something was off. He turned to Xie Wendong and asked, “Who are you? What do you do?”
“I’m…! These people are brought by me!” Xie Wendong said jokingly.
The old man showed a disgusted expression, blaming himself for being talkative. These people were thugs, and if they learned about Qu Fei’s background, they would cause trouble. Shaking his head, the old man went aside to watch the fight; being close to someone like Xie Wendong made him feel uncomfortable.
Xie Wendong didn’t care. Looking at the scene, he couldn’t help but laugh. The two fighters in the ring had changed drastically since the fight started. Sanyan had a large blue mark on his forehead, blood at the corners of his mouth, his cheeks swollen high, distorting his entire face. The young man was in a similar condition—his eyes were blue, one eye was almost closed from swelling, and his nose was bleeding as well.
Seeing that the fight had gone far enough, Xie Wendong pushed through the crowd and stepped in, shouting, “Stop it!”
The two fighters didn’t react at all, continuing to struggle on the ground, their clothes torn to shreds. Xie Wendong looked up at Dong Xinlei behind him. Dong Xinlei understood immediately. The tall man stepped forward, picked one of them up, and separated the two.
At that moment, Sanyan regained consciousness. He tried to smile, but intense pain in his cheeks forced him to only slightly move his lips. “Damn, it’s really… Ah, it’s quite thrilling! This kid is pretty strong…” After saying that, he sat on the ground, breathing heavily.
The young man was also released by Dong Xinlei. Leaning against the wall, he tried to open one eye while keeping the other closed (the other eye couldn’t be opened at all). “This fight isn’t over. If you’re not convinced, let’s fight again and determine a winner!”
Hearing this, Sanyan got angry and jumped up, shouting, “Fine, let’s fight! Am I afraid of you?!”
Xie Wendong glared at him. Seeing this, Sanyan retracted his neck, wondering why, today, encountering this young man had sparked his competitive spirit!