Urban Martial Saint

Although Boss Lin was brutal and ruthless, one had to admit he was highly intelligent – he had guessed that Ye Qing had come with a purpose.

Ye Qing took a deep breath and asked, ”I want to ask you about the last group of people you sent to pick up the goods. Who was in charge of the cargo?”

Boss Lin sized up Ye Qing and suddenly sneered, ”Why do you ask?”

Ye Qing didn’t respond, just quietly watched Boss Lin.

”Even if you don’t say it, I know…” Boss Lin laughed, ”I’ve had people look into it. Your brother was among those who went to transport the goods. However, there was no corpse of your brother in that van, so, you want to find the person in charge of the cargo to find out exactly where your brother is!”

Ye Qing’s expression changed subtly, deeply shocked that Boss Lin could guess this much. If Boss Lin could guess this point, would he completely conceal the news, making Ye Qing never able to find any clues?

Ye Qing looked at Boss Lin somewhat nervously, but Boss Lin was very calm, slowly finishing his cigarette before reaching out his hand again.

Ye Qing lit another cigarette and handed it over, which Boss Lin took and began to smoke slowly. It was not until this cigarette was almost finished that he finally said, ”The person in charge of the cargo is called Zhou Jianbai, nicknamed Old Bai, specifically responsible for delivering goods for me.”

Hearing this, Ye Qing’s expression changed; he hadn’t expected Boss Lin to directly reveal this information. He was still pondering how to get Boss Lin to disclose this.

After a moment of stunned silence, Ye Qing slowly stood up and said in a deep voice, ”Thank you!”

”Don’t give me that act, I’m not impressed,” Boss Lin stretched out his hand and said, ”This information, worth three cigarettes, right?”

Ye Qing gave him the whole pack of cigarettes. However, Boss Lin waved his hand and said, ”I can’t take it, can’t take it. They don’t allow it to be brought in. Besides, taking so many cigarettes back might get me beaten up even worse. Just one more cigarette to satisfy the craving is enough!”

Boss Lin lit the third cigarette, this time smoking it very slowly, savoring each puff as though he wanted to absorb the whole cigarette into his lungs. Perhaps, he had never dreamed that the cigarettes he could once casually squander outside had become such a luxury that even smoking one was extravagant.

After finishing the third cigarette, the prison guard came over and took Boss Lin away.

Boss Lin limped away with the prison guard, slowly leaving the visitation room, his figure twisted and frail. Unfortunately, remembering what he had done before, Ye Qing felt not the slightest bit of sympathy for him!

After leaving the jail, Ye Qing immediately called Zhao Chengshuang to check about this Old Bai. Although Boss Lin had only given a name, since he worked for him, it should be relatively easy to investigate.

Returning to Tian Sheng, it was almost noon. Entering the office, he could hear Qin Jing’s voice from afar, ”Isn’t there fifty cents left? Why are all numbers whole? Where’s the fifty cents?”

”Damn, Li, you’re counting even the fifty cents?” Quan Kun’s annoyed voice came through.

Qin Jing replied, ”Isn’t fifty cents still money? All these figures are clearly shown in the accounts. If one store is short fifty cents, that adds up to five yuan. If you’re short five yuan a day, that’s one hundred and fifty yuan a month. One hundred and fifty yuan, Li, is enough to buy two little piglets. Over a year, that’d be twenty-four piglets. If all of them survive, in our village, you’d be a pig-farming specialist and don’t know how many girls would be lining up to marry you. Would that be a small amount?”

Quan Kun impatiently said, ”Alright, alright, stop it, I’ll give it to you. I haven’t taken any money out; here’s ten yuan!”

”Alright, thanks, Kun! Take it easy!”

Quan Kun urged, ”Hey, don’t just walk away, need to find change. That ten yuan, you still owe me nine yuan and fifty cents!”

Qin Jing laughed, ”Oh come on, such a small amount, you can’t even add an egg to a pancake with that money, Kun, why worry about it?”

”What are you saying? Nine yuan fifty cents per person, ten stores, that’s ninety-five for ten people. Calculate it like that, you wouldn’t need a year, but just half a month to become a pig-farming specialist in your village, with so many girls lining up to marry you. Would that be a small amount?”

When Ye Qing walked into the office, Quan Kun was still disputing with Qin Jing, while Li Lianshan was sitting nearby, legs crossed, laughing as he watched.

”Ye Zi!” When Ye Qing entered, Qin Jing immediately stood up, smiling as he approached Ye Qing with several bags in hand, said, ”This is the money collected this morning. All the stores have made their deposits. Manager Quan even added an extra nine fifty, saying to keep the change!”

Frustrated and gnashing his teeth, Manager Quan couldn’t say much with Ye Qing present, so he could only stand by annoyed, rolling his eyes. The ten yuan wasn’t really the issue, but what he hated was Qin Jing’s shamelessness. Qin Jing couldn’t tolerate being short fifty cents himself, yet he thought nothing of pocketing ten yuan from others, how shameless!

Li laughed, ”Ye Zi, this young man is not bad. Maybe tomorrow, lend him to me to help manage my finances. Damn it, my collector is so unprofessional; he shorts me thousands and tens of thousands every day!”

”As long as you, Li, want him, he can help you anytime!” Ye Qing smiled lightly, taking out one hundred yuan from his pocket and handing it to Manager Quan, said, ”From now on, let’s not bother with amounts under one hundred. You guys have worked hard running around, consider this a little bonus!”

Upon hearing this, Manager Quan felt somewhat embarrassed, said, ”Boss Ye, that wasn’t what I meant. It’s not about the small amount of money, what really matters is... is...”

Manager Quan opened his mouth several times, but couldn’t bring himself to finish his sentence. After all, Qin Jing would be handling the collections from now on, and he didn’t want to offend him over this.

Ye Qing said, ”I understand, Jing just moved from the countryside and takes money more seriously. Manager Quan, please understand. If there were any offences, let me apologize to you on his behalf!”

Manager Quan smiled, said, ”With these words from Boss Ye, what more can I say?”

After sending Manager Quan away, Qin Jing immediately laid out all the money in front of Ye Qing and also brought over the ledger. During the previous night, these ten venues had generated over one million one hundred thousand in profit. After accounting for some necessary expenses, what was brought to Ye Qing summed up to over nine hundred thousand, which was basically Ye Qing’s first significant income.

Ye Qing wasn’t someone obsessed with money, but seeing so much money laid out in front of anyone would inevitably stir some emotions. And this was just one day’s income; by this calculation, in one month, these ten venues could conservatively bring in over twenty-five million. Deducting the wear and tear of equipment and expenses for his men, about twenty million would end up in Ye Qing’s own hands.

Earning twenty million a month made him a rich man anywhere!

”Ye Zi, we’re getting rich!” Qin Jing, looking at the piles of cash, his eyes gleaming. Before coming to Shenchuan City, he wondered if he could make one thousand five hundred in a month, but today alone, he had scraped together several tens just from these managers. By this count, just this money could bring in over two thousand a month, far beyond his expectations. And with Ye Qing making over nine hundred thousand a day, he was truly exhilarated; he had really struck it rich!

”It’s mainly because you don’t have many underlings, so a lot of money falls directly into your hands,” Li said enviously, ”You have fewer than eighty people under you, and even if you give each person ten thousand a month, that’s only eight hundred thousand. Unlike me, I have to pay my people three to five million a month, and only about ten million actually reaches my hands.”

Qin Jing said, ”Why don’t you cut down on personnel? Why keep so many?”

”That sounds good, but it’s not that easy!” Li responded helplessly, ”I control seven venues, not earning as much as Ye Zi’s venues. But each venue is staffed heavily. There’s nothing I can do; that’s how this business works in Shenchuan City. If you don’t have enough people, your venues are ripe for the taking at any moment. You need to constantly expand your power to secure your venues. Unlike Ye Zi now, who has made a name for himself in Shenchuan City, aside from the Tianqing Gang and Fu Bang, who would dare touch your venues?”

”This is only temporary!” Ye Qing slowly shook his head, said, ”If I don’t expand my influence, the Tianqing Gang and Fu Bang could easily take over my venues. And there are other forces from outside the province to consider as well!”

”These matters need to develop slowly, no need to rush.” Li paused, said, ”By the way, have you sent out the invitations? Don’t forget about the East State Poisonous Mantis, the Dog Field is opening tomorrow!”

Ye Qing said, ”I sent them out long ago, but whether they show up, that I don’t know.”

”I think she’ll definitely come to show you face,” Li smiled, said, ”Miss Huangfu made the trip to Shenchuan City just for you last time, and in a way, this Dog Field is also a gift from her. Now that the Dog Field is opening, she will definitely come to support you!”

Ye Qing kept silent, Huangfu Ziyu had come last time to ask him those few questions. This time, Ye Qing truly felt that he didn’t have enough clout to invite Huangfu Ziyu over.

”Also, I sent an invitation on your behalf to the Lin family. They will definitely send someone to attend the opening ceremony!” Li said, ”The Lin family has significant wealth and influence in Shenchuan City. Having someone from the Lin family show up will give our opening ceremony even more prestige.”

Ye Qing was stunned; he hadn’t planned to send an invitation to the Lin family. After all, the Southern Suburbs Dogfight Arena wasn’t exactly a legitimate business—it was essentially a dogfighting and boxing betting arena, hardly suitable for the Lin Corporation. Inviting the Lin family to the opening ceremony could even negatively impact the Lin Corporation.

However, Li had already sent the invitation, so there was nothing Ye Qing could change now. He would just have to accept it.

Seeing Ye Qing’s silence, Li inwardly smirked. He knew Ye Qing would rather not invite the Lin family, so his tactic of acting first and reporting later had really worked.