Urban Martial Saint

Last night was a whirlwind that kept everyone up through the night, and after a bit of rest in the morning, a celebration banquet was held at noon in a hotel owned by Li Lianshan.

No outsiders were allowed in the hotel at lunchtime; it was a gathering of our own people. Brothers brought over by Ye Qing from Jiuchuan County, including former members like Mad Dog and Da Fei, showed up. On Li Lianshan’s part, even more people came, and when everyone gathered, it turned into a lively affair.

Thankfully, Li Lianshan’s hotel was large enough to accommodate so many guests without difficulty. Tables were arranged all over both floors, with Ye Qing’s and Li Lianshan’s subordinates mingling together. By now, both sides were essentially insiders, and the underlings got along very well.

Upstairs in the largest private room, there weren’t many who could enter. From Ye Qing’s side, Black Bear, Lin Mengjie, Qin Jing, Mad Dog, Yue Peng, Chen Jun, and Hou Sandafei were present, while Li Lianshan had also called in several of his closer subordinates, all familiar faces to Ye Qing.

”Well, let me say a few words!” As the dishes were served and everyone settled, Li Lianshan lifted his glass and announced loudly, ”First off, the grand opening of the Southern Suburbs Dogfight Arena went off without a hitch, which is fantastic news. But there’s even better news, and that is...”

Li Lianshan paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone, building suspense before he continued with a smile, ”Last night, the Southern Suburbs Dogfight Arena made a total profit of thirty million. Ye Zi and I discussed it and decided to take out three million and distribute it among our brothers below!”

Upon hearing this, a cheer erupted from those present. Between Ye Qing’s and Li Lianshan’s men, there were fewer than five hundred people, so with three million divided among them, each person was set to receive several thousand yuan—a substantial amount indeed. To everyone there, this was certainly even bigger news!

”Three million divided among so many people—how much is that each?” Qin Jing rubbed his hands together in excitement.

”Not sure,” replied Chen Jun from the side, his face alight with excitement, ”But it’s enough for you to start a pig farm back home.”

”Each of us should get at least five or six thousand, right...” Hou San turned to Yue Peng and remarked, ”Damn, back in Jiuchuan County, I wouldn’t even make three thousand yuan in a month. It’s easier to make money in big cities. Ye and Li just handed out so much cash just like that. Coming here was definitely the right move!”

Yue Peng was also very moved; his times in Jiuchuan County couldn’t compare to Hou San’s. After all, Hou San had a big brother to follow, while he was on his own, with a monthly income of just over two thousand yuan considered good. Sometimes he didn’t even make that much, and affording basic necessities was a struggle. Since arriving in Shenchuan City, he was free of worries about food and clothing and lived in much better conditions. His life here was far better than in Jiuchuan County. Each month he was able to pocket such a sum, he couldn’t help but secretly rejoice over his good fortune in joining Ye Qing.

Among those present, only Lin Mengjie remained impassive. The money meant little to her. In Jiuchuan County, she managed nearly all of Old Fifth Yang’s entertainment venues, earning far more than the others!

”Everyone, calm down!” It took Li Lianshan some effort to quiet the excited cheers, and then he continued, ”The three million I mentioned is for those brothers below. As for you who are here, you are the arms and legs of Ye Zi and me. Of course, you can’t be given such a small amount. After discussing it with Ye Zi, we have decided to set aside one million just for you!”

This announcement set off another round of joyful cheers, even more exciting than the last. There were slightly more than twenty people in the room, so one million split among them meant nearly fifty thousand each—definitely not a small sum.

”Forty or fifty thousand! Hey, Da Peng, now with this much cash, what are you planning to do?” Hou San asked excitedly, turning to Yue Peng beside him.

Yue Peng laughed and said, ”Isn’t it obvious? First, I’m buying some nice clothes for the brothers. After all, people are judged by their clothes and beauty by their dress, right?”

”That’s your ambition?” Chen Jun teased him, ”Who are you trying to impress by dressing up? If it were me, I’d rather save up for a car first. Here in Shenchuan City, it’s inconvenient without one. If you want to pick up a girl or invite someone out for a late-night meal, you can’t be taking a bus with a lady, can you?”

”All you talk about is using that money to pick up girls!” Da Fei laughed, ”Jun, let me tell you, you don’t need to spend money to pick up girls in this city. Just go to a bar at night, find a single one, ply her with a few drinks, and you’re all set!”

”Really?” Chen Jun’s spirits lifted immediately.

”Don’t let him fool you!” Mad Dog interjected from the side, ”When you’ve got money, take your brothers out for a spin – spending money on your own brothers, that’s what matters!”

Among Ye Qing’s subordinates, Mad Dog was undoubtedly the most loyal. Back when he was in Shenchuan City, he didn’t mix well, but because of his loyalty, his brothers were very obedient to him, which was also a key reason why Ye Qing appreciated him.

”Of course, spending on our brothers is the right thing to do, but we can’t neglect picking up girls either!” Chen Jun chuckled and turned to look at Hou San, ”Third, what are you planning to do with your money?”

After thinking for a moment, Hou San replied, ”I’m going to send the money back home and let my big brother start raising our family’s house first. The seven or eight members of the Hou family are all crammed into that mud house, which isn’t right. When I was young, my parents always said I was worthless and didn’t pursue proper occupations. This time I’m going to show them that I’m not worthless; I can support the family too!”

”Well said!” Chen Jun raised his glass to meet with Hou San’s and said, ”Brother, you still have family; I have nothing. I’ve just got two aunts back home. I’ll send them some money too. After all, they took care of me during the years I was poor!”

The table was a riot of laughter and chatter; the money in question lifted the atmosphere to new heights. Seeing his brothers so joyous, Ye Qing was very happy. These brothers were under his leadership, and if they couldn’t make money, he’d feel guilty too.

Of course, Ye Qing and Li Lianshan had reasons for distributing so much money to these head figures. As for the underlings, not to mention, as leaders, they had to take good care of them; without enough money in hand, they couldn’t do that. Thus, once the money was distributed, how they managed their own brothers was their business.

Li Lianshan said a few words, and everyone raised their glasses in a toast before starting to drink freely. Naturally, the focus of the drinking was on Li Lianshan and Ye Qing. Lin Mengjie was let off the hook by everyone since she was a girl. Within two rounds, both Li Lianshan and Ye Qing had downed two bottles each; while Ye Qing was still okay, Li Lianshan had collapsed.

”You... you bunch of bastards, I distribute money to you, and you... you still pour drinks on me...” Slumped on the ground, clutching a chair, Li Lianshan slurred, ”Scarface, you a few morons, what’s the use of... guzzling me, go drink with... with Ye’s brothers...”

This sentence immediately reminded his subordinates, and the scene split into two squads, Ye Qing’s men against Li Lianshan’s, locked in a drinking battle. The details of exactly how much they drank were lost to memory; suffice it to say, most of them got drunk, and only Ye Qing and Lin Mengjie were left standing in the room. Even Black Bear sat collapsed on the ground, still holding his cup and looking at Scarface, ”Come on, after this drink, there are three more!”

”No, no, can’t drink anymore, really can’t…” Scarface waved his hand but was still forced to gulp down a large cup by Black Bear, and he immediately fell to the ground, soon raising a ruckus. As for Black Bear, he scratched his head and leaned back on a chair; he wasn’t doing much better than Scarface.

Ye Qing could hold his liquor well. Two bottles might make him dizzy, but not enough to knock him out. If he kept sipping slowly, there’d be no end to it. After all, the Inner Strength circulating in his body helped dispel some of the alcohol; he could indeed drink more than others.

Dinner spanned over two hours. The restaurant was a mess, as if a typhoon had swept through. Fortunately, Li Lianshan’s hotel was upstairs, where they managed to arrange for everyone to rest.

Ye Qing also intended to rest upstairs after the meal, but not long after eating, he received a call from Fang Tingyun asking him to come over to the orphanage, without specifying what had happened.

Ye never dared to delay matters related to the orphanage. He immediately changed his plan and asked Lin Mengjie to accompany him to the orphanage. Of course, Lin Mengjie was the one driving since he didn’t dare to touch the car after those two bottles. Lin Mengjie had drunk juice during the meal and was in good shape.

Upon arriving at the orphanage, the construction was still going according to plan, with cement trucks shuttling back and forth, pouring foundations. Ye had already invested almost twenty million yuan in this place. Ten million was sponsored by the Lin family, and the other ten million was borrowed from Li Lianshan. Although he had earned a lot last night, the money wasn’t enough to pay off his debt to Li Lianshan; Ye’s hands were still tight. However, Li Lianshan didn’t really hassle him about it. When it came to money matters, Li Lianshan was never stingy.

That wasn’t surprising; Li Lianshan used to be just an average Joe in Shenchuan City. After partnering with Ye, he became the owner of the Southern Suburbs Dogfight Arena; the business made more money than all of his previous businesses combined. There was no need to even mention money anymore. More importantly, Ye’s connections now practically became his connections; he finally dared to challenge people like Shangguan Tian and Li Wenyuan in Shenchuan City. That’s why he had now bound himself to Ye, sharing both the profits and the losses, honor and disgrace!

”Boss Ye, you’re here!” Just like always, Elder Huang was sitting in the courtyard in a rocking chair, puffing on a dry tobacco pipe. Seeing Ye, he immediately ran over, all excitement, ”Boss Ye, the Divine Doctor Lin you mentioned came over this morning. He checked my granddaughter’s condition and said it wasn’t serious, advised me to get ready for surgery at the hospital in a couple of days. Boss Ye, I’ve heard this Divine Doctor Lin is quite renowned, and getting him to see patients isn’t easy. Boss Ye, I really can’t thank you enough!”