47: The road bully next door
"Brother Chuan, hehe."
Chu Tianbiao, whose face was usually insufferably arrogant in Harbin, was now grinning like a sunflower.
A fully ripened sunflower at that, with every petal oozing sycophancy.
He leaned in close to Lin Chuan, pulled an unopened pack of Huazi from his pocket, and deftly lit one for him.
"You see, back on Hong Kong Island, your younger brother here failed to recognize greatness. I didn't handle things very well."
"But now I've seen the light! I really have!"
"Following Brother Chuan means never going hungry!"
Chu Tianbiao’s eyes were fervent, as if he were looking at the God of Wealth himself.
"My dad said that from now on, our Chu Family and you are completely aligned."
"Do you think you could let your younger brother join in on something? I want to earn some pocket money by following you."
Lin Chuan narrowed his eyes and took a deep drag of the cigarette, the pale blue smoke curling in the sunlight.
He sized up the formerly arrogant young master of the underworld before him.
As one of the Three Kings of Ice City, the Chu Family had deep roots in both the legal and illegal worlds. With the Chu Family name as a shield, it was the best ward against the dirty work that legitimate businessmen found difficult to handle, or those blind fools and shady characters.
Although Chu Tianbiao was a pampered scion, he was the perfect tool to be used as a front.
This was exactly why Lin Chuan had befriended the Chu Family in the first place.
"You want to make money?"
Lin Chuan raised his hand with a smile and, without any formality, clapped Chu Tianbiao twice on the shoulder.
Clap, clap!
He clapped quite hard, but instead of flinching, Chu Tianbiao stood even straighter, looking utterly flattered.
This was a ruthless man who could trample Broken Finger Qiang under his feet!
To have such a powerful person pat his shoulder was a sign of respect!
"Since you've called me 'brother,' how could I let you lose out?"
Lin Chuan flicked the ash from his cigarette, his tone as casual as if he were discussing what to have for dinner.
"Our Canned Food Factory might just be starting out, but it’s only a small part of the Longteng Group."
"If you're interested, buy a stake. You can help manage external relations and keep things in order."
"By the end of the year, I can't say for sure how much the dividends will be, but three to five million is just pocket change."
"H-how much?!"
The lighter in Chu Tianbiao’s hand almost slipped.
"Three to five million?!"
It was 1992!
Although he was the young master of the Chu Family, Chu Xiong was quite strict with him. He usually only had a bit of pocket money, which he had to use to support a group of fair-weather friends, often leaving him short on cash.
Millions in private savings a year? Then why would he ever need to worry about his old man's temper again?
"Brother Chuan! From now on, you're my real brother!"
Chu Tianbiao was so excited his eyes turned red, and he thumped his chest loudly.
"Just say the word, and I'll go through fire and water. If I, Chu Tianbiao, so much as blink, I'm a—"
He made a gesture indicating a turtle.
Lin Chuan smiled. "Alright, enough with the empty talk. Come on, let's take a walk around the factory."
Qiang Zi drove the Mercedes, taking Lin Jiang, Lin He, and Chen Jiacheng to the city center of Harbin.
Lin Chuan and Long Wu had to settle for Chu Tianbiao's big green jeep... The jeep kicked up dust as it sputtered all the way to the Red Mangrove Canned Food Factory.
But as soon as they reached the factory gate, Lin Chuan’s brow furrowed.
Logically, this was the peak season for producing canned yellow peaches. The factory should have been a hive of activity with machines roaring.
But now, the towering chimney wasn't even emitting smoke!
The factory grounds were silent, and not a single freight truck was in sight.
A group of workers sat in the courtyard, looking completely listless.
"What's going on?"
Lin Chuan pushed the door open and got out, his face darkening.
Chu Tianbiao jumped out after him. He had been all smiles just a moment ago, but seeing the situation, he immediately switched to a fierce expression.
"Why aren't you working!"
Just then, the factory manager Wang Dalong heard the commotion and ran out of the office, drenched in sweat.
His honest, dark face was now full of bitterness.
"Oh! Boss! You're finally back!"
Seeing Lin Chuan, Wang Dalong looked like he had found a savior and almost burst into tears.
"Why has work stopped?"
Lin Chuan pointed at the chimney.
"We don't have the raw materials! We can't collect any fruit!"
Wang Dalong slapped his thigh and squatted on the ground, beginning to pour out his grievances.
"It was going quite well at first. The villagers from the surrounding ten miles and eight villages were all sending their fruit to us."
"But just yesterday, a group of people suddenly showed up!"
"Those people are truly tyrannical!"
They set up checkpoints on the only road in, and they stop any vehicle that dares to bring fruit to our factory!"
"They're smashing windshields with steel pipes!"
As Wang Dalong spoke, his hands trembled with rage.
"Those bastards are forcing the villagers to sell their large yellow peaches for just two cents per catty!"
"Two cents?! That doesn't even cover the labor costs!" Lin Chuan's eyes turned cold.
"Exactly! It's daylight robbery!"
"If the villagers won't sell, they scatter homemade caltrops in the orchards! Those things puncture feet and tires. Several of our Jiefang trucks are out of commission; we can't get in at all now."
"What's even more ruthless is that last night, they set fire to two of Old Man Liu's fruit trees. It scared the old man and Long Wu's mother so much they had heart attacks!"
Wang Dalong wiped his sweat and lowered his voice, sounding a bit fearful.
"Then those people found me and said if we want fruit, we have to get it from them."
"But the price has to be twenty cents per catty!"
"Twenty cents?!"
Chu Tianbiao, who had been listening, was the first to explode.
"Fuck them!"
"Buying for two cents and selling for twenty? The farmers do all the work, and they just step in and take a tenfold profit?"
"Have those bastards gone crazy for money? Or did the King of Hell tell them their lives were too long in a dream?"
Chu Tianbiao’s explosive temper was already easily triggered, and now he was fuming.
This was his newly-acknowledged big brother's factory!
And he was counting on this factory for millions in dividends a year!
By cutting off the factory's raw materials, they were cutting off Chu Tianbiao's path to wealth!
Cutting off someone's path to wealth is like killing their parents!
"Boss, these people are clearly former highwaymen and road bullies. They're ruthless. Calling the police is useless; they'll just be locked up for a couple of days and then come back even more vengeful."
Wang Dalong looked helpless.