Chapter 73: Bearing Thorns To Apologize? A Verb?
After thinking for a moment, he nodded, “People gave us the next courtesan for free, and she served you wholeheartedly, it wouldn’t be good to pull up your trousers and deny her right after.”
“Do you know who is behind it?”
Originally, Cao Weida planned to ignore the other party, after all, those who run places of pleasure are no good people, and they have done plenty of heartless things.
But on second thought, not everyone in places of pleasure was trafficked there; most were forced into this line of work out of desperation because they couldn’t survive otherwise.
Of course, that wasn’t the main reason; more importantly, anyone who could connect with puppet government special agents and take over Xiaguang Garden couldn’t be a good person even if you thought with your toes.
It would be better to maintain the status quo than let such a person control Xiaguang Garden; with him around, at least Han Lu wouldn’t dare disobey his orders, unless she didn’t want to continue in this business.
If he could help her hold onto Xiaguang Garden, he could naturally make her lose it again!
“I know, Tong Mazi, the bully from Zhushikou’s stinking street, lives at No. 86 Sesame Hutong.”
“Han Lu told me that Tong Mazi came to the door to show off, saying he had set his sights on Xiaguang Garden; if obedient, he would give some money to send them off, but if not, he would make her slink away in disgrace.”
Zhushikou, originally named Pig Market Mouth, was named after the market for selling live pigs; later, by imperial order, the pig market was moved, and to make the name more elegant, Pig Market Mouth was changed to Zhushikou, located south of Bada Hutong.
“Tong Mazi?” Cao Weida raised his eyebrow; this name sounded somewhat familiar.
But after thinking for a long time, he couldn’t remember who it was, so he simply stopped thinking.
“He’s quite arrogant; who is his backer, and what businesses does he run?”
“It’s said he hooked up with Western Hegemon Fu Decheng; his main businesses are illegal prostitutes and casino.”
Hearing this answer, Cao Weida suddenly laughed.
Good grief, talk about enemies crossing paths!
He beat Kui Biao, then Fu Decheng sent various social strata to harass him, and now they were clashing again.
Fu Decheng, this notorious bastard who did evil deeds, trafficked people, raped women, ran casino, operated illegal prostitutes; he was truly wicked beyond measure, deserved to die, with sins too numerous to record.
Good grief, now not content with illegal prostitutes, he was gearing up to open a high-end brothel!
What, wanting a perfect closed-loop business empire?
In that case, Cao Weida had to intervene even more, or who knew how many women would suffer.
Who would have thought, the next moment, a person carrying a box walked up to him.
Little Ear immediately blocked in front of Cao Weida, eyeing the whip on the other’s back, and said warily: “Biao Ye, what’s this about, coming to make trouble for Cao Ye?”
That’s right, the one who came was Kui Biao, whom Cao Weida had beaten before.
The flesh on Kui Biao’s face squeezed together as he forced an ugly smile, “Master Lian, you’re joking; today I’m here to apologize to Cao Ye.”
Little Ear was obviously stunned for a moment, strangely pointing at the whip: “What does this mean?”
“Master Lian, don’t misunderstand; this whip is for Cao Ye to use on me; I offended him greatly in our previous conflict, and as long as it clears up the misunderstanding, Cao Ye, you can whip me as hard as you want.”
Bearing a whip to plead guilty?
This phrase instantly flashed in Cao Weida’s mind, somewhat unexpected.
Well now, for others bearing a whip to plead guilty is an adjective, but for you it’s a verb, huh?
“After going back, I tossed and turned, my mind full of Cao Ye’s earnest instructions.”
Cao Weida nearly burst out laughing, “If you don’t know the words, don’t misuse them; it’s called earnest instructions!”
“Yes, earnest instructions; no wonder Cao Ye, you have such knowledge; I’ve been repeatedly pondering your earnest instructions and feel I’m truly not a thing, a big man bullying a woman—really not a thing!”
Kui Biao had originally planned to come plead guilty yesterday, but thought it seemed improper.
Coming to plead guilty eagerly the day after he took her in would look too fake, but he didn’t dare delay too long, so he came today.
Cao Weida crossed his arms, looking at him with amusement, “So, you’re here today to bear a whip and plead guilty?”
“Yes, I’m not a person!”
Slap~
“I’m too much not a thing!”
Slap~
“Cao Ye, if you still feel it’s not enough, beat me some more; even if you beat me to death, it’s what I Kui Biao deserve!”
Slap~~
One sentence, one slap; that sound was so crisp, it made Cao Weida’s face hurt just listening.
“Enough, enough; if you want to hit yourself, go back and do it slowly; what, setting off firecrackers here?”
Hah, playing the prodigal son returning here with me; really think I’m stupid and can’t guess anything?
Cao Weida was too lazy to watch his performance; it was way too damn fake, he couldn’t even pretend to play along.
His hand, raised halfway, paused; Kui Biao cautiously glanced at the already impatient Cao Weida, feeling uneasy inside.
Don’t be fooled by his usual bossing around; he was actually just a thug who risked his life for others, a nobody in the eyes of real big shots!
So what if he was full of muscle?
When it’s time to be a sheep, he had to be as obedient as a sheep!
Otherwise, all that meat on him would just mean two more bites with chopsticks for others!
Not daring to slack, he hurriedly presented the box in both hands, “Cao Ye, this is a Ming Dynasty painting by Dai Jin that you forgot there when you beat me that day; today, besides coming to plead guilty, I also want to return the thing to its owner.”
Yo, not bad, he knows how to handle things.
Cao Weida raised an eyebrow, looking doubtfully at Little Ear, “Who is this Dai Jin, is his painting valuable?”
He wasn’t in that line of work, had almost zero knowledge of antiques; his limited experience was just a few museum visits before transmigration.
The key was, even in the museum, which ones were real and which fake was still uncertain.
Little Ear worked the black market and sometimes dealt with these things, but he didn’t really understand them either.
He didn’t understand, but he knew who did!
“Big Brother Cao, I’m not sure either, but I know some antique dealers, like Tong Fengquan the shopkeeper of Pan Gu Tang, Old Master Ge of Yan Ju Ge, Shopkeeper Lan of Ya Ji Tang, Shopkeeper Chen of Jubao Pavilion; they’re all experts; shall I go ask for you now?”
“Ask my ass, no need.” Cao Weida didn’t take it, “You must have made a mistake; I didn’t lose any box; you take it back.”
He absolutely wouldn’t accept this gift; if he did and then opposed them later, wouldn’t it make him seem unrighteous?
He didn’t lack such things anyway, nor did he have a hobby of collecting them.
He knew that after liberation, there was a period of smashing the Four Olds; these things would become trouble then, couldn’t just keep them in space gathering dust forever.
If he really wanted them, he could buy after the Four Olds period passed.
Lighting a cigarette and taking a drag, he said leisurely:
“By the way, help me pass a message to Western Hegemon: Han Lu of Xiaguang Garden is my friend, and ‘please’ ask him to show mercy to his subordinates!”
Bang~~
A delicate vase was smashed to powder; Western Hegemon Fu Decheng breathed heavily, his eyes glaring darkly at Kui Biao, and said viciously:
“That bastard only said that much?!”
Fear flickered in Kui Biao’s eyes; he knew too well how ruthless and brutal the boss was, especially when angry; he nodded timidly: “Boss, that’s exactly what he said.”
“Hmph hmph, good, very good!” A ferocious smile appeared on his meaty face, “Just a lucky little nobody who got lucky hooking up with Taijun to do some people-trafficking business, and he dares to bare his teeth at me!”
“This old man has dominated Beiping for so many years, and this is the first time I’ve been provoked by a damn patrolman!”
Deep down, he looked down on Cao Weida: a damn farmer who became a stinking patrolman and got lucky becoming a
Kui Biao touched the wound on his head, where the bandage had just been removed, still faintly painful, and said cautiously: “Boss, how about I take men to kidnap that Du Shiniang woman, to teach him a lesson?”
“All you know is fighting and killing; what else can you do?!” Fu Decheng glared at him and cursed: “Did you grow a brain just for show?!”
“I’ll handle this myself; get out!”
Kui Biao shrank his neck and scurried out.
Fu Decheng angrily swept the nearby teacup to the ground, shattering it, and muttered darkly to himself:
“Kui Biao personally came to apologize with a gift, but he wouldn’t even accept it; clearly rejecting the apology, wants to clash with me, Master Fu.”
“A little nobody dares oppose me over a whore; looks like it’s time to find an opportunity to teach him a lesson!”
He didn’t dare kill Cao Weida; that would be slapping Taijun in the face.
But a secret beating behind the scenes, even if Taijun found out, she wouldn’t make a big fuss over such a trifle, right?
On the other side, Sang Liuji was somewhat dumbfounded.
Deliverance from desperation, blessing from disaster?
That’s how Sang Liuji felt now; it was like a big pie suddenly fell from the sky and hit him!
That damn killer didn’t choose anywhere else but his turf to kill the little devil, even stripped his clothes and dumped him naked on the street, causing the Imperial Army to lose face big time, and he got demoted.
Still, Bureau Chief was generous; the previous gifts worked, and before one merit-worthy matter ended, a second good thing landed in his lap!
The bureau chief’s words to him just now flashed in his mind.
Bureau Chief Xu Hancheng patted his shoulder and said earnestly: “Sang’er, demoting you wasn’t my intention; it was to protect you; with such an incident in your area, I had to give the higher-ups an explanation.”
“I still think highly of you; see, the first chance for merit went to you.”
“Don’t say I didn’t give you a chance; if you handle these two things well, not only can you redeem yourself with merit, but also connect with Officer Ono; then you’ll really soar to success!”
“If in the future you hook up with Officer Ono and soar to success, don’t forget your old leader!”
“Of course not; without Bureau Chief your cultivation, there’d be no Sang Liuji today; you’re my leader now and in the future; I Sang Liuji will surely follow your lead!” Sang Liuji flattered with his mouth, but thought darkly in his heart:
‘Once this old man hooks up with Ono Taijun, the first thing is to snatch your bureau chief position!’
