Chapter 20: Big Boss, Surnamed Qin (Thanks to Alliance Leader Pei Tugou)

An oval main stage, a graceful and beautiful songstress swayed her slender waist, her sweet voice rising and falling with it, plucking at the audience's heartstrings.

Colored light globes hanging overhead flashed quickly to the rhythm, refracting dazzling light, enhancing the whole atmosphere, and making the place gradually become lively.

In the second-floor private room, upon pushing open the door, the first thing to catch the eye was a brownish-red leather sofa pressed against the wall, wide and long, almost enough for someone to lie flat on.

A young man in a white suit and black leather shoes sat in the middle, his right hand holding a sandalwood cane carved with a golden dragon head.

He was tall and large, standing at one point nine meters, his strong muscles straining the shirt inside, with distinct lines faintly visible on his chest.

"Leaving Midnight Palace to Brother A Ze to manage, the business is indeed getting better and better. A few days ago I attended a banquet of the Urban Circle, and heard those bosses and executives who run enterprises and companies mention this place, praising you for being pleasant to work with and service being in place."

The young man leaned on his cane, gently rubbing a silver ring inlaid with a square gemstone, his whole body exuding an oppressive aura, like a great python coiled, slowly exhaling.

"Thanks to Elder Brother Hao's blessing; if not for giving Elder Brother Hao face, who would pay attention to a hoodlum like me from Old Factory Street."

Cheng Ze bent his waist slightly, lowering his head and saying:

"It's all thanks to Elder Brother Hao giving me and the brothers below a mouthful of rice to eat."

The young man seemed very satisfied with this answer:

"It's not in vain that my father appreciates you so much; in just a few years you've taken over the Beiguan Street territory. The idea you mentioned last time, I told my father about it; after he and Elder Brother discussed it, they felt it was feasible."

"That class of elites in the Urban Circle have grown tired of whatever parties, street racing, and contraband they play with; even seeing a woman stripped naked gives them no feeling."

"They need something more exciting; a fighting club is a good idea, hold one every week, find some ruthless and fierce boxers to go on stage and fight, the bloodier the scene the better."

Cheng Ze grunted, stepped forward, preparing to explain the plan in more detail, but was interrupted by the young man:

"I feel the club's venue cannot be placed in Midnight Palace; your place has too many people and mixed eyes, easy to cause trouble. A Biao, come over!"

The young man beckoned, calling the tall man with a doll face at the doorway to the front.

"Brother A Ze, A Biao has followed you for many years; he handles things reliably and also puts me at ease. How about this: from now on you focus on managing Midnight Palace's venue, and the Yi Quan Society side and opening the club, simply hand it over to A Biao."

The doll-faced tall man first glanced at Cheng Ze beside him, then seemed at a loss, his mouth opening and closing as he mumbled:

"Elder Brother Hao, I can't do it; I don't have much ability; let Brother Ze..."

The young man frowned with cold eyes, rudely pointing at the doll-faced tall man named "A Biao":

"I say you can do it, then you can! What, you only listen to Brother Ze? Treat my words as wind in the ears? Or am I Qin Lihao so lacking in weight that I can't decide this matter?!"

A Biao was caught between a rock and a hard place, trembling and not daring to speak.

The atmosphere stiffened for a few seconds; Cheng Ze lowered his waist even more, squeezing out a smile:

"Everything is up to Elder Brother Hao! A Biao, do your job well, don't disappoint Elder Brother Hao."

The doll-faced man drooped his shoulders, smiling uglier than crying, nodding in a muffled voice.

Caught between Big Brother Ze and Big Brother's Big Brother Hao, he was like a piece of pork belly pressed on a red-hot iron plate, sizzling with oil and sweat.

"Brother A Ze, you've been with my father since he ran boats, one of his old people. Watch this place well; in the future take dividends to support women, then buy a residency right in the Urban Circle, and live comfortably."

The young man who called himself "Qin Lihao" patted Cheng Ze's shoulder and laughed heartily.

His gaze swept over the main stage, then he said:

"The singer you hired? Too old; the big bosses who come here to play all like the young ones; they need youthful vitality and obedience. Hurry up and replace her!"

By nine o'clock, Midnight Palace began to overflow with clamor and bustle.

White-collar workers in proper attire, embracing beautiful ladies, brought them to the booth area, flirting and joking intimately.

Marketing called the atmosphere group to warm up the floor, weaving through the open floor area; they wore low-cut outfits and hot shorts, wantonly displaying the temptation of the flesh, repeatedly performing the wonderful play of hunter and prey.

"Working a job; whose money isn't money!"

Qin Shi quickly entered his part-time job state, carrying fruit platters, delivering alcohol, nimble hands and feet.

Manager Yu, observing from the side, nodded repeatedly:

"That brat A Yuan finally introduced a reliable classmate; no longer clumsy and timid, a bookish idiot."

"But this newcomer, being a waiter is a pity; he's more suited to alcohol sales."

Manager Yu's smile was strange; the plain shirt and vest worker uniform, worn on Qin Shi—who had entered the Old Martial Arts Training Method at Entry Level and whose figure was becoming increasingly upright—fit just right, bringing out his advantages of broad shoulders, narrow waist, and long legs.

The single ladies sitting alone at the bar had their eyes light up, and the frequency of ordering drinks increased.

Although constantly pulled aside to chat and be pestered, Qin Shi did not neglect his actual work, easily using his specialty of smiling to conduct business.

"A natural-born gold medal gigolo saint body!"

Manager Yu sighed.

Such a delicate and pretty, yet sunny and handsome young face, appearing in the decadent Midnight Palace, was like a small white flower growing among purple and red, very eye-catching.

It made lonely married women frequently cast attentive gazes, and then whisper to their best friends.

Immediately after, they went one by one to ask for contact information.

This scene made Xie Yucheng gnash his teeth:

"I've discovered for the first time that working at Midnight Palace, one can enjoy such good fortune!"

Li Yuan teased:

"Remember Brother Yu said, this is called a 'Card Face Bureau' in the Urban Circle. Both are high school seniors; A Shi belongs to the one-point-eight thin-muscled sports school male high schooler; you, on the other hand, are a pure random teammate background board, incomparable."

Xie Yucheng felt indignant:

"A Shi's first day of part-time work, the tips he received exceeded mine! My mom told me since childhood, being handsome can't be eaten as food! She lied to me!"

Li Yuan shrugged:

"Stop envying; Midnight Palace has so many marketing staff; every night they bring beautiful ladies and handsome men to play. Didn't you hear them say, rich people play very pervertedly; steel balls, whips; can you handle it?"

Xie Yucheng suddenly felt a chill below; he hadn't practiced Iron Crotch Skill, and didn't want to experience the rich lady's happy ball.

"No! Tomorrow I want to mooch half a portion of Nutrient Paste from A Shi! I hope my brothers do well, but I don't hope he does this well!"

As the two joked and laughed, the door of the second-floor private room suddenly burst open with a boom.

Qin Lihao in a white suit walked in the middle, while Brother Ze, revered like a spirit by Midnight Palace's underlings, followed him like a lackey, head bowed and back bent.

"Who's Brother Ze? The guy in a suit?"

Qin Shi finally caught his breath, escaped the harassment of several married women, and slipped into a corner to slack off.

"The man in the suit is Big Boss's son, belongs to the same family as you, both surnamed Qin."

Xie Yucheng touched his chin:

"Everyone calls him 'Hao Ge'."

Quite imposing!

Qin Shi pondered: if Brother Ze was "Chen Haonan," then this Hao Ge couldn't be "Jiang Tiansheng," right?

Looking at that arrogant air of looking down on people, he seemed more like "Dong Xing Yao Yang"?

"What's the background of Brother Ze's Big Boss?"

Qin Shi curiously inquired.

Since ancient times, such vibrant gang organizations usually couldn't make it to the surface.

Behind them often stood a Big Boss providing financial support or connections.

That was the so-called "Big Water Pipe."

"Don't know. Never heard Brother Ze mention him."

Li Yuan shook his head.

"Anyway, his power is huge, and he's closely related to Taian Metropolitan Area."

……

……

"A Ze, no need to see me off."

Qin Lihao smoked a cigar, exhaling blue smoke:

"A Biao is one of your fierce generals under your command; I'm taking the man away, you won't get angry and tell on me to my old man, will you?"

Cheng Ze lowered his shoulders, extremely respectful:

"Hao Ge is joking; A Biao and I both make a living under Big Boss; without Big Boss's support, we punks wouldn't starve to death, we'd be beaten to death by others."

A silver-gray stretch limousine stopped at the doorway of Midnight Palace; Qin Lihao shook his suit, a thick cigar in his mouth, bent over and sat inside.

Until the engine started, that ten-million-worth Dragon extended model disappeared into the dust.

Cheng Ze, known as "Number One on Beiguan Street," then slowly straightened his back.

"Brother Ze……"

The henchmen wanted to open their mouths to say something.

"Hao Ge doing this has his own reasons."

Cheng Ze waved his hand:

"As for the Yi Quan Society side, don't meddle from now on. Hao Ge wants to run a club; boxers definitely aren't enough. This Midnight Palace place, still follow the old rules, absorb some poor children who dropped out of school, give them a job and teach them slowly."

The henchmen hummed and hawed:

"Hao Ge wants to monopolize the club's business; put plainly, why trample on your face, Brother Ze?"

Cheng Ze glared at him, expressionless:

"Talk less nonsense; when did the club ever belong to the Cheng family? This place, including dozens of shops on Beiguan Street, all belong to the Qin family.

Hao Ge wants to change people, wants blood exchange; he has the final say."

Stepping on the stairs to re-enter Midnight Palace, Cheng Ze looked carefree on his face, continuing as usual, drinking with several big clients, and then keeping in touch with the VIPs who often came.

Around ten-thirty, the first round of song and dance ended, intermission.

Li Yuan, finished with work, led Qin Shi to the front-row booth where Cheng Ze was.

"Brother Ze, this is my classmate A Shi; he wants a summer job."

Cheng Ze narrowed his eyes:

"From No. 9 Middle School?"

"A Shi has good grades and got into Xin Yi High School."

Cheng Ze was slightly surprised; for a worker's child from Old Factory Street to be able to attend a school in Taian Metropolitan Area through his own ability could be said to be extremely difficult.

He beckoned, calling the manager:

"Okay, A Shi, right? Little one, get him an employee ID card."

After speaking, Cheng Ze took out a wallet from his chest, pulled out several bills and handed them to Qin Shi.

"Study hard; working here is fine, but don't be led astray. If you can get into university, I'll give you a big red envelope."

Qin Shi extended both hands to receive them, putting on the excited expression of a good boy:

"Thank you, Brother Ze!"

Cheng Ze had drunk quite a lot tonight, his eyes slightly hazy, and asked casually:

"A Yuan, you're not a student of No. 9 Middle School, so why do you say A Shi is your classmate?"

Li Yuan answered truthfully:

"A Shi and I attend Liang Laoshi's tutoring class together. His physical talent is quite good; the practice methods and fighting techniques Liang Laoshi teaches, he can learn them all!"

Liang Laoshi... practice methods and fighting techniques... Old Martial Arts!

Cheng Ze suddenly shivered, the body leaning on the sofa suddenly sat up straight.

He stared straight at the delicate and refined Qin Shi.

"Are you Liang Laoshi's disciple?"

(Chapter End)