Chapter 177: Birthday Banquet

Soon, the news that Shan Ji and Da Tian Er had been taken out spread to all the bosses.

The bosses who had been invited by Shan Ji and Chen Hao Nan that day began to feel uneasy one by one.

Thirteen Sister and Han Bin were also somewhat worried.

Not long after receiving the news, they ran over to Chen Mo's place.

"Elder Sister, you and Han Bin just stay calm; there's nothing to worry about."

"Damn, how could it be fine! Jingkun suddenly took out Shan Ji and his men; who knows when he'll turn on us."

Han Bin frowned at Chen Mo: "A Mo, did you stir things up so that Jingkun would act against Chen Hao Nan and them?"

"Pretty much." Chen Mo said lightly, "I just gave him a slight heads‑up; I didn't tell him what you guys discussed that day."

"Just relax; no matter how crazy Jingkun gets, he won't dare move against so many bosses. Besides, Shan Ji is dead and Chen Hao Nan is in hiding."

"With no one taking the lead, naturally no one will dare act against Jingkun again."

"You guys got twenty‑five million for free—how great is that!"

After Chen Mo's explanation, Thirteen Sister felt much more at ease: "We're not just afraid Jingkun will settle scores later."

"What's there to fear? With me and Bin Ge here, nobody can touch you. Right, Bin Ge?"

Chen Mo raised an eyebrow at Han Bin.

Han Bin immediately straightened up: "Exactly, my strength isn't much worse than Jingkun's; if he dares to move against you, I'll fight him."

Saying that, he even put his hand on Thirteen Sister's shoulder.

Thirteen Sister slapped his hand away, shifted over to sit farther from him, then gave Han Bin a look of disgust.

"I can't stand you—you even want to eat my tofu."

Chen Mo couldn't help laughing: "Thirteen Sister, Bin Ge is head over heels for you—why not give in?"

"Get lost, you lousy men—none of you are any good; I still prefer women."

Thirteen Sister, in order to blend in with the guys, has even made pretending to be a lesbian a habit.

Three days later, Jingkun's mother's birthday banquet.

Unlike the deserted scenes in movies, today basically all the bosses and big shots from the Triad Society showed up.

Especially those few bosses from that day, each feeling guilty, worried Jingkun would find out about what happened, they all presented heavy gifts to show their loyalty.

Although it's unclear how sincere that loyalty really is.

Chen Mo appeared to be on close terms with Jingkun and also operated in Wang Jiao, so his birthday gift naturally couldn't be too modest.

"Congratulations, Kun Ge! This is just a modest token—no disrespect intended."

Chen Mo brought Shen Guodong and a few others to the restaurant; behind him, a lackey bumped into a gold‑colored Guanyin statue with a redwood base, covered by a glass case.

When Jingkun saw the glittering gold Guanyin statue, his eyes widened.

He took the statue, hefted it in his hand—it was heavy.

"A Mo, this gift is too valuable."

Jingkun politely placed the statue carefully into the hands of the lackey standing beside the gift list.

"Hurry inside and have a seat; I'll come over to toast you in a moment."

"Kun Ge, go ahead and get busy; don't worry about us."

Chen Mo returned the courtesy, then led his men into the banquet hall.

Not long after they sat down, Thirteen Sister and Han Bin's brothers also came over.

"A Mo, you're really splurging today! That Guanyin statue must be worth over a million, right?"

The three of them had just seen it behind Chen Mo—a huge gold Guanyin, certainly not light.

Chen Mo glanced around, leaned in to the three, and whispered, "It's fake, not worth anything."

"What? Fake?" The three stared at each other, stunned.

"It's iron inside, filled with lead, plated with gold on the outside."

"The most valuable part of that thing is the base—and that's genuinely redwood."

"You..." Thirteen Sister whispered, "Aren't you afraid of being found out?"

Chen Mo raised an eyebrow and smiled: "What's there to fear? Jingkun's mother won't sell it for cash; she might just enshrine it when she gets home."

"You all keep this to yourselves—absolutely don't let it slip."

Given their current public relationship and Chen Mo's financial means, the gift he gave certainly couldn't be too shabby.

But Jingkun could be taken out by Jiang Tiansheng at any moment—how could Chen Mo bear to really spend millions on a gift for him?

So Chen Mo had someone custom‑make an iron statue, plated with gold on the outside and filled with lead inside to match the weight.

To prevent Jingkun from biting it to test authenticity, Chen Mo specially added an outer glass cover.

The whole Guanyin statue cost Chen Mo only a few thousand, yet it looks like it's worth millions.

As long as it stays secret, the exquisite redwood base plus Chen Mo's status will make anyone who sees it believe it's genuine.

After Thirteen Sister and Han Bin's brothers fell silent for a moment, they all gave Chen Mo a thumbs‑up together.

"Awesome!"

Today's birthday banquet went off smoothly.

There was no trouble from Chen Hao Nan and his crew, nor did the police raid Jingkun's turf.

The only downside was that the area is packed with Triad Society members, so a lot of police have been hanging around outside.

But everyone's gotten used to it.

When Chen Mo toasted Jingkun, Jingkun grabbed his arm and whispered, "A Mo, stick around a bit later—I have something to discuss with you."

"What's up? Something happened?"

Jingkun shook his head: "No, it's a good thing."

Chen Mo was a bit puzzled; what good could Jingkun possibly have in looking for me?

Still, he nodded: "Okay, then I'll come find you later."

Returning to his seat, Thirteen Sister couldn't help but ask: "Ah Mo, what did Jingkun say to you? Why do you two seem so mysterious?"

"I don't know." Chen Mo glanced at Jingkun and said, "He said he has something to discuss with me, and it's supposed to be a good thing."

"Who knows what trouble he's up to!"

Han Bin worried: "He won't want to team up with you to sell powder, will he? I've heard many of the Triad Society's venues have started dealing powder."

"Probably not." Chen Mo shook his head. "I already told Jingkun that my venue could never deal powder."

However, Jingkun's recent powder dealing has indeed been excessive; if this continues, Great Prosperity will likely follow in East Star's footsteps.

Perhaps because losses were too great earlier, Jingkun's subordinates have been dealing powder especially recklessly lately.

On several occasions they even ran onto Chen Mo's turf to deal powder, and after being caught by his men, they were given a good beating.

A few years ago, East Prosperity was specifically targeted because its powder dealing had gone too far, provoking the displeasure of the Gangdao government.

Finally, Dragon Head Luotuo and most of his subordinates' backbone were put on a wanted list and fled to the Netherlands.

The rest of them can now only scrape by in the poor, remote areas of the New Territories, with few profitable territories left.

Thus a top-tier triad society began its decline.

Chen Mo certainly didn't want Great Prosperity to go down that road.

When the nest is overturned, how can any egg remain intact?

Chen Mo still wanted to do business under the banner of Great Prosperity.

If Jingkun continues like this, even if Jiang Tiansheng doesn't deal with him, Chen Mo plans to take action.