Chapter 22: Jimi

The next day, Chen Mo took Jimi and Fei Ji to Lian Sheng's territory and found Guan Zai Sen drinking morning tea.

"Guan Zai Sen!"

"Who are you?"

Guan Zai Sen was studying a horse‑racing newspaper and felt rather annoyed by Chen Mo's sudden interruption.

"Great Prosperity's Chen Mo, I'm here to discuss something with you."

Chen Mo pulled a chair over and sat directly opposite Guan Zai Sen.

"So it's Mo Ge! What orders do you have for me, Mo Ge?"

After Chen Mo gave his name, Guan Zai Sen remained nonchalant.

It's rumored in the underworld that Great Prosperity produced a ruthless man, Chen Mo, who, after a bad deal, simply wiped out the Hong Tai Triad Society.

But Guan Zai Sen didn't care; Lian Sheng's group is now the biggest Triad Society on Gangdao.

"It's nothing major. I'm interested in your subordinate Jimi and want him to transfer over to me; what do you say?"

Chen Mo didn't waste words and got straight to the point.

Guan Zai Sen looked up at Jimi standing behind Chen Mo and disdainfully said, "Mo Ge, Jimi is still my man; taking him like that isn't exactly proper, is it?"

"Don't bother with so much chatter; it's just a transfer, no big rules.

I'm telling you in person as a courtesy; I don't want you to have trouble with Jimi later."

"Mo Ge, that's not appropriate, is it?"

I, Guan Zai Sen, have been in the underworld for many years; I may not have great skill, but I consider myself not to have wronged my subordinates.

If they transfer carelessly, how can I, the boss, keep my standing?"

Transfers do have their own rules.

If the superior errs, the subordinate may transfer.

But if the superior is innocent, a subordinate's transfer is betrayal of the master and ancestors.

That's a grave grievance.

If Jimi casually transfers to Chen Mo today, the underworld will think Guan Zai Sen has let Jimi down.

It won't reflect well on Guan Zai Sen's reputation.

Even though Guan Zai Sen's reputation was never great to begin with.

"One hundred thousand! Jimi comes with me; as long as you don't trouble him later, the hundred thousand is yours."

Chen Mo took a bundle of Hong Kong dollars from his bag and placed it before Guan Zai Sen.

Guan Zai Sen, that lousy gambler, lit up as soon as he saw the money.

Since Chen Mo is willing to part with a hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars for Jimi, he'll surely be willing to part with even more.

Guan Zai Sen's eyes flickered as he prepared to make a big demand.

"Mo Ge, no matter how I say it, I'm still the big brother here; would I really need your hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars?"

Suppressing his impulse, Guan Zai Sen leaned back, pretending not to care.

Chen Mo knew all too well that Guan Zai Sen was trying to raise the price.

"One hundred fifty thousand, that's the highest I'm willing to pay," Chen Mo tossed another bundle of Hong Kong dollars onto the table.

"Jimi is my most capable henchman; without him I'd be exhausted."

Guan Zai Sen thought that since Chen Mo was willing to raise the price once, he'd surely raise it again.

The more money Chen Mo puts out, the clearer it shows how important Jimi is to him.

"Guan Zai Sen, I'm willing to come and talk with you as a courtesy; don't be ungrateful!

I do need Jimi to do work for me, but I'm not absolutely dependent on him."

Chen Mo sneered.

Guan Zai Sen's appetite was a bit too big; he didn't know when to stop.

Chen Mo pulled back the fifty thousand Hong Kong dollars he had just thrown on the table.

In a cold voice he said, "Now, just one hundred thousand! Not a cent more!"

"If you still disagree, then there's no need to continue!"

Saying that, Chen Mo reached for the hundred thousand on the table.

When Guan Zai Sen saw Chen Mo reaching for the money, he immediately lost his composure.

"I agree, I agree," Guan Zai Sen pressed his hand on the money on the table, "I was just kidding with Mo Ge earlier!"

"If Mo Ge likes Jimi, it's Jimi's luck; how could I, as the boss, stand in the way of a junior's future!"

Guan Zai Sen changed his earlier attitude, smiling as he tucked the money into his own chest.

He regretted inwardly, thinking that had he known the outcome, he should have agreed earlier and saved himself a loss of fifty thousand.

That's how a lousy gambler is—everything would be better if you knew it in advance!

On the way back, Fei Ji drove the car while Chen Mo and Jimi sat in the back seat.

"Later, register a company and you can list yourself as the legal representative.

Then find a factory, preferably an existing garment factory to buy outright.

I can front twenty million cash in the early stage; if you need money, go to Gao Jin."

"Alright, Mo Ge."

"If you have any Triad Society issues, come to me and I'll sort them out."

Back in the office, Chen Mo called Gao Jin in.

With Jimi handling the legitimate business, Chen Mo should consider how to expand his territory.

"A‑Jin, any movement on Hongle's side lately?"

"Yes, Hongle's strength has grown quite a bit recently."

"Hmm? What happened?"

Chen Mo was somewhat surprised. Hongle was in much the same situation as Hongtai — both were sunset Triad Societies on Gangdao. It was already fortunate enough not to have their flags pulled by others; where would they get the resources to keep developing?

"After we took out Chen Mei, quite a lot of Hongtai's territory was carved up between Hongle and Chang Yi."

Many of Hongtai's Crown Prince's former subordinates have now gone over to Hongle's Shensheng and Shishi.

Shishi in particular took in the most people. His strength is now about on par with Shensheng's."

Chen Mo frowned deeply as he listened. This made things a bit tricky.

He had his eye on the Sneaker Street next door. Now that Hongle's strength had surged, it wouldn't be easy to make a move.

"Let's recruit people first. How many do we have now?"

"Nearly four hundred. After the fight with Hongtai, a lot of people came to us drawn by our reputation, but we're strict about selecting people. We only took in about a hundred these past two days. In a few more days, we should hit five hundred."

"Good. Let's fill up to five hundred first. We can afford to support them now."

Chen Mo wasn't short of money at all right now. Even with the twenty million in cash he had on hand earmarked for Jimi to set up a factory, he wasn't worried about money.

He still had two small storefronts on Nüren Jie that he hadn't touched. Worst case, he could mortgage them with a bank for a loan.

Storefronts on Nüren Jie were absolutely premium assets.

"Have someone keep an eye on Hongle's movements. Once they've fully digested Hongtai's territory, they won't stay this well-behaved."

"Understood, Mo Ge."

Hongtai, Hongle, Chang Yi, and Chang Le were all sunset Triad Societies in Wang Jiao. The few of them had formed a small alliance in normal times.

By banding together, they could just about hold their own against the other factions in Wang Jiao.

Last time when they hit Hongtai, if Chen Mei hadn't wanted to use someone else to do his dirty work and been caught off guard by Chen Mo, Chen Mo wouldn't have taken Nüren Jie so easily.

These past few days they were busy swallowing up Hongtai's territory and had no time to deal with Chen Mo, which was what allowed Chen Mo to gain a firm foothold on Nüren Jie.

Now if he made a move against Hongle, there was no guarantee the others wouldn't trip Chen Mo up.

Especially since Nüren Jie was sandwiched between Dianqi Jie and Sneaker Street — if Hongle and Chang Yi joined forces, Chen Mo would be in a very passive position.

They wouldn't possibly let Chen Mo develop so peacefully right between the two of them.

Chen Mo had to find an opportunity to strike first and seize the initiative — at the very least, he needed to cripple one of them.