Chapter 50: Meeting Feizai Again, the Anomaly in Nitan

"Mr. Lu, long time no see!"

After getting out of the car, Feizai straightened the suit that was stretched tight over his body, as if the entire suit might rip apart at any moment with the slightest movement.

A smile hung on his face, causing his entire facial features to squeeze together.

He took two steps forward and reached out to shake hands with Lu Chen.

"You came at the right time, let's go up and talk."

Lu Chen greeted him with a smile, glanced back at the Rolls-Royce to confirm they hadn't gotten out, and only then took a deep breath.

He reached out to drape an arm over Feizai's shoulder and walked toward the teahouse.

On the second floor, every step Feizai took seemed to make Lu Chen feel the staircase tremble, as if the whole staircase could collapse at any moment.

Not until the two of them sat down and the waiter left the room did Lu Chen take a sip of clear tea.

He tossed a Cigar to Feizai and began to toast his own, lost in his own thoughts.

"I heard your collection quotas have increased quite a bit recently?"

Lu Chen asked casually.

He looked up and glanced at Feizai without stopping the movements of his hands.

"There's no helping it, we don't want to do this either, but who knows what the higher-ups are thinking, wanting us to increase the collection quota by thirty percent this year."

Feizai's hand, which was toasting the Cigar, paused, and a bitter smile appeared on his face.

The Cigar burst with a 'pop'.

A flash of heartache crossed Feizai's eyes.

He set the Cigar aside, took out a pack of 555s, pulled one out, and lit it.

He leaned his whole body back against the chair, which let out a creak under the unbearable weight.

"Is Old Wang dissatisfied with me? I just prepared to enter Nitan, and you all pull this on me; is this a show of force?"

The smile remained on Lu Chen's face, but a hint of complexity flashed in his eyes.

His tone dropped instantly, even carrying a hint of something that brooked no refusal.

He took a puff of his Cigar, slowly exhaled the smoke, and stared fixedly at Feizai through the haze.

"Mr. Lu, what are you saying? How could we possibly cause trouble for you?"

Feizai took a hard drag of his cigarette before explaining in a low voice.

He leaned forward, the chair let out a creak, and he pressed his hands onto the table, making the entire table seem to tremble.

"It's not just us doing this; all thirteen gangs have increased theirs this year."

"It seems your days aren't easy either. Does Miss Luosha know about this?"

Lu Chen leaned back against his chair, crossed his legs, took a puff of his Cigar, and slowly exhaled the smoke.

A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he stared hard at Feizai's face, where the features were all squeezed together.

"How would Miss Luosha concern herself with such trivial matters? If we really went to discuss this with her, we'd probably have been thrown into the sea to feed the fish long ago."

A smile hung on Feizai's face, but a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.

His fingers, holding the cigarette, tapped lightly on the table, his voice lower than before.

"This matter is a bit unusual. The collection quota in Nitan hasn't risen in nearly five years, and even when it did, it was only a symbolic increase. This time..."

A look of confusion appeared on Feizai's face, his tone filled with hesitation, and after a long while, he made a money gesture toward Lu Chen.

A smile appeared at the corners of Lu Chen's mouth as he reached into his briefcase and took out 100,000 Hong Kong dollars from his portable space.

He placed it on the table and pressed his hand down on top of it.

"Tell me something I'm interested in."

"This time, it was decided in advance by Old Wang and the others, just two days ago."

Feizai lowered his voice again, leaned forward, and spoke so softly that Lu Chen could barely hear him.

The chair let out a creak that almost drowned out Feizai's voice.

"As for what exactly was discussed, I'm not sure, but after Old Wang and the others finished their meeting, it was confirmed: the collection quota is increased by thirty percent. This is already the limit for Nitan; any more and it'll descend into chaos."

"Very good. Any interest in working for me? You can just carry on as usual with Old Wang's side."

Lu Chen took out another 100,000 Hong Kong dollars and stacked it on top of the original pile.

A faint smile hung on his face as he stared fixedly at Feizai.

"This... that wouldn't be very good, would it? I'm only dealing with you because of Old Wang's face..."

Feizai's tone was hesitant, and the features on his face were so squeezed by fat that they were becoming hard to distinguish.

Lu Chen took out another 200,000 Hong Kong dollars from his portable space and placed it side-by-side with the previous pile, causing Feizai's breathing to become heavy.

He looked at the pile of money, then back at Lu Chen's face.

A flash of greed crossed his small eyes.

"Don't worry, I'm not asking you to betray Old Wang, just to give me a copy of the information."

Lu Chen took out another 200,000 Hong Kong dollars and placed it alongside the others.

The table, which wasn't large to begin with, seemed to be piled full of Hong Kong dollars.

Feizai swallowed hard, a look of complexity and struggle appearing on his face.

Lu Chen wasn't in a hurry; he just picked up his teacup and took a light sip.

He leaned back, crossed his legs, picked up the Cigar resting on the ashtray, took a light puff, and slowly exhaled the smoke.

"Feizai, you know how fragile Nitan is. Once things really descend into chaos, the place you rely on for your livelihood will be gone. Isn't what Old Wang and the others are doing now just draining the pond to catch the fish? You might not care about this money, but you can't not care about the brothers who follow you, right?"

Lu Chen was silent for a moment, and when he had slowly smoked the Cigar down to about halfway, he took another 400,000 Hong Kong dollars from his portable space and placed it on the table.

"Besides, I didn't ask you to betray Old Wang. Old Wang and I are partners; I just don't want to watch Nitan fall into chaos like this. Come to think of it, I still own 51% of the shares in the Nitan land plots; it's no benefit to me if it's in chaos."

Lu Chen paused before saying this.

"This 1 million Hong Kong dollars is the initial operating capital for you all; treat the brothers well, and that means treating yourself well."

"I know you have a partnership with Old Wang, but..."

A trace of shock flashed through Feizai's small eyes, and a look of confusion appeared on his face.

"Does Miss Luosha know?"

"Do you think that without Miss Luosha's tacit approval, I would go and partner with Old Wang, or obtain 51% of the shares for a symbolic price?"

The corners of Lu Chen's mouth curled up slightly, his tone carrying a hint of coldness.

"Then are you still interested in the Nitan meeting?"

Feizai opened his bag and stuffed the Hong Kong dollars in, bundle by bundle.

He lowered his head and asked casually.

However, his face seemed to carry a trace of wariness, as well as complexity.

"No, having information is of course good, but it doesn't matter if there isn't any; your meeting is merely a curiosity to me. As long as you don't block my renovation of Nitan, do whatever you need to do."

Lu Chen paused, took a puff of his Cigar, and a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.

He looked deeply at Feizai before speaking.

Feizai paused, his hands not stopping as he collected the money, and only after all the money had been put away did he look up at Lu Chen.