Chapter 35: Give Them Sunshine and They Bloom (Seeking Reads)

Wu Feng naturally didn't care about Tangge's little thoughts.

At this moment, Hong Yi's situation was somewhat subtle; Wu Feng's power was clearly greater than Tangge's, the boss.

Not only were there more "Four-Nine" under his command, but the number of "Blue Lanterns" (new recruits) exceeded two or three hundred.

Fortunately, the two brothers had a good relationship, and Wu Feng put most of his thoughts into legitimate business, so there was no direct conflict of society interests with Tangge, at least not in the short term.

If this were any other society, they would have been at each other's throats long ago.

And so, when Tangge encountered trouble, he still came to Wu Feng to discuss it first.

"Can our forces withstand a counterattack from the United Society's Mong Kok branch?"

Wu Feng asked very directly: "If we can withstand it, then just go for it!"

In the movie *Thirteen Sisters of Hong Hing*, the United Society had a powerful character named Hua Fu in Portland Street, a ruthless person who dared to annex Hong Hing's Portland Street territory.

It was clear that the United Society's power in the Mong Kok branch was definitely not bad!

"This..."

Tangge hesitated; clearly, he had no confidence.

"Then let's slow down!"

Wu Feng said decisively: "It's a good time to digest the territory we just gained and expand our manpower!"

This time, Hong Yi's external expansion had gone quite smoothly, taking down quite a bit of territory in one go.

With new territory, they could naturally recruit more low-level scum as underlings.

What Wu Feng didn't expect was that several society pimps wanted to defect to him.

"Feng Ge, it's just that we and the ladies under us can't stand the filth in those venues anymore!"

A certain pimp explained with a bitter smile: "Before, Feng Ge set the rules and used harsh methods to rectify the disobedient underlings. Those venues have many more rules now, and there are very few cases of people acting recklessly!"

This wasn't flattery, but things Wu Feng had actually done.

Although he didn't touch the society's prostitution industry, he gave a lot of convenience to the ladies working in the nightclubs he oversaw, and one could even say he helped them.

As the red-light district second only to Portland Street in Mong Kok, the guests coming to Shanghai Street to seek pleasure naturally included low-level scum from other societies.

Especially the low-level scum from big societies, who were all incredibly arrogant.

In places like nightclubs, where men and women were bursting with hormones, coupled with alcohol stimulation, all sorts of dirty things could happen, and fighting was the norm.

Some scum and villains, seeing a pretty girl, would do anything to act recklessly.

As ladies in nightclubs, they were naturally the hardest hit area for harassment.

Forcible seizure was still considered "good"; some guys would directly and basely drug the ladies.

Most importantly, these low-level scum mostly had no money in their pockets!

Where could the underlings overseeing venues in Zhong Ye's era be tough?

Once Wu Feng took over the oversight rights, the situation immediately changed drastically!

He didn't care if they were low-level scum from big societies or small ones; anyone who dared to act recklessly in the nightclubs he oversaw was beaten directly, without the slightest politeness.

Don't doubt it; the "Blue Lanterns" under him really dared to fight!

There was one thing Wu Feng remembered vividly!

That time, a high-ranking member of Dongxing came over with underlings to have fun, with an incredibly arrogant attitude. Not only did they take the initiative to pick fights with other guests, but they also blatantly wanted to take away a lady they had taken a fancy to.

Such arrogant behavior naturally angered the "Four-Nine" and "Blue Lanterns" overseeing the venue, who grabbed steel pipes and went up without a second thought.

By the time Wu Feng heard the news and rushed over, those Dongxing scum had already been beaten beyond recognition.

He didn't say much, just called an ambulance to take them away.

Later, dozens of Dongxing scum came to cause trouble, but they were still beaten until they couldn't find north by a group of Hong Yi "Blue Lanterns."

What "Four-Nine," what powerful street-fighting experts—none of it was useful.

In front of "Blue Lanterns" with even a little organization, individual martial prowess had limited effect.

Unless a master-level expert like the Dongxing Five Tigers led them, they couldn't win at all.

By the time Wu Feng brought people over, the battle was already over.

This happened several times; the subjective initiative of the "Blue Lanterns" under him was too high.

It made Tangge suspicious, thinking Wu Feng had special methods for training underlings.

How could it be that exaggerated?

He actually didn't do much; he just did a good job with logistics.

Anyone injured due to society business was not only sent to the hospital in time but also received an extra subsidy during treatment.

If they accidentally "hung up" (died), their families could get a considerable settlement fee, plus other subsidies that could last for three to five years.

If they went to "eat prison food," from the moment they went in for "advanced studies," their families could get a fixed subsidy of 1,500 per month, and the person themselves could get a subsidy of half a carton of cigarettes and 500 Hong Kong dollars in fixed savings every month until they came out.

In fact, if it weren't for his wariness of the Hong Kong British government, the various welfare benefits would have been even better.

All Wu Feng had to pay was the gray income of two or three fewer nightclubs per month.

But even so, at least the "Blue Lanterns" under Wu Feng lived with more security than their counterparts in first-class big societies.

Not to mention the nonsense that "human hearts are made of meat"; just to keep such a stable life, the "Blue Lanterns" under Wu Feng dared to fight.

Anyway, with no worries behind them and the opportunity to move up by contributing to the society, who wouldn't fight?

There was one more point that only Wu Feng noticed.

Among the "Blue Lanterns" under him, those with the most organizational and leadership ability were basically the so-called "Mainland kids" who followed their families to Hong Kong in their youth.

They had basically experienced the era of national military training, and through osmosis, they all had quite rough military literacy, and they all had some experience or insight in organizational mobilization.

When Zhong Ye was the boss, the clues weren't visible, but Wu Feng's style of doing things easily allowed the "Mainland kids" among the "Blue Lanterns" to stand out.

This was also the main reason why, in several small-scale fights, the battle was completely over before Wu Feng could rush over in time, and the "Mainland kids" among the "Blue Lanterns" were the fastest to stand out.

With ability came opportunity; Wu Feng provided a very clear path for advancement.

Coupled with relatively perfect logistics, the "Blue Lanterns" under him were even comparable to the "Four-Nine" of other societies; each one had a strong sense of belonging to the society, and their cohesion wasn't just talk.

It was just that the underlings under him had built up a fierce reputation, and when their brains were flooded with blood, they really didn't care about anything and dared to kill, scaring off those counterparts who didn't act like humans.

Reflected in the nightclubs under Wu Feng, there were very few fights or trouble, and it seemed like the atmosphere was much cleaner, allowing guests to play with peace of mind and comfort.

As for the ladies, their sense of security was greatly improved; they didn't have to worry about the money they worked hard to earn being taken away by low-level scum through various base means.

But Wu Feng soon returned the irregular nightclubs on Shanghai Street to society management, the environment in the nightclubs deteriorated rapidly, and the ladies who had tasted stable days, along with the pimps who brought them, naturally wouldn't have it.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 36 =====