Chapter 249: Dream of a Package

Du Ye wasn't boasting—he really knew where the counterfeit Fenghua brand stock was hidden.

Because that storage spot was newly rented by his former "proprietor," Old Hou.

Du Ye first took Huang Gang and Li Ye to find a brother called Shengzi, then met up with Jin Peng and others, heading together to the residential area north of the freight station.

Looking at the dark, shadowy courtyard, Du Xing asked nervously: "Shengzi, you're sure their hideout is here? Will Old Hou show up tonight?"

Shengzi nodded firmly: "I'm sure—I've been following them ever since you told me to! Several times they came right to this area, and tonight Old Hou's hometown buddies didn't drink at all."

Only Old Hou's brother-in-law, the drunkard, never drinks at night—that means he's unloading cargo from the train at midnight."

Du Xing felt considerably more at ease—he saw Jin Peng had brought a couple dozen men; if this turned into a fiasco, all his efforts would be wasted.

Du Xing asked Shengzi again: "Did you find out if any of tonight's cargo includes counterfeit Fenghua brand goods?"

Shengzi frowned: "How would I know? Since Old Hou brought a bunch of folks from his hometown, he's been keeping a lot of things secret from us Beijingers—even careless people can't get close. I only heard a hint from Changzi that day."

Hearing their conversation, Li Ye finally understood.

Du Ye had some kind of grudge against Old Hou and had been ordering his men to tail Old Hou's hometown buddies—clearly looking for a chance to sabotage him. Today, Huang Gang and Li Ye had just happened to be in the right place.

Huang Gang sneered at Du Xing: "You're something else, Du Xing—betraying your own old boss? You're heartless and ungrateful!"

"Old boss?" Du Xing rolled his eyes, furious: "I got locked up because I cleared up trouble for that Hou guy. But when I got out, he turned his back on me."

I asked him for a little cash to treat my brother's illness—he bought my brother over as his lackey and had Dongtiao's Ma Hu bully me. He was the first to break faith—so don't blame me for being disloyal!"

Jin Peng and Huang Gang exchanged a glance; though Du Xing was unprincipled, he had a point.

In the underworld, "righteousness" matters: I work for you, then get jailed because of it—when I get out, you owe me compensation. Otherwise, you're not righteous, and don't blame me for lighting the fuse.

Of course, "lighting the fuse" was mostly just intimidation—the real goal was to get compensation.

But Old Hou was a true southerner—he believed "business is business, personal ties are personal ties."

Pure businessmen feared vague pricing.

If you want to partner with me, state your price clearly—don't come crying for money today and threats tomorrow like a stubborn plaster stuck to your skin.

"Vvvvv~"

"Here they come~"

In the pitch-black night, car headlights appeared, followed by the engine's roar drawing nearer.

Watching two trucks—one large, one small—rumble past, Jin Peng frowned: "Just two trucks?"

Shengzi looked at Jin Peng: "No, they only have two vehicles—the rest are hand-pulled carts."

After a while, as a dozen flashlight beams approached, at least twenty hand-pulled carts hurried into the nearby large courtyard.

Jin Peng picked up a military-grade telescope and, under the distant light, spotted Old Hou.

"That's Old Hou."

Jin Peng handed the telescope to Li Ye, then whispered to Ma Qianshan: "Qianshan, you and Hong Shu stay here and watch. I'll go alert the authorities."

Ma Qianshan and Hong Shu nodded. Several ex-soldiers edged closer to Li Ye, and Jin Peng moved into the dark to report to the authorities.

But Li Ye pulled Jin Peng aside, nodded toward Du Xing, and whispered something.

Jin Peng paused, puzzled, glanced at Li Ye twice, then walked over to Du Xing.

He pulled a thick bundle of hundred-yuan notes from his bag and held them out: "Brother, here's your reward."

Du Xing stared at the stack—thick as three bricks—his eyes gleaming with excitement.

His subordinate Shengzi was even more impatient, practically itching to snatch the money for him.

But Du Xing held back for at least ten seconds, then shook his head: "I said it before—money's nothing. I just want to make a friend."

Shengzi froze.

Ten thousand yuan! Ten stacks of hundred-yuan notes—just sitting in a bank earning interest could keep you fed every day.

Jin Peng didn't take the money back; he smiled: "Du Ye, you're… looking for a new path?"

Du Xing smiled openly: "Yes. I'm at my wit's end—wanting a stable way to earn a living."

Jin Peng shifted his cigarette from left to right corner of his mouth, then placed the money firmly in Du Xing's hand.

Du Xing's smile turned bitter.

He knew he wasn't liked by many—but never imagined he'd be so thoroughly despised.

But Jin Peng added: "Du Ye, this needs someone who knows the inside to report it. My men aren't familiar—can you guide us?"

Du Xing looked up sharply; his bitter smile slowly turned calm.

"Heh~"

Du Xing chuckled, spat the tobacco juice onto the ground, and turned to walk away.

A letter of introduction? The Water Margin talks about it—I'm not illiterate.

But Shengzi hurried after him, anxious: "Star Brother, we've got ten thousand yuan already—why risk this mess? Besides, Changzi's still inside! If we really help those outsiders light the fuse…"

"We're not lighting the fuse for them—we're lighting it for ourselves."

Du Xing stopped, turned to Shengzi calmly: "No one's dumber than anyone else. Wall grass bends with the wind—no one trusts you."

"No matter how much money you have, it'll run out. But walk the right path, and you'll walk all the way to the horizon."

Shengzi:.

Seeing Shengzi still hesitating, Du Xing didn't press him—he split the money into two piles, shoved at least three thousand yuan into Shengzi's hands.

Shengzi clutched the brick-thick wad of cash, stared at Du Xing's disappearing silhouette in the dark, hesitated long, then stamped his foot and muttered curses as he followed.

………

The authorities arrived quickly—this stash of "illegal goods" was no small matter.

But Old Hou's men were more alert than expected—they'd posted sentries around the perimeter.

As a sharp whistle pierced the silent night, the brightly lit courtyard erupted into chaos.

"Hurry, hurry, load everything onto the trucks—ignore the rest. Everyone, come get fifty yuan and break out together!"

Old Hou and a few trusted men hurried dozens of men to load the trucks, then rushed out the gate before the authorities arrived.

But as his truck cleared the gate, a dozen bricks flew through the bright lights straight toward the driver's cabin.

"Clang~"

"Don't stop—floor it!"

The windshield shattered; the driver, blood pouring from his forehead, stomped the accelerator.

Then the car hit a pile of debris—the front left wheel suddenly sank and got stuck, killing the engine.

Jiang Hong's group of two dozen were ex-soldiers—they'd all trained in field engineering: digging trenches, lifting manhole covers—child's play.

Seeing the car stuck, Old Hou grabbed his briefcase, jumped out, and tried to flee.

Behind him, Dongtiao's Ma Hu and his gang rushed up, shouting wildly into the dark, pounding their chests, ready to fight to the death.

But when they saw a dozen men, each holding a wooden club, advancing silently, they all shuddered.

These dozen men moved in apparent disorder—but they pressed forward without a word. Dozens of seasoned brawlers couldn't help but step back.

Ma Hu roared: "Don't back down—we've got numbers! Changzi, why are you running?"

Changzi, already climbing the wall, finally showed some loyalty—he shouted before jumping down: "Don't mess with these guys—Heng San got taken down by people like this!"

Ma Hu and the others felt a cold chill rise from their bellies to their skulls.

Heng San's story was legend—but these dozen weren't disorganized—they were damn well infantrymen trained in the "three-three" assault formation!

Old Hou opened his briefcase, unzipped it, revealing stacks of cash.

"Whoever you are—come out and talk. If there's a grudge, settle it. If none, let's be friends. What do you say?"

No one answered.

Jiang Hong walked forward coldly, brushing past Old Hou.

He dragged a large bag off the truck, sliced it open with a dagger, pulled out several garments—plainly counterfeit Fenghua brand.

Old Hou's face darkened. He shouted outside: "Is Manager Jin here? Please come out and speak."

Jin Peng stepped forward slowly, smiling: "If you know it's us, why keep struggling?"

Old Hou didn't flinch: "Manager Jin, you've taken over Xiushuijie—we stay out of each other's way."

"Shut up!" Jin Peng scoffed, picking at his ear: "You're selling fakes right under our noses—and you still talk about keeping distance? What nonsense!"

"Don't say that," Old Hou insisted: "Your Pengcheng Seven Factories sell Fenghua brand—I sell Fenghua brand. They're not the same product—you can't sue me."

"Pff~"

Jin Peng burst out laughing.

If he hadn't personally handled the trademark registrations, he might've been fooled.

Li Ye had him register dozens of trademarks personally—not just the traditional and simplified Chinese characters for Fenghua, but also the pinyin, English, and even altered logos.

Jin Peng lit a cigarette, exhaled, then said to Old Hou: "If you hadn't provoked us, we'd have kept our distance—you sell electronics, I sell clothing and sundries. But since you're trampling our brand, don't blame us for being ruthless."

"Ruthless?" Old Hou laughed: "Manager Jin, I don't even know what you're talking about. Even if you seize my goods and fine me, what's the harm? Just pocket change!"

"Hahahahaha~"

Jin Peng roared: "Old Hou, have you ever paid taxes? Do you even know what tax evasion is? You think I pay over a million yuan in taxes every year for fun?"

Old Hou realized the game was up and stopped arguing with Jin Peng.

In his view, he'd lose his goods and pay a fine—maybe lose half a year's profit, but he could smooth it over with connections.

As for tax evasion—how much did he sell? How much tax did he dodge?

But when he saw different departments arriving one after another—even newspaper reporters showed up—he finally knew he was in deep trouble.

Nothing is worse than making a scene—once it blows up, you can find bones in an egg.

"Boss Jin, you're hurting others without benefiting yourself—you're determined to make an enemy of me!"

"Hehehe~"

Jin Peng smiled and turned away.

Li Ye had taught him and Wang Qiangqiang in their economics class that crushing your rival is the greatest advantage to yourself.

Moreover, Duoxing had been with Boss Hou for a long time; the amount of tax evasion reported would surely meet the threshold for "huge sum," and he had also deceived college students—he's not getting out without spending at least a year or two behind bars.

And a major crackdown is coming in a few months—heehee~

You want revenge? Dream on.

(End of Chapter)