Chapter 194: Qingyuan Urban Management

Li Fei looked at the crowd below bowing and saluting him in unison, and he almost couldn't keep a straight face, thinking he was some sort of evil god who could catch bullets with his bare hands.

He did not speak, and the three hundred-plus people maintained their bowing posture, not daring to rise.

The atmosphere at the scene gradually became oppressive, and many began to break out in a cold sweat.

"That is enough."

A moment later, a low voice sounded from beneath the mask.

Hearing this, the three hundred-plus people present finally breathed a sigh of relief, rose one after another, and looked up at the Green-Faced Ghost King on the viewing platform.

"Liu Saner should have told you over the past few days that I do indeed intend to take over the business left behind by the Tiger Blade Gang, and I also intend to reorganize the Tiger Blade Gang. However, many of the old rules must be changed."

Li Fei said in a clear, loud voice.

Hearing that the Green-Faced Ghost King intended to rebuild the Tiger Blade Gang, everyone present felt a surge of joy, and someone immediately shouted aloud:

"We are willing to follow the Ghost King's lead in all things!"

"We are willing to follow the Ghost King to the death!"

"The Ghost King's martial arts are peerless; he will surely unify the Xingcheng underworld!"

"."

For a moment, everyone expressed their stance loudly, bowing to Li Fei on the platform once again.

Li Fei raised a hand, and the crowd quickly fell silent.

"Among you, there are many who are stained with blood and guilty of heinous crimes. I will not have such people."

Li Fei said coldly.

These words caused many present to shudder in shock.

Subsequently, dozens of burly men wielding weapons rushed in from the entrance of the venue, surrounding all the people on the left side of the formation.

These were the people who had been singled out by Liu Saner earlier.

"Ghost King, spare us! Ghost King, spare us!"

Some immediately knelt down, desperately kowtowing to Li Fei.

"We were all coerced by the Tiger Blade Gang!"

The rest all knelt on the ground and kowtowed one after another.

They all knew very well what they had done in the past, so not one of them claimed to be wronged; they were all begging for mercy.

Li Fei looked at these people coldly and swung his raised right hand down sharply.

Swish, swish, swish, swish—

As Li Fei made this gesture, the burly men wielding weapons slashed directly at those kneeling on the ground!

These burly men were experts from the Qingyuan Fist Stronghold, and under Shangguan Xiao's arrangement, they had all sworn allegiance to Li Fei.

Among those kneeling on the ground, there were some martial artists at the Body-Breaking Realm who rose to resist, but they were quickly cut in two.

The one who struck was the famous expert of the Qingyuan Fist Stronghold, 'Gold-Breaking Hand' Xiang Du.

During the incident a few days ago, the experts of the Qingyuan Fist Stronghold suffered heavy losses, and now the only usable Martial Master-level expert was Xiang Du.

Soon, these people who had been specifically singled out were killed to the last one!

In fact, all the people present tonight could be considered villains and scum in the traditional sense.

If judged according to the laws of the Great Lan Dynasty, the vast majority of those present should be sentenced to death, and the rest would not escape imprisonment.

The people Li Fei specifically singled out and killed now were those with notorious reputations—the scum of the scum, the kind for whom ten death sentences would not be too many!

Li Fei wanted to rebuild the Tiger Blade Gang and lead the Xingcheng underworld into a new era, and this ship sailing toward a new era had no room for the dregs of the old one.

On the martial arts arena, half the ground was stained red with blood and covered in corpses; a pungent, bloody stench permeated the venue, while the people on the other half of the arena collapsed to the ground, scared pale.

The people present were not good-natured folk, and they had all seen blood to some extent, but this was the first time they had witnessed a slaughter of this scale!

Of the three hundred-plus people, only a little over a hundred remained!

They had all come to defect with sincerity, only to find themselves walking into a trap.

If this was meant to kill the chicken to warn the monkey, it was far too ruthless and brutal!

At this moment, the eyes of those remaining were filled with bone-deep fear as they looked at Li Fei.

In their hearts, the Green-Faced Ghost King had truly become a killing god from hell!

After the slaughter ended, the experts from the Qingyuan Fist Stronghold left the venue, leaving behind a ground full of corpses.

Only then did Li Fei speak slowly:

"Very well, now we begin to set the rules. I hope you all remember them well."

As his voice fell, the remaining people hurriedly stood up from the ground and focused their attention on Li Fei, fearing that if they missed anything, it would invite a fatal disaster.

Liu Saner, who had been standing behind Li Fei, stepped forward at this moment, holding a thick stack of letter paper, and began to read:

"Effective immediately, all dark opium dens are to be closed, and the opium is to be destroyed..."

Shangguan Xiao had told Li Fei that if he did not like the current Tiger Blade Gang, he should turn it into the version he liked.

And so, Li Fei began a drastic overhaul of the Tiger Blade Gang:

Legitimate businesses would continue, but they could no longer rely on the Tiger Blade Gang's background to engage in extortion, forced buying, or forced selling.

Gambling dens and brothels would also continue to operate; these two businesses were legal in the Great Lan Dynasty, and even if Li Fei did not run them, this market share would be taken by others. Especially the brothels—those registered prostitutes would find it difficult to work in other industries for the rest of their lives. If Li Fei did not take them in, they would only go elsewhere to continue, and likely live even more miserable lives.

Therefore, gambling dens and brothels would continue to operate, but gambling dens were forbidden from arranging for dealers to cheat, and no usury or violent debt collection would be allowed.

As for the brothels, forcing women into prostitution was forbidden, as was wantonly beating or scolding them, or withholding wages; they were also required to arrange regular, free medical checkups for these women.

After the overt businesses were arranged, it was time for the covert ones.

First, the dark opium dens: all were to be destroyed, never to open again!

The black market businesses of murder and human trafficking were to stop; they were not allowed to continue.

Others, such as private salt, heavy crossbows, armor, and even arms dealing, could continue.

In addition to this, the trade in martial arts cultivation resources would also continue.

In the past, the Tiger Blade Gang firmly controlled the Martial Arts Hall, and obtaining resources for martial arts cultivation was not difficult. Although Li Fei could now use his connection with Shangguan Xiao to continue controlling the Martial Arts Hall, he did not intend to do so.

In the future, Li Fei would also arrange for talented people to 'pursue advanced studies' at the Martial Arts Hall, but they would not bully others; everything would be fought for based on one's own ability.

Therefore, these martial arts cultivation resources might have to change from being sold to the outside to being bought from the outside; otherwise, he would have no way to cultivate his own forces.

Finally, the most detailed part of the rules Li Fei set involved the least profitable area: 'protection fees'.

'Protection fees' were a feature of the era; from small street vendors to large department stores, unless there was a force protecting them from behind, they could not escape 'protection fees'.

And those businessmen who had the protection of a force had actually already paid 'protection fees' in another form.

Originally, the Tiger Blade Gang leaders responsible for collecting protection fees all felt that with the Green-Faced Ghost King's personality, protection fees would definitely be banned, and they would be out of a job.

Yet, unexpectedly, in the rules Li Fei set, protection fees were still to be collected, only the amount was much lower than before.

Moreover, this protection fee had changed its name to 'Urban Management Fee'.

After collecting this 'Urban Management Fee', the people of the Tiger Blade Gang were responsible for doing many things:

Standing guard at fixed points every day, maintaining market order, and not allowing anyone to fight or cause trouble.

Sweeping up trash every day and maintaining the environmental hygiene outside those shops.

Sending people to stand guard every night for fire and theft prevention.

If the road surface was damaged, had potholes, or stone slabs were broken, or street lamps were out, they were to be repaired in a timely manner.

If it rained and water accumulated in the shops, they were to go and help...

In short, merchants who paid the Urban Management Fee could ask for help if they encountered any problems while open for business.

This series of regulations left everyone present dumbfounded.

Especially those responsible for collecting protection fees—they felt their worldview had been shattered!

Damn it, if you have to do so much for those merchants just to collect a protection fee, wouldn't you just be a laborer?

Working was impossible, but after turning their heads to look at the corpses covering the ground, these leaders could only nod repeatedly at the figure on the platform, indicating that they would certainly serve the Ghost King well.

To work until one's dying day!

After Liu Saner finished reading the various 'regulations' Li Fei had set, he said with a strange expression:

"The name 'Tiger Blade Gang' must also be changed. Everyone, do not tell others you are in a gang when you go out in the future; from now on, everyone is an employee of a legitimate company."

"Legitimate company? Employee?"

These two terms were very unfamiliar to those present.

"From now on, everyone is a member of the Qingyuan Urban Management Company. Go sign your labor contracts in a moment."

Liu Saner said to the crowd.

After obtaining his consent, this Qingyuan Urban Management Company was registered under his name. That is to say, he was the legal representative and chairman of this company.

From a low-level fight broker at the Qingyuan Fist Stronghold to becoming the chairman of a company, and the skeleton of this company was still the Tiger Blade Gang!

Even knowing he was only the nominal manager, all of this still felt very dreamlike to Liu Saner.

"Finally."

Liu Saner shouted with slight embarrassment, "I hope everyone remembers our company's slogan—"

"Be a good person, and improve every day!"

"."

The crowd looked at each other.

After a moment of silence, they shouted in unison:

"Be a good person, and improve every day!"

After the crowd finished shouting the slogan, Li Fei said coldly:

"Dismissed."

Consequently, the crowd fled from this martial arts arena as if they were running for their lives.

Li Fei turned to look at Liu Saner, who immediately stood straight, his muscles tensed.

"In the future, please put more effort into company matters; you will be the one to handle external affairs, and only contact me if you truly encounter something you cannot resolve."

Li Fei said to Liu Saner.

"Yes, rest assured, I will definitely do my utmost to manage the company well for you!"

Liu Saner said with a serious expression.

Li Fei: "I have already told you the worst-case scenario; if something happens to the company in the future, I might still have a chance to escape by hiding in the back, but you, as the company's legal representative at the forefront, will certainly bear the brunt of it. As long as you can accept this risk, that is fine."

Liu Saner laughed: "For a small fry like me to have the chance to become the chairman of such a company, this is an honor and status that many people would give their lives for. Whatever the outcome in the future, I accept it; even if I die, this life will have been worth it! I must thank you for giving me this opportunity!"

After speaking, he bowed deeply to Li Fei.

Afterward, Liu Saner also left the venue; he still had many things to attend to.

After Liu Saner left, Shangguan Xiao walked out from a private box, and Li Fei also removed the mask from his face.

"Master Aunt."

"Mm, this Liu Saner has ability, but what is most rare is that he has loyalty. Your choice of him to manage the company for you is a good one."

Shangguan Xiao said to Li Fei.

Li Fei nodded, agreeing with Shangguan Xiao's assessment.

Back when Green-Faced Ghost was being targeted by both the Tiger Blade Gang and the faction of the Chief, Liu Saner was still willing to risk danger to meet with Shangguan Xiao and deliver a message for Green-Faced Ghost; this matter gave Li Fei a good impression of the man.

These days, there are many capable people, but people who are both capable and loyal are very rare.

"The rules you established—I can understand the others, but regarding this 'city management fee,' I fear that doing it this way will not only fail to make money but will also require you to subsidize it with quite a bit of your own. Is it really meaningful to spend so much manpower and energy doing those things?"

Shangguan Xiao asked.

"Master Aunt, how far the Qingyuan City Management Company can go in the future does not actually depend on how well the other businesses are doing; it depends precisely on whether the work in the 'city management' department can be done well."

A smile appeared on Li Fei's face, and there was a light in his eyes.

Under the night sky, Xingcheng was still filled with the lights of ten thousand homes.

The once-colossal behemoth had already collapsed, and a new flame was blooming from the blood and corpses—

Radiating light.

(End of this chapter)