Chapter 121: So Much! (Begging for Monthly Tickets)

Watching them finish, Pig-Butcher Li went on: "Scarface Yan, leaning on his brother who's an abbot of a lower courtyard at Cloud Mountain Temple, has been throwing his weight around in the city, wanting a bite of every business and leaving others no way to live. This time, after doing something shameful, he ran off, and no one's minding his businesses. We might as well swallow them up. I came here to discuss with you, young brother, how to split his turf."

Scarface Yan, a brother serving as an abbot at Cloud Mountain Temple — with these clues pieced together, Zhao Jin now understood the whole story behind yesterday's killing plot.

Whisker and Big-Head Huang truly didn't want Chen Ergou as their boss. Then Whisker was used by Scarface Yan, or the two used each other, to go provoke trouble at Shi Manqiang's and Ji Xiang's homes, drawing Zhao Jin and the others over.

And the timing was chosen perfectly — a major case in the outlying villages had drawn all the constables and auxiliary runners out of the city to handle it, leaving Xuzhou City empty inside, which made it far easier for those desperate bladesmen to come and go.

The killing plot was meticulously planned. Once Zhao Jin and his group were dead, Whisker and Big-Head Huang would be silenced. Outsiders would only see it as an internal power struggle among Chief Constable Cheng's faction, never suspecting anyone else, much less that Cloud Mountain Temple was using the chance for revenge. And Scarface Yan's side could then smoothly swallow all of Chief Constable Cheng's businesses.

It was a thorough and perfect scheme, but no one imagined that Zhao Jin and his group would be so ferociously brave — not only were they not killed, they instead wiped out those dozen or so desperate bandits who had plagued Xuzhou.

With things reaching this point, Scarface Yan naturally didn't dare stay in the city any longer. Never mind how fearsome Zhao Jin and his few men were — if the fathers of Zhao Jin's group made a move, he couldn't bear the consequences either. Most likely, the moment he heard the news, he packed up his valuables and fled the city.

This Cloud Mountain Temple really never stops its relentless pestering. At that thought, Zhao Jin's expression darkened.

While he pondered, Pig-Butcher Li didn't rush him, only waiting there with a smile. He had been growing impatient himself, but under the stares of Chen Sheng and the others, he couldn't help shrinking back a little. And those thirty-odd young men behind Zhao Jin, though they held only wooden staves, had been standing motionless ever since he arrived. The sight made Pig-Butcher Li feel deeply uneasy, making him all the more cautious.

Zhao Jin had already come out of his thoughts. He glanced at Pig-Butcher Li and said, "I'm not interested in these businesses. Brother Li, run them yourself!"

Pig-Butcher Li was stunned. He hadn't expected the other to be so agreeable. When he got the news the day before, his first thought had been to swallow Scarface Yan's entire operation, but then he remembered how formidable Zhao Jin's group was. With a force like that around, trying to take it all alone would be courting death — he had to negotiate terms before any split.

Coming here and seeing Zhao Jin's attitude, and then the scene before him, Pig-Butcher Li had already given up hope of getting much. He'd only been thinking that getting even a little would be pure profit. He never expected Zhao Jin to want nothing at all.

Once he confirmed Zhao Jin wasn't joking, Pig-Butcher Li was overjoyed. Just as he was about to say something polite, he heard Zhao Jin continue: "I want sixty percent of the money earned. I'll assign someone to straighten out the accounts and will send people regularly to audit the books."

Pig-Butcher Li froze, his face turning ugly. He thought to himself that Zhao Jin might be young, but his appetite was huge — doing nothing, yet taking sixty percent of the income, and even sending people to audit the books, cutting off any chance of cooking the numbers.

But the butcher Li Apu gritted his teeth and still said, "As Young Brother Zhao arranges."

Having something was better than nothing. Seeing Zhao Jin's crew, Pig-Butcher Li no longer had the nerve to haggle over how much.

He thought the conversation would end there, but then Zhao Jin looked Pig-Butcher Li up and down a few times and spoke again: "Brother Li is an open and straightforward man who does things decisively. Since that's the case, I'll give Brother Li some face. From Brother Li's own income, I'll only take forty percent."

Pig-Butcher Li shook his head, not catching on for a moment, then his eyes went wide as he stared at Zhao Jin in disbelief. Raising his rough voice, he asked, "Forty percent of my own business?"

"From Chen Ergou, I'm taking seventy percent of the net profit. Since that's the rule, I can't play favorites. But Brother Li's face still counts for something, so let's make it forty percent!" Zhao Jin said frankly.

Pig-Butcher Li stepped back, rolled up his sleeves, and raised his voice further: "On what grounds do you demand so much!"

As his voice rose, the dozen or so men who had come with him also tensed up. Some reached into their shirts, some pulled the carrying poles off their shoulder loads. But Chen Sheng and the others remained relaxed, their blades not even drawn from their sheaths.

"On what grounds? On this spear in my hand!" Zhao Jin picked up the long spear beside him and gave it a shake with one hand.

Pig-Butcher Li stepped back again, looking at the long spears and blades in Zhao Jin's group's hands, then at the thirty-odd men behind Zhao Jin, and couldn't say a word.

"Brother Li, if you don't agree, then I'll go take it myself. It's up to you." Zhao Jin's manner was calm.

The ferocity on Pig-Butcher Li's face had vanished. He recalled the news he'd heard the day before, remembered how he'd questioned his underlings several times, even sent men to inspect the scene and asked others to inquire at the yamen. Every person had brought back the same confirmed report — those desperate bandits had indeed all been killed by Zhao Jin and his men.

Pig-Butcher Li knew more about those dozen or so bladesmen under Man-Eating Leopard than the rumors told. Those vicious criminals had far more lives on their hands than the rumors claimed. Across Xuzhou, Huai'an, Fengyang, and Yangzhou, many of the violent crimes and major cases had been their doing — it was just that some were underworld disputes and never came to public light.

Such fierce desperadoes, yet they'd been wiped out completely by a few wealthy young men from the city — that alone told you how brave and formidable these youths were. In the world of the jianghu, the strong devoured the weak; whoever was stronger ate more. And when it came to connections and backing, the elders of Zhao Jin's group could all throw their weight around in Xuzhou City — even Pig-Butcher Li's own backers couldn't afford to offend them.

After thinking it over, he couldn't beat them, and his backing was no match. He'd come here expecting to share in the spoils, never imagining he'd be delivering meat to someone else's door. Pig-Butcher Li suddenly felt that he and Zhao Jin simply weren't on the same level — that coming here had only brought humiliation upon himself. At that thought, all the fight drained out of him, and with an ashen face he said, "Since Young Brother Zhao puts it that way, then so be it!"

Zhao Jin had just nodded when he heard exclamations from the people in the goods yard. Everyone was looking up toward a certain direction. Zhao Jin turned his head and saw a column of smoke rising somewhere to the east — some place had caught fire.

At the turn of spring and summer, Xuzhou's climate was relatively damp, so fires weren't common. Heaven only knew why a fire had broken out there. The smoke column was visibly thickening, so the blaze must be intensifying.

"Young Brother Zhao, how do we handle the tribute payments to the higher-ups?" Just as he was watching the fire, he heard Pig-Butcher Li quietly ask from behind.

These shady or gray-market businesses couldn't operate without the tacit approval and protection of the yamen, so the tribute paid to the yamen was a fixed amount.

"For all expenses, I'll cover forty percent as well," Zhao Jin said.

Hearing this, the butcher Li Apu finally breathed a sigh of relief. This young master was at least fair in his dealings — he wouldn't bleed a man dry.

The smoke column was no longer so dense; the fire must have weakened considerably. A fire breaking out in broad daylight like this would draw many helpers and wouldn't turn into a major disaster.

Turning back and seeing Pig-Butcher Li's terrible expression, Zhao Jin smiled and said, "You don't need to put on that face. Scarface Yan's business is much bigger than yours. The forty percent you're getting from it is more than the forty percent of your own that you're giving up. When you do the math, you're still coming out ahead. And I'm not taking your silver for nothing — if you run into any trouble in the future, come find me and I'll resolve it for you. But let's be clear on one point: the accounts must be clean, with no concealment. If I find out otherwise, don't expect any sentiment then."

"Please rest assured, Young Brother — no, Young Master Zhao. This humble one will certainly do as you say." Pig-Butcher Li had finally put himself in his proper place.

If earlier Pig-Butcher Li had only been cowed by Zhao Jin's brute force, then that thoroughly reasoned speech just now had won Li Apu a measure of genuine respect. The man had method, laid everything out so clearly, and on top of that was so formidable — even if he was young, there was no way to contend with someone like that.

"Everything will be calculated starting from last month — Scarface Yan's side and your own side. Deliver it this afternoon," Zhao Jin said finally. Pig-Butcher Li didn't dare say more and could only agree.

As he left, everyone saw Pig-Butcher Li bowing and scraping with the utmost deference. Many didn't recognize this Pig-Butcher Li, but plenty of people knew who he was. They discussed and recounted among themselves, and the looks they cast at Zhao Jin were filled with unusual awe.

"The fire must have been put out," Shi Manqiang said, looking in that direction. Everyone followed his gaze and saw that the black smoke had already dispersed, much thinner than when it had been at its thickest.

Hearing this, Pig-Butcher Li felt even more deflated. He realized that the attention over there hadn't been on him at all. He'd thought himself someone of consequence, never imagining that in their eyes he didn't even register.

Once Pig-Butcher Li had left, the crowd gathered around the goods yard grew larger and larger, all wanting to see this Young Master Zhao's prestige and watch that monkey-like training. Even though these idlers felt some fear toward Zhao Jin, the jostling and shoving back and forth pressed the crowd ever inward. Not only did the children lose their space to play, even the household guards' training couldn't proceed normally.

"All, stand at attention!" Zhao Jin barked. The household guards, who had already grown somewhat slack, hurriedly snapped to rigid attention.

"Eastward, quick march!" The household guards hastily stepped off toward the east. If not for the long spear in Zhao Jin's hand pointing east, they would most likely have gotten the direction wrong.

They hadn't marched ten steps before the crowd was right in front of them. The children had long since laughed and dodged aside, but those idlers were still packed together, oblivious, and quite a few were jeering as if watching a show.

Finding no path ahead, the household guards slowed their pace. A few even stopped in their tracks, and the formation fell into chaos.

"Who told you to stop? Disobeying orders means punishment!" Zhao Jin shouted from behind.

Thinking of the staves that would land on their backsides, the household guards steeled themselves and kept marching forward. Within a few steps they were colliding and shoving against the gawking idlers. At first those idle men found it amusing, but as the men in front kept advancing and those behind pressed forward, blocking any retreat, the ones caught in the middle couldn't move. The short-tempered ones began cursing in fury.

"Hit whoever stands in your way — beat them until they run!" Zhao Jin shouted again from behind.