'Creak'.
The door slowly opened.
"Dr. Zhang, given the recent chaos in the Lower Three Districts, to ensure your safety, the protection fee has increased from 1900 to 2200..."
Halfway through, the tattooed man collecting the fee paused slightly in surprise.
The person who opened the door wasn't Dr. Zhang, but a young man with an innocent, gentle appearance.
"Brother Zhou." The young man smiled and spoke.
Zhou Quan, standing beside the tattooed man, was clearly taken aback:
"Brother Fusheng?"
"This is my father's clinic; I didn't expect to meet Brother Zhou here... Please come in, both of you."
Zhang Fusheng stepped aside and gestured for them to enter.
Zhou Quan and the tattooed man exchanged glances.
The three entered the cramped clinic, and Zhou Quan surveyed the small space,
an old, rusty examination table, with a similarly rusty metal cart beside it filled with tweezers, scalpels, and other items,
in the moldy corner stood an old, humming refrigerator.
No monitoring equipment, no examination lights, only the mixed smell of mildew, stale blood, and disinfectant.
Cramped, oppressive, dim.
Zhou Quan's gaze fell on the gentle-looking young man, the smile usually on his face now gone:
"I've heard of Dr. Zhang, neutral, fair, keeps secrets, a very competent and excellent underground doctor. I just didn't expect him to be Brother Fusheng's father."
Zhang Fusheng didn't answer, silently counted out twenty-two hundred and handed it to the tattooed man.
The latter accepted it.
Zhou Quan stared at Zhang Fusheng, smiling:
"You heard the conversation between Bao and me just now, right, Brother Fusheng?"
He didn't plan to leave. Instead, he pulled over a wooden chair and sat down.
"I heard." Zhang Fusheng nodded slightly.
Zhou Quan spoke slowly:
"Then there's nothing more to say. Bao, refund the fee to Brother Fusheng, and then from the hall prepare three hundred thousand and ten pounds of goods to hand over to Brother Fusheng later."
Zhang Fusheng raised an eyebrow, were they asking him... to transport drugs?
He didn't care where it was transported to, nor why he was chosen — because he wouldn't do it.
In his past life, Zhang Fusheng had a deep hatred for drugs, and in this life, influenced by his father, he wouldn't touch even a bit of it.
Zhou Quan, playing with a silver coin in his hand, calmly said:
"Residents from the Lower and Central Three Districts aren't normally allowed into the Upper Three Districts, but Brother Fusheng can... Did you get into Jiang University?"
After a pause, he continued:
"In our Lower Three Districts, the market price for one gram of flour is five hundred, in the Central Three Districts it can sell for six hundred, and in the Third District..."
"It can sell for five thousand."
"Of course, if Brother Fusheng manages to get it to the Second District, a gram of flour can sell for at least eight thousand, and the three thousand difference in price is all yours."
Zhang Fusheng frowned:
"Why not find someone from the Upper Three Districts."
Zhou Quan looked at him like he was an idiot:
"We at Chai Gate want to make money, not die. The Upper Three Districts are extremely complex; any passerby could be the nephew of the Director of the Public Security Bureau, or a disciple of some high-ranking martial artist."
Zhang Fusheng furrowed his brows:
"There are quite a few people in the Central Three Districts who can enter the Upper Three Districts, right?"
"Quite a few."
Zhou Quan lit a cigarette, explaining patiently:
"But we at Chai Gate don't want to plant a flag in the Central Three Districts. People like you, or Wang Xiangnan from the Lower Three Districts, are more convenient for this work."
Zhang Fusheng lowered his eyelids:
"Did Brother Zhou come to the Martial Arts Dojo just to find suitable candidates?"
"No, it's just convenient. Every mule that can freely enter and exit the Upper Three Districts is hard to come by."
Zhou Quan puffed on his cigarette:
"So it's settled. Tomorrow Bao will teach you how to do it. Each trip with ten pounds of goods, we'll give you a commission of three hundred thousand. Sell at five thousand a gram, and if you manage to sell for a higher price, keep the extra."
Zhang Fusheng asked patiently:
"I don't touch that stuff. How about you find someone else, Brother Zhou?"
Zhou Quan didn't answer, speaking gently instead:
"Let me introduce myself, Zhou Quan, the head of the Fire Hall at Chai Gate, my father."
"A few days ago, we at the Fire Hall lost forty pounds of goods. The one who hijacked them was heavily injured, but we didn't catch them in the end...Someone treated their wounds."
He stood up, exhaling smoke in Zhang Fusheng's face, pinched out the cigarette, speaking softly:
"Do you think the person who treated their injuries was your Uncle Zhang?"
Zhang Fusheng's mouth twitched.
Yes.
That was indeed the case.
It's just that Zhou Quan obviously didn't know and was.... threatening him.
But as long as he was willing, that person could be his father.
"Give my regards to Uncle Zhang."
Zhou Quan emphasized the words Uncle Zhang heavily, then gestured and left with the tattooed man named Bao.
Zhang Fusheng stood there.
For a long time.
He returned to the basement, silently transformed into Zhong Mountain's appearance, hesitated for a moment, but ultimately changed back.
It wasn't worth wasting this identity to kill Zhou Quan, and it might implicate that girl.
If Chai Gate killed Zhong Yue, the deal would fail immediately.
The most crucial thing was, Zhang Fusheng wasn't a good person, but neither was he a complete villain. He couldn't just stand by and watch the little girl lose her life for nothing.
After a long silence, he stepped out, left the Dark Alley, and hailed a taxi.
......
"How does the saying go? Searching high and low, only to find it effortlessly."
The two walked through the dark alley, collecting the protection fees from door to door.
Zhou Quan smiled and said:
"We have another lead."
Bao nodded in agreement:
"With tenfold margins, that kid, just like the other two mules, can make a run every day, and after subtracting costs and bribes, we still stand to net over ten million."
He paused, somewhat regretfully saying:
"It's a pity that such mules are hard to find. Each year, the number of people from the Lower Three Districts who can get into Jiang University can be counted on one hand, and they can only be used for two months."
The difficulty for people from the Lower Three Districts to enter the Upper Three Districts is absurdly high. Relatively speaking, the easiest method is 'getting into Jiang University'.
Zhou Quan placed the last protection fee into the cart, with the dark alley spanning the entire Lower Three Districts, housing thousands of businesses, a thousand of which were under the Fire Hall's control,
a month's protection fee amounted to two million.
Not much, but it had strong symbolic meaning. Whoever collected the fees held authority over these thousand businesses. Before, it was the elder brother,
but a few days ago, the beloved elder brother was slapped dead by the woman who hijacked the goods, so the task fell to Zhou Quan.
Zhou Quan sighed lightly:
"Indeed, these top-tier mules can only be used for two months. Once school starts at Jiang University, they must be dealt with directly to prevent them from growing wings and biting back at their owners."
Who knows who these mules might meet at Jiang University, or which prestigious family they might end up associating with?
So every year, only in these more than two months of summer vacation can a huge profit be made.
If it could be maintained long-term...
Zhou Quan couldn't help but swallow his saliva, then instructed again:
"Zhang Fusheng's situation is quite special, his talent is strong. Although it's unlikely for him to be taken as a disciple by Hongji, better safe than sorry. When you deliver the goods to him tomorrow, tell him not to go to the Martial Arts Dojo anymore."
"Yes, young master." Bao nodded decisively.
While speaking, they walked back to the Eighth District through the dark alley, a section mainly populated by prostitutes, though none were so impertinent as to solicit them.
"Money..." Zhou Quan licked his lips.
......
"Little brother, one hundred and thirty-two." The driver glanced at the watch: "Oh, it's midnight, I better head out quickly, or there'll be trouble later."
Even if allowed temporary entry into the Upper Three Districts due to carrying passengers, these taxi drivers weren't supposed to linger, especially at night,
and they're monitored in real-time by 'Celestial Eye', not even permitted to leave their cars.
Zhang Fusheng handed over the money and got out of the car. In front of him was Hongji Martial Arts Dojo.
He had contemplated whether to just murder Zhou Quan outright.
But that was too risky.
So...
Zhang Fusheng strode into the dojo, heading straight for the fourth floor, accessible only to the master's disciples.
"Find a powerful ally first."
"Then take out Zhou Quan."