Reborn as Zhao Ruilong of Handong, I will defy fate.

Chapter 229 Hell is empty, the devil is in Luzhou!

Luzhou Haitian Group.

Huang Wusheng, who sports a slicked-back hairstyle and loves to imitate Chow Yun-fat.

I put down my phone and took a puff of my cigar.

"Fourth brother, didn't you say Zhao Ruilong was in Luzhou? How come he said he went back to Jingzhou?"

“I actually saw him at the groundbreaking ceremony. I guess he was going back to Jingzhou to accompany the leaders and experts from Yanjing.”

The person Huang Wusheng called "Fourth Brother" was not his biological brother.

It was Luo Dapeng, the fourth son and sworn brother.

Despite having the character "大" (da, meaning big) in his name, Luo Dapeng himself is very thin and small, like a monkey.

Despite his thin frame, he was incredibly imposing, and everyone in the underworld called him Brother Peng.

There was a boss who called him Big Bird, and he beat him up in public, turning his head into a pig's head.

In Luzhou, everyone who's out there knows him, 'Brother Peng'.

As Huang Wusheng's most ruthless subordinate, he had committed so many crimes that even he himself couldn't count them all.

But what does it matter?

They still thrived and lived a carefree and comfortable life.

In the morning, he also represented Lüzhou Haitian Construction at the groundbreaking ceremony of the aviation engine R&D and manufacturing base of Longguo Commercial Aviation Engine Group.

So he was still wearing a shirt, trousers, and leather shoes, looking every bit the businessman.

of course.

No matter how arrogant and domineering he was, he had to behave himself in front of his elder brother Huang Wusheng.

Because he, Luo Dapeng, is merely a figurehead in the public eye, a powerful figure in the underworld of Luzhou.

The real boss behind the scenes is Huang Wusheng.

Huang Wusheng was once a prominent figure in the Luzhou area.

His older brother, Huang Wucheng, and he were complete opposites since childhood.

One is excellent in both character and academics, while the other is ignorant and incompetent.

One of them studied diligently, got into university, and then entered politics and had a respectable job.

He was a scoundrel who committed all sorts of crimes, including theft, robbery, and fraud, and had been imprisoned more than once.

The turning point in his life came the year Huang Wusheng was imprisoned for illegally selling cigarettes and was released after serving his sentence.

That year, his elder brother Huang Wucheng became the town mayor, wielding real power.

In the same year, in response to the dire security situation, a nationwide crackdown was launched.

When he discovered that even being a hooligan could get him shot, and that it would be a public trial and execution in front of everyone.

When he saw his former gangster brothers, their hands tied behind their backs, pinned to the ground, lined up to be shot...

Huang Wusheng finally woke up from his dream.

In addition, there was the lecturing from his elder brother, Huang Wucheng.

He finally realized that committing crimes wouldn't get him much money, and it was extremely dangerous.

Ever since.

Huang Wusheng then switched careers and started a business.

It started with the pretext of cleaning up the river, but in reality, it was illegal sand mining.

Gradually, they took on small projects in the town and monopolized the raw material supply and transportation business of several township enterprises.

As his elder brother rose through the ranks, his business naturally expanded as well.

Moreover, driven by exorbitant profits and protected by the power of the eldest brother.

He couldn't resist starting all sorts of shady businesses.

but……

Having been in the business for many years, Huang Wusheng was already very experienced.

He established the Lüzhou Haitian Group, operating its various businesses in a corporate manner.

He wasn't directly in charge of many of the shady businesses; instead, he recruited numerous underlings who had served time in prison.

Through bribery and brainwashing based on loyalty, he recruited sworn brothers, including Luo Dapeng, as his core members, who then further developed the network down the chain.

This led to the establishment of a super-large gang with a strict hierarchy, rigorous management, and high level of organization, but on the surface it was still disguised as the Luzhou Haitian Group.

In addition to engaging in legitimate businesses such as construction engineering, catering and accommodation, transportation, and commercial trade, they also operate casinos, nightclubs, loan companies, engage in illegal sand mining, monopolize pig slaughtering, and control the transportation of construction waste...

He would do any business that could generate huge profits through monopoly.

Even the well-established Huilong Group is developing the Lakeside Garden residential project in Lüzhou.

They all partnered with Huang Wusheng's company for the initial waste removal and civil construction.

And the Haitian Nightclub, the most upscale, luxurious, and supposedly safest nightclub in Luzhou, is naturally Huang Wusheng's most important ATM.

He not only made a fortune through this nightclub, but also corrupted a large number of powerful people through his extravagant lifestyle.

The numerous dirty and shady businesses were naturally handed over to the underlings to manage.

Huang Wusheng not only made a fortune behind the scenes, but also transformed himself into a well-known entrepreneur.

This way.

With the protection of his elder brother Huang Wucheng's power, and his own immense wealth and fame, he was able to achieve great success.

Huang Wusheng was naturally a formidable figure in Lüzhou.

Therefore, in front of Huang Wusheng, Luo Dapeng, who was known for his ruthlessness, was naturally as obedient as a dog, completely lacking the imposing and domineering aura of a gangster boss.

Huang Wusheng closed his eyes slightly, savoring the aroma of the cigar.

He finally exhaled a long breath of smoke and opened his eyes.

Looking at the fawning smile on Luo Dapeng's face, Huang Wusheng asked with a somewhat serious expression:

"I haven't been involved in business matters for a long time. Do you know why I'm here today?"

Luo Dapeng said with a fawning smile, "Didn't you say you wanted to invite President Zhao to enjoy the song and dance performance choreographed by the newcomers?"

Huang Wusheng then asked, "Do you know why I personally invited him?"

"Of course, it's because President Zhao has a special status!"

Luo Dapeng said with a fawning smile, "He is the precious son of Zhao Lichun, the Secretary of the Hantong Province. With such a powerful father as his backer, and his siblings' Huilong Group doing very well, of course only you, brother, can invite President Zhao."

"Moreover, President Zhao has given us a big project that can make a lot of money. It's only right and proper that we thank him properly. So, it's most appropriate for you, brother, to invite him over for a visit."

Huang Wusheng chuckled softly.

He pointed at Luo Dapeng.

You've only seen the surface!

"He's done another project for us, so I should go out and thank him."

"But the reason I personally invited him is because this gentleman has recently caused quite a stir in Jingzhou."

Luo Dapeng was stunned.

"What's wrong? What kind of trouble could a son of a powerful family cause?"

"The biggest thing happening in Handong recently is that the high-speed rail has officially started construction, right?"

Huang Wusheng was stunned and speechless.

It seems my underlings are truly out of touch with the times.

They were oblivious to everything else and only focused on making big money.

He thought of his elder brother, Huang Wucheng, who had personally instructed him to be cautious.

So Huang Wusheng stopped beating around the bush and said with a serious expression:

"A case occurred in Guangming District, Jingzhou. A small restaurant was heavily fined for advertising, which nearly drove the owner and his family to self-immolation. They went to court, lost in the first and second trials, and then took the case to the Handong High Court..."

Luo Dapeng listened attentively.

He then heard that many people with high-ranking positions and their relatives and friends had been implicated.

Even swearing and spitting in the street can result in 15 days of detention and a 2,000 yuan fine...

Now Luo Dapeng finally understood why his elder brother had personally come forward to invite Zhao Ruilong.

"I understand, brother. You're afraid that President Zhao will stir up a crackdown in our Luzhou, right?"

"Of course!"

Huang Wusheng slowly stood up.

"Actually, everyone knows that the father and son are up to no good at changing their work style. They are actually trying to reshuffle the team and put a more compliant person in charge."

“My brother said that before the Spring Festival, Zhao Lichun had not yet become the top leader of Handong, and Zhong Zhengguo had not yet been transferred. The Zhao family father and son took advantage of the mining accident in Lincheng to launch an anti-corruption storm.”

"This storm not only implicated many people who were promoted and given important positions during Zhong Zhengguo's tenure, but also Liang Wei, the son of Liang Qunfeng, the third-in-command of Handong."

"As a result, Liang Qunfeng's reputation was ruined in his later years. He resigned and returned to his hometown. Not long after, he fell ill and died. Zhao Lichun naturally had to find someone to replace him in the political and legal system."

"Now that several months have passed, Handong's high-quality economy is thriving, and Zhao Lichun naturally has the energy and resources to carry out another major reshuffle of the middle and lower classes, thereby completely stabilizing his rule."

"The case of the Fulin Old Restaurant, which was severely punished for a minor offense, was just the pretext to stir up a storm. The so-called crackdown on petty corruption at the grassroots level and the genuine transformation of work style are just excuses to make the people happy!"

"The real purpose of the father and son is to turn the whole of Handong into a united front, so that everyone will work honestly for the Zhao family and do a good job in high-quality economic development and military-civilian integration strategy, so that they can both make money and make progress!"

Huang Wusheng was a little tired after talking for a long time.

I put down my cigar and took a sip of coffee.

"And one more thing, don't forget!"

"Gao Yuliang, the top official in our Luzhou City, has a very special relationship with the Zhao family."

"Although Gao Yuliang was promoted by Liang Qunfeng, Gao Yuliang's wife, Wu Huifen, and Zhao Ruilong's future mother-in-law, Wu Xinyi, are sisters. Therefore, Zhao Ruilong has to call Gao Yuliang 'Uncle-in-law'!"

"With such a connection, do you think Gao Yuliang wouldn't actively try to get closer to the Zhao family? Wouldn't he make some achievements to curry favor with the Zhao family? That's why my brother is certain that this storm will definitely reach Luzhou!"

"He told me not to stay idle at home, but to come out and greet the brothers. He also told me to keep a low profile lately and not to get involved in any cases that would attract attention. He also told me to improve my relationship with Zhao Ruilong and not to ruin our harmony!"

"The Zhao family is aiming for big business and great achievements, which our Huang family can't compare to, nor do we even want to. We just want to protect our little piece of land in Luzhou. Let them cause trouble if they want, as long as it doesn't affect us!"

Huang Wusheng's painstaking explanation.

Luo Dapeng naturally understood.

An unprecedented storm is about to spread from the provincial capital Jingzhou to the entire Handong province, and Lüzhou will naturally not be spared.

"Big brother, just tell me what to do!"

Huang Wusheng did not rush to give instructions.

I took a puff of my cigar and paused for a moment.

Even a rabbit will bite when cornered!

"The case of the Fulin Old Restaurant that triggered this storm is one in which the owner and his family are willing to risk their lives to fight to the end."

"So we must learn from this lesson. We need to tone down our recent outrageous behavior and not push people too far."

After saying "Oh," Luo Dapeng hurriedly asked, "So, we're not going to keep pressing them to pay back the money? But paying back debts is a matter of course!"

Huang Wusheng glanced at him coldly.

"Why are you pretending with me?"

"Don't you know why those people owe us high-interest loans?"

"If we hadn't let them get addicted to gambling and cheated them out of a lot of money, would they have come to us for high-interest loans?"

“Legally speaking, such debts cannot be recovered at all. If you continue to do what you did before, such as blocking the door, splashing paint, or even arresting, beating, and locking people in dog cages, you might end up in a case and attract attention!”

Luo Dapeng gave an awkward laugh.

"Alright, I'll give the brothers a few days off later."

"A few days probably won't be enough, let's do half a month! Let them all go out and enjoy the scenery, and don't let them stay in Luzhou for the time being!"

At this point, Huang Wusheng quickly added:

"Also, we shouldn't be too harsh on our own people lately."

"I heard that a couple of days ago, the performance evaluation results for May came out, and one of the girls did not meet the performance target."

"Then I was punished by having to serve the security team. Those guys were playing too rough and ended up injuring someone and sending them to the hospital?"

Luo Dapeng gave another awkward laugh.

Yes, that's true.

"But if we don't do this, how can the ladies fully dedicate themselves to their work and please the customers?"

Huang Wusheng scolded him irritably, "Change the rules, don't bully people too much."

"What if that girl gets so angry in the hospital that she jumps off a building and commits suicide?"

"Or perhaps you see on the news that the whole province is seriously rectifying its work style and cracking down on corruption and organized crime, and you impulsively report it?"

"She dares!!"

Luo Dapeng immediately said with murderous intent:

"She knows we have family rules!"

"It's fine if she can't stand the injustice and jumps off a building to commit suicide, but if anyone dares to report her, then her whole family is asking for death!"

Huang Wusheng chuckled.

"I was just using an analogy to tell you to keep a low profile lately. Don't be too harsh on outsiders or your own people, or you'll cause a lot of trouble!"

Luo Dapeng nodded and said, "Then I'll change the rules later. If the performance target isn't met the first time, we'll change it to a fine. Only if it's not met the target the second time will there be a punishment."

"The punishment is just putting her in a dark room. Once she's tormented by drug addiction, they won't let her serve the security team for free anymore. Being trampled on by so many brothers in turn, she's indeed easy to be ruined."

"And one more thing."

Huang Wusheng glanced instinctively at the doorway, then solemnly gave the order:

"Although it's safe here, I think it's best to close the nightclubs since things are so tense lately."

"what???"

Luo Dapeng was shocked.

"Big brother, we can't shut down the party venue!"

"Many customers come to our club because they can do drugs without restraint."

"Besides, if we don't let them come and have a wild time, they'll have withdrawal symptoms and won't have anywhere to go. Wouldn't that be even more troublesome?"

"What's more, if none of our girls who are already addicted come to patronize the business and keep them entertained, wouldn't we have to pay out of our own pockets to support them?"

Upon hearing this, Huang Wusheng was caught in a dilemma.

He knew, of course, that the reason his establishment was so successful was because it offered a full range of services including prostitution, gambling, and drugs.

In order to ensure that there are enough beautiful women to attract customers, and at the same time to ensure that the profits are huge.

They have been continuously recruiting through several legitimate companies under the group.

For example, a trading company may seem to be recruiting female sales clerks for a shopping mall, but it is actually also screening for high-quality beauties.

They found some people who were good-looking and had good figures, but came from ordinary or even poor families.

They would use the pretext of closed training to take beautiful women to secluded places and force them into prostitution through professional brainwashing, coercion, humiliation, and other means.

They are really hard to control, and they might even resort to drugs, because no one can resist drug addiction, and once they are addicted, they will be absolutely obedient.

They don't even need to be paid wages; all they need to do is satisfy their drug addiction. So, of course, Luo Dapeng wants them to have fun with the customers, which satisfies both them and earns him money from the customers.

Otherwise, if we lock them in the dorms, not only will we not be able to make money from them, but we will also have to satisfy their drug addictions, which would be a huge loss.

From a profit-making perspective, Huang Wusheng certainly knew he couldn't stop.

However, considering the recent tight security situation...

After taking a deep drag on his cigar, Huang Wusheng made his decision.

"Things are getting tense lately, so we'd better be careful."

"Okay, we'll keep the venue open for now, but we'll only accept regular customers. We won't accept any new faces."

Luo Dapeng asked urgently, "What if it's a newcomer brought by a regular customer?"

Huang Wusheng shouted loudly:

"Of course I won't answer!"

"Who knows if they were bribed to act as spies for money?"

Luo Dapeng said with a wry smile, "But brother, this will mean we earn a lot less money!"

"You can never earn enough money. If you have the life to earn it but not the life to spend it, what's the point?"

Seeing his younger brother's dejected look, Huang Wusheng softened his tone and said:

"Don't be discouraged. When President Zhao comes to Luzhou in a few days, I'll talk to him and we'll keep to ourselves, okay?"

"Also, don't cause any trouble during this special period. You'd better go to the hospital yourself and visit that girl who was hurt by being played!"

Luo Dapeng looked distressed.

"Seriously, bro? She's just a girl who doesn't get many customers, and you really want me to go visit her in person?"

Huang Wusheng glared and said angrily, "When you're in this business, it's always better to be safe than sorry, don't you understand?"

"Okay, okay, I'll go, I'll go, alright?"

Luo Dapeng immediately got up and went out.

But as soon as the door closed, his expression changed immediately.

"To visit the young lady in the hospital?"

"If word gets out, how the hell will I ever have the face to show my face again?"