20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 523 Huangshan Weng Mutual Benefit

"A visiting card? What visiting card?"

At dusk, Zhang Xiaolin sat alone on the sofa, his eyes were sinister and his face was ashen. He was angry but also a little confused.

Lou Jingyuan stood in front of his uncle with his hands hanging down, his face covered with bruises, his brow bones and cheeks swollen so much that his right eye was squeezed into a slit.

After all, they are not blood relatives. When Zhang Xiaolin saw the miserable state of his wife's nephew, he not only did not feel the slightest sympathy, but was angry at the shame. If Yan Chaosheng had not interceded and dissuaded him, he would probably have jumped up on the spot and slapped Lou Jingyuan a few more times.

Back then, when he was "conquering the world" with his fists and feet at the Shilipu Wharf, although he had suffered defeats, he had never been humiliated in public like Lou Jingyuan was today, with no face left.

However, according to Yan Chaosheng, considering the situation at the time, it was no wonder that Lou Jingyuan was incompetent.

It wasn't a gang fight at all, it was just a dock riot.

The Axe Gang members incited their colleagues and fellow villagers, and together with the onlookers, swept through Shiliupu, demonstrating and shouting, which lasted for a whole afternoon.

The situation soon reached the top leaders in Shanghai. The French Concession Police Station and the troops stationed in the old suburbs of Shanghai each sent personnel to maintain order. However, as there were too many dock workers and they had not entered the city to cause trouble, neither side dared to open fire, for fear of rashly arousing the workers' anger and leading to even more violent riots.

It was not until sunset that the workers gradually dispersed. From the looks of it, it seemed that they were planning to take a break the next day.

After leaving the dock, Lou Jingyuan first went to the clinic to treat his injuries, and then rushed to Zhang Mansion to meet his uncle and report the situation truthfully.

Zhang Xiaolin originally thought that the Axe Gang had a message to convey, but when Lou Jingyuan opened his mouth, he inexplicably mentioned the matter of the "visiting card", which really confused him and left him clueless.

"The Axe Gang robbed your dock, what does that have to do with a visiting card?" he asked, "Have you ever received a visiting card from Wang Laojiu?"

Lou Jingyuan quickly shook his head: "It's not Wang Laojiu's visiting card."

"Whose is that?"

"This...I don't know either!"

"Mother!" Zhang Xiaolin immediately slammed the table and glared, "You Amulin, you can't even convey the message clearly, you don't even know whose visiting card it is, what nonsense are you talking about here!"

Lou Jingyuan frowned and cried out: "Uncle, it's not that I don't ask, it's that they don't want to tell us, and they have to let us guess by ourselves, what can I do!"

Zhang Xiaolin had no choice but to call housekeeper Wu to take out all the visiting cards received in the mansion in the past few days and review them one by one.

However, it has been nearly half a month since the Jiang family submitted the visiting cards, and Zhang Xiaolin does not have a hobby of collecting cards. He only reads the visiting cards he receives if he can, and throws away the ones he doesn't want to read. He has never kept them.

Although I am not familiar with the people I have in my hands, I have heard of them a little. They don’t seem to be enemies, and they don’t have the courage to provoke Sanjin Company.

Seeing this, Lou Jingyuan said hurriedly: "That guy has a northern accent. Even if it's not from the Northeast, it's at least from Shandong or Hebei. And from what he said, this visiting card was not only given to you, but also to my master and the old man."

"Northerner?" Zhang Xiaolin immediately turned around and told the housekeeper, "Go next door and see if Ayong is back. Ask him to come find me."

Butler Wu bowed and accepted the order, walked out of the mansion, passed through the moon gate, and went straight to the Du Mansion.

In less than a minute, Du Yong arrived at Zhang's living room with several visiting cards.

Not to mention a visiting card from half a month ago, even if it was a visiting card from half a year ago, no matter whether he had seen it or not, as long as it had been in his hands, he would be able to find it out. It shows how meticulous he is.

Du Yong had just returned from Huang's mansion. When he heard the message from housekeeper Wu, he immediately rushed over, piled several visiting cards on the coffee table, picked one out of them, handed it to Zhang Xiaolin, and said, "Brother Xiaolin, if I'm not mistaken, this should be the visiting card they were talking about."

Zhang Xiaolin was slightly surprised. He took it and asked without waiting for a closer look: "Why are you so sure?"

Du Yong pointed at the coffee table and patiently explained, "Look, on the other visiting cards, all of them have written names, identities, business names, gift lists, and things to discuss after the meeting. Only this one is vague, and I don't know what it's about. And it happens to be from a northerner."

Zhang Xiaolin felt that what he said made sense. He looked down and immediately remembered three big words in his mind - Jiang Lianheng.

The information on the visiting card is indeed very vague. Apart from the gift money, it only says that we are looking for business cooperation. We kindly ask for a face-to-face meeting for specific matters.

"A Fengtian person?" Zhang Xiaolin frowned and muttered a few words.

Seeing this, he finally recalled what happened that day. He did reject Jiang Lianheng's request for a meeting.

Firstly, Zhang Xiaolin was well-known, with his house full of guests every day, and it was impossible for him to meet just anyone in person; secondly, Fengtian outside the Great Wall was a place that was far away from Zhang Xiaolin, and no matter how powerful the Fengtian clique was, it could not reach the foreign concessions; thirdly, this visiting card was so bizarre that people were too lazy to pay attention to it.

However, although Zhang Xiaolin has a hot temper, he is not a mad dog that bites anyone he catches.

When he received the visiting card that day, he just casually said "stinky beggar" and ignored it.

However, he was used to being arrogant and domineering in his daily life, and his disciples also looked down on him. They scolded the visitor on the spot and didn't care at all.

Now that he has found out the real culprit, Zhang Xiaolin gnashed his teeth and cursed angrily, "That bastard, he thought that I have to see him just because he handed me a visiting card? Who indulged his bad habits! He flirted with Wang Laojiu and dared to go against the Qing Gang in Shanghai. I will make sure he never returns!"

Du Yong also nodded repeatedly and said, "Brother Xiaolin, as long as we can determine the target, the next thing will be easy."

"Oh? Ah Yong, if that's the case, then you have already thought of a good idea?"

"What method we use depends on how powerful Mr. Jiang is. Anyway, since things have come to this point, we might as well find out his background first."

……

……

At Zhabei Railway Station, urged by the shrill ringing of bells, passengers on the platform, carrying large and small bags, lined up in long queues to check their tickets and board the train.

Looking across the bustling crowd, at the door of the first-class carriage, several German engineers with high noses, deep eyes and wearing windbreakers were slowly getting into the carriage, waiting to set off north.

"Mr. Jiang, please stay!" Yasipsen said with a smile, "If you have time, we'll meet in Fengtian, or we'll have sauerkraut and black sausage!"

Jiang Lianheng and Wen Tingge joked, "You've lived in the Far East for more than 20 years, and you've only remembered this one!"

As agreed, the Germans had helped the Jiang family recruit a number of weapons engineers for the Fengtian Arsenal. Now they were about to return to Fengtian to report, and as they were about to part, the two of them came to the station to see them off.

Jiang Lianheng reminded Jaspers again about the handover matters, then took out a cigarette box-sized piece of paper and stuffed it into his hand.

"When you arrive in Fengtian, give this paper to Guo Yan and ask him to discuss it with his family."

Yasipsheng took it and glanced at it. He saw that it was clearly composed entirely of Chinese characters, but when he read them together, he didn't understand what they meant.

"Mr. Jiang, this is..." "Don't worry about what it is." Jiang Lianheng instructed, "Give it to Guo Yan, he can understand it."

Yasipsen tactfully did not ask any more questions, and then shook hands with Jiang and Wen. "Okay, I'll be leaving first. Will you stay longer?"

Jiang Lianheng grinned and said, "Probably not. My work is going well. I think I will be able to go back in a few days."

"Well, may God bless you and wish you all the best!" Jaspersen boarded the carriage, turned around and waved towards the platform.

The time of farewell is always short. After a while, the station bell rang again, and the train started slowly, then faster and faster, and finally disappeared from sight.

Jiang Lianheng turned around and nodded to Wen Tingge: "Let's go to Jiu Ye and see how they are doing!"

After that, the two of them left Zhabei Railway Station, took the tram back into the concession, and then changed to a rickshaw and went straight to the Anhui Provincial Association Hall.

By the time we saw Wang Laojiu, it was already getting dark.

The Anhui Hometown Association Hall, which is now the headquarters of the Axe Gang, is bustling with noise at this moment. Brothers are standing guard at the surrounding intersections, and a large number of people are gathered in front of the association hall, all on high alert to protect the personal safety of Master Jiu.

After all, the Axe Gang took the lead these days and offended the "three big bosses" of the Green Gang, so the minimum sense of vigilance cannot be relaxed.

Walking into the hall of the guild hall, the core members of the gang were drinking and chatting happily, looking very proud.

Chen Lixian and Luotuo sat next to Wang Laojiu and described in vivid detail the grand scene at the dock today.

Liu Yansheng, Li Zhengxi and Chuang Hu were also at the table. When they saw Jiang Lianheng approaching, they quickly stood up to greet him.

"Boss, we've already completed most of the work." Liu Yansheng said excitedly, "There was a riot at the dock this afternoon. If Shop 16 is not managed by the Axe Gang, even the workers won't agree."

Li Zhengxi immediately said, "I have also asked Lou Jingyuan to convey our request to them. This will teach the Green Gang's 'three tycoons' a lesson and they should stop looking down on others in the future."

Xifeng's tone was particularly cheerful, as if he was enjoying the pleasure of "revenge".

However, Jiang Lianheng's expression was very serious.

"Just pass on the message. Once Jiu Ye and his men have established a firm foothold in Shiliupu, we will leave immediately. There is no need to continue to tangle with the 'three tycoons'."

Li Zhengxi was stunned, and said with a bit of regret: "Brother, those three were so pretentious before, and we are so popular now, why don't we save our reputation and just leave like this?"

Jiang Lianheng shook his head and said, "They know who I am, so why should I go against them? They have lost their prestige, and that's enough. Shanghai is the territory of the Green Gang after all. We can take advantage of their carelessness and use some tricks to gain some advantage, but if we really confront them head-on, it will be disadvantageous to us, and we are not going to open a counter in Shanghai, so it's not worth it."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Laojiu at the table suddenly stood up, holding a glass of wine and calling out, "Brother Jiang, come on, come on, please take a seat!"

Jiang Lianheng immediately put on a smile, walked forward, clasped his hands and said, "Brother Jiu, congratulations on your opening of the store!"

Wang Laojiu waved his hand and said, "Well, this is all thanks to Brother Jiang for both his financial support and his advice. Logically speaking, you should be the leader of the Axe Gang!"

"No, no, I dare not. After you, Ninth Brother, have settled down here, it will be time for me to leave." Jiang Lianheng took a seat.

Chen Lixian and others hurriedly said, "Boss Jiang, why are you in such a hurry? The big show has just begun! After we take over Shiliupu, the brothers in the foreign concessions will definitely talk about tea trays, and you will have to attend then. Jiu Ye has just said that the Axe Gang has a seat for you!"

Jiang Lianheng hurriedly declined, "No, no, no, I appreciate your kindness, but it's not appropriate for me to show up in Shanghai, so as to avoid unnecessary trouble. As long as you can ensure that the merchants and civilians of Feng Province will not be bullied at the docks in the future, that will be enough."

"Of course!" Wang Laojiu patted his chest, "I, Wang Laojiu, always keep my word. I will never go back on my promise to my brothers!"

"That's good, that's good." Jiang Lianheng said with a smile.

"But then again, Brother Jiang, you are really an old hand!" Wang Laojiu said with conviction, "To be honest, I didn't really believe your tricks at first. I always felt that they were a bit fake. I didn't expect that public opinion would really fan our flames."

Camel nodded and said, "Spending the least amount of money to accomplish the greatest goal, it not only slaps the faces of the 'three tycoons', but also does not offend others. Boss Jiang, that's brilliant!"

No one doesn't like to hear flattery, and Jiang Lianheng is no exception. After laughing, he did not forget to remind him seriously:
"Brother Jiu, let me be frank. The trick I gave you is actually fraud and deception. It is useful, but if you want to take root in Shanghai in the future, you can only use this trick once. It is just to fool yourself. It will not work if you use it again. Moreover, once it is exposed, it will hurt yourself and benefit others. To join the gang, you still have to rely on real skills in the end. What you say is what you mean."

Wang Laojiu nodded in agreement: "You must keep your word and do what you say."

"Well, don't make harsh words easily." Jiang Lianheng reminded again and again, "If you can't do what you say, it's better not to say it."

"Brother Jiang is so insightful!"

Everyone praised it, and then became curious.

"By the way...Brother Jiang, when did you start running online? You don't look that old, so you must have had some guidance from an expert before, right? Looking at your methods, it doesn't seem like you have learned them all by hard work and struggle!"

Upon hearing this, the wine glass in Jiang Lianheng's hand trembled slightly, but he didn't spill the wine. Perhaps it was just a little sediment in his heart.

Any advice from an expert?

I'm afraid that's out of the question?
But where should I start talking about this...

While they were hesitating and lost in thought, a young member of the Axe Gang suddenly walked in from outside the guild hall and interrupted their conversation.

"Master Jiu, there is someone outside the guild who wants to see you." The young man was a little reserved and spoke in a stiff manner, as if he had just joined the guild.

Wang Laojiu burped, frowned and asked, "Who's looking for me?"

"Uh... this is a famous post." The young man scratched his head and said with some shame, "I can't read, but the man said he is from the same hometown as us."

Wang Laojiu took the business card, put it on the table, and invited Jiang Lianheng to come and see it.

"Li Guodong... Director of the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company?"

Everyone was slightly surprised.

Unexpectedly, just as the Axe Gang became famous, some of Shanghai's most powerful people came to make friends with them.

Jiang Lianheng laughed and said, "Brother Jiu, what do you think of what I said? Is the advertisement of our Axe Gang effective?"

Logically speaking, the directors of the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company could only be regarded as celebrities in the Shanghai business community, and were not at all powerful figures. However, it was already a good start. The Axe Gang started out as a group of poor guys, and now they were about to start climbing up.

Wang Laojiu was naturally very satisfied. He immediately closed the name card and ordered his men, "Please invite Mr. Li in!"

(End of this chapter)