In a three-story gambling den in Tianhong Port, Longcheng, Gu Baishun asked Xu Hu's henchmen to play cards downstairs, while he only brought two people to the second-floor box.
After drinking some tea and waiting for about twenty minutes, a man in his thirties walked in.
"Oh, Mr. Gu is here." The man greeted Gu Baishun with a smile.
"Brother You, long time no see." Gu Baishun stood up and extended his hand politely.
The man named Brother You looked at the other two people in the room, then raised his arm and shook hands with Gu Baishun, then sat down on the chair opposite.
"Is there something wrong, Mr. Gu?" Brother You asked directly.
"Indeed...something happened." Gu Baishun scratched his head with an awkward expression, and seemed to hesitate for a long time before he said with a stiff upper lip: "There have been a lot of troubles recently, and there are also some conflicts within Zhannan. I came here to talk to you and see what we should do in the future."
Brother You picked up the teacup, paused and replied: "What can we do? No matter who dies, we all have to survive."
"That's right. No matter what happens above, our brothers in the Code Gang still have to support their families and make a living." Gu Baishun followed up on what the other party said and said, "Today I went to the General Association and talked to the people in the Elders' Council. Everyone supports Brother Hu to take over the business in Zhannan. In addition, Wei Xiangzuo colluded with outsiders to kill my father, and the association will definitely not tolerate him again. So I came here to meet with everyone and see if we can integrate these industries and businesses in Zhannan as soon as possible."
The Coders Association, in addition to doing business at sea, also has many jobs on land.
The code gangs are involved in a series of businesses, including the "butcher shops" in the ports of various districts, gambling dens, entertainment boats on the sea, various seafood businesses, ground supermarkets, restaurants, etc.
This is a diversification of operations. Because the maritime business has a cycle, the monthly cargo throughput is relatively fixed, so two more or two less trips will not have a significant impact on the total amount.
Business on the ground can create more additional profits. Simply put, when there is no cargo at sea, the brothers below will also have income, make money and have something to do.
In other districts, the ground business is basically decided by the leader. After deducting the commission paid to the general association every month, the rest is distributed by the code gangs in each district. In this process, it is up to the gang leader to balance and distribute the benefits, including who invested and who contributed.
But the situation in Zhanan is quite special, as Wei Xiangzuo holds a very important position in the internal power. In other words, sitting in the court took away a certain amount of the right to speak for the gang leaders, which led to the fragmentation of the land transactions in Zhanan District.
One part is managed and operated by Xu Hu, while the other part is decided by Wei Xiangzuo. The ratio between the two is about 6:4.
…
Today, Gu Baishun came to find the temporary person in charge of this gambling den, with the purpose of helping Xu Hu to get the "territory" and occupy the shop, and this strategy was proposed by the traitor Cheng Gang. His motive for doing so was also very simple, as long as Xu Hu swallowed up all the business of the shop under Wei Xiangzuo, then the subordinates would have nothing to do and no money to make, so they would naturally disperse and surrender.
This move can be considered as cutting off the source of the problem, but Gu Baishun did not show an aggressive attitude when talking to the other party, but instead tried to negotiate with him.
After Brother You understood what the other party meant, he raised his cup and drank a sip of tea, frowning and saying, "Wei Xiangzuo colluded with outsiders to kill Mr. Gu. This is definitely against the rules. We have nothing to say. We will definitely not support him anymore. We have no objection to what the General Association wants to do with him. But then again, we have always had a rule in Zhannan, that is, whoever invests the money in the shop has the final say. We can pay the money to the hall and the General Association according to our previous share, but there is no reason to hand over the business directly!"
Gu Baishun rubbed his palms and said, "It's like this. Brother Hu said that he will buy out the money invested in the store according to the current market price. It's not mandatory to take it for free."
"If we sell our food business directly, how are we going to live in the future?" asked Brother You.
"It doesn't affect it. We are all still members of the Code Gang. Brother Hu will not let the brothers below have nothing to do and no money to earn." Gu Baishun replied with a smile.
Brother You waved his hand and said, "I don't have a problem with Xu Hu. Let's be honest. The shops on this street were all invested by my eldest brother and Lao Wei. Now he's gone and I can't find him. I can only manage the business here for him temporarily. But I don't have the power. I just sold the business and handed it over. Do you understand what I mean?"
When Gu Baishun heard this, he licked his lips unconsciously.
"If you want to take it, go find my eldest brother. If he agrees, I have no objection." Brother You added again.
Gu Baishun seemed very reserved. He looked at the other party and seemed to be at a loss for a moment.
"Old You, why are you so stubborn?" At this moment, Xu Hu, who came with Gu Baishun, frowned and said, "You also know that your eldest brother has run away, so why are you still insisting here?! The higher-ups said they want to collect it and give money, why don't you just do it quickly? Do you have to wait until they fall out and then regret it?"
Brother You looked at the other person and said nothing.
"Wei Xiangzuo has stopped caring about you. I don't know where your eldest brother has gone. How come you still don't understand?" The other party continued in a low voice: "In the past few days, the Coast Guard has arrested many people in the port, and how many people have been thrown into the sea. Don't you know?"
Brother You paused, turned around and shouted, "Is there any more tea? Give me some more."
As soon as he finished speaking, the door was pushed open, and a dozen men with expressionless faces walked into the room and stood on both sides of the wall.
Gu Baishun frowned and looked outside, and saw a lot of people gathered at the door on the second floor, looking into the house.
Xu Hu's brother raised his eyebrows and asked, "Old You, you are not stupid enough to rebel, are you?"
"The shop is a livelihood for brothers to support their families," Lao You stood up and looked at the other party and said, "If you hand it over, your life will no longer be in your hands! What's more, this business is not really mine. If I really sell it, I won't be able to explain to my eldest brother."
Xu Hu's brother stood up slowly: "You really won't cry until you see the coffin!"
"Wei Xiangzuo is in trouble. How many people in Zhannan have been ruined by Xu Hu?" Old You answered straightforwardly, "If the higher-ups really won't let us live, then we'll just make trouble! If Zhannan gets into chaos, the police department will get angry and arrest all the members of the Elders' Council."
When Xu Hu's brother heard this, his brows furrowed.
"If you want to recruit them, you have to show your sincerity! Who can obey you with just sticks and hammers?!" After saying this, Brother You turned around and left.
Gu Baishun pulled Brother Xu Hu's arm and gently persuaded him, "Forget it, forget it, don't make a fuss for now. The police department is indeed keeping an eye on Zhannan."
…
Sinaloa region.
After Su Tianyu arrived here, he and Wei Xiangzuo waited for half a day and finally saw someone coming to the port.
In a bungalow, a middle-aged man in his forties, with a Coast Guard pistol on his waist, frowned at Wei Xiangzuo and said, "… It's all spreading like wildfire now, saying that you killed Gu Tongshan."