The terms offered by Li Jin were too good, making Yang Jian a bit apprehensive.
"Brother Jin, I have a question. The Xunsi River area has indeed developed. Why don't you and Xiong Er open casinos?"
Facing Yang Jian's query, Li Jin didn't evade. "Because neither of us is willing to concede to the other. Although he has money and has recruited many followers, he is narrow-minded and weak in character, lacking the domineering presence of a true leader. Therefore, he has no brothers who genuinely risk their lives for him.
Although I don't have many brothers under me, our cohesion is strong, and they are all daring and aggressive. However, my foundation is still shallow, and my economic strength is far inferior to his.
Therefore, we are evenly matched. In any field, whoever signs the contract for the construction site wins. But opening a casino is a gray industry, not a one-off deal. There might be disputes every day, so by not opening them, we can maintain a balance."
"Then if I partner with you to open a casino, won't this balance be broken? Won't Xiong Er come to cause trouble?"
"You beat him so badly today that he begged for mercy. Does he dare to cause you trouble again? Even his brother fears you, so he fears you even more now. I will spread the word about today's events widely, letting all the forces in Xunsi River know that you have returned and that we are joining forces to open a casino. Not only will Xiong Er not dare to cause trouble, but other forces will also refrain from interfering."
Yang Jian then felt relieved. "That makes sense. But three percent of the shares for you is too little. How about we split it fifty-fifty?"
Li Jin shook his head. "Brother, I've worked with you and I know your character. You never want to mistreat the brothers under you. You are very much like me in this regard. You will definitely distribute some of the casino shares to these brothers, but you are short on cash right now. That's why I'm willing to give up two percent of the shares for these few brothers. If you take half the shares, you can turn things around sooner."
"Brother Jin, I will naturally distribute the benefits to my brothers, but I cannot reduce your share. Ultimately, this casino will rely on you to get it running. We feel we have more than enough with half the shares. Let's just do fifty-fifty."
"There's no need to discuss this further. I'm not expecting the casino to make money; the three percent shares are to support the brothers. I've made the decision. The shares for this casino will be three percent for me, five percent for you, and these few brothers will take two percent. Biao Biao, A Feng, A Nan, do you have any objections?"
Li Jin displayed the charisma and dominance of a leader, which was also for Yang Jian's benefit, to prevent any rifts between him and his brothers during the profit distribution.
Biao Biao immediately stated, "I don't want any shares. I'll just collect a salary at the casino every day."
A Feng said, "That's right. Brother Jian is going through a difficult time. We are willing to help him unconditionally, so we'll forgo the shares."
A Nan naturally followed A Feng's lead. They were already receiving salaries from Yang Fan, so whether they took money at the casino or not was irrelevant.
"These are good brothers. It's settled then. Biao Biao, you guys must take these shares because the casino will rely on you to manage it on-site. Yang Jian and I cannot be at the casino frequently."
Yang Jian didn't understand. "Brother Jin, what do you mean by that?"
Before Li Jin could explain, A Feng understood. "Brother Jian, Brother Jin's arrangement is correct. You've already made a name for yourself in this area and can be considered an equal to Brother Jin. If you personally manage the casino, it will lower your status. It's like the Hongqi Street Casino; Luo Tong never shows up, and my master doesn't go often either. They just arrange for us to manage it."
A Nan added, "The advantage of doing this is that whether it's the police or other forces from the underworld coming to cause trouble, as long as they don't capture or harm the boss, there's a lot of room for maneuver.
If the casino brothers are arrested by the police, the boss can use his connections and money to bail them out. But if the boss is arrested, who will save him?
As for underworld forces causing trouble, their target is to get the boss. As long as the boss isn't at the casino, they will hesitate. Once they cause trouble, they will face the boss's fierce retaliation, which they cannot afford.
Most of the larger establishments in Hancheng operate this way. For example, when you were dealing cards at Old Pan's casino, did you ever see Old Pan himself? At Fugui's establishment, Fu Ping, the real boss, rarely goes there."
Li Jin nodded. "Yes, it's exactly as these two brothers said. As long as you and I are not frequently at the casino, Xiong Er won't dare to send people to cause trouble because he's afraid you'll assassinate him."
So there were so many tricks involved. Yang Jian felt like he had wasted two years in the casino business. The water here was too deep; it wouldn't be a matter of a day to understand it all.
"Alright, let's do as Brother Jin says."
Li Jin continued, "Little Yang, go back and contact Emperor Company. Leave two people here to select the casino location and make arrangements. I also need to arrange accommodation for you. The specific opening date will be determined based on the preparation progress, but it should all be done within ten days."
The matter of opening the casino was preliminarily settled. Zheng Guangyao happened to call to invite them for lunch and specifically invited Li Jin.
At the most luxurious Tenglong Hotel in Xunsi River, Zheng Guangyao arranged a lavish banquet to host Yang Jian and his group.
"Little Yang, I apologize. I did use you today. You can't drink while driving, so I'll penalize myself with three cups to apologize."
At the beginning of the banquet, Zheng Guangyao stood up to apologize to Yang Jian. He understood Yang Jian's personality; as long as he was sufficiently honest, Yang Jian wouldn't hold it against him.
Yang Jian had no intention of blaming him. "It's alright, Mr. Zheng. If I hadn't come today, I wouldn't have met Brother Jin. Besides, I was going to deliver the templates to you sooner or later, and this dispute was bound to happen."
"Little Yang, thank you for your magnanimity. You have no idea how much I've been troubled by dealing with Xiong Er and his gang. They are like sticky candy that can't be shaken off. I don't dare to fight them, and I can't beat them because they are too numerous. Calling the police is also useless. You are truly capable; you subdued him as soon as you arrived."
"I understand you. You encounter such things wherever you do engineering. You treated me well before, and I'm happy to be of assistance."
"Little Yang, Xiong Er is temporarily subdued, but I worry he might still cause trouble, especially since you won't be staying here permanently. Can you ask Mr. Li to look after our construction site?"
Zheng Guangyao was not familiar with Li Jin and dared not make a direct request.
Li Jin, however, chuckled. "Mr. Zheng, you don't need my care. Little Yang can cover your construction site. He will be stationed here regularly in a few days."
Zheng Guangyao was overjoyed. "Little Yang, are you joining Mr. Li's team?"
"I plan to partner with Brother Jin to open a casino here and will be staying here long-term."
Yang Jian didn't hide anything. The construction site owner and workers were important clients for the casino, so it was good to publicize it in advance.
"Really? Then even if I don't like gambling, I'll come to support you, and I can even bring some bosses over to play."
"That's not necessary. Gambling isn't a good thing. If you don't like playing, don't play. I can't harm you."
"It's alright, it's alright. As long as no one monopolizes the construction site's building materials and interferes with the site's affairs, I don't mind spending hundreds of thousands to support you. You know, the price difference for building materials after monopolization is frightening, far more than hundreds of thousands."
Zheng Guangyao had calculated this. Construction sites, from large items like rebar and concrete to small ones like plumbing and electrical wires, were targets for local thugs to monopolize. Just like today, when Yang Jian delivered the templates, those people also wanted to interfere, forcing them to be resold to the construction site through them to earn a certain price difference, otherwise, they wouldn't be delivered.