Baoguo found his master's idea of spreading rumors about Zhou Tao to be brilliant. He realized that experience truly mattered, as he himself wouldn't have thought of such a move.
"Master, should we shut down the casino?" Baoguo asked.
Baoguo believed it was crucial to listen to his master at this critical juncture, otherwise, more serious trouble would arise.
"The casino must also be closed. We'll shut it down tomorrow. Otherwise, it will become a target for them as well. Our brothers cannot get hurt anymore."
"Alright. I'll announce it after class tonight. We need to appease the gamblers too. The casino must reopen during the New Year."
"Good. Call San Pang in."
Brother Mao seemed a bit tired and closed his eyes again.
Baoguo got up, called for San Pang, and then sat back down.
San Pang entered with a rag, "Master, what's up?"
"San Pang, go to the hospital and see how many of our brothers are injured. This card has one hundred thousand yuan. Help them get settled – those who need hospitalization, get them hospitalized; those who need surgery, get them operated on."
"Master, what's going on? Who's injured?"
San Pang still didn't know what had happened.
"Someone just attacked the sand quarry. Many brothers are injured, including some locals. We also have brothers among them. You and I, Baoge, can't show our faces, so you go and take care of them."
"Oh, so we only take care of our own people?"
"Of course, we only take care of our own brothers. We can't manage everyone else. Too many people were injured today. This ten thousand yuan for medical expenses alone might not be enough."
"Okay, I'll go and see."
San Pang took the bank card and walked out.
"San Pang, drive my car back later."
As Baoguo was about to search for his car keys, his phone rang. It was from the casino.
"Hello, what is it?"
"Baoge, this is bad. Our casino was raided, and many brothers are injured."
A hurried voice came from the other end of the phone, sounding like the speaker was running.
Baoguo was shocked, "Where are you now? Do you know who did it?"
"I'm in the wheat field near Qiaotou Village. Our brothers are scattered. I don't know who did it. The other side had over a hundred people, all masked. As soon as they entered the casino, they fired two shots into the air, scaring away the gamblers. Then they started beating up our internal staff."
"Damn it, were any of our guys shot?"
"No, they fired into the air. They didn't intend to kill anyone."
"How many brothers were injured?"
"I don't know. I ran into the wheat field and escaped. I'll go back and check later and contact other brothers. Gather the unharmed ones. I'll be there soon."
Baoguo hung up the phone in frustration and slammed his fist on the table.
Brother Mao opened his eyes, "What's wrong again?"
"Master, the casino was also attacked. Our brothers are scattered, and the casualties are still unclear. Zhou Tao is too ruthless. He's launched a full-scale attack on me."
"He attacked the casino? That shouldn't be. I know Zhou Tao. One of the main reasons he's been able to stay afloat is that he adheres to martial world rules. He doesn't touch opponents' families and doesn't suppress their other businesses. I don't think it was him who attacked the casino."
"Then who could it be? Isn't his goal to cripple my influence so I'm no longer a threat to him?"
Brother Mao shook his head, "If he wanted to cripple your influence, he wouldn't need to be so complicated. He would just cripple you directly.
He attacked the sand quarry today because those bosses in the sand quarry are all locals. He needs to scare these people into submission so his sand quarry can reopen. It's not specifically targeting you. Without the support of the locals, you can't control so many sand quarries.
But the casino has nothing to do with him. If he wanted to deal with you, he wouldn't need to send so many people to raid the place. Instead, like he dealt with Old Gui and Hong Xing, he would simply hire killers to take you out."
Baoguo's expression instantly changed, showing fear.
Brother Mao glared at him, "Don't worry. Zhou Tao doesn't consider you a rival. He only fears Hong Xing and Old Gui, which is why he resorted to killing. You and I are not important enough for him to hire killers. Now that Hong Xing is dead, he has no rivals. As long as we don't touch his interests in the future, he won't care about us."
Baoguo awkwardly scratched his head and realized San Pang was still there. He quickly handed him the car keys.
While the entire town was abuzz with the news of the sand quarry and casino attacks, Zhou Tao was already on the highway to Dongjiang.
He was not only delivering money to Yang Jian but also creating a fact that he was not in Xinhe. The police would definitely suspect him for the sand quarry attack that night, and might even question him directly. Therefore, after arranging relevant matters by phone in the afternoon, he set off for Dongjiang.
"Mr. Zhou, we just received news. Is the job done?"
Zhou Tao, who was dozing in the back seat, was woken up by his assistant.
"Did we have any casualties?"
"No. Our people attacked with three to four times the number of opponents. No one dared to resist."
"Did you encounter Baoguo?"
"No, but five sand quarry bosses, including Wei Zhengxian, were crippled, clearing the way for our sand quarry redevelopment. Baoguo probably wouldn't dare to retaliate, right?"
Zhou Tao nodded, "Yes, without Hong Xing's backing, Baoguo can't achieve much. I don't take him too seriously. If he really dares to interfere with the sand quarry again, I'd actually admire him."
The assistant smiled, "You're right. He's no match for you at all. Oh, and another thing. At the same time we were taking action at the sand quarry, another group attacked Baoguo's casino."
"Is that so? That shouldn't be our people, I didn't make any such arrangements."
"It's not our people. Hong Xing and Baoguo have offended too many people in the past two years. It's normal for them to retaliate against Baoguo while Hong Xing is in trouble."
"Yes, never mind him. After tonight, the power structure in Chengguan will change. I wonder which force will rise, and which rising star will call the shots?"
"Heh heh, no matter how the power structure in Chengguan changes, your position as the boss is unshakeable. Old Gui couldn't do it, Hong Xing couldn't do it, and others are even less likely."
"You can't say that. I've considered myself retired from the underworld. This time, I only acted because I was forced to. I won't interfere with the affairs of Chengguan's underworld anymore. From now on, you and Brother Xi will handle the sand quarry.
I want to be like Old Yu and travel around. I plan to make some investments in Dongjiang and will be staying there for a long time. Once things are settled there, you'll return to Chengguan. The matters at home will be handed over to you and Brother Xi."
Zhou Tao knew very well that the Hong family would trouble him in the coming period, and he had to avoid their sharp edge. Anyone could guess that the attack on the sand quarry tonight was inevitably linked to Hong Xing's kidnapping. The Hong family would definitely suspect him, but they just couldn't find concrete evidence.