It was still normal. Yang Jian ambled along the highway for a bit before retreating to the melon shed to warm himself by the fire. The days without snow seemed even colder.
Two hours later, Brother Mao’s SUV stopped again in front of the melon shed.
Yang Jian remained seated. A young man got out of the car and walked over quickly.
“Brother Jian, Brother Mao won money today. This is his red money for you. When you have time, let’s get together.”
The young man stuffed a wad of hundred-yuan bills into Yang Jian’s coat pocket.
Yang Jian recognized this person; he was Brother Mao’s brother, nicknamed Er Wa, only eighteen or nineteen years old.
Yang Jian was a bit confused. “What is red money?”
“Hey, you’re one of us now, and you don’t know about red money? It’s basically like giving a red packet to your brothers when you win money gambling. Alright, you stay here. I’ll be in touch.”
Er Wa didn’t say much more and turned to get back in the car.
Brother Mao waved towards them from inside the car and honked the horn before driving away.
Yang Jian wondered why Brother Mao had given him money. He took out the bills and counted them. There were exactly two thousand yuan.
When Song Jianmin arrived with lunch boxes at dusk, Yang Jian stopped him to seek an answer.
“Jianmin, did Brother Mao win money gambling today? He gave me two thousand yuan when he left. What do you think he means by this?”
Song Jianmin nodded. “Brother Mao won at least fifty to sixty thousand today. Giving you money has two possible reasons. First, he considers you a brother. It’s a rule for the boss to give red packets to his brothers when he wins money; it’s also a way to win people’s hearts. Otherwise, who would follow him?
“Nonsense, I haven’t acknowledged him as my boss. I’ll deal with him sooner or later.”
“The second reason is that you’re now part of our team, considered to be in the underworld. He knows we’ll expose the setup to win your money, so he wants to ease the relationship with you.”
“He’s afraid I’ll retaliate?”
“Exactly. Let me tell you, the reason street thugs and hoodlums are so arrogant is that they exploit the ordinary people’s reluctance to get into trouble. They’ll pester you relentlessly and use any dirty trick. But this tactic doesn’t work on their peers.”
Yang Jian seemed to understand a little. “You mean if I were still doing legitimate business, he wouldn’t be worried about my retaliation at all?”
“Yes. Brother Mao specifically targets people doing engineering projects and running businesses. He lures them into playing mahjong, San Gong, or Golden Flower, essentially running small casinos, also known as ‘pig butchering’ schemes. Losing twenty thousand yuan is nothing; some bosses lose over a million in a single session. Since there’s no evidence to point to him directly, they just have to accept their losses.”
“Then wouldn’t wealthy bosses let him get away with it?”
“What can they do if they don’t let him get away with it? Ordinary legitimate businessmen don’t want to get entangled with them. Besides, Brother Mao has considerable influence and a large group of brothers under him.”
“Then why is he afraid of my retaliation?”
“It’s not that he’s truly afraid of you, but now that you’re in the underworld, his persistent pestering tactics won’t work on you. He probably knows some of your background too. Soldiers not only have good physical fitness but also many comrades. You might become a force to be reckoned with someday, and dealing with him would be a matter of minutes.”
“I get it. These people are just bullies who pick on the weak. If you’re ruthless, you have to be more ruthless than them, or you’ll just be bullied.”
Song Jianmin nodded. “That’s right. You’ve been working outside and don’t understand the power dynamics in Chengguan. The big bosses who have a reputation there have all fought their way up and killed their way through.”
Yang Jian thought for a moment and asked, “Who has more influence, Brother Mao or Brother Hao?”
“Neither of them ranks high in Chengguan. My brother mainly operates in Jiangcheng, running casinos without participating in engineering or business competition. He’s not a true underworld figure and doesn’t have conflicts of interest with the bosses in Chengguan, so things are generally smooth.
“Brother Mao is similar. He specializes in scams and deception, not operating on a grand scale. Dealing with him isn’t particularly difficult. Once our strength increases, we’ll settle the score with him. We must get that two hundred thousand back.”
“Okay, I’ll listen to you.”
Yang Jian didn’t yet know how to resolve these underworld disputes and couldn’t blindly retaliate against Brother Mao.
For three consecutive days, the casino operated without incident. Brother Mao came to gamble for a while each day, and before leaving, he sent two thousand yuan to Yang Jian.
Following Song Jianmin’s advice, Yang Jian didn’t refuse Brother Mao’s overture, considering it as collecting some interest.
On the tenth day of the Lunar New Year, the weather had become much warmer.
Yang Jian stood guard at the crossroads as usual, took off his military overcoat, and ambled along the highway.
Around three in the afternoon, he saw a police car approaching from the direction of Chengguan. Yang Jian quickly pretended to be unconcerned and moved away from the crossroads.
The police car was indeed heading into the village. As soon as it turned, Yang Jian called out on the walkie-talkie.
“Jianmin, the cops are here, get out quickly.”
“Okay, how many cars?”
“Just one.”
“Received. You also leave and stay far away. Wait for my notification.”
The highway was about a kilometer away from the village, giving the casino personnel ample time to withdraw.
Seeing the police car enter the village, Yang Jian felt a twinge of guilt. He had once been an armed police officer fighting against illegal activities, and now he had become one of the targets.
After loitering near the crossroads for half an hour, he saw the police car emerge from the village, turn, and speed away in the direction of Chengguan.
“Yang Jian, you did a great job. Continue to stake out the crossroads and keep a close watch on the movements from Chengguan.”
Song Jianmin’s voice came through the walkie-talkie.
“Still need to guard? Are we continuing to operate?”
Yang Jian found it somewhat unbelievable. The police had already come; shouldn’t the casino shut down?
“Of course, we’re continuing. We were likely reported. If the cops come and don’t find the gambling in progress, there won’t be any trouble. This kind of situation will happen frequently from now on. Operating a venue is like engaging in guerrilla warfare; you’ll get used to it.”
“Oh, I understand. I’ll head over now.”
Yang Jian didn’t know what the situation was like in the village, but he was starting to realize the significant risks involved. While it was easy to evade a police car, what if plainclothes officers came? He would be the first to be caught.
Even if they didn’t arrest him, an open-air casino like this could easily be raided by plainclothes officers. He wondered if Brother Hao and the others had countermeasures.
Yang Jian was still a novice when it came to understanding casinos, but he had a strong sense of risk and felt that his fixed post at the crossroads was very dangerous.
Since the police had their eye on this casino, they would surely find a way to arrest them. If just two plainclothes officers showed up, he would have no choice but to surrender.
After realizing this, Yang Jian decided to change his guarding method. During the day, he would try to move around within a hundred meters of the crossroads.
Alternatively, he could buy some lanterns in town and sell them at the crossroads as a cover. It was the fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year, a time for lantern festivals, and small businesses were set up along the roadside.