"Boss, you looking for me?"
Zhao Tao walked up to Shen Xiong with a smile and sat down.
Shen Xiong glanced at his most capable subordinate and said, "Taozi, I heard you got into a fight again a couple of days ago? I'll say it again, you're a boss in Rongcheng now, so act like one. Leave this kind of fighting and killing to your subordinates!"
Shen Xiong had now become one of the alliance leaders in the Southwest region, and Zhao Tao naturally took over his position as the boss of Rongcheng.
However, what made Shen Xiong a bit troubled was that Zhao Tao was stubborn and still preferred to handle things himself, not acting like a boss at all.
"Heh heh," Zhao Tao gave his signature foolish grin. "Boss, I'm good at beating up scoundrels if you tell me to, but being a boss and managing subordinates gives me a splitting headache. If you ask me, you should let Sun Cheng be the boss. This guy has the most tricks up his sleeve, so he's more suited to be a boss."
Being used as a shield by Zhao Tao, Sun Cheng, who was drinking tea nearby, shot him an annoyed glance.
"The boss is lecturing you now, don't try to shift the blame to me. And with your intelligence, you think you can play diversion tactics with me and the boss? Heh heh."
Being mocked by Sun Cheng in front of Shen Xiong, Zhao Tao didn't get angry at all, as this had happened many times before. If he got angry every time, Zhao Tao would surely die of anger.
Just as Shen Xiong was about to speak again, Zhao Tao's phone rang.
"Alright, answer it."
Zhao Tao was about to pull out his phone to hang up, but Shen Xiong waved his hand, indicating it was fine.
Since the boss said so, Zhao Tao answered it.
"What? Someone wants to kill you, Gao Lei, you kid, stop messing with me!"
"This is the eighteenth excuse you've used! Did you get into trouble again, damn it?"
"You always make me clean up your mess. I'm busy now, I'm not going!"
"Damn it, if you dare to call your sister, I, I… fine, I'll be there in a bit. But if you dare to badmouth me in front of your sister, I won't let you off!!"
After hanging up, Zhao Tao saw Shen Xiong and Sun Cheng staring at him.
"Is it your brother-in-law causing trouble again? This kid is a troublemaker. I told you, Taozi, you're always spoiling him, and eventually, you'll regret it."
Shen Xiong said, then waved his hand, signaling Zhao Tao to leave.
Speaking of which, Zhao Tao was fearless, but he was a devoted henpecked husband.
His wife's word was enough to make Zhao Tao's legs go weak with fear.
Of course, there was a reason why Zhao Tao feared his wife.
Back when Zhao Tao was still a poor kid, his wife had followed him.
Zhao Tao had lost his father at a young age, and his mother had raised him alone.
Later, Zhao Tao joined a gang and often stayed out for three to five days. Once, he severely injured someone and had to hide out of town for more than half a year.
During this time, Zhao Tao's mother had a stroke and was bedridden. It was Zhao Tao's wife who, not minding the dirt or the hardship, took care of her until Zhao Tao returned.
From then on, Zhao Tao's mother declared that if Zhao Tao ever dared to make his wife unhappy, she would disown him as her son.
Zhao Tao, who had always been filial to his mother, naturally complied.
Besides, his wife had managed their household impeccably over the years and never interfered with Zhao Tao's affairs outside, leaving him with no worries.
It was precisely because of this that Zhao Tao doted on his brother-in-law so much, entirely for his wife's sake.
"Then I'll head over first, boss. I'll come back another day to listen to your teachings."
Zhao Tao said, picked up the tea in front of him, drank it down in one gulp, then stood up and walked out.
Speaking of which, he had to thank that kid Gao Lei. If it weren't for his call, he would still be getting lectured by the boss right now.
But what the boss said made sense. Gao Lei did often use his name to cause trouble outside.
Now that he had taken over the boss's position, whether he liked it or not, it wouldn't do for Gao Lei to act like before.
As Zhao Tao walked out, he was contemplating in his heart that he would have to lay down some rules for his brother-in-law when he saw him later.
...
"Kid, you're done for when Zhao boss gets here. If you kowtow and beg our Brother Lei now, you might still have a slim chance of survival."
After listening to Gao Lei call his sister's husband, Chao Zi immediately felt emboldened and resumed his sycophantic demeanor.
He looked at Du Fei haughtily, his mouth missing one-third of its teeth.
As for Gao Lei, he was no longer afraid of Du Fei and even took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket.
As soon as he put a cigarette in his mouth, Chao Zi, with great understanding, cupped his hand with a lighter and brought it to him.
Gao Lei took a couple of puffs and then extended his right foot forward slightly.
He sneered, pointing at his shoe, "If you don't want to die, lick my shoe clean first, and then I'll consider…"
Gao Lei's words were cut short.
Du Fei moved with a swish.
Before anyone could see Du Fei's movements clearly, he had already grabbed Gao Lei by the neck and lifted him off the ground.
"Guh guh guh."
Gao Lei let out a muffled cry from his throat. He desperately tried to pry Du Fei's hand off, but found Du Fei's right hand was like an iron clamp, completely unmoving.
"Holy crap, you crazy bastard!!"
Chao Zi was also startled by the sudden turn of events.
He couldn't understand why Du Fei, who had been stunned moments ago, would suddenly attack Gao Lei. Was this guy tired of living?
No, it must have been Gao Lei's arrogance in making him lick his shoe that provoked him.
Gao Lei was like this. When he played with Chao Zi and others before, he would often say things that embarrassed people.
Many times, Chao Zi had to stop him, otherwise, some people, driven to anger, would beat him up first to vent their frustration, even if Gao Lei's brother-in-law was Zhao Tao.
Seeing Gao Lei turning pale from being choked, Chao Zi, fearing that if something happened to him, Zhao Tao would beat him to death.
So, Chao Zi had to brace himself and rush forward, shouting, "Zhao Tao, boss Zhao, is coming soon. If you don't want to implicate your whole family, let go immediately!"
However, Chao Zi's words did not stop Du Fei at all.
"Get lost! Even if Zhao Tao were here, he wouldn't dare speak to me like that!!"
Du Fei was exuding an aura of murderous intent, like an ancient demon god, which made Chao Zi's legs go weak, and he fell to the ground.
Just when everyone thought Gao Lei was about to meet his end.
"Stop! Put him down!"
An extremely angry roar came from behind everyone.
Everyone turned their heads and saw a man with red eyes, clearly a dangerous individual, rushing over quickly.