Chapter 57: Negotiation for Peace

Meanwhile.

Chen Guangliang summoned Zhou Xinggao for a discussion and asked, "Are the people who kidnapped Tang Zhiqing's son still usable?"

Zhou Xinggao immediately replied, "They are definitely usable, and they are completely loyal to you, Boss. If it weren't for you, their grudge would never have been avenged."

Chen Guangliang nodded. He, too, had his fair share of 'toughs' under his command.

While he had little personal contact with them, Zhou Xinggao interacted with them frequently.

The 'second vehicle' lost today was clearly ordered by Wu Guangpeng of the 'Zhigao Rickshaw Firm', because a rickshaw puller had spotted people from that establishment.

Logically speaking, Chen Guangliang should have reported the incident to the police and gone straight to make arrests.

Yet, Chen Guangliang chose to prove a point: he could play rough just as well.

"Arrange it so that since they snatched one of our vehicles, have our men snatch one of theirs, hide it somewhere, and do not bring it back."

Hearing this, the dormant instincts in Zhou Xinggao flared up. He immediately promised, "Don't worry, Boss, I'll make sure it's done without a single flaw."

Still uneasy, Chen Guangliang instructed, "Speak with the beaten puller to get the full picture, and remember, under no circumstances is the vehicle to be brought back. The license plate is ready-made evidence; once caught, there's no explaining it away..."

Currently, the Han Family Rickshaw Firm had been shut down by the traffic bureau, making any operations impossible in the near term.

This precisely exposed Han Yanbao's foolishness in brazenly operating a stolen vehicle.

"Understood, Boss!"

Following these arrangements, Chen Guangliang sat in his office in deep thought.

The losses suffered by the Yangtze Rickshaw Firm this time were not insignificant—two vehicles worth six hundred silver dollars.

Yet, had he failed to take decisive action, there was no telling how much greater the losses might have been.

Mutual destruction!

He found the situation deeply vexing. What on earth were those people thinking? The Yangtze Rickshaw Firm was not some soft persimmon to be kneaded at will, yet they still dared to provoke him!

Their strengths were roughly matched, and they certainly weren't Gu Zhuxuan. Where on earth did they get the courage?

"Lin Feng, go invite Chief Gao over for a visit!"

"Right away, Boss."

After much deliberation, having Chief Gao intervene to investigate the Zhigao Rickshaw Firm was still the best course of action.

With evidence present, the Zhigao Rickshaw Firm would surely be heavily bled by the police station; even without evidence, it would at least force them to lie low.

In this way, both the Han Family Rickshaw Firm and the Zhigao Rickshaw Firm would essentially be 'neutralized'.

Once that happened, the remaining three firms would naturally back down!

...

The conflict between the Yangtze Rickshaw Firm, the Han Family Rickshaw Firm, and the Zhigao Rickshaw Firm drew intense attention within the rickshaw industry, serving as a rude awakening that the 'Yangtze Rickshaw Firm' was no pushover, having mobilized both the traffic bureau and the police station.

For a time, the entire industry was shaken.

Although Wu Guangpeng of the Zhigao Rickshaw Firm was clever enough to stash the stolen rickshaws elsewhere—knowing his own firm had too many eyes on it—Chief Gao and his men came away empty-handed.

Yet, he never expected that merely a day later, his own firm would lose two vehicles. According to the two pullers who reported the incident, the bandits had come and gone like ghosts; before they could even react, they were knocked unconscious with highly practiced and proficient techniques.

Livid, Wu Guangpeng cursed furiously, "Fine! Very well! You take one of mine, I'll take two of yours... Chen Guangliang, it's you or me!"

Realizing he could not face this alone, he promptly sought a meeting with the other three firm owners.

Han Yanbao said angrily, "I got screwed over by that brat! Now the traffic bureau has nailed me for forging fake license plates, and they've banned all my vehicles from operating, forcing them all to undergo inspection. But they only inspect ten vehicles a day just to screw with me!"

Wu Guangpeng rebuked him in exasperation, "Who told you to parade it around operating on the street? Did you really think everyone else was an idiot?"

Han Yanbao immediately retorted, "And you have the nerve to talk? I heard you got two vehicles wiped out in a single sweep. Did you call the police?"

Wu Guangpeng choked on his words. How could he possibly call the police when they had already stashed the vehicles away? Even if the police station went through the motions, they wouldn't find anything.

After their quarrel sputtered out, the two men turned their gazes toward the remaining owners.

"What about you two?"

"That's right, did you two take any action?"

The two owners exchanged a silent glance.

Then came their replies:

"I think the spotlight is on us right now. There's a long road ahead; we'll deal with him later!"

"Exactly, a long road ahead. We have plenty of ways to fix Chen Guangliang. One of these days, I'll send someone to put a bullet in his back."

Though they spouted fierce threats, their underlying cowardice was impossible to mask.

It wasn't that they were afraid of Chen Guangliang; rather, they were terrified of sustaining losses to their own firms.

Striking others was fine, but they preferred to keep themselves out of harm's way.

"You?!"

"Didn't we agree to stand and fall together? Are you getting cold feet?"

"Not at all! We will always support you two."

Originally, Han Yanbao and Wu Guangpeng had counted on the other two firms to take action so they could wear Chen Guangliang down through a war of attrition.

As it turned out, those two were no fools either; knowing the Yangtze Rickshaw Firm was currently raging and ready to bite anyone in its path, they preferred to bide their time.

The gathering broke up on a sour note.

...

Chen Guangliang's decisive actions intensified the 'melee', with brawls even breaking out among the pullers of the rival firms.

Fortunately, thanks to the solidarity among the Yangtze Rickshaw Firm's pullers, they were not the ones on the losing end.

Even better, the Yangtze Rickshaw Firm suffered no further vehicle losses after that.

On this day, Chen Guangliang arrived as a guest at the Gu Residence, located at No. 13 Yingchun Lane, Alley 203, Hubei Road.

Gu Zhuxuan cordially invited Chen Guangliang to dine with him, with his head steward attending by his side as usual.

It was evident that Gu Zhuxuan held his steward in high trust.

"Guangliang, I only just learned about the recent disputes between your Yangtze Rickshaw Firm, the Han Family Rickshaw Firm, and the Zhigao Rickshaw Firm. I never expected you all to kick up such a fuss. It's not a good look for the industry!"

Chen Guangliang immediately replied, "Mr. Gu, I didn't start this conflict. I am the victim here."

Gu Zhuxuan smiled, then continued at a leisurely pace, "You say you didn't start it, but everyone else says you did. I think you understand well enough that your stock-offering partnership trampled on everyone else's nerves."

With a calm expression, Chen Guangliang said in a deep voice, "Then how does Mr. Gu think I should handle this?"

Everyone essentially paid 'tributes' to Gu Zhuxuan. While he didn't exact a direct cut from them, they effectively paid him 'protection money' through other means (such as consulting fees for real estate investments).

Gu Zhuxuan raised his wine glass, and Chen Guangliang promptly picked up his own. After the three of them—including the steward—shared a toast, Gu Zhuxuan finally spoke:

"I will act as a peacemaker in this matter. All six of you rickshaw firms will set out tea at Desheng Teahouse, and we'll hash out these recent events!"

For the six firms to gather and set out tea at Desheng Teahouse meant Gu Zhuxuan would naturally collect a 'tea fee'. This was the very purpose for which he ran the teahouse—to mediate disputes among his subordinates and between them and other gang or underworld factions.

Thus, Desheng Teahouse had become the authoritative arbitration body for "tea-drinking negotiations" in the Zhabei district.

Fundamentally, the Yangtze Rickshaw Firm was not a Zhabei-based business.

Zhabei was not a foreign concession; only a small portion lay within the concession, and Fanluan Alley happened to be in that concession portion of Zhabei.

Moreover, as Gu Zhuxuan's influence began infiltrating the concessions, Chen Guangliang could not bypass him.

A negotiated settlement?

If it came to that, wouldn't Chen Guangliang have suffered losses in vain? That was not what he wanted to see.

Therefore, he decided to play his trump card.