Chapter 58 Li Ruoxue Comes to Deliver Soup

Fang Che continued, "The core of Longhuhui is management and service, and these two aspects must be in our hands. Mr. Lu can send financial supervisors, but the operational control cannot be relinquished."

He spoke clearly, giving Lu Che face while also upholding his bottom line.

Approval flashed across Li Hanzhou's eyes.

What do you think, Mr. Lu?

Lu Che was silent for a moment, then smiled: "Mr. Fang is young, but his negotiation skills are quite shrewd. Okay, two-tenths. However..."

He looked at Fang Che: "I want Mr. Fang to personally take charge of the operation of Longhuhui. I don't trust anyone else."

There's more to that than meets the eye.

Fang Che nodded: "Okay."

The negotiations reached a preliminary agreement.

Lu Che got up to take his leave, and Li Hanzhou asked Uncle Chen to see him off.

After they left, only Li Hanzhou and Fang Che remained in the council hall.

“Ah Che,” Li Hanzhou began, “do you know who Lu Che is?”

Fang Che hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "I roughly know."

"Then why did you agree to him becoming a shareholder?"

“Brother Li,” Fang Che said seriously, “Lu Che is a policeman, but he’s not necessarily an enemy. If he wanted to deal with us, he wouldn’t need to go through all this trouble. Perhaps… he wants to use us to deal with Jiang Tianqi.”

Li Hanzhou's eyes flickered slightly.

“Go on.”

"Jiang Tianqi's drug business is growing bigger and bigger, which must be putting a lot of pressure on the police. But the Jiang family has deep roots in Hong Kong, and the police can't take action openly. So, they need a knife."

Fang Che analyzed, "And we are that knife."

Li Hanzhou smiled.

That smile held both relief and mixed feelings.

"Ache, you've grown up."

Fang Che scratched his head: "I was just guessing."

“You guessed right.” Li Hanzhou stood up and walked to the window. “Lu Che is indeed a member of the police force, and he’s not low-ranking. His visit this time is ostensibly for investment, but in reality, it’s for negotiations.”

"negotiation?"

“Hmm.” Li Hanzhou turned around. “The police want to cooperate with us to dismantle Jiang Tianqi’s drug network. The condition is that after it’s done, they will give us legal status so that our gang’s business can be laundered.”

Fang Che was startled.

Clean up the act and get out of there!

This is something countless gangsters dream of!

"Brother Li, you agreed?"

“Not yet.” Li Hanzhou shook his head. “We can’t completely trust what the police say. But… this is an opportunity.”

He looked at Fang Che: "Ah Che, if I agree to cooperate with the police, will you think... I'm chickening out?"

Fang Che was stunned.

He hadn't expected Li Hanzhou to ask that question.

“Brother Li,” he said seriously, “in my heart, you have never been the kind of person who establishes authority through violence. You have brains, you have vision, and you know what you should and shouldn’t do. Cooperating with the police to find a legitimate way out for the brothers is wisdom, not cowardice.”

Li Hanzhou looked at him with gentle eyes.

"Ah Che, you always know how to say what I want to hear."

Fang Che's face flushed.

"So... what do you plan to do, Brother Li?"

"Let's try cooperating first." Li Hanzhou walked back to his seat. "Although Lu Che has a special identity, he is still quite disciplined in his actions. Just be careful when dealing with him."

"clear."

“In addition,” Li Hanzhou paused, “Jiang Tianqi has recently been in contact with Thai warlords, wanting to import a new batch of goods. Lu Che hopes we can intercept this shipment as a ‘pledge of allegiance’ for cooperation.”

Fang Che's heart tightened: "Intercepting the goods? Dangerous."

“I know.” Li Hanzhou’s eyes turned cold. “But this is the fastest way to show the police our sincerity. Besides… Jiang Tianqi’s drugs have harmed too many people. Intercepting them is a good deed.”

Fang Che remained silent.

Drugs are indeed extremely harmful. In his past life, he had seen too many tragedies in the news.

"Brother Li, what can I do?"

“You just need to focus on ‘Dragon Tiger Gathering’,” Li Hanzhou said. “The rest will be handled by me and A-Gui. However…”

He looked at Fang Che's left shoulder: "I haven't had time to get the tattoo yet. I'll get it for you after this batch of goods is sorted out."

Fang Che's eyes lit up: "Really? What kind of tattoo?"

Li Hanzhou smiled and said, "You'll find out when the time comes."

As Fang Che left the hall, his heart felt heavy.

Intercepting drug shipments is a life-threatening operation.

But he believed in Li Hanzhou.

Since Brother Li dares to do it, he must be confident.

It was already evening when we got back to the barbecue restaurant.

Xi Rong was teaching the children how to do accounts when she saw Fang Che return. She quickly ran over and said, "Brother Che, someone is coming to see you this afternoon."

"who?"

“I don’t know him. He said he was a reporter from a newspaper and wanted to interview you about your school.” Xi Rong frowned. “But his eyes were glaring, and he didn’t look like a reporter, so I told him you weren’t here.”

reporter?

Fang Che became alert.

Did he leave his contact information?

"I left a business card." Xi Rong took a card out from under the counter.

Fang Che took it...

Hong Kong Daily, Social News Department, Reporter Wang Wei.

The business card was poorly printed, and the phone number was invalid.

It was indeed fake.

“Xi Rong,” Fang Che tore up the business card, “If any strangers look for me in the future, just say I’m not here. Especially those dressed as reporters.”

"I understand." Xi Rong nodded, then whispered, "Brother Che, is... something going to happen again?"

Fang Che looked at her worried eyes and his heart softened.

"It's alright." He patted her head. "With Brother Li here, nothing will happen. You go ahead and get busy."

After Xi Rong left, Fang Che sat alone behind the counter, looking out at Portland Street.

As the sun sets, the streetlights gradually come on.

He's been on this street for three months, going from unfamiliar to familiar.

His shop, his school, and his children are all here.

And... Brother Li.

We can't let anyone ruin all of this.

Jiang Tianqi won't work, drugs won't work, nobody will work.

He clenched his fist.

You must become stronger.

So strong that it can protect everything it wants to protect.

Just then, the shop door was pushed open.

The person who walked in was someone I never expected—

Li Ruoxue.

She wasn't wearing designer brands today; she wore a simple dress and was carrying a thermos.

"Fang Che, are you busy?"

Fang Che was taken aback for a moment, then stood up: "Miss Li, what brings you here?"

"Just call me Ruoxue." Li Ruoxue placed the thermos on the counter. "I heard you've been busy lately, so I made some soup for you to nourish yourself."

Fang Che said embarrassedly, "I can't accept this..."

"Don't be shy." Li Ruoxue opened the thermos, and the aroma of chicken soup wafted out. "Brother Hanzhou said you've been working hard lately and asked me to take good care of you."

That was a natural statement, but Fang Che still felt that something was off.

"Thank you... Ruoxue." He took the soup. "How's Brother Li doing lately?"

“Busy.” Li Ruoxue sat down opposite her and sighed. “There are things to do at the branch, things to do in the business, and… things to do with Jiang Tianqi. I advised him not to work so hard, but he wouldn’t listen.”

She looked at Fang Che with gentle eyes: "Fang Che, try to persuade him. Brother Hanzhou will listen to you."

Fang Che's heart skipped a beat.

That's too close to home.

“Brother Li knows what he’s doing,” he chuckled dryly.

“Yes, he’s always been sensible.” Li Ruoxue smiled, then changed the subject, “By the way, I heard you’re taking over ‘Dragon Tiger Club’? That shop has a good location, but the competition is fierce. If you need any help, feel free to contact me anytime. I have some friends in Tsim Sha Tsui.”

"Thank you, but not for now."

"Don't be shy." Li Ruoxue stood up. "Drink the soup while it's hot. I'm leaving now, I'll come again another day."

She walked to the door, then suddenly turned back: "Fang Che, Brother Hanzhou values ​​you highly. Don't let him down."

After saying that, he pushed open the door and left.

As Fang Che watched her retreating figure, the strange feeling in his heart intensified.

Did Li Ruoxue really only come to deliver soup today?

And those words... they sounded like concern, but also like a test.

He shook his head, clearing his mind of distractions.

Never mind that, let's focus on the present.

The chicken soup smelled delicious, but he didn't drink it.

It's not that I suspect poisoning, but rather that I feel uneasy.

He distributed the soup to the children and continued looking at the account books.

It's 10 PM, closing time.

Fang Che was about to lock the door when his cell phone rang.

It was Li Hanzhou.

"Ah Che, come to the dock now."

The tone was urgent.

Fang Che's heart tightened: "Brother Li, what happened?"

“Xi Rong is with me.” Li Hanzhou paused. “She’s fine, but… come over here and we’ll talk.”

Xi Rong?

Fang Che's mind went blank.

Isn't Xi Rong in the shop? When did you go to the pier?

Without thinking twice, he rushed out and flagged down a car.

"Master, Kwai Chung Wharf, quick!"

The car sped away.

Fang Che gripped the mobile phone, his hand trembling.

Xi Rong, you absolutely cannot get hurt.

wait for me.