"Forget about it. The boss wants you to go back to school. There's no way you'll end up in the underworld. He said he'll help you with the loan shark issue. Go back now."

The plane shook its head, handed each of them a cigarette, and said.

Li Chao looked puzzled and asked, "Why? Brother Feiji, don't underestimate us just because we're students. We're really good at fighting. You know about what happened at the hospital, right? Hu Bapi and his gang of thugs got beaten to a pulp by the three of us."

The plane shrugged helplessly and said, "I know, you three are definitely good prospects for navigating the underworld, but there's nothing I can do. The boss doesn't approve. I even got yelled at for pleading on your behalf. You guys should hurry up and get going. Remember to go back to school tomorrow, or the boss will give me another dressing down!"

Li Chao and his two friends walked out of the colorful garden, dejected.

Instead of going back, they found a roadside food stall and sat down. They had been taken out of the police station before they had even eaten.

The two friends, Zhou Bo and Wang Cheng, have been hanging out with Li Chao since elementary school. The three brothers even swore an oath of brotherhood, imitating the three brothers Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei. They worshipped Guan Yu and made a blood oath.

Zhou Bo, a bespectacled young man, looked refined and rather rational. He advised, "Li Chao, I think we should call it quits. That Boss Tang is a good person. He wants us to go back to school, which is for our own good."

"Bullshit!"

Li Chao glared at him and said, "If you're scared, go back to school. I won't blame you. But I'm definitely going to make it in the real world. Do you know Bai Jinhan's former boss, Xu Jiang? He started out carrying cement on construction sites. Jinghai is such a big city, and they can still make it. Am I any less capable than them? Sooner or later, I, Li Chao, will also rise to the top and become a big shot in Jinghai!"

“Studying is out of the question. I just can’t concentrate on it anymore. Not only would I waste my time and life at school every day, but I would also waste my parents’ money. My conscience wouldn’t allow it. I’d rather get out here and make something of myself so they can enjoy a comfortable life later,” Wang Cheng said.

"That's right!"

Li Chao agreed with Wang Cheng's statement and nodded, saying, "Let me tell you, do you know why that Boss Tang is unwilling to take us as his underlings?"

"Why?"

Li Chao sneered, "Hmph, he thinks we're useless, so we have to show him some results. That's called a pledge of loyalty. Have you seen those Hong Kong gangster movies? Big gangs don't just accept anyone!"

"Is this reliable?" Wang Cheng asked.

Li Chao said casually, "Of course it's reliable. What we need to do now is help our boss solve this problem. Do you know the Grand Palace? I heard from Brother Feiji that the Grand Palace has been targeting our Wan Zi Qian Hong recently. The boss behind it has a grudge against our boss, so if we help our boss solve this problem, he will definitely take us in as his underlings."

"How do we resolve this? Li Chao, you're not going to kill someone, are you?" Zhou Bo asked with some concern.

Li Chao rolled his eyes and said, "I'm not that stupid. Murder is illegal. I just need to find an opportunity to teach that chieftain of the Grand Palace a lesson."

Zhou Bo was intrigued and said, "I think this is something we can look into. I saw a job posting for waiters at the entrance of the Grand Palace a couple of days ago. We could apply and then secretly look for an opportunity."

"Didn't you say you were going back to school?" Wang Cheng teased.

Zhou Bo adjusted his glasses and said seriously, "If neither of you is studying, what's the point of me studying alone? We're brothers, we should share honor and disgrace. We swore an oath."

"Haha, that's what a good brother is like!"

Li Chao laughed loudly, put his arm around Zhou Bo's shoulder, and shouted to the food stall owner, "Boss lady, bring three more grilled kidneys, grill them a little well-done!"

Three bottles of beer and seven or eight skewers of grilled meat—the three brothers actually drank all night.

When it came time to pay, the proprietress looked disgusted, saying it wasn't even enough to cover her tea expenses.

However, Li Chao and his friends didn't feel embarrassed at all. The three brothers put their arms around each other's shoulders and sang at the top of their lungs in the dark old street.

In the midst of the wind and rain

Unrestrained waking and drunkenness

All the stories seem to have already happened, in the years of wandering.

The wind has blown and the silence has subsided.

It's hard to repay such a sentiment.

Let the tears carry away the weariness of the night!

......

Those who haven't experienced this purest form of friendship will never understand.

The three Li brothers were secretly plotting to pledge their loyalty, but Tang Ping was unaware of this, as he was currently extremely busy.

The old street project was nearing completion, and he was responsible for signing off on every detail, from the soap factory to other projects.

Many people think that bosses have a very easy job, that they don't have to do anything, that they can just sit back and wait to make money.

Little did they know how mentally exhausting it was for Tang Ping to be a boss.

The Tang Group has many businesses, but they haven't reached a significant scale yet. It's impossible for him to hire a professional manager and then just ignore everything.

In addition, my future father-in-law, Meng Dehai, was transferred to Qinghua District.

This is a relatively underdeveloped area, with many mountains and broken roads, making it difficult for the economy to develop. It also lacks pillar industries and has no money in its coffers. Meng Dehai is ambitious and wants to make sweeping changes and strive to develop the economy, but even a skilled cook cannot cook without rice.

So he approached Tang Ping.

Investing in factories, increasing fiscal revenue, and constructing government highways and other municipal projects, Meng Dehai urgently needs the financial support of entrepreneurs like Tang Ping.

But this kind of support is clearly a tough job, requiring a lot of money but offering little benefit.

Tang Ping went to Qinghua District for inspections several times, and Meng Dehai also talked to him several times, but the matter was still not decided.

The main problem is that Meng Dehai wanted too much, but the land in Qinghua District had already been almost completely sold out, leaving little profit.

And, the day for bidding has finally arrived!

Tang Ping simply couldn't spare the time to manage Qinghua District, so this matter dragged on for Meng Dehai.

The next morning, Tang Ping got up very early.

Today is the day for the bidding.

He had already made the arrangements last night.

Zhao Wei drove, while Hu Xiandong brought an airplane and several underlings as bodyguards. The people participating in the bidding, Bai Xiaojie, her cousin Song Lili, and Lin Yuan, were all key members of the company.

All other personnel remain in place.

This is Jinghai, not some rural place like Jianning.

Since it's an open tender, there's no need to worry about safety or road obstruction issues.

Moreover, as far as Tang Ping knew, the Jinghai Public Security Bureau had already deployed a large number of police officers to patrol various roads in order to ensure the smooth progress of this bidding process, in order to prevent anyone from deliberately causing trouble.

This way, it's fair to everyone.

It all comes down to merit; no one should try to win bids illegally by relying on external forces.

Everyone was there. Tang Ping waved his hand, ready to call for departure, when he saw Zhao Wei rushing in from outside the courtyard, saying, "Boss, something terrible has happened!"