Chapter 122 Tugging at Each Other

It was past midnight when Su Tiannan finished talking with the workers and drove Su Tianyu home.

"The workers' emotions won't last long. You're wrong if you think they'll help us fight Changqing Company to the death." Su Tiannan was calm and thoughtful. "Uniting the workers is all about profit, and that's always risky."

Su Tianyu nodded slowly. "That makes sense."

"Tomorrow, you come with me. Let's set up a meeting with the other three families and have a chat." Su Tiannan was already treating his younger brother as a reliable person to discuss family matters with.

"Big brother, I'm new to Longcheng and don't know much about the situation here. I'm just guessing about a lot of things. You'll have to make the decisions yourself." Su Tianyu didn't like to speak with absolute certainty, so he reminded his brother.

Su Tiannan drove in silence for a while, then suddenly changed the subject. "Liuzi, what are your plans for the future in Longcheng?"

"I want to take the civil service exam," Su Tianyu replied directly.

"I mean, if our family can survive this crisis, you should stay and work at home," Su Tiannan said softly. "Even though the dirty work of the gang isn't respectable, it has a lot of potential if you make it big. Our generation of brothers should stick together and make a name for ourselves in Longcheng."

Su Tianyu paused and replied, "Brother, I still want to work for the government. That way, I can help the family too."

Su Tiannan thought for a moment. "That's good too. It's convenient to have someone in the government. If we can get through this, the family will spend whatever it takes to get you into the system."

"Hehe," Su Tianyu grinned.

Both brothers were very astute. They could discuss things clearly in a few words, and they didn't like to express their feelings superficially. A lot of their brotherly affection was in the unspoken details of their interactions.

Su Tiannan glanced at his cousin out of the corner of his eye. He suddenly felt that the kid had changed since before he went to school, but he couldn't quite put his finger on how.

...

The two brothers returned home late at night and went to their respective rooms.

Su Tianyu went into his room and found that his second brother wasn't back yet. The room was the same as when he left. He quickly washed up and called Tianbei. "Second brother, you're not back yet?"

"...I'm whoring, very busy, not going back tonight," Su Tianbei said straightforwardly.

"?" Su Tianyu was full of question marks. "Damn, you're still in the mood for that at a time like this?"

"I found a friend in the city who's taking care of your second uncle inside. There's no way around it, I'm treating him," Su Tianbei hiccuped. "I'll tell you when I get back."

"Okay, get some rest then."

"Yeah, you sleep."

The two ended the call, and Su Tianyu yawned, lay down on the bed, and fell fast asleep.

The next morning, the sun rose in the east, and the sun shone brightly.

Su Tianyu habitually got up early and ran four laps around the road outside the courtyard.

"Hey, Liuzi, you're doing morning exercises?" His cousin Su Miaomiao was wearing pajamas and wiping her face with a towel in front of her door.

"I got used to it at school." Su Tianyu's white t-shirt was soaked with sweat, and his short hair was wet. He looked very sunny.

Su Miaomiao sized up her cousin and teased in surprise, "Wow, you're in pretty good shape! I can't even tell when you're wearing clothes. You've got some muscle!"

"I have low body fat, so it doesn't show." Su Tianyu was actually the type of person who looked thin when he was wearing clothes, but was very muscular when he took them off.

Su Miaomiao tossed her hair back and walked up to Su Tianyu, patting his lower abdomen with her hand. "Wow, it's pretty hard."

Su Tianyu quickly sucked in his stomach. "Can you be serious for once?"

Third Sister Su Miaomiao was two years older than Tianyu, and she was as beautiful as a flower, but she was naturally uninhibited. When the children in the family fought, she could go toe-to-toe with Su Tianbei, which shows how fierce she was. So Su Tianyu had always been a little afraid of her, and Third Sister was the one who gave him the nickname "Su Family's Biggest Wimp."

"Oh, are you shy now? Have you forgotten when you and Second Brother were caught by me watching erotic movies when you were little?"

"You're a psycho!" Su Tianyu was sweating profusely and turned to run.

"Go to the front hall, it's time to eat," Su Miaomiao called out with a laugh.

"Got it."

...

The Su family was large, so five or six tables had to be set up inside and outside the front hall for each meal. Rice porridge, steamed buns, fried dough sticks, and other foods were served in basins, which looked very lively and warm.

After Su Tiannan finished his simple breakfast, he said softly to Su Miaomiao, "In a bit, you and Second Brother go to the freight yard and keep an eye on things. Don't let anything happen. Tianyu and I are going out for a bit."

"Okay," Su Miaomiao nodded.

After Su Tiannan finished explaining things at home, he drove Su Tianyu away again. At this time, Su Tianbei still had not returned home.

On the road.

Su Tiannan said softly, "I've arranged for people from the Bai family, the Liu family, and the Kong family to drink tea at the Fuhai Restaurant in Zhainan. These three families are about the same size as us, with about a thousand workers each."

Su Tianyu nodded slowly. "Are they close to us?"

"Not really. In recent years, Changqing Company's power in Zhainan District has been growing. The reason we've been associating with each other is to stick together and keep warm. Actually, we fought with the Bai family a few years ago over the contract for the subsequent treatment of garbage." Su Tiannan replied.

"I understand," Su Tianyu nodded.

"The Bai family is also contacting people in the police department. They've prepared a lot of money to get the Bai family's old man classified as an accessory, so he might get a lighter sentence. But if Old Bai is classified as an accessory, then your second uncle will likely be pushed into the position of principal offender." Su Tiannan continued, "The Liu family has always been timid. They're very scared right now and are preparing to soften their stance with the Changqing Gang and hand over their territory to seek peace. The last, the Kong family, is in a similar situation to us. They don't want to give up their territory, but their connections are a little lacking, so they're also looking for relationships everywhere."

Su Tianyu frowned. "So, the four families involved all have their own ideas?"

"That's right," Su Tiannan nodded. "Do you have any thoughts?"

"We need to stick together," Su Tianyu replied decisively. "I think when you talk to them, you can use what happened last night."

Su Tiannan pondered for a moment. "Kill after disarming? Is that what you mean?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I mean."

"Okay, I understand," Su Tiannan nodded slowly.

...

Ten o'clock in the morning, inside a private room at the Fuhai Teahouse on Guangyin Avenue in Zhainan District.

Bai Hongbo, the eldest son of the Chaozhou Gang's Bai family in Zhainan District, the second son of the Shanghai Gang's Liu family, and Kong Zhenghui, the eldest son of the Kong family, were already sitting in the private room.

At the end of the table, Su Tiannan took the initiative to pour tea for the three men and said softly, "The reason I called everyone here today is to discuss how we can break out of this situation."

On the sofa, Su Tianyu looked at the leaders of the three families at the table in silence. He was new to Longcheng and didn't understand the deeper situation, so he only planned to listen and see how his brother handled things.

"How the hell are we going to break out of this?" Bai Hongbo, who was thirty-one or thirty-two years old, said loudly, "The Management Committee and the Police Department have all been taken care of by Changqing Company. We don't have anyone in the judicial system, and the higher-ups won't speak for us. Tell me, how are we going to break out of this?"

The second son of the Liu family was not the same generation as Su Tiannan and the others. He was the younger brother of the Liu family's old master, so his words carried more weight. "Tiannan, now that things have gotten to this point, we should be more cautious. The leaders of our four families have all been detained in the bureau. Their lives are in their hands. If you're not careful, something big could happen."

Kong Zhenghui, the eldest son of the Kong family, listened to everyone's conversation without saying a word.

Su Tiannan filled the teacups and pushed them in front of everyone before saying softly, "Let's not talk about breaking out of the situation for now. Let's just say we all soften our stance, admit defeat, and honestly hand over our territory. Will Changqing Company let us off the hook?"

Everyone was silent.

"My personal inclination is that even if we hand over everything we have, Changqing Company will not let us off the hook." Su Tiannan had a natural calmness. Although he was the youngest at the table, he spoke clearly and logically. "The leaders of our four families have been arrested for several days, but the police department has not officially classified the case. They keep saying that it is still under investigation. If Changqing Company wants our territory in a short period of time, why not quickly classify the case and put the most direct pressure on us?"

"Isn't that obvious? They're just dangling you, making you anxious," Bai Hongbo said bluntly.

"That's part of it, but not entirely." Su Tiannan waved his hand and replied, "I think Changqing Company's plan is to kill us after we disarm."

"What does that mean?" The second son of the Liu family asked with a frown.

"It's very simple. They not only want our territory, but also want us to spit out all the profits we've made over the years. Why is the police department helping Changqing Company? It's definitely for profit! If we don't pay the money, Changqing Company will have to pay it, so they're waiting for us to disarm." Su Tiannan followed Tianyu's train of thought and said in a stern tone, "Our people are in the bureau, so we have to be anxious. We find connections and send the money, but the police department still doesn't release them and still wants to sentence the four old men. What can you do then? At that time, you still have to hand over your territory, right?"

Everyone's faces looked bad when they heard this.

"We've already torn our faces, so if I were Changqing Company, I would definitely knock down the four families at once and not give you a chance to fight back." Su Tiannan continued, "To be honest, I've been running around these past few days trying to find connections and have been in contact with people in the police department. I'll be frank with everyone, it's impossible to solve this matter by using your own money to find connections. The second-in-command of the police department has a very close relationship with the Fuzhou people in the Management Committee. The people below want to take the money and help us, but they don't dare to reach out."

"Tiannan didn't lie. I've also been looking for connections these past few days, and that's indeed the situation," Kong Zhenghui, who had been silent, interjected.

"Damn it, it's not enough to hand over the territory, they also want to kill us after we disarm." Bai Hongbo gritted his teeth. "They're going too far!"

"I think we need to stick together and make some noise." Su Tiannan glanced at Tianyu and said with tacit understanding, "If we don't resist, we'll die anyway, so we might as well clash with them."

"What if we get crushed?" The second son of the Liu family asked anxiously. "Your father is still in their hands!"

"Uncle Liu, if we can reach a consensus, I, Su Tiannan, am willing to be the first to step forward and take on this burden. I'll take responsibility if something happens, but everyone has to contribute." Su Tiannan promised the three men decisively.

After considering it, Kong Zhenghui immediately said, "I have no choice. I'm willing to do it."

Bai Hongbo took a sip of tea. "You take the lead, and I'm willing to play along with you."

"We still need to be cautious." The timid second son of the Liu family hesitated.

"Second Uncle Liu! If you don't fight back today, Changqing Company will take care of your eldest brother tomorrow and you the day after!" Kong Zhenghui said concisely.

The second son of the Liu family pondered for a long time. "Alright, if Tiannan takes the lead, let's give it a try!"

...

An hour and a half later.

Su Tianyu left the teahouse and said to his cousin, "If we're going to do it, we have to do it quickly. These people aren't sure of themselves and might go back on their word."

"That's right, let's go find our connections in the police department right away and start talking..."

As the two brothers were discussing, Su Tiannan's phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Tianbei is in trouble. He's been cut."

"What?!" Su Tiannan raised his eyebrows and asked, "Where is he?"

"He just got home."