Yang Jian was naturally willing, with Zhou Tao guaranteeing the credit for the boss from Xinhe.
Xinhe had many construction bosses, and the vast majority were addicted to gambling. Besides gambling with dice locally, they would also go to the casino for high-stakes gambling every now and then.
Take Yu Dongqiang, for example. He had lost over a hundred million in the casino and still enjoyed going regularly. Fortunately, Dong Sheng Group had developed rapidly under Yu Feng's management in the past two years, otherwise, he would have gone bankrupt long ago.
Now that Yu Dongqiang had come to his casino, he would definitely bring a large group of bosses with him. It would be relatively safer to extend credit to them, as he knew them well and wouldn't have to worry about them defaulting.
Seizing the moment, Yang Jian called for Ah Nan using the walkie-talkie.
"Brother Jian, Master Uncle is here. Those troublemakers have been taken downstairs. It's preliminarily determined that Qin Ming arranged for them."
As soon as Ah Nan entered, he reported the situation, assuming Yang Jian had called him about the recent incident.
Yang Jian poured him a cup of tea. "Ah Nan, let me introduce you. This is Mr. Yu, Sister Feng's father. And this is Mr. Zhou Tao, who deals in yellow sand, as I told you before. They happen to be playing at the casino today."
Ah Nan was slightly taken aback, then warmly shook their hands. "Mr. Yu, Mr. Zhou, welcome. Although I'm not from Xinhe, I've heard great things about both of you."
Zhou Tao smiled and said, "You're Brother Yang's brother in Hancheng, right? You guys have made a name for yourselves in Xinhe. I saw the three of you in action just now, you were amazing. You took down more than half of the opponents. I've been in the underworld for decades, and this is the first time I've seen fighting that is so fluid and visually spectacular. If I hadn't been there in person, I would have thought it was a martial arts film."
"Haha, Mr. Zhou, you flatter me. I learned those moves from Brother Jian."
Ah Nan was a bit carried away by the praise.
Yang Jian chuckled, "Alright, stop praising each other. Ah Nan, Mr. Zhou and his group will be coming to play often, and they'll bring some bosses from Xinhe. Mr. Zhou wants our credit company to extend credit to them regularly."
"That's great. For credit, it's best to lend to people we know. Thank you, Mr. Zhou, for supporting our business."
Zhou Tao took a sip of tea. "It's only right. We are old friends with Mr. Yang. It's better to keep the business within the family. If we borrow credit from someone else, it's still borrowing. We might as well let you earn this money. However, let's be clear upfront. If I and Mr. Yu borrow credit, you can only take a three percent commission. For others, you can take five percent."
A three percent commission meant earning 300 yuan for every 10,000 yuan borrowed, calculated daily. This rate was almost unheard of in casinos, where the lowest was usually five percent, meaning 500 yuan for 10,000 yuan, and some even charged 800 or 1,000 yuan.
"No problem, I'll handle this. Mr. Zhou, you can deal with me directly from now on. You can decide who gets the preferential treatment."
Ah Nan knew that both Zhou Tao and Mr. Yu were bosses worth over a hundred million. Their credit borrowing would start from millions, so even with a smaller commission, it was profitable and safe.
After leaving his contact information with Zhou Tao, Ah Nan went out. The situation today was complicated, and he needed to oversee it personally.
With the credit arrangement settled, Zhou Tao asked his two assistants to wait outside as he had more important matters to discuss with Yang Jian.
"Mr. Yang, the fact that you can open such a large casino here indicates that your influence must be top-notch, otherwise, the police would have shut it down long ago."
Before getting to the main point, Zhou Tao still couldn't resist a compliment.
Yang Jian smiled wryly. "Mr. Zhou, please don't beat around the bush. Just say what you need to say. This casino belongs to a friend of mine, and I'm just benefiting from it. I don't have any influence here."
"Alright, then I'll be direct. Mr. Yang, I'm very happy to have met you today because I need your help."
"Mr. Zhou, you don't need to be polite. As long as I can do it, I guarantee I won't hesitate."
"Yes, you definitely can. Remember what I told you when we met? I finally obtained the sand extraction rights for Da Xinhe. I originally wanted to cooperate with you, but you happened to be in trouble."
"Isn't that good? You monopolize the operation. I guess I just didn't have the luck to earn that money."
Zhou Tao, however, gave a bitter smile. "Monopolize what? I've made a wedding dress for someone else. My sand fields have been taken over."
Yang Jian was very surprised. "Mr. Zhou, are you joking? You're a top figure in Chengguan. Who would dare to provoke you?"
"Mr. Yang, please don't make fun of me. I'm old now, and I no longer have a place in the underworld. These young people don't respect me, an old man, so they've brazenly interfered with my sand fields."
"Who are you talking about? Do I know them?"
Yang Jian already had an idea of what was going on. When they last met, Zhou Tao had mentioned that Hong Xing also wanted to bid for the sand extraction rights of Da Xinhe. So, the people interfering with his sand fields now should be from Hong Xing.
"Of course, you know them. It's Hong Xing and Bao Guo, whom I told you about. After I obtained the sand extraction rights, they started to brazenly and excessively illegally extract yellow sand. What's more, they even smashed several of my sand fields, making themselves the bosses of the sand fields."
"With your capabilities, you can't deal with them?"
"I've clashed with them a few times, but I haven't won. The main reason is that I don't have any fearless leaders under me, which has made my subordinates disorganized. I've spent a lot of money, but in the end, I lost my territory."
"You're right. A cowardly soldier makes a cowardly army, and a cowardly general makes a cowardly army. When fighting, unity is essential. If the leader doesn't lead the charge, the men behind won't put in the effort."
Having experienced dozens of battles, Yang Jian deeply understood his helplessness.
"So, you have to help me with this?"
Zhou Tao was also an old fox. He first offered empty promises of supporting the business and lending credit before making his request.
Yang Jian was a bit confused. "I'm in trouble myself and can't even go home. How can I help you? I don't dare to go back to Xinhe."
"You don't need to go back to Xinhe. Hong Xing spends most of their time in Nanhai, which is not far from here. With your influence here, it shouldn't be difficult to take care of Hong Xing."
Zhou Tao also knew that Hong Xing was the soul of that group. He was not only rich but also had official backing. As long as he was dealt with, the others would be insignificant.
Yang Jian feigned surprise. "Take care of Hong Xing? Mr. Zhou, I wouldn't dare to kill anyone. I can't help you with this."
"Mr. Yang, as far as I know, you have significant grievances with Hong Xing and Bao Guo, especially regarding the recent incident at the Xiao Sha River sand field. You are already at loggerheads. Don't you want to deal with him?"
"I do want to deal with him, but I don't intend to kill him. Although I'm wanted for running a casino, even if I'm caught, I'll only serve a few years in prison. Killing someone is a capital offense, and I'm only in my twenties, I don't want to die yet."
"Mr. Yang, you are now a wealthy casino owner with a family business. Naturally, you can't act personally. My idea is for you to help me find someone to deal with him. After all, you've made a name for yourself along the coast, and you're familiar with people in the underworld, making it easier to get things done."
Zhou Tao came to gamble with Yu Dongqiang this time purely to relax. Because Hong Xing had returned to Chengguan during this period, seeing that person made him feel suffocated. He couldn't compete with him in either legal or illegal dealings, so he could only go out and distract himself.
He never expected to encounter Yang Jian in this casino, which immediately gave him the idea of using Yang Jian to get rid of Hong Xing.