Who is the big boss behind Gaolan Cosmetics?
It's Gao Fei!
Gaolan Cosmetics store is located on Beichang Street.
This also means that starting today, Beichang Street will no longer be dominated by their Zhou brothers alone.
Nowadays, in the capital, any social individual with a brain who doesn't want to get into trouble will not dare to oppose Gao Fei.
Even if the ones operating Gaolan Cosmetics on Beichang Street are the easily bullied Gao family's three siblings.
But the capitalist behind the cosmetics is Gao Fei, and the appearance of the store represents Gao Fei's presence.
Would they, the Dragon and Tiger brothers, dare to go to their door to collect protection fees?
Of course not!
The official establishment of Gaolan Cosmetics on Beichang Street is a huge threat to the Zhou brothers, who want to expand their wealth-gathering network and collect protection fees from businesses.
If Gaolan Cosmetics store does not pay protection fees, it will surely attract many merchants to follow suit.
Therefore, the opening of the direct-operated store severely affected their income and expansion of power.
The Zhou brothers sat on the sofa, smoking in silence.
Their trusted subordinates sat quietly, waiting for their two elder brothers to speak.
Staring at the white business card with gold lettering, the Dragon and Tiger brothers' eyes felt dry, and they were very displeased.
Just as the brothers were contemplating how to resolve the protection fee issue for Gaolan Cosmetics store, Zhou Hu's phone suddenly rang.
Ring, ring!
Seeing the caller ID on the screen, he quickly answered the phone.
"Hello."
He only said one word, and Zhou Hu remained silent for the rest of the call.
But onlookers noticed that his face suddenly became very grim.
After hanging up, his elder brother Zhou Long eagerly asked, "What did they say? Are they going to back down and pay, or seek official resolution?"
But Zhou Hu didn't answer his question immediately. Instead, he felt panicked and, with trembling hands, relit a cigarette.
He took a deep drag and said, his voice trembling, "The other two film crews of Fei He neither backed down nor sought official resolution.
Da Ming and Chen Bao, who were collecting venue fees from the two film crews, were kidnapped this afternoon, and their subordinates were attacked and killed by a group of people.
Both of their forces were completely uprooted."
Zhou Hu took another deep puff of his cigarette, swallowed, and continued, "An hour ago, Da Ming and Chen Bao were dumped at the hospital entrance, with their wrist and ankle tendons severed.
It is said that during their rescue, the hospital declared them critically ill twice. Even if they survive, they will be completely crippled!"
The moment he finished speaking, the atmosphere in the room became oppressive and heavy.
Zhou Long's mind went blank, his face turned extremely pale, and the cigarette in his hand fell to the ground with a snap.
His trusted subordinates' faces turned ashen, and their bodies trembled with fear.
Da Ming and Chen Bao were the local thugs who had demanded venue fees from the film crews of "God of Gamblers" and "The Seeding of the Corpse."
When the Zhou brothers learned that the two were charging Fei He's film crews, they immediately sent people to inquire about the attitudes of the other two film crews towards them.
Now that they had received the news, they were surprised to learn that Da Ming and Chen Bao had been completely crippled.
Even the forces they had established on the streets had been uprooted.
At this moment, Zhou Long was grateful that he had not boldly stormed the film crews but had wisely retreated.
Zhou Hu also secretly breathed a sigh of relief, fortunately he had informed Director Bai in advance and used official channels to prevent his elder brother from falling into trouble.
"A Hu, did the informant say who did this to Da Ming and Chen Bao?"
Zhou Long asked with a pounding heart.
Zhou Hu shook his head and said with a wry smile, "Big Brother, let's not inquire further. Anyone who can uproot Da Ming and Chen Bao in one go is definitely someone we cannot afford to provoke."
The trusted subordinates all nodded in agreement.
Da Ming and Chen Bao were old-established local figures in the district.
To be completely eradicated in an afternoon meant that their opponents were definitely not ordinary street gangs.
Just then, several sounds of kicking doors suddenly came from outside.
The Zhou brothers and their subordinates were startled and immediately took out weapons from under the coffee table.
The next second.
With a "clang!"
The door to the room was kicked open.
In the blink of an eye, more than twenty burly men dressed in black, with fierce expressions, rushed into the room wielding sticks.
"Beat them!"
The man leading the group waved his hand.
The Zhou brothers and their subordinates were immediately overwhelmed by the onslaught of sticks, with no ability to resist.
A moment later, six men knelt on the ground, their faces covered in blood, their eyes filled with deep fear.
The leader, a bald man, swept his gaze over Zhou Long, whose face was beaten into a pig's head, and a sarcastic smile appeared on his face.
Noticing the man's icy gaze, Zhou Long couldn't help but shiver and immediately kowtowed three times on the ground.
"Big Brother, it was my own fault for being blind and overestimating myself. Please show mercy and let me and my brothers go."
The bald man chuckled mockingly, "With this cowardly demeanor, you still dared to collect venue fees from Fei He's film crews. If someone hadn't warned us in advance, you would have been at least half crippled, if not dead."
"Thank you, Big Brother, for showing mercy!"
Zhou Long kowtowed two more times, "If anything happens to Fei He's film crews on Beichang Street in the future, I will personally bring my head to you!"
The bald man looked at him disdainfully and kicked him away, "You're still trying to climb the ladder through film crews with this pathetic appearance? Look at your own level.
If I ever hear that you dare to harass the film crews again, I will cripple you Dragon and Tiger brothers first, understand?"
The Zhou brothers and their subordinates immediately nodded in unison, not daring to utter a single complaint.
The bald man glanced at the six of them and waved his hand, leading his men away.
However, before leaving, he happened to notice the LCD TV in the living room.
He then pointed at the TV and cursed, "Smash that TV for me. What kind of class is this, it's the same as the one I use."
Soon, the smashed LCD TV blended in with the mess in the room.
The bald man nodded in satisfaction and then led his men away.
After the people left, the Zhou brothers and their subordinates collapsed on the ground, panting heavily.
At this moment, they felt as if they had narrowly escaped death, their hearts filled with lingering fear.
They regretted their previous idea of collecting venue fees even more.
....
The next day.
Three days have passed since the venue fee incident.
The areas where Fei He Pictures' three film crews were located finally returned to normal, and the filming progress accelerated.
The Zhou brothers, who had been severely beaten, returned to Beichang Street after spending three days in the hospital.
On the day they returned, Gaolan Cosmetics' direct-operated store also officially opened.
Upon learning of the cosmetics store's opening, Zhou Long and Zhou Hu, despite their injuries, bought flower baskets and fruit baskets, packed red envelopes, and went to celebrate the opening.
When the two brothers appeared with their entourage, the originally lively opening ceremony became desolate.
After that night, everyone already knew that the Zhou brothers had suffered retaliation for collecting venue fees from the film crews and were beaten into the hospital.
Now, seeing their bruised and swollen faces, looking like pig's heads, the merchants secretly applauded.
However, noticing the gaze from the two brothers, the merchants immediately retracted their gloating expressions and quickly returned to their shops.
After everyone dispersed, Zhou Long took out a large red envelope and walked towards Gao Qiqiang, who was greeting guests outside the door, and said with a smile, "Brother Qiang, wishing you booming business!"
"Brother Long, your presence is enough. I dare not accept this red envelope!"
Gao Qiqiang had also heard about the Zhou brothers' affairs.
After all, the two brothers were still local figures on Beichang Street, so he immediately refused the red envelope with a smile.
Zhou Long stuffed the red envelope into his suit and said hurriedly with a smile, "Brother Qiang, we are all from the same neighborhood, no need to be polite.
Also, from now on, just call me Xiao Long!"
"Brother Qiang, you can call me Xiao Hu from now on!"
Zhou Hu quickly echoed, simultaneously handing over a red envelope.
Gao Qiqiang knew that the main reason the Zhou brothers came to celebrate was their fear of the big boss behind Gaolan Cosmetics.
The previous show of force and intimidation towards Huang Mao, coupled with being severely beaten, had thoroughly instilled a sense of dread in the hearts of the Dragon and Tiger brothers.
Therefore, he no longer refused and directly accepted the red envelopes.
After a brief chat, Zhou Hu suddenly asked, "Brother Qiang, Sister Lan arranged for this direct-operated store. Why isn't she here for the store's opening today?"
As soon as the question was asked, Gao Qiqiang immediately realized that Xiao Hu was testing him.
He was testing whether Gao Lan had a genuine relationship with Gao Fei, as he had told Huang Mao before.
However, he had called Xiao Lan before the opening, and her phone had been out of service.
Now, with Zhou Hu's sudden probing, he suddenly felt uncertain.