Finest Servant Chapter 93

Chapter 93 Winning Over

Lin Wanrong sighed inwardly, 'I don't know what kind of luck I've stumbled upon to meet my precious Qiaoqiao. It really tugs at my heart.' He tightly held Qiaoqiao's hand and said, “From now on, you are not allowed to keep these things to yourself. Tell your big brother about it. If there are any problems, big brother will solve them.”

Dong Qiaoqiao's beautiful eyes were moist, and she gently bit her lip, softly saying, “Qiaoqiao understands. Big brother, you are Qiaoqiao's sky.”

Lin Wanrong felt a sweetness in his heart, just like eating honey. He hadn't expected that this little girl Qiaoqiao could even beat him at sweet talk. His heart was full of joy, and he whispered, “Qiaoqiao, my darling—” Dong Qiaoqiao's heart pounded twice, and then she was unable to think anymore.

“Cough, cough,” Luo Yuan couldn't stand to watch anymore, and hastily interrupted their romantic interaction with a fake cough. Lin Wanrong looked up to find several pairs of eyes on him, clearly dissatisfied with how he was leading astray the pure little Qiaoqiao.

Lin Wanrong laughed heartily and asked, “Qiaoqiao, how much silver are we short of now?”

Dong Qiaoqiao shook her head and said, “Big brother, we still have 500 taels of silver left. We should be frugal. We'll have more income after the restaurant opens.”

Lin Wanrong nodded, pulled out a large amount of loose silver from his bosom, and reassured her, “Qiaoqiao, big brother has plenty of silver. Feel free to use it. Don't mistreat yourself. Remember, you are my priceless treasure.”

“Big brother—” Qiaoqiao's face turned red as she softly called out, feeling a little weak. She really couldn't bear to hear his words, which made her heart race, and yet she loved to hear them.

Lin Wanrong then asked about the preparations for the opening. He genuinely wanted to win over Luo Yuan and didn't treat him as an outsider. He even asked about the restaurant in front of him. Dong Qiaoqiao was smart and capable and had prepared everything he had instructed, which made Lin Wanrong very satisfied.

“Qingshan, how are things on the side of Hung Hing?” Lin Wanrong asked, glancing at Luo Yuan unintentionally.

Seeing the men talking, Dong Qiaoqiao cleverly started a conversation with sister Ning.

Dong Qingshan was also a quick-witted person. Seeing his big brother ask in front of Luo Yuan, he knew there must be a deeper meaning, so he straightforwardly answered, “Recently, we've been accumulating strength. The manpower of Hung Hing's three halls is already sufficient. As per your instructions, big brother, we've found some trained brothers to practice martial arts with the others to enhance their combat abilities. However, it seems there's unrest in the city with Wu Zhenghu lately. There've been several times when they've come to scout our territory in the south of the city. Big brother, I think a confrontation with Wu Zhenghu is inevitable.”

Luo Yuan, as expected, was someone who loved excitement. Upon hearing this, he couldn't help but get intrigued. He quickly grabbed Dong Qingshan's hand and said, “Brother Qingshan, what is this Hung Hing you're talking about? And what does 'scout our territory' mean? It sounds interesting. Tell me more.” Luo Yuan, being a year older than Dong Qingshan and not possessing the airs of a rich young master, found it easy to connect with him.

Dong Qingshan glanced at Lin Wanrong, and seeing his big brother nodding, he proceeded to explain the situation about Hung Hing.

When Luo Yuan heard about the fierce battle with Li Ergou outside the city, his eyes widened in excitement. He exclaimed, “Exciting, so exciting! How did I miss such an exciting event?”

Dong Qingshan further explained Hung Hing's principles and structure, its aim to protect the weak and prevent violence. Luo Yuan was moved by this. What a great ideal! If they could follow this ideal, once Hung Hing grew stronger and eliminated the bullies who exploited their power, and unified Jinling city, there would be no underworld in Jinling city anymore.

Lin Wanrong listened to Dong Qingshan spinning tales, and laughed to himself. In the past, when dealing with small-time thugs, Qingshan would talk about seizing money and women. Now, facing the highly educated Luo Yuan, Qingshan came up with the grand idea of eliminating bullies and creating harmony. This was indeed very persuasive. No need to say, he must have used this tactic to expand Hung Hing recently. Why hadn't he noticed this talent in the boy earlier?

Suddenly, Luo Yuan stood up and said, “Qingshan, I want to join Hung Hing. You won't object, will you?”

“This…” Dong Qingshan looked at Lin Wanrong with a troubled expression, but seeing his smile, he said, “I have no objections, but we still need to ask my big brother's opinion.”

Luo Yuan glanced at Lin Wanrong and said, “Brother Lin, this big brother must be you, right?”

He had been waiting for this moment, Lin Wanrong nodded and said with a stern face, “Brother Luo, you've heard what Qingshan just said. Although our goal in Hung Hing is ambitious, the road to achieving it is winding and long, and may even involve a lot of violence. You need to think it through. Moreover, your status is noble—”

Luo Yuan quickly shook his head, “That won't be a problem. My father is very enlightened and doesn't interfere in my or my sister's affairs. As for the issue of violence, as you said, big brother, it's just a means to an end. To be honest with you, I've never tried to fight someone before in my life.”

Brilliant! Lin Wanrong was elated. He had been wondering how to persuade Luo Yuan, but to his surprise, Luo Yuan had persuaded himself first. He pretended to be serious and said, “Brother Luo, you can join Hung Hing, but you have to follow our organization's rules, no matter who you are. Upholding justice and trust, loyalty and courage, loyalty to the organization, never betraying – can you do all these?”

“Uphold justice and trust, be loyal and brave, be faithful to the organization, never betray.” Luo Yuan stood up, pointed his right hand to the sky, and solemnly swore.

“Good brother, from now on, you're part of Hung Hing,” Lin Wanrong grabbed his hand and laughed heartily, feeling truly proud. People of this era took oaths very seriously, and Luo Yuan had effectively tied himself tightly to the chariot of Hung Hing with these few words. How could this not make Lin overjoyed?

After some thought, Lin Wanrong found Luo Yuan to be smart, agile, and intelligent. He complemented Dong Qingshan's assertiveness and they could benefit from each other. So, he said, “Brother Luo, from now on, the affairs of Hung Hing will be handled by you and Qingshan. Qingshan is young and impulsive, you'll have to guide him.”

Luo Yuan, being intelligent, understood that Lin Wanrong's words placed him in the position of a strategist for Hung Hing. He greatly respected Lin Wanrong, and found Dong Qingshan agreeable, so he laughed heartily, “Don't worry, Big brother. Qingshan and I will work hard to ensure no one underestimates Hung Hing.”

The three of them laughed together. Dong Qingshan then repeated the matter of Wu Zhenghu of the city, “This Wu Zhenghu has formed the Black Dragon Association with several hundred brothers. He managed to establish and grow in the city because he has backing. I've been investigating for a while, but there's no concrete news, only that the person backing him is surnamed Cheng.”

Lin Wanrong wasn't too familiar with the officialdom of Jinling city, but he did know a young master surnamed Cheng. Wasn't the Commander-in-chief's surname Cheng?

“Surnamed Cheng?” Luo Yuan frowned, “Big brother, there aren't many powerful figures surnamed Cheng in Jinling city. Could it be Cheng Ruinian?”

Lin Wanrong grinned, “Apart from him, I guess there's no one else.”

Luo Yuan had an existing feud with Cheng Ruinian, and hearing this, he became more enthusiastic, “Heh, even better. Then let's start by crushing the Black Dragon Association, and see what this Cheng can do!”

If it had been earlier, Lin Wanrong would have been more cautious, but now it was different. Wu Zhenghu of the Black Dragon Association only had the son of the Commander-in-chief supporting him, but Lin Wanrong had the son of the Governor as his brother, which was a lot more impressive.

“Big brother, if that Wu Zhenghu comes to the south of the city again, what should we do?” Dong Qingshan asked.

“Brother Luo, what do you think we should do?” Lin Wanrong, shifting the conversation, tossed the question to Luo Yuan.

Luo Yuan thought for a moment and snorted, “If they come again, we fight. If we keep avoiding, it only shows weakness. And our Hung Hing has just been established, the foundation isn't stable, many people are watching. If we appear too weak, it would damage our reputation. It would be better to use this opportunity to publicize and raise the flag of Hung Hing, further expanding our influence. The Black Dragon Association, without a clear understanding of our strength, would definitely not dare to act rashly. My only concern is, our strength is still somewhat inferior to the Black Dragon Association. If a real fight breaks out, how should we respond?”

Lin Wanrong nodded. Luo Yuan's analysis made some sense. The enemy was at their doorstep; if they didn't fight back now, the reputation of Hung Hing would be ruined. However, if they were to retaliate, with Hung Hing's current foundation, they were no match for the Black Dragon Association.

He pondered for a while, then suddenly waved his hand and said, “Fight, we must fight fiercely. Hung Hing's foundation is weak and our experience is limited, we can only grow slowly through conflict. But we can't fight blindly, we must concentrate our superior forces, eliminate their effective strength, and catch them off guard.”

Luo Yuan pondered, “Big brother, how should we fight?”

Lin Wanrong explained, “Here's a simple example. In some areas, we could deliberately show weakness to numb them, making them more daring. When they let their guard down and penetrate deeper into our territory, we gather our greatest strength and defeat them one by one, gradually exhausting their power.”

Luo Yuan asked, “Big brother, you mean not to fight them head-on, but hit and run?”

“Correct, concentrate our local superior forces and deplete their effective strength. When we're used to fighting and have grown stronger, then we can eliminate them in one fell swoop,” Lin Wanrong confidently declared.

Luo Yuan and Dong Qingshan nodded together. The strategy proposed by their big brother indeed made sense. As the conversation became more lively, Luo Yuan suggested going to check on their Hung Hing brothers. Lin Wanrong was also somewhat worried that expanding Hung Hing too rapidly might attract spies, so he also wanted to take a look. The three of them left and headed directly towards the south gate of the city.

Chapter end