Chapter 305: Chapter 302: 【Kneeling Down】
Sorry, the update time has passed midnight again.
I’ll try to adjust my schedule.
·
Chapter 302 Kneeling
Chen Nuo met Li Qingshan close to three o’clock in the morning.
The meeting location was Li Qingshan’s luxury mansion in the west of Jinling City.
An expansive flat of nearly two hundred square meters was quite rare in Jinling City in 2001.
This residence was obviously one of Li Qingshan’s secret properties.
Chen Nuo was personally driven there by Lao Qi.
Upon arrival, he was surprised to find only Li Qingshan in the house, without a single attendant or bodyguard.
When Chen Nuo entered, Lao Qi, who had opened the door for him, stood by the doorway.
Li Qingshan immediately rose from the sofa in the living room to greet him.
"Mr. Chen Nuo, I am truly sorry for this late hour..."
Chen Nuo waved his hand, appearing quite composed, and replied indifferently, "Let’s skip the pleasantries. For you to seek me out so urgently at this hour, it must be something quite troubling. Let’s sit down and talk."
Although Li Qingshan was cut off, he was somewhat relieved by Chen Nuo’s directness and signaled to Lao Qi with a look, "Go bring them here."
"Alright."
Lao Qi turned and left, locking the door behind him.
The decor in the living room was quite luxurious. It was evident that no expense had been spared on the meticulously chosen furniture.
Yet Li Qingshan’s aesthetic taste was mediocre at best. The lavish furniture exuded an air of tasteless wealth. As if trying to conceal this, he had deliberately placed a few imitation antique vases in the living room and arranged several rows of ornately bound, boxed books on the shelves.
It all resulted in a somewhat incongruous appearance.
Despite Li Qingshan’s seemingly composed demeanor, his bloodshot eyes and strained expression revealed to Chen Nuo that something was amiss—especially since the old fellow wasn’t putting on his usual show of performing a tea ceremony to flaunt his sophistication. Instead, only a few bottles of beer sat on the coffee table.
Li Qingshan’s collar button was undone, giving him a somewhat disheveled appearance.
"Hall Master Li, this house is quite nice," Chen Nuo said with a smile.
In this location, twenty years from now, it would be worth almost sixty to seventy thousand per square meter, he remembered.
"You flatter me. I just bought it last year to support a friend’s real estate project," Li Qingshan said, waving his hand dismissively.
"Alright, let’s get to it. What exactly happened?" Chen Nuo casually picked up a beer bottle from the table, popped the cap off with his thumb, and took a light sip.
Li Qingshan stared at Chen Nuo, his breathing becoming increasingly rapid. He was clearly agitated and wrestling with indecision as he began, "That... Mr. Chen Nuo, could you arrange a meeting with Brother Haonan for me? For this matter, I would like to ask... um, ask for your senior brother’s assistance as well..."
"?"
Chen Nuo gave the man a puzzled look.
So... he doesn’t trust my abilities.
No wonder.
All the previous impressive feats had been Brother Haonan covering for me. In Li Qingshan’s mind, whether it was single-handedly barging into his stronghold and throwing everything into disarray, or catching bullets barehanded right in front of him—to this day, Li Qingshan still believed Zhang Linsheng had done those things. In his heart, Zhang Linsheng was the one who truly possessed great abilities. As for me... I was merely Zhang Linsheng’s junior brother. Although from the same sect, in terms of ability, I probably fell far short. It was still doubtful how capable I really was.
Not wanting to burst his bubble, Chen Nuo smiled and said, "Well... my senior brother hasn’t really been available to handle matters personally lately. It’s the same if you talk to me."
"This..." Li Qingshan still seemed somewhat reluctant.
"Whatever it is, I should be able to help you with it. If I can’t, I’ll have my senior brother step in. Don’t worry, I can make that call, and my senior brother will listen to me."
"...Alright then."
Li Qingshan detected the firmness in Chen Nuo’s tone.
He weighed his options. Since Chen Nuo has spoken with such conviction, if I keep insisting on only wanting Brother Haonan... this Junior Brother Chen Nuo will lose face. Then, if he gets upset and throws a tantrum in front of Brother Haonan—they are fellow sect brothers, after all—and if Brother Haonan, to protect his junior brother’s dignity, refuses to help, then the loss would truly outweigh the gain.
Oh well, since I can’t get the senior one right now, I might as well talk to the junior one first.
"I’ve encountered a huge problem."
"Hmm," Chen Nuo sipped his beer in small gulps, nodding. "No hurry, take your time."
"Someone is after me!" Li Qingshan’s tone was very serious.
Chen Nuo, upon hearing this, was not surprised at all.
Li Qingshan was an underworld boss; throughout his life, he had undoubtedly made enemies. It wasn’t strange for someone to want to deal with him.
"Hmm, I understand. But in Jinling City, there can’t be many who have the power to touch you."
Li Qingshan shook his head. "If it’s in Jinling City, unless it’s government officials who want to take action against me, then I would simply surrender or hurry to pack up and flee. In two words: admit defeat! But other than the authorities... if it’s some associates from the underworld, no matter how large their operations... In Jinling, it wouldn’t be so easy to touch me, Li Qingshan."
Chen Nuo listened, smiled without speaking, and merely nodded, motioning with his eyes for Li Qingshan to continue.
Hall Master Li sighed softly. "But the problem is, this time they’ve got me by my weak spot..."
He paused. Li Qingshan hung his head, rubbed his cheeks forcefully with both hands, and after a moment, lifted his head. Staring straight at Chen Nuo, he spoke softly, "Mr. Chen Nuo, this matter involves some aspects of mine that aren’t quite suitable for public disclosure..."
Chen Nuo understood and smiled. "Don’t worry. Whatever you tell me tonight, I won’t breathe a word of it once I leave this room."
"That’s good!" Li Qingshan said slowly. "Over these years, I’ve made some money and amassed quite a bit of wealth. As for property, I’ve also invested in some. In terms of net worth, not to compare with others, but among my peers in the same trade in Jinling City, no one can claim to definitively surpass me. Even Luo Dachanzi, whom you know, though he’s done well in his own business, if we’re really talking about financial strength, he might not necessarily have more than me."
Chen Nuo neither agreed nor disagreed, again signaling with his eyes for him to continue.
"I’m fifty-seven this year," Li Qingshan said with a wry smile. "There’s not much time left in a man’s life to stand tall. Mr. Chen Nuo, you’ve probably heard as well. Perhaps Wu Dalei, that bald fellow, has also bent your ear about my affairs. Everyone knows that I, Li Qingshan, engage in dirty business; they all say this line of work is bad for one’s moral character. They all say that I, Li Qingshan, for running my establishments, will face retribution, so in this lifetime, I’m destined to be without descendants. Childless. In the past, my peers laughed behind my back, saying that all the money I, Li Qingshan, made in my life couldn’t be taken with me to the grave. One day, when I kick the bucket, all my vast wealth will just fall into the hands of unrelated outsiders. In my current business, I still have some relatives helping me manage. But, who knows, the ones who probably wish for my early demise the most... might just be these relatives..."
Chen Nuo replied indifferently, "Get to the point. I have no interest in prying into your family affairs."
"Alright, alright, the point," Li Qingshan hastily reined in his rambling and whispered, "I have an enemy... looking to cause me trouble! The problem is, I originally thought he’d been dead for many years. But unexpectedly, not only is he not dead, he also... And now, he’s got me by my weak spot."
"An enemy?"
"Yes... Irreconcilable, deep-seated grievances. A deadly feud!"
As Li Qingshan spoke, the corner of his eye twitched. "That was... in the early eighties..."
·
In the early eighties, Li Qingshan, then in his thirties, had ventured south in search of fortune.
It was a period when many were "going to sea" to do business, especially in the south, which everyone considered a land of gold and silver, teeming with opportunities.
Even Chen Jianshe, Chen Nuo’s biological father, unable to make a living in Jinling City, had run off to Yue Province in the south to seek opportunities and dream of striking it rich.
Li Qingshan was among the earlier generation to go.
Moreover, unlike those of that era who went south to trade small electronic products or clothing, Li Qingshan was daring and ambitious. He looked down on such "small-time business" of peddling goods.
Or perhaps, he wanted to, but he lacked the capital and connections.
So, he chose a different path to wealth.
·
"I, along with several brothers, went to places even farther south... in search of fortune. From Yue Province, we went to Yunnan. There, we got to know a few bosses in the industry and shamelessly tagged along with them. We started as lackeys, enforcers, bodyguards—basically, jobs where we sold our brawn and risked our lives. It was all to get familiar with a trade route, to learn the ins and outs of that industry. Finally, after we got the hang of some things, my brothers and I managed to scrape together some money, saved up a little capital, and then an opportunity arose, so we went..."
"Where did you go?"
"...Myanmar, to deal in jade and jadeite."
Upon hearing this, Chen Nuo sighed and looked deeply at Li Qingshan. "You... you really are something else."
Myanmar in the eighties could only be described with one word: chaos!
Forget the eighties; even then, in 2001, this small Southeast Asian country had not stabilized and was still under the rule of a military government.
According to my memories from my past life, this military government would continue to rule Myanmar for over a decade.
To put it simply, the political situation in this country had always been extremely tense. The military government had come into power through a coup by military leaders; there was no elected democratic government. Moreover, the military forces there were tangled and complex: major military leaders presided over large factions, who in turn controlled smaller leaders, under whom were even smaller local commanders...
Occasionally, there was even friction and turf wars between these military factions.
And one of Myanmar’s important export mineral resources was jade.
Many jade mines were controlled by various regional military leaders, big and small.
To go to Myanmar for the jade business in the eighties—that truly meant risking your neck, putting your life on the line.
·
"Back then, it was really chaotic. Those Burmese military forces controlled the mining veins and pits. However, fortunately, they also had to sell what they mined. They needed to sell these things to raise military funds. It was a situation of regional military factions; big and small military leaders relied on their armies to maintain their positions. So, they didn’t refuse foreigners who came to do mining business, as long as they could make money from the sales, they were willing to make deals.
But the problem was, it was chaotic! You might go to a mining area today, negotiate a deal with the military head, and even pay a deposit. But tomorrow, another military head might attack and seize the territory. Then, the deposit you paid would be completely lost; they wouldn’t recognize it. The result would be a total loss of investment.
And that was considered a good outcome.
Some reckless small military leaders, unable to seize resource-rich mining veins, would resort to secretly robbing foreign merchants who came to purchase ores. Murdering and looting, then throwing the bodies into abandoned mine shafts, where they might not be found for decades. No one would ever know."
Li Qingshan spoke in a low voice, his gaze growing more complex as he recalled the past.
"So, you really are daring," Chen Nuo said, a hint of admiration for the old man in his voice.
This was truly a life-or-death business.
Forget the eighties. Even now, in 2001, Myanmar is still just as chaotic!
However, it was probably through such ventures that Li Qingshan had earned his initial capital and embarked on the road to prosperity.
"Who exactly is your enemy?"
Facing this question, Li Qingshan fell silent for a few seconds, his expression complex and strange. Then, he slowly began, "Among those I dealt jade with in Myanmar back then, there was a good brother of mine..."
Chen Nuo frowned.
"Back then, we had a life-and-death bond. In those times, in that place, that country, doing such dangerous business... I saved his life several times, and he saved mine several times too. We lost count. Essentially, we were as close as blood brothers, inseparable.
We all made some money. One time, in particular, we paid a hefty price, smoothed out many relationships, and bribed a high-ranking military officer who controlled an old mine rich in jade deposits. Through these connections, we acquired a large batch of jade. We even had a buyer lined up for that shipment. If we could transport it out safely, we’d make a fortune.
That time, we made thorough preparations and brought enough men. We had also generously compensated the local military head... Plus, having been in the business for a few years by then, we were familiar with the routes. We felt confident that we could smoothly secure the goods and return.
But, as it happened, that was the time things went wrong."
"What went wrong?"
"That time, we had brought almost all our money, staking everything on one gamble." Li Qingshan shook his head. "But..."
"You were robbed?"
"No... we weren’t robbed. There was a problem at the mine."
Li Qingshan took a deep breath and said softly, "We had just completed the transaction and hadn’t had a chance to move the ore out when we were trapped. The military head occupying that mine was attacked by several other military heads from different areas. He was decisively defeated, utterly routed. The mine was taken over by these other military heads, and we, along with our men and goods, were stuck inside.
Then, all hell broke loose. Although we had brought men and weapons, we were no match for several armies combined... we definitely couldn’t win..."
"Then what? You didn’t abandon your brother and run off alone, did you? Is that why he became your enemy?"
"Not exactly." Li Qingshan’s facial muscles twitched. "I... at that time, seeing the chaos of war, with different armies fighting each other... Especially the troops of the military head who originally controlled the mine, they were completely scattered. At that moment... sigh... It was my fault. In the heat of the moment, greed got the better of me."
Greed? Chen Nuo frowned at Li Qingshan.
Li Qingshan muttered, "At that time, ore transactions were all done in cash. There was no such thing as bank transfers. Besides, they needed the cash to support their armies, pay their soldiers, and keep their forces from deserting. They welcomed cash. So, at the transaction point in the mining area... the local military head who controlled the mine would keep large amounts of cash in his transaction warehouse! Because it was all in the mountains, cash had to be stored for some time before it could be transported out to purchase supplies, munitions, or distribute as pay. There was a window of time. During that window, money from recent transactions would still be there.
At that moment, with my head full of reckless ideas, seeing the general chaos and the defending troops routed and scattered... And since I knew the location of that military head’s transaction warehouse from our dealings... I..."
Listening to this, Chen Nuo couldn’t help but sigh.
"You... took advantage of the chaos and robbed the warlord of the money he made from selling ore?"
"Well, not exactly robbing," Li Qingshan said with a wry smile. "We didn’t fire many shots; their troops scattered on their own. We just charged in during the chaos, there weren’t many of them, we fired our machine guns a bit, and everyone fled. We used mining explosives to blast open their vault and started hauling out the money."
"How much money?"
Li Qingshan said softly, "Altogether... about a million or so..."
"A million or so, that’s not too much..."
"...US dollars."
"..." Chen Nuo paused, then laughed bitterly. "...Fuck!!"
Over a million US dollars in the early eighties. That was an incredible amount of money!
"And about a dozen gold bars," Li Qingshan added softly.
Chen Nuo: "....."
Fuck! So this old bastard is a dog-eat-dog scumbag too! Pah! Scratch the ’too’!
"The idea to rob the defeated warlord’s vault was mine. But my brother was against it at the time. He thought that with other warlords attacking, we shouldn’t get involved and should just wait patiently until they were done. The new warlord occupying the mine would still need to sell ore, and we could buy from anyone. Since they would eventually need us foreign merchants to sell ore for military funds, they probably wouldn’t harm us. We shouldn’t get involved in the mess; just wait patiently, and once they were done, trade with the new master of the mine. If we completed that shipment smoothly, we would make a lot of money.
But... I got greedy!"
Li Qingshan irritably lit a cigarette and took a drag.
"That day, I saw with my own eyes a cannonball blow apart the wall of the warehouse where the mine owner conducted his ore sales. The soldiers inside were dead or wounded, and the rest fled in chaos. At that moment, only one thought consumed me: Do this job, fucking rob them! If I succeeded, I’d take the money, flee back to China, and never return to this country. This money would be enough for me to live in wealth and comfort for the rest of my life in China.
In the end, I persuaded everyone. My good brother was also persuaded by me and joined me in that job."
"And then what?"
Li Qingshan sighed and suddenly slammed his hand on the table. "It was all damn fate! We pulled off the robbery, stormed the warehouse, blew open the vault, and had just filled two travel bags with several large sacks of cash... Then, damn it, the situation suddenly reversed!
Suddenly, reinforcements for the military head who owned the mine arrived! The tables turned in an instant! Those small warlords who had attacked the mine were, in turn, routed, scattered like falling leaves, and quickly beat a hasty retreat.
The worst part was, the mine owner’s troops saw us robbing the vault.
My brother and I, along with our men, fled in panic. But it wasn’t so easy to escape. Besides, they were the local power. They knew those old forests, those mountains, better than anyone. We were outsiders, unfamiliar with the terrain.
Fleeing frantically, the few men we had brought with us got separated. Some were killed, others scattered. My brother and I, carrying two travel bags full of money—over a million US dollars. We scrambled through the woods, ran, climbed mountains, waded through rivers...
In the end, the pursuers caught up with us.
My brother and I, we had no choice then but to draw lots for life or death!"
Li Qingshan gritted his teeth, his voice filled with malice, "Draw lots for life or death! The one who drew the death lot would stay behind to cover the retreat. We prepared a bag filled with fake stones. The one who drew the death lot would carry the stone bag, turn back to attract the pursuers’ attention, and then run in a different direction! The one who drew the life lot would take the real money and flee for their life!"
"You drew the life lot, and your brother drew the death lot," Chen Nuo sighed.
"No, I drew the death lot. It was supposed to be me acting as the decoy to attract the pursuers." As Li Qingshan said this, his voice began to tremble, yet his eyes glinted with a fierce light!
Chen Nuo’s heart sank. "You..."
"When I saw the death lot in my hand, according to our agreement, I was supposed to be the decoy, to attract the pursuers. But I knew that being the decoy meant almost certain death! So... I..."
Li Qingshan took a deep breath, the flesh on his face trembling.
"I knelt before him! I hugged his legs, crying, weeping, begging him desperately!"
Chen Nuo was stunned!
·
"Please! Please, Second Brother!!
Second Brother! I can’t die here!! My old mother is still in Jinling City! If I die here, there won’t even be anyone to see to her final affairs! I haven’t even had a son yet! If I die here, my Li family line will end!!
Second Brother, Second Brother, please! I can’t die, I don’t want to die here!!"
In the woods, a skinny man covered in mud knelt on the ground, hands clutching the thigh of the man before him, his head pressed against the man’s side, his face a mess of snot and tears.
The man he clung to had a square face, thick brows, short hair, and a sturdy build.
Listening to his companion’s desperate pleas and sobs, the expression on his face flickered with conflict, until finally...
He gritted his teeth hard!
The square-faced man suddenly shoved the skinny man away forcefully, sending him tumbling!
Looking at the skinny man lying on the ground, his face filled with terror...
The sturdy man strode forward, snatched the stick—their makeshift lot—from the other’s hand, snapped it in two with a CRACK, and threw it furiously to the ground!
Then he bent down, zipped up the travel bag filled with stones, and slung it decisively over his shoulder!
"Li!! If anything happens to me, when you get back to Jinling, the money—you give half to my family!! My parents—you take care of them until their dying day! My wife and child—you look after them well! Can you do it!!!"
On the ground, Li Qingshan’s body jolted. He looked at the imposing man before him in disbelief!
"Sec-Second Brother..."
"Promise me, damn it!"
"I, I, I swear, I definitely will..."
Before Li Qingshan could finish, the sturdy man snorted, swung his arm, turned, and sprinted back in the direction from which they had fled.
"Remember! Half the money goes to my family! Give it to my wife!"
The sturdy man’s figure disappeared into the woods.
A moment later, the sound of chaotic gunfire echoed from the distance.
On the ground, Li Qingshan scrambled up, grabbed the two travel bags filled with money, and fled in the opposite direction, tumbling and stumbling...
·
Listening to this, Chen Nuo’s expression gradually hardened, and words ground out from between his teeth, one by one.
"Li Qingshan... I’ll! FUCK! YOUR! MOTHER!!
You tell me, that money, you gave half to his family, every single cent!!
You tell me, you gave it all, without holding back!!
Right?!!"
Li Qingshan’s eyes were red, but he lowered his head...
"I... I thought he was dead...
I thought he died...
And... that was...
That was over a million US dollars!
Over a million US dollars from the eighties..."
"Fuck!"
Chen Nuo cursed loudly, suddenly shot to his feet, and with a flying kick, sent the coffee table in front of him crashing over!
Staring fiercely at Li Qingshan, Chen Nuo spat, "I won’t help you with this kind of despicable business!"