Chapter 109: Collecting Protection Fees

  After finishing his run, Zhao Tiezhu returned to the villa. On the way, he brought a milk bread for Su Yanni, to ease yesterday's awkward emotions. Su Yanni got out of bed and saw the breakfast on the table that Zhao Tiezhu had placed there, feeling a little touched. Next to it was a small note, which she picked up and read: "I heard that drinking something can supplement something, although you don't need to supplement anymore, but drinking more milk can keep your elasticity good - Your loving landlord, Tiezhu."

  Su Yanni crumpled the note into a ball and threw it in the trash can, picked up the milk and took a sip, her favorite unsweetened milk. A intoxicating smile appeared on Su Yanni's face.

  At this time, Zhao Tiezhu had arrived at FJ University in his small QQ. Fan Jian was studying with Tieshou, and Zhao Tiezhu went to take a look at the study situation. In the afternoon, he also had to entertain Wu Qian who came to FJ, and things were packed tightly.

  Zhao Tiezhu drove the car directly to the bar outside Tieshou's office, parked the car, and the little brother at the door bowed respectfully and said, "Brother Zhao."

  Zhao Tiezhu nodded and walked into the bar.

  At noon, the bar was empty. Zhao Tiezhu snapped his fingers at a relatively good-looking woman behind the counter, "Little Chen, a glass of Sprite with ice. Bring it in."

  The woman responded with a "yes". Zhao Tiezhu walked into the office, where Tie Shou was instructing Fan Jian on how to collect protection fees.

  "Listen, when you collect protection fees, you gotta know who to collect from, got it? We're not some thugs from the old society. You can go into someone's store, have a cup of tea with them, chat about the mysteries of the universe, like the Loch Ness Monster, that kind of thing. Just make sure they have a good impression of you, then bring up the protection fees at the right time. That way, they won't be too resistant to it. Those guys on TV who go around collecting protection fees like they're some big shot, they're just low-level thugs. Doing things that way will only alienate people and make your relationship with business owners tense. What can you get out of that? Maybe one day you'll mess with the wrong person and end up dead, I'm not going to say it twice." Iron Hand said, then saw Zhao Tiezhu come in and called out "Zhao Ge", before turning his attention back to Fan Jian.

  Zhao Tiezhu originally had little contact with the underworld, but unexpectedly, there were so many doors in this underworld. There were people specifically responsible for covering up scenes, these people were all fierce and evil, able to fight and scheme. There were also those who specialized in collecting protection fees, these people were all gentle and eloquent, able to speak and persuade. Among them, many had jumped from the insurance industry, there were analysts specializing in expansion and development, and diplomats, specifically handling relationships with other gangs. This was simply a self-contained small country.

  Anyone has to start from the grassroots, even Fan Jian, who is very close to Zhao Tiezhu, has to learn how to collect protection fees first. Only in this way can he have better communication and control over his subordinates when he becomes a big brother later on. This is the same logic as being an official - how can an official who has never been at the grassroots level understand the sufferings of the people? Those who only know how to say that they want the people to live a good life but are actually ruthless and disregard human life will eventually be abandoned by the people.

  "Alright, that's all I have to say about the protection fee for now. Later, you'll go out with a few people and get some practice." Tie Shou said, handing a cigarette to Zhao Tiezhu and tossing one to Fan Jian. The several of them lit up, and during the lecture, Tie Shou was very strict and serious. As soon as the lecture was over, he put his arm around Fan Jian's shoulders. Zhao Tiezhu looked at the two of them with amusement. The door was lightly knocked on, and a waiter brought in some drinks. After Zhao Tiezhu took them, he asked Tie Shou, "How is Fan Jian doing?"

  "It's okay, don't look at him being so fat, his learning ability is still very strong." Tie Shou nodded, Fan Jian drew a black line, is there a connection between being fat and having strong learning ability?

  "Let's go together tonight." Zhao Tiezhu ordered. Tieshou nodded in agreement.

  "Right, Fan Jian, aren't you going to collect protection fees? Come on, I'll go with you and take a look." Zhao Tiezhu thought of what Tie Shou had said earlier and felt a surge of curiosity about how the protection fees were collected.

  Zhao Tiezhu's arrangements were made very quickly, and soon several people who looked quite elegant appeared in the office. Iron Hand followed Zhao Tiezhu's request, without revealing the identities of the two men, saying only that they were new arrivals, and to take them to collect protection fees.

  These little brothers are the ones who specialize in collecting protection fees. They look quite elegant, but among them is one who looks particularly fierce, and that's to prevent some people from underestimating them when they go together.

  A few people left the bar like this, these people didn't come to this bar much, naturally they couldn't know Zhao Tiezhu like those little brothers in the bar, they just knew that Tiezhu seemed to have surrendered to a big boss, and other things were not very clear under Tiezhu's seal. This also led to speculation about Zhao Tiezhu's identity outside, and the waiters in the bar were even given a gag order by Tiezhu.

  A few people brought Zhao Tiezhu and Fan Jian to the commercial district near FJ University, where there were many shops. These people got to know each other with Zhao Tiezhu and another one, who was called "Thirteen Brother", said, "Look, protection fees are collected like this."

  Only then did Thirteen Brother walk into a store with a smile on his face, calling out to a middle-aged man watching TV inside, "Boss Wang, how's business lately?"

  The middle-aged man took a look and smiled, "Oh, it's Thirteen Brother! Business hasn't been good lately, has it? Come on in, take a seat?"

  "Alright." Thirteen Brother had a smile on his face, and the two of them sat down to chat about some recent events, such as Libya being bombed and La Deng Uncle being killed, and so on. The warmth between the two of them was so strong that if you didn't know any better, you'd think they were old friends who hadn't seen each other in years.

  "Boss Wang, today is the 23rd, my working day has arrived, and I hope Boss Wang will support me more." Thirteen Brother said with a smile. Boss Wang nodded, "That's natural, our shops still have to thank Thirteen Brother for taking care of us. Here is this month's, take it." Boss Wang handed over a red envelope that had been prepared long ago to Thirteen Brother. Thirteen Brother smiled all over his face, "Boss Wang is really generous, if there's anything, just one phone call and I'll be right there." "Okay okay." Boss Wang smiled again, and took out a pack of cigarettes from the drawer, handing it to Thirteen Brother, "Last time my son's thing, thanks to Thirteen Brother, this is for brothers to smoke, don't refuse it."

  "Boss Wang, this is no fun. We collect money and goods from people, help them resolve disputes, and charge protection fees, but we can't even protect everyone? I don't want to deal with this, I'm leaving first, let's drink another day." Thirteen Brother said as he ran out of the store. Zhao Tiezhu and Fan Jian looked at each other in shock, is this still collecting protection fees? In this era, has society really become harmonious?

  "See? This is actually a kind of protection fee. It's the suburbs here, all sorts of ghosts and monsters are around. The shop owner wants to be safe, so they collect protection fees. No big deal, we're helping them too." Thirteen Brother opened the red envelope and counted it, exactly 1,000 yuan.

  Is that all you're taking? Zhao Tiezhu asked with some curiosity. Since it's near FJ University, these stores make a lot of money, almost every store can earn tens of thousands per month.

  "We're not those bad guys on TV, we have our own professional ethics, only collecting one-fifteenth of the protection fee, which is much lower than the taxes in ancient times. Don't underestimate this one-fifteenth, there are at least hundreds of shops here, and it's possible to collect tens of millions a month." Thirteen Brother explained.

  Wow, I didn't know collecting protection fees was so lucrative. Zhao Tiezhu nodded in deep agreement, and adding to that the various businesses under his control, Iron Fist's monthly income after deducting expenses was at least over a hundred million!

  Later, Zhao Tiezhu followed Thirteen Brother to several more shops, and they easily collected protection fees. Of course, there were some who didn't give them face, and for people like that, the only way to deal with them was by using underworld methods. The simplest way was to send a few underlings, who wouldn't beat or scold you, but would stand outside your shop every day. A few fierce-looking men standing in a row, and all your business would be ruined.

  Around noon, Zhao Tiezhu returned to Tieshou's office. At this time, Dugu Huangtian and Ha Ma were also here. Dugu Huangtian was in charge of managing the finances of Tieshou Gang and making investments. Ha Ma was leading some of Tieshou Gang's subordinates to watch the scene or fight with others. It was noon when Tieshou called the two over, saying that Zhao Tiezhu had also arrived, so they would have lunch together.

  Just then, Wu Qian's phone call came, she had arrived at FJ train station.