Chapter 27: The Feast Has Not Yet Begun, But Already There Is a Ruckus

  Zhang Pangzi and Ma Liang chatted for a while before they knew each other's identity and purpose. Ma Liang had the same idea, wanting to get acquainted with several officials in the yamen. Seeing Zhang Pangzi still carrying gifts, he thought to himself that he couldn't possibly show up empty-handed. Although he considered himself half a senior to Xue, the other man wouldn't even call him "Uncle Ma", only addressing him as "Ma Shu". The difference of one word made all the difference in closeness and distance, and most people still addressed him with respect due to his position. Thinking this, Ma Liang pulled Zhang Pangzi along to a store to buy a box of Soviet cigars as a gift.

  Xue's smile didn't diminish, he said: "You two are really too polite, you can come, my place is already flourishing, got it? I won't waste words either, please come in, let me introduce a few friends to you."

  Xue Xiang was overjoyed, and Zhang Pangzi and Ma Liang were naturally extremely pleased. The two handed the gifts to Xue Xiang, who thanked them and accepted, then passed them to Kang Tong beside him. Xue Xiang led the two into the grand hall, where he deliberately greeted and introduced several famous young masters from large families along the way. These guys' fathers were either certain division commanders or brigade commanders, or certain department heads or bureau chiefs. Zhang Pangzi and Ma Liang smiled and shook hands with them, exchanging pleasantries until their faces almost cramped up from smiling so long. Finally, Xue Xiang led the two to the table where Shi Chuan's old comrades were seated and said to a young man with a buzz cut wearing a short-sleeved olive green military uniform: "Bao Guo, these two are my honored guests today, so arrange for them to sit at your table. You and Tian Ming take good care of them." The young man nodded in agreement, knowing that the two fat men had ulterior motives, but since his third brother had spoken, he could only agree.

  Then, Xue Xiang continued to introduce Zhang Pangzi and Ma Liang: "Let me introduce you, this is the eldest son of Director Hu of the Third Bureau of the General Staff Intelligence Department, Hu Baoguo. This is the second son of Director Li of the Second Division of the W Group Z Department of the Beijing Municipal Committee, Li Tianming. This..."

  Xue Xiang introduced them, all from big families. Zhang Pangzi and Ma Liang asked about each other's well-being, especially towards Li Tianming, they were extremely flattering. The two of them stood on either side of Li Tianming, surrounding him. Although Li Tianming's father was not their direct supervisor, he held the power to promote or demote them through organizational assessments. These two people were naturally very attentive. Li Tianming's face looked a bit bitter, he really didn't understand why his third brother, who usually disliked officials, was socializing with these two minor officials today.

  Xue Xiang gave a glance to Li Tianming and Hu Baoguo, hinting them not to neglect Ma Liang and the other two. Li Tianming had no choice but to gather his spirits to deal with the two big mouths in front of him who were constantly flattering him.

  Xue Xiang raised his head again, only two minutes away from six o'clock. The forty tables in the living room were almost full. Xue Xiang walked to the high platform at the front of the hall, clapped his hands and said: "Everyone quiet down." His voice was not loud, but those who noticed him speaking on stage stopped immediately, and those who didn't see him also stopped after being called by someone nearby. For a moment, the noisy hall became silent.

  Xue Xiang saw that everyone had stopped and was staring at him, so he clasped his fists together and began to speak: "Today's banquet is thanks to all of you who have come to support me, and I'm truly grateful. First and foremost, I want to thank those brothers who have been working hard for my few stamps over the past few months. Here, I want to say to everyone that it's been tough, thank you!"

  A round of applause interrupted Xue's words, and the excited ones who had sent the stamps were thanked by San Ge in front of everyone, feeling very proud. For a moment, there was a chorus of shouts like "not hard work" and "small matter".

  Xue pressed down with both hands and continued, "Secondly, it's been a while since the troublemakers of our East City have gathered together like this. Of course, today we also have friends from other city districts. Today I'm hosting, so everyone please give me some face, I'm very happy, and you all should be too. Lastly, just remember to eat well, drink well, and overall just have a good time. I won't waste any more words, the first few brothers' stomachs are growling, alright, let's start the feast!"

  As soon as Xue's voice fell, the closed door was kicked open by someone. The iron gate swung open to both sides and crashed heavily against the wall, causing a loud noise and raising a cloud of dust on the wall. The one who kicked the door was a tall and thin young man, about 17 or 18 years old, with a scar at the corner of his eye, a gloomy gaze, and a small queue haircut. He wore a green military uniform and black leather shoes. Behind him followed four or five young people, including a girl who also wore a military uniform, but it was a camouflage suit. She had a fiery figure, tied her hair in a ponytail, and although she wasn't tall, the camouflage uniform made her look spirited and full of energy. The girl seemed dissatisfied with the tall and thin young man's action of kicking the door and was saying something to him in a stern tone. The tall and thin young man nodded repeatedly. The yellow-shirted young man who was being pulled by his arm was Xue's acquaintance, Xie Bianjiang, who was part of Hu Baoguo and Li Tianming's group.

  Xue Xiangzheng was about to shout for the dishes when someone kicked open the door, and his mood turned very bad. Xue Xiang jumped down from the high platform and walked straight towards the door. The people in the hall were also furious at the tall and thin man's rude behavior, their anger burning like fire. Wasn't this a slap in the face of the Eastern City gang leader? Who had eaten leopard gall to be so arrogant? The leaders of each circle immediately wanted to follow up. Xue Xiang waved his hand to stop the crowd and let them sit down. It was laughable that Xue Xiang had been slapped in the face, why would he want their help now! Only Lei Xiaotian, Zhu Shijun, and Kang Tong did not speak, following behind him. Chen Fusheng originally wanted to follow up too, but was stopped by Xue Xiang's waving hand. Chen Fusheng felt very depressed, it seemed that he still needed to work hard, wanting to enter the core circle wasn't easy at all.

  Xue Xiang walked up to the crowd, sneering: "Bian Jiang, I didn't see you earlier, I thought you wouldn't give me face and weren't going to come. I didn't expect that you were preparing a big gift for your third brother, bringing people to wreck my place!" Xue Xiang's words were cold, but his expression was even colder.

  Xie Bianjiang's face changed greatly, when had he ever seen Xue Xiang with such a cold expression? He understood Xue Xiang's temper, if things weren't explained clearly, they would have to leave immediately. Xie Bianjiang hastily said: "Third Brother, this matter has nothing to do with me at all. I was originally going to come with Bao Guo and the others, but my dad suddenly had something to discuss with me, so I went back for a bit. It turned out that my dad's old comrade Yin Bober had been transferred from the Fujian Provincial Military District to the General Logistics Department, and he came with his son, who was the one who kicked in the door earlier, Yin Jinghua. He heard that I was going to attend your banquet and insisted on coming to meet the scoundrels of Beijing. I had no choice but to bring him along, not knowing he would be so rude. If I had known, I wouldn't have brought him even if you killed me. The few people behind us are all from our compound, they came with me too, Third Brother, I'm really sorry." Xie Bianjiang spoke while sweating, his heart resenting the brainless Yin Jinghua, did he know how deep the waters of Beijing's underworld were?

  Xue Xiang hadn't even had a chance to speak when Yin Jinghua took over the conversation, looking at Xue Xiang with a playful expression: "I heard from Bian Jiang that you're the big brother of the Beijing gang? I don't think you're anything special, just a bit taller than me. What makes you the boss? In the past, it was because I wasn't in Beijing, so I let you act wildly. Now that I'm in Beijing, from now on, the boss of the gang will be me! Do you have any opinions?" Yin Jinghua's voice was very loud, and everyone in the hall could hear him clearly. Xie Bianjiang had originally planned to let him apologize, and he would beg for mercy, hoping that Third Brother would forgive this matter. But now that Yin Jinghua was still spouting nonsense, he completely lost the desire to speak up, and quickly walked a few steps to stand beside Xue Xiang, drawing a clear line between himself and Yin Jinghua. Even if it meant going home to face his father's scolding, he couldn't afford to offend Third Brother like this.

  Xie Xiang walked over, and Xue Xiang already knew what he was thinking. Xue Xiang smiled, he was amused by Yin Jinghua's pretentiousness, not knowing where this foolish guy came from, as soon as he arrived in the capital, he learned to be a nouveau riche. Xue Xiang said with a smile: "Comrade Yin, I am a GM youth, but not what you called 'old big'. We don't have an 'old big' here, everyone is good brothers. Since you came and wanted to be our big brother, shouldn't you ask the brothers present if they agree or not? If they agree, I think all the rascals in 49 City should call you big brother too." Xue Xiang wanted to tease this foolish guy a bit.

  As soon as Xue's words fell, the hall was in an uproar.

  "Where did this country bumpkin come from? Doesn't understand any rules at all. Thinks he can be the big boss, what a joke!"

  "Who's pants aren't pulled up tight, exposing you, hurry and pull back, provoking the masters, chop off your damn thing"

  "It's just Third Brother being polite to you for a few more sentences. As I said, let's all go together and get it over with."

  "What's he spouting nonsense about? Is it just him? He wants everyone to go together, as long as Third Brother gives the order, I can take care of him by myself."

  "Damn it, you've delayed our meal, you're dead for sure!"

  ………..

  The hall suddenly erupted in a chorus of curses, causing Yin Jinghua's face to turn white. As the saying goes: "A thousand people pointing at you, dying without being ill." Yin Jinghua knew he had offended everyone. In Fujian Province, he was a genuine big shot, and wherever he went, others would greet him with smiles. Occasionally, when he felt bored, he would show off his authority as a government official, shouting and yelling, and the crowd would be silent like cicadas in winter. But here, before he had even cursed or insulted anyone's mother, this group of people were already shouting "cut", "chop", and "smash", a whole gang of bloodthirsty thugs. The people of Beijing are really not very friendly!

  Xue Xiang originally thought that Yin Jinghua was just a character, and he was about to take action himself. But now seeing his pale face, he knew this kid was another embroidered pillow, too lazy to take action. Xue Xiang turned back to Kang Tong and the others and said: "Little Kang, Ma Lei Zi, which one of you is going up?"

  "Third brother, you're really disappointing me. You're treating me like a transparent person. What's the meaning of this?" Zhu Shijun said discontentedly when he saw that Xue Xiang had left him out.

  Lei Xiao Tian smiled and said, "Old Pig, spare yourself, if you go up, it's not good, everyone will lose face. You'd better study hard, let me come and loosen my muscles." Lei Xiao Tian finished speaking and walked towards Yin Jing Hua with a sly smile.

  Zhu Shijun not only dresses up as a white-faced scholar, but his combat effectiveness is also poor. Every time he fights, he's a burden to everyone, similar to Italy during World War II. Not only can't he help, but he also needs to waste energy protecting him. But this kid loves to fight, no, stir up trouble, and often tries to provoke conflicts among the crowd. Fortunately, after Xue Xiang gained fame, Zhu Shijun never fought again, and felt that the Jianghu had become as quiet as snow.