Chapter 096 Foresight
"Ah?" Li Dapang was immediately astonished upon hearing this.
Yang Lu chuckled beside him, "Xiao Han had seen this coming, so he instructed me a few days ago to quickly move the items and place some bricks in the safe. I never expected such an incident to occur today."
"So, our losses aren't significant!" Xiao Han spoke up, "However, we must immediately find out who is behind this."
"In Wangjiang District, besides Liu Si, it's Brother Bao," Big Fatty said. "Regardless of who the people on the ground are, it ultimately must be related to these two."
"Are you suggesting that Liu Si is more likely?" Xiao Han narrowed his eyes.
"Not necessarily!" Big Fatty shook his head, "Fourth Master probably doesn't know that you own this store. They probably just hit it by mistake. But, let me handle this. I will have my brothers thoroughly investigate."
"Alright, I'll leave it to you then," Xiao Han said.
"No problem," Li Dapang shook his head, "It's not much trouble, and besides, didn't we brothers open this shop together? What happens here is my business too."
Yang Lu immediately told the staff to clean up the store. Christmas was only a few days away, and if they didn't sort this out promptly, they might not be able to reopen in time for the holiday. They had already planned a big event for Christmas Day.
"How has the trial operation been going these past few days?" Xiao Han inquired.
"Quite good," Yang Lu nodded eagerly, "The trial has been very successful, and we've made over a hundred thousand in the past two days. We should be able to break half a million on Christmas Day."
"That's great to hear!" Xiao Han grinned upon hearing the news.
The profit margin from this batch of machines was around twenty percent. With a daily turnover of fifty thousand, the profit could reach ten thousand a day. After deducting rent, utilities, and payroll, the profit was estimated to be about eight thousand. In a month, the gross profit would be at least two hundred forty thousand. No wonder so many people wanted to secure Apple's authorization.
The influence of Apple products in the country was truly remarkable. The very thought was unbelievable.
Of course, Xiao Han wasn't an Apple fanatic himself and couldn't understand the mindset of those Apple enthusiasts or those consumed by competitiveness.
Right now, the urgent matter at hand was to settle this problem. This recent incident where someone had vandalized his place was likely hugely related to the earlier issue with the Urban Management Bureau officials looking for trouble. This suggested a possible collusion between municipal authorities and local thugs.
Xiao Han was still young and didn't fully grasp these matters.
However, Li Dapang seemed much more experienced and quickly brought back news.
"Damn, it really was Liu Si's people," Li Dapang removed his safety helmet and cursed, "Liu Si has a guy named Li Anquan working in the Urban Management Bureau. It seems it's because Yang Lu went through official procedures to get the bureau's approval without paying Li Anquan a management fee, they decided to take revenge.
Every shop on this street pays protection fees to Li Anquan, except for Yang Lu."
"So that's how it is!" Xiao Han instantly understood.
No wonder the Urban Management Bureau people would team up with a bunch of hooligans. There was indeed such a connection behind it all.
"Exactly," Li Dapang nodded, "Xiao Han, what should we do now?"
"There's always a solution!" A crafty smile curled at the corner of Xiao Han's mouth.
............
Li Anquan, the chief of the Urban Management Bureau, was in charge of central urban areas, pedestrian streets, and other key locations. Although he was a public servant, he had another identity as a subordinate of Liu Si.
Liu Si had numerous businesses in LJ City and needed to plant his own people in these key departments. He had paid a significant price in the past years to get his people into these positions. To recoup the millions he had invested, he needed these people to do all they could to rake in money in their respective roles. Li Anquan's position was particularly lucrative.
He extorted protection money from each shop and engaged in corruption within the department. Li Anquan went to extreme lengths for money, using every trick in the book. This time, since the Apple store didn't show him respect, it was natural for him to want to teach them a lesson. Thus, he didn't hesitate to punish them.
"Boss, where should we go to have some fun after work?" A few eager underlings approached.
They were aware of Li Anquan's identity and knew that he had a membership card at the Five Thousand Years Entertainment Club. Occasionally, they would join him there. Five Thousand Years Entertainment Club—what kind of place was that? It was nothing short of paradise for men. How many men yearned for a place like that?
There, one could find any type of girl they wanted, from schoolgirls to office workers, from domestic beauties to international ones, from Caucasians to Africans...
"Damn fools, don't think I don't know what you're all thinking!" Li Anquan laughed, "I'm in a good mood today, so come on, let's head to Five Thousand Years!"
"Yeah! Yeah!" The crowd was immediately thrilled.
Soon after, they quickly left.
"We can't drive this car!" Li Anquan urgently admonished them.
"Boss, why not?" The group looked confused.
"Can we drive an official car to a place like that?" Li Anquan glared at them irritably, "If we're discovered, we're done for."
The group thought about it for a moment and nodded hastily, "Right, right, we can't drive the Urban Management Bureau's car, let's take our own cars!"
Afterward, they drove off toward the Five Thousand Years Entertainment Club.
Just as they left the Urban Management Bureau, a silver-grey van immediately chased after them from a nearby black alley. Li Anquan and the others were in a Volkswagen Touareg. The Touareg sped down the road, with the van right on its tail.
Atop the van, Li Dapang held the steering wheel with both hands, skillfully maneuvering the vehicle.
"Big Fatty, I wouldn't have guessed you could drive," Xiao Han said with surprise as he looked at Li Dapang.
"Heh heh, it's not that hard!" Li Dapang laughed, saying, "During the summer break in Dongguan, I used to help the boss with deliveries. It was always me driving."
"But you don't have a driving license!" Xiao Han quickly pointed out.
"That doesn't matter!" Li Dapang said with a grin: "Just be careful on the road, and that's basically it."
"Is that so!" Xiao Han replied with a laugh, saying, "Next time, buy a driving license when you're free."
Li Dapang laughed and then said, "With my skills, do I need to buy one?"
"Make a call, let the guys ahead get ready for the interception," Xiao Han instructed.
At that moment, a man in the back seat began to hurriedly make a phone call.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om
In the Touareg, Li Anquan sat in the passenger seat, his feet without shoes were propped up on the dashboard, then he said smilingly, "I heard that Five Thousand Years recently got some new stock. We should give it a good try when we return."
"Absolutely!" The two men in the back seat said excitedly, "Damn, this time we have to get a schoolgirl to try out."
"Ha-ha, don't you really like those aloof office ladies?"
"Fuck, I don't want that. I like the innocent schoolgirls."
The car was filled with sinister conversation.
"Not good!" The driver suddenly exclaimed in shock.
Squeal...
He braked hard, and the car swerved out uncontrollably.
Bang!
There was a loud crash as the Touareg slammed into a nearby green belt. A Golden Van suddenly surged down from the curb in front of them. It almost collided head on with the Touareg. However, the driver of the Golden Van was skillful and daring, narrowly missing the oncoming vehicle, leaving himself unharmed.
But the Touareg wasn't so lucky; it hit the green belt, and its bumper fell off, the hood also flipped open.
The people were unharmed but were severely shaken.
"Fuck!" Li Anquan jumped out of the vehicle angrily.
The other Urban Management officers also got out of the car, their faces twisted in fury as if they had suffered deep grievances. The recent scare had truly shaken them, nearly bringing them to the brink of collapse.
Just as they got out of the car, five or six men emerged from the Golden Van, each holding an iron stick. Although they appeared young, if it came to fighting fiercely, few would likely be a match for them.
"Fuck, are they coming for us?" Li Anquan frowned.
"Damn, a bunch of little bastards dare to block us?" complained a man in a black down jacket, spitting out a wad of saliva, "Watch as I finish them off!"
Having said that, he opened the back of the Touareg, then took out a long contraband knife from the rear, the blade was sixty centimeters long, with a spine thicker than five millimeters. The blade gleamed chillingly, especially under the streetlights, threateningly apparent.
Li Anquan, on the other hand, took a baseball bat passed to him by a colleague. It seemed they were prepared for a bloody fight with the young men.
Squeal...
Just as they were about to make a move, suddenly a silver-grey van speeded towards them and stopped swiftly in front of them.
Li Anquan's frown deepened upon realizing that they had been ambushed from both front and back.
As the doors opened, five or six men stepped out, each still clutching an iron stick. Most baffling was that their faces were all wrapped in black cloth, making it clear they didn't want their features to be seen.
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"Who exactly are you?" Li Anquan was getting nervous.
Four men against six could perhaps command some odds. But four against more than ten, there wasn't a chance. Hence, Li Anquan appeared more anxious and panicky. Besides, the attackers had come prepared, likely holding more forces in reserve.
"We're only after Li Anquan," Xiao Han stepped forward, then glanced at the others, saying, "The rest had better leave quickly. Otherwise, we will be indiscriminate."
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