Chapter 857 - 858: Mobilizing Heimao_1
"Eldest, I have something I’d like to discuss with you."
In a rented mansion, Ye Ziping bowed and scraped to pay respects to the head of the Rake Gang, a man with a face full of black hair whose name was unknown, so let’s just call him Black Hair.
"What are you looking for me for?" One of the underlings was massaging Black Hair’s shoulders, while another was kneading his legs. The kneading seemed to make him quite comfortable, and his voice sounded lazy.
"May I have a word with you in private?" Ziping cautiously asked again.
Immediately, two snickers came from the underlings serving Black Hair.
These two had a special relationship with Black Hair, so they were quite influential in the small Rake Gang.
Seeing Ziping with his delicate and soft face coming to speak to Black Hair, they naturally thought of other possibilities, which was why they laughed like that.
However, Black Hair didn’t have such thoughts because he remembered Ye Ziping well. In less than a month, the lad had brought in two large purses, each containing dozens of silver taels. The kid had some skills in theft.
So he waved his hand at the two underlings, "Alright, you guys go down first. I’ll call for you later."
A thief was now calling himself ’lord.’
Only after the two underlings left did Black Hair seriously turn his attention to Ziping. He thought the kid was quite good-looking, what a pity he wasn’t a woman.
"Speak, what do you need from me?"
"Eldest, I just wanted to ask if you wanted our Rake Gang to grow and prosper, to become a major faction in the worldly society that people wouldn’t dare to underestimate, and even casually throw out a hundred taels of silver when making a move, so every brother in the gang could have a big house to live in, instead of like now, crowding so many people into a rented yard."
These words were uncomfortable for Black Hair to hear. Was it implying that he was incompetent and that his brothers had no prospects, not even a decent house to their name?
But listening to the lad’s tone, perhaps he had some good idea? Might as well listen to what he had to say. If he couldn’t produce a convincing plan, he’d take care of him.
He laughed twice and said, "You’ve got a good point, kid. Very conscientious, aren’t you? As the Eldest, of course, I want my brothers to live the good life, to have big houses, even marry beautiful wives and have chubby babies. It’s just that, to my shame, I’ve never had a good idea. Since we’re all brothers and you’re so thoughtful for our brothers, that’s rare indeed. Then tell me, what’s your grand plan?"
"Eldest, we’ve been hanging around Quanyang County for over half a year. Think about it, just how many people are in this small county? And how many of them are wealthy? Not to mention the rich folks who go out with an entourage of maids and servants; we can’t even get close to them. We can only target ordinary people, but lately, the townspeople and folks from other towns have wised up. Every time they go to market, they only carry a few copper coins. If this keeps up, what will our brothers eat?"
While analysing, Ziping watched Black Hair’s expression. Seeing that Black Hair didn’t seem too displeased, he breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "Why don’t we move someplace else? I’ve heard that the further south you go in Funan Prefecture, the more wealthy people there are. There are quite a few families that may look like simple farmhouses, but can easily bring out a hundred taels. Some are even richer landlords. With so many of us, we could pull off a few big jobs and the brothers would have everything they need for life. What do you say, Eldest?"
Upon hearing this, Black Hair started to stroke the hair on his face, pacing around the room in thought.