I wonder if any of you have noticed a little detail.
I've always called my own eldest brother a jianghu boss, but I refer to Chen Qiang as a society boss.
It may seem like just a matter of wording, but there's actually a whole logic to it.
Nearly thirty years have passed since that summer of 1995, when I first swore fealty to Chen Qiang and started running with him as his underling.
Looking back on my three decades of experience, across these 9.6 million square kilometers under the red flag, bosses can be divided into three types.
The first type was the jianghu boss, from the era of my eldest brother Chu Jianghai—the late 1970s to the late 1980s.
Back then, those who roamed the streets lived by a code of honor; they acted with justification, even if their methods were on the aggressive side.
In that day and age, even if you didn't have a cent to your name, as long as you had enough personal charisma, you could be a boss with a crew of loyal underlings.
They lived and breathed the jianghu—the underworld brotherhood.
Then came the 1983 Crackdown. Countless men met their end by firing squad or spent years "in college" (that's what we called doing time in jail). The era of the jianghu boss was gone for good, giving way to the rise of the society boss.
The society boss was a transitional figure, active from the 1990s to the early 2000s.
They still carried traces of the jianghu code, still valued loyalty and believed in having a "legitimate reason" for their actions.
But they'd also woken up to the importance of money, each running their own rackets and ensuring their underlings ate and drank well.
Compared to jianghu bosses, society bosses were crueler and had far fewer scruples.
They played the game of the real world.
Chen Qiang was exactly this kind of man.
By the time I, Chu Shanhe, rose to prominence in the post-millennium era, society bosses had all but disappeared, replaced by a third breed: gangland bosses.
Unlike jianghu or society bosses, these men weren't really "bosses" in the old sense at all.
Gangland violence was just a tool for them. On the surface, they were mine owners, sand quarry operators, earthmoving contractors, and the like…
With net worths easily hitting tens of millions, they'd never come after you just for embarrassing them.
They were friendlier than anyone, posing as upstanding businessmen.
Gangland bosses only eliminated people or dealt with problems for one reason: if you got in the way of their profits, if you stopped them from making money.
The gangland was a method, not an identity.
And today, across these 9.6 million square kilometers, no one dares call themselves a gangland boss—not a single soul, mark my words.
If you ask me whether any post-millennium gangland bosses still had the spirit of the old jianghu?
I'd say yes. I knew one such man.
His name was Xu Rang, my sworn brother, whom I met during my "college" stint in the county jail.
Six days after Chen Qiang was transferred out, Xu Rang arrived, locked up for affray with a six-month sentence.
Back then, fights were so common that the authorities couldn't be bothered to police them. The charge of affray was only brought out on special occasions.
It was obvious Xu Rang had been framed. He sought me out the very first day he got there.
The county jail held mostly guys from nearby towns and villages, so the guards weren't overly strict.
That day, I was squatting on the ground smoking. Ever since Chen Qiang gave me my first cigarette, I'd been hooked.
I'd light one up whenever I had a free moment.
I'd barely taken a few puffs when a hand snatched the cigarette from my lips. I thought it was a guard and was about to turn and greet him—only to see Xu Rang.
Xu Rang had a broad, upright square face, with two eyebrows as sharp as swords that twitched when he spoke, making him look imposing and sharp-witted.
He didn't hesitate for a second, sticking my half-smoked cigarette between his lips and puffing away.
I sized him up from head to toe and said, "Buddy, who are you? Do I know you?"
Xu Rang let out a chuckle, revealing a set of white teeth. "Name's Xu Rang. The boss sent me in here to keep an eye on you."
A warm feeling spread through my chest. So Chen Qiang had actually kept me in mind, worried that I was too young and arranging for someone to look out for me.
But then doubt crept in. Logically, I'd never crossed paths with Liuzi before. A big shot like him shouldn't be so eager to kill me just because I'd blinded Chen Xiang in one eye, right?
I was a human life, for crying out loud—it couldn't be that worthless!
Xu Rang held out his hand, and I passed him another cigarette. He lit it slowly, closing his eyes to savor the smoke for a few seconds before speaking:
"Originally, you taking out Chen Xiang wouldn't have been a big deal, and Liuzi wouldn't have bothered doing anything to you over it. But the problem is, Chen Xiang's old man just went into partnership with Liuzi to open a fish farm."
"Now Chen Xiang's dad is throwing a fit. He says if you don't get dealt with to his son's satisfaction, he'll pull his money out and back out of the fish farm deal with Liuzi."
My mouth twitched. I'd never thought Chen Xiang had such an unassuming but well-connected old man behind him.
Chen Xiang's dad wasn't from the town; he was from the countryside. I'd never guessed he had business ties with Liuzi.
This was the difference between a society boss and a gangland boss.
If I, Second Brother Chu, were calling the shots, if Chen Xiang's dad dared to threaten me like that, I'd have fed him to the fish in his own pond by the next day.
But Liuzi wasn't me, and he wasn't a gangland boss either. He was a society boss—a man who abided by his own twisted sense of propriety.
I swallowed hard, stammering, "So does that mean I'm…?"
Xu Rang patted me on the shoulder. "The boss sent me in here, so he'll keep you safe and sound. But you still need to watch your back. If the boss can arrange for me to be here, Liuzi can send others in too."
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. If a society boss like Liuzi was dead set on taking me down, there was no way I could escape.
"Xu Rang, do you think Liuzi will just kill me outright?"
Xu Rang let out a snort of laughter. "What are you thinking? Is Liuzi the emperor of China, killing people left and right?"
"Worst case scenario, he'll just slice your hand tendons."
????
Worst case scenario? My hand tendons weren't important?
Before long, the guards came to herd us back to our cell. Xu Rang followed behind me, grinning—and it turned out we were in the same cell.
When I stepped inside, I realized everyone who'd been in the cell with me before was gone.
Only new faces remained.
Three of them were staring at me with sinister looks, sending a chill down my spine.
Xu Rang stepped forward from behind me, positioning himself between me and them.
"Whoa, guess Liuzi's not just got a big tumor on his neck—he's got deep pockets too, sending three guys in at once."
Xu Rang clearly knew the three men, speaking directly to them.
My heart sank. Sure enough, these three were Liuzi's men.
A scrawny guy, barely reaching my shoulder, stood up from among them. His eyes were as venomous as a snake's, making me feel uneasy all over.
"Xu Rang, my boss only wants one of this kid's hands. You'd better stay out of this, or we'll take you down with him."
Xu Rang shoved the scrawny man away. "Shorty, does your boss have an extra pair of balls? He thinks he can just demand a hand like it's nothing?"
"I'd like to fuck his old lady too—why doesn't she spread her legs for me?"
My ears turned red. Xu Rang cursed like a shrew, his insults targeting nothing but the lowest of the low.
The second the short guy was pushed back, the other two closed in on me. One of them kicked me hard in the stomach.
Before I could even react, a rain of fists came crashing down on my face.