At the same time, seeing Cheng Zongyang so confident was also a major reason he felt relieved.

And it made him all the more awed by the power behind Cheng Zongyang.

’They really can cultivate large numbers of Martial Artists on demand!’

He knew a little about Cheng Zongyang’s background, after all.

In his eyes, for the Cheng Family to have risen from being simple farmers in Golden Bridge Village to their current status, they had to be relying on that mysterious master of Cheng Zongyang’s.

His own current strength was also inextricably linked to this master.

Thus, he never harbored any improper thoughts. Only by deepening their relationship could his cultivation grow and his future prospects expand.

"Alright, I’ll follow your arrangements."

Li Lu hesitated no longer. "After we’ve consolidated," he continued, "how will the gang handle its finances? We can’t just follow the old gang model of extorting money from commoners and shops and running black markets, can we? The Foreign Race Influence won’t let us do that, will they?"

Cheng Zongyang had just been mulling this over and already had a preliminary idea. He said:

"We will. We’ll open an Escort Agency and operate some other commercial businesses."

Li Lu’s expression brightened and he perked up, quickly asking, "Tell me more. Wait..."

Li Lu quickly turned to his nephew at his side. "Get a brush and ink to take this down."

"Right away." Seeing this, Li Xian hurried off.

Cheng Zongyang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ’But the faintest ink is better than the best memory,’ he thought. It was good to write it down. "These are just preliminary ideas," he added. "For the specifics, you’ll need to find someone with experience."

"No problem," Li Lu agreed. "With so many people in the city, there must be plenty who have worked in escorting or business before."

A moment later, Li Xian returned with a brush and inkwell.

Once everything was ready, Cheng Zongyang began. "The Escort Agency—I don’t need to explain what that is. You all know what kind of business it involves."

"It serves two purposes. First, to increase the gang’s funding. After all, with so many people to support, an Escort Agency is an excellent source of income."

"Second, without a Government Office, we’re free from the Dynasty’s legal restrictions. In the future, as more gang members become Entry Grade, we’ll need to give them assignments. This will also give them more practical experience. Only real combat can rapidly increase their strength and ensure the security of our gang’s businesses."

As Li Lu listened, he began asking questions while waiting for Li Xian to finish writing.

But Cheng Zongyang had no experience in this area either and just told him to find someone who did, like Xu Dong.

But Xu Dong hadn’t returned yet, so that would have to wait. ’With so many people in the County Town, surely there’s more than one person who’s worked for an Escort Agency before, right?’

Once Li Xian had finished writing, Cheng Zongyang continued.

"As for a black market, that’s not feasible in the short term. We don’t yet understand the situation with the Outsiders, and our territory in West City hasn’t been truly secured."

"Once our territory is firmly established and the County Town has recovered its former prosperity, we can reconsider it. After all, there will always be people who need a shady place to deal with shady things, won’t there?"

Li Lu smiled. "Alright. We’ll open them later. That’s a lucrative source of income, too. What about gambling dens and brothels?"

Cheng Zongyang fell silent at his words.

’Since ancient times, the vices of feasting, drinking, whoring, and gambling have been impossible to eradicate.’

’Better for our own people to profit from it than someone else. As long as we regulate it properly and set down strict rules, it should be manageable.’

’Feasting and drinking—restaurants and wineries—will be the Cheng Family’s industries. So, the other two vices, whoring and gambling, wouldn’t be a bad fit for Li Lu’s gang.’

But the next moment, he thought of his Oath Contract.

’Using it on the gamblers in the dens... that seems... feasible, doesn’t it?’

’For those addicted to gambling, I could absolutely use loans as a way to have them sign agreements... This could even be extended into a lending business later on!’

Cheng Zongyang’s eyes lit up at the thought. It was worth a try.

"We can arrange it. The gang has plenty of manpower, and this provides new assignments for them. But we must establish strict rules. No forcing people into prostitution; everyone involved must be completely willing. We can work out the detailed regulations after these establishments are set up."

’Right now, this is just a framework. If we really move forward with this, I’ll definitely impose restrictions. And if we’re going to do it, we should do it on a large scale, and in a more standardized and orderly fashion.’

’There were plenty of examples from my past life to draw on for this sort of business.’

’But this kind of business can only be run by the gang. The Cheng Family can be a shareholder, but we can’t be directly involved.’

Hearing this, Li Lu’s smile grew even wider. "Excellent, excellent."

Both were highly profitable ventures. As long as they could be opened, it meant cash!

Li Xian, Zhao the Seventh, and the other two subordinates also nodded in excitement. This kind of business was the easiest to run.

Cheng Zongyang then said, "This is all for the future; it’s not too late to discuss it then. The priority now is to absorb the gangs from the four districts and occupy West City. Then, we streamline our personnel, keeping only the qualified members and dismissing the rest."

Li Lu, Li Xian, Zhao the Seventh, and the others all nodded in agreement.

After finalizing the plans, Cheng Zongyang proposed dinner at Tiantuan Village that evening, then departed with Zhou Zhendong.

After seeing Cheng Zongyang off, Li Lu returned to the rear hall alone.

He said to Li Xian and the other three, "You four, before tomorrow, I want each of you to screen and select three hundred men, for a total of twelve hundred. Anyone who meets the requirements but can’t be kept because we’re at capacity can be designated as a reserve member. We can bring them in when we expand our ranks in the future."

Chen Eryun asked, "Sir, why not just keep more of them from the start?"

Li Lu shook his head. "Without a clear understanding of the Foreign Race Influence, having too many people will only draw its attention, even its wariness. Even if they’re ordinary people, a large group is still a force to be reckoned with."

"According to the plan Brother Cheng and I made, we’ll start with fewer people and keep a low profile. We’ll make further arrangements once we’ve figured out where they come from and what their situation is."

"Right now, we already have nearly fifty Ninth Grade Martial Artists, all of whom are Entry Grade."

"Later, we will screen this group for qualified and trustworthy individuals to send to Tiantuan Village for further training to become Entry Grade Martial Artists. After that, we can gradually increase our number of Entry Grade Martial Artists."

"In the future, our Entry Grade members can lead the reserves. That will lighten your workload considerably."

"We will grow and expand gradually, keeping a low profile, so we don’t suddenly attract the attention of the Outsiders and provoke a backlash!"

With Li Lu’s explanation, the men understood and had no further objections.

Afterward, Li Lu followed the plan and established a brand-new gang: the Celestial Break Gang!

On the surface, Tiantuan Village became an asset of the Celestial Break Gang.

But when it came to establishing the new halls and assigning Li Xian’s group of four as leaders, he frowned at the names they proposed.

"Think of the names yourselves. You’ll each be in charge of your own hall, anyway."

He could have named them himself, but he’d always felt that other gangs choosing names like Cyan Dragon or Xuanwu sounded domineering but were ultimately impractical.

Back when he was a government official, he always thought that a small-time gang in a county town using such ostentatious names was just asking for a beating.

So, he left the task of naming the halls to Zhao the Seventh and the other three. He couldn’t be bothered to waste his brainpower on it.

As it turned out, the moment the four of them heard they had the privilege of choosing their own names, they started spouting one cringeworthy name after another.

Zhao the Seventh: "How about Qiankun Hall? Domineering, right? If not, then how about the Earth Demon Hall? Or the Celestial Spirit Hall?"

Xiao Bing: "Mine will be the Zhenwu Hall! To suppress all Martial Artists! Once I reach Entry Grade, I’ll be invincible among my peers and trade my life for anyone a rank above me!"

Li Xian: "The Cyan Dragon Hall? I remember a gang in the County Town used to have a hall with that name. Uncle, what do you think? If not, how about Vermilion Bird? Xuanwu? White Tiger?"

Chen Eryun: "The Wind and Cloud Hall! It has ’Cloud’ from my name, Eryun! I’m absolutely not changing it!"

Li Lu’s face was lined with exasperation as he listened, and he just shook his head.

’Is it too late to take back my offer to let them name the halls?’

He couldn’t be bothered to listen anymore. He left them with a single sentence as he walked out:

"Think it over again carefully. I want all the streamlined personnel gathered at the entrance of the Tiantuan Village meeting hall before sunset tomorrow!"

Leaving the County Magistrate’s Office, Li Lu breathed a sigh of relief.

Consolidating the gangs wasn’t the hard part. The difficulty lay in deciding what to do with the original members and screening who would stay. Time was tight.

’But as the boss, I don’t have to worry about these things. I can just leave it to my four subordinates.’

’If the boss has to do everything himself, what’s the point of being the boss?’

Meanwhile, Cheng Zongyang had taken Zhou Zhendong to the location of several shops in West City.

One was a former grain shop with a triple-wide storefront, a rear courtyard, and a warehouse. It could be used not only for business, but also as living quarters and for storage.

Next were a salt shop, a pharmacy, and the locations for the future restaurant and winery. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Even though they wouldn’t be used right away, they could occupy them for now. The shops were all located close to one another, near the city gate.

The location was quite good.

’As for whether the Outsiders will try to seize them when they arrive, well, that will depend on who is stronger!’

「That evening.」

After a flurry of arrangements, twenty-some people were gathered around three large tables set up outside the meeting hall, within the inner perimeter of Tiantuan Village.

After Cheng Zongyang introduced everyone, they began to eat, drink, and chat freely.

In the days to come, they would get to know one another and work together, all in preparation for the day the Foreign Race Influence entered the city.