Chapter Fifty-Eight: The Larger the Team, the Harder It Is to Lead

"Mengmeng, someone’s here to see you." Ma Fengying knocked on the door before entering Yang Meng’s room.

Ma Fengying had already moved into Yang Meng’s small courtyard, and her son was coming over in a couple of days.

Yang Meng sprawled lazily on his bed and muttered, "Let them come, whatever. My place is practically turning into a zoo! Is it the police again?"

He hadn’t had an easy time these past few days, hiding at home and avoiding going out.

In Handong City, even finding a replica toy gun was considered a major case, let alone a real shooting. Now, a gang shootout had broken out, with a planned kidnapping of a star entrepreneur thrown in. The entire city’s police force had mobilized, determined to wipe out Zhai Dacheng’s criminal organization.

As a key witness, Yang Meng was interrogated by the police daily. He wasn’t allowed to go out freely, under the pretense of "protecting his personal safety," in case Zhai Dacheng’s remaining cronies sought revenge.

Why should he be dragged into their turf wars? Why would they come after him? Yang Meng couldn’t make sense of it.

Zhai Dacheng was truly unlucky. The whole thing had nothing to do with him; he’d only gone there to smooth things over. Then, out of nowhere, his own son shot him, broke his leg, and now he was a prime target for a crackdown.

It proves that the bigger the gang, the more trouble you invite. How many crime bosses have fallen because their underlings caused trouble, and they had to take the blame? But then, that's their own fault. If you profit from your men, you need the ability to shoulder their messes—if you can't, tough luck.

Ma Fengying replied, "This time, it’s Mr. Long."

Yang Meng glanced at his phone and curled his lip. "Old Long or Young Long? It’s even more annoying when they come."

Now, when anyone from the Long family went out, they wouldn’t dare show their faces without at least eight or ten bodyguards. They were terrified of being kidnapped—seriously, was it necessary?

Even though Yang Meng adamantly denied having anything to do with the nightclub incident, the father and son kept showing up to thank him. Every day, a group of bodyguards in black suits stood in Xinmin Alley, making Yang Meng both annoyed and helpless.

The Long family’s actions had only embarrassed the police further, intensifying the investigation into Zhai Dacheng’s gang. Everyone arrested was scrutinized from childhood—every petty misdeed, from jaywalking to peeking at neighbors bathing, was dragged out.

It all boils down to "taking things seriously," doesn’t it?

Anyway, public security in Handong City was now so tight, people barely bothered locking their doors at night. Nobody dared test their luck at a time like this.

Ma Fengying said, "It’s Long Teng and his sister."

Long Teng had been coming by often lately, so Ma Jie knew them well.

Yang Meng sighed. "Let them in. And you, stop fussing. Why not just hire a cleaning service? That room’s always been used as a storeroom—it’s filthy. How long will it take you to clean it?"

Ma Fengying laughed. "I prefer to do these things myself. If I hired a cleaning service, they’d charge me three hundred for just two rooms. I’d rather save the money for some pork ribs stew. Xiao Yang, how about ribs for dinner?"

Yang Meng shook his head. "No need, no need. Let’s make a bet—there’ll definitely be a dinner invitation today. Whether we go or not is another matter."

Ma Fengying shook her head. "I’m not betting with you. Every time they come, they invite you to dinner. All right, I’ll let them in."

Before long, Long Teng and his sister entered. Yang Meng remained on his bed, absorbed in his phone, barely acknowledging them.

"Yang, playing on your phone?" Long Teng asked.

Yang Meng didn’t even look up. "What do you think? I must’ve been cursed for eight generations to know your family. Someone wants to kidnap you—what’s it got to do with me? Why do you two keep coming out instead of hiding at home? Now you’re turning Xinmin Alley upside down again."

Long Teng gave Long Xixiang a meaningful look. Long Xixiang coughed and said, "Yang, what are you playing?"

Yang Meng waved his phone. "Trying to meet pretty girls, obviously."

Long Xixiang was speechless.

You pighead, talking about flirting right in front of me? Am I really that unappealing?

Yang Meng sat up suddenly. "Honestly, I really can’t communicate with these girls online."

Long Teng asked curiously, "Why do you say that?"

Yang Meng pointed at his phone. "Look at this girl. I said ‘hello,’ and she replied, ‘Are you sick?’ Seeing that, I sympathized and wished her a speedy recovery. Then she cursed me out..."

"Uh..." Long Teng’s expression twisted, wanting to laugh but not daring.

"And this one!" Yang Meng continued, pointing at his phone. "She said she’d dance for me. I thought, great, so I asked what kind of dance. She said ethnic dance—but only if I paid."

"Why?" Long Teng asked, puzzled.

Yang Meng shrugged. "She said she’d do it without clothes. Isn’t that treating me like an idiot? If she’s not wearing anything, how am I supposed to know what ethnicity her dance represents?"

Long Xixiang couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing. "Hahaha... Mengmeng, I never realized you were so amusing."

Yang Meng replied earnestly, "I’m telling the truth. Hey, Xixiang, your brother calls me Yang, but you call me Mengmeng?"

Long Xixiang said, "I’m not as desperate as my brother. He’s dying to be your disciple. Calling you Mengmeng is more intimate, isn’t it?"

Yang Meng frowned. "Honestly, Xixiang, I’m not used to you being so polite. You were much more genuine when you glared at me in the hospital. You’re not the gentle type, so stop pretending. Come on, what are you two really up to?"

Long Xixiang was incensed, pointing at Yang Meng. "Hey, that’s enough! I haven’t been coming here every day just to be insulted!"

Yang Meng applauded. "The fox’s tail is showing, huh? Can’t keep up the act anymore?"

Long Xixiang retorted, "Who’s the fox here? By the way, where’s that little fox behind you? You should say that to her!"

Yang Meng blinked. "The little fox behind me? Oh, you mean Li Xiaoqing? I wanted to ask you! She’s a good girl—how did she get mixed up in this case? She’s still locked up? Aren’t you guys being too heartless?"

Long Xixiang shrugged. "Mengmeng, you’re wrong this time! You think Li Xiaoqing was uninvolved? At 'Focus,' everyone knows the connection between Deng Chao and Boss Zhai. Li Xiaoqing gave Deng Chao a bottle? She took thirty thousand from He Kui. He Kui confessed. He was actually lucky—my brother broke his leg, but among those involved, he got off the lightest."

Yang Meng was stunned. "No way! You’re joking, right?"

Long Xixiang shook her head. "Why would I joke? Li Xiaoqing didn’t even delete the transfer records on her phone. She confessed. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be seeing her now—at minimum, she’d be under criminal detention. We all knew escaping in that situation was impossible, yet she managed to run. Did you think nobody noticed?"

Yang Meng fell silent.

Long Xixiang laughed softly. "Thirty thousand to betray her boss. Mengmeng, how about it? Got it wrong this time?"

Yang Meng shook his head. "You think thirty thousand is little? Remember the story about 'Lobster'? That was thirty thousand too. The four of us grown men scrambled desperately for it. Not everyone lives as comfortably as you. Anyway..." He jumped off the bed. "So, what’s this really about?"

Learning the truth about Li Xiaoqing left Yang Meng uneasy, and he couldn’t stay in bed any longer.

"Uh, my father invites you to dinner at your place, to thank you for saving me, my brother, and my sister," Long Xixiang said.

Yang Meng shook his head like a rattle drum. "How many times do I have to say it? I’m not going! I used to live a peaceful life, but after meeting your family, all sorts of trouble came my way. Petty gangsters hassle me! Young Master Long hassles me! Someone wants to kidnap you, and I get caught in the crossfire! I saved your sister, and she slapped me! I finally see it—you and I are just incompatible. One of these days, I’ll put a sign on my door: 'Long family forbidden.' Nothing good comes from meeting you people. From now on, I’ll keep my distance. Is that all? If not, please see yourselves out. I need to change!"

"Change into what?" Long Xixiang asked curiously.

Yang Meng grabbed the motorcycle suit hanging on the wall. "I’m bored at home—I’m going for a ride! Leaving my nice motorcycle here to gather dust is a waste."

Long Teng quickly blocked him. "Don’t, Yang! If you won’t go to dinner, fine, but I came for real business."

Yang Meng shook his head. "Business, my ass."

"It’s about making money," Long Teng said. "Didn’t you say you wanted to open a barbecue place?"

"Yeah, haven’t you noticed Lobster and Er Lengzi aren’t around? They’re busy scouting for a location. Why? It’s not some big business like yours—I just want to run a small barbecue shop, and even then you’re keeping an eye on it?"

Long Teng nodded. "A regular barbecue shop wouldn’t interest me, but I’ve tasted your barbecue. To be honest, I’m not after the profits—what I want is the customer traffic it’ll bring."

"Customer traffic?" Yang Meng picked up his helmet. "What are you up to?"

Long Teng grinned. "You guys are looking for a shop, right? The first floor of my gym has a health food restaurant that’s been underperforming. Why not turn it into a barbecue place? It’ll bring in more people."

Yang Meng was dumbfounded. "A barbecue shop in a gym? Are you trying to help them lose weight or gain weight? Seriously, I’d like to interview you—what’s going through your mind?"

Long Teng smirked. "Eat more, lose weight; lose weight, eat more. It’s a win-win!"