Chapter 320: Standing Stick
Chen Ji leaned against the railing on the second floor of the restaurant, quietly watching the Pao brothers raising their fists in the crowd without even taking a breath.

For some reason, he also felt happy.

At this time, outside the wrestling arena, the wrestlers looked at each other in confusion.

They just couldn’t understand how one of their own could be strangled and lose consciousness in just a few breaths.

Fu Ruixiang pointed at the wrestler on the ground and joked loudly: “You and Li Bapi gave yourself the nickname ‘General Zhengfu’, but we have never seen a general lying on the ground!”

“General, the ground is cold, don’t sleep! If you win two out of three falls, you have to get up and fight again!”

“Hahahahahaha, what a bullshit general! There’s no need to compare with the rest!”

The stickmen of Heji glared at each other and suddenly pulled out the axes and iron bars from their waists: “What the hell are you talking about? Have you forgotten how we beat you up these years?”

Fu Ruixiang also drew out the dagger from his waist and stepped forward: “A hero should not boast of his past achievements. You have too many tricks outside the game. The men in the fighting business should abandon you!”

The two sides were on the verge of a fight, and the more they cursed, the closer they got. The sticks of Hutchison and Fu Ruixiang were almost sticking together, with saliva flying everywhere.

Not far away, customers from the Shiji Baodu shop came out with their bowls in hand, eating while watching the fun; a vendor selling steamed cakes came over here with a shoulder pole, and an old man who had watched the red tassel spear performance earlier came trotting over, one of his straw sandals having been stepped on and knocked off.

There were also folk jugglers who came to watch the fun without fear of trouble. They stopped doing their own business and beat drums from afar, as if two armies were facing off.

……

……

In the restaurant, a waiter came to Chen Ji and asked, “Sir, what kind of tea would you like?”

Chen Ji politely refused without even turning his head: “I don’t want to drink tea, I’m just here to watch the fun.”

The waiter smiled and said, “Sir, where you are standing is the best place in our restaurant for wrestling. If you don’t want to drink tea, please make way.”

Chen Ji looked back at him and asked, “How much is a pot of tea and a plate of melon seeds?”

The waiter had a white handkerchief draped over his shoulder and replied with a smile, “Six hundred coins.”

Chen Ji raised his eyebrows: “Why don’t you go and rob? Six hundred coins can buy a dozen chickens!”

The waiter also raised his eyebrows: “Sir, you are being petty when you say that. The balcony of my house is a place for watching wrestling. How can you watch it without drinking tea?”

Before he finished speaking, he heard a man not far away asking with a smile: “Little brother, which side do you support?”

Chen Ji looked and saw a young man in his twenties sitting at the eight-immortals table. Next to him was a muscular man standing with a knife in his arms, which made the young man look very noble.

He thought for a moment and replied, “Fu Ruixiang.”

The young man smiled and said, “That’s a friend. Waiter, bring this little brother a pot of Longjing tea and four kinds of snacks and candied fruits. Put it on my account.”

Chen Ji did not refuse and bowed across the two tables: “Thank you.”

The young man ignored him and turned to look downstairs. “Fu Ruixiang has been suppressed by Hutchison for so many years, but he finally got his way. But the peace money paid by Li Shamao Hutong is more than 1,000 taels of silver a month. I think even though Hutchison lost, it may not give up.”

Chen Ji’s heart moved. Business in the outer city… is this how you make money?
He turned his head again. Pao Ge was alert and left the field early. The short and strong Er Dao was putting a black short coat on him.

The two men, one tall and one short, hid outside the circle and watched the fun.

Chen Ji silently thought that last time he had just approached and the other party ran away immediately. If he showed up again this time, he would probably scare the other party away again.

How to do?
While he was thinking, the quarrel in the wrestling arena beside the overpass intensified, hundreds of wrestlers were crowded together, and a big fight was about to break out.

The old man who had hosted the wrestling match earlier cleared his throat, and the teams from Heji and Fu Ruixiang suddenly separated.

A man among Fu Ruixiang clasped his fists and said, “Mr. Qi, according to the previous agreement, the ‘safe money’ from Li Shamao Hutong onwards will belong to me, Fu Ruixiang.”

Qi Gong nodded and said, “That’s what I said.”

One of the gang members said in a cold voice, “Did you invite a magistrate from somewhere? We don’t allow magistrates in our wrestling arena. If anyone finds a magistrate, he will be stabbed three times and six times. Mr. Qi, please identify whether this person is a magistrate.”

Qi Gong shook his head: “Whether it is true or not, the official will know it as soon as he makes a move. This Pao brother who came to the capital from other places is indeed a master of wrestling and wins by his skills.”

After that, the skinny Mr. Qi said in a loud voice: “Today, I, the Sanshan Society, was asked by the two leaders, Fu Ruixiang ‘Zhu Guan’ and Heji ‘Wang Huan’, to come here to administer justice. Since Fu Ruixiang has won, from tonight onwards, the peace money in Li Shamao Hutong will belong to Fu Ruixiang.”

There was a burst of cheers from Fu Ruixiang’s side. The middle-aged man named Zhu Guan looked for the figure of Pao Brother in the crowd and said, “Chongzi, come here!”

Pao Ge put on his clothes, buttoned them up, clasped his fists and said, “Head.”

Zhu Guan smiled and said, “I promised you before that if you can take over Li Shamao Hutong, the peace money of this alley will be yours, 70% of the profit will be returned to the hall, and the remaining 30% will be given to you to reward your brothers.”

Brother Pao said calmly, “Thank you, boss.”

Zhu Guan laughed loudly: “Today you have established yourself in Lishamao Hutong, and you will be considered a top figure in this imperial city in the future!”

When the word “stand up” was heard, the wrestling arena suddenly became quiet.

The young man at the restaurant sighed: “This brother is as calm as a veteran, but he is still an outsider after all.”

The guard next to the young man said casually: “Sir, the money in Li Shamao Hutong is a bit hot.”

The young man smiled and said, “Of course it’s hot. Hutchison has controlled the Eight Great Hutongs for seven years. Although Lishamao Hutong is not as good as Baishun Hutong, the peace money it collects is much better than Yanzhi Hutong, Shitou Hutong, and Shanzhou Lane… How could Hutchison really spit out the fat meat in its mouth just because of a fight? However, this has nothing to do with that brother, he will not survive tonight.”

The guard whispered, “Master, do you want me to recruit this brother? Protect him.”

The young man shook his head: “No, no, let’s not interfere. If someone finds out, impeachment petitions against me will be flying everywhere.”

At this moment, Chen Ji didn’t care about anything else and asked the young man curiously: “Excuse me, why can’t this brother survive tonight?”

The young man was raising the wine cup to his lips. Hearing this, he suddenly stopped holding the cup and said meaningfully, “Young brother, you are not from the capital?”

Chen Ji said politely: “I just got here not long ago.”

The young man laughed and said, “Then let me tell you. There are seven martial arts shops in the outer city. Four are in Heji and three are in Furuixiang. Each martial arts shop has its own rules.”

Chen Ji asked, “What are the rules?”

The young man pointed to the seat next to him and said, “Come over for a drink and a chat?”

Chen Ji walked over and sat down, but he didn’t drink. Instead, he pushed the cup back and said, “Sorry, drinking makes things difficult. I’m going to quit drinking.”

The young man didn’t care at all and drank another cup. “The rules of the gang are more than those of the street hangers-on. For example, if the low-class people come to Beijing, they must first find the Sanshan Society to hand in a visiting card before they can make a living on this overpass. Look at the performers on the overpass, no matter if they are stabbing with flying knives, breaking stones with their chests, or carrying large jars, they all handed in visiting cards.”

The young man poured another small cup of wine and said slowly, “Then there are the rules of establishing the stick. The so-called establishing the stick means telling all the fighting gangs that you will be a well-known figure in the future, and you will no longer be a stick. But once you establish the stick, the seven fighting gangs can come to challenge you, and they have to let you three moves before fighting. This is called the demeanor of a Beijing master.”

Chen Ji was puzzled: “Doesn’t giving up three moves mean giving up directly?”

The young man laughed and said, “But we can’t handle their numbers. There are hundreds of people from the four Hutchison companies fighting tonight. They will definitely go all over the city to cause trouble for the Pao brothers. If they take turns to fight, the officials won’t be able to hold on.”

Chen Ji frowned: “Then why did he still want to set up a stick? It’s really unwise.” The young man smiled mysteriously: “This is Zhu Guan trying to trick him, an outsider who doesn’t know the rules. Zhu Guan is famous for being intolerant. He is probably worried that Pao Ge will stay in Fu Ruixiang and steal his limelight, so he deliberately set up a stick in front of everyone, playing a trick of killing the donkey after it has done its work and killing someone with a borrowed knife. Little brother, this rule was set to exclude outsiders.”

Chen Ji lowered his eyes.

Rules, and more rules.

Chen Ji was puzzled: “This brother is Fu Ruixiang’s man, what benefit does Zhu Guan get from cheating him?”

The young man laughed and said, “You don’t understand this, right? If a gangster can’t control his subordinates, they will be overthrown in two years. Do you think those low-class people are loyal? All they think about is how to make money and how to sleep with their sister-in-law. Zhu Guan was able to stay as the shopkeeper of Fu Ruixiang for fourteen years because he was jealous of talent. Of course, this is also the reason why Fu Ruixiang was suppressed by Hutchison.”

Chen Ji asked in a low voice: “Since Zhu Guan is the shopkeeper, who is the boss behind him? Why would they allow him to cheat his own people?”

The young man shook his head and picked up a glass of wine as if nothing had happened: “Then I don’t know.”

Chen Ji then asked, “Excuse me, what is the Sanshan Society?”

The young man laughed: “The Sanshan Society is a group of people that have emerged in the past ten years. They don’t collect “safety money” themselves, and only run their own escort agency, wine shop, brothel, and inn. As for why they can manage such things… it’s naturally because they have the biggest fist and have soldiers under their command.”

As he spoke, the young man pointed at Mr. Qi downstairs and said, “Look, this is Mr. Du Qi, the owner of the Sanshan Society. He served in the Wansui Army in his early years, but later he became deaf in one ear and broke two fingers, so he left the Wansui Army. With the background of the Wansui Army, he is naturally the most powerful in this imperial city.”

Chen Ji nodded. No wonder all the people in Sanshan Society were disabled. It turned out that they were retired from the army.

The young man looked at him with interest. “I see that you smell of blood, could it be that you just came out of the army? If you want to find a place to stay, Sanshan will be the most suitable. Go to Baishun Hutong and find a small singing class called ‘Bai Yuyuan’. Du Qigong is there most of the time.”

As they were talking, the wrestling match ended, and Pao Ge and Er Dao walked north. Chen Ji bowed to the young man and said goodbye, then went downstairs to chase him.

The young man raised his cup and drank the clear wine. The guard beside him leaned over and said, “Sir, this kid should be an official.”

The young man put down his wine cup and smiled: “There are many officials in this central place of the world. One more or one less won’t make much difference. Don’t be surprised.”

……

……

Chen Ji walked along Zhengyangmen Street, occasionally dodging oncoming pedestrians, his eyes staring through the crowd at Pao Ge and Erdao in front of him.

Pao Ge put a black short jacket on his shoulders, and Erdao carried a white saddle bag on his back. The saddle bag was bulging with something unknown.

One after another thieves tried to steal the knapsack, but they were all caught by Erdao.

Erdao was about to break the thief’s hand, but Pao Ge stopped him with a smile: “It’s not easy for them. I’m happy today, so I won’t beat them.”

As he said this, Pao Ge even took out two coins from his sleeve and threw them to the thief: “Get lost.”

The thief took the two coins and said with a playful smile: “Brother Pao is kind and righteous. I wish you a successful career!”

Pao Ge laughed and scolded: “Get out of here!”

The two of them found a roadside wonton stall and ate twelve bowls of wontons. The ceramic bowls on the table were piled up like a small mountain.

After finishing their meal, the two were not in a hurry to leave. Pao Ge just sat in front of the stall. Erdao took out a pipe from his bag, stuffed it with tobacco for Pao Ge, and lit it.

Brother Pao took a puff, letting the smoke roll in his lungs, and then exhaled. He looked at the setting sun, and his mood seemed a little low: “Erdao, do you miss home?”

Erdao hummed: “I want to.”

Pao Ge knocked off the cigarette ash with the sole of his shoe and sighed, “I finally found my footing in the capital, but I always feel like something is missing. It’s boring.”

After saying that, he stood up and walked towards Bada Hutong, and before leaving he gave the boss ten copper coins less.

The boss chased out of the stall and asked: “Hey, you ate twelve bowls, why did you give me ten cents less?”

Brother Pao turned around and pointed at the sign next to the stall: “Next time I come to eat at your place, if I find you putting some random meat in your wontons again, I will overturn your stall. Get lost.”

The boss shrank his neck.

When it got dark, the two of them got up and walked towards the Bada Hutong.

Outside Zhengyang Gate, horse-drawn carriages were driving out of the inner city and heading straight for the Eight Great Hutongs.

Going to Baishun Hutong to find “qingguanren” to listen to music, and going to Hanjiatan Hutong to find “husbands” to watch plays, this is the favorite of the officials and nobles in the inner city.

Li Shamao Hutong is a famous “backdoor” that specializes in low-class business, and its customers are all poor prostitutes.

Pao Ge led Erdao and staggered into Li Shamao Hutong.

He looked at the narrow alley that only allowed three people to pass side by side, and listened to the chirping voices coming from the two-story building. He suddenly sighed, “Erdao, I have managed to find a place for us brothers to settle down.”

Erdao looked around at the blue bricks and gray tiles on both sides and the red lanterns on the street: “Do you live here?”

Brother Pao said unhappily, “Of course not. This is where we brothers make our money. When we have saved enough money here, I will take you to Panjiayuan or Liulichang to find a few official positions. By then, we will be officials that everyone looks up to.”

Erdao said “oh”.

As he was talking, a man rushed out of the alley, and a woman followed him, buttoning her shirt while shouting, “Catch him, this bastard won’t pay.”

When the man passed by Pao Ge, Pao Ge grabbed the man’s collar and pulled him back: “Second knife, hit him.”

Erdao asked curiously, “To what extent?”

Pao Ge sneered: “Beat him until he pays. I’m not a good person, but I hate this kind of scum who bullies women, children and the elderly.”

He picked up the man in his hands, swung his strong hands left and right, and the man begged for mercy: “I give you money, I give you money!”

The man took out a hundred yuan from his pocket and threw it to the brother, who then threw it to the woman who came running over. The woman was in her thirties, wearing heavy makeup, and thanked him repeatedly.

Brother Pao waved his hand and said, “Don’t be polite. From now on, Li Shamao Hutong will be under my control. No one can bully you.”

At this moment, hurried footsteps were heard at the end of Li Shamao Hutong, and four or five men holding axes pointed in the distance: “Over there!”

Pao Ge’s face gradually turned cold, and he turned around to look behind him, and saw that there were four or five armed men blocking the road behind him.

He threw the black short coat in his hand to the ground and stretched his shoulders and neck: “Will you gamble and refuse to admit defeat? According to the rules, this Li Shamao Hutong belongs to me, Fu Ruixiang.”

The man holding the axe sneered, “It doesn’t matter who owns Li Shamao Hutong, but since you shouted to stand up, you must die tonight! According to the rules of my Beijing fighting industry, I will let you three moves first!”

Pao brother strode towards the man and asked, “Dad, do you want me to give way?”

Just as he finished speaking, dozens of people appeared behind the man from Hutchison, and the crowd was so dense that it made people’s scalps numb.

Brother Pao turned and ran: “Erdao, run!”

(End of this chapter)