The night descended, and under the moonlight, the Da Xin River wound like a silver ribbon, its surface shimmering with ripples.
The riverbanks, usually quiet and desolate, were now bustling with activity. Sand extraction points dotted the landscape every kilometer or two, their diesel engines roaring day and night, the sound echoing across the banks.
Sand trucks came and went without pause, day and night.
Three kilometers downstream from the town center, the Wei Qiao Sand Pit was the largest extraction site on the entire Da Xin River. Here, the river channel was wide, the sand resources were abundant, and transportation was convenient.
Hundreds of trucks transported sand daily, and three dredgers worked around the clock. Describing this sand pit as making a fortune daily was no exaggeration.
This sand pit was controlled by Bao Guo. He had stationed over twenty of his men to take turns guarding it, primarily to prevent any counterattack from Zhou Tao, as the sand pit had been seized from Zhou Tao.
The foreman here was a local thug named Wei Zhengxian. He had previously operated a small sand pit here before it was shut down and expanded into the largest one by Zhou Tao, leaving him with a deep-seated resentment.
Later, he aligned himself with Bao Guo and they snatched the sand pit back. Wei Zhengxian held a sixty percent stake, while Bao Guo held forty percent and only sent three men to manage the accounts. The rest were Wei Zhengxian's men.
At this moment, inside the prefab activity room of the sand pit, seven or eight thugs on duty and over a dozen drivers were gathered around a gambling table. Outside, two front loaders were busy loading sand.
"Two of you go to the embankment and keep watch. Brother Bao just called and told us to strengthen our defenses these few days. Zhou Tao might retaliate. Don't just think about gambling all day."
Wei Zhengxian entered with four of his brothers, nearly kicking over the gambling table with one foot.
When the boss got angry, no one dared to talk back. Two men immediately grabbed flashlights and ran out.
But less than a minute later, the two men came running back in a panic.
"Brother Xian, run! Two trucks of people are outside, all armed."
One of them shouted as soon as he entered.
Upon hearing this, Wei Zhengxian grabbed a cleaver and rushed out. "Run for what? Follow me!"
The other henchmen also followed with their cleavers, but as soon as they went out, they were stunned. The two sand trucks were filled with people, fifty to sixty in total, and they were jumping down, armed with two-meter-long pitchforks and over-meter-long wooden clubs.
How could they fight this? Their side only had eleven or twelve people, all armed with blades less than a meter long, completely unable to reach the attackers, let alone being at a significant numerical disadvantage.
A wise man doesn't fight when the odds are against him. Run, or they'd all end up in the hospital tonight, perhaps even the morgue.
Disregarding their boss, Wei Zhengxian, who had already charged forward to fight, over a dozen henchmen scattered as the attackers hadn't yet formed a complete encirclement, fleeing towards areas with fewer people.
Some even jumped into the icy river. It was the dry season, and the river was not deep; crossing to the other side meant safety.
Pity the henchmen Wei Zhengxian had spent a fortune to nurture; not a single one stayed to fight with him. He charged towards the enemy alone, and before he could even raise his cleaver, he was knocked to the ground by two pitchforks.
Then, a large group of people surrounded him and beat him mercilessly, their wooden clubs and cleavers raining down on him.
The piercing screams drowned out the roar of the sand dredgers. The fleeing henchmen listened with trembling hearts, knowing that their boss Wei would either die today or be crippled, and they were grateful for their quick escape.
Similar night raids were happening simultaneously at other large sand pits along the Da Xin River. Zhou Tao had spared no expense tonight. To prevent information leaks, he had specially hired over three hundred people from Old Pan in Hancheng and launched surprise attacks on Bao Guo's controlled sand pits.
This time, he intended to use his numerical advantage to uproot Bao Guo's influence in the sand pits. He specifically targeted the bosses of each sand pit, who were local village bullies and thugs. After attaching themselves to Bao Guo and Hong Xing, they illegally extracted sand from the river sections, only needing to give Bao Guo and the others thirty to forty percent of their profits as protection fees.
This night was destined to be bloody.
Chengguan, People's Hospital Emergency Department.
Bao Guo, who had rushed from the casino, was stunned by the scene before him. Over a dozen young men, brutally hacked and bleeding, lay on hospital beds, waiting for surgery in a line.
There were too many people, and the medical staff was insufficient. More ambulances were continuously bringing in more injured.
The wail of police sirens could be heard from the hospital entrance. Bao Guo felt the place was unsafe, and the situation had gone beyond his control. He quickly slipped away through the hospital's back door.
He then went directly to Brother Mao's tobacco and liquor shop. It was only 7:30 PM, and the shop had not yet closed.
"Hello, Brother Bao. What brings you here tonight?"
San Pang, who was cleaning up and preparing to close, greeted him.
"Where is Master?"
"Drinking tea in the back."
Bao Guo walked straight into the tea room in the back and saw Brother Mao meditating with his eyes closed, a cup of hot tea steaming before him.
"Master, something big has happened."
Bao Guo sat opposite him, poured himself a cup of tea, and drank it in one gulp. He had run here and was a bit thirsty; his car was still parked at the hospital.
Brother Mao opened his eyes. "Did Zhou Tao make a move?"
"Yes, Master. Your guess was accurate. Zhou Tao mobilized hundreds of people today and launched a surprise attack on our sand pits. Dozens of our brothers were injured, and the hospital emergency room can no longer accommodate them."
Bao Guo felt regretful. He shouldn't have ignored his master's advice. Now, not only had the sand pits been lost, but many brothers were injured, and the medical expenses and compensation would be a considerable cost.
"How many of our own brothers were injured?"
"It's unclear yet. As soon as I arrived at the hospital, the police showed up. I didn't dare to confront them, lest I be targeted. For now, we only know that Wei Zhengxian and a few other sand pit bosses were severely injured, and it's uncertain if they will survive."
Brother Mao pondered for a moment and said, "It seems Hong Xing is dead."
"Master, what does that have to do with Hong Xing being dead? How did you conclude that?"
"Hong Xing was kidnapped and went missing during the day, and Zhou Tao launched his attack at night. This indicates that Zhou Tao knows Hong Xing can no longer threaten him, which is why he acted so eagerly. Hong Xing was likely killed by people hired by Zhou Tao."
Bao Guo gasped, "Master, Zhou Tao is truly ruthless to dare kill Hong Xing."
"What is there to fear? When he killed Old Gui, Zhou Tao also provided the money. The reason he has stood firm in Chengguan for decades is his ruthlessness and his policy of eliminating all opposition.
We underestimated him, thinking he had truly grown old. When he revealed his fangs, we were no match for him."
"What do we do now? Will he come after us?"
Bao Guo was starting to feel scared. Without Hong Xing's backing, he had no confidence in confronting an old-school boss like Zhou Tao.
Brother Mao sighed. "What can we do now? As I said earlier today, we need to contract our operations and pull our brothers back. We must keep a low profile during this period and try not to wander around on the streets.
Also, find someone to spread rumors that Hong Xing was kidnapped and killed by Zhou Tao, making Zhou Tao bear the wrath of the Hong family. This will divert Zhou Tao's attention from us."