210: Chapter 206: Means 210: Chapter 206: Means Leaving Apricot Blossom Alley, Tian Mingjian drove the Jeep Cherokee slowly toward the direction of West Mountain Villa.
“Boss, those troublemakers are occupying your house and they refuse to move out.
Are we just going to let it go?”
Feeling somewhat frustrated and indignant, Bai Xiaohang, who sat in the back seat next to Chen Hai, asked with dissatisfaction.
In the beginning, whether it was Bai Xiaohang or Xiang Dong, they all called Chen Hai “Young Master Chen.”
Chen Hai, however, was not quite satisfied with this title.
After all, he knew that he was not any young master or prince; he was merely a village kid who had managed to get into college through cheating.
Bai Xiaohang and the others kept calling him Young Master Chen, which Chen Hai always found a bit awkward.
At his suggestion, not only Bai Xiaohang and Xiang Dong, but also Tian Mingjian changed how they addressed him; from Young Master Chen, they switched to calling him boss.
Although, temporarily speaking, Chen Hai owned no properties in Capital City and had no stable sources of income,
the money he had was dwindling by the bit.
But the emperor doesn’t starve his soldiers; even if Chen Hai hadn’t arranged tasks for them, he still had to pay them each month.
After all, they all had families behind them.
Even if some of them weren’t married and didn’t have children, at least they certainly had parents.
Since he had accepted them to work for him, Chen Hai at least had to ensure that their families wouldn’t face any troubles.
Under such circumstances, Bai Xiaohang and the others calling Chen Hai ‘boss’ was indeed appropriate.
“My advantages aren’t so easily exploited,” Chen Hai said.
“I had given them a chance long ago.”
“But they are stubborn and insist on seizing my house, unwilling to leave, so naturally, they must be prepared to face my retaliation!”
With a cold smile, Chen Hai responded.
“Boss, what do you need us to do?”
“How about I sneak over there tonight with a couple of guys from Dong,”
“and burn down those shabby houses?”
“Once that’s done, where could they possibly live?
Surely they can’t just set up a tent and live there after their house is gone,” Bai Xiaohang proposed aggressively.
Being blunt and direct in confrontations wasn’t something he feared, but dealing with Aunt Liu and the two old ladies in the courtyard who would roll on the ground and wail felt rather troublesome to him.
After much thinking, he still found burning it down clean and efficient.
Unfortunately, what in his eyes was an evident course of action, seemed preposterous to Chen Hai.
“Xiaohang, working with me is definitely different from your past.
You can’t apply your former mindset to the present.”
“We are not thugs; we are civilians.
Simply resorting to murder or arson at any impulse is dangerous!”
“If we really want to make quick money, I could take you guys abroad sometime.”
“While we’re in the country, try to stay low-key for me.
If a problem can be resolved through normal means, don’t immediately think about using force.”
Chen Hai sighed and advised Bai Xiaohang earnestly.
Of course, as he gave this advice, he didn’t forget to glance several times at Xiang Dong and Tian Mingjian.
Like Bai Xiaohang, Xiang Dong was also a tough guy from the streets.
His thought process was probably similar to Bai Xiaohang’s, and he didn’t think setting fire to the tenants’ houses was a big deal either!
Even the typically positive-thinking junior lieutenant, Tian Mingjian, appeared indifferent and expressionless.
However, when Chen Hai mentioned taking them abroad to make a fortune,
his face uncontrollably showed a hint of eagerness.
It seemed that he, too, had a desire for money.
But it was not surprising for him to feel that way, since many people of this era were terrified of poverty.
Even as a junior lieutenant, Tian Mingjian’s family situation wasn’t great.
He was stationed in Capital City while his wife stayed in the rural hometown, gave birth to a daughter who sadly died shortly after birth.
For him, bringing his wife to Capital City to live together and possibly having a son was his greatest aspiration in life.
To achieve this, Tian Mingjian surely needed money; his monthly military allowance was minimal.
As someone destined by the Destiny of Breaking Army, he was not one to follow rules rigidly; if given the chance to make a fortune, he naturally showed some interest.
Chen Hai noticed everyone’s expressions and simply smiled softly without saying much.
Taking his subordinates abroad wasn’t just talk; he genuinely contemplated it.
After all, although he still had some money, he was rapidly expending it.
With his subordinates following him, if he didn’t find other ways to make money, the few hundred thousand he had wouldn’t last long with his expenses.
Gambling City, or maybe the Xiangjiang side, he had always been interested in going to see it.
Should there be a chance to make a fortune and he could ensure his absolute safety, there would be no harm in him taking slight action!
“Boss, if we are to truly behave and follow the rules, how shall we deal with those troublemakers who occupy your yard?”
Tilting his head, Bai Xiaohang was clearly puzzled as he asked.
“I have my ways to deal with this matter.”
Smiling and nodding, Chen Hai instructed Tian Mingjian who was driving, “Mingjian, before we return to West Mountain, let’s make a detour to Fuhua Road!”
“Alright, boss!” Tian Mingjian nodded and responded.
Fuhua Road had candle shops and coffin shops; shops related to these kinds of items were basically gathered on this street.
Chen Hai was going there obviously to prepare to buy something.
The tenants in the courtyard he had bought—be it through regular or normal means—seemed not easy to deal with.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t given them chances; since they did not appreciate them, Chen Hai had no choice but to use some unconventional methods.
After a stroll on Fuhua Street, it took Chen Hai more than an hour to return to his West Mountain Villa.
“You two, don’t rush back, just sit around in the living room.”
“Later, I have something I need you to do!”
He instructed Bai Xiaohang and Xiang Dong, then Chen Hai, carrying the items he had bought from Fuhua Street, went straight into his study.
When he emerged from his study half an hour later,
“Boss!”
“Boss!”
…
On the living room sofa where Bai Xiaohang and Xiang Dong were chatting, they quickly stood up and greeted Chen Hai.
As for Tian Mingjian, he did not enter the living room but stayed at the entrance of the villa.
Although he was temporarily with Chen Hai, strictly speaking, he was still affiliated with Ye Cheng.
Now, it seemed slightly inappropriate for Chen Hai to instruct him to do anything.
After all, no one could guarantee whether he would report back to Ye Cheng what Chen Hai had instructed before anything else.
“Xiaohang, Dong, when the night is deep and quiet, the two of you go to that courtyard of mine.”
“Place one of these four paper effigies at the door of each room in the courtyard.”
“Take these strands that look like hair, see if you can find an opportunity to climb onto the roof and wrap them around the middle of the horizontal beam, then press them down with roof tiles.”
“Also, these seven nails, hammer them into the middle of the Western wall of the courtyard, remember, do not hammer them completely in—leave two or three millimeters exposed, that’s enough.”
…
Pointing out the items he had brought from the study, Chen Hai instructed Bai Xiaohang and Xiang Dong.
Having inherited Geomancy Inspection Skill, attracting yin and evil was merely a basic operation for him.
Of course, the tasks he had assigned to Bai Xiaohang and Xiang Dong were not lethal; he still left some leeway.
After all, in his view, although the tenants who occupied his courtyard were hateful, they did not deserve death.
Once Bai Xiaohang and Xiang Dong had completed all the tasks,
Aunt Liu, Butcher Zhang, and others would not be able to stay peacefully in the courtyard or sleep soundly.
Being mentally unsettled or constantly troubled, appearing dazed all day, were just the basic manifestations of Chen Hai’s methods.
Paper effigies or iron nails, after Chen Hai’s special treatment, would easily attract some abnormal entities.
Under the entanglement of these abnormal entities, what might happen was even beyond Chen Hai’s full control.
Of course, if Aunt Liu, Old Man Li, Butcher Zhang and others were sensible enough to move out of that courtyard quickly, the impact on them would naturally be minimal.
After all, if they stayed too long in the courtyard and got too deeply entangled by these entities, their fate would indeed become hard to predict!
“Boss, will what you’ve asked us to do really work?
Can it really drive them away?”
After listening to Chen Hai’s instructions, Bai Xiaohang and Xiang Dong looked at each other.
After a moment of staring, it was Bai Xiaohang who summoned the courage to ask Chen Hai.
“Don’t ask too much, just follow my instructions.”
“Whether it will have an effect or not, just give it a few days and you will know.”
Chen Hai responded with a mysterious smile.
Spells, to those who have never come into contact or witnessed them, no explanation would be of any use.
They would just think that all those things are simply deceitful.
“Alright, then Dong and I will go there now!” Glancing at each other and nodding, Bai Xiaohang and Xiang Dong got up and walked out of the living room.