RBCT Chapter 42: Kun from Chinatown
Chapter 42: Kun from Chinatown
"I own it."
Li Xuan answered directly, explaining, "There was someone claiming to be from the Crow Gang who came to cause trouble and tried to rob my people. He tried to pull out a gun, but I was faster and shot him in the shoulder. He's gone now."
The young Chinese man in the lead paused for a moment, looking the young man in the gray long shirt up and down.
Are people these days so fearless? He looked like a Taoist priest, yet he just opened fire without warning?
Is this a Taoist priest?
The office was filled with a faint scent of sandalwood. To the left was a statue of a deity, and on the wall hung a plaque that read "Tao follows nature." On the table were cinnabar and talisman paper.
"Are you a Taoist priest?"
"What, doesn't it look like it?"
Li Xuan smiled, took out an exorcism talisman from his pocket, pushed it out, and said, "This is for warding off evil spirits, do you want it?"
The young man took the talisman and looked at it, but couldn't figure it out. However, he had grown up in Chinatown and knew a little about these traditional things.
He put the talisman down, his expression less aggressive, but his tone still flared: "What does that Crow Gang member look like?"
"He's Black, around 1.8 meters tall," Li Xuan said cooperatively.
The thug's expression changed. He slammed his baseball bat on the ground and squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth: "The Crow Gang has crossed the line."
His two brothers next to him exchanged a glance, their expressions both quite unpleasant.
In the gang's territorial rules, crossing the line is an extremely serious matter, and can easily escalate into a bloody fight.
The Crow Gang is a third-rate street thug that usually scavenges for food on the outskirts of Chinatown. The fact that the Huaqing Gang turns a blind eye to them is already a huge favor.
Now their people are actually going into Chinatown and harassing the businesses they're protecting. This is fucking overstepping their bounds.
"If that bastard Robert dares to come again," the henchman looked up at Li Xuan and said, "call me. My name is A-Jie, I'm one of Brother Kun's men from the Huaqing Gang."
As he spoke, he picked up the pen at the front desk and left a number.
Li Xuan took the business card and was about to thank him when A-Jie turned and walked out with a baseball bat in hand.
That very evening, the news reached Kun's ears.
Brother Kun's full name is Chen Yaokun. He is 52 years old and is the current leader of the Huaqing Gang in Chinatown.
He wasn't the kind of guy with a big gold chain and a large entourage who you could immediately tell was a gangster. He looked more like the kind of retired old man on the street corner who spent his days drinking kung fu tea and playing chess.
His hair was neatly cut, he wore a pair of metal-framed reading glasses, a plain shirt and dark trousers, and spoke slowly, but every word he uttered was unquestionable.
He took over the affairs of the Chinese youth gang in Chinatown in the early 1990s. In nearly 30 years, Los Angeles has had several mayors and seven or eight police chiefs. The world outside Chinatown has changed countless times, but Chinatown itself has always remained as stable as a deep pool.
Those outside gangs that coveted the protection money business of Chinatown shops never dared to come again after being rebuffed a few times.
"The Crow Gang," Kun said, holding his teacup, his tone as if catching up with an old friend. "The same rats who got chased away for stealing car parts last time?"
"Yes. Their leader is called Johnny. He used to run errands for MS-13, and later he recruited more than a dozen people." A-Jie stood in front of him, bowing his head respectfully.
"If a dozen or so people dare to cross the line, what will happen when they have dozens of people? They'll be riding all over my head."
Today their people are stepping into Chinatown, but what about tomorrow?
If we don't teach them a lesson, other gangs will think the Hua Qing Gang is easy to bully.
Kun put down his teacup, stood up, and dusted off non-existent dust from his cuffs. He said calmly, "Bring Robert and their boss here. Don't use guns unnecessarily, and don't alert the cops."
Ah Jie nodded, turned around and left.
The Huaqing Gang's efficiency is astonishing.
That night, Ah Jie led more than twenty brothers to surround the Crow Gang's auto repair shop stronghold.
The Crow Gang members were drinking; a dozen or so of them were so drunk they were staggering, and even the lookout at the door had fallen asleep.
When the roller shutter door of the repair shop was forcibly pried open from the outside, and more than twenty members of the Huaqing Gang, dressed in uniform black coats, silently poured in, none of the Crow Gang members dared to resist.
Even Johnny himself only paused for a second before resignedly putting down his beer, putting his hands on his head, and standing up from the broken sofa.
This is the difference between the Huaqing Gang and the Crow Gang.
The Crow Gang is not even worthy of being called a rival to the Chinese Youth Gang. They are small fry living in a lawless area, while the Chinese Youth Gang is a tightly controlled organization that has deep roots in Los Angeles' Chinatown and most of the surrounding Chinese communities.
This is the difference between ordinary street gangs and organized triads.
The Hua Qing Gang has existed for over eighty years, starting from the self-defense organizations secretly established during the anti-Chinese period of the older generation.
When young Chinese boys are bullied in their communities and cannot find justice, joining the Chinese Youth Gang is the fastest way to get protection.
Therefore, they had many brothers and wielded considerable power.
The Crow Gang only has a dozen or so members.
The following evening, Brother Kun came in person.
Two black Chevrolets stopped in front of the office. Kun got out of the car, followed by A-Jie and several brothers, as well as Robert Hunter, who was tied up tightly.
As they approached the office, several shops across the street closed their windows.
The night in Chinatown is usually quiet, but suddenly a group of Huaqing Gang members appeared on this street, making even the streetlights seem dimmer.
When Li Xuan heard the noise and opened the door to check, this was the scene he saw.
Kun stood at the front and nodded slightly to him, his expression as calm as if he were visiting a long-lost friend.
The young black man behind him was trembling like a leaf, the duct tape binding his wrists was so tight that he could barely stand.
Robert had clearly received some form of education in the brief moments before he was brought in; he had a large bruise around his left eye and dried blood at the corner of his mouth.
"Good evening, Master Li."
Kun took off his reading glasses, wiped them, and put them back on. He spoke gently and with a smile, "I heard that someone has been causing trouble here recently. This should be the main culprit."
"Robert Hunter, a member of the Raven Gang, is causing trouble at your store today. Have I picked the right person?"
Li Xuan glanced at Robert, who was trembling all over, and then at the two rows of brothers standing neatly behind Kun.
He stepped aside to clear the doorway, smiled and nodded, saying, "I didn't grab the wrong person, Brother Kun. Come in and talk."
He glanced at the people behind Brother Kun and frowned, saying, "But there's not enough room for so many people."
Kun smiled, turned around and waved.
A-Jie led most of his brothers to scatter to both sides of the street, leaving only two men to escort Robert inside.
Li Xuan made Kun a cup of tea.
The two men sat facing each other, while Robert knelt beside them.