The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

Chapter 161 Tiger Head Gang Leader

The study was silent. The other three people looked at Shen Cao, all very curious about the method she was talking about.

Shen Cao stopped beating around the bush and began to carefully analyze the current situation of the Tiger Head Gang for the three of them.

"Brother Shen, you said you sent a letter of invitation to the Tiger Head Gang before or after the change of gang leader?"

Shen Yu'an thought about it carefully and answered with certainty, "It was before the change of gang leader. It should have been the day after I sent the invitation that the Tiger Head Gang had internal strife."

"Then they changed the gang leader."

"That's right."

"That's pretty much what I guessed."

"You sent your visiting card at the wrong time. It must have happened during the most critical period of the Tiger Head Gang. Everyone in the gang was in danger and definitely didn't have time to deal with you."

"And as you said, the new gang leader reduced the protection fee by 30% as soon as he took office, and I also heard that the Tiger Head Gang's attitude when collecting protection fees is much better than before."

"This shows that the newly appointed gang leader is trying to change the image of the Tiger Head Gang."

"Do you remember what I said back then? Our appearance would definitely affect the Tiger Head Gang's interests in collecting protection fees, but if we cooperate, we can achieve a win-win situation."

Shen Yu'an stopped tapping his fan and fell into deep thought.

Shen Cao wasn't in a hurry and quietly waited for them to figure it out.

"Cao'er, do you mean the Tiger Head Gang's disturbance at the docks was intentional?"

Shen Cao nodded. Wei Siyu usually seemed unreliable, but she turned out to be quite quick-witted in a critical moment.

"I think the reason the Tiger Head Gang did this is to deliberately attract our attention and make us go to them."

"The housekeeper who just came to deliver the message also said that although they stopped our construction, they did not make things difficult for the workers."

“The projects at the docks were done with the government; the Tiger Head Gang couldn’t possibly be unaware of that.”

"I think as long as the new leader of the Tiger Head Gang isn't an idiot, he definitely won't provoke us."

"Brother Shen, just rewrite the visiting card and send it over in a bit. I think it won't be rejected this time."

Sure enough, after Shen Yu'an sent his visiting card, it was not only accepted, but the other party's attitude was also much better than before.

The following day at noon, Shen Yu'an and his group visited the Tiger Head Gang.

To prevent any trouble, Wanyue specifically ordered her shadow to follow them.

Wei Siyu looked at Shen Cao, who was dressed as a man, and asked with some confusion, "Cao'er, why are you dressed like this?"

"This isn't the first time we've dealt with the Tiger Head Gang, so let's be careful."

"After you finish dealing with things, you can go back to the capital, but I'm going to stay in Xin'an County."

"What if we don't reach an agreement today, and the Tiger Head Gang leader retaliates against me after you leave?"

Wei Siyu burst out laughing when she heard Shen Cao's words.

“We eat at Shen’s Restaurant every day. If you just asked around, you would know that we have a good relationship with you.”

"Aren't you just trying to cover it up?"

Shen Cao thought about it and realized that made sense. "Then why don't we just say that I'm from the capital, just like you?"

"Or you could say I'm Brother Shen's cousin, and I'm here to broaden my horizons with him."

"Anyway, we can't let him know that the dock affairs are related to Shen's restaurant."

Shen Yu'an thought about it and agreed with Shen Cao's words, so he said, "Then you can say you are my cousin, Shen Yujie."

"it is good!"

Wei Siyu nudged Shen Yu'an, "When did you get a cousin? Isn't Shen Yujie your cousin?"

Shen Yu'an: "No one will actually go to the capital to inquire; a simple lie will suffice."

Shen Yu'an never expected that the Tiger Head Gang leader would actually send someone to the capital to inquire about it, but that's another story.

As soon as the group entered the Tiger Head Gang, they were led to the gang's main hall.

The main hall of the Tiger Head Gang was very large, with two very thick pillars standing on the left and right sides of the middle. Shen Cao looked at the pillars and realized that it would take two or three people to encircle them.

In the very center was a high platform, on which was covered a tiger-skin rug, upon which sat a chair carved from a thousand-year-old tree root, and above the chair hung an enormous bull's head.

It looks very intimidating.

Below the platform, on both sides, were two rows of chairs, which did indeed look somewhat like a place where gangs held meetings in my previous life.

There seemed to be a person sitting on the chair above the platform, but because of the distance, I couldn't see the person's face clearly.

However, from a distance, the man appeared tall and strong, at least 1.88 meters tall, with a very robust physique, clearly a trained fighter.

As the group approached, the steward who had led the way bowed to the high platform and said, "Master, the person has been brought here."

"Alright, you may leave." A deep voice came from above.

After the butler left, the man stood up from his seat and walked over to the group.

Shen Cao felt a dark shadow looming over him, a feeling of intense oppression.

Shen Yu'an spoke first, "I am Shen Yu'an, and I am very pleased to meet the famous leader of the Tiger Head Gang."

Wei Siyu and Shen Cao followed Shen Yu'an and greeted the leader of the Tiger Head Gang.

"Haha, you're too kind. I am Sun Yicheng, the new leader of the Tiger Head Gang."

"It is truly an honor for our Tiger Head Gang that you gentlemen have graced us with your presence."

"Who in the entire Great Xia Kingdom doesn't know your name, Shen Yu'an?"

Shen Cao was surprised that the name of the Tiger Head Gang leader was so literary, sounding completely devoid of any江湖 (jianghu, the martial arts world) vibe.

After she sat down, she looked up and examined the appearance of the Tiger Head Gang leader. He had a handsome face, just like his name. She wondered if she was mistaken, but she even sensed a scholarly air about him.

If it weren't for the scar on his brow bone, Shen Cao would never have associated him with the Tiger Head Gang if they met on the street.

Shen Yu'an sat down, and after some flattery, finally got to the point.

"Actually, the reason we came to visit you is to discuss cooperation with you."

Sun Yicheng was taken aback by Shen Yu'an's directness, then burst into laughter.

"Haha, I just love talking to straightforward people."

"I'm really sorry about what happened at the dock before."

After he finished speaking, he bowed deeply to Shen Yu'an, adopting an extremely humble posture.

After accepting his bow, Shen Yu'an slowly spoke, "Chief Sun, let's not beat around the bush. Let's put the matter at the docks behind us."

"Next, let's talk about cooperation."

"Alright! Brother Shen, why don't you tell me how we plan to cooperate?"

Shen Yu'an gave Shen Cao a look, and Shen Cao took out the prepared proposal from the cloth bag she was carrying.

Sun Yicheng then took a closer look at Shen Cao, "And who is this young man?"

"Oh! He's my cousin, Shen Yujie."

"Yu Jie, show the items to Chief Sun."

The assistant next to Chief Sun came down and took the proposal from Shen Cao's hand.