Chapter 28: The Profitable Business of Cassette Tapes

“Work hard, there’ll be extra food tonight!” Jiang Butong shouted.

It was only then that Chen Sheng looked up and saw Jiang Butong. He laughed and scolded, “You brat, can’t you see I’m busy? Why don’t you come over and help?”

Jiang Dazhuang grinned broadly when he saw Jiang Butong as well. “Butong, you’ve been missing these days. What have you been up to?”

“I’ve just been busy with odds and ends, sometimes selling cassette tapes.”

Jiang Butong walked over to the prep counter, took the vegetables that Chen Sheng had washed, and made a show of getting ready to chop them.

Chen Sheng cast a glance at Jiang Butong’s technique—he was clearly an amateur. With a hint of disdain, he said, “Enough, enough. You’d better go out before you ruin these vegetables.”

Jiang Butong laughed sheepishly, patted Jiang Dazhuang on the shoulder, and walked out of the kitchen.

As soon as he entered the main dining hall, he saw Jiang Yuan coming in with two younger men.

“Butong...” Jiang Yuan’s face brightened when he saw Jiang Butong. He greeted Chen Pan’er as well.

“You two, go give them a hand,” Jiang Yuan told the brothers behind him.

Jiang Butong noticed a touch of gloom in Jiang Yuan’s expression and motioned for him to step outside.

At the restaurant entrance, Jiang Yuan pulled out a cigarette and handed one to Jiang Butong.

“Yuan, you look troubled. What’s going on?” Jiang Butong asked.

Lighting both their cigarettes, Jiang Yuan replied, “Have you heard of the Black Dog Gang?”

Jiang Butong thought for a moment and shook his head—he truly hadn’t.

“What about Scarface and Blondie?” Jiang Yuan pressed.

Jiang Butong was about to shake his head again, but then it came to him: the first time he and Chen Pan’er set up a stall, some thugs had come to collect protection money. If he hadn’t been quick-witted that night, they might not have made it back. He still remembered clearly: one of them had a scar on his face, and Blondie called him Scarface.

Jiang Yuan caught the look on Jiang Butong’s face. “Do you know those two punks?”

Jiang Butong recalled the details and recounted what had happened that night.

Jiang Yuan took a deep drag on his cigarette and said, “That’s them. Damn it, they came looking for trouble today.”

“At the wholesale market?” Jiang Butong had just come back from there himself. He’d wanted to find Jiang Yuan to rest for a bit, but ended up chatting with Wang Yun until late and went straight home.

“That’s right. Scarface and Blondie are underlings of the Black Dog Gang. Their boss is nicknamed Dog, because he’s dark-skinned and ruthless—they’re known as the Black Dog Gang.”

“How do they compare to that Hou San?” Jiang Butong asked.

“The Black Dog Gang’s boss used to know Hou San. They’ve drunk together. Now that Dog’s heard Hou San has skipped town, he’s got his eye on the wholesale market turf. Today, he came to challenge us.”

Jiang Butong frowned. It seemed that wherever there was money, there was a criminal underworld.

“Tell me exactly what happened.”

Jiang Yuan stubbed out his cigarette and said, “A group of punks caused trouble in the parking lot today. I thought they were Hou San’s old crew, coming for revenge, but Eagle said they were with the Black Dog Gang. My guys clashed with them, and a fight broke out.”

“And the result?” Jiang Butong asked.

Jiang Yuan’s tone turned grim. “They fought dirty. We took a loss—two of our guys are in the hospital, three others have minor injuries.”

Black Dog Gang... Jiang Butong fell into thought. He knew that by taking over Hou San’s market, Jiang Yuan would attract the attention of other underground forces—but he hadn’t expected them to move so quickly.

“I told you before to take care of the necessary departments. Did you do it?”

“All done. They’re very satisfied with our parking lot planning and fees—think we’re running things better than Hou San ever did.” Jiang Yuan hadn’t expected the Black Dog Gang’s reach to be so long.

“With the Black Dog Gang coming for you, did you raise it with those departments?” Jiang Butong asked again.

“I just got back from visiting them. Hmph, when they’re taking money, they talk a good game, but as soon as there’s trouble with the Black Dog Gang, suddenly their hands are tied—they say it’s beyond their purview.” Jiang Yuan’s frustration was obvious; half of his anger today stemmed from those departments.

Jiang Butong understood. After all, ordinary people want nothing to do with the criminal underworld. Most people choose to protect themselves by keeping their distance.

“Butong, what do you think we should do?” Jiang Yuan was at a loss.

Jiang Butong fell silent, pondering ways to topple the Black Dog Gang while minimizing their own losses.

“Maybe we should do the same as we did with Hou San?” Jiang Yuan suggested.

Jiang Butong shook his head. “The Black Dog Gang is nothing like Hou San. Their power is greater, and last time we caught Hou San off guard—knew his movements, set the trap. Now the Black Dog Gang is lurking in the shadows, while we’re out in the open.”

Jiang Yuan grew impatient. “So what, we just sit and wait for them to destroy us?”

“Don’t worry, Yuan. They’re old hands at this game, and we’ve only just established ourselves. Let me think of something,” Jiang Butong said with a smile. Jiang Yuan’s only flaw was his impatience.

“All right, but think of something soon. I have to get back to the market,” Jiang Yuan said. He went inside to say goodbye to Chen Sheng, then left—he was worried about leaving the market shorthanded for too long, lest the Black Dog Gang seize their base.

Watching Jiang Yuan go, Jiang Butong began to assess the situation.

The private kitchen was newly opened, and they still hadn’t hired a chef; Chen Sheng couldn’t leave, and Jiang Dazhuang had to stay at the restaurant as well.

His and Wang Yun’s cassette tape business was just getting started and would only get busier in the coming days.

Jiang Yuan’s influence was just beginning to take shape, and already he faced pressure from the Black Dog Gang.

After thinking for a while, Jiang Butong felt a headache coming on. He was only human, not a deity—faced with this predicament, he truly couldn’t see a good way out.

By eleven that night, all the restaurant guests had left.

Chen Sheng finally had a moment to step out of the kitchen. He saw Jiang Butong sitting by the door.

He pushed the door open and patted Jiang Butong on the shoulder.

“Why aren’t you sitting inside?” Chen Sheng asked.

“It’s peaceful out here,” Jiang Butong replied with a smile.

“Is something wrong? I saw Jiang Yuan come and go in a hurry earlier,” Chen Sheng noted, sensing Jiang Yuan had something on his mind.

Jiang Butong told Chen Sheng about the Black Dog Gang.

Chen Sheng frowned as well. He’d long since left the underworld and didn’t know all the latest happenings.

“Tell Jiang Yuan not to act rashly. I’ll look into the Black Dog Gang’s influence first,” Chen Sheng advised.

Jiang Butong nodded.

“Come on, don’t just sit there. Let’s go inside and have a few drinks,” Chen Sheng said, inviting him in.

Jiang Butong followed him into the restaurant. This place had become their base of operations; whenever they weren’t busy, they would gather here. Chen Sheng, being fond of drink, always managed to turn it into a raucous, far-reaching conversation.

...

The next day, Jiang Butong prepared to visit the wholesale market to check on the cassette tapes and see how Jiang Yuan was doing.

Chen Pan’er came along as well, since Chen Sheng had found a new cashier.

When they arrived at the market, it was nearly noon.

Jiang Butong made his way to Wang Yun’s counter without difficulty. He found a crowd gathered there—most of them looking to buy tapes.

He waited until Wang Yun had finished with her customers, then brought Chen Pan’er over.

Wang Yun was counting money, a smile on her face—business was clearly good.

“Sister Wang, how’s business today?” Jiang Butong asked.

Wang Yun looked up at him, about to speak when she noticed Chen Pan’er by his side.

She’d met Chen Pan’er once before and had thought she was Jiang Butong’s girlfriend. Only after asking did she learn they were just classmates.

“These tapes are selling so fast. I played music all morning and sold over a hundred tapes. By afternoon, I expect to sell another hundred,” Wang Yun replied.

Jiang Butong did a quick calculation; it matched his expectations. By now, their costs had been fully recouped.

“Have you tallied how many tapes we have left?” he asked.

Wang Yun pulled out a small notebook with records of stock and sales.

“We started with five hundred tapes, costing a thousand yuan. Yesterday, I sold over a hundred, and another hundred this morning. Counting the eighty or so you sold at the stall before, we have about two hundred tapes left.”

She did the math in her notebook.

“As for revenue, we took in over five hundred yuan yesterday, another five hundred plus today. With the six hundred you brought in before, our total is just under one thousand seven hundred yuan.”