sbdcsierra Chapter 317 Worry
Chapter 317 Worry
After He Yifei left with He Zulie, the three He brothers exchanged glances. Then, He Tianba stammered, "Master...Master, this disciple has...has a request."
Chao Bufan picked up his teacup, took a large sip, then put the cup down and said calmly, "Speak!"
He Tianba seemed somewhat reluctant to speak, and after a moment's hesitation, he said, "Master, it's like this, in another year it will be the time for the outer disciples' assessment again. My two brothers and I have already participated three times. Since there is an age limit for the assessment, if we fail again this time, then we will have no hope for the rest of our lives. So... so I beg you, Master, to do me a favor and hope that you will put in a good word for us with the head of the family. I will be eternally grateful."
Upon hearing this, Chao Bufan glanced at the three He brothers and then said indifferently, "That depends on how you three perform. If you perform well, perhaps I can make your dreams come true with just a word. If you don't perform well, then your lives will just stay like this."
The three He brothers quickly knelt down and said, "Master, please rest assured, we will definitely perform well."
"Okay, everyone, get up!"
"Thank you, Master! Thank you, Master!"
"Mr. He..."
"Master, you can just call us by our names."
"Hmm, He Tianba, there's something I don't understand. You've participated in the outer disciple to inner disciple selection assessment three times, so why didn't you pass it even once?"
He Tianba felt a little embarrassed and lowered his voice, saying, "It's all because we didn't report the company's financial situation to the family in a timely manner, so..."
Chao Bufan saw right through him: "It's because you've been falsifying your income, isn't it!"
“This…” He Tianba scratched his head and chuckled, his meaning quite clear.
He Tianhu said, "Master, actually we didn't want this either. When the company was first established, we signed a long-term cooperation contract with a foreign company. But what we never expected was that this foreign company we were cooperating with would go bankrupt and go out of business not long after, causing our company to lose a lot of money. The three of us brothers had no choice but to borrow money everywhere, even taking out loans, to make up for the company's losses, so..."
Chao Bufan nodded and asked, "So how much did you lose back then?"
"Nearly 500 million."
"So many?" Chao Bufan was secretly shocked. "No wonder you couldn't pass the test."
He Tianba looked bitter and continued, "Actually, it can't be entirely our fault. We had already visited the company before signing the contract, and everything was fine. The company went bankrupt right around the time of their country's presidential election, and the company's owner was one of the candidates at the time. Unfortunately, he didn't win the election, and several of his companies went bankrupt as a result."
Chao Bufan nodded and said, "This should be your first time participating in the outer disciple assessment, right? So how did you fail the assessment the next two times?"
"Sigh!" He Tianba sighed and said, "The reason we failed the assessment the second time was because we wanted to make up for the previous losses. So, during the assessment, our income didn't meet the standard, and we were directly eliminated. As for the last assessment, the three of us brothers failed because our aptitude wasn't high enough; we couldn't pass the energy test. Master, you know that people our age have long since missed the best time for cultivation. Where would we find such good potential? Although the three of us brothers usually use our free time for cultivation, without guidance from a master, what's the difference between that and futile? We're worried that if we still fail the next assessment, then our lives will truly be over, completely ruined."
Chao Bufan understood the feelings of the three brothers, nodded, and said, "Then you should perform well. Maybe one day I'll be in a good mood and your patriarch will make an exception and promote you to inner disciples."
Upon hearing this, the three brothers were overjoyed and said in unison, "Thank you, Master! Please continue to take good care of us!"
Chao Bufan smiled slightly and said, "Alright, everyone, please sit down! Let's not talk about anything else now, let's just talk about business."
"Yes, Master."
However, the three brothers seemed hesitant to sit down and remained standing. Chao Bufan laughed and said, "It's alright, just sit down when I tell you to. I said we're only talking about business now."
After hesitating for a long time, the three brothers finally said, "Yes, Master."
After the three brothers sat down, they felt a little uncomfortable and gave each other silly smiles.
Chao Bufan shook his head and smiled, then said seriously, "He Tianba, you three brothers have been in the underworld for so long. With your current status, how much influence do you have in the underworld?"
He Tianba replied in a serious tone: "Master, I dare not boast. As things stand, the three of us brothers still have some influence in the underworld. Of course, that only applies to G Province and a few surrounding provinces. As for other places, although we have some influence, it's not very significant."
Chao Bufan nodded and said, "Then you must know a lot of people involved in drug trafficking!"
"We know each other." As he spoke, He Tianba's expression changed drastically, and he quickly said, "Master, we are all law-abiding people. We would never do such illegal things."
Upon hearing this, Chao Bufan laughed and said, "What's the rush? I didn't say anything about you. Since you know a lot of people, then do me a favor!"
"Master, please speak!"
"Don't be nervous, it doesn't mean anything by it. It's like this, a few months ago, a huge IBE smuggling gang composed of multiple countries infiltrated our HX. They wanted to monopolize the entire ICE trade in HX."
He Tianba asked in surprise, "Is that so? Why didn't Minister He tell us about this?"
Chao Bufan said, "This transnational criminal gang is currently only operating in this province and a few neighboring provinces and cities, so not many people know about it. I now want you to connect with all the people you know who are involved in ICE transactions, no matter what form it takes, and then conduct the transactions in a unified manner. Moreover, during the transactions, you are only allowed to enter and not leave."
He Tianba asked in confusion, "Master, I don't understand what you mean. Besides, since the police took down the four major gangs, Qing, Bai, Zhu, and Xuan, most underworld organizations have gone into hiding. It would be difficult to find them, let alone link them together. Wouldn't that mean forming a huge gang? Moreover, many gangs are at odds with each other. They often fight over territory or trivial matters. So, it's probably unrealistic to try to unite them."