As for worrying about the other party not repaying the money, Ba Bi had never worried about that. First of all, the other party was the boss of He Lian Sheng, and just the signboard of He Lian Sheng was worth more than a few million.
Furthermore, those who mix in this world value face more than life. There's no way they wouldn't repay a few million, they couldn't afford to lose face.
“Don’t worry Ba Bi Ge, I’m also in this line of work, I know the rules.”
Chen Dong nodded, not taking the interest seriously. After all, even if it were nine out of thirteen, or nine out of eighty-one, it wouldn’t matter. What mattered was getting the money now, and if all else failed, when this loser was hung by Chen Hao Nan, he could burn hundreds of billions to him every Qingming Festival as repayment.
“So how much are you planning to borrow, brother? You’re asking Da Zhuang to fight a case, wouldn’t it be at least a few million for someone like your boss?”
Seeing Chen Dong nodding and understanding the rules, Ba Bi felt relieved. They, these loan sharks, might look like they have an easy business, but they were most afraid of those who always acted like brothers with them and borrowed money. Those bastards were called “master” before they got the money, but once they got it, they became your master, and you couldn’t do anything about it. You had to constantly care for them, worry about their every ache and pain, even more than they did themselves, because you were afraid that these bastards might die and you wouldn’t be able to recover the loaned money.
However, judging from “Pretty Boy Dong’s” appearance, he wouldn’t be the same as those bastards, since he needed to ask Da Zhuang to fight a case even for a boss who was basically already sentenced to at least 20 years.
“This... a few million is a bit too little. It needs to be at least thirty million...”
Chen Dong looked at Ba Bi with a troubled expression.
“Sss... ! Thirty... Thirty million? Is that how much you need to ask Da Zhuang to fight a case?”
Hearing Chen Dong opening his mouth and asking for thirty million, Ba Bi’s eyes almost popped out of his head, and he couldn’t help but gasp.
Damn, borrowing thirty million for a boss who had no connection with him and was already expired, he wished he had a younger brother like this. Give him a dozen of them!
He hadn’t hired any Da Zhuang to fight a case before, after all, he had built his wealth with his own life, how could he give money to those bloodsuckers. But he had heard that their boss, Luo Tuo, had only paid a few million at most when hiring Da Zhuang.
Even Gao Jin and Ah Bao behind Chen Dong widened their eyes, almost spitting out their food. They had known about their boss’s plan before, which was to come to Ba Bi to borrow money, and they had assumed he wouldn’t repay. But they thought that borrowing a few million to get through this period would be enough, because the cops wouldn’t keep staring at them like this forever. Once the heat died down, their business would be back to normal, and they could also reopen the smuggling route that Lao Ding had left behind. That would be alright.
Who knew that the boss would open his mouth and ask for thirty million. It scared them to death!
Thirty million would be enough to be a neighbor of the ship king on Half Mountain!
“Brother, you don’t know this. Usually, hiring a Da Zhuang is enough with a few million. But my boss’s case is too serious and troublesome. Most importantly, those Da Zhuangs care about their reputation, and they want to ensure a win. No one would take such a case that is destined to lose. I had to go through our Deng Bo, and the other party only agreed to take my boss’s case because of Deng Bo’s face, but the price is definitely much higher, and there are a lot of other things to pay for after that. Thirty million might not even be enough!”
Seeing that Ba Bi started to hesitate, Chen Dong quickly patted his back and started to explain, no, to make up stories. He had originally planned to ask for 20 million, but he was worried that Ba Bi might worry about the price and cut it down. If he couldn’t borrow 20 million, wouldn’t that be disrespectful to the “brotherhood” with Liang Kun?
So, to prevent Ba Bi from bargaining, he simply asked for 30 million. Even if he bargained, he wouldn’t go below 20 million, right?
He did need to find a Da Zhuang for Tong Shu, though. Although he knew it wouldn’t do much good, Tong Shu’s case was already a done deal with the evidence. But it was good to make a show of it and establish a reputation as someone who valued loyalty. Reputation was something you couldn’t see or touch, but it was very useful when you were in this world. For example, among Deng Bo’s uncles, if he were to ignore Tong Shu as soon as he took over, how would others view him? How would Tong Shu’s former brothers view him?
So, spending a million or two to hire a Da Zhuang with a bit of fame was still necessary. ... Cases like this wouldn’t be as the way he described, with no Da Zhuang willing to take them. In fact, many Da Zhuangs would even be willing to take such cases that were bound to lose. After all, everyone knew the outcome, and even if they lost, it wouldn’t be his fault. But what if the result was better than everyone expected?
For example, instead of being sentenced to 30 years, it was reduced to 25 years. Wouldn’t that be a huge boost to his reputation?
Of course, it was a pity that there were very few young and capable people who would choose to work in the legal profession nowadays. Usually, only the top leaders of the gangs would deal with lawyers. People like Ba Bi wouldn’t need them. When their brothers were arrested, they would just find a random lawyer, pay them, and let the cops release the person.
Of course, he hadn’t dealt with these lawyers or Da Zhuangs before, but he had watched the series “Legal Sniper” ... He knew the basics. If all else failed, he could ask Shi Ye Su to go. As he saw it, that guy was more reliable than Zhang Wei, the lawyer from “Forensic Heroes”, except for his stammer.
“..... If you say so, it seems like it’s not easy. But brother, it’s not that I don’t trust you. After all, this is the first time we’ve met. Thirty million is really too much!”
After listening to Chen Dong’s explanations, Ba Bi stroked his chin and nodded. It made sense. Then, he looked at Chen Dong and said with a troubled expression.
After all, they had only met once, although they called each other brothers. If it was just a few million, he wouldn’t care, even if the other party really wanted to default, it wouldn’t hurt him much. But thirty million was a lot. It wouldn’t cripple him, but it would make him bleed for a few days.
Thirty million, do you think it’s 3,000 bucks?
“Brother, I know thirty million is a bit too much. But there’s no other way. That damn Da Zhuang insisted on 30 million. If it weren’t for Deng Bo’s face, he wouldn’t even take the case!”
“Here’s the deal, brother. There are two streets in Mong Kok that you helped the gang take down. Now, brother, you’re putting these two streets down as collateral. If you don’t pay back by the agreed time, Ba Bi Ge, you can have someone collect the debts. How does that sound?”
Chen Dong looked at Ba Bi with the same troubled expression as before, as if he had made a difficult decision and said to Ba Bi.
He sighed in his heart. You think it’s too much, then just bargain, why just talk? No wonder you were slaughtered by Chen Hao Nan and his crew, your brain is amazing...