Chapter 1: The Five Tigers of Blue River

  It's midsummer, the sun is like a fire. The scorching sun bakes the earth, the road is hot and dry, there is not even a slight breeze in the air, the cicadas on the trees are chirping away, the big yellow dog under the tree is fanning its ears with a whoosh, blowing out waves of hot air, as if complaining about this unbearable summer heat.

  The story begins in Lanhewan Town, N City, northern Guangdong Province.

  N city has a long history, beautiful mountains and rivers, many famous scenic spots, and is also strategically located. The southern and northern sides are surrounded by continuous mountains, with hills along the Zhen River in the middle, forming a narrow and long basin. The climate is pleasant all year round, so resources are abundant, and it is rich in yellow tobacco, rice, bamboo, and pine resin, among which yellow tobacco is the most famous, known as "tobacco leaf village".

  It is often said that poor mountains and rivers produce evil people. N City, located at the intersection of G Province and J Province, is a transportation hub but also a jurisdictional blind spot. This city has always been plagued by chaotic public security, with people's minds in disarray, and uneducated and unskilled thugs roaming everywhere. The three teachings and nine streams gather here, and every day is filled with endless troubles, with fights and brawls happening all over the place. Among them, the town of Lanhe near the city is the most lawless, where young people often drop out of school after junior high and venture into society, getting involved in street fighting, prostitution, and gambling, causing endless headaches for the municipal government.

  At this time, under the big banyan tree in Hongxing Village, Lanhe Town, two young men in their twenties were bare-chested, pacing back and forth frequently, smoking and looking out at the distant slope, occasionally glancing at the time on their phones. The weather was really too hot, even standing under the lush banyan tree, both of them were sweating profusely.

  The young man on the left is named Zhang Chaoliang, with a buzz cut, slender and tall, with long limbs, giving people a feeling of being agile and responsive. He has a relaxed posture with his cigarette tilted to one side. The young man on the right is named Zhang Jinhua, sturdy and robust, with dark skin, and bulging veins on his hands, it's clear that he has great explosive power at first glance. His eyes are narrowed into a line, listlessly playing with his phone, as if he's not interested in anything.

  Zhang Chaoliang waited for half a day, feeling impatient in his heart. He stomped out a cigarette butt and said: "Damn it! That little scoundrel Xiaodong claims to be some kind of heroic car thief, but he's been gone for half an hour on a trip to Dongxiangpu that's only ten kilometers round trip! It's simply a shame to the reputation of the Blue River Five Tigers!"

  Zhang Jin Hua's expression was dismissive, and he snorted: "A heroic car thief? Him? Don't be ridiculous! Back when I was racing down the Flower Fruit Mountain, he was still playing with mud somewhere!"

  Zhang Chaoliang smiled and said: "Hehe! That's right! The people in Lingtou Village are all scammers, they talk big but don't put their words into action. Unlike our Hongxing Village, we mean what we say and have real skills!"

  As he spoke, a piercingly loud noise suddenly came from afar, rumbling and dull.

  As I looked up, all I saw was a small black dot appearing on the slope of the mountain top. At first it was extremely far away, but in an instant it had flown past right in front of my eyes. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that it was actually a South Asian brand motorcycle with three people sitting on it. The young driver at the front had his hair dyed yellow, which was very eye-catching. In the middle sat a small-sized youth, and the person at the back was holding a basketball, looking handsome and extraordinary.

  The villagers who were farming in the fields, hearing this deafening noise, all looked up at the same time and saw the three people rushing by like wind and lightning. They changed color one after another and whispered to each other: "The Blue River Five Tigers are back! It seems that the town of Blue River will not have a peaceful day again!"

  The motorcycle's muffler had been removed for some reason, and the exhaust gas was emitted without any restraint, no wonder it made a loud rumbling noise. As the motorcycle approached, the blond-haired driver not only didn't slow down but instead accelerated, seemingly wanting to rush into the village.

  It was strange that Zhang Chaoliang and Zhang Jinhua under the tree did not have any intention of avoiding, they just stood there with a swagger, completely unaware of the danger lurking nearby.

  Ah!

  The motorcycle swooped in close, and miraculously came to a stop just less than ten centimeters away from the two people. The blond-haired driver tossed his head back, and gave them a triumphant smile, with a hint of provocation in it.

  Zhang Jinhua pretended to be furious, kicked the front wheel hard, raised his fist and shouted: "Grass! You're still driving so aggressively after entering the village, do you want to kill people or not?"

  Huang Fachou's smile on his face grew wider, and he said with a grin: "Old brother, you're a big shot in the underworld, and also the village tyrant of Hongxing Village. Even if you gave me ten bear gallbladders, I wouldn't dare to mess with you!"

  Zhang Jinhua was taken aback and lost his smile, stroking the young driver's blond hair, and retorting: "Things can be eaten randomly, but words can't be spoken randomly! I'm a good citizen! You think I'm like you, dyeing my hair yellow, looking like a bad guy at first glance!"

  Zhang Chaoliang burst out laughing and said with a pleased tone: "Haha! That's it! One is Zhang Jinhua, the village tyrant of Hongxing Village, and the other is Chen Xiaodong, the village tyrant of Lingtou Village! If your cousins are good people, then there won't be any bad people in the whole city!"

  "Ah! Don't talk nonsense! Believe it or not, I'll burst your head!" Chen Xiaodong scolded with a smile, quickly snatching the cigarette box from Zhang Chaoliang's arms, his eyes shining with delight. He pulled out a cigarette and sniffed it, revealing an intoxicated expression, saying: "Good smoke! Brother, you can still afford to smoke Red Pagoda King, looks like your financial situation is pretty good lately!"

  After he finished smoking, he didn't return the cigarette box, but instead stuffed the whole pack of cigarettes directly into his pocket.

  Zhang Chaoliang, who had known him for many years and was familiar with each other, had long guessed that Chen Xiaodong would make this move and didn't care. He joked: "You're a nobody! If you want to smoke good cigarettes, you have to go through Doggie's backpack! Doggie just came back from the provincial city, definitely has a lot of good cigarettes!"

  The one called "Dog Brother" was a young man named Zhang Junping, nicknamed "Stone Dog", also a villager of Red Star Village. Although he was the smallest in stature, he was the oldest in age among the five, and was implicitly the leader, with everyone looking up to him. He slung his backpack over his shoulder and said with a smile: "Still, Chao Liang understands me!"

  The handsome young man Chen Jing-shan in the back seat suddenly jumped out of the car and rushed to Zhang Chao-liang before him, forcibly snatching the backpack from his hands.

  Zhang Chaoliang was first robbed of his Red Card King by Chen Xiaodong, and then had his backpack snatched away by Chen Jingshan. Feeling extremely depressed, he gritted his teeth and shouted: "Damn it! You two thieves! Hand over the cigarettes quickly, or I'll beat you until you kneel down and sing the national anthem! Your mother! How dare you cause trouble on Red Star Village's turf? I think you two little brats are tired of living!"

  Chen Xiaodong completely ignored his threatening words, grabbed Zhang Junping's shoulder, and handed a red plum blossom to him, saying: "What's wrong with Red Star Village? Jing Shan and I still came in horizontally, kid, you want to hit me? Hehe, first ask Dog Brother if he is helping you or us?"

  Zhang Junping felt the sincere friendship in his brothers' laughter and scolding, smiled and said: "We Blue River Five Tigers do not hit our own people, if we must fight, we will fight outsiders."

  At the mention of "Blue River Five Tigers", everyone's blood immediately boiled, and that one thread of long-lost grandeur in the softest part of their hearts was stirred up once again. The past scenes of their Jianghu years seemed to be vividly before their eyes once more. The five men tacitly stretched out their right hands, stacked them tightly together, and shouted loudly: "Blue River Five Tigers! Invincible in battle! Blue River Five Tigers! Invincible in battle!"

  Originally, these "three Zhangs and two Chens" were all uneducated young people with low cultural levels. Except for Chen Jingshan who had attended vocational school for a few years, the others only had junior high school education. The five of them grew up together, shared similar interests, often fought side by side, and had other heroic exploits, making them quite famous in Lanhé Town. At that time, Hong Kong and Taiwanese movies were popular, and the "Young and Dangerous" series was deeply ingrained in people's minds. There were names like "Thirteen Taibao", "Cold-blooded Thirteen Hawks", and "Sharp East Ten Wolves" that had a profound impact on the post-80s generation of young people. The five of them followed suit, calling themselves the "Lanhé Five Tigers". From then on, their momentum grew even stronger, dominating the countryside with an unparalleled reputation.

  Although the five were arrogant, they hadn't done anything that harmed heaven and reason. Moreover, N city's atmosphere had always been like this, with many hooligans around, and the authorities were used to it, so they turned a blind eye as long as no one was killed or arsoned, generally letting them be.

  The life of a hoodlum may be free, but in today's society, no matter which industry, "money" is always the biggest mountain standing in the first place. In N city, being a hoodlum and making small troubles can't make money, can't become a big shot; those who are too outstanding will be targeted by the authorities, and many people have been imprisoned.

  So the growth trajectory of N city's youth, most of them at the age of 16 or 17, come out to mix for a few years, fight, rob, play with women, experience the passion and excitement of being a triad. As they grow older, under the pressure of life, most people also honestly go south to the Pearl River Delta, work in factories, get married and have children.

  Zhang Junping was no exception, he had been out of school for many years, in and out of factories, at least dozens of them, just because he was born to be restless, couldn't stand the quietness, and rarely stayed in one place for more than half a year. This time, packing up and going home, it was probably another case of returning to his hometown after losing his job.

  Zhang Chaoliang understood seven or eight parts in his heart and joked: "Dog brother, you fired the boss again?"

  He nodded, thinking of the company he had just left, and scolded: "Damn! The Korean stick really doesn't treat people as human beings. I drive for the boss every day from 7 am to God knows when I can get off work. Sometimes I work until midnight, sometimes until 3 am. If there's a day when I can get off work before 10 pm, I'll be grateful and laugh secretly! Damn it, I'm also a rural person who endures hardship, but working for the Korean stick is really unbearable!"

  Everyone knew that Zhang Junping was a capable person, but this job was too much even for him. It seemed like it wasn't something a human could do. Zhang Chaoliang said nonchalantly: "Don't worry! Dog brother, if you can't stay here, there's always somewhere else to go. When we get back tomorrow, I'll take you to the city and find you a job as a driver with a high salary!"

  Zhang Junping unexpectedly shook his head and said, "I don't want to drive anymore! To be honest, how high can the salary in N city go? It's not higher than the provincial capital!"

  Zhang Jinhua half-jokingly and half-seriously coaxed: "Doge, why don't you join me? Usury is very profitable now, a monthly income of 50,000 isn't a dream!"

  "Haha! Forget it! With my small stature, I'm not cut out for this line of work!" Zhang Junping self-deprecatingly smiled and then paused, saying with a hint of profundity: "Brothers, I've figured it out - working as laborers has no future! On my way back this time, I saw more and more small cars, and I felt deeply moved. People like us who are uneducated can only work on the production line as ordinary workers, exhausting ourselves for a meager 3,000 yuan per month. After deducting expenses, we can't even save much money in a year! Not to mention that working as laborers is no match for the world. When we're young and strong, we can still earn some money, but after a few years when we get old, our fate will be to return home and work as farmers!"

  The originally relaxed and pleasant atmosphere suddenly became much heavier after Zhang Junping's words. Everyone present had been struggling in society for over a decade, experiencing all sorts of things in life, tasting the sweetness and bitterness, and were no longer ignorant of the ways of the world. In the past two years, they had even more strongly felt the pressure of life and marriage bearing down on them, forcing them to think about how to face the cruel reality.

  Chen Xiaodong nodded in agreement, "Yes! Working for others is a dead end. If you want to get rich, the only way is to start your own business. I've been thinking about it for a long time, trying to figure out what kind of business to do. Now that Dog Brother is back, we can all think of a plan together!"

  "Good! Count me in!" Zhang Chaoliang raised both hands in approval, then turned his gaze to Zhang Junping, smiled slyly and said, "However, the capital must be provided by you! I'm known as the poorest person in the village, there's not even half a cent in my pocket!"

  Seeing the smile full of conspiracy, Zhang Junping was speechless and said: "Chaoliang, what are you looking at me for? I'm even poorer than you! The car fare back home is still sponsored by Jing Shan! My mom has been calculating with me, saying that you've been working for 13 years, I don't expect you to save tens of thousands a year, I just ask you to save one hundred yuan a year, now it should be thirteen hundred yuan, right? But when you flip through your wallet, not to mention thirteen hundred, one hundred and three are unknown! Ah, talking about it makes me depressed for half a day!"

  "Haha!" Everyone burst out laughing.

  Although life is hard, fortunately all five of us are optimistic and open-minded, so we don't think it's a big deal. Chen Xiaodong blew out a smoke ring and said: "Brothers united, benefits can break through gold, I just don't believe that the Blue River Five Tigers can't achieve anything!"

  Zhang Chaoliang burst out laughing and said: "Well said! Let's go! We'll head to Dog Brother's place first, then go out tonight and get drunk!"