125: "Village to residential community"

Over the next few days,

Li Zhan's pace of life became unusually disciplined and tense.

Every day before dawn,

he would head to the artificial lake in Lianhua Residential Area with Old Zhou, Big Courage, and Big Ox.

In the faint morning light, sweat soaked their clothes,

the dull thuds of fists hitting sandbags intermingling with heavy breathing.

After this period of systematic and arduous training,

he felt his body, which had grown slightly lax from city life,

was reawakening its dormant strength and sharpness, gradually returning to and even surpassing its previous peak state.

After morning training,

the top-floor office of Phoenix City became his second battlefield.

Amidst swirls of smoke,

Li Zhan and his core subordinates spread out a detailed map of Changan Town,

which was densely marked with the various venues and spheres of influence that now all belonged to him.

"In the past, every faction would just stick their hand in whenever they felt like it,

opening a Gambling Den today and building a nightclub tomorrow. It was a chaotic mess with no planning."

Li Zhan's finger traced across the familiar village names on the map—

Wusha, Xiabian, Shangsha, Xiaobian...

"Now, we're the ones setting the rules."

His gaze swept over the crowd.

"Twelve communities—not a single one can be left out.

Gambling Dens, nightclubs, Billiard Halls, saunas and bathhouses... all businesses

must be under unified planning and management.

If a community has too many venues, consolidate or split them;

if it has none, find a spot and build them immediately!

I want every cent flowing through Changan's underworld to eventually end up in our pockets."

Old Zhou added from the side,

"Especially communities like Shatou and Xiagang, which are near the Wharf and have many factories.

They have large floating populations and strong spending power, so we need to focus our arrangements there."

Shui Sheng was responsible for reporting on the liquidation and takeover of existing factions in each community, ensuring a smooth transition of power.

During the discussion,

Li Zhan specifically pointed out the changes brought about by Changan's "Village-to-Community Conversion" this year.

In 2004, Changan Town implemented the "Village-to-Community Conversion" project.

By the end of the year, all 12 village committees in Changan had been restructured into neighborhood committees.

With this, the villagers were transformed into urban residents.

The agricultural and construction land originally owned by the village collectives

was gradually converted into state-owned land or managed according to urban construction land standards based on urban planning.

Land use became more focused on industry, commerce, housing, and public facility construction.

Rural land management models, such as homestead approval and collective land circulation, were replaced by systems like urban land planning and state-owned land leasing.

Land development and utilization were integrated into the overall urban planning system.

This was a ruthless move. Rural homesteads aren't allowed to be sold?

Then change the rules fundamentally—

push for the "Village-to-Community Conversion," turn villagers into residents,

and the nature of the land changes with it, completely releasing the potential development value from institutional constraints.

"You need to understand,"

Li Zhan tapped the map. "They used to be villages; now they are communities.

The nature of the land has changed, so the way we play has changed.

Places like Wusha and Xiaobian are on the verge of becoming true 'Urban villages.' What does that mean?"

He answered his own question,

"It means that vast stretches of old factory buildings and homesteads

could all become hens that lay golden eggs in the future!"

His eyes sharpened.

"Fighting and killing isn't a long-term solution after all; we must transition.

Real estate is the next battlefield."

His ambition extended far beyond the underground kingdom.

Through Zhou Mingyuan's connections in the Land Bureau, he intended to acquire land in Changan openly and legally,

building commercial housing, office buildings, and luxury hotels...

He wanted to leave his mark on all of Changan,

from the dens of vice in the night to the skyscrapers in the sunlight.

"We're going to turn Changan into our very own 'Li Family City'."

Li Zhan concluded,

his tone calm but carrying an unquestionable determination.

The meetings over the past few days had outlined a vast and clear blueprint.

Li Zhan was no longer satisfied with being an underground tycoon;

he wanted to seize this historical opportunity of complete control over Changan and the "Village-to-Community Conversion"

to complete his transformation from black to white,

turning this hotbed of potential into his own independent kingdom and solid stronghold.

—

The night was deep.

In the back alley of the Xiagang New Village Gambling Den.

A fair-skinned, handsome man knelt on the cold ground, his entire body shaking like a leaf in the wind.

Rotten Tooth Ming stood nearby with a cigarette in his mouth, a look of disdain on his face.

AZu had just arrived with Big Ox and several subordinates, his expression cold.

Rotten Kid Ming couldn't decide how to handle this, so he called in AZu, who was in charge of the company's money-lending business.

"Brother Zu, you're here."

Rotten Tooth Ming hurried forward.

"It's this bastard.

He took fifteen from us, 'nine-out-thirteen-back,' and with compound interest, it's now... twenty."

When the man kneeling on the ground heard that number,

his body jerked violently; in just a few days, he had to pay back an extra 50,000.

The color completely drained from his face, and he seemed to lack even the strength to beg for mercy.

AZu glanced at him indifferently, feeling no sympathy for such a gambler.

"Looking at him, there's no more juice to squeeze.

Follow the old rules: contact a Snakehead and take him to Thailand.

See how much we can get back for his 'parts'."

He waved his hand dismissively, his tone as flat as if he were talking about disposing of trash.

Hearing "Thailand" and "parts," the man was scared out of his wits.

He jerked his head up and screamed, tears and snot streaming down his face.

"No! Please! I... I..."

Making a desperate decision, he frantically pulled out his phone.

Trembling, he brought up a photo. "My wife! She's very beautiful!

Look at her...

Can... can I use her to pay the debt?

I'm begging you!"

The photo showed a beautiful young woman

wearing simple loungewear, without any makeup, yet her features were as picturesque as a painting and her aura was gentle.

Seeing him so pathetic that he would sell his wife to survive,

everyone's faces showed extreme disdain.

AZu took the phone and glanced at it; she was indeed a natural beauty.

Big Ox also curiously leaned over to take a peek.

Huh? Isn't this woman the one from that day...

AZu threw the phone back at the man in disgust.

"We aren't pimps!

Every debt has its debtor. You pay back what you owe; if you can't, you pay with your life. You don't involve the family.

Don't you even know this basic rule?"

He signaled his subordinates again. "Drag him away!"

Just then,

Big Ox, who had been silent, suddenly leaned in close to AZu

and whispered a few words in his ear.

AZu's brow furrowed immediately.

He pondered for a moment and said to Big Ox,

"Hurry up and call Brother Zhan, explain the situation, and see what he instructs."

At that moment,

Li Zhan was in Sister Qin's living room, watching a Hong Kong comedy with Xiao Qian, who was wearing cute pajamas.

Xiao Qian giggled at the plot, snuggling up beside him.

The phone rang abruptly.

Li Zhan saw the caller was Big Ox and pressed the answer button.

"Senior Brother,"

Big Ox's voice came from the other end, sounding somewhat troubled.

"You... you need to come over to Xiagang.

There's something... that's not easy to handle."

Li Zhan frowned slightly. "What is it?"

"It's... it's about that Teacher Bai we ran into that night..."

Big Ox stammered.

"Teacher Bai? What happened to her?" Li Zhan's voice deepened.

On the other end, Big Ox seemed not to know how to describe it.

"Uh... it's not that something happened to her directly,

it's... it's her husband...

This is a bit complicated, I can't explain it clearly over the phone..."

Li Zhan glanced at Xiao Qian, who was looking up at him with an inquiring look, and said,

"Never mind, I'll head over."

He hung up, and Xiao Qian asked obediently, "Is there something at the company?"

"Yeah, there's an emergency I need to take care of." Li Zhan nodded.

"Then let's go. We can watch the movie another time."

Xiao Qian stood up immediately, without a hint of petulance.

After going downstairs and getting his car, Li Zhan sped towards Xiagang New Village,

his brow slightly furrowed,

wondering what exactly had happened over there related to Bai Jie.

Ten minutes later,

Li Zhan's car rolled over the potholed roads of Xiagang New Village,

finally stopping in the shadows of the Gambling Den's back alley.

He pushed the door open and got out, and AZu and Big Ox immediately greeted him.

"Brother Zhan."

AZu greeted him in a low voice, his expression somewhat grave.

He briefly and quickly explained the situation—

the man on the ground owed a huge debt he couldn't repay and actually tried to use his wife to pay it off.

After finishing, AZu handed over the phone that was still displaying the photo.

Li Zhan took the phone.

The woman in the photo was indeed Bai Jie, seemingly caught in a candid moment.

She was looking down at something,

her profile soft, her neck slender, possessing an intellectual and gentle beauty.

Li Zhan's brow furrowed imperceptibly.

He shifted his gaze from the phone screen

to the fair-skinned man kneeling on the ground, shaking like a sieve.

There was no warmth in his eyes,

only a condescending, blatant disdain and disgust.

Yet, several images uncontrollably flashed through his mind—

a gentle, scholarly face,

those legs that appeared exceptionally straight and long in jeans,

and the tight curve of her buttocks inadvertently outlined when she turned...

His thumb unconsciously rubbed the cold edge of the phone.

He hadn't expected Bai Jie's man to be so pathetic.

It was one thing to owe gambling debts, but he even dared to use his own wife to pay them off?

Well, he might as well be the good guy and help her get free...

Li Zhan's eyes were deep and inscrutable.

No one knew what this New King of Changan was thinking at this moment...