The two soldiers looked at Ye Qian and Li Wei up and down to size them up, one then asked, "Who are you? Why do you need to see the general?" luckily, they were Chinese descendants, so they knew how to speak a little Mandarin. Ye Qian and Li Wei didn't know how to speak the dialect in Myanmar so it would have been troublesome otherwise.
"We've come from China. I'm Ye Qian. A few years ago, your General Wang and I were connected by karma. It turns out, I have business in Myanmar today so I came here especially to pay my respects to General Wang." Ye Qian said.
The two soldiers looked at Ye Qian in puzzlement. One of them pulled out a walkie-talkie and walked over to the side, most likely to contact Wang De Shen to ask him for his opinion. Not long after, the soldier returned and said to Ye Qian, "According to our rules we have to search you first, I'm sorry."
"No problem." Ye Qian said.
The two soldiers walked over and proceeded to pat down Ye Qian and Li Wei. From Ye Qian they found the dagger, Blood Wave, and from Li Wei, they found a handgun, a Desert Eagle. "We will keep your things for now, and will return them to you when you leave." One of the soldiers said.
"Apologies. We will now blindfold you." The soldier continued.
Not long after, the black cloth on Ye Qian and Li Wei's eyes was removed. What they saw were rows of wooden houses with triangular roofs, the wooden houses formed a circle, leaving a large field in the middle. In the field were parked some trucks and two T-34 military tanks manufactured in the former Soviet Union. Everywhere were armed soldiers at the ready. Ye Qian and Li Wei were accustomed to circumstances like this so they did not feel intimidated.
Presently, a middle-aged man walked out of one of the houses, his pace leisurely. His body was built tall and sturdy, he looked strong and vigorous. When he saw Ye Qian a smile formed on his face, he said as he walked over, "Brother, it's been a while!" After he said this he had already reached Ye Qian, chuckled and gave Ye Qian a hug.
Ye Qian hugged him back politely and said, "It's been many years, General Wang still has elegant manners as before."
Wang De Shen chuckled and let Ye Qian go and said, "What's up? How is Old Brother Tian?"
"Chief passed away two years ago." Ye Qian said.
Wang De Shen stared blankly for a moment then sighed, "Ay, I didn't expect that that year would be our eternal parting." After a short pause, Wang De Shen continued, "Come, Brother Ye, we haven't seen each other in many years so don't' think about running off. Let's drink to our heart's content tonight and not go home till we're drunk."
"I would be honored!" Ye Qian smiled, he let himself be pulled along by Wang De Shen into one of the houses. Li Wei's lip twitched as he followed, he didn't expect Ye Qian to be so familiar with that other person. It must be because that the former Wolf Fang chief, Tian Feng, had been here.
Inside the main hall of the house was a rectangular table and several bamboo chairs. There were teacups on top of the table, nothing else apart from these things, it was a neat place.
After Wang De Shen pulled Ye Qian into a seat, he personally poured him a cup of tea and said, "This is Tieguanyin tea a friend from China brought me, do you like this stuff? Things from China is still the best, the tea leaves here taste like medicine, bitter and tart, no fragrance at all." He poured Li Wei some tea and asked, "What is this brother called?"
"Li Wei!" Li Wei replied deferentially.
Wang De Shen nodded and said, "Heroic and young, huh? Then Brother Ye, who is your leader now? If the chance comes you should introduce me to him, I've been hearing great things for a long time now about your Wolf Fang's fighting prowess."
"General Wang is being too modest, in actually how can we be better than you. You have such a large army, even the Burmese government is afraid of it, you are practically a local tyrant out of reach of the law." Ye Qian chuckled and replied. "After Chief Tian passed away, this humble little brother was elected as the next chief. The responsibility on my shoulders is heavy, sometimes I look back on the free and easy times I used to have."
"Brother Ye is the chief of the Wolf Fang now?" Wang De Shen stared blankly for a moment, and then said, "Then Laoge, let me congratulate you first. Brother Ye, I won't keep it from you, my days have been difficult. The international crackdown against narcotics is getting bigger, business is getting worse. A few days ago the government sent a few people down to talk to me, said that if I turned those poppy fields of mine into a peanut farm the government would buy it from me at double the market price. Sometimes I wish I were like you, then I would have much more freedom."
"General, forgive me for being presumptuous in asking, but do you know what the most profitable business in the world is right now?" Ye Qian asked.
Wang De Shen stared blankly for a moment then said, "Does this really have to be said, of course it's drugs and arms."
Ye Qian nodded and said, "Wrong, general, the most profitable business in the world right now is trading power for money."
"Trading power for money?" Wang De Shen muttered, and said, "Brother Ye, I don't understand, can you explain?" Wang De Shen had a very curious expression on his face, he seemed to be very interested in the trading power for money business Ye Qian brought up.
"Simply put, it's using owns own power in exchange of heaps of money, and using money in exchange for even more power. It's a cycle, as it is continuous, one can use one's own fortune to accumulate a lot of money. Furthermore, it can push one's own power to the pinnacle." Ye Qian replied leisurely, "Of course, no matter whether it's money or power, it all needs valiant and discreet forces to support it, otherwise it would all be short lived. So, this world really does not have a clear cut black and white; black and white are interdependent, mutually opposing.
Wang De Shen was silent, presumably he was thinking over Ye Qian's words carefully. A moment later, Wang De Shen said, "I finally understand now, how it was possible for the Wolf Fang to become the king of the mercenaries in the whole world. Because they have an excellent leader like you. Brother Ye, we've no use for more unnecessary words, if you ever need something from Wang De Shen in the future, you only have to say the word. Wang De Shen will go through water and tread on fire and will not refuse." His words were not fake, he was being sincere. Because he was already sure that as long as Ye Qian remained alive, he would have good relations with the Wolf Fang, having an alliance would likely give himself generous profits.
Ye Qian smiled lightly and said "General is too kind, I was only spouting nonsense."
Wang De Shen said, "Brother Ye, don't be so modest, I'm a crude man, I don't understand when you speak about trading power for money, but I believe that since it came from your mouth then there is sound reason behind it. Brother Ye, if you don't take offense, let's be like brothers, how about it?"
Translated by:
korezmi
Edited by:
Furutze