A Good Underling

Zhang Yong was rather resentful. He felt like Yang Yi had cheated him. Although he was well aware that Yang Yi was very intelligent, it had never crossed his mind that Yang Yi possessed an eidetic memory.

It might sound easy when talking about memorizing all the cards in a deck, but in reality, how many people could actually accomplish such a feat? Let's not talk about Blackjack or Texas Hold'em where only a few cards were dealt per game, even for a game like Fighting the Landlord where one just had to memorize all the cards which have been in play, not many players could truly memorize all the cards which had already been played so that they could forecast what cards may come next.

(TN: This is a Chinese card game. It's a game where each player is dealt 17 cards and the first player to have no cards left in his hand wins. You can read more about the game here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dou_dizhu)

Because of that, Yang Yi could only teach Zhang Yong a lesser version of his skills. Just like training in martial arts, a practitioner must start from the basics. Thus, Yang Yi had to start off by teaching Zhang Yong how to memorize cards and some simple formulas to calculate probability. He ended up spending the whole afternoon teaching Zhang Yong how to calculate probabilities. Yang Yi was filled with frustration because he personally thought the task would be very simple yet Zhang Yong was unable to grasp it. Yang Yi didn't have a choice but to imitate Zhang Yong's approach to teach him. That was to repeatedly defeat Zhang Yong thoroughly until he picked up the skill.

When dinner time arrived, Yang Yi stopped the lesson because he was wondering what happened to the rest of his underlings. After all, Collins, Kerry, and Rodriguez had been taken away in lieu of him. After he arrived at the canteen he noticed that all his underlings were already there waiting for him.

Although it was common for the underling to become a scapegoat for the boss, Yang Yi still felt embarrassed when he met the rest of his underlings. At the same time, he was also feeling quite pleased since he had escaped punishment.

Yang Yi felt that something was different compared to the past. Although Kerry had been taken away earlier, his reverence for Yang Yi had become even greater. Hammond Phil was the first to flee the scene at the first sign of trouble yet he now looked rather cocky. Collins, on the other hand, looked extremely cheerful simply because he had come out unscathed after being taken away earlier. The only person who seemed unaffected and remained similar to how he was previously was Rodriguez.

Zhang Yong said that Yang Yi should use his eyes to discern people. For those who were blind, there was nothing much that could be done about it but even for those whose eyes were working just fine, was it so easy to discern a person?

Even still, Yang Yi had an understanding of his underlings. He positioned them as follows: Geller came first. As a chemistry professor, he was a useful talent who could teach him a lot of things.

Kerry had been in prison for a long time. As such, he was well-informed about a lot of matters. Although he was a bootlicker who couldn't be assigned any important tasks, Yang Yi could still use him to run errands.

Collins was a typical type with a herd mentality. He didn't want to join any gangs but at the same time, he didn't want to be alone. So, he decided to look for a tough boss to be his backer. He would try to dodge any responsibility and would only work on things when he couldn't avoid it. He could be classified as a typical underling. It's wasn't important whether he was there or not.

As for Rodriguez, Yang Yi still couldn't figure him out.

It was reasonable to say that his underlings were clinging to him for protection and weren't by his side to become cannon-fodder. He would be the first one to charge headlong into trouble and also the first one to step up to take the blame. Given how he was behaving, wouldn't it be better for him to be alone?

Yang Yi felt like Rodriguez had been performing well above expectation, very unlike an underling he just casually accepted in prison. He took a seat on a chair and took a look at his underlings. With a frown, he asked, "Did you guys get bashed up?"

Although there were injuries all over his face, Kerry just indifferently said, "We're fine. As long as the boss is fine, taking a bit of a beating isn't anything much."

Collins just licked his lips as he said, "Those guards were downright ruthless."

Only Rodriguez remained nonchalant when he said, "I'm fine. We just took a few hits, that's all." It seemed like Rodriguez was truly an earnest person.

Thus, Yang Yi just nodded before he started eating his meal.

Kerry then started speaking, "Boss, there are more people who want to join us. However, they can't afford to give you cigarettes."

Yang Yi just nodded as he said, "You can inform them that they can substitute instant noodles for cigarettes. I'll protect them as long as they give me two boxes of instant noodles. They can come tomorrow. I don't want to meet anyone today."

Yang Yi didn't intend to accept any underlings who couldn't even offer him cigarettes or instant noodles. Since he didn't intend to use his underlings to fight on his behalf, what was the point of him having so many underlings who wouldn't be contributing anything? As for running errands on Yang Yi's behalf, he just needed a few of them for that.

After he was done eating, Yang Yi just waved his hand and said, "You guys can go back now but do be careful. Don't give anyone the chance to seek revenge. I will see you guys tomorrow. Rodriguez, please stay behind. I would like to speak to you alone."

After the others left, Yang Yi looked at Rodriguez and asked, "Were you part of a gang in the past?"

"Yes, but it was just a tiny gang in Ecuador with a few men in it. I haven't contacted them since I arrived in America. They are all serving time in an Ecuadorian prison now."

"Rodriguez, so what did you do here in America to earn a living?"

"I robbed and stole. At times, I sold drugs too. However, it's not something I could do regularly unless I joined a gang."

"You seemed to be very familiar with how a gang operates. If that's the case, why don't you join a gang in America?"

Rodriguez scratched his head and looked rather perturbed when he responded, "I don't want to join because I feel the whole arrangement is unfair. I'll be given the most dangerous tasks yet be paid peanuts. Moreover, they'll immediately throw me under the bus the moment anything goes wrong. I don't like that they do things like that."

"If that's the case, why would you want to get mixed up with me?"

Rodriguez opened his mouth and asked Yang Yi seriously, "Boss, we're not a gang right?"

"That's right. We're not a gang."

"That's the reason. It's because we're not a gang. Boss, you're very powerful. I won't be bullied by anyone as long as I'm under your protection."

"Is that it?

"What other reason can there be?"

"If that's the case, why would you be willing to be sent to solitary confinement on my behalf?"

Rodriguez's mouth opened wide in shock when he heard Yang Yi. He looked at Yang Yi and said with a face full of surprise, "Is that not what an underling is supposed to do? Although we're not a proper gang, the boss is still the boss. If the underlings don't serve any purpose, why would he need them?"

What Rodriguez said was a simple fact. Although it was correct, he still performed well beyond his obligation. Without a doubt, Rodriguez was an excellent underling. Any boss would be happy to have an underling who was willing to sell himself on his boss's behalf.

Yang Yi stood up and patted Rodriguez's shoulder in satisfaction. "Great! Continue to do well. I have high expectations of you."