When Yu Fei saw that bidder number 39 was none other than Liu Yutong, his expression instantly darkened. Especially when he met Yun Cheng’s murderous glare, his hand trembled uncontrollably as he pointed at the two of them. "You... you... this is beyond insulting!"
After saying that, he suddenly turned to Su Lin beside him, his face serious. "Maybe I should go home and discuss this with my mother first?"
Su Lin: "......"
She barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
What was the point of thinking of that now? Only now did he remember to consult Madam?
From the very beginning, she hadn’t approved of letting this spoiled heir attend the auction. Now, not only had they lost the most crucial plot of land, but they had also offended the event organizers, causing the leadership’s impression of Yu Corporation to plummet.
But dwelling on that was useless now. The priority was to find a way to resolve the immediate problem—the land at North District Plot 33 absolutely could not fall into outsiders' hands.
Yu Fei suddenly seemed to have an idea, his eyes lighting up. "How could Liu Yutong possibly have that much money? If we just wait, she’ll definitely run out of funds and have to give up the land. She might even beg us to buy it from her, and then..."
His reasoning wasn’t entirely baseless.
Yu Fei had previously investigated Liu Yutong’s businesses. She had already secured four plots in this auction—where would she get that much money?
His guess was correct. Liu Yutong only had enough funds to cover the deposit.
By industry standards, the deposit was usually around 10% of the total land price. Taking the three plots in the south district and North District Plot 33 as examples, the deposit alone would be close to 60 million, with North District Plot 33’s deposit accounting for nearly 40 million of that.
Moreover, within a month of paying the deposit, she would have to pay roughly half of the total land transfer fee—about 240 million.
The remaining half would be settled within six months to a year, depending on the specifics of the contract.
Additionally, a significant portion of the money Liu Yutong used for the land auction came from supermarket revenues and loans. On top of that, she still owed Lin Muyang around 50 million.
While she could have pressured Lin Muyang to transfer the supermarkets to her for free, she wouldn’t do that. She never took unnecessary risks.
Fifty million was indeed below market price for six fully operational supermarkets, but it was still within a reasonable range.
After all, Mingcheng Supermarket’s six chain stores in Bright Pearl City each covered over 2,000 square meters—far from small neighborhood stores.
Liu Yutong wasn’t interested in those small-scale shops. What she wanted were large comprehensive supermarkets that carried everything from daily necessities to fresh produce, electronics to clothing.
Typically, a supermarket of that scale required an initial investment of at least several million per store.
So, getting six such stores for 50 million was already a bargain.
However, the Mingcheng Supermarket near the university district overlapped with one of her existing stores, so she naturally wouldn’t spend money acquiring it.
Now, Wanlong Supermarket had seven chain stores across Bright Pearl City’s four major districts, plus four more in the surrounding counties and towns, bringing the total to eleven.
Overnight, it had risen to become one of the leading supermarket brands in Bright Pearl City.
......
Liu Yutong had expected Yu Fei to act like a real man—provoked into a fight with Yun Cheng. But he backed down surprisingly fast.
He left in a huff.
The onlookers exchanged bewildered glances.
No one had imagined that someone from the prestigious Yu Corporation could be so spineless.
Curiosity piqued, the crowd began whispering, speculating about the young woman’s identity.
Most of the attendees were real estate tycoons, seasoned in the business world and well-connected. Yet, not a single one recognized her.
"Is she some wealthy heiress?"
"Not sure, but if even the Yu family’s second young master was too scared to speak up, her background must be formidable."
"Should we still invest in Yu Corporation’s projects?"
"Let’s wait and see..."
"......"
In an instant, many of the real estate bosses chose to adopt a wait-and-see approach.
Anyone with eyes could see that Yu Corporation had somehow offended this young woman, who clearly had powerful connections.
Jumping into a partnership with Yu Corporation now might invite trouble if her backers decided to retaliate.
More importantly, if Yu Corporation failed to reclaim North District Plot 33, what would be the point of investing in their development projects?
Meanwhile, after paying the deposit, Liu Yutong headed straight to the parking lot.
Just as she was about to get into her car, a bespectacled young man in an administrative jacket jogged over.
"Ms. Liu, wait a moment."
Liu Yutong recognized him—Secretary Huang, the assistant to Bright Pearl City’s administrative chief.
"Hello, Secretary Huang. Is something the matter?" she asked politely.
Secretary Huang gestured toward an Audi with a low-numbered license plate nearby. "The leadership would like to speak with you privately."
Liu Yutong was taken aback, her mind racing with questions.
She had no idea why the leadership wanted to talk to her. Their paths had rarely crossed before.
She had seen many officials at the university gala, but the only one she’d actually interacted with was Qi Wei. For the leadership to seek her out now was strange.
And this clearly wasn’t a formal meeting with entrepreneurs—if it were, why hold it in a car?
Despite her confusion, she nodded in agreement.
She followed Secretary Huang into the car.
The moment she stepped inside, the atmosphere felt off.
Normally, officials had dedicated drivers, but here, Secretary Huang was at the wheel, while the actual driver had been dismissed earlier.
In the back seat sat a man in his fifties, lean and stern-faced—different from the typical image of a bureaucrat.
As soon as Liu Yutong got in, the leadership gave no preamble, simply instructing the secretary to drive.
With the leadership silent, Liu Yutong kept her own words to a minimum. Better to err on the side of caution—offending someone in power was never wise.
Outwardly composed, her mind worked overtime, trying to decipher the reason for this meeting.
Just as she was running through possibilities, the leadership finally spoke.
He asked her standard questions—how was entrepreneurship, were there difficulties, and so on—all very official.
He also inquired about Wanlong Hui’s growth, and when he heard that its workforce was nearing a thousand, he nodded, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.
Although the core members of the Wanlong Society number only a little over a hundred, when including other employees and peripheral members, the total reaches several hundred.
Once they fully take over Bright Pearl City's supermarkets, the count will easily surpass a thousand.
This is entirely expected.
According to Liu Yutong's plan, each supermarket spanning over 2,000 square meters requires 100 employees, operating on a two-shift system. With 11 supermarkets, the workforce would exceed 1,000. Adding logistics, catering, and other operations, the Wanlong Society's total personnel could very well exceed 2,000 by the start of next year.
By then, the core membership will also expand to around 200.
Liu Yutong estimates the ideal core-to-general member ratio at roughly 1:10. It shouldn’t be too low—making core status seem too easily attainable would dampen motivation.
Nor should it be too high, as that would discourage members from striving for core positions altogether.
