The moment Liu Yutong stepped into the banquet hall, the previously noisy room instantly fell silent.
Every pair of eyes—whether from ordinary employees working under Wanlong Group or suppliers—locked onto her, filled with curiosity and astonishment.
She was really young!
No, it was more like—how could she possibly be this young?
Despite Wanlong Group having over two thousand regular employees, most had never seen the reclusive boss, Liu Yutong, in person.
As the company's operations expanded, the number of externally hired staff had grown significantly. On a daily basis, these employees interacted mostly with their direct supervisors, or at most, the top executives of their respective business divisions.
For example, Yang Xin oversaw the supermarket division, Yu Xin managed the restaurant business, and Yu Yinghui was in charge of logistics and distribution.
Yu Yinghui was somewhat of an exception among the senior executives. Hired externally, she wasn’t one of Wanlong’s original founding members. Previously a high-ranking executive at a courier company, she had been poached by Yang Xin.
Currently, logistics fell under the supermarket division, but Liu Yutong planned to spin it off next year, as the local lifestyle services division was about to be formally established. Operating independently would be more efficient.
The person responsible for building the local lifestyle website was Xiao Bin from the Institute of Technology, though he hadn’t yet been given an official title.
If the website failed to materialize, Xiao Bin would be nothing.
But if he succeeded in creating and perfecting it, he would become one of the division’s key leaders.
His motivation was undoubtedly the highest among everyone. For the sake of his future (and survival), Xiao Bin worked himself like a beast, even forgoing a salary.
In the end, the website’s development and testing were completed in an astonishingly short time.
Today marked Liu Yutong’s first public appearance before all the ordinary employees.
Her presence left a profound impact on them.
While rumors had long circulated about the company’s somewhat "shady" background, most employees dismissed them as mere gossip, never taking them seriously.
But now, seeing Liu Yutong in person—along with the dense crowd of intimidating men in black suits behind her—they realized the rumors were true!
Strangely, though, they felt a thrill of excitement.
How to describe it? It was like a group of feared underworld figures had suddenly become their allies, filling them with an overwhelming sense of security.
Ordinary people were naturally wary of such figures, but what if these people were their colleagues—or even their protectors?
Not only would they stop fearing them, but they’d also brag about it later, especially the younger employees, who found the whole thing incredibly cool.
So the reclusive boss was actually a mafia princess!
When Liu Yutong reached the head table, Ma Da took the lead in shouting,
"Greetings, Young Mistress!"
The thousands present immediately echoed in unison:
"Greetings, Young Mistress!" x thousands.
The sheer force of thousands of voices calling one name was indescribably awe-inspiring.
Even Pan Xing, who had always been by Liu Yutong’s side, felt a shiver run through him.
Now he understood why foreign leaders loved military parades—this feeling was intoxicating!
Fortunately, his subordinates remained unfazed by the overwhelming spectacle, their expressions calm, sparing him any embarrassment.
Though he thought he heard a few familiar voices—were some of his own men also shouting "Young Mistress"?
Must be his imagination.
Pan Xing briefly considered treating his thousand-strong Yilian Society brothers to a feast, just to "strengthen bonds."
But after a quick mental calculation, he immediately dismissed the idea—the cost was far too steep. He couldn’t bear it!
And another thing—wasn’t today supposed to be his event? Why did it feel like Liu Yutong had taken over?
Little did he know, after the banquet, he’d receive a grand gift: an astronomical bill.
With two to three thousand people dining at the highest standard, plus alcohol and cigarettes, each table cost at least 8,000 to 10,000 yuan.
Three hundred tables? That would easily run into the millions.
Pan Xing had offered to foot the bill, and Liu Yutong wasn’t about to refuse.
Liu Yutong surveyed the sea of people and gestured for them to sit.
In an instant, thousands took their seats—a sight just as breathtaking.
Meanwhile, the suppliers, having regained their composure, began stirring.
Though intimidated by Wanlong’s might, some still mustered the courage to demand payment.
Of course, they didn’t dare approach Liu Yutong directly. Instead, they turned to Yang Xin.
"Manager Yang, we’ve worked together for so long. Just give us a straight answer—when will our payments be settled?"
"That’s right. If this drags on, we won’t even be able to pay our own employees."
"Pay up already. Everyone knows Wanlong Supermarket is broke. No matter how grand this show is, it’s all just a facade."
"Exactly. This might fool outsiders, but not us."
"..."
Yang Xin’s expression darkened. He slammed the table and stood.
"What’s the meaning of this? Trying to stage a coup in front of the Young Mistress?"
The lead supplier, now desperate, raised his voice.
"Manager Yang, if we don’t get a clear answer today… we’ll stop supplying!"
"That’s right! We’ll stop supplying!"
"..."
Yang Xin pointed at a few of them.
"Fine. Manager Li, Manager Zhou, we’ve known each other for years, and now you pull this?"
"Anyone else who wants their money—stand up now!"
Almost immediately, a dozen people rose. Others hesitated, torn between standing and staying seated.
Yang Xin scanned the group coldly.
"Good. Manager Li, Manager Zhou, and the rest of you—your payments will be settled immediately. But business is business. We’ll pay what we owe, down to the last cent. But if you’ve breached contract terms, don’t expect us to cover your penalties."
"Manager Yang, what are you implying? You’re the ones withholding payments, and now you’re blaming us?"
"Yeah, are you trying to weasel out of this?"
"..."
Without missing a beat, Yang Xin pulled a stack of documents from his briefcase.
"These are third-party inspection reports commissioned by Wanlong Supermarket. Manager Li, for instance—some of your delivered produce had acid values exceeding standards by 200%. Care to explain?"
Manager Li froze.
"That… that must’ve happened during transport…"
Yang Xin didn’t spare him any face, retorting sharply, “Several batches have had issues—are you seriously blaming it all on transportation? Should I send Wanlong Logistics to supervise the loading at your warehouse then?”
Manager Li instantly fell silent, not daring to utter another word.
Yang Xin then called out several others by name and flung the randomly sampled inspection reports right in their faces.
Before long, all of them wilted under the pressure, no longer daring to spout nonsense.
Supplying supermarkets with the occasional substandard product was somewhat of an unspoken rule in the industry.
In the past, Wanlong Supermarket had turned a blind eye, simply sorting out the defective items and either returning them or disposing of them separately.
But now, Wanlong had ramped up its quality control measures, enforcing stricter oversight. Combined with their deliberate attempt to force payment by withholding goods, there was no reason to indulge them any longer.
“Let’s keep things separate, Manager Yang. If you refuse to pay us today, then… then we’ll have no choice but to file a complaint! We’ll go to the media and expose this—let everyone know Wanlong Supermarket is withholding payments!”
“That’s right, we’ll complain! We’ll get the media involved!”
Clearly, having lost the argument, they were now resorting to outright shamelessness.
Just then, Liu Yutong cut in, silencing them.
“Gentlemen, Wanlong has always operated with fairness. For goods that meet the standards, we won’t shortchange you by a single cent.”
With that, she clapped her hands decisively.
Dozens of Wanlong’s core members, carrying briefcases, stepped forward to the table on the stage. A series of clicks echoed as the cases snapped open.
The sight of stacks upon stacks of crisp red banknotes left everyone’s eyes glued in disbelief.
