"One, two, three... fifty, exactly fifty boxes," someone in the crowd quietly counted.
"Fifty boxes, all filled with money—how much would that add up to?"
"Normally, one box can hold a million without issue, but these boxes look big enough for two million."
"Two million? So that means there’s a hundred million here?"
"Hiss—" The crowd collectively gasped.
Soon, the members of the Wanlong Association revealed the answer.
Following Liu Yutong’s instructions, they stacked bundles of cash from the boxes, and in no time, a towering mountain of crimson bills stood before everyone.
The eyes of every person present were glued to the spectacle.
A hundred million in a bank account is just a string of numbers—far less impactful.
But when a hundred million in cash is physically laid out before you, the visual impact is staggering. For everyone in the room, including the suppliers, it was an overwhelming sight.
None of them had ever actually seen a hundred million in cash before.
Yet now, it was right there, displayed unapologetically in front of them.
In reality, forty million of this money was company funds—payment for goods and stock subscriptions—along with temporarily borrowed funds from Yu Mo, which would need to be repaid.
If you excluded the untouchable portions, the remaining amount wasn’t even enough to settle the outstanding payments.
The other sixty million? That was the illicit income of the Zhao Father and Son from the East Sea Alliance.
This money couldn’t be casually spent either—it would eventually be handed over to the police.
Liu Yutong’s grand display of a hundred million was purely to send a message: Wanlong Supermarket was far from broke.
The reactions of the suppliers below the stage said it all.
Now that they saw the mountain of cash, the seated suppliers visibly relaxed.
They weren’t actually in a rush to collect payments. Besides, Wanlong Supermarket had already promised that if the sixty-day settlement period passed, they’d pay interest—higher than bank deposit rates, no less.
And if cash flow was tight, the supermarket was even willing to issue promissory notes.
The recent period had been one of rapid expansion for Wanlong Supermarket, so extending the payment cycle was understandable.
Suppliers were willing to wait, and the supermarket was willing to pay interest—a win-win arrangement.
But some had been easily swayed or had ulterior motives, joining forces to try and bring Wanlong Supermarket down.
For those kinds of partners? Sorry, Wanlong Supermarket would never work with them again.
Right now, the standing suppliers were in agony, shifting uncomfortably, unsure whether to stay or leave.
Did they really want to lose Wanlong Supermarket as a client?
Not necessarily.
Everyone wanted a stable, long-term business partner.
They’d just assumed Wanlong was collapsing, and when other supermarkets offered better terms, they’d jumped at the chance to demand immediate payment.
But now, it was clear they’d made a huge mistake.
"Gen-General Manager Yang… M-Miss Liu…" Manager Li stammered, trying to explain.
Liu Yutong cut him off. "You’ve all seen it now—Wanlong Supermarket is not short on money!"
"But some of you chose to believe rumors, to trust the lies of competitors. Well, we don’t need partners like that. From today onward, consider our business relationship terminated!"
"Bring your invoices to General Manager Yang tomorrow. Let me make this clear—acceptable goods will be paid for on the spot. As for the substandard ones… whether you want to settle this legally or by other means, I’m ready for either."
The standing suppliers panicked.
"Miss Liu, give us another chance! We’ll waive the payments, we’ll fix everything immediately!"
"Miss Liu, we were wrong!"
"..."
Liu Yutong ignored them, waving a hand. "Throw them out."
The moment she spoke, dozens of men in black suits moved in, dragging the protesting suppliers out and tossing them beyond the doors.
No mercy, no hesitation—just swift, decisive action.
The remaining suppliers watched in terrified silence.
Seeing that the message had been effectively delivered, Liu Yutong softened her tone slightly. "As for the rest of you—do you want to take your money and leave, or stay for dinner?"
The suppliers exchanged glances, then quickly nodded.
No one was foolish enough to turn down money. Now that they knew Wanlong Supermarket wasn’t broke, they weren’t about to antagonize such a valuable client.
"We’ll stay for dinner! Of course we’ll stay!"
"Miss Liu, we were only here for the meal—payment terms are no issue at all!"
"Exactly! Partnering with Wanlong is an honor—what’s a little delay in payment?"
"I propose a toast to Miss Liu, to thank Wanlong Supermarket for their support!"
"Yes, a toast to Miss Liu!"
"..."
Watching their sudden shift from defiance to fawning, Liu Yutong smirked coldly before speaking again. "You can drink, but first, you’ll need to sign something."
Zhao Tianyi stood up, distributing prepared documents to the group.
When the suppliers skimmed through the contents, their expressions turned uneasy.
"Miss Liu… this contract lists supply prices five percent lower than before?" one supplier dared to ask.
Liu Yutong glanced at him. "Is there a problem?"
The man stammered, "It’s just… Miss Liu, raw material costs have gone up. Our margins are already thin—if we go any lower, we’ll barely make a profit."
"Oh? Then don’t sign."
The moment she said it, several black-suited men took a subtle step toward him.
The supplier shuddered, grabbing a pen. "I’ll sign! It’s an honor to work with Wanlong Supermarket long-term!"
The others quickly followed suit. "Right, right—small profits but quick returns! We’re happy to sign!"
Still, someone muttered under their breath, "This is practically a shakedown…"
Zhao Tianyi’s sharp ears caught the remark. He walked over. "What was that, friend?"
The supplier flinched. "I said—I said Miss Liu is brilliant! The pricing is perfectly fair!"
Zhao Tianyi smiled meaningfully but didn’t press further. Instead, he addressed the room. "Everyone, today Wanlong is offering you two options."
"Please open the second document."
Once they had, he continued.
"The first is the standard supply contract you just saw—60-day payment terms, interest on delays, no additional support."
"The second is different. This is the Wanlong Symbiotic Business Alliance agreement, part of our upcoming Wanlong Commercial expansion."
"Now, let me outline the benefits of joining the Symbiotic Business Alliance on behalf of our young mistress."
"First, addressing what everyone cares about most—pricing. Partners in the alliance will receive settlement rates 5%-10% higher than standard contracts."
"Second, payment cycles will be shortened to 45 days. For urgent cases, lightning-fast settlements can be processed in as little as 7 days."
"Third, Wanlong Group offers financial support to partners in need, providing low-interest loans of up to five million with an annual rate of just 5%. Come to us if you’re short on funds."
"Fourth, for high-quality enterprises seeking growth, Wanlong Group will provide unconditional investments to ensure unimpeded development, sharing risks together."
"Fifth, alliance members will receive guaranteed orders from Wanlong Supermarkets, with annual procurement volumes no less than 120% of the previous year’s..."
"..."
His speech grew faster, and the suppliers' eyes gleamed brighter.
The terms sounded incredibly generous—almost too good to be true.
Several suppliers eagerly raised their hands. "General Manager Zhao, can we sign right now?"
Zhao Tianyi adjusted his glasses and corrected them. "Wrong title. From now on, remember to call me Lawyer Zhao."
The suppliers quickly amended, "Lawyer Zhao, can we sign immediately?"
Zhao Tianyi raised a hand to calm them. "Of course, but the entry threshold for the Symbiotic Business Alliance isn’t low. The terms are all in the contract."
"To join, you must accept Wanlong’s quality supervision, agree to conditional future investments, and share 50% of your production capacity allocation rights..."
As Zhao Tianyi briefly listed more conditions, the smiles on the suppliers' faces gradually froze.
This didn’t feel like joining an alliance—it felt like selling themselves into bondage.
What the...
Liu Yutong approached them slowly, wine glass in hand. "Smart people can do the math. The choice is yours: cling to your pitiful freedom and starve, or board Wanlong’s aircraft carrier and soar to new heights."
"To those willing to join—raise your glasses!" She lifted her glass high.
Instantly, every Wanlong member in the room, including ordinary staff, stood and raised their glasses in unison, chanting:
"Wanlong Group!"
"Wanlong Group!"
"..."
The suppliers wiped sweat from their brows.
Damn, this wasn’t a negotiation—it was a blatant ultimatum!
