Brother Pao shouted and shouted, but by the time his underlings brought the car around, the black SUV had already vanished without a trace—not even its taillights were visible.
In the end, the whole group could only stand there, seething with helpless rage.
When Brother Pao, still fuming, arrived at the nightclub and saw the scene inside, he was instantly stunned.
Especially when he stepped into the general manager’s office and saw the boss’s current state, he couldn’t help but blurt out, “Boss, are you guys planning to become monks or something?”
Master Jiu waved him over. “Paozi, come here.”
Brother Pao obediently walked up to Master Jiu.
Without another word, Master Jiu raised his hand and slapped him several times across the face, cursing as he struck, “You’re the one becoming a damn monk!”
Brother Pao was nearly seeing stars from the blows, his face full of grievance.
Master Jiu then began his interrogation.
“Just now, someone reported that your whole crew suddenly rushed to the back street, only to let those bastards slip away. Is that true?” His tone made it clear this was an accusation.
“Boss, you can’t blame us for this!” Brother Pao protested, even more aggrieved. “I got word they were escaping through the back door, so I took the guys to block the street. Who knew the enemy was so cunning they’d tricked our own people?”
“Boss, just give me some time. I’ll track down where they’re hiding and wipe them all out—not a single one left!”
Master Jiu, however, waved his hand dismissively. “No need. You won’t find them in Great South City.”
“The Ten Thousand Dragons Society… I’ve heard that name before.”
Brother Pao was taken aback. “Boss, you know where this Ten Thousand Dragons Society is?”
Then it hit him—the SUV’s license plate earlier had been from Bright Pearl City, hadn’t it?
“Boss, are you saying the Ten Thousand Dragons Society is based in Bright Pearl City?”
Master Jiu nodded. “I’ve heard Zhao Tianxing from the East Sea Alliance mention this gang. If I remember right, their leader is a woman.”
Brother Pao’s eyes widened in shock. “A woman? No way!”
“A woman making it in the underworld is one thing, but becoming a boss? That’s impossible!”
Master Jiu studied him. “If I sent you to deal with this gang, could you handle it?”
“No question! Of course I could!” Brother Pao thumped his chest confidently. “How tough could a gang run by a woman be? There’s a saying—when a woman’s in charge, the house falls apart. I can already picture what this Ten Thousand Dragons Society is like—probably just a bunch of small-time thugs playing house with their ‘boss.’”
“A gang like that? I’d just need to take a few guys over there to scatter them. Then I’ll drag that so-called ‘female boss’ right to your feet and make her kneel and apologize! Let her learn that this world belongs to men!”
He even mimed a chopping motion for emphasis.
Master Jiu listened, then nodded, finding his logic sound.
In the underworld, where violence, alliances, and tangled webs of loyalty ruled, women were indeed at a disadvantage.
A female boss?
Not a chance.
“Mm, Paozi, your words might be crude, but the reasoning’s solid.”
“Since you’re so confident, I’ll leave this to you. Take some men and head to Bright Pearl City.”
Brother Pao’s excitement flared. “Boss, are we wiping them out in one go?”
Master Jiu shook his head. “Not yet. There’s something else you need to do first. Zhao Tianxing has an interest in Bright Pearl City’s Righteous Union Society. His people can’t act openly, so he mentioned it to me. I wasn’t going to help, but now I’ve changed my mind. Once that’s settled, he’ll assist you in bringing those dogs back to me!”
As he spoke, a flash of icy hatred crossed Master Jiu’s eyes.
Whether it was being humiliated and shaved bald or having the woman he wanted snatched away, he would never swallow this insult.
If he didn’t settle this score, how could he keep his reputation in South City?
With a wave, Master Jiu dismissed him.
Once Brother Pao left, he immediately began gathering his men.
He assembled nearly a hundred people—packing a bus, several sedans, and a few vans—before the convoy set off in a grand procession toward Bright Pearl City.
……
As the Lunar New Year approached, Bright Pearl City grew livelier by the day.
Strings of red lanterns and traditional Chinese knots adorned the sidewalks, shopfronts, and lampposts spanning the streets, filling the air with festive cheer.
As the retail giant of Bright Pearl City, Ten Thousand Dragons Supermarket fired the first shot in the New Year’s sales war.
The promotion would run until Lunar New Year’s Eve, after which all Ten Thousand Dragons stores would close for three days, giving their hardworking employees a proper holiday.
With the shopping frenzy concentrated before the New Year, this was the perfect time for promotions.
Once Ten Thousand Dragons launched its campaign, other supermarket chains in Bright Pearl City—like Good Harvest, LeFu, and DaRunFa—quickly followed suit.
Interestingly, they seemed to share an unspoken agreement, all directing their marketing squarely at Ten Thousand Dragons.
Their tactics were shamelessly comparative:
[Ten Thousand Dragons sells XX for XX yuan? Ours is only XX yuan!]
[Lower prices than Ten Thousand Dragons!]
[Challenge Ten Thousand Dragons’ lowest prices!]
[Discounts and perks you won’t find at Ten Thousand Dragons…] and so on.
In a pure price war, these national retail giants had the upper hand with stronger supply chains and bargaining power, allowing them to undercut costs.
It was no surprise their prices were lower than Ten Thousand Dragons’.
Though Ten Thousand Dragons had begun integrating its upstream and downstream partners through the Ten Thousand Dragons Symbiotic Business Alliance, reducing costs quickly would take time.
Besides, Liu Yutong had no intention of squeezing production costs to the bone. If profit margins at the source weren’t protected, how could product quality be guaranteed?
The business environment was far less cutthroat than it would become in later years.
Unlike the absurdly competitive landscape of the future.
In her past life, Liu Yutong had met a factory owner on the brink of bankruptcy who manufactured appliances.
When he came to her law firm for consultation, he was preparing to file a patent infringement lawsuit.
He admitted he was driven to it, and one statement stuck with her: “I’ve been making appliances for twenty years. I can’t understand how those people sell products for thirty or forty yuan when my cost is hundreds. These are appliances!”
Later, due to that case, Liu Yutong paid closer attention to such products.
Then, in the south, the first explosion caused by a faulty charger occurred—nearly setting an office ablaze.
Cheap was a powerful advantage, but not always a safe one.
Liu Yutong couldn’t stop people from choosing cheaper products. All she could do—and what she insisted on—was ensuring every item sold at Ten Thousand Dragons Supermarket was durable, reliable, and of the highest quality.
She pursued reasonable optimization while ensuring quality, rather than simply chasing the lowest price.
