Even at this point, Liu Yushan refused to give up. He shouted at Liu Yutong:
"I'm your brother! I'm your brother! You can't do this to me!"
"You can't treat me like this!"
But no matter how much he yelled, the men from the Wanlong Society showed no mercy, shoving him into a car and taking him straight to the village committee.
By then, his uncle Liu Jianhong had already arrived at the committee on his bike, discussing with eligible voters and candidates the upcoming election for village chief, scheduled for the third day of the Lunar New Year.
Though it was framed as a discussion, none of the potential candidates dared to step forward and compete.
If anyone took Liu Yutong’s polite words at face value, they only needed to recall what had happened to Wang Degui.
Too many people had witnessed it firsthand.
Not only had she dealt with the Wang family, but she’d even gotten away with taking a life—while it was Wang Degui who ended up arrested by the police. That alone proved just how ruthless Liu Yutong was, with connections reaching the highest levels.
With such a precedent, who would dare stick their neck out?
After Liu Yushan was delivered, he was swiftly assigned a position at the village committee—appointed as the head of the garbage collection station.
"Yushan, your sister Yutong has arranged it. Starting today, you’ll be in charge of our Duan Village garbage disposal station."
"Garbage disposal station head?"
Liu Yushan perked up—that sounded like an official title.
Did that mean he’d just be supervising others, rather than actually collecting garbage himself, as his sister had threatened?
Before his unrealistic fantasies could fully form, Liu Jianhong’s next words brought him crashing back to reality.
"However… right now, the ‘station’ consists of just you."
"I’ll go buy the tools tomorrow. Once they arrive, you’ll have to get to work. From then on, you’ll need to clean all public areas three times a day—morning, noon, and evening. Collect all the trash and deliver it to the designated dumping site east of the village. If anyone reports litter or missed cleanups, your pay will be docked."
Liu Yushan: "……"
"All this work… just me?"
So he’d have to juggle multiple roles—cleaner, porter, garbage collector—every filthy job imaginable, all on his own.
Damn it, they were treating him like livestock!
But he didn’t have the courage to refuse. Especially after seeing Liu Yutong earlier—her presence was overwhelming, terrifying.
As the saying goes, a living coward is better than a dead hero. Unless he had a death wish, refusal wasn’t an option.
In rural areas, people tended to litter everywhere, polluting the environment. By summer, the ditches and ponds reeked of rot.
So Liu Yutong’s first priority was setting up a proper waste management system to improve village hygiene.
And, conveniently, it gave her good-for-nothing brother something to do—better than lazing around all day.
If he’d been home last time, his punishment would’ve been far worse than just handling trash.
The villagers watching couldn’t help but laugh at Liu Yushan’s miserable expression.
"Pfft—!"
"Hahaha!"
"Station Head Liu, the village’s cleanliness is in your hands now!"
"Station Head Liu, when are you lighting your first fire as the new boss? How about clearing the cow dung at the village entrance first?"
Liu Yushan seethed at their mockery, wishing he could shove every last one of them into a garbage truck. But he could only fantasize.
The thought of his future suffering filled him with despair.
The only consolation? A monthly stipend of 500 yuan—enough to keep him from starving.
------
On the road to Bright Pearl City.
"Miss, we’ve received confirmation from Chu Yang. That old fox Zhao Tianxing has teamed up with Liao Dapao and Chen Laogui—they’re moving up the martial arts tournament to tonight!"
"Chu Yang didn’t go home for New Year’s?"
"No. Scarface ran into some trouble, so Chu Yang brought Chu Yue over. They spent the holiday in Bright Pearl City. The pressure from the other side was too intense."
"Desperate fools." Liu Yutong smirked.
Originally, she hadn’t planned to return to Bright Pearl City today, wanting to stay home a day or two longer. But Chu Yang’s message changed everything.
Zhao Tianxing of the East Sea Alliance had joined forces with several other factions to hold the tournament early.
The so-called tournament was always just a pretext—the real goal was dividing the profits from the downtown district, especially the commercial hub centered around Belon Plaza.
That area was Bright Pearl City’s most famous entertainment district, packed with high-end nightclubs, bars, KTVs, and exclusive clubs, alongside the city’s most luxurious shopping plaza.
Whoever secured development rights there would be set for life.
Though the financial crisis was about to hit hard, next year’s economic stimulus would send real estate soaring.
Both the East Sea Alliance and other gangs primarily operated in entertainment, but their second biggest interest was property—everyone knew the profits there were massive.
A little manipulation during demolitions, another during development, and the money would roll in.
But they seemed to forget—the final say didn’t belong to them.
"Tomorrow, arrange a meeting with Lin Muyang. Tell him I’m treating him to dinner."
"Yes, Miss. If Lin Muyang hears you’re inviting him, he’ll probably jump for joy."
Yun Cheng felt a twinge of irritation—annoyed that the clingy admirer would get to spend time with the young mistress. After all, Lin Muyang’s college antics had been infamous.
Everyone knew he was infatuated with Liu Yutong, though she’d never reciprocated. Now that she was suddenly inviting him to dinner? Of course he’d be ecstatic.
Liu Yutong offered no further explanation, her gaze shifting to Gao Min, who appeared to be napping but had actually been listening intently.
"Sis, are you going tonight?"
Without hesitation, Gao Min nodded.
Her reason for attending the tournament was different from Liu Yutong’s.
She was purely curious about the mysterious event—and whether she could gather any crucial evidence to wipe out the criminal elements entrenched in Bright Pearl City.
Her only concern was whether Liu Yutong might get implicated.
Time had a way of changing people. Once, Gao Min had been fixated on Liu Yutong’s ruthlessness, wanting to "bring her to justice" and prevent her rise.
But now… she wasn’t so sure anymore.
Liu Yutong could guess Gao Min’s thoughts, but she had nothing to hide.
"Fine, if you want to go, go. Just be careful—it’ll be chaotic, all sorts of shady characters. Whatever you see or hear, keep it to yourself. Don’t act recklessly. Your safety comes first."
"I know." Gao Min nodded solemnly.
In such a situation, a strict body search was inevitable. Getting caught secretly filming or making any suspicious moves would spell trouble.
This was where having a younger sister like her came in handy.
With Liu Yutong around, she probably wouldn’t be subjected to the search.
