"New Year's Eve, a night for family reunions. They certainly know how to pick a date." Hearing Ma Da report the agreed time, Liu Yutong sneered.
"It seems they figured we'd be on holiday and short-handed, so they deliberately chose this time."
Ma Da said, "Miss, I don't think we need to pay them any attention. Why should we dance to their tune?"
Liu Yutong suddenly asked, "Is the information confirmed? Will all those people from Huaicheng be there?"
Ma Da nodded. "Basically, yes."
According to the intelligence they had gathered, the other party had issued a challenge this time, seemingly uniting all the local underworld factions in Huaicheng. They looked like they were ready to settle everything in this one battle.
Liu Yutong said, "Then accept it. What era is this, still playing gangsters? This is the perfect chance to wipe out these social cancers in one fell swoop. That way, Zhang Tao can also be released earlier through earning merit to reduce his sentence."
If it were just one of their factions, she might not even bother, but if they were all going to be there, it was worth her time. Catching them all in one net would save a lot of trouble.
Ma Da asked, "Miss, how many men should we call up?"
Liu Yutong replied, "The more, the better."
Ma Da instantly understood; she meant going all out.
He wondered what expressions those ignorant hicks from Huaicheng would have when they saw thousands of people.
That bunch of country bumpkins would probably wet their pants in fear, right?
However, being able to make the Ten Thousand Dragons Gang mobilize its entire force meant they would die a worthy death.
Liu Yutong added, "This isn't mandatory. Those who find it convenient can come, and those who don't can stay home for the New Year. Anyway, we are cooperating with the police for this operation, so it doesn't matter if we have a few less people."
Those mob bosses in Huaicheng could probably never imagine in their wildest dreams that a syndicate they considered incredibly dark not only had numbers beyond their imagination but was actually going to call the cops. No, they were fundamentally on the same side as the police.
"Cooperating with the police?"
Ma Da realized what she meant. "Miss, do you mean the investigation team has already arrived?"
Liu Yutong nodded. "Times have changed, Ma Da. Those guys still thinking about fighting and killing to seize territory for illegal businesses are on a dead-end road sooner or later. The Ten Thousand Dragons Gang has made it to where we are today not because we are so tough or good at fighting, but because we know how to go with the flow and understand what it means to be legal and compliant. If you want long-term peace and stability, you just can't cross the bottom line."
"Go gather the men. Oh, and don't forget to book a large restaurant in Huaicheng. After we resolve the matter there, we'll all celebrate the New Year together."
"Yes, Miss!"
After Ma Da returned to Pearl City, he chatted with Yun Cheng and the others, bringing up this special New Year's Eve and the scheduled fight with the Huaicheng gang.
"Brother Yun, how many people do you guess will come back? After all, everyone is home for the New Year. With such a sudden summons, I'm afraid many won't be able to get away, right?"
Yun Cheng didn't even have to think about it; he said decisively, "All of them!"
"As long as the Miss gives the order, not a single one of our brothers and sisters will be missing!"
"That is the cohesion of our Ten Thousand Dragons Gang!"
...............
Seventy kilometers outside Pearl City, in a remote village.
It had started snowing before midnight, and by early morning, the entire village was covered in a moderate layer of white.
Cheng Gang, carrying a large black suitcase and wearing a backpack, stepped off the only rural minibus. His shoes crunched on the snow as he walked.
The old locust tree at the village entrance was still there, its branches hanging low under the weight of the snow. A figure stood beneath the tree, wearing a bulky, old padded jacket and a faded red scarf, stomping his feet to keep warm.
Cheng Gang paused for a moment, then quickened his pace and walked over.
Hearing the noise, the person under the tree looked up.
It was the face of a twelve or thirteen-year-old boy, red from the cold. His nose was especially red, but his eyes were very bright.
The boy was Cheng Gang's younger brother, Cheng Lei.
"Brother, you're back!" Cheng Lei called out in pleasant surprise.
"How long have you been waiting?" Cheng Gang looked at his brother's bright red ears and reached out to brush the snow off his shoulders.
"Not long, just a little while."
Cheng Lei looked at the black suit his brother was wearing, and his eyes instantly lit up. "Brother, you look so handsome in this outfit!"
Cheng Gang had specifically worn the black suit issued by the Ten Thousand Dragons Gang today, with a dark gray down jacket over it. He dressed like this to show his brother that he had finally made something of himself.
"It's cold and you don't even know to wear a hat." Cheng Gang pulled a brand new wool hat out of his bag and pulled it down over his brother's head.
The hat was dark blue, soft and thick, with the tags still attached.
Cheng Lei touched the hat and asked out of habit, "Brother, how much was this? It must be expensive, right?"
"Don't ask how much it cost. As long as it keeps you warm."
Cheng Gang put his arm around his brother's shoulders and walked toward the village. "Is the stove lit at home?"
"Yes, I lit it when I got up this morning. The house is really warm."
As Cheng Lei spoke, he suddenly remembered something and pulled a boiled egg out from inside his coat.
"Brother, did you eat breakfast? I boiled this for you."
Cheng Gang took the egg. Surprisingly, it was still warm. He looked at his brother's five fingers, red from the cold, and his throat suddenly felt a bit tight.
A year ago, when he had just returned from prison, his brother Cheng Lei had been standing under that same old locust tree, a size smaller than he was now. At that time, his brother was also wearing an old padded jacket handed down from a neighbor's child, his little hands and face purple from the cold. When he saw him get off the bus, he had also pulled a very precious egg out from his coat.
Back then, he had no luggage and absolutely nothing to his name.
His brother had just held his hand and whispered, "Brother, let's go home after you eat the egg. I lit the stove, the house is warm."
That old house was the only property their parents had left them.
Their father died in a car accident when Cheng Gang was fifteen. Their mother held on for three years, but when she fell ill, there was no money for treatment. She dragged on for a year before passing away as well. Cheng Gang was seventeen at the time. He dropped out of school to work in the city, entrusting the eleven-year-old Cheng Lei to the care of neighbors, and sent money back every month.
Later, his brother suddenly contracted a severe illness and urgently needed a large sum of money. Driven into a corner, someone told him that the copper inside a transformer could be sold for one or two thousand. He couldn't resist the temptation and went through with it, teaming up with others to steal seven or eight transformers. In the end, he was caught, and because he was a minor, he was sentenced to two years.
He still remembered the day he was arrested. The police officers asked him if he knew this was against the law. He lowered his head and said he knew, but his brother would die without the surgery.
The police officers fell silent for a moment but still took him away according to the law.
During his two years behind bars, he received a letter from his brother every month. The letters said he had received donations from kind-hearted people, his illness was cured, and the school had even waived his tuition fees so he could study. At that time, he cried, crying his heart out.
On the day of his release, the sky was overcast and gray. He stood at the prison gates holding his release papers, with only one hundred yuan for travel expenses that the prison guard had stuffed into his pocket.
After returning home, he saw his brother, who had grown even thinner. Only then did he realize that his brother had basically survived the past two years by eating whatever food the neighbors could spare. No one had ever told him this, nor had his brother.
Later, in order to give his brother a better life, he came to the city once again.
As someone with a criminal record, it was very difficult to find a decent job.
Construction sites didn't want him, saying he had a criminal record and fearing he would cause trouble. Restaurants also found it bad luck to hire an ex-convict to wash dishes. He made do living under a bridge for almost a month, occasionally picking up odd jobs to earn a few dozen bucks, often eating only one meal every two days... These cruel experiences made him want to return to his old ways, but the thought of his younger brother forced him to hold back.
One afternoon, just as he was about to completely break down, he saw a recruitment notice posted by the most popular supermarket in town.
Normally, his instinct would have been to ignore it. He had hit a wall so many times due to his time in prison that he felt these job postings had nothing to do with him. But the cold and hunger forced him to grasp at this straw and give it a try.
However, when he read the contents, he froze, thinking his hunger had blurred his vision.
[Wanlong Supermarket is hiring warehouse clerks, delivery drivers, security guards, and other positions. This is a restricted recruitment; ex-convicts are preferred. Interested parties please go to the Human Resources Department at No. XX, Shunchang Building, XX Road for an interview.]
Cheng Gang stood in front of the utility pole for ten minutes before finally tearing down the flyer.
Desperate times call for desperate measures, he thought.
The interview location was a very grand-looking office building. The receptionist was a girl with a beautiful smile. When he stuttered that he had a criminal record, she didn't even blink, simply handing him a form.
"Just fill in your basic information. Compared to your past, our Wanlonghui Group cares more about your present and future performance."
His interviewer was a young man in his twenties wearing a black suit, who introduced himself as the supermarket's HR supervisor.
After reviewing his resume, the young man asked him a question: "If you had a legitimate job right in front of you, and right next to it was your old way of making quick money, which would you choose?"
Cheng Gang was silent for a long time before replying, "I just want to set a good example for my little brother."
The HR supervisor nodded and didn't ask anything else, simply saying, "Come to work tomorrow. You'll be a warehouse clerk at the Lingshan District branch. There is a one-month probation period. Your take-home pay will be two thousand a month, rising to two thousand five hundred once you become a regular employee, with social security and a housing provident fund included. Any questions?"
Cheng Gang was stunned. All the pleading words he had prepared were stuck in his throat, and he finally squeezed out, "You... you really want me?"
The HR supervisor in the black suit smiled. "If you don't show up, how would I know if I want you or not?"
"Oh, by the way, the company provides a housing subsidy and covers one meal a day. Regular employees also have access to an internal medical fund, where staff and their immediate family members can apply for subsidies for major illnesses, though it doesn't cover a hundred percent."
The man in black pointed to his left chest. "If you want a hundred percent medical reimbursement, you have to wear clothes with this logo, just like me."
Cheng Gang looked at the incredibly striking dragon-shaped logo. It was the first time since his release from prison that he felt like crying.
For his first month, he worked in the warehouse of the Wanlong Supermarket branch. He worked six hours a day on three rotating shifts, mainly organizing goods and checking inventory lists. The work wasn't heavy, but it required meticulousness and diligence.
There were seven or eight others working with him. During idle chats, he discovered that a few of them also had unique pasts—some had assaulted people, while others had just gotten out of pyramid schemes.
But here, no one brought up those things.
The store manager would do a walkthrough once a day. He didn't talk much, but if someone caught a cold, a box of medicine would appear on their desk; if someone had a family emergency, they could swap shifts just by asking. At the end of the month, he received his salary. Not a single day's pay was withheld; the entire month's salary was paid three days in advance, and the pay stub clearly listed the base salary, performance bonus, perfect attendance bonus, as well as the deducted social security and provident fund.
Upon receiving his first month's salary, he immediately remitted a portion to his neighbor, Auntie, back in his village, asking her to withdraw it and give it to his brother for living expenses.
His brother called him using the village phone, telling him not to work too hard.
He really didn't feel it was hard work.
Six hours a day—he actually felt the time was too short and the work too easy. He was even a bit afraid of getting fired out of the blue.
Yet, every time he volunteered for overtime, his requests were invariably rejected by his supervisor or the manager.
The store manager told him that unless there was an emergency, there was no such thing as overtime here.
The manager also said that this was a rule set by the mysterious big boss he had never met. The big boss said that employees of the Wanlonghui Group shouldn't just work; they needed to learn how to live.
These words left Cheng Gang dumbfounded. What kind of fairy-tale boss was this?
In his second month, he became a regular employee. His salary rose to two thousand five hundred, and he received an additional five hundred yuan as a housing subsidy.
This amount was perfectly sufficient for a single person renting in Pearl City. If he chose a slightly remote area, he could even rent a two-bedroom apartment, though the commute would take a bit longer.
In his third month, he inexplicably received a massive red envelope of three thousand yuan. After asking around, he found out that the big boss was in a good mood and had given bonuses to all the employees.
This habit of casually throwing money around left him shocked, but more than that, he was confused.
Unable to hold back, he asked a black-clad supervisor at the store, "Why is the company so good to people like me?"
The supervisor lit a cigarette and said slowly, "Cheng Gang, do you know what makes a person?"
"A person isn't defined by the mistakes they've made, but by what they want to become. The company giving you a chance, the Eldest Miss giving you a chance—it's not charity, it's an investment. The Eldest Miss told us that we must believe that someone who has been abandoned by society will cherish the right to stand tall more than anyone else once they get back on their feet."
Cheng Gang's heart was deeply moved. He then asked the question he had always been curious about: "Then why does everyone try so hard to become a core member?"
The black-clad supervisor smiled. "Because being a core member means receiving the Eldest Miss's personal recognition. That is the greatest honor!"
"Of course, on a more practical note, the benefits are better: double pay, the ability to buy company-developed real estate at cost price in the future, and full medical reimbursement for relatives. But the requirements are also higher. At all times, you must be loyal to the company, united with your colleagues, and strict with yourself—especially when it comes to absolute loyalty to the Eldest Miss! You must be willing to go through fire and water without hesitation. Can you do that?"
That night, Cheng Gang lay in bed with his eyes wide open until dawn.
He made a decision: he was going to become one of the best employees in the company, and he, too, was going to wear that black suit.
Because he had plenty of personal time, he would run to a law firm to study law as soon as he got off work. At home, he would bury his head in books, studying with extreme dedication.
Six months later, due to his meticulous and error-free work, he was transferred to the delivery dispatch center, and his salary increased to four thousand.
Before the annual meeting, he passed three extremely strict internal assessments to become a prospective core member.
This meant that he only had to wait a little longer before he could join the other prospective core members in the promotion ceremony hosted by the Eldest Miss.
After receiving the news, he was so excited that he barely slept for days.
On the day of the annual meeting, he truly felt the sheer power of the Wanlonghui Group for the first time. There were countless employees packed tightly together, and the men in black were just as dense, radiating an unparalleled aura.
He finally met the incredibly young big boss—or rather, he should be calling her the Young Lady now.
The Young Lady was truly stunning, more beautiful than anyone he had ever laid eyes on. Even the celebrities on television were like scattered stars paling in comparison to her radiant moon.
From her hands, he received a custom-tailored black suit and a book with a red cover. With a heart full of solemnity and excitement, he took his oath.
After returning home, he stood in front of the full-length mirror, looking at the man standing perfectly straight in the reflection.
The suit fit him like a glove, accentuating his broad shoulders and straight back, making him look rather handsome.
Then, he smiled at the mirror. He smiled with genuine joy.
Even though he was just a nobody, he felt that he was finally living the way a person was meant to live!
