Day after day, half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

「This evening.」

When Luo Xiu came home from fishing, he was greeted by several gloomy-looking women seated in the living room.

"Why aren't you ladies dancing provocatively tonight?" Luo Xiu asked as he set down his fishing gear and walked over.

However, no one paid him any attention.

Are they all on their period at the same time? Luo Xiu wondered. But he couldn't be bothered with them and headed straight upstairs.

"Luo Xiu," Lin Xiyue suddenly called out.

Luo Xiu stopped. "What's up?"

"Our company has run into trouble," Lin Xiyue said.

Luo Xiu's expression turned a bit odd. "Trouble already, before we've even started operations?"

Sun Li clenched her small fists, fuming, "We only found out today that the entire medicinal materials market in Henghai Province has been under the control of Xiang Laoer and Tao Laosi for the last ten days!" She added, "Those bastards are clearly targeting us! It's despicable!"

Hearing this, Luo Xiu furrowed his brow and walked back to sit on the sofa opposite them.

"So, you're saying that if we want to produce our medicine, this is the only channel we have to purchase raw materials?"

Lin Xiyue nodded. "I went to see Tao Laosi today. He quoted a price ten times higher than the normal market rate."

Sun Li waved her fists, crying out, "He's a profiteer, a total profiteer!"

"Can't we buy from other provinces?" Luo Xiu asked.

Xu Qianqing sighed. "Medicinal materials from other provinces still have to go through their hands to enter the Henghai Province market."

"Basically, no matter what we do, those bastards will act as the middlemen," Sun Li added.

"Damn it, I'm about to lose my mind!" Luo Xiu let out a long sigh. He rubbed his forehead and leaned back on the sofa, saying in resignation, "This is straight-up organized crime!"

He asked again, "Can't Teacher Li and Elder He solve this?"

Lin Xiyue shook her head. "Elder He called earlier. He investigated and found out that Du Gang pulled the strings for them. Now, Tao Laosi and his crew have struck a deal with the Medical Association, signing a one-year contract. So even Elder He can't do anything; the contract is already signed in black and white."

Luo Xiu threw up his hands, giving up. "Well, this little maneuver of theirs has me completely stumped."

Lin Xiyue thought for a moment, then her gaze fixed on Luo Xiu. "Actually… there is one other way."

At this, everyone turned to look at her.

Lin Xiyue's lips curved into a mysterious smile.

"To deal with people like Tao Laosi, we can't use conventional methods. We have to fight fire with fire."

Luo Xiu quickly asked, "What do you mean?"

Lin Xiyue explained, "First, we agree to their price for the raw materials we need and pay them a portion of the deposit. Then, while they're transporting the materials, we ambush them. The catch is, they can't find out it was us. When they fail to deliver the goods within the specified time, we can demand they pay the penalty for breach of contract and return our deposit. In the end, we'll get our materials without spending a cent, and we'll even make a hefty profit."

As she finished speaking, the air fell silent.

Luo Xiu and the other women exchanged glances. After a long moment, they all turned to Lin Xiyue and gave her a thumbs-up.

"Hahaha… Lin Xiyue, you're a damn genius!"

"To come up with such a dirty trick, you truly are Shen Luo's cunning mastermind!"

With a frosty expression, Lin Xiyue retorted petulantly, "Watch your language!"

Sun Li looped her arm through Lin Xiyue's. "What 'cunning mastermind'? Our Xi Yue is Shen Luo's Wolong Fengchu! If we were in ancient times, Xi Yue would be a strategist on the level of Zhuge Liang!"

Luo Xiu shrugged. "So, does that make me Liu Bei?"

"No," Xu Qianqing said, stifling a laugh. "You're the warrior, Zhao Yun!"

Lin Xiyue shot Luo Xiu a smug look. "You're no good at strategizing, so you're left with the dirty work. Aren't you the general manager of Lan Gui Casino? You've got a whole crew of underlings. This should be easy for you, right?"

Luo Xiu was clearly displeased. "Lin Xiyue, I give you a few compliments, and it really goes to your head, huh?"

***

「The next morning.」

Lin Xiyue and Sun Li went to a farmhouse in the suburbs with the drafted contract to meet Tao Laosi.

"Boss Tao, as you know, our company is about to officially launch, so we urgently need this batch of medicinal materials. We'll pay the price you quoted and can provide one-third of the deposit upfront."

Tao Laosi looked at the contract, pursed his lips, and shook his head. "One-third? Isn't that a little low? Miss Lin, Miss Sun, let me be frank. This batch of materials wasn't easy for us to acquire. After accounting for the money to grease palms at the Medical Association and all the wining and dining, there isn't much profit left for us."

"Then how much of a deposit do you require, Boss Tao?" Lin Xiyue inquired.

"Half!" Tao Laosi declared. "That's four hundred million!"

Lin Xiyue frowned in thought for a moment before finally nodding. She stated firmly, "However, as stipulated in the contract, you must deliver the materials within the specified time. Otherwise, you will have to pay us a penalty three times the amount of the deposit, in addition to returning the deposit itself."

"Good! Miss Lin is a straightforward person. It's a deal! Delivering the materials on time won't be a problem at all!"

***

After Lin Xiyue and Sun Li left, Xiang Laoer stepped out from the back room, laughing. "Looks like we really pushed them into a corner. What a bunch of idiots, actually willing to pay such a high price."

Tao Laosi smiled. "If they want to buy, we'll sell. It's not like these materials are of any immediate use to us anyway. We prepared them specifically for them."

"Alright then," Xiang Laoer said. "I'll have someone make the arrangements right away. We'll deliver the materials to them tomorrow night."

「Meanwhile.」

After leaving the farmhouse, Lin Xiyue made a call to Luo Xiu.

"Get ready."

***

「Lan Gui Casino」

In the dimly lit underground warehouse.

"General Luo's here! Everyone stand the fuck up!"

"Look alive, every last one of you! Don't let General Luo see you looking like a bunch of half-asleep bums!" Wu Tianhua bellowed, grabbing a steel pipe and striking it against the iron railings.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Over forty underlings, all sharply dressed in suits, quickly fell into an orderly formation, showing surprising organization and discipline. Ling Feng then stepped to the front of the line.

"Attention! Eyes right! At ease!"

A short while later, Luo Xiu walked into the warehouse at a calm, unhurried pace.

Looking at this large group of underlings in neat formation, I suddenly feel like a real underworld boss.

"Hey, Hua Zi."

"Yes, General Luo! At your service," Wu Tianhua said, rushing over with a fawning bow.

Luo Xiu asked, "Are these the best fighters from our East District?"

Wu Tianhua puffed out his chest proudly. "These are the brothers Feng Zi and I have personally trained over the years! This one here is Liu Mazhi, known as the Merciless Sabre Hand. He once slashed his way through two whole streets with just one blade! And this one, Li Xiazi, is known as the Sorrowful Blade Emperor. He single-handedly smashed ten bars in the South District..."

"Enough! Stop right there!" Luo Xiu raised a hand, unable to listen anymore.

What the hell is with these guys? 'Merciless Sabre Hand'? 'Sorrowful Blade Emperor'? At this rate, I might as well be the Godfather! Why are these underworld types so damn cringey?

"Got it," Wu Tianhua said, obediently shutting his mouth.

"Tell the brothers to take today off and rest up," Luo Xiu instructed. "Get them in top condition. Tomorrow night, you're all going out with me to handle some business."

"What kind of business?"

Luo Xiu said flatly, "We're hitting the South District and the Western District."

Hearing this, Wu Tianhua's eyes lit up with excitement. I knew it! Boss Huang has been waiting for Luo Xiu to do something meaningful for the East District for a long time, but he's always been hands-off. All he ever does is fish! Fishing every single day! Or chasing women at home. This is great! General Luo is finally going to lead us to do something big!

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