Chapter 261: Kicking While Down, Wolves Dividing the Meat

The "reorganization" from the former Tiger Blade Gang into the current Qingyuan Urban Management Company has actually lowered its money-making capacity by at least one tier.

In this era, the fastest and most lucrative way to make money is always by breaking the rules.

Opening a casino and taking a cut as the house can certainly make money, but it is never as profitable as having the dealer cheat, setting up traps to fleece people, and then charging high interest on loans.

Opening a brothel, the most profitable way is, of course, to use force, coerce innocent women into prostitution, and then force them to earn money for you until they die, without even needing to pay them a wage.

Besides these, the profits from the secret smoke dens go without saying; as long as they are open, they are guaranteed to make money, with no worries about the goods not selling.

But the Qingyuan Urban Management Company does none of these things.

Opening a gambling den involves no under-the-table operations, and all high-interest loans are strictly prohibited; opening a brothel not only involves no wage deductions, but also improves the "employees'" benefits, providing regular free physical exams and free medical care.

They have even stopped collecting protection fees, changing them to "urban management fees," and because these fees are low while the services provided are many, they often pay out of pocket to repair things for merchants; adding in labor costs and the like, this part of the balance sheet is actually losing money every month.

So, all things considered, the Qingyuan Urban Management Company's ability to rake in money does not match its scale.

The former Tiger Blade Gang, setting aside all expenses, had an annual net profit of about one million yuan—money that could be put directly into Yu Hu's personal pocket.

The current Qingyuan Urban Management Company's profitability is far inferior to the former Tiger Blade Gang, but fortunately, its expenses are not as high.

The most significant point is that the Qingyuan Urban Management Company does not need to spend large sums of money every month to bribe officials and grease palms, so all in all, the monthly net profit is about fifty thousand yuan.

This money can also be put directly into Li Fei's own pocket.

On the other hand, Shangguan Xiao also handed the Qingyuan Fist Stronghold over to Li Fei; setting aside all expenses, this stronghold can bring Li Fei nearly one hundred thousand yuan in net profit every month!

It seems the Qingyuan Fist Stronghold is more profitable, but the Qingyuan Urban Management Company has a larger scale, supports more people, and involves more businesses, so its development prospects far exceed those of the stronghold.

At this moment, Li Fei asked Liu Saner how much capital he could mobilize, and after a rough calculation, Liu Saner replied:

"The liquid capital available from the stronghold is about 470, 00, and the liquid capital available from the company is about 260, 00, because we just paid out a round of wages a few days ago, paid for a shipment of exotic beast feed, and bought a batch of elixirs from the black market, so the company's available funds are a bit lower."

"Good, prepare this money, convert it all to cash first; I need to be able to get my hands on it whenever I need it."

Li Fei instructed.

In the current situation, money naturally cannot play a decisive role, but it is certainly useful.

In this era, over seven hundred thousand yuan is enough to sway some Dao Foundation powerhouses.

"Understood, Ghost Master, rest assured, I will go prepare it immediately."

Liu Saner said.

After hanging up the phone, Li Fei got up and walked to the storage cabinet, took out some elixirs, and began his cultivation for the night.

On the same night, at Human Face Villa.

"Beast King" Yu Longqing was fishing by the lake; this was his daily hobby.

It is truly contradictory that a cruel and bloodthirsty man's greatest hobby is fishing, an activity for cultivating one's character.

"Boss, it has been confirmed. Zhang Zongyang's corpse is being dissected at the Zhige General Institute. People from the Zhang family went to protest, but were rejected, and the Zhang family is currently in chaos; the first, second, and third branches are all busy trying to win people over, wanting to seize power."

A subordinate came to report.

Upon hearing this, Yu Longqing curled the corners of his mouth into a smile:

"That old thing Zhang Zongyang was wise his whole life, but unfortunately, he capsized in a gutter at the very end, leaving behind such a huge family business that goes to waste on outsiders."

The implication was that he did not believe the remaining members of the Zhang family could hold onto the family business.

"Boss, should we now...?"

The subordinate looked at Yu Longqing, meaning to ask if they should take the opportunity to kick them while they are down and start carving up this huge, fat piece of meat that is the Zhang family!

"No rush."

Yu Longqing shook his head, the fishing rod in his hand very steady, the fishing line without a tremor, "Eat the piece of meat already delivered to our mouths first."

"What do you mean?"

"The shipment for Xingcheng hasn't been sent yet, right?"

"Not yet, according to the plan, it is to be sent tomorrow morning."

"Then there is no need to send it."

"If they ask about it, should we stall them? Or just tear off the mask?"

"Heh."

Yu Longqing sneered, recalling that figure who once stood before him wearing a ghost mask:

"If they ask, tell them if they want the goods, have the Green-Faced Ghost come in person!"

The fact that the Green-Faced Ghost came to Human Face Villa alone and escaped unscathed was a source of shame for Yu Longqing.

If it happened again, he would absolutely not let this Green-Faced Ghost go!

"Yes, this subordinate understands."

The subordinate turned and left.

Swish—

Just as he turned, Yu Longqing caught a large fish from the lake.

This large fish was over two meters long and was also not an ordinary fish.

It struggled desperately, but was firmly bound by an invisible force, unable to break free from the hook in its mouth.

The next morning, Li Fei walked into Mo Yizhou's classroom as usual, prepared for the poison class.

But this time, there was no one in the classroom.

Usually, Mo Yizhou was always early, doing research in the classroom ahead of time.

Li Fei noticed a piece of paper left on the lab bench, and he walked over to pick it up:

"Something came up and I'll be delayed for a few days. Practice on your own these days; I've left you some problems."

The note was from Mo Yizhou, and on the back of the paper were the problems he left for Li Fei, requiring Li Fei to formulate some drugs to verify several "poison formulas."

Ever since Li Fei contributed the idea of "poison formulas," all the research the two did in class revolved around the formulas, using the formulas to study pharmacology while deducing new formulas.

"Mo Yizhou being suddenly busy at this time, could it be related to Zhang Zongyang's death?"

This thought suddenly occurred to Li Fei.

He decided to ask when he saw Mo Yizhou in a few days.

Putting down the paper, he began to busy himself in the laboratory.

More than two hours later, Li Fei walked into another classroom to attend Professor Ding Bo's "Practical Analysis of Innate Qi."

Although he had already cultivated force, it seemed there was no need to painstakingly practice the techniques for using Innate Qi.

But in reality, this course was still of great help to him; the stronger his control over Innate Qi, the higher his control over his force would rise.

After this period of cultivation, Li Fei could already combine Geng Metal True Qi and Blood Fiend Qi in an instant, so he did not need to store True Blood Force in his body in advance; as long as the Geng Metal True Qi and Blood Fiend Qi were not exhausted, he could unleash True Blood Force at any time.

In a sense, "Green-Faced Ghost" could be considered to have truly stepped into the middle stage of Qi Transformation, becoming a martial artist who practices force.

One is Vajra Force, the other is True Blood Force; the difference is significant, so Li Fei did not need to worry about his identity being exposed due to his force.

After Professor Ding Bo's class, Li Fei's morning courses ended.

He went to the cafeteria to eat, then returned to his dormitory to rest.

Not long after he sat down, the phone in the dormitory rang.

Li Fei walked over and picked up the receiver:

"Hello?"

"Little Fei, Liu Saner just called me and said the 'Beast King' has detained a batch of exotic beast feed."

Shangguan Xiao's voice came from the other end of the phone.

Telephones in this era had no caller ID and were difficult to wiretap, and it was impossible to pinpoint a location through the phone, so Li Fei could take the initiative to call Liu Saner without worrying about exposing his identity. He had not left his dormitory phone number with Liu Saner, always having Liu Saner contact him through Shangguan Xiao.

This way, even if someone with ulterior motives wanted to investigate the true identity of the Green-Faced Ghost through Liu Saner, there was still Shangguan Xiao as a buffer in between.

"Is it the feed for the next quarter?"

Li Fei asked.

Last night, Liu Saner had told him that the company had just paid for a shipment of exotic beast feed.

Transactions with the "Beast King" were done once a quarter.

"Yes, it's the feed for the next quarter, worth over 200, 00, and now the other party has detained it and doesn't intend to give it up."

Shangguan Xiao's tone was cold.

Under normal circumstances, one should pay a deposit first and then pay the full amount when the goods arrive.

But because the Qingyuan Urban Management Company had used threats to conduct transactions with the "Beast King" initially, the "Beast King" was very tough on the transaction method, requiring the Qingyuan Urban Management Company to pay the full amount first before they would ship the goods.

In Datong Prefecture, the exotic beast feed business was monopolized by the "Beast King," so Li Fei had no choice but to agree to this transaction method.

The two sides had already traded once before, and everything went smoothly.

But now, the "Beast King" had suddenly swallowed the Qingyuan Urban Management Company's payment!

"Yu Longqing is a cruel and bloodthirsty person, and he is petty and vengeful. We captured his capable lieutenant and used the Zhang family's influence to force him to bow his head; now that something has happened to the Zhang family, it's no surprise he would suddenly pull a stunt like this."

Shangguan Xiao analyzed.

Li Fei naturally understood the reason behind this.

The "Beast King" did not want to offend the Zhang family, so he reluctantly accepted the transaction with the Qingyuan Urban Management Company. Although this transaction was profitable for him, for a person like him, such a grudge would not be easily let go.

Now that the Zhang family had lost power and Zhang Zongyang, the only person the "Beast King" feared, was dead, he decisively chose to retaliate!

"The payment of over 200, 00 is actually fine; the main thing is that once the feed is gone, the exotic beasts in that breeding farm won't last long, and that loss is the greatest."

Li Fei said.

Once there was a problem with the exotic beasts in the breeding farm, his loss would be at least over a million!

"Master Aunt, is there any way to find a seller outside of Datong Prefecture?"

Li Fei asked.

"There are two difficulties. First, even if we can find a seller, the other party may not be willing to sell to us. Second, even if they are willing to sell to us, we may not be able to transport the goods back smoothly."

Shangguan Xiao said.

Yu Longqing has been able to monopolize the exotic beast ration trade in Datong Prefecture for so many years, so naturally, he has some methods.

If people from the outside dared to rashly sell goods into Datong Prefecture, it would be equivalent to declaring war on him; without sufficient profit, others would certainly not take this risk.

Moreover, even if the goods were successfully transported into Datong Prefecture, it would be very difficult to transport them smoothly to Xingcheng; Yu Longqing would certainly go all out to cut off this line!

"I understand, I will think of another way."

Li Fei said to Shangguan Xiao.

The Zhang family was already in enough trouble at this time, and he did not want Shangguan Xiao to be distracted further because of his affairs.

"Alright, Xiao Fei, don't be impulsive; you must keep your cool at this time. If it really doesn't work, then just bow your head to Yu Longqing. He cannot just let go of the market here in Xingcheng, and you will have to do business eventually."

Shangguan Xiao hesitated for a moment before saying to Li Fei.

If it were any other time, she certainly would not have said such things, as she herself had a very tough personality.

But the death of Zhang Zongyang was too great a blow to her, and she could not provide Li Fei with any other advice for the time being.

"Alright, Master Aunt, you don't need to worry about me."

Li Fei said.

Afterwards, the two hung up the phone.

Li Fei narrowed his eyes and muttered:

"Bow my head?"

Over the next few days, the Iron Peak Sect remained under lockdown, and personnel from the General Supervisory Court launched an investigation inside the Iron Peak Sect.

Besides that, all Iron Peak martial arts halls in the city were sealed off!

Many people from the martial arts halls were taken away for investigation.

At this time, the major powers could actually have tried to swallow a portion of the "cake" occupied by the "Blade King," but their attention was being drawn by another piece of fat meat—the Zhang family!

The "cake" occupied by the "Blade King" consisted mainly of martial arts halls and boxing matches; even if this part of the market were swallowed, one would still have to compete with the "Blade King" in the future, as the Iron Peak Sect still existed.

But the Zhang family was different.

The Zhang family had been entrenched in Datong Prefecture for nearly a hundred years, with businesses in every industry. Because the plate was large enough, it was very convenient for everyone to "divide the spoils."

The most critical point was that once Zhang Zongyang died, the Zhang family basically had no chance of making a comeback, so there was no need to worry about retaliation in the future.

Thus, after waiting for a few days, the major powers unanimously began to move against the Zhang family!

Among the "Seven Kings," excluding the "Blade King," the remaining six major powers were all carving up the benefits, using the most violent means to annex the various secret industries of the Zhang family.

As for the industries on the surface, they were safe for the time being, but everyone knew that once the Zhang family completely collapsed, these industries would sooner or later be lost as well.

The Zhang family naturally resisted, attempting to use official influence to protect their assets.

Unfortunately, the effect was not good.

For one, the "Seven Kings" also had their own influence in official circles.

For another, with the death of Zhang Zongyang, many of the Zhang family's connections in official circles were no longer useful.

And so, the "pack of wolves dividing the meat" happened just like that.

As for all of this, the Garrison Commander Bian Jingru and other high-level officials of Datong Prefecture adopted an attitude of tacit approval.

The reason was simple: with the fall of the Zhang family, many positions would open up in the officialdom in the future, and a group of officials who had originally chosen to follow the Zhang family would have to switch to other sides.

Therefore, once the Zhang family fell, these big shots in Datong Prefecture could all get a share of the benefits.

They had no need to stop this process of "the pack of wolves dividing the meat."

Thus, the high-level officials of Datong Prefecture, led by Bian Jingru, while fully investigating the murderer of Zhang Zongyang, silently watched as the Zhang family was continuously carved up.

Perhaps before the murderer of Zhang Zongyang could even be found, the Zhang family would have already completely collapsed.

Reality is just that ironic and cruel!

March 9th.

On the seventh day after Zhang Zongyang's death, his body was finally sent back to the Zhang family.

The Zhang family began to arrange the funeral for Zhang Zongyang.

On this very day, Shangguan Xiao also finally rushed back to Datong Prefecture city, making it in time for her father's "seventh-day memorial."

At 10: 7 AM, Shangguan Xiao entered the city alone through the East City Gate of Datong Prefecture.

Near the city gate, many people were waiting for her.

At this moment, a light rain was falling from the sky. Shangguan Xiao, still wearing a green robe, did not open an umbrella; she just stood in the rain, sweeping her cold gaze over the crowd before her.

Among these people were relatives she hadn't contacted in years, as well as many ill-intentioned enemies.

The gazes that fell upon her included scrutiny, indifference, jealousy, warnings, and schadenfreude—there was simply not a hint of goodwill.

As a powerhouse at the Dao Foundation realm, getting a little wet was nothing, but at this moment, Shangguan Xiao still felt a trace of chill.

Just as she took a deep breath and intended to continue forward, the crowd in front suddenly stirred.

"Excuse me, please make way."

A young man holding an umbrella in one hand and a blade in the other pushed through the crowd and walked toward Shangguan Xiao.

This person was wearing the light blue robe of Wu'an University and looked full of righteousness.

The person walked up to Shangguan Xiao and smiled:

"Master Aunt, let's go."

Shangguan Xiao looked at Li Fei, who was already a head taller than her, and also revealed a smile, nodding:

"Alright."

Thus, Li Fei stood by her side to hold the umbrella for Shangguan Xiao, accompanying her as they walked toward the crowd ahead.

At this moment, the wind and rain of Datong Prefecture city remained, but it seemed not so cold anymore.

PS: Today is my grandmother's birthday, and the family is going to celebrate, so there is only one update.

(End of chapter)