33: Li Zhan's Creativity

Evening, the small tavern near the Wharf.

A fluorescent light tube in the private room was broken, casting irregular shadows on Tang Shirong's face.

He was dressed in a sharp suit, arms crossed.

"The old guy has already received wind of tomorrow night's affair."

Li Zhan swirled the ice in his whiskey, the corners of his mouth slowly curling upward—as expected, Ninth Master still chose to curry favor with the Bai family.

"I was the one who told Ninth Master. I knew there was a high probability he would notify your father-in-law, which would at least ease the relationship between Phoenix City and your father-in-law. It also allows me to focus on dealing with the South City side first."

Tang Shirong's eyes narrowed behind his lenses.

"The old guy asked me to be responsible for the safety of that shipment tomorrow, and even allocated two mercenaries from Cambodia and a squad of men to me."

"Haha, that's even better. This time, I'll help you achieve a great merit."

Li Zhan took a sip of whiskey and leaned closer to Tang Shirong. "Tomorrow night, we'll do it like this..."

...

After listening to Li Zhan's plan, Tang Shirong was silent for a moment, then nodded.

He pulled a photo from his pocket and pushed it over.

"The old guy recently recruited a few mercenaries from Cambodia."

With his fingertip dipped in alcohol, he drew two circles on the table.

"But those people only care about money, not worth worrying about; they can be used by me later. The key is this one scholar and one warrior by his side—"

Li Zhan caught a glimpse of the two men, one a fair-faced scholar in a Zhongshan suit, the other a burly man with a vicious face.

Tang Shirong stood up and pointed at the scholar in the photo.

"Uncle Chen is the old guy's strategist; he has been with him for nearly twenty years."

Then he pointed to the vicious-looking brute.

"Ghost, a former Muay Thai fighter, with over a dozen lives on his hands."

He sat back in his chair, eyes fixed on Li Zhan.

"These two are the old guy's right-hand men, extremely loyal, and have a lot of influence within the Bai family. I won't make a move until they are eliminated."

Li Zhan put the photo away.

"If you eliminate these two, can you take over your father-in-law's business?"

Tang Shirong smiled and said confidently,

"You don't need to worry about that. These five years, I haven't just been counting shipping containers at the Wharf. Also, those few mercenaries must be left for me; they'll be useful later."

Li Zhan swirled his glass.

"No problem. I hope they like the gift we give South City this time."

Outside the window, a cargo ship whistled past, the sound wave shaking the chandelier.

The two left one after another, their footsteps drowned out by the bar's old jazz music.

On the way home.

As the car turned onto Shunhe Road, the phone on the dashboard lit up.

Li Zhan glanced at the caller ID—"Brother Biao"—and pressed the answer button with one hand.

He rolled down the car window, and the salty sea breeze rushed in.

"A-Zhan, Ninth Master says tomorrow night..."

Two minutes later, Li Zhan threw the phone onto the passenger seat and sneered.

"Old fox."

—

The next morning, second-floor office of Xinyue Entertainment Center.

The conference room's air conditioner was humming, and Li Zhan sat at the head of the table, smoking a cigarette.

Little Night sat at his right hand with her legs crossed, her fingers constantly fiddling with a chip.

AZu adjusted his glasses and looked down at the reports in his hand.

At this moment, a seductive figure pushed the door open—it was Sister Hua from the massage center team.

She wore a sharply tailored black professional skirt suit, with a slit in the hem revealing glimpses of snow-white thighs.

Especially those high, firm buttocks; the curve seemed capable of holding a red wine glass.

Her slender fingers held a long, thin lady's cigarette, and her red lips parted slightly, exhaling smoke that swirled around her delicate collarbone.

In her early thirties, the corners of her eyes carried just the right amount of charm, neither losing a mature appeal nor lacking the sharpness of someone hardened by the underworld.

The tips of her high heels tapped lightly on the ground, like a silent provocation.

Li Zhan watched Sister Hua gracefully take her seat.

He had heard from Little Night that this woman was once the mistress of a high-ranking official.

Although the official didn't take her with him when he was transferred, people in the business still treated her with three points of respect—who knew if she still maintained any contact with that official?

Because of this, even though this delicate, dripping rose was right in front of them, no one dared to pick it easily.

He clapped his hands.

"Alright, everyone is here. This is the first meeting since I took over."

He looked around at everyone and tossed a stack of reports into the center of the table.

"I've looked at the performance of the past few months; all businesses are sliding."

He paused. "I want to know the reason."

Sister Hua picked up the report, scanned it twice, and chuckled.

"Who knows—"

Her drawn-out tone sounded like it had a little hook. "Maybe the men have suddenly all become frugal?"

AZu looked up and adjusted his glasses. "The South City side is poaching our customers."

"How are they poaching them?" Li Zhan asked.

AZu opened his mouth but was momentarily at a loss for words.

He flipped through the materials and stammered, "It's just... they have many methods..."

Li Zhan smiled. "Let's look for reasons within ourselves first."

He stood up and paced the office a few times.

"I've been going to the Gambling Den every day recently and discovered a big problem—it's too monotonous."

He turned to look at Sister Hua. "We have great resources, but we haven't utilized them well. Before, the Gambling Den belonged to Scar Qiang, and the Entertainment Center belonged to Sausage. The two of them operated separately, and many resources weren't integrated, resulting in waste."

He picked up a stack of documents and distributed them to the three. "I've made a proposal; you all take a look. In the future, the two businesses will be integrated and unified under one company—'New Sharp Entertainment'."

He looked at Little Night. "In the future, the money-lending business will be completely handed over to AZu; it's more convenient for him at the Gambling Den. The people in charge of money lending will also be handed over."

Little Night was stunned. "This..."

Li Zhan lit a cigarette, his tone unquestionable.

"For the same business, having two teams do it is too much of a waste of resources. Besides, your bonus won't be less. There are other projects in the company that will need you to be responsible for later; broaden your horizons and don't quibble over these temporary gains and losses. Once the company grows big, you'll have everything."

Little Night could only nod helplessly and continue flipping through the materials in her hand.

Sister Hua was looking at Li Zhan with interest, taking a pack of cigarettes from her bag to light one for herself.

AZu was flipping through the materials and suddenly looked up, pointing at the content in the document.

"Customers who lose money on the day can go to Sister Hua's place for a free session? The company covers the cost?"

Li Zhan nodded. "Yes, at the very least, it's a form of appeasement for them, and they'll come back next time."

Little Night flipped to the next page and raised an eyebrow. "Entertainment Center membership system? Silver members get three free sessions at Sister Hua's place per month, Gold five, Platinum ten?"

"That's right. Playing pool is currently calculated hour by hour. In the future, just get a card and top it up, and play however you want. Same for the Mahjong rooms; top up the card and play as you please."

Li Zhan's mouth curled slightly. "The money topped up can be used for lending, and there's no need to worry about business on Sister Hua's side."

Sister Hua lazily flipped through the documents and suddenly laughed out loud.

"A-Zhan, you shouldn't be in the underworld; you should be doing business."

She narrowed her eyes. "You actually want my little sisters to accompany the gamblers?"

Li Zhan sat back on the sofa, lit a cigarette as well, tossed the pack on the table, and said calmly,

"When gamblers are gambling, they don't treat money as money at all. We can set the price higher. If the girls have sweet tongues, they will also receive quite a bit in tips; they will like it."

He looked at Sister Hua. "This is a good thing for both your team and the Gambling Den. I think you can consider recruiting more people."

Sister Hua put away her lazy demeanor and began to read the materials seriously.

Li Zhan tapped the table and added meaningfully,

"Think about it, with so many beauties in the Gambling Den, that atmosphere... are you still afraid customers won't come?"

"And..."

He crossed his arms. "Men are all face-conscious; when women are by their side, they are especially daring when throwing money around..."

Sister Hua suddenly laughed until she was shaking; the curves on her chest rose and fell with her laughter,

"A-Zhan, it seems you really understand male psychology~"

Her red lips parted slightly, exhaling a wisp of smoke. "I think this idea is doable."

Li Zhan picked up the lighter on the table to fiddle with it,

"Also, the Gambling Den will provide free alcohol from now on."

He leaned back, sinking into the sofa,

"Beauties, alcohol... I think that bunch of gamblers will like it."

He turned to AZu. "Follow what I said and make an advertisement board to put at the entrance of the Gambling Den."

AZu nodded. "I'll go do it in a while."

Li Zhan's gaze swept over everyone. "We want to make customers feel—that even when they lose money here, they do so willingly."