Two months passed in the blink of an eye, and the Lunar New Year was fast approaching.
During this time, Su Tianyu and his team's lives hadn't changed much. The operations of the Dirty Gang continued as usual, and the smuggling business was still thriving with three more successful shipments under their belt.
After the first shipment, which had gone off without a hitch, the volume of goods continued to increase. By the last shipment, they had offloaded over four hundred boxes of goods, with the original three speedboats now expanded to seven. The operation was becoming clearer, and the division of labor within the team was sharpening.
As the business grew, so did the earnings. What started as two hundred thousand yuan had gradually grown to four hundred thousand, six hundred thousand, and, by the final run, the Su family's share was nearly eight hundred thousand yuan.
Such astronomical profits only made the Su, Bai, and Kong families more motivated. By the time they completed their third shipment, Su Zhengcai, the old man from the Bai family, and the patriarch of the Kong family had already begun reaching out, expanding their network to find new ways to distribute the goods. Yu Mingyuan had been clear: there was more supply available as long as the team could distribute the goods quickly and maintain connections.
However, until the new distribution channels were firmly in place, the share percentage remained unchanged. The three families—Su, Bai, and Kong—would continue to receive ten percent.
To be honest, the ten percent was a bit high. After all, the work they were doing had little technical difficulty. The most they did was use their garbage trucks as a cover during the delivery, which reduced exposure risks, but that didn't exactly warrant a ten percent cut.
Still, the higher percentage was more a gesture of goodwill from Yu Mingyuan. He saw the potential in these three families—each had its own regional influence, and once they opened up new distribution channels, the volume could potentially multiply several times over. Thus, offering them a larger cut at the start was a normal business strategy.
It was a Saturday night when Dragon City was hit by a torrential downpour. The air was thick with humidity, and the booming thunder was relentless.
In Su Tianyu's office at the Su family's garbage yard, he sat holding the phone, speaking to Yu Mingyuan. "The shipment's arriving tomorrow night, right?"
"Right," Yu Mingyuan replied. "Just stick to the usual routine: unload the goods, distribute them as planned."
"Got it," Su Tianyu said, hanging up and stretching his arms. "Damn it, another late night tomorrow."
"If you're tired, I can have Tianbei cover for you," Tian Nan offered.
"Don't worry about it. I only handle one or two jobs a month anyway. No need to trouble Second Brother," Su Tianyu laughed. He stood up, pointing to the door. "I'm going to check in with Da Xiong."
"Alright," Tian Nan nodded.
Su Tianyu stepped outside, holding an umbrella as he walked toward the workshop. Standing under the awning, he called out, "Da Xiong!"
"I'm coming, Brother Su!" Da Xiong quickly jogged over, bending down as he did.
"Tomorrow night we're unloading the shipment. Go to the third floor and make sure everything's ready—check the equipment, diesel, and anything else we'll need. If you're short on anything, call Brother Zhang Hao," Su Tianyu instructed.
"Okay… I'll handle it," Da Xiong, who had been made responsible for managing the equipment on the third floor, replied. Since Su Tianyu had not only allowed him to live rent-free in the building but also paid him an additional 300 yuan per month as a night shift allowance, Da Xiong was fully committed to looking after all the supplies and tools.
"Alright, I'll head back now," Su Tianyu said.
"Got it," Da Xiong responded. "I'm finishing up here and heading back right away."
"Stay safe!"
"Don't worry, Brother Su," Da Xiong grinned.
After their conversation, Su Tianyu drove the company car back home, while Da Xiong donned his raincoat and, after forty minutes, arrived back at the third-floor building.
The waves were crashing against the shore, and the wind howled as the storm raged on.
Da Xiong stopped his bike, glancing up to see a sea police vehicle parked outside the building, along with two SUVs. The lights were still on inside the third floor.
This didn't surprise Da Xiong. Tang Baiqing and his colleagues often came to the third floor to play cards when on night shifts. The regular sea police patrolled the waters, but the second-generation men, who had connections, didn't want to spend the night on the boat. They'd clock in at their unit, then take their cars out, pretending to be on patrol, and kill time in a private space.
Tang Baiqing and his friends not only spent their time here but would also head to Longkou to hang out, chase girls, and live carefree lives.
Da Xiong quickly made his way into the building, where he found Tang Baiqing and six or seven others playing Texas Hold'em at the table, with large sums of cash spread across the table.
"Brother Tang, Brother Zhou… you guys are here!" Da Xiong greeted them.
"Back from work, Da Xiong?" Tang Baiqing grinned.
"Yeah," Da Xiong replied, used to being called "Da Xiong" by now.
"Damn it, we're out of water and liquor," Tang Baiqing grumbled, grabbing three hundred-yuan bills from the table and handing them to Da Xiong. "Go get some more, and pick up some snacks—spicy ones. Keep the change."
Da Xiong nodded, "Got it, Brother Tang."
Every time Tang Baiqing and his friends came over, they'd make Da Xiong run errands for them, and he never asked for the change. Sometimes, when they forgot, Tang Baiqing would tease him, saying, "Damn, we're using Da Xiong for free. At least give him a tip!"
Da Xiong took the money, turned, and headed out into the rain, pedaling his bike toward the supermarket three to four kilometers away.
Meanwhile, inside, the group continued their card game. Tang Baiqing was on a winning streak, already up by three or four thousand yuan in just twenty minutes. He was in a good mood—until an unexpected guest arrived.
Around 9 p.m., a white sedan pulled up outside. A stylishly dressed woman stormed out of the car, heading toward the building.
Tang Baiqing heard the commotion and looked up, frowning. He instinctively sniffed the air. "What are you doing here?"
"Tang Baiqing, are you human? I've been calling you for days, and you haven't answered! What's going on?" the woman yelled.
"Don't yell," Tang Baiqing replied coldly, waving her off. "Wait a moment, I'll deal with it after the game."
"Deal with it?!" The woman's face was pale, with an almost sickly undertone. Her eyes flashed with fury as she stormed over to the table and knocked the cards off. "You're going to give me an explanation tonight!"
"Are you crazy?" Tang Baiqing suddenly stood up, shoving her away. "I'm playing cards! Can't you see that?"
The two started arguing fiercely, and the others at the table exchanged looks, realizing they wouldn't be able to continue their game. They stood up to leave.
"Alright, Old Tang, let's call it a night."
"Stop fighting, let's all leave. We'll talk later."
Everyone bid their goodbyes and left, leaving Tang Baiqing and the woman alone in the room.
Outside, the storm continued to rage.
Inside, the dim lighting created a heavy atmosphere.
Tang Baiqing sat on the sofa, lit a cigarette, and took a couple of puffs before saying, "Are you out of your mind? This was mutual, and now you're trying to pin it all on me?"
"I'm not putting up with this anymore. You're not getting away with it," the woman retorted. Her face was twisted with anger. "You think you can just walk away after having fun? Well, I'm pregnant. You'd better take responsibility!"
Tang Baiqing frowned. "So what do you want to do about it? You want me to marry you? I already have a girlfriend, and we're about to get married. Didn't you know?"
"What about me?" she shot back.
"The kid's getting aborted, and I'll give you some money afterward," Tang Baiqing said bluntly, tossing his cigarette aside and heading for the door.
The woman was furious now. She grabbed his arm and screamed, "You think I'm just some prostitute? You need to give me an explanation!"
"Don't touch me!" Tang Baiqing struggled to get away, but she wouldn't let go.
In a fit of rage, the woman lost control, grabbing him and crying out, "I swear, if you don't take responsibility, I'll go to your girlfriend's house. I'll ruin everything!"
"You're insane!" Tang Baiqing had been holding his temper in check, but his life was full of bad habits, and his mood swung easily around people he knew. She had been pestering him, even physically attacking him, and now he snapped. "I'm telling you, sleeping with you was pointless! You wanted it too. Go file whatever complaint you want."
"You think I won't? Tomorrow, I'll go to your place, to your girlfriend's house, and make sure you both suffer!"
"You're out of your mind! Is this not enough?!" Tang Baiqing snapped, growing increasingly frustrated. He grabbed something from the nearby cabinet, and without thinking, swung it toward her.
"Bang!"
The sound of impact echoed through the room. The woman froze for a moment.
Tang Baiqing quickly pushed her aside. "Get out!"
The woman fell to the ground with a thud, her body convulsing violently. Tang Baiqing turned to leave, but when he heard her fall, he instinctively glanced back.
On the floor, the woman's eyes were rolling back, her body jerking violently. Blood was seeping from the back of her head.
Tang Baiqing froze in shock.
"Bang!"
The door swung open, and a large, muscular man entered, carrying several bags of food. He was soaked, clearly drenched from the rain.