The sky collapsed, and in the blink of an eye, I found myself transported to Nanluoguxiang.

Guan Yue stood in the direction Li Kaixin had left for a long time.

At this moment, Hu Laoliu stepped forward and came to his side, his face full of pain:

"Boss, you've raised the price again and are charging nearly two thousand for each delivery. We're not making any profit on the goods we've collected this time."

"What's wrong, Xiao Liu? You're complaining about me now?" Guan Yue's tone was flat, revealing no emotion.

Hu Laoliu quickly waved his hand and hurriedly explained, "No, no, I just feel a little sorry for him. Boss, you must have your reasons for making any decision."

"Xiao Liu, it's good that you understand." Guan Yue withdrew his gaze and then asked, "Guess why he showed us that trick just now?"

"Isn't this proof for us? What other reason could there be?" Old Hu looked completely bewildered, having no idea what his boss meant.

Guan Yue was taken aback by Hu Laoliu's naive reaction, and turned to glance at him: "Xiao Liu, can't you use your brain for a second? He was just warning us!"

"What? That can't be! Brother Zhou has always been very friendly to us, hasn't he?" Old Hu still didn't quite believe it.

Guan Yue looked at Hu Laoliu's appearance and shook his head helplessly:

"If he really just wanted to prove himself, he wouldn't have attacked you without hesitation, nor would he have looked back at our brothers and said those words that would last at most three breaths."

He paused, then looked at Hu Laoliu with a disappointed expression: "Xiao Liu, didn't you understand this at all?"

"Brother Zhou went too far! We've treated him so sincerely." Old Hu finally realized what was going on, his voice tinged with excitement.

"You're blaming others now?" Guan Yue's tone turned serious. "Why don't you look at your own reasons first? Before that incident, did he do anything like that?"

Hu Laoliu opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word.

"They can only produce so much stock because they've earned it by risking their lives," Guan Yue said solemnly. "Given his skills, the fact that he didn't turn against us just now is already a big favor."

Hu Laoliu's earlier indignation was immediately put to rest by Guan Yue's words.

Guan Yue was able to explain so patiently because he had no other choice.

As his business expanded, he needed a capable right-hand man.

As things stand, among his trusted confidants, only Hu Laoliu is somewhat decent; there's simply no one more suitable.

Meanwhile, on the other side, in the courtyard where Zhao Zhengping had previously made his deal, a group of twenty or thirty people had gathered.

"Zhengping, why has the price gone up again? It's ten yuan for a chicken! You're charging too much!" A man in his fifties or sixties, speaking with a thick Beijing accent, shouted.

As soon as he said that, several people in the yard who were picking out chickens, ducks and rabbits stopped what they were doing and turned to look at him.

"Expensive?" Zhao Zhengping looked up from the pile of money and slowly looked at the old man. "Fifth Master, if you think this price is not appropriate, you can go to the black market and see if it is easy to buy there."

"Yes, Fifth Master Zhao, it's fine if you don't want to buy it. The gate is right there, you can leave anytime." Zhao Zhengqiang added with a forced smile.

"Buy it! Who said we weren't going to buy it?" Fifth Master Zhao immediately took out some money from his pocket and handed it to Zhao Zhengping.

"That's more like it, Fifth Master."

Zhao Zhengping smiled and took the money. "We took risks when we bought the goods, so you can't let us work for nothing, right? Besides, you don't have to worry about someone else snatching them from you."

Uncle Zhao pursed his lips, picked up the three chickens he had chosen, and walked out of the courtyard gate.

Those in the courtyard who had been watching the commotion all turned their attention away and continued picking through the items.

I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, as I thought Master Zhao would be able to lower the price.

The overwhelming success today was beyond Zhao Zhengping and his team's expectations; by the end of the day, they had sold almost half of their stock.

Within an hour, no fewer than twenty people came and went in the courtyard, and each person bought at least one or two to take home.

Once most of the people had left, Zhao Zhengping, clutching a large wad of cash, grinned broadly at the group and said, "How about it? What did I tell you? No worries about selling them, right?"

"Uncle Zhengping, I was worrying unnecessarily. You are the Zhuge Liang of our time!" Zhao Yu smiled and stared at the money in his hand, flattering him loudly.

Zhao Zhengliang and Zhao Zhengqiang also smiled and complimented him.

"Alright, alright, it's not that exaggerated."

Zhao Zhengping waved his hand, then his expression turned serious:

"You've all seen the situation today. At this rate, three hundred might not be enough. Should we add another hundred next time?"

"Yes! Yes!" Zhao Zhengliang, Zhao Zhengqiang, and Zhao Yu nodded in unison, their eyes shining.

A hint of regret flashed in Zhao Zhengping's eyes as he smiled and said, "I thought you guys didn't want it. If I bought it all myself, I could make a little more money."

"Zhengping, that's not right. We're a team." Zhao Zhengqiang quickly chimed in.

"Yes, yes," Zhao Yu echoed, "Uncle Zhengqiang is right, you can't abandon us."

As they were talking.

Suddenly, a sarcastic voice rang out from outside the courtyard gate: "What are you chatting about? It's so lively!"

Before he could finish speaking, a young man in his early twenties strolled in.

Seeing the money in Zhao Yu's hands, their eyes practically blazed with greed: "Uncle Zhengping, you guys must have made a fortune this time, right?"

Upon seeing the newcomers, Zhao Yu and his two companions instinctively hid the money in their hands behind their backs.

Zhao Zhengping stood up, a smile spreading across his face: "Xiao Wu, what brings you here today?"

"Uncle Zhengping, don't give me that crap." Zhao Wu leaned closer with a forced smile. "What's this? You're not including me in this lucrative deal? That's not very fair, is it?"

Zhao Zhengping's smile remained unchanged, but he secretly groaned inwardly.

This Zhao Wu was a notorious troublemaker among them, always idling around and eyeing other people's ways to make money. None of them had invited him, so they had no idea where he'd heard about it.

"Xiao Wu, what's all this talk about getting rich or not? It's all just hard-earned money. We haven't even gotten our initial investment back yet. You can ask Zhao Yu and the others if you don't believe me."

Zhao Zhengping chuckled and winked at the people behind him.

"Hard work money?" Zhao Wu scoffed, glancing behind Zhao Yu and the others. "Uncle Zhengping, are you kidding me? I stood outside for half a day, selling a chicken for ten yuan. Is that hard work?"

Zhao Zhengqiang, short-tempered, couldn't help but speak up: "Zhao Wu, just say what you want!"

"Oh, Uncle Zhengqiang, are you in a hurry?" Zhao Wu said calmly, taking out a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it. "I won't make things difficult for you. I'll contribute next time, but I want 50% of the profits."

"What? You want to take 50% of the money after you only contribute one? What are you thinking!" Zhao Yu couldn't sit still any longer.

Zhao Zhengqiang and Zhao Zhengliang exchanged a glance, then stood up and stood with Zhao Zhengping, glaring angrily at Zhao Wu.

"What...what do you want to do?" Zhao Wu's momentum immediately weakened upon seeing this.

Zhao Zhengqiang said coldly, "Get out of here now, and we'll pretend nothing happened. Otherwise, don't blame us for being impolite."

As they spoke, the three of them moved closer to Zhao Wu.

Seeing the situation was turning against him, Zhao Wu shrank back and uttered a harsh threat: "Fine, fine! You just wait and see, I hope you won't regret this!"

After saying that, he immediately turned and ran away.