Chapter 18

Zhang Linmo's expression turned serious. "This is the second purpose behind my renovation of the Old District—bringing the Old District Gang's forces into the light. All armed forces will move underground."

Everyone was shocked, blurting out, "We're going legit too?"

"That's right." Zhang Linmo nodded. "Over the past few years, the Old District Gang's businesses have been getting worse and worse. Because of the old rule that prohibits the Old District Gang from directly dealing drugs, our main businesses have mostly been arms trafficking, protection rackets, loan sharking, and the red-light district. Aside from arms dealing and loan sharking, neither the red-light district nor protection fees brings in as much money as before. The main reason is that as the city develops, more bars, karaoke parlors, and nightclubs have opened downtown, spreading out the customers who used to come to the Old District. Besides, the Old District has always had a bad reputation. Honest businessmen from outside don't dare come here to develop their businesses. Most of the people left are gang dependents without much ability to make money. Many of them can't even earn enough for themselves, much less pay us tribute."

At that point, Zhang Linmo suddenly turned and asked Zhang Xianyang, "How much did your clothing stores make on opening day?"

"Huh?" Caught off guard, Zhang Xianyang froze.

Zhang Linmo patiently asked again. Zhang Xianyang scratched his head and shook it. "The stores haven't closed yet, and the accountants haven't sent over today's reports."

Zhang Linmo waved a broad hand and said decisively, "Ask now. Have them calculate the current totals first."

Zhang Linmo checked his watch and said casually, "Count everything up to three-thirty."

Zhang Xianyang acknowledged him and immediately instructed Zhang Han to contact the managers of the major flagship stores across the province, telling them to calculate their accounts and report back at once. After nearly half an hour, Zhang Han, who had finished communicating with them, leaned close and whispered a number into Zhang Xianyang's ear. Zhang Xianyang was visibly surprised as well. Turning around, he asked, "They made that much?"

The big shots all perked up, their eyes immediately fixed on him. Zhang Xianyang walked up to Zhang Linmo and said softly, "The total revenue was over thirty million."

Even Zhang Linmo was startled this time. He asked in disbelief, "How could it be that much?"

Several bosses below immediately voiced their doubts. "Yeah, Third. You're not making that up, are you? It's just selling clothes. How could it make that much in a single day?"

Zhang Xianyang gave a bitter smile. Even he had not expected the profits to be so astonishing. Still, he somewhat understood why Zhang Linmo had brought this up. He glanced at his father and saw him nod encouragingly. Zhang Xianyang curled his lips slightly, stepped forward, and announced, "The Old Zhang Family's newly established Soaring clothing brand has thirty-one flagship stores across the province. Every item of clothing is priced between ten and twenty thousand yuan. Since these are new stores and new products, aside from the Old District flagship store, where all these uncles and elders showed their support and bought nearly a thousand outfits, most of the other flagship stores sold more than thirty outfits each. Altogether, that comes to nearly two thousand outfits. At an average price of fifteen thousand yuan apiece, wouldn't that be over thirty million?"

That did not even include the inconspicuous but expensive shoes, hats, scarves, accessories, and the like. Counting those in, the revenue would probably have been even higher.

Naturally, many Old District bosses had shown their wholehearted support. But clothing was an industry of continuous consumer demand, and this was only the first day the Soaring clothing flagship stores had opened. Though the television advertisements had been loud and flashy, many people were still taking a wait-and-see approach. Once the Soaring brand developed further and gradually entered markets beyond the province, the profits would become even greater.

No wonder people said luxury goods were a wildly profitable business. Zhang Xianyang secretly clicked his tongue in amazement. Now he had seen it for himself.

Everyone was left speechless. Even Zhang Linmo stood there dumbfounded for quite a while before saying awkwardly, "Damn. That's almost as much as our brothers make in a month of fighting, killing, and risking their lives."

Feng Daoxin and several other bosses could not help asking, "Can legitimate business really make that much?"

The moment those words came out, Zhang Linmo knew he had basically achieved half his goal. He immediately composed himself and smiled meaningfully. "Not only does it make more money, it makes money easily, safely, and under the protection of the law."

Author's note: Thanks to Demeter for the landmine ╭(╯3╰)╮

Chapter 18

Boss Zhang's Taobao-style sales pitch had clearly moved many people. The discussion soon shifted to how to legitimize their forces and what kinds of businesses they should develop afterward. Watching the many bosses discuss things heatedly in the hall, Zhang Xianyang felt utterly baffled.

Wasn't the original topic whether renovating the Old District would threaten the gang? Why had the conversation gone so wildly off track in less than half an hour?

Zhang Xianyang silently pondered for a long while before finally having to admit with admiration that his seemingly rough father was not rough at all. At the very least, he controlled the rhythm of a conversation better than some people in official circles whom Zhang Xianyang had met in his previous life.

So maybe his father's most suitable job was entering politics?

Zhang Xianyang silently imagined it and shuddered involuntarily. Damn it, a long-established mafia boss switching careers to become a public servant... that was way too horrifying. I must be thinking about this wrong.

While Zhang Xianyang quietly let his imagination run wild, Feng Daoxin, who had been arguing himself hoarse with the others, suddenly said, "Actually, none of us knows much about business. Isn't there a ready-made businessman right here? We might as well hear Yangyang's opinion."

In an instant, every boss's gaze focused on Zhang Xianyang.

Zhang Muyang, seated beside Zhang Xianyang, quietly poked him in the lower back. Zhang Xianyang came back to himself and looked at everyone in confusion.

That was the downside of attending a meeting merely as an observer. Since he knew he had no right to speak, it was easy to lose focus during the meeting. Fortunately, the bosses were already used to younger members spacing out while attending these meetings, so they did not think much of it. Feng Daoxin patiently repeated what had been said earlier. Zhang Xianyang smiled and said, "Actually, at this stage, Uncle Feng and the rest of you don't need to focus on what businesses other people are making money from. You should first think of ways to legitimize the businesses already under your control. The gang has at least three lines of business that we're already experienced in. As the old saying goes, better to do what you know than what you don't. Instead of rashly entering unfamiliar industries, why not first do well in the ones you understand?"

The bosses listened with great interest. Meng Qingsheng could not help asking, "Third, quit flattering us. Our families have only ever known how to fight and hack people. What business do we know how to do?"

Zhang Xianyang shook his head with a smile. "At the very least, we're experienced in real estate, venture capital, and the entertainment industry."

Everyone was stunned. Zhang Xianyang continued, "There's no need to explain real estate. The Old District has always had the habit of buying houses and land whenever there's money available. I've seen several uncles and elders often use the gang's spare funds to buy plots of land before reselling them at high prices. That is real estate business. And as the city pushes forward with its renovation plans for the Old District, this city will gradually be shaped into an ancient cultural city with a long history. Tourism will flourish alongside it. The land around the Old District will receive more and more attention. Land prices will be artificially driven up, and your fortunes will naturally rise with them."

Zhang Tumo, the Zhang Family's second uncle, who had remained silent until then, suddenly said, "If tourism really takes off, we could also work together to build a resort. The money in everyone's hands is just sitting idle anyway. The Old Zhang Family is planning to build a Star Wars Game City to attract all kinds of players from around the country who enjoy Star Wars Game."

Zhang Xianyang gave Zhang Tumo a somewhat strange look. Meng Qingsheng, who had a more straightforward personality, immediately asked, "What Star Wars Game City? Why haven't I heard about it?"

"It's all because of Yangyang and the others. They've gone crazy playing online games and insisted that Eldest Brother build a realistically simulated game city in the Old District. I suppose playing on the computer just wasn't satisfying enough for them anymore."

Wang Zhaoyi suddenly cut in from the side. "As I recall, Star Wars Game requires props like space battleships, laser guns, and mechs. Those things need high-tech metal composite materials as raw materials. Could it be that the Old Zhang Family acquired that metal processing plant some time ago for this?"

Zhang Tumo nodded with a pleased expression.

Wang Zhaoyi thought silently for a moment, then said slowly, "In that case, could we also build a Counterterrorism Game City?"

Everyone stared at him with horrified expressions. Wang Zhaoyi shrugged casually. "We all have plenty of scrapped guns in our warehouses anyway. We could modify them into fake guns and fake bullets. They'd be far better than those toy guns on the market that only fool children."

"Besides, we have another advantage over them. We can import the most advanced firearms and ammunition from abroad, then find ways to modify them into toy guns. Our bodyguards and enforcers can even pretend to be terrorists and cooperate with the players during the game. It's just making reasonable use of resources!"

You really don't think that's a waste at all!

As for whether he truly wanted to import high-tech firearms and ammunition to modify into toy guns, or simply wanted to import firearms and ammunition, the bosses at the meeting clearly had their own opinions.

The bosses curled their lips dismissively. Lin Jiahe, the Fifth Elder, who had always gotten along well with Wang Qi, silently glanced at Wang Zhaoyi and said with a smile, "As expected of young people. Your minds are more flexible than us old bones."

Wang Zhaoyi promptly displayed a proper smile.

Feng Daoxin impatiently waved his hand. "Keep listening to Yangyang. What about that venture whatever and the entertainment industry?"

The smile on Wang Zhaoyi's face stiffened slightly. He returned to his seat behind Feng Daoxin and fell silent.

Zhang Xianyang secretly glanced at Wang Zhaoyi, feeling delighted inside. He continued explaining to everyone in an even better mood. "Venture capital is actually similar to the process of loan sharking. You search the market for individuals or companies that need money, first evaluate their strength and development potential, and if they have prospects, you use the funds in your hands to buy shares in or acquire their companies—"

"Wait." Feng Daoxin raised a hand, signaling Zhang Xianyang to stop. "I remember this thing isn't very reliable. If it goes wrong, all the money you invested could be lost."

Zhang Xianyang nodded. "There are risks. But the greater the risk, the greater the returns."

The bosses frowned, clearly not optimistic about the industry. "We don't even know how to run our own businesses. How could we know whether other people can run theirs well? If we knew a business was good, we could just do it ourselves when the time came. Why invest our money in someone else?"

Seeing that everyone was somewhat resistant to this business, Zhang Xianyang did not bother explaining further. He changed the subject. "Then how about microloans?"

He then explained the process of microloans. It was actually not much different from loan sharking, except the interest was not as high. However, the customer base was larger, and it was more protected by law. The risks were relatively small—especially for these mafia bosses, who had been loan sharking for years and had plenty of experience collecting debts. Of course, the returns were much smaller than venture capital as well. Still, the bosses clearly liked this idea, likely because of their habit of sticking with what they knew.

After that came the analysis of the entertainment industry. It still involved the businesses the bosses knew best: karaoke parlors, bars, nightclubs, teahouses, restaurants, and so on. Zhang Xianyang casually told them about some modern management concepts. In truth, he did not understand them very well himself. The Photon Brain had given them to him out of boredom. Zhang Xianyang simply repeated them as written, while the bosses listened without really understanding. In any case, they knew these businesses also had to be legitimized, licenses had to be obtained, and they had to operate under legal protection. They also needed to hire talented management graduates with practical experience from home and abroad to run them. They absolutely could not keep the old red-light-district mafia style that scared customers away.