Chapter Summaries

Su Tianyu and Kong Zhenghui negotiated with Li Hongze at Fortune House and secured six hundred thousand in compensation for the four families. As they collected the money, Changqing Company men attacked, and Su Tianyu struck Lu Feng with a floor lamp.

• At Fortune House, Liu the Second apologized to Li Hongze for the families’ clashes with Changqing Company, and Li proposed releasing their people and ending the feud without compensation.
• Su Tianyu rejected Li Hongze’s offer and demanded compensation for the injured workers, the damaged factory, and Su Tianbei’s blade wound.
• Kong Zhenghui demanded six hundred thousand, including reimbursement for his media expenses, and Li Hongze agreed to pay it while ordering Lu Feng to handle the money.
• Changqing Company’s accounting employee brought the cash, and Su Tianyu and Kong Zhenghui picked up the bags as the four families prepared to leave.
• A burly Changqing man charged the families with a weapon and ordered his men to cripple them, so Su Tianyu grabbed a floor lamp and struck at Lu Feng.

Lu Feng launched a violent assault on Su Tianyu and his allies at Fortune House, while police on both sides chose not to intervene. The fight remained unresolved as the badly wounded Su Tianbei stood his ground against another charge.

• Lu Feng led more than twenty Changqing Company thugs into Fortune House, where Su Tianyu, the Su brothers, the Kong brothers, and others fought back.
• Bai Hongbo hid outside the bathroom while Liu the Second refused to let him in, but Bai’s younger brother helped him fight after he was slashed.
• Su Tianyu and Lu Feng traded blows, and Su Tianyu drove his knee into Lu Feng’s lower abdomen before they fell onto a sofa.
• Wang Daolin and Li Xing both ordered their officers to leave the brawl alone, though Li Xing threatened to arrest Lu Feng if anyone died.
• The wounded Su Tianbei refused to submit, and the thugs charged him and the others again.

Su Tianyu fought Lu Feng through the restaurant and outside, finally overpowering him as officers arrived. Upstairs, Kong Zhenghui took the money and led the battered group away.

• Su Tianyu and Lu Feng fought fiercely in the private room while the Bai Family brothers held off other fighters.
• Su Tianyu chased Lu Feng down the exterior stairs and continued beating him until Lu Feng stopped resisting.
• Su Tianyu demanded to know if Lu Feng still wanted to fight, then explained why he had insisted on the six hundred thousand and collapsed as officers caught him.
• Officers found Su Tianbei, Kong Zhenghui, and the others wounded upstairs, while Su Tianbei demanded to know if they could take the money.
• Kong Zhenghui grabbed the bag of money and shouted for the group to leave.

After the Fortune House fight, the Four Companies divided Changqing Company’s compensation and recovered at the hospital. Su Tianyu switched rooms to escape Bai Hongbo’s nonstop chatter, grew close to Wu Shixiong, and heard someone cursing outside the ward.

• Neither Changqing Company nor the Su, Liu, Bai, and Kong Families reported the Fortune House fight, and Floral Shirt was left likely to take the blame for several charges.
• Su Tianyu, Su Tianbei, Kong Zhenghui, Bai Hongbo, and the others went to the hospital, where Changqing Company’s six hundred thousand in compensation was divided among the Kong, Su, and Bai Families.
• After three days sharing a room with Bai Hongbo and his many visitors, Su Tianyu switched rooms with Su Tianbei.
• Su Tianyu shared a room with Wu Shixiong, who helped care for him as they recovered and grew closer.
• Wu Shixiong asked Su Tianyu awkward questions about sex, and their conversation was interrupted by loud curses from outside the ward.

Da Xiong’s father bargained with Su Tianbei over compensation for Da Xiong’s injuries, then left after angrily telling his son to recover. More than twenty days later, the injured men were discharged, while Su Zhengcai was cleared for release from detention.

• Da Xiong’s father visited him in the hospital and scolded him for getting hurt while defending the Su Family’s plant.
• Da Xiong’s father demanded more compensation from Su Tianbei, who agreed to pay eight thousand in addition to covering medical expenses and wages.
• Da Xiong’s father told Da Xiong to stay in the hospital and recover, then left; Da Xiong returned to the room smiling and offered to buy snacks.
• After more than twenty days, the injured men completed their discharge paperwork, and Bai Hongbo invited them on a boat cruise in the inner harbor.
• An official told Su Zhengcai in cell 403 that he had been cleared and would be released.

At a pleasure boat in Zhannan District, Su Tianyu explained to Su Tiannan why he could not settle for the family business, recalling how privilege had separated him from his doomed friend He Yudong. The brothers returned to the harbor night with their paths still distinct, while Wang Daolin arrived at the Su family courtyard and learned they had gone out drinking.

• Bai Hongbo took Su Tianyu, Su Tiannan, and the others to Treasure Music One, where they drank and socialized with hired companions.
• Su Tiannan praised Su Tianyu for helping the family and urged him to stay and work in the family business.
• Su Tianyu told Su Tiannan about the sinking cruise ship, where orders saved wealthy and powerful passengers while ordinary people, including his friend He Yudong, died.
• Su Tianyu said the invisible wall of privilege had shaped his life and that he needed to pursue opportunities beyond the family business.
• Wang Daolin returned to the Su family courtyard, and Third Sister told him the others had gone out drinking and whoring.

After Second Uncle Su Zhengcai returned home, he praised Su Tianyu’s actions but insisted the family should not back down from the Management Council. By the next day, the Su men were kneeling and making amends to the Council’s leaders, while a young woman recognized one of them as the man who had smashed her car.

• After the party, Su Tianbei and the others went home to see Su Zhengcai, while Bai Hongbo stayed out and missed his father’s release.
• Su Zhengcai reunited with his family, sent everyone else to bed, and spoke privately with Su Tianyu about the family’s losses and next move.
• Su Tianyu argued that the family still had to submit to the Management Council because it controlled their livelihood, but Su Zhengcai refused to accept that.
• The next day, Su Zhengcai, Su Tiannan, Su Tianyu, and Su Tianbei knelt before Yu Jinrong and two other Management Council leaders at Yu Jinrong’s home.
• A young woman upstairs recognized one of the men as Lu Feng and accused him of smashing her car and breaking her Winnie the Pooh figure.

At a banquet, Su Zhengcai used the Su Family’s recent crisis to build a connection with Yu Jinrong, a senior Management Council official. Yu Jinrong offered Su Tianyu a place at his family’s company and promised to help him find a public-sector position the following year.

• Su Zhengcai toasted Yu Jinrong and pledged the support of the Su Family’s eight hundred employees, and Yu Jinrong accepted the toast.
• Su Zhengcai described the younger family members’ role in the Fortune House incident and credited Su Tianyu with bringing the Four Companies together.
• Yu Jinrong asked about Su Tianyu’s West Point education and why he had returned home instead of remaining with his original unit.
• Su Zhengcai asked Yu Jinrong to help Su Tianyu secure a good public-sector assignment after he took the civil service exam the next year.
• Yu Jinrong invited Su Tianyu to work at his family’s company for a year and said his son would help arrange a position, and Su Zhengcai urged Tianyu to thank him.

After dinner at the Yu family's estate, Su Tianyu ran into An Qiqi, whose car he had damaged while fleeing Lu Feng, and agreed to pay her repair costs. Meanwhile, Yu Jinrong learned that another company had approached his eldest son and that they were negotiating.

• Su Tianyu politely declined Yu Jinrong's offer to work for his eldest son's foreign trade company, while Su Zhengcai urged him to accept.
• The Su family left the estate after discussing the sanitation industry, and the housekeeper gave Su Tianyu Yu Jinrong's eldest son's contact information.
• An Qiqi confronted Su Tianyu about the damaged car and broken Winnie the Pooh, and he agreed to pay her 3,500 after she gave him her contact information.
• Su Tianyu realized he should have given An Qiqi Lu Feng's contact information, then left with the Su family.
• Yu Jinrong asked his eldest son whether another company had approached him, and his son said they were in talks.

Su Tianyu weighed Second Uncle Su Zhengcai’s advice and decided to take the opportunity to work for the Yu Family. The next morning, he called Yu Mingyuan and headed to the office, beginning his new life in Dragon City.

• Su Zhengcai urged Su Tianyu to work for Yu Jinrong, arguing that the connections could help him secure a good public-sector job later.
• Su Tianyu admitted he was wary of owing Yu Jinrong a favor and possibly falling under the Yu Family’s influence, but Su Zhengcai persuaded him to seize the opportunity.
• Da Xiong and Bai Hongbo visited Su Tianyu, and Bai Hongbo asked him to review a contract template.
• The next morning, Su Tianyu called Yu Mingyuan, arranged to meet at the office, and left home dressed in a suit.

Su Tianyu joined Yu Mingyuan’s company as assistant to the general manager, but Yu Mingyuan’s unusually generous treatment left him uneasy. After giving him a company SUV, Yu Mingyuan invited him to another party, and Su Tianyu joked with Big Bai about what his boss might really want.

• Su Tianyu met Yu Mingyuan, who hired him as assistant to the general manager and promised to help him with civil service connections after he passed the exam.
• Yu Mingyuan gave Su Tianyu a high salary, little work, and invitations to social gatherings with government and business figures.
• After half a month, Su Tianyu asked Yu Mingyuan why he was treating him so well, but Yu Mingyuan invited him to a party instead of answering.
• Yu Mingyuan handed Su Tianyu the keys to a company SUV because he was tired of commuting by bus.
• Su Tianyu asked Big Bai what a man might want from treating another man without limits, and joked that he would make Yu Mingyuan reveal his intentions first.

Su Tianyu forced Yu Mingyuan to reveal why he had given him special treatment: Yu Mingyuan wanted the Su Family’s help distributing tobacco and alcohol in Dragon City. Yu Mingyuan took Su Tianyu to meet someone in Zhannan District, and a familiar figure arrived.

• Su Tianyu deliberately skipped work for five days until Yu Mingyuan summoned him to the office.
• Su Tianyu confronted Yu Mingyuan and threatened to resign, pressing him to explain his intentions.
• Yu Mingyuan showed Su Tianyu Dajiu cigarettes and explained the opportunity in supplying familiar Chinese tobacco and alcohol to Dragon City.
• Yu Mingyuan proposed using his sourcing channels and the Su Family’s workers in Zhannan District to distribute the goods.
• Yu Mingyuan took Su Tianyu to a teahouse in Zhannan District, where a familiar figure soon entered.

Su Tianyu learned that Yu Mingyuan was organizing a sanitation supply business with the Kong Family and sought his Su Family’s involvement. After Su Zhengcai agreed to test the waters by bringing in Bai Hongbo’s family, the Bai Family joined, and Yu Mingyuan began preparing for the venture.

• Yu Mingyuan explained the supply business and its distribution networks to Su Tianyu, Kong Zhenghui, and Tang Baiqing, and asked Su Tianyu to consult his family.
• Su Tianyu told Su Zhengcai and his eldest brother about the proposal, and Su Zhengcai said someone should test the waters first.
• Su Tianyu proposed that Bai Hongbo join, and Bai Hongbo went home to ask his father.
• Old Man Bai agreed to join after learning that the Su Family and Kong Family were involved.
• Yu Mingyuan told someone on the phone to start getting ready because the deal was nearly settled.

Su Tianyu and Yu Mingyuan formed an initial team for their goods business, with Bai Hongbo joining through Su Tianyu’s recommendation. Afterward, Bai lent Su Tianyu money to repair An Qiqi’s car, and Su called her to arrange it.

• Su Tianyu told Yu Mingyuan that his second uncle was interested in joining the business, and they agreed to keep the operation legal and begin with trial shipments.
• Su Tianyu persuaded Yu Mingyuan to include Bai Hongbo, whose family’s chamber of commerce could help with distribution, and Yu agreed to meet him.
• Bai Hongbo met Yu Mingyuan, and the families’ roles in procurement, local connections, storage, deliveries, and sales were arranged.
• Yu Mingyuan told Linda to buy equipment, while Su Tianyu and Bai Hongbo left the company and discussed Su’s favor in bringing him into the business.
• Bai Hongbo agreed to lend Su Tianyu a little over three thousand to repair An Qiqi’s car, and Su called An Qiqi to arrange it.

Su Tianyu helped An Qiqi arrange repairs for her car and paid to add a protective wrap, while Bai Hongbo flirted with An Qiqi’s friends. Later, Su Tianyu joined Linda to prepare for Yu Mingyuan’s cargo operation, and the first shipment arrived a week later.

• Su Tianyu negotiated the repair work on An Qiqi’s car and arranged to have a pink protective wrap added, with Bai Hongbo paying the bill.
• An Qiqi thanked Su Tianyu and joked that she would treat him to dinner, while Doll received Bai Hongbo’s message marking the precise moment they had met.
• Linda showed Su Tianyu the rented speedboats and storage space and told him Yu Mingyuan had put him in charge of moving cargo.
• A week later, the first shipment arrived, and the group gathered at the Su Family Garbage Dump to begin work that night.

Su Tianyu’s group completed its first covert shipment pickup at sea and brought the cargo back to shore. Before they could leave, Wei Xiangzuo and the Zhannan Wharf Gang confronted them and stopped the ensuing fight at gunpoint.

• Da Xiong persuaded Su Tianyu to let him join the dangerous cargo pickup so he could earn money to buy a house and get married.
• After Tang Baiqing confirmed the arrangements, Su Tianyu led the group out to a freighter and loaded crates worth a little over four hundred thousand onto three speedboats.
• The group returned to shore, transferred the cargo into trucks, and began preparing to leave while Da Xiong stayed behind to help clean up.
• Two SUVs arrived, and their men demanded that the group surrender the cargo and summon their boss.
• The buzz-cut Wei Xiangzuo knocked Bai Hongbo and two Bai Family members down, while his companion held a pistol to Su Tianbei’s head and identified Wei as the Zhannan Wharf Gang’s hall boss.

Su Tianyu’s crew was stopped by Wei Xiangzuo’s Dock Gang while collecting a shipment, but Tang Baiqing negotiated their release. After Yu Mingyuan paid out the crew’s share, Su Tianyu wondered how the Dock Gang had learned about their hidden pickup so quickly.

• Su Tianyu told his crew to stand down and call Yu Mingyuan after Wei Xiangzuo’s men intercepted the shipment and ordered them to squat.
• Tang Baiqing arrived, explained the shipment was for his friend, and privately settled the dispute with Wei Xiangzuo.
• Wei Xiangzuo and his men left, and Tang Baiqing told Su Tianyu the crew could continue as usual.
• Yu Mingyuan paid Tang Baiqing to smooth things over, then gave Su Tianyu eighty-five thousand to divide among the crew.
• Su Tianyu told Kong Zhenghui that the Dock Gang had arrived suspiciously quickly and wondered how they had discovered the pickup site.

After the first smuggling run, Su Tianyu and his companions shared breakfast and discussed their hopes for the future. Big Bear moved into the seaside building, leaving his family home to take a night watchman’s job.

• Kong Zhenghui dismissed Su Tianyu’s suspicions about the dock gangs, and the families divided the night’s earnings among themselves.
• Big Bear treated Su Tianyu, Su Tianbei, Bai Hongbo, and Zhang Hao to dim sum, then asked to live in the rented seaside building.
• The five young men discussed their plans and toasted a better tomorrow with bowls of congee.
• Big Bear took the building’s key home, gave Father Wu most of his earnings, and left with his belongings after explaining he had found a night watchman’s job.
• Big Bear cleaned and furnished a bedroom in the seaside building, placing a carving of Third Sister and his worn Superman toy beside the bed.

Su Tianyu prepared the Dirty Gang for another smuggling run as Big Xiong went to the Third Floor during a storm. There, Tang Baiqing struck his pregnant lover during an argument, and Big Xiong walked in as she lay convulsing and bleeding.

• Su Tianyu confirmed with Yu Mingyuan that another shipment was arriving the following night and told Big Xiong to prepare the equipment at the Third Floor.
• Big Xiong arrived at the Third Floor and found Tang Baiqing and several others playing cards, then left to buy them food and drinks.
• A young woman confronted Tang Baiqing and told him she was pregnant, demanding that he explain what he would do.
• Tang Baiqing refused to marry her and told her to get an abortion, then struck her with an object during their struggle.
• The woman fell, convulsing and bleeding, as Big Xiong returned carrying bags of food.

Tang Baiqing accidentally killed Xiao Ying and his father and a police officer arranged to keep the incident quiet, but police later arrested Tang Baiqing and Big Bear. Before the Police Bureau opened, Yu Mingyuan alerted Su Tianyu to move the boats and other things from the third floor.

• Tang Baiqing struck Xiao Ying with a specialized hammer, and she died while he and Big Bear tried to carry her outside.
• Tang Baiqing called his father, who arrived with an elderly police officer; they decided to handle the death privately and warned Tang Baiqing to keep Big Bear quiet.
• Police arrived around eleven that night and escorted Tang Baiqing and Big Bear away while taking Xiao Ying's body.
• Yu Mingyuan called Su Tianyu before dawn and ordered him to rearrange the boats and move everything from the third floor before the Police Bureau opened.