Jiang Shuwan: "..."

Qingxing: "..."

Milk Bro: "..."

The three of them twitched at the corners of their mouths. Qingxing said incredulously, "How come these shopkeepers are like shrewish women, cursing and spitting? It's so vulgar."

Brother Nai looked shocked as well, "It really is too down-to-earth."

He broke out in a cold sweat as he spoke. Luckily, they had won the competition this time. Otherwise, if they had lost to the East Market, the bosses in the West Market might have treated him the same way.

Brother Nai wiped the sweat from his brow.

He finally experienced the dangers of doing business.

Whoever provides the milk is the mother; without the milk, they are nothing.

The law of the jungle prevails, showing no mercy whatsoever.

Jiang Shuwan was planning something else entirely.

Merchants are driven by profit. The fact that the Song family was able to promote the young Song Yi to the position of vice president is not only because Song Yi himself is a capable person, but also because it demonstrates the Song family's pivotal position in the East Market.

Given the Song family's high standing in the East Market, is it really possible that they would fall into a position of being universally reviled simply because of one setback?

A century-old business, collapsed so easily?

Is there nothing suspicious about this?

“Brother Nai, put aside what you’re doing for now and focus on investigating the Song family’s recent business situation, as well as whether there are any other conflicts among the merchants in the East Market besides the Donglai Street incident.”

"Yes, miss."

Brother Nai is a man of action; he follows Jiang Shuwan's instructions precisely, and soon Jiang Shuwan received a stack of documents.

"Miss is incredibly insightful. The East Market has been quite turbulent lately. Besides Donglai Street, another vice president of the East Market is also causing a lot of trouble."

Jiang Shuwan picked up the documents and started reading.

Besides Song Yi, there is another vice president in Dongshi surnamed Zhou.

The Zhou family had no background whatsoever; their ancestors were displaced people who didn't even own land. Later, they met Song Yi's father, the head of the Song family, by chance.

The Zhou family rose to prominence thanks to the Song family. Starting from the generation of Zhou, the vice president's father and the head of the Zhou family, the Zhou family was the younger brother of the Song family.

Even though the second generation of the Zhou family became the vice president, they always treated the Song family with great respect. They were practically invisible in the chamber of commerce, with little presence.

Over the years, the Zhou family has never shown any disloyalty towards the Song family.

This time, Song Yi defied public opinion and challenged Jiang Shuwan, and the Zhou family fully supported him, even buying two shops to do business with him.

In the end, he didn't make any money, but he did get closer to other merchants and won over many people's hearts.

Nowadays, Vice President Zhou's reputation is even greater than Song Yi's.

Many people support him becoming the next president of the East City Association.

"That's it?" Jiang Shuwan frowned slightly. "The Song family is finished just because they were stabbed in the back by a younger brother they raised from childhood?"

Qingxing, who was currently berating the Zhou family for their ingratitude and betrayal, was speechless.

Milk Bro =_=: "..."

He was also about to curse.

The Zhou family was established by the Song family. The Zhou family head's generation was a beggar who picked up garbage to eat. It was only because the Song family head was kind that he helped him start his family business.

The Zhou family, on the other hand, took the opportunity to stab the Song family in the back while the Song family head was still alive.

So ruthless, he could have cursed for three days and three nights, but when it came to his young lady's mouth, she just casually said, "She was stabbed in the back by her little brother," and he was instantly speechless.

Moreover, what the young lady said is also true.

It was just a stab in the back from a former underling; it wouldn't have brought the Song family to such a state.

A century-old business, run by three generations, how could it collapse so easily?

"Investigate further, investigate more deeply, don't be stingy with money, spend it when necessary, I have money now!"

Upon hearing Jiang Shuwan's resolute words, Brother Nai blushed. Although he had been learning business from Jiang Shuwan, his mindset was still the same as before, and he was reluctant to spend money.

"Yes, Miss, I will definitely investigate this thoroughly."

Following Jiang Shuwan's instructions, Brother Nai put in a tremendous amount of effort this time, spending a great deal of energy and money. And indeed, the investigation uncovered something extraordinary.

“Miss, the Zhou family is indeed not simple. On the surface, they are still merchants in the East Market, but in fact they have already colluded with the South Market.”

"The old chairman of the association in Nanshi now has a concubine who is the younger sister of Vice Chairman Zhou."

Upon hearing this, Qingxing's hand trembled, and she almost spilled the tea on Brother Nai. Her face was full of surprise.

"Isn't the old president of the Nanshi Association in his sixties or seventies? Then Vice President Zhou is the same age as Song Yi, only in his twenties, and his sister is only a teenager. He gave his sister to an old man?"

Brother Nai nodded, his heart filled with shock.

He came from a humble background and had seen too many poor people and servants give their young children to their white-haired masters as concubines or adopted sons in order to climb the social ladder.

They were so poor and miserable, with no hope for the future. They would do anything to have enough to eat.

But the Zhou family is not poor; they rose to prominence the day they met the Song family head twenty years ago.

They might not be incredibly wealthy, but they certainly had enough savings to live comfortably for generations.

Miss Zhou must have been pampered and raised with many servants. At the tender age of ten, in the prime of her youth, she was given away by her own brother and father to be a concubine to an old man in his sixties or seventies.

A pear tree in full bloom overshadows a crabapple tree—it sounds beautiful.

But the thought of a delicate young girl with a frail old man on top of her makes one want to vomit.

The Zhou family, who committed such a disgusting act, were not only not despised by everyone, but instead became more and more successful, and the calls for them to become the president of the East City Association grew louder and louder.

They also joined forces with the chairman of the Nanshi Association to sabotage the business of the Song family's various shops.

The Song family is caught in a pincer movement, which is why they are in their current predicament. Not only is Song Yi's position as vice president in jeopardy, but even the position of the head of the Song family may be replaced.

For a moment, the whole room fell silent.

"Miss, doesn't the book say that those who follow the righteous path receive much help, while those who stray from it receive little? How come this is different from what the book says?"

Qingxing silently lowered her head.

She had studied with Jiang Shuwan since she was a child, and later Zhao Niangzi taught her to read. Now she is a person who can read thousands of characters. Sometimes when Jiang Shuwan is reading, she serves her tea and has also read a lot. She has memorized this sentence from Mencius.

Brother Nai also fell silent. Jiang Shuwan had taught him before that doing business required integrity and good character, especially for those of them in the food business.

But things are different when you get to the Zhou family.

"You guys~~~~"

Seeing their gloomy expressions, Jiang Shuwan shook her head. Just now, they had been whispering in her ear, offering all sorts of advice on how to annex the Song family and become the head of Dongshi.

Now that they've seen how loyal and righteous the Song family is, they've all sided with them.

"Miss, please rest assured. Sympathy is one thing, but in business there are no fathers and sons. I will not show any mercy to the Song family."

Brother Nai quickly patted his chest to assure him, and Qingxing nodded vigorously beside him.

"That's right, that's right. The Song family's current situation is not our fault, so why should we show them mercy?"

"To be merciful to the enemy is to be cruel to oneself."