Chapter 10: Smuggling Private Goods

“In this way, the public will know more about you. There will be gains, but also losses.”

Chen Hao didn’t elaborate further, but both Ruonan and Jie Wen understood the situation clearly.

Becoming the spokespersons for the convenience store meant publicly acknowledging their relationship with Chen Hao. It would bring them more attention and support, but also possibly provoke some people’s hostility.

When they first chose to follow Chen Hao, they had already anticipated this.

Every choice comes with pros and cons; the key lies in weighing which side matters more.

At present, the benefits clearly outweighed the risks, since Chen Hao had indicated that they would be in charge of the store’s marketing campaign.

Seeing that it was getting late—and with both women’s arms sore from the massage—Chen Hao waved his hand lightly, signaling the end.

“That’s all for today. Go back and get some rest. Tomorrow, meet me at the Jiashangban Human Resources Company,” he said.

“Before you go, remember to get some wine from A-Liang at the bar.”

This time, Jie Wen didn’t object. She apologized to Ruonan and then left Chen Hao’s office.

Ruonan, however, felt slightly disappointed that nothing beyond friendship had happened tonight. Even though Chen Hao had promised not to do anything against their will, she hadn’t even gotten the chance to express her feelings.

Still, she thought to herself—opportunities would come. Just wait and see.

The two of them left the office together and found A-Liang at the bar. He began talking to them about Chen Hao.

As the new boss’s attentive employee, knowing his preferences was naturally part of the job—especially regarding the convenience store and the policy that all Hongxing members would receive a 50% discount.

Hearing this, Ruonan and Jie Wen were stunned. Such generosity was rare—it really did seem that Chen Hao was a big spender.

Ruonan hugged Jie Wen worriedly and said:

“The boss is being way too generous. Let’s talk to him about it tomorrow!”

Jie Wen nodded in agreement.

Then, A-Liang respectfully handed them two bottles of Lafite wine that Brother Hao had specially packed for them and addressed both of them as sister-in-law.

Jie Wen blushed slightly but didn’t refute it and accepted the wine. In contrast, Ruonan laughed and praised A-Liang for being sharp-eyed:

“What a clever kid.”

She chuckled in response, and A-Liang bowed enthusiastically.

“Take care, sister-in-laws!”

The other boys echoed the call.

Surrounded by the cries of “sister-in-law”, the two women felt like they were floating on clouds. Their steps grew light, like fairies dancing in the air.

As they walked off with the bottles of Lafite, A-Liang revealed a satisfied smile.

To make this happen and spread word about Chen Hao’s convenience store, he had deliberately circulated news about the newcomers—after all, women of the boss being called sister-in-law by the boys was only natural.

Letting the boss’s women manage his behavior? That was a win-win. No one wanted to see the boss’s money get thrown away for nothing.

As they left the bar, Jie Wen whispered:

“Isn’t this a bit much? What if the boss gets mad?”

Ruonan rolled her eyes and said, “They were calling us sister-in-law at the time—why didn’t you stop them?”

Of course Jiewen wanted to stop them, and Ruonan knew exactly what was going through her mind. The two of them understood each other without needing to say it.

Ruonan gently patted Jiewen’s firm buttocks, causing Jiewen to shriek:

“Aiya! What are you doing? Don’t joke like that here!”

Ruonan chuckled with a satisfied expression, thinking to herself that her bestie’s figure really wasn’t bad at all—almost comparable to her own.

She continued with a laugh:

“Alright, I know you’re interested in the boss too, so stop pretending.”

“No matter how we compete as sisters, at least the benefits stay in the family—it’s better than handing him over to someone else.”

“Let’s focus on what to do tomorrow instead—how we can get the boss to notice us!”

After hearing Ruonan’s words, the smile on Jiewen’s face quickly vanished and turned into a troubled expression.

—

Late at night, when everything was quiet, Chen Hao returned home. As soon as he entered, a system prompt sounded in his ears:

[Ding. Today’s revenue: HKD 1,374,500 after a tenfold critical bonus (base income: HKD 137,450). The funds have been automatically deposited into your bank account.]

[Assets: increased from HKD 2.929 million to HKD 16.674 million.]

Upon hearing the system prompt, Chen Hao froze on the spot.

He had expected to make a decent profit today—but this was far beyond his imagination.

After thinking carefully, he realized the numbers did make sense: every time the convenience store restocked, it cost about HKD 100,000. But since the Hongxing guys were selling everything at half price, it was essentially only HKD 50,000 per restock.

After four major restocks, the accumulated sales volume and bonus didn’t seem so unreasonable.

Under normal circumstances, a convenience store would be considered lucky to pull in HKD 5,000 in daily revenue.

But today, thanks to the half-price promotion and the unintended “help” from Liang Kun and Ba Bi, who tried to stir up trouble but instead drew in even more customers, the store made a killing.

Chen Hao couldn’t help but wonder: What would Liang Kun and Ba Bi think if they found out that instead of bankrupting him, their antics actually made him richer?

He could already picture their frustrated, furious faces.

—

Western District.

Early morning.

Ba Ji was still asleep when he was suddenly awakened by loud knocking and urgent crying at his door.

Half-awake, he opened the door and was shocked to see his former lover, Cuilian, standing there in tears.

“Brother Ji, please… you have to help my brother!”

She sobbed as she spoke.

“He was badly beaten and is now in the hospital—critically injured.”

“If something happens to him, I won’t be able to go on living…”

She choked up, her words coming out in broken sobs as she thought of her younger brother Fei Biao lying in the hospital with broken limbs.

Ba Ji couldn’t help but feel a wave of frustration.

He knew Fei Biao all too well. That guy had been running wild in the Western District, relying on the fact that his sister Cuilian had once been close to Ba Ji—and abusing Ba Ji’s name in the process, dragging down Hongxing’s reputation.

Many only held back from retaliating out of respect for Ba Ji, but even he knew Fei Biao had nearly gotten himself killed multiple times.

Fei Biao had a bit of cunning—he knew his so-called “reputation” meant nothing outside of the Western District, so he only dared to act arrogantly within his own turf.

This time, someone had done the community a favor by taking him down.

But still—Fei Biao was Cuilian’s younger brother.

Back in the day, Cuilian was the love of Ba Ji’s life—the woman who helped him become a real man.

Unfortunately, fate had other plans. Her father disapproved of Ba Ji’s poverty and forced her to marry a rich old man.

After the old man died, Ba Ji and Cuilian rekindled their relationship, though it didn’t last long.

By then, Cuilian’s beauty had faded, and the passion they once had was more about closure than love. But somehow, Cuilian lingered like a shadow he couldn’t shake—clingy and persistent, which only annoyed Ba Ji.

Irritated, Ba Ji waved his hand.

“Alright, go back for now. Let me figure out what actually happened.”

Cuilian refused to give up. “Brother Ji, he’s my real brother!”

“I know you’ve never liked him, but for the sake of what we once had—please, just help him get some payback!”

Ba Ji exploded in anger.

“If Fei Biao weren’t your brother, I would’ve taught him a lesson long ago!”

“He goes around acting like a tyrant using my name—he’s turned me into a joke!”

Seeing how furious Ba Ji was, Cuilian didn’t dare say more. She quietly turned and left.

She knew in her heart that Ba Ji had long lost interest in an aging woman like her.

Once, she had married that rich old man, but when he died, his children tried to drive her out with nothing.

Fortunately, by then, Ba Ji was already a big shot in Hongxing. Relying on his power, Cuilian managed to secure a portion of the inheritance.

From that moment on, she realized: as a woman without power or influence, the only way to survive in Hong Kong’s underworld was to stay attached to someone like Ba Ji.

Even though Ba Ji was getting colder toward her, she still couldn’t bring herself to give up the relationship.

—

After sending Cuilian away, Ba Ji returned to his base, annoyed and restless. As soon as he walked in, he saw Brother Qiang busy inside.

He beckoned:

“Qiang, come here for a second.”

Brother Qiang smiled and came over.

“Qiang, help me look into what happened to Fei Biao last night.”

Ba Ji asked immediately.

But Brother Qiang didn’t act right away—his face looked troubled.

Seeing this, Ba Ji frowned. “Why the hesitation?”

After a brief pause, Brother Qiang replied, “Boss Ji, I already know what happened.”

Ba Ji’s eyes lit up. “Speak—who did the world a favor and cleaned him up?”