Chapter Seventy-Seven: Yuan Yuqing, Mastermind Behind the Scenes

"None of you should go outside these days. Be careful, close the shop, and wait until things settle down before reopening." Zhang Ye did not believe that Li Yifan would simply swallow his defeat, especially after being beaten and remaining silent. He knew that people like them cared deeply about their pride and refused to accept losses. Having been beaten and unable to retaliate, their resentment must be simmering.

Zhang Ye himself was not afraid, but almost all his family's assets were tied up in the shop. If their attention shifted to the store, or if they caught Wu Dongjun and his companions alone, it would be a situation he did not wish to see.

Everyone understood the gravity of the matter. It was not the time for bravado. They nodded quietly and left.

Of course, someone stayed behind in the shop. Liu Wentao volunteered, eating and sleeping there for several days. Mostly, he was guarding against theft—goods worth hundreds of thousands couldn't be left unattended. Besides, with his martial skills, even if Li Yifan and his gang showed up, he could guarantee a safe escape.

On Nanmen Street, some clothing stores had already opened. Though foot traffic was light, they managed to sell a few items each day. After some consideration, Zhang Haiguan and Liu Meiju decided it was time to open their store as well.

Renovations had been completed two days earlier, and the first shipment of South Korean imported clothes had arrived. Everything was ready.

"How much should we price these clothes?" For days, the family had been discussing the opening. The clothes had been expensive to purchase, and with all their savings invested, they couldn't afford to set prices too low.

"I think eighty is just right. We make twenty on each item—it's not bad," suggested Zhang Haiguan. Now, they were counting on selling clothes to supplement the household expenses. It was a rare moment of shrewdness for him.

"Eighty is too low," interjected Zhang Ye, just as Liu Meiju was about to nod in agreement.

A biting, ironic anecdote had long circulated: A clothing shop brought in a batch of quality shirts and priced them at twenty, but they didn't sell. The owner fretted, until a savvy businessman advised him to add a zero to the price. Suddenly, each shirt was marked two hundred. Unexpectedly, the shirts quickly sold out.

That story contained many flaws, but it revealed several unbreakable truths of the marketplace. Chief among them: understanding consumer psychology and leveraging brand value. Selling a twenty-yuan shirt for two hundred required not only the owner's persuasive tongue, but also the clever merchant's grasp of vanity in wealthy buyers, turning stagnant stock into gold.

Though Zhang Ye's family was just starting out, the principle was the same. At eighty yuan, they might sell quickly with thin profits, but the clothes themselves weren't cheap—more expensive than street stalls, yet cheaper than real brands. Low-end buyers wouldn't be interested, and the affluent would turn up their noses.

It would be better to raise prices, enhance the brand's perceived value, and target the wallets of the wealthy.

Zhang Ye foresaw that selling at eighty would yield a fate no better than the shop owner in that old joke. This concerned his family's income, and since most of the ideas came from him, he naturally offered guidance.

After his explanation, amid Liu Meiju and Zhang Haiguan's anxious uncertainty, the prices were settled: one hundred twenty for tops, one hundred eighty for trousers. Zhang Ye knew Liu Meiju was bold, but her sales skills couldn't match seasoned shopkeepers, so he decided not to allow haggling. Of course, wealthy customers would not stoop to bargaining anyway.

The opening date was set for three days later, August 19th—twenty days before the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival.

During these three days, Zhang Ye was anything but idle; with the shop just opening, much needed attending to. Liu Meiju, in her usual fashion, conscripted him to help, leaving him exhausted and drenched in sweat by day's end. His father, the teacher, did not escape this ordeal either.

Su Hao moved sooner than Zhang Ye had expected.

While Zhang Ye was busy helping his family, Su Hao struck like a master swordsman, delivering a lethal blow at the most crucial moment—presenting the incriminating materials directly at a meeting.

Before the meeting even began, a team of trusted men Su Hao had cultivated over fifteen years in the Forestry Bureau had secretly mobilized, heading straight to Yulong Forest and seizing countless state-protected trees.

When the Forestry Bureau’s Director, Li Locke, saw the grim news and his face darken, Su Hao’s spirits soared, dispelling his previous malaise. He felt a surge of gratitude toward the person who had provided him those materials. Though he didn't know their identity, the documents had truly been instrumental in helping him through this crisis.

For the first time at that meeting, Su Hao made his voice heard. Li Locke sat in silence, his face thunderous, while Su Hao felt a sense of triumph.

After the meeting, Li Locke, as expected, entered Su Hao’s office. In official circles, there are no eternal enemies—only perpetual interests. Su Hao decided to spare him for now, at least until enough benefit could be extracted.

Yet things did not unfold as he had anticipated. A team of forest police from Guangyang City, accompanied by disciplinary committee officials, shattered his illusions and plunged Li Locke into irreversible ruin.

Zhang Ye did not wish to owe Yuan Yuqing, yet she intervened.

Zhang Ye, having been reborn, was still inexperienced in such matters, lacking Yuan Yuqing’s political acumen. The notion of mutual protection among officials is not baseless. Even mortal enemies, when faced with absolute interests, can shake hands and reconcile.

Thus, she made her move.

Her strategy was flawless—timely, precise, never wasted. She quashed all of Su Hao’s plans and toppled Li Locke in one stroke, severing the executive deputy county chief’s strongest arm and dampening the county chief’s arrogance.

Naturally, Li Yulong suffered heavy losses, and the entire Li family was shrouded in gloom.

In terms of vision, she was far ahead of Zhang Ye. Her position demanded far more foresight and depth than his.

Zhang Ye’s aim was simply to bring down Li Yulong, preventing him from targeting Zhang Ye again. Yuan Yuqing, however, considered the larger architecture, the movements of powerful figures, and the strengthening of her family’s foundation.

In truth, she had borrowed Zhang Ye’s momentum for this matter. Nevertheless, she had helped him immensely.

The saying goes: “If you don’t kill the snake, you’ll suffer its bite.” If Li Yulong had uncovered the truth, his counterattack would have been more than Zhang Ye, just beginning to rise, could withstand.

Even the modest power wielded by the children of officials is enough to crush an ambitious businessman.