Training base. Da Xiong was feeling a little down after being KO'd in the first round in front of his cheering squad. Head lowered, he kept wiping the blood from his nose, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"Hey, it's okay. I thought you fought pretty well. You were almost about to knock him down," someone said.

"Don't get worked up. Even though you have nine losses out of nine, which is pretty miserable, if you think about it, those guys you're fighting have probably been training since they were five or six. It's normal to have a gap." Bai Hongbo patted him on the shoulder, "Don't get worked up. If you're thick-skinned, we'll be thick-skinned too. It's no big deal."

"…!"

Seeing Da Xiong's disappointment, everyone tried to cheer him up with jokes, and the slightly awkward atmosphere was dispelled with laughter.

Su Tianyu changed the subject, "Are you busy tomorrow?"

"Nope." Da Xiong shook his head, "Three trial fights, and then… then I'll wait for the coach to make a training plan."

"Okay, we'll take you out for a couple of days." Su Tianyu invited with a smile, "Let's go to the beach together tomorrow."

"Okay!" Da Xiong nodded.

"Let's go, let's find a place to eat." Zhou Tonghui called out.

And so, the group waited for Da Xiong to change clothes before leaving the boxing gym together.

…

A little after four in the afternoon, in the Zha Nan District of Dragon City, at the headquarters of the Tongji Association, Su Tiannan, Kong Zhengui, Su Tianbei, and others were moving things with the union members.

Because the arms and materials deal had been settled, the "grand opening" was just a matter of time. Plus, with the second round of investment from the Zhou, Kong, and Bai families, the financial situation of the association was no longer as tight as it had been. To make a better impression, Yu Mingyuan had Kong Zhengui re-rent a large courtyard near Tufang Street for the association's headquarters.

At the Su family's garbage plant, six or seven moving trucks were parked on the side of the road, and Su Tiannan and the others were working up a sweat.

"Buzz, buzz!"

Just then, an SUV drove in from outside, stopped abruptly at the entrance of the main building, and a fat man in an expensive t-shirt, carrying a leather bag, got out.

This middle-aged man had a fat head and big ears, a face full of橫肉 (heng rou, menacing flesh), and looked like he was from the streets. After getting out of the car, he led two young men to the entrance of the main building, "Oh, you're moving?"

Su Tiannan heard the voice and turned around. Seeing that the man was unfamiliar, he asked, "Who are you looking for?"

"Tiannan, right? Hehe, don't you recognize me?" The fat middle-aged man walked forward with a smile, extending his hand. "I'm Liu Xiaohai! A friend of your brother's. We've eaten together before."

Su Tiannan thought about it carefully, "Oh, oh, I remember now. It was in Jiangnan Shui Xiang one year, the first day of the new year."

"That's right, hehe, long time no see."

"Yeah, long time no see."

The two shook hands with a smile, and Su Tiannan casually asked, "Brother Liu, are you here to see Tianbei?"

"Yes, I have something to discuss with him."

"Okay, okay." Su Tiannan turned around and called out, "Tianbei, someone's looking for you!"

…

A dozen minutes later, in the office upstairs.

Su Tianbei wiped his hands, took out a pack of good cigarettes from the drawer, and handed one to Liu Xiaohai, "Hehe, your timing is good. You came just when we're moving. This room is a mess. Even the tea set is already on the truck. Come on, have a cigarette. I'll treat you to a meal later when we're done."

Liu Xiaohai took the cigarette, leaned in to let Su Tianbei light it for him, took a deep breath, and replied, "It's okay. We're not strangers, hehe."

Su Tianbei leaned back and sat down, casually asking, "Brother Liu, you're here to see me. You must have something on your mind?"

"I do." Liu Xiaohai nodded with a smile, "I recently got a good gig, and you were the first person I thought of."

"Hehe, what kind of good gig?" Su Tianbei asked.

"Hey, how many workers does your association have now?" Liu Xiaohai asked.

Su Tianbei glanced at him, not revealing the whole truth, "About three thousand people, but a large part of them are from the sanitation department."

"That's a lot of people." Liu Xiaohai nodded in admiration, "Brother, we haven't seen each other for a year and a half, and you're really doing well now. You're a vice president of a union with thousands of people."

"Cut it out. What vice president? I'm just doing something with my family and friends." Su Tianbei grinned, "Small scale."

"If that's small-scale, then there are no big companies in Zha Nan." Liu Xiaohai flattered him, then flicked his cigarette ash and said, "Tianbei, I really have a good gig for you now. If you have the manpower, we can try it together."

"What kind of gig? Stop keeping me in suspense."

"Have you heard of the Baolong Group?" Liu Xiaohai asked.

"How could I not have heard of it? It's one of the top five largest capital groups in Dragon City." Su Tianbei replied and asked, "What's up?"

"Baolong's upstream investors are the Michael Group from District One." Liu Xiaohai said in a low voice, "Recently, they've been expanding their mining business and building a base in the mountains south of Dragon City. They're short on workers right now, so I came to ask you if you're interested in working together. They're paying well."

Su Tianbei paused and asked, "Is this a large-scale recruitment or a small-scale one?"

"It's definitely a small-scale one, otherwise, would I need to look for you?" Liu Xiaohai said softly, "They're a big group. They don't want to recruit people directly from the public because the quality of workers would be uneven, and without an upper-level team, it would be difficult to manage. So they prefer to find workers who are in unions or groups, which makes it easier to connect with them."

"Oh, I see." Su Tianbei asked with interest, "How many people do they need?"

"If you want to do it, I can get you a quota of eight hundred people." Liu Xiaohai replied softly, "Let's be frank, brothers. After I introduce you to this gig, you just give me a kickback of two hundred thousand, because I have to rely on connections to get people in."

"A quota of eight hundred people?" Su Tianbei was a little surprised.

"That's right, eight hundred people." Liu Xiaohai nodded, "I roughly calculated that you can make at least two or three hundred in profit from this deal. The exact amount depends on how much you pay the workers."

"Ah, I understand now."

"Brother, I'm not lying to you at all. This quota is very tight. I heard that the Ma Gong Association, Changqing Company, and those guys from Hu City are all trying to get in on this." Liu Xiaohai said softly, "Think about it and get back to me as soon as possible."

"Okay." Su Tianbei looked down at his watch, "Let's go, let's go grab a bite."

"No, no." Liu Xiaohai stood up, "I still have to run my business. Let's get together again in the next couple of days. Discuss it with the management in your association as soon as possible and give me an answer."

"Alright!" Su Tianbei nodded.

…

Dragon City Police Department, in the criminal detention center.

Lu Feng picked at his toes, held a phone in the cell, and yawned as he asked, "How many people?"

"You have a quota of six hundred. What do you say, you in or out?"

"I'll do it if there's money to be made. You talk to them. I'll be out next week." Lu Feng replied casually, "Oh, right, I finished reading the Diamond Sutra. Send me another secret manual for becoming immortal… I'm so bored I'm dying."