Chapter 463: Some People Are Asking for Trouble

The night was tranquil, with the sky studded with twinkling stars, and the gentle sound of the waves echoed—a serene and picturesque seaside night view. It was 8 PM, and inside a large seaside villa, Xia Yu's family had just finished dinner.

"Brother, come over here. I have something to tell you," Xia Ming whispered to Xia Yu.

Seeing his brother's secretive demeanor, Xia Yu grew curious and followed him into the room, where Xia Ming began rummaging through a drawer. Moments later, he pulled out several Rubik's cubes.

"What's this? Have you been practicing your Rubik's Cube skills and want to show off?" Xia Yu joked.

After Xia Yu first introduced the Rubik's Cube, he brought a box of the intricate puzzles home for his younger siblings to play with or give away. Xia Ming had become fascinated with the cubes, often competing with classmates to see who could solve them the fastest. Xia Yu's parents, after hearing his explanation, supported their younger son's new hobby.

Xia Ming, feeling a bit embarrassed, quickly clarified, "No, brother. There's something wrong with these cubes. Take a look."

"Something wrong?" Xia Yu asked, puzzled. He took the Rubik's cubes from Xia Ming and immediately noticed the difference. The texture was rough, and the quality felt off. 

"Where did you get these, Ming?" Xia Yu asked, narrowing his eyes.

"They're from some classmates in the next class. I asked them, and they said they bought them for 2 HKD each. I felt something was wrong, so I bought them from them and brought them back for you to see," Xia Ming explained, clearly frustrated.

Though young, Xia Ming had developed some business sense, being influenced by his brilliant brother. He knew the Rubik's Cube was his brother's product, complete with exclusive patents. These cheaply made, shoddy copies could harm his brother's business, so he quickly brought them to Xia Yu's attention.

"Brother, those selling these fake products are infuriating. You have to teach them a lesson!" Xia Ming said angrily.

Xia Yu smiled and patted his brother's shoulder, responding calmly, "Alright, I know what to do. You did a good job this time, but you should still focus more on your studies."

"Brother, my teacher says I'm currently in the top three in my class. I'm working very hard!" Xia Ming hastily explained, worried his brother might misunderstand.

Xia Yu chuckled, "Don't get complacent. Only when you consistently rank first in your grade can you call yourself truly capable."

"Oh, alright!" Xia Ming said, his face falling slightly, but he answered obediently.

Afterward, Xia Yu took the counterfeit cubes from his brother's room.

---

The next day, in the chairman's office at Jiuding Tower, Xia Yu sat quietly while opposite him, Ma Tengdong had just taken a seat.

"How are the Rubik's Cubes selling?" Xia Yu asked casually.

Ma Tengdong thought for a moment and replied, "As of last week, 420,000 units have been shipped to Southeast Asia and Japan. The production cost for a standard cube is less than 0.2 HKD, with a factory price of 3.5 HKD and a retail price of 5 HKD. Including higher-priced premium cubes, the total revenue from our toy factory's Rubik's Cubes has reached 1.54 million HKD."

Xia Yu nodded slightly, showing no disappointment despite the relatively low revenue figures. Although revenue was only 1.54 million HKD, the net profit was well over a million. Some might call it extortionate, but business is just like that—profiting from intelligence.

"So far, we've only tapped into a small part of the market. If we sell a few million or even tens of millions, especially at higher prices abroad, the profits would be enormous. The Rubik's Cube is a timeless toy, and I don't take it lightly," Xia Yu mused.

"The free development phase for the Rubik's Cube is coming to an end; it's time to start a marketing strategy. But first, we need to solve some issues to avoid making others rich at our expense."

"Issues?" Ma Tengdong asked, puzzled.

"Take a look at these," Xia Yu said, opening his drawer and handing over the counterfeit cubes that Xia Ming had brought home.

Ma Tengdong's expression changed immediately upon inspecting the cubes. He quickly apologized, "Boss, these definitely aren't our products, I swear."

"I know," Xia Yu replied calmly. "My brother got these from his school. They're being sold for 2 HKD each."

Ma Tengdong's face turned pale with a mix of anger and shame. "Boss, I'm sorry. I was negligent. I've let you down by not catching this."

"Alright, what's done is done. The important thing now is to resolve it," Xia Yu said, brushing it off without reprimanding him. Xia Yu understood that it was hard to blame Ma Tengdong. Though the cubes had sold well, generating only about 1.5 million in revenue meant that Ma Tengdong's focus naturally leaned toward other areas like comics, anime, and their manga magazine.

"Boss, don't worry. I'll immediately assign people to investigate these counterfeit factories. We'll shut them down one by one," Ma Tengdong vowed, his eyes flashing with determination.

After a moment of thought, Xia Yu instructed, "The factories making these fakes are unlikely to have clean records. Find out which ones are involved and report back to me. I'll handle it from there. Focus your energy on the main operations."

Despite his initial reluctance, Ma Tengdong agreed with his boss's approach and nodded. "Understood, I'll get on it."

---

Kowloon Walled City, situated north of Mong Kok and south of the New Territories, was a no-man's-land. Despite being technically part of Hong Kong, the Chinese government refrained from managing it to avoid provoking the British, allowing it to become a haven for criminals. It was a place of chaos, rife with smuggling, drug dealing, and violent crime.

At 7 PM, inside an ordinary house on the east side of the Walled City, Liao Pengliang was excitedly recounting the factory's earnings to his brother, Liao Pengfei.

"Bro, this money is too easy to make. So far, the factory has earned 200,000!" Liao Pengliang exclaimed.

Although Liao Pengfei had seen a lot of money in his life, he was still shocked by the figure. "How is it that much? These little things make that much money?" he asked, fiddling with a Rubik's Cube, his expression full of surprise.

Liao Pengfei was a leader in the Fierce Tiger Gang, overseeing nearly two hundred men. Despite raking in over a million each month through protection rackets, drug dealing, and other illegal activities, his earnings had dwindled since his rival Xia Lei's rise, forcing him to spend more to maintain his grip on his gang.

Having grown disillusioned with the dangerous underworld lifestyle, Liao Pengfei forbade his brother from joining any gang. Fortunately, Pengliang had a knack for business. A month ago, he proposed starting a Rubik's Cube factory and borrowed money from Pengfei to get started. 

Little did Pengfei expect that in just over a month, the factory would net them 200,000—a windfall far beyond his expectations.