Chapter 464: The Plan to Kill Three Birds with One Stone

"Bro, the main reason is that the profit margin is huge. Making a Rubik's Cube only costs about 0.15 HKD, but I sell it for 1.2 HKD at wholesale. The original cubes on the market have a wholesale price of 3.5 HKD and retail for 5 HKD each. With my lower price, they're flying off the shelves!" 

Liao Pengliang said proudly.

"But aside from me, there are two other companies also making these cubes. I've talked to the other owners, and we agreed not to start a price war so that we can all make good profits."

"Liao, you really do have a knack for business. I didn't misjudge you. You're going to do better than me in the future!" 

Liao Pengfei said happily after listening to his brother's story.

"Hehe!"

Liao Pengliang scratched his head and chuckled.

"Liao, I think you mentioned before that these Rubik's Cubes are produced by a company under the Stock God. Now that you're competing with him, you should be careful."

Seeing that his brother was getting a bit cocky, Liao Pengfei's expression turned serious as he gave him a warning.

"Bro, don't worry. I've been cautious from the start; that's why the factory is in the walled city. The Hong Kong government doesn't manage this place, so no matter how powerful the Stock God is, there's no way he can reach into our territory."

Liao Pengliang said nonchalantly.

It's a classic case of ignorance is bliss; a small-time player's vision is always limited.

"Don't get overconfident. Xia Yu's power is formidable. I've heard that the Ma family's downfall had his fingerprints all over it. And you know that Thunder Tiger and I don't get along. He's from the same village as Xia Yu, and they might even be related. If he finds out, it will definitely cause trouble."

Liao Pengfei, knowing more about Xia Yu, wasn't complacent. He reiterated his warning.

"Bro, what's there to fear? Xia Yu's worth tens of billions. He wouldn't care about such a small sum. And as for Thunder Tiger, you've been at odds with him for ages. He's a backstabber who even defies orders from the big boss. You might as well join forces with your boss to get rid of him; otherwise, the Mighty Tiger Society will split sooner or later."

Liao Pengliang, overly confident, didn't take his brother's words seriously and instead encouraged him.

Liao Pengfei was momentarily sidetracked by the suggestion. He frowned, thought for a moment, and said to his brother, "I'll handle those things. You don't need to worry about me. Stay out of the gang stuff; I'm stuck in it, but our family's future depends on you."

"Alright, I got it."

...

"There are actually three knock-off factories, all with gang connections. One is in the Kowloon Walled City, run by Liao Pengliang, whose brother Liao Pengfei is a high-ranking member of the Mighty Tiger Society known as 'Big Bird Brother'."

"Another is in the outskirts of Kowloon City, backed by the Black Dragon Hall, the arch-enemies of the Mighty Tiger Society."

"And the last one is in Kowloon's Kwun Tong District."

Back in those days, Hong Kong was a wild place. Many small-time businessmen either had the backing of trade associations or were milked dry by gangs. They'd fatten them up only to eventually slaughter them. If you weren't backed by a gang or a trade association, and you didn't catch the eye of a gang, you could grow steadily; otherwise, you were just dreaming!

Knowing that these knock-off factories had gang backgrounds didn't surprise Xia Yu.

The big businessmen didn't care about the profits from Rubik's Cubes, and even if they did, they wouldn't dare provoke Xia Yu. Only these small-timers would dare to gamble on such things.

After reviewing the reports, Xia Yu turned his attention to a detailed file on the Mighty Tiger Society.

Xia Yu hadn't forgotten that Xia Lei was in the Mighty Tiger Society and had grown significantly under his support, gaining some influence.

When Ma Tengdong reached the limits of what he could investigate, Xia Yu quickly had his agents take over.

Before long, Ma Qianjun delivered an extremely detailed intelligence report to Xia Yu.

Xia Yu had closely monitored the Mighty Tiger Society, knowing its ins and outs.

According to the investigation, the Mighty Tiger Society operated in Kowloon City. The western side of Kowloon was Sham Shui Po, the eastern side was Kwun Tong, and the southern side was the Yau Tsim Mong District.

The Kowloon Walled City was within Kowloon City. Economically, Kowloon City wasn't very developed and couldn't compare to the more prosperous Yau Tsim Mong District, which housed places like Yau Ma Tei, Tsim Sha Tsui, and Mong Kok.

Nevertheless, even though Kowloon City wasn't wealthy, it was still crowded with various factions.

The three largest forces in Kowloon City were the Mighty Tiger Society, the Black Dragon Hall, and the powerful New Ngee Ann. Among them, New Ngee Ann was the strongest, boasting over 1,200 members.

Although New Ngee Ann was one of Hong Kong's top three gangs, its influence was spread thin across Kowloon, Yau Tsim Mong, the New Territories, and even some sites on Hong Kong Island.

Because of this, despite being the most powerful, New Ngee Ann couldn't wipe out the other two gangs, and bringing in reinforcements from other areas wasn't feasible, as they also had rivals elsewhere—the other two top gangs, the Number Gang and Wo Shing Wo.

Apart from these three main forces, there were several smaller ones and even more groups struggling to survive in the gaps.

Plus, the Walled City itself was home to many ex-soldiers and their descendants due to historical reasons.

Therefore, Kowloon City was a mixed bag of good and bad.

Turning back to the Mighty Tiger Society:

The leader was known as "King Tiger" Wang Hu, and the gang had over 800 members, primarily divided into three factions.

Wang Hu directly controlled over 300 people, with his two main lieutenants, "Big Bird" Liao Pengfei and "Thunder Tiger" Xia Lei, each leading about 200 members.

Originally, the gang had just over 600 members, and Xia Lei wasn't initially a top lieutenant. However, after one of the previous lieutenants was taken out by Black Dragon Hall's dirty tricks, Xia Lei rose to power and, with Xia Yu's backing, quickly recruited more men, rivaling Liao Pengfei.

As a result, the Mighty Tiger Society's strength increased significantly.

Normally, Wang Hu would be pleased with his gang's growth, but Xia Lei's ambitious behavior, coupled with his apparent connections to Xia Yu, put Wang Hu on edge. He began secretly undermining Xia Lei and subtly encouraging Liao Pengfei to do the same.

"It seems Xia Lei, despite his capabilities, is in a precarious position, besieged on all sides. Unless he can break through his current limitations, his growth will be severely hampered," 

Xia Yu concluded after reviewing the intelligence.

He then picked up the Black Dragon Hall's detailed dossier and continued reading.

After going through all the reports, Xia Yu sank into deep thought.

After a long while, his eyes lit up, and a smile crept onto his lips.

"I've got it. If this plan succeeds, it'll kill three birds with one stone!"