Chapter 1100 — The Rise of the Xiao Family
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
The Pi family's cooperation with the Xiao family had its reasons; even if the Hidden Family Arbitration Association came knocking, the Pi family was not afraid and had excuses to offer. But to raise up some puppet at random — that was a different matter entirely.
Of these things, however, Xiao Ji and Xiao Ben knew nothing. They had a vague sense that hidden families could not directly make money in the mundane world, but that if they worked through another's hands there was no problem — was that not what the Yu family did? So Xiao Ben did not know that the Pi family had no choice but to cooperate with the Xiao family; he took it for no more than a passing remark.
And so Xiao Ben grew somewhat afraid. Only then did it dawn on him: these people were doing the Xiao family a favor by cooperating with them. Otherwise, if they simply found someone else to work with, what would the Xiao family amount to?
At that thought, an awkward look appeared on Xiao Ben's face at once, and he said with some embarrassment, "Please calm your anger, Young Master Pi... I was only speaking offhand... One tenth it is, then..."
Xiao Ben calculated inwardly: if they truly won the Pi family's support, then wealth would surely pour in from every direction, and one tenth was not so little after all. It was far better than their present circumstances, at any rate. And with the Pi family's help, the Xiao family's standing would rise with the tide; the Xiao family would become in the mundane world what the Yu family was. By then, what use would so much money be? It would be enough to spend freely — so long as their ties with the Pi family held unbroken, the Xiao family's lasting prosperity was already assured.
"Mm, you know what's good for you." Pi Zhifeng said indifferently. "In fact, on this visit Grandfather's bottom line for me was one tenth. Originally everyone meant to give you not even that — only a fixed salary for the Xiao family. But as the saying goes, if you want the horse to run, you must feed the horse. So I stated the bottom line outright and saved us the haggling."
"Many thanks, Young Master Pi!" Xiao Ben's heart tightened. So that was how it was! Thank goodness he had not insisted — otherwise, if the Pi family had taken offense, the consequences would likely have been severe.
"No need for thanks; it is a win for both sides." Pi Zhifeng was amused inwardly. In truth, the Pi family's bottom line was to yield three tenths, the same as with the Yu family, but Pi Zhifeng had pushed it straight down to one tenth, moved by the sight of the Xiao family's present destitution.
And the Xiao family truly had nowhere left to turn. To gain the Pi family's arm was a stroke of enormous good fortune; as for the division of profits, that was secondary. If their business grew as large as the Yu family's, then one tenth would be no less than the entire income the Xiao family had enjoyed in its heyday.
"Then the Pi family's experts..." Xiao Ben had his mind on the crux of the matter. If the Pi family's experts did not arrive, all of this was empty talk.
"Rest assured, I will send an outer-family expert of peak late Profound rank to sit watch for you, and another outer-family expert of early Profound rank to assist him," Pi Zhifeng said. "You know as well as I do that our Earth rank experts cannot lightly walk the world — there are rules about such things!"