The anti-Qing movement began with the looting of the Eight-Nation Alliance.

"Sister Shanshan, his name is Li Xiao, he's my little brother. He'll be staying here from now on! He's just a recent graduate, so don't you dare try anything with him!"

"Come on! I have to say, your little brother is much better looking than you. Li Xiao, right? If you ever need anything, just come to me, anything is fine! Hehehe."

"Thank you, Sister Shanshan!" This was the first time Li Xiao had been looked at like this by a woman, especially a stunningly beautiful young woman with a voluptuous figure. His face instantly turned red.

"Hahaha, he can even blush, is he still a virgin?" Bai Shanshan laughed wildly.

Shen Lian couldn't help but shake his head. This woman was too fierce. Li Xiao would inevitably be teased by her a lot in the future. But it was good this way; it would give him some experience. In this society, overly honest people would only suffer losses.

"I haven't been back for a few months either, so please clean up yourself. Use what you can, and throw away what you don't need." Shen Lian tidied up casually; there weren't many things useful to him now. He then took the old clothes downstairs and threw them away. He sat down in the small shop.

"Shen Lian, you're not staying here anymore?" Bai Shanshan handed Shen Lian a bottle of water.

"What, Sister Shanshan, you can't bear to part with me? Hehe!"

"Yeah! Who's going to let me curse every day now that you're gone!" Bai Shanshan rolled her eyes at Shen Lian.

"There's nothing I can do. I've been waiting for so long and you still won't give me a chance, so I have to look elsewhere. After all, I'm not getting any younger, right?"

"Hmph! Don't try to sweet-talk me. You think you'd be interested in an old woman like me?"

"I'm not old at all! I love older sisters like you—sensible, considerate, and with great skills! Hehe!" Shen Lian said with a mischievous smile.

"Do you want to die, you little rascal?"

The two joked around for a while, then Shen Lian, seeing that it was almost time, called Li Xiao down.

The two drove to the hotel, and Shen Lian opted for the buffet again. There was a wide selection of dishes, and no waiting; they could eat as long as they wanted. How great!

"Take whatever you want to eat, in my experience. Just don't take their pastries or fried noodles. They're usually very delicious, but once you do, you won't have room for anything else. Haha!"

After Shen Lian's physique improved, his appetite also increased significantly, making a buffet the most cost-effective option. The two of them filled a table with delicacies and began to eat slowly.

The two ate and chatted. Besides family matters, Shen Lian also taught Li Xiao some business tips and interpersonal skills. The meal lasted almost two hours, only ending when Shen Lian received a call from Luo Zhongchun.

The two drove directly to the warehouse, and a short while later an Isuzu box truck pulled up.

"President Shen!" Luo Zhongchun jumped out of the passenger seat and greeted him happily. Shen Lian nodded and gestured for Li Xiao to open the warehouse door and turn on the lights inside.

Luo Zhongchun directed the driver to drive the truck into the warehouse and open the truck door to begin unloading the goods.

Soon, two hundred boxes of cigarettes were piled up on the ground. Luo Zhongchun opened one box and showed it to Shen Lian.

"Mr. Shen, take a look. They're all guaranteed to be genuine products from the original manufacturer!"

Shen Lian pulled out a pack, tore it open, and smelled it. He nodded. Now his nose was extremely sensitive; he could tell if a cigarette was fake just by smelling it.

After Li Xiao randomly checked about ten boxes and found no problems, Shen Lian immediately transferred the money.

"Mr. Shen, is it true that you said you wanted as much as you could get?" Luo Zhongchun was beaming with joy after receiving the money. He took out a pack of cigarettes and gave one to Shen Lian and one to Li Xiao.

"Of course! I always keep my word." Shen Lian took the cigarette, lit it, and nodded.

"Here's the thing, a friend of mine, who's my mentor and the one who got me into this business, has prepared some things. Could we bring him over now? Hehe!"

"Then what are we waiting for! Let's bring it over quickly!" Shen Lian flicked his cigarette ash.

"Okay, thank you, Mr. Shen. Please wait a moment while I make a call. It should only take a few minutes!" Luo Zhongchun bowed happily and hurried out.

"I won't sell these cigarettes domestically! And they won't be exported through normal channels either. Just keep that in mind. From now on, you're only responsible for receiving the goods; don't worry about anything else. Understand?"

Li Xiao nodded. This was smuggling! No wonder Brother Shen was so rich! But he didn't ask any more questions, nor was he afraid. He trusted Brother Shen wouldn't harm him.

A white Iveco van and a box truck pulled up shortly after. Luo Zhongchun waved from the doorway and signaled the vehicles to drive into the warehouse.

Four people got out of the Iveco van ahead. The one in the lead was a middle-aged man in his forties with a buzz cut. He first looked around warily, then followed Luo Zhongchun onto the van.

"Hahaha! I heard that Xiao Luo has found a big client and has been wanting to pay him a visit. My name is Huang Yong, and I hope Mr. Shen will take good care of me in the future." Huang Yong laughed and shook Shen Lian's outstretched right hand.

"Of course, of course! Let's cooperate more in the future!" Shen Lian said with a slight smile.

"Hurry up and unload the goods!" Huang Yong called to the workers and driver who had come with him to help unload the cargo. He then took out some cigarettes and started handing them out to Shen Lian and the others.

"Mr. Shen is truly young and promising! You have such a wide network of connections, I admire you! I wonder where all your goods have gone? From now on, we'll rely on Mr. Shen to make a living, haha!" Huang Yong took out a lighter and personally lit it for Shen Lian.

This guy is clearly a seasoned veteran; he tried to probe Shen Lian's background with just a few words.

"Hehe! I just do some import and export business. Cigarettes are just a side thing. If you have any goods, just send them over. You can contact him even if I'm not around." Shen Lian pointed at Li Xiao.

"Great! Thank you, Mr. Shen!" Huang Yong and Luo Zhongchun were overjoyed. With this big buyer, their business could expand even further.

The two trucks quickly unloaded their goods and drove off, and Shen Lian, of course, conducted a routine inspection. Huang Yong was alright; he hadn't tried to fool him with counterfeit goods. He had brought a total of 350 boxes, and Shen Lian transferred the money without hesitation.

“I’m taking all these cigarettes to Africa. The people there are very strange. They complain that the filter isn’t enough to satisfy them, and they often stub out the cigarette butt before smoking.”

“If you have connections and can find a manufacturer, I’d prefer the kind without filters. No packaging needed, just loose cigarettes will do. I can give you their current wholesale price,” Shen Lian said to Huang Yong and Luo Zhongchun before leaving.

Huang Yong's eyes lit up upon hearing this. Loose cigarettes without packaging or filter? At the current wholesale price, he could make at least double the profit. Even with some bribing around, the profit would be many times higher than his current profit.

"Hmm! Thank you, Mr. Shen. I can look into a way. But if we go to a manufacturer and bring it to Shanghai, there's a lot of risk involved. It definitely won't be worthwhile if the quantity is small. What about you?" Huang Yong said, rubbing his hands together.