They won the Holy Grail War, but this turned out to be the Virtual Tree Universe.

Chapter 251 Scott, willing to accept defeat but demanding a rematch.

When Dan Lei appeared, the way everyone bowed to him really startled Scott.

As a "lone wolf," he was well aware that he had no reliable backing, no reliable teammates, and no reliable support.

Therefore, he is very good at choosing his prey and will never mess with people he cannot afford to offend.

And Dan Lei is someone Scott can't afford to mess with.

As a junior manager in the market development department, Scott couldn't possibly have been unaware of Dan Lei's name.

It should be said that Danlei is a key target of observation for the market development department.

After all, the only way for the Strategic Investment Department to break through in Luofu is through Dan Lei, with whom they have a good personal relationship.

So, at this moment, Scott adopted his standard defensive stance when he was frustrated, leaning back with his arms crossed in front of his chest for protection, and asked in a trembling voice...
"Dragon Lord Dan Lei... This, how is this possible! How could a dignified Dragon Lord come to this shabby little street?"

Scott's words angered Gui Naifen, who had long made a living in Jinren Lane. She put her hands on her hips and retorted.

Hey! Can't you speak properly?!

"What a shabby little street! Jinren Lane is a famous historical alley in Luofu! Even Lord Longzun's home is here!"

Scott was even more shocked by Gui Naifen's words, and he questioned her as if his worldview had collapsed.

"What! The Dragon Lord lives here?!"

According to your introduction from Luofufa, shouldn't the Wisdom Dragon Lord be a very noble person?
Shouldn't he be living in a magnificent palace, filled with beautiful young women who serve him around the clock?

Dan Lei was speechless after hearing Scott's words. After gesturing to the villagers of Golden Man Lane not to be so polite, he complained to Scott.
"Do you think of the Vidyadhara Dragon Lord as some kind of nouveau riche tyrant from a remote planet?"

I do have a palace, but it's not really big, nor can it be described as magnificent.

Moreover, many of the dragon emperors throughout history preferred quiet, and there were no groups of young girls among them; the number of maids responsible for serving them was less than twenty.

Compared to that area, I prefer staying in Jinren Lane, which has a more lively, down-to-earth atmosphere.

Besides, you've gone off-topic. Weren't you talking about the Jinren Lane Chamber of Commerce earlier?

Dan Lei's reminder brought Scott back to his senses.

Moreover, Scott's rise to his current position wasn't solely due to his despicable and shameless nature. He almost immediately realized this and shouted loudly...

"Yes! We were talking about the port."

Even a powerful dragon cannot abuse its authority to oppress others and disrupt the normal business environment.

Dan Lei nodded in agreement with Scott's statement, and then said...

"Of course, although Jinren Lane is my residence, I will not act as a protector for the Jinren Lane Chamber of Commerce out of personal favoritism."

However, as I just said, your market development department did a terrible job; they didn't even bother to investigate why the Jinren Lane Chamber of Commerce couldn't afford the port rent before causing trouble.”

When Dan Lei brought up the reason why the Golden Man Alley Chamber of Commerce couldn't afford the rent again, Scott said sarcastically once more.

"Reason? What other reason could there be?"
Everyone watching here knows that the Jinren Lane Chamber of Commerce is poorly managed and incompetent in its operations.

Now that the dock rent is in arrears, it's natural that the Jinren Lane Chamber of Commerce isn't making money and therefore can't pay.

Upon hearing Scott's response, Dan Lei immediately shook his head.

This Jinren Alley, where Dan Lei exists, is not the completely outdated Jinren Alley from the game.

To be precise, thanks to Danlei's little shop attracting customers, Jinren Alley is now much better than it was in the game.

As a shop operated during the Danlei Qianlong era, it has been managed by the Minghuo Merchant Guild for a long time.

Those toy puppets designed by Dan Lei decades ago still sell very well, and Ting Yun has even opened up external sales channels, allowing these toy puppets to be sold as far away as the stars.

Especially after Dan Lei became the Dragon Lord, those puppets he personally designed and manufactured back then even gained commemorative value, and their prices skyrocketed.

Even newly produced goods are sold in unlimited quantities.

Therefore, the foot traffic in Jinren Alley is much better than in the game, and many shops don't feel that Jinren Alley has fallen into decline.

However, the shops under the Jinren Lane Chamber of Commerce in the port area are indeed not used much.

Those shops still operate on the traditional customer-only model, they don't even know how to advertise, and some don't even offer delivery services.

This directly resulted in the Jinrenxiang Port being primarily used by Danlei's small shops, which accounted for the vast majority of the port's business volume.

However, this also means that if Danlei's shop business stops, Jinrenxiang Wharf will immediately fall into a financial crisis.

Of course, this doesn't mean that Danlei's shop has gone out of business.

The biggest problem with Jinren Lane Wharf not being able to pay this month is that Minghuo Chamber of Commerce has not transferred the transportation fees for the wharf.

However, this cannot be blamed on the Minghuo Chamber of Commerce. Such a big thing happened in Tingyun, although the details have not been made public.

However, Huanlong did impersonate Tingyun and work at the Minghuo Chamber of Commerce for a period of time.

To ensure that the Minghuo Merchant Guild has no hidden tricks left by Huanlong, all its employees and shops need to be investigated.

During this period, the Chamber of Commerce's funds naturally need to be frozen, and it is not possible to transfer funds to the Jinren Lane Chamber of Commerce to pay for dock transportation fees.

Actually, it's not entirely Scott's fault for not being able to find information about the Minghuo Merchant Guild.

Information about the Illusionary Transformation of Tingyun is strictly controlled. Not to mention outsiders like Scott, even other merchant caravans under the same Tianbo Division are unaware of why the Minghuo Merchant Guild was suddenly investigated.

So, Scott completely messed up here.

Dan Lei asked Ming Xi directly.

"The Jinren Lane Chamber of Commerce is having financial problems because the Minghuo Chamber of Commerce didn't pay the amount due last month, right?"

This issue, in principle, should not be discussed in front of so many people.

However, since Danlei had brought it up, Mingxi no longer hid it and nodded.

"Yes, the Minghuo Chamber of Commerce has not yet paid the freight charges for last month and this month."

I'm going to the Imperial Shipyard..."

Mingxi was about to talk about the situation at the Tianbo Company when Danlei interrupted her.

"Alright, I know the situation of the Tianbo Company better than you do."

The Minghuo Merchant Guild suffered heavy losses in the previous battle and is now in internal turmoil.

The goods transported by the Minghuo Chamber of Commerce at the Jinren Lane port are basically all from my store.

Although I entrusted the shop to the Minghuo Merchant Guild for management, the matter of dock transportation fees is, in principle, none of my business.

But this shop is mine after all. Since it has already threatened the operation of Jinrenxiang Port, send the bill back to me. I will transfer the shipping fee to you today after I check it at the shop.

However, in this particular instance, the Minghuo Merchant Guild has sacrificed a great deal for this war, and the Jinren Lane Merchant Guild should understand some of its responsibilities.

Since Danlei had already said all that, Mingxi knew she couldn't say anything more, so she quickly sent the bill to Danlei's Yuzhao account.

After receiving the bill, Dan Lei turned to Scott and asked...
"So, are you going to bark now, or wait until tomorrow when the Jinren Lane Chamber of Commerce transfers the money to your account?"

Dan Lei's words have put Scott in a corner.

However, he could renege on the bet, since what he said earlier was a wager. However, before Su Chang could agree, Dan Lei interrupted her.

In principle, if the bet fails, Scott is not required to bark like a dog.

But this is Dan Lei's open strategy. Scott can remain silent; Dan Lei will not bully the weak.

However, his reputation in Golden Man Alley was completely ruined.

The public doesn't care about contracts not being fulfilled or not being honored; they only know that the company's people can go back on their word and have no credibility whatsoever.

Scott was clearly very perceptive in noticing this.

If I don't bark like a dog today, the Jinren Lane project is doomed.

Scott would never hesitate to choose between dignity and his rank.

So Scott didn't hesitate to start barking like a dog.
"Fine! I'm a blind fool! I don't know my own limitations and all I do is bark and howl!"
Woof! Woof woof woof woof woof! Woof—

Woof woof howl—

Dan Lei was very satisfied with the recreation of the classic scene.

So, after Scott called out twice, Dan Lei patted him on the shoulder, making him stumble as he laughed.

"That's right, at least he's someone who can afford to lose and has a sense of responsibility."

You are qualified to continue being a pawn in this competition between the market development department and the strategic investment department.

Dan Lei's praise seemed to give Scott confidence; he immediately stood up and said to Dan Lei...
Even if the Jinren Lane Chamber of Commerce pays off this debt, I still think their management level is very low.

A port that relies solely on orders from a single shop to sustain itself is a sick and unhealthy business ecosystem.

"To put it bluntly, if your shop closes down, is the Jinren Lane Chamber of Commerce planning to leave everyone starving?"

Upon hearing Scott's words, Gui Naifen, a staunch supporter of Danlei, immediately objected, grabbing her acrobatic stick and shouting...

"How dare you curse Lord Danlei's shop to go bankrupt! Take this!"

Gui Naifen's impulsive behavior was stopped by Su Chang and Xing to prevent the argument from escalating into a physical fight.

However, Scott was genuinely unconvinced and stated bluntly...

"Little girl, it's no use being fierce."

How about we make another bet? We bet that the Golden Lane Chamber of Commerce, after deducting Mr. Longzun's shop-related income, definitely won't be able to pay the port rent!

If I lose, I'll hop around the harbor like a frog, shouting "I'm a hopeless case of being a frog in a well!" with each hop!

"If I win, you guys will do frog jumps and bark like dogs, making me pay back everything I lost before!"

Normally, there is no need to agree to such a bet, because as long as Danlei's shop operates normally, the Jinren Lane Chamber of Commerce will not be unable to pay even the port rent.

The investigation by the Ten Kings Bureau and the Tianbo Bureau into the members of the Minghuo Chamber of Commerce will definitely be over next month. Otherwise, if a chamber of commerce's funds are frozen for several months, it will be impossible to do business thereafter.

But Su Chang and Gui Naifen, one young and impetuous, the other bursting with chivalry, both spoke without thinking.

So, the two who couldn't stand Scott's arrogance immediately replied.
"Let's gamble then! Are you afraid of us?!"

Seeing that he had finally achieved his goal, Scott immediately decided to call it a day and laughed.
"Alright, everyone heard that, Mr. Dragon Lord, you have no objections, right?"

Dan Lei naturally had no objection to this. Jinren Alley did indeed need reform, and restoring the storyline to the game's event storyline was not unacceptable.

Anyway, the all-powerful worker Xing will handle everything. Once the market development department fails in Jinren Lane, he will have the opportunity to strongly promote the strategic investment department's plan.

So Danlei nodded directly.

"Since it's a bet that both parties agree to, I naturally won't interfere."

However, I reminded both sides of the betting dispute that Jinren Lane is not a business association, but rather a community of residents and shops.

If your gambling matches disrupt the normal lives of the neighbors, don't blame me for being ruthless.

Dan Lei's little warning was naturally met with no objection from either side.

Scott immediately addressed the three of them, including Su Chang.
"Alright, I'll be waiting, hahaha, let's go!"

After Scott left, seeing that the excitement had died down, the crowd gathered at the dock dispersed.

After all, although Danlei now holds a prestigious position, they are all old neighbors, and it's inappropriate for him to keep staring at her.

Therefore, when Dan Lei comes to Jinren Alley, no one will deliberately surround him or disturb him.

After the crowd dispersed, Dan Lei spoke to Ming Xi, who was standing with Xing and the other two.
“Mingxi, although Scott’s words are unpleasant, he is right about one thing.”

It is extremely unhealthy for the Jinren Lane Chamber of Commerce to rely entirely on my shop to maintain profits.

Everyone understands the principle of not putting all your eggs in one basket.

So, let's take advantage of this bet to properly renovate the Jinren Lane Chamber of Commerce.

"I can save you once, but if the Golden Man Alley Chamber of Commerce truly falls behind the times, I won't keep saving you forever."

Mingxi lowered her head in shame after Danlei's words, and then said without any confidence.
"Understood, Lord Dragon Lord. I will find a way to improve the current situation of the Golden Man Alley Chamber of Commerce."

Seeing this, Dan Lei immediately smiled and pointed at Xing and the other two, laughing.

"There's no need to force yourself. One person's wisdom is limited, but three people's wisdom is superior. You can have a good talk with these three chivalrous people who rushed in to uphold justice."

The opinions of young people are still very important.

After saying that, Dan Lei waved his hand and left the dock.

The next day, Danlei saw Xing at the dock studying how to arrange goods to save more space.

Su Chang and Gui Naifen also began to persuade the merchants in Jinren Lane to make good use of the dock in order to increase the sales of their shops.

Seeing this, Danlei sent a message to Topa.

"Xing, along with two friends, confronts the Market Development Department in Fuxing Jinren Alley."

Your time to shine has come; be mindful of your boundaries and don't steal the show.

Toppa understood Danlei's meaning immediately; he wanted to demonstrate to Luofu the difference between the strategic investment department's vision and the market development department's.

So Topa returned.
"Leave it to me. By the way, aren't you going to tell me about the situation at Liuyun Ferry, your internal intelligence?"

In response to Topa's request to use connections, Danlei decisively replied...
"The bid you submitted is outrageously priced. Tianbo Company isn't some novice who's never even touched the universe; they're in charge of all of Luofu's foreign trade."

You can fool a newbie like me who doesn't care about material prices, but to fool them is just asking for trouble.

Luofu needs a quick and effective solution right now; we don't have time to haggle and argue with you.

Don't even mention those insincere quotes that expect us to haggle. Yesterday, I received a thorough lecture from the Flight Master about the market and origin prices of materials, and it left me completely bewildered.

Dan Lei used the same line he had discussed with Yu Kong yesterday.

After all, the strategic investment department also needs to make money from bidding on the reconstruction of Liuyundu, so their bid was based on the market price.

However, the strategic investment department gets all those materials at the source price, or even cheaper, so the price can be driven down a lot.

(End of this chapter)