High-level martial arts: Contract cashback, invincible starting from the Zerg.

Under Su Qingyuan's subsequent leadership.

Chen Feng learned a lot from these rental activities of the Gu Yong family.

Three hundred years ago, King Gu Yong led eight brothers of different surnames to build the Great Xia Upper City on this ruin, and the four major families of Ling, Xiang, Huai and Li respectively held four major powers.

They established the ironclad rule of "Upper City as the soul, four clans jointly governing," which is the origin of the four major families of Ling, Xiang, Li, and Su.

However, 150 years ago...

The Great Xia Kingdom was in the midst of a period of internal strife and war.

The four major families were suspicious of each other, and with the war going on, the relationship between the families was on the verge of collapse. It was from that time that the Su family, which was then just an appendage of the Li family, rose to the center of power and replaced the Huai family's family status in one fell swoop with the famous battle "Black Sand Valley Incident".

It became one of the four major families of Gu Yong.

Since then, whether it's the dictatorial rule that large families attempt to control or the infighting between families, it has become a constant struggle.

The four great families of Gu and Yong, as well as other prominent families, all followed a set of rules for interpersonal relationships based on family interests established by the four great families.

First: No matter how great the hatred between families, as long as there is an invasion from outside, all families must put aside all conflicts and unite against the outsider. Any family that dares to stab someone in the back during wartime will be wiped out by all the other families after the war.

Second: In civil wars between families, even rival families cannot be completely wiped out; at least one direct descendant must be spared, otherwise the family's status will be judged.

Third: The four major families have to pay "city defense rent" to Gu Yong every year, while the smaller families have to pay "protection fees" to the major families they are affiliated with.

Fourth: In the game between families, the losing side must voluntarily hand over the sacrificed piece, while the winning side can only punish the sacrificed piece and cannot implicate the main family.

...

These family rules governing their interactions are also why Su Qingyuan personally went to collect the rent.

Firstly, it's to confirm the loyalty of the various small and medium-sized families to the Su family. If the rent is paid on time and in full, Su Qingyuan will continue to acknowledge your rule over the area.

For families with disloyal intentions, Su Qingyuan would directly state her position, and only if they still did not obey would she take further action.

However, Su Qingyuan also had to consider the family's interests and the rules of interaction.

This is why Su Qingyuan, even though she could have killed Wang Hu, only threw him out of the Century Building and personally visited the Wang family to explain the situation.

"Next, the Qian family on the 83rd floor."

Su Qingyuan held the milk tea, glancing at her reflection in the elevator mirror while shaking the cup in her hand.

"The Qian family is a vassal of the Li family. They just changed heads last month. The current head offended the third young master of the Xiang family by trying to exploit a loophole in the city defense rent."

"Oh? You even directly offended the Xiang family? That's rare." Su Qingyuan raised an eyebrow.

Su Qingyuan directly transferred a file from her AI to Chen Feng's AI.

"Junior brother, if you want to gain a foothold in Gu Yong Shang City, you must understand the background of these families. Take a look at this list compiled by Zhang Cheng and see if there's anything you want to ask."

Chen Feng immediately took out his smart device to check.

"Since they are from the Li family, the lawmakers, why are they openly defaulting on our rent?" Chen Feng looked at the documents, somewhat puzzled.

"Because they can do things that the Li family can't, and this is their best chance to show their loyalty."

Su Qingyuan smiled faintly.

"Although the Li family has few vassal families, they have a presence in various industries. Since the head of the family, Qian Hao, has just taken over and is eager to make contributions, he naturally became the Li family's pawn."

Su Qingyuan paused, shook the milk tea bottle in her hand, and a cold glint flashed in her eyes.

"We can also use him to set a rule, so that everyone knows that the Su family's rules are not something that anyone can break."

When the elevator doors open.

To Chen Feng's surprise, Qian Hao, the current head of the Qian family, was already waiting at the door with several of his men. He had a forced smile on his face, but there was a hint of hostility in his eyes that was not easy to detect.

"Miss Su, it's an honor to have you here. I'm so sorry I didn't greet you properly."

Su Qingyuan simply raised her hand in greeting, performing a standard family etiquette.

When both families entered the Qian family's office, Su Qingyuan sat down in Qian Hao's seat without saying a word, her movements so swift that Qian Hao's eyelids trembled.

However, due to Su Qingyuan's highly authoritative status, Qian Hao still stood obediently in front of Su Qingyuan, not daring to overstep his bounds for even a moment.

"Mr. Qian, the eight million in rent should have arrived three days ago. How should I calculate it?" Su Qingyuan asked while sipping her milk tea.

Qian Hao rubbed his hands together, making a troubled expression.

"Miss Su, it's not that I'm deliberately delaying payment, it's just that business has been really bad lately. As you know, the Darkin and the Mechanicus are causing a lot of trouble at the border. They've cut off several of our transport lines, and we've suffered heavy losses."

He paused, then changed the subject.

"Furthermore, the Li family recently contracted out all the freight routes in the western part of the city to their own people. Qian's Transportation can only run some remote routes now, and we're not making any money at all. Could you perhaps reduce the rent a bit? Or give us a few more months' grace?"

A smile appeared on Su Qingyuan's lips as she slowly placed the milk tea cup in her hand on the table.

"Mr. Qian, do you think I'm completely unaware of your situation?"

"How could I dare?"

"Alright, last month you just got the exclusive transportation rights for the Chengnan Industrial Zone from the Li family. Just from that one project, your profit this month must have exceeded ten million, right?"

Upon hearing this, Qian Hao's expression instantly changed.

"That's because the Li family thinks highly of me and gave me this business. But the costs are high too..."

"Enough." Su Qingyuan interrupted him. "I don't have time to listen to your complaints about being poor. I'll give you two choices: First, settle the rent within ten minutes, and I can pretend nothing happened. Second, I'll follow the rules and evict you."

Before Qian Hao could continue explaining...

The door to Qian Hao's office was suddenly pushed open, and an elderly man with gray hair walked in and knelt down in front of Su Qingyuan with a "thump".

"Miss Su, spare me! It's all my fault! I misappropriated company funds to treat my seriously ill daughter. It has nothing to do with the head of the family!" The old man cried out as he kowtowed, his forehead quickly bleeding.

Qian Hao breathed a sigh of relief, but pointed at the old man and said, "This is all the old bastard's doing! I've already fired him, but I can't believe he still has the nerve to stay here!"

Upon seeing this, Chen Feng gave a cold laugh.

Even Chen Feng, who wasn't particularly interested in social niceties, could tell at a glance that Qian Hao was looking for a scapegoat, and this old man was clearly a discarded pawn.

How could Su Qingyuan, with her extremely keen observation skills, not see it?

It's just that they don't easily expose each other because of the interests between their families.

Just as Chen Feng was preparing to watch the show, something unexpected happened again.