Solving Middle Age Crisis by Intelligence System-Chapter 371 - 252: I Admit Defeat! (Double-Length)
"Move your cars now! Don’t block the road!" Guo Ju shouted at his men with a stern face.
The men hesitated for two seconds but eventually walked away quickly. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮
Brother Xiong turned his head and looked again at the woman in front of him, his expression turning extremely ugly. His eyes seemed about to spew fire, but he dared not make the slightest move.
He survived this long without getting caught up in the mess because he was no fool. If someone dares to slap you brazenly, it means they don’t regard you at all, supported by some bigshot in the background.
And the respectful attitude of Guo Ju is the best testament.
Today his reputation is completely ruined; probably in the foreseeable future, he will become the topic of gossip over tea and foot baths.
The woman doesn’t care about the fire in Brother Xiong’s eyes, merely speaking indifferently: "Doesn’t feel good being slapped, does it? Remember this for the future."
Brother Xiong stiffened his neck without saying anything, which might be his last shred of dignity.
"Miss Lu, why don’t we discuss inside? Causing a commotion isn’t good for business," Guo Ju quietly reminded.
The woman referred to as Miss Lu nodded and walked forward. The men standing in her way dared not stop her, swiftly moving aside.
Guo Ju glanced at Brother Xiong and shook his head helplessly, "You too, come inside."
Brother Xiong gritted his teeth and ordered a few men, "You guys wait outside." With that, he followed Guo Ju into the shop.
In the first-floor lobby, the manager had just arranged Qi Yun and some others in the lounge, heading towards the entrance.
Upon seeing Miss Lu, he immediately hurried forward to greet her, "Boss!"
Miss Lu sized up the manager, noting he wasn’t injured, then nodded, "Well done."
She hardly ever visits this restaurant, leaving all matters to this manager, so most of the staff, except for those who have worked for many years, don’t know her.
"Not well done, it’s my failure to manage properly that impacts business..." The manager responded with a bit of shame.
Though he’s just a manager, his annual salary runs in seven figures. Since he takes this pay, he must have the ability to solve problems, so the boss doesn’t have to worry.
The manager knows his boss has a background. Situations like today are unprecedented. Before, not only was there no trouble, even routine inspections faced by other establishments didn’t happen here.
Therefore, he dared to warn Brother Xiong upstairs earlier not to make trouble here.
Miss Lu waved her hand, "Where are those people?"
"Arranged in the lounge," the manager pointed to the side.
"Let’s go, follow me," Miss Lu motioned to Brother Xiong, casually leaving a comment and leading the way to the lounge.
In the lounge, Qi Yun sat on the sofa chatting with Lao Wai.
Suddenly, the door opened, and Miss Lu led the manager and Brother Xiong inside.
Qi Yun appeared slightly surprised upon seeing Miss Lu at first—her appearance wasn’t the reason; she seemed familiar, giving him a déjà vu feeling.
Like he had seen her somewhere, but couldn’t recall.
"Gentlemen, this is our boss," the manager introduced Miss Lu to Qi Yun and the others.
Qi Yun rose from the sofa without abruptly shaking hands, politely nodding as a greeting.
"Please sit," Miss Lu invited, sitting on another sofa, "I’ve heard from Manager Li about what happened and saw the surveillance footage."
She glanced at Brother Xiong’s direction before continuing, "Though he started the provocation, you both got into a fight, so no problem with bearing some responsibility for the shop’s damages, right?"
After she finished, she looked towards Qi Yun and his group.
Qi Yun glanced at Brother Xiong, who was glaring at him with a red swelling handprint on his face, like he was slapped.
Wondering if something happened earlier?
But he didn’t dwell much, nodding towards Miss Lu, "No problem."
After getting Qi Yun’s response, Miss Lu ignored Brother Xiong and asked the manager, "Have you tabulated the damages?"
The manager drew out his phone from his pocket upon hearing this, "Yes, total damages are 1,103,520 yuan."
Miss Lu tapped her finger on the sofa’s armrest gently, pondering briefly, then looked at Qi Yun again: "Forget the odd amount, compensate ten thousand from your side; the remaining million will be covered by him."
Before Qi Yun could respond, Brother Xiong, who had been silent, spoke up first: "One million!?"
He nearly thought he heard wrong. How could just breaking some tables and dishes cost a million?
It’s not that he couldn’t afford a million, but he felt like a pig being slaughtered, having been beaten and now having to pay, leaving him stifled.
"That vase you broke alone is eighty-two thousand, and there are purchase receipts for all damaged items," the manager explained next to him.
Brother Xiong’s face turned gloomy, refraining from rebutting.
"Any objections?" Miss Lu asked him coldly.
Brother Xiong remained silent for a few seconds, gritting his teeth and squeezing out a few words: "No objections! I’ll take the fall!"
Miss Lu shot him a glance and then turned to look at Qi Yun.
Qi Yun smiled bitterly; since there were receipts, what more could be said—nothing but compensation.
And this compensation seemed skewed favorably towards them; even though Brother Xiong’s men seemed ready to fight first, they didn’t touch Qi Yun at all—essentially attempted assault.
Despite being on the receiving end of the beatings, many things were broken in the skirmish between Chen Wei and them.
Qi Yun was somewhat surprised by Brother Xiong’s reaction, the fact that he accepted the blame easily indicated that the familiar-looking woman might not be simple...
"Ten thousand is acceptable."
Miss Lu listened, stood up from the sofa: "Then each pay, then leave. Hopefully, today’s incident won’t occur again, or it might not be just a matter of compensation."
She warned slightly before nodding to Qi Yun and the others, stepping out of the lounge.
The manager made a gesture of invitation: "Please come follow me to the front desk to settle the bill."
...
After ten minutes, Qi Yun and his group left Wangjiang Pavilion, walking towards the roadside parking area.
Brother Xiong’s men were still standing at the entrance and instinctively inclined their heads when they saw Chen Wei coming out.
Now that the boss was gone, nobody to act tough for—what if that guy came over again to thrash them; they’d only suffer more.
"Ah, today’s stir screwed things up, planned to treat you guys to a good dinner, but..." Lao Wai sighed.
Qi Yun patted his arm apologetically, "This is on me, got you guys dragged into it."
"We’re buddies, no need to say that; besides, you didn’t start this mess," Lao Wai, truly a straightforward guy, hadn’t blamed him at all.
Shi Feng shook his hair, lighting a cigarette: "Damn, that Brother Xiong is such a poser; heaven will definitely deal with people like him one day!"
"He indeed acts ruthlessly, his reputation in the Puxin District is atrocious. If he wants a project and can’t negotiate, he resorts to force, relying on his backing, dismissing others lightly."
"I feel today’s affair may not be over. Brother Xiong won’t let this slide without revenge," Lao Wai sighed again, turning to Qi Yun, "Take my advice, leave this area as early as tomorrow; it’s not worth getting entangled with guys like him."
Qi Yun appreciated Lao Wai’s kindness and just smiled, nodding slightly.
A few minutes later, Brother Xiong came out of Wangjiang Pavilion, and asked his men at the door, "Where are they?"
One of the men replied, "Just left, Xiao Bo quietly followed them."
Brother Xiong ground his teeth, walked quickly towards his Mercedes, and once seated, he immediately took out his phone and dialed a number.
"Got the stuff?"
"Sorry, Mr. Ji, not... not yet, ran into a small issue," Brother Xiong’s tone was a bit cautious, briefed on what happened earlier.
The voice on the other end was silent for a moment, soon followed by a stern rebuke: "Who told you to cause trouble at Wangjiang Pavilion?"
Upon hearing this, Brother Xiong immediately realized that the woman’s background might be stronger than he initially supposed, feeling somewhat relieved he had exercised restraint and avoided impulsive actions...
Though seen by Lao Wai and others as an upper-circle figure, he knows truthfully he is only a mere henchman in the eyes of the true upper-echelon players.
