Zhang Yujie, Looking Down on All as He Swept Across the Land (continued)
After Zhang Yujie sat down, he smoked a cigar without saying a word, which made the already somewhat apprehensive crowd even more at a loss.
"Chairman Zhang..." Feng Yichang, still the oldest among them, spoke first, carefully choosing his tone. "It's good that you returned in time, isn't it? Now, the Chu Family is treating us, the people of Five Counties..."
Zhang Yujie smoked half a cigar before raising his head to look at the pharmaceutical merchants from the Pharmaceutical Association in front of him. His tone was flat and emotionless as he spoke:
Who says they want to be in charge?
"President Zhang, it's not like that. Who would dare say such a thing? It's..." Hearing Zhang Yujie ask this question, Feng Yichang's heart sank, and he hurriedly forced a smile, saying, "It's everyone..."
After being interrupted twice by Feng Yichang, Zhang Yujie threw the cigar in his hand directly at Feng Yichang's face!
The burning embers from the cigar hit Feng Yichang's face, sparks flying everywhere. The heat made Feng Yichang stumble and almost fall!
Zhang Yujie pointed at Feng Yichang, whom he had hit with his cigar, and arrogantly said, "I tolerated your casual remarks the first time I entered the house because you were working for the Zhang Family, but I won't tolerate it a second time! You're old, don't be so rude! A-Hung, drag this old man out and tell him that in three months, his pharmacy won't get a single pill!"
Cai Jianxiong stepped forward from behind Zhang Yujie, dragging Feng Yichang out of the meeting room. Feng Yichang, disregarding his dignity, struggled in Cai Jianxiong's grasp and shouted at Zhang Yujie:
"President Zhang! President Zhang! I know I was wrong! It's not my fault! I was just helping the Zhang Family by running around..."
Before he could shout any further, he had already been dragged outside, and his mouth seemed to have been gagged by Cai Jianxiong.
After Feng Yichang was dragged out of the conference room, Zhang Yujie slowly lit a cigar and said to the crowd in front of him, whose faces had all turned pale with fright, "Fuck you! After feeding you all this meat for so long, do you all really think you're wolves? You're just a bunch of dogs following behind this wolf, Zhang Yujie, eating meat. Let me ask you again, who said they wanted to be in charge?"
Having already learned from Feng Yichang's example, no one in the room dared to speak up now. They looked at each other, hoping that others would muster their courage while they observed the situation from the sidelines.
After waiting for more than ten seconds without anyone speaking, Zhang Yujie twirled the ring on his finger and said, "My house just caught fire, and my elderly mother is forced to stay in a hotel. I wanted to go and have dinner with her first, but because you bastards suddenly showed up at my company to cause trouble, I have to deal with you first. Didn't you want me to step forward? I'm sitting here now! Say what you said before again!"
"You son of a bitch, when I, Zhang Yujie, fought with those Malaysia and Indonesia at sea for the Southeast Asia distribution rights of those pharmaceutical companies, how many people died? You didn't even come to my aid. Where were you then? Seeing the profits from pharmaceuticals, you all followed me around, eager to profit. Now, with the slightest trouble, you think you can rebel against me? Do you even deserve to?"
Still, no one spoke; they all kept their heads down, not daring to look at Zhang Yujie's arrogant gaze.
Zhang Yujie swept his domineering gaze around the room and continued, "The Pharmaceutical Association is something I, Zhang Yuliang, use to make friends, not to raise a bunch of dogs ready to bite me! I, Zhang Yujie, am withdrawing from the Pharmaceutical Association and leaving it to you to run yourselves, okay? One last question: who said they wanted to be in charge?"
Some people couldn't bear the oppressive atmosphere brought on by Zhang Yujie's pressure and wanted to look up, but when Zhang Yujie's gaze swept over them, their courage quickly dissipated in his eyes, and they hurriedly lowered their heads even further!
After waiting for a while, and still no one spoke, Zhang Yujie snorted, turned around, took the trench coat from his female assistant A-Yin, put it on, and finally looked at everyone in the room. "No one admits it? Then we'll all share the blame. This time, Customs seized the goods. The Foreign Devil have a big appetite. I will decide which batch of goods each family has in the Customs warehouse. They will be used to satisfy the Foreign Devil' appetites. Losses will be borne by the family. In the future, the next batch of medicine will still be sold by the Zhang Family at 50%, with the remaining 50% going to the other members. I've finished speaking. Who agrees? Who disagrees?"
"I never said I wanted to be in charge; it was those guys who said it!" Hearing that Zhang Yujie wanted to use their confiscated goods to bribe the Foreign Devil, someone finally couldn't bear the pain and mustered up the courage to speak up.
Unfortunately, the scene he imagined—where Zhang Yujie would vent his anger on those few people—did not occur. Zhang Yujie simply stared coldly at him.
"You are Huang Xiaoqiu, Brother Qiu? Go home and pack your things, close your pharmacy. You can't even do the most basic things a man should do: admit your mistakes and share the burden. If you can get a single pill in Hong Kong in the future, I, Zhang Yujie, as the president of the Hong Kong Pharmaceutical Association, will consider it a dereliction of duty. Go home. If you won't share the burden with us, why should we let you make money with us?"
After speaking, he turned to the others and asked, "Is there anyone else who wants to speak?"
Apart from Huang Xiaoqiu, whose business had been ruined by a single sentence, everyone else immediately shook their heads and looked at Huang Xiaoqiu face remained numb, whether from shock or still not having recovered.
Zhang Yujie, wearing a trench coat, strode towards the meeting room. As he passed his third brother Zhang Yulin, he stopped, turned to look at the silent, head-bowed man, and asked, "Do you hate me for kicking you?"
Zhang Yulin hurriedly shook his head, and Zhang Yujie slowly said, "I kicked you not because you can't control these good-for-nothings, but because you're even worse than these good-for-nothings. It's one thing to not be able to manage the business, but you can't even take care of your mother? Letting her, at her age, stay in a hotel?"
"I know I was wrong, elder brother," Zhang Yulin said, pursing his lips.
Zhang Yujie's eyes were fixed on Zhang Yulin's face. "Do you know what you're supposed to do next?"
Zhang Yulin glanced furtively at Feng Yichang, who was being held down by Cai Jianxiong outside the meeting room, and nodded affirmatively. "I know, brother."
Zhang Yujie nodded in satisfaction and walked outside, casually instructing, "A-Yin, call the Chu Family and Cai Families and tell them I brought some small gifts from Australia to visit you two elders. Ask them to prepare tea and water before I go to bother you."