Settling the score

The name Fortune House Restaurant alone carried a rich sense of Chinese heritage, and it was indeed one of the Fuzi Chamber of Commerce's businesses. It had four floors, with red and yellow dominating the decor inside and out, making it look like an imperial kitchen.

Fortune House catered to the masses. Its dishes were inexpensive, and most of its customers came from the lower and middle classes, so the usual crowd was a mixed bag. Drunken brawls were a frequent occurrence. And with the Fuzi Chamber of Commerce backing it, whenever any of Zhannan District's well-known gangsters had a dispute, they liked to ask someone from Changqing Company or the Fuzi Chamber of Commerce to mediate, then come here to negotiate. In underworld slang, it was called settling the score.

So, given the setting and the recent relationship between the Su, Liu, Bai, and Kong Families and Changqing Company, this evening was clearly going to produce some sparks.

On Fortune House's fourth floor, inside the largest room, the Four Seas Private Room, Li Hongze, Lu Feng, and six or seven core members of Changqing Company were all seated in the sofa area on the south side.

After Su Tianyu, Su Tianbei, Kong Zhenghui, and the others entered, the five younger family members they had brought along all sat down at the dining table to wait, showing that they knew their place. Su Tianyu and the other principal negotiators then took their seats in the sofa area on the north side.

The Four Seas Private Room covered a spacious hundred and sixty or seventy square meters. Li Hongze and his people sat on the south side facing north, claiming all the hosts' imposing grandeur.

Once both sides were seated, the older Liu the Second addressed Li Hongze with obvious restraint. "Boss Li, if our families hadn't been pushed this far, we never would've gone against Changqing Company. We had no choice in those earlier clashes. Please bear with us."

Liu the Second had the temperament of an ordinary middle-aged man. He was getting older, and the years had long since drained away his youthful passion. Even his piss was dark yellow and came out in a split stream. He had neither the ambition to break new ground nor the guts to fight anyone to the death. Maintaining the status quo was the best outcome he could hope for.

Li Hongze listened, then waved a hand with a relaxed smile. "Let's skip the pleasantries. Everyone's here, so let's get down to business."

"Of course." Liu the Second nodded humbly.

"Since Director Wang has put in a word, those of us down below need to take the hint and know when to stop." Li Hongze crossed his legs and spoke evenly. "We'll agree to have your people released, and those earlier clashes will end with the arrest of Lu Feng's men. Once sanitation work starts up again in Zhannan District, we'll stay out of each other's way, each handle our own share, and keep business thriving together!"

Liu the Second felt relieved at those words and immediately wanted to nod his agreement.

"...Mr. Li, I'm afraid that won't work." Su Tianyu cut in before Liu the Second could answer.

Li Hongze turned to look at Su Tianyu. He said nothing, but his eyes asked for an explanation.

"We're small, and our words don't carry much weight. Making a living isn't easy, and we really can't afford all this trouble." Su Tianyu's voice was equally calm. "But the clashes in between aren't something you can brush aside with a single sentence."

"If we can't brush them aside, what do you want?" a middle-aged man on Li Hongze's left asked, his gaze vicious.

"Compensation. Employees from two of our companies were beaten so badly they were left disabled. My family's factory was smashed up and set on fire, and my second brother was seriously wounded with a blade." Su Tianyu looked straight at him. "Those are real losses, aren't they? That goes beyond a business rivalry, doesn't it? Calling it all a few clashes and moving on hardly seems appropriate, Boss Li."

Silence fell over the room. Lu Feng kept his head down, fiddling with the tea set on the table without saying a word.

"Heh. So how much do you want us to pay?" Li Hongze asked with a smile.

"Six hundred thousand." Before Su Tianyu could speak, Kong Zhenghui, who had been silent until then, named the price.

"Six hundred thousand? If I fucking gave it to you, would you even know how to spend it?" The burly man beside Li Hongze stood straight up. "We're only talking to you out of respect for Wang Daolin and Yu Jinrong. Understand? And now you're pushing your fucking luck?!"

Kong Zhenghui didn't even look at him. He spoke only to Li Hongze. "I spent nearly two hundred thousand just contacting the media. You only agreed to talk after I'd laid all the groundwork. Shouldn't you reimburse me for that money too?"

Li Hongze remained silent for a long moment and offered no rebuttal.

Kong Zhenghui looked straight at him, brimming with confidence. He believed Li Hongze could no longer withstand the pressure and had to settle this quickly by making concessions. If the trouble continued, the trail from Floral Shirt would implicate Lu Feng. If Wang Daolin then played up the shooting and turned it into a priority case for the Police Bureau, no matter what punishment Changqing Company ultimately faced, the public would brand it a violent monopoly and a threat to public safety. That was absolutely unacceptable to Zheng Fu'an, who backed them.

Then there was the media. Li Hongze currently lacked the ability to suppress every strand of public opinion. Floral Shirt had already been caught, and the evidence was conclusive. If Kong Zhenghui made an issue of the gravely injured employees and the vandalism and arson at the Su Family's freight yard, Li Xing would be in a difficult position too. After all, the incident had begun with the Anti-Smuggling Division arresting the heads of the Four Companies, so he would naturally be dragged into it as well.

Li Hongze still had one card left: the heads of the Su, Liu, Bai, and Kong Families had yet to be released. He could use that as a threat.

But was it really worth continuing the feud with these four families and blowing the whole thing up over six hundred thousand in compensation?

Li Hongze seethed inside, but his head remained perfectly clear. His expression unchanged, he smiled and nodded. "Just six hundred thousand in cash, then?"

"That's right. Just six hundred thousand," Su Tianyu replied with a nod.

"Fine. It's settled." Li Hongze stood up and looked at Lu Feng expressionlessly. "You're the one who botched this. You figure out how to pay them."

Lu Feng nodded without a word.

"All right, stay seated." Li Hongze waved to the four families and left the private room with three of the men.

In the quiet room, Lu Feng narrowed his eyes at the people before him and gave a quiet order. "Have accounting bring over six hundred thousand right now."

"Okay." The man beside Lu Feng walked out too.

Lu Feng lit a cigarette and glanced at Su Tianyu, his resentment already boiling over.

About ten minutes later, an accounting employee from Changqing Company came in carrying two plastic bags from their office beside Fortune House.

"Counted it?" Lu Feng asked.

"Yes." The accounting employee nodded.

With his cigarette between his lips, Lu Feng pointed at the bags of money. "Take it."

On the north-side sofa, Liu the Second watched Lu Feng, sweat beading on his own forehead. Sensing the atmosphere in the room, Bai Hongbo could practically feel his balls trembling.

Su Tianyu and Kong Zhenghui exchanged a glance, then rose and picked up the bags of money, saying in unison, "Thank you, Boss Li."

"Let's go!" Su Tianbei called out.

Crash!

No sooner had he spoken than the vicious man who had sat on Li Hongze's left charged in with a weapon, pointed at the four families, and cursed. "We offer it, and you actually have the balls to take it?!"

"Buddy, don't get carried away. There are police officers downstairs. There's no need to commit any more crimes." Bai Hongbo stood up and offered a well-meaning reminder.

The burly man answered without hesitation. "I know there are cops. I'll fucking cripple you now, then go downstairs, drop the knife, and turn myself in. So I go to prison? I'll take five years. Changqing men, beat them!!! Don't touch the money. Cripple them, then throw them downstairs along with the cash!"

Su Tianyu put down the money bag, grabbed the decorative floor lamp beside the sofa with one hand, and strode up to Lu Feng in two steps. "You just have to force me to defend myself again, huh? Hanging that fucking head of yours like you're still not convinced? I'll put you down right here on your own turf today!"

Bang!!!

The other side had already drawn a knife and moved to attack, so Su Tianyu wasn't about to take it lying down. He swung the lamp, over a meter long, straight at Lu Feng. Lu Feng sprang up and raised an arm to block it, and the fight began.