Just as Ma Lan was beside herself with excitement, Wang Yunkai called out, "Uncles and aunties, don't be hasty. I'll go talk to them right now. Wait here for my good news."
Ma Lan felt that, with Wang Yunkai backing her up, no one would dare mess with her. She immediately blurted out, "Yunkai, I'll go with you!"
Ye Chen hurriedly said to Ma Lan, "Mom, you'd better not go over and get involved. If Wang Yunkai can't settle this, you might get into trouble!"
"Pah!" Ma Lan snapped. "You useless piece of trash, how dare you question what Yunkai can do?"
The other elderly men and women were all counting on Wang Yunkai to help them get their hard-earned money back. Now that Ye Chen was actually singing a different tune from everyone else, he naturally drew all their displeasure.
Faced with a barrage of accusations, Ye Chen said calmly, "Mom, you can wait here too. You'd better not get involved in this."
Ma Lan wouldn't listen at all. She immediately cursed, "Shut your filthy mouth! Is it your place to speak here?!"
Wang Yunkai's face was also full of arrogance as he sneered, "You don't have much ability, but you sure have plenty of jealousy. Do you think I'm a useless piece of trash like you, who can only open his mouth and shout slogans?"
Seeing that his mother-in-law wouldn't heed his advice, Ye Chen decided not to say anything more. He said calmly, "All right, then I'll wait for Young Master Wang's good news."
Ye Chen couldn't stand a single thing about his mother-in-law, Ma Lan. She was far too snobbish, yet she was often blinded by appearances. To put it bluntly, she was an old woman with long hair and short wits.
Today's affair looked like nothing more than a fraud case, but a little investigation would show just how deep the waters behind it ran. His mother-in-law lacked discernment and still wanted to wade into those muddy waters herself, so there was nothing he could do. It would be good to let her learn a lesson.
Ma Lan had no idea that Ye Chen meant well. She glared fiercely at him, then turned to Wang Yunkai the next second and said apologetically, "Yunkai, don't take what this piece of trash said to heart. I have absolute faith in you..."
Wang Yunkai smiled smugly and said, "It's all right, Auntie. I won't lower myself to the level of a good-for-nothing."
With that, he immediately said in high spirits, "Auntie, let's go over there!"
"Okay!"
Wang Yunkai led Ma Lan through the crowd and over to the entrance of Huaxin Insurance Company.
As soon as they reached the entrance, he raised his voice and said to the employees blocking the doors, "Go tell your boss to refund these uncles and aunties their money immediately. Otherwise, I'll have a legal team and the police step in right away. Then you and your boss will all be arrested!"
Ma Lan chimed in beside him, "Did you dogs hear that? We've got someone backing us up now! If your scam company doesn't refund the money, watch out, or Young Master Wang will send every last one of you to prison!"
The young employee in the lead was a little nervous too. He hurriedly said, "Sorry, I'm just a security guard who does odd jobs. I'm not in charge of the business side!"
Wang Yunkai said coldly, "Then call your boss and tell him I'm Wang Yunkai of the Wang Family in Jinling! Tell him to come deal with this personally, or he'll bear the consequences!"
As he spoke, Wang Yunkai's face was full of arrogance.
Although the Wang Family he belonged to wasn't among the top families in Jinling, it was at least a middle-ranking one.
Once the boss of a mere scam company heard his illustrious name, how could he refuse to give him face?
The young employee didn't know what he was capable of and was somewhat afraid. He immediately called his boss.
At that moment, in the chairman's office of Huaxin Insurance Company, the boss, Zhou Huaxin, was fawning over a middle-aged man in his forties.
Beaming, he took a bank card from a drawer and respectfully offered it to the man. "Master Wu, there are thirty million in this card. The password is your birthday. This is your share of the profits this time. Please take a look."
The middle-aged man wore a Tang suit and looked somewhat rugged, but his eyes commanded respect without anger, and his imposing presence was astonishing.
If anyone else had been present, they would certainly have recognized the middle-aged man.
He was Master Hong Wu!
Everyone in Jinling knew that Master Hong Wu was the city's underground emperor. No one dared cross him!
Master Hong Wu looked at Zhou Huaxin and smiled approvingly. "Little Zhou, I didn't expect you to know the ropes so well. Not bad, not bad!"
Zhou Huaxin hurriedly said, "Master Wu, what should we do about the old men and women making trouble downstairs?"
Master Hong Wu said calmly, "A bunch of old geezers. Pay them no mind. If they still don't get lost quietly later, I'll send the brothers over to show them a thing or two!"
Zhou Huaxin immediately breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly said, "Thank you, Master Wu!"
Master Hong Wu smiled and said, "In the future, go ahead and pursue this kind of business without holding back. As long as it makes money, I'll cover for you if anything happens."
Zhou Huaxin was overjoyed. With a humble expression, he said, "Thank you, Master Wu! With your word, I'll redouble my efforts, and we'll get rich together!"
Zhou Huaxin didn't have much of a background in Jinling, but he had one advantage: he had a quick mind and knew how to work underhanded schemes.
He swindled money through financial schemes, and knowing he couldn't keep such a large sum under control himself, he sought Master Wu's help. He offered Master Wu a portion of his ill-gotten gains in exchange for Master Hong Wu's protection.
Master Hong Wu could summon wind and rain in Jinling, so he could naturally keep Zhou Huaxin safe. It was precisely because he had Master Hong Wu as his backer that Zhou Huaxin had no worries and his scamming business was thriving.
Just as Zhou Huaxin was thrilled to have latched onto Master Wu, one of his subordinates called and immediately said, "Boss, something's happened! A guy calling himself Wang Yunkai, a young master of the Wang Family, said we have to refund the money immediately, or he'll send you to prison!"
"Fuck, is that so?"
Zhou Huaxin frowned and hurriedly said to Master Hong Wu, "Master Wu, there's someone downstairs claiming to be from the Wang Family of Jinling, and he's leading those old men and women in making trouble! He says he can cover the sky with one hand in Jinling and wants us to cough up all the money we swindled, or he'll send us to prison..."
Zhou Huaxin deliberately embellished the story to provoke Master Hong Wu.
He then bowed and pleaded, "Master Wu, the Wang Family has some influence in Jinling. If they refuse to let me go, I really can't afford to offend them. Please step in and help me through this difficulty!"
"The Wang Family of Jinling?"
Master Hong Wu snorted coldly. "A little Wang Family isn't worth even a chicken feather in my eyes! Even the person in charge of their family has to bow to me when he sees me! Now one of their juniors actually dares to cross me. He must be tired of living!"
With that, Master Hong Wu pocketed the bank card Zhou Huaxin had offered him and said coldly, "Let's go. I want to see exactly which fool doesn't know what's good for him and wants me, Master Hong Wu, to cough up the money I've swallowed!"