Inside the restaurant.
Sheng Tian and the bald-headed Mr. Du were wracked with despair and panic, as they knelt on the floor.
Just then, Chen Ao was interceding for them with Ye Fan.
Ye Fan glanced at the pair on the floor as he sipped his tea. And then he shook his head with a smile, "Forget it. Because Chen Ao is pleading on your behalf, I will let you off this time."
"But I will give you a word of advice. In future, it is better to act with restraint. After all, you can never be certain if you can actually afford to offend the person you are looking down on."
"Am I right? Mr. Sheng?"
Ye Fan stood up and patted Sheng Tian's shoulder. Being called "Mr. Sheng” had caused the latter's hair to stand on end.
Sheng Tian hurriedly promised to restrain his men and himself. He swore to never again abuse his position to bully others.
"Also, Mr. Chu, please call me Tian from now on. I can't bear the weight of 'Mr. Sheng'." Sheng Tian said with his head bowed. Due to his panic, sweat was pouring down his forehead.
Ye Fan did not reply. After biding farewell to Chen Ao, he turned and prepared to leave.
But Chen Ao tried to get Ye Fan to stay. "Mr. Chu, why don't you stay for a little longer? We will be having a gathering in a moment. Perhaps Mr. Chu could...”
However, Ye Fan waved his hand dismissively and said, "No, thanks. If I get home late, my wife will worry."
"This~" When Chen Ao and the others heard this, they laughed awkwardly. "Mr. Chu is a family-oriented man. It is madam's good fortune to have married you."
Since Ye Fan had brought up his family life, Chen Ao and company did not continue to try to keep him. It would be disastrous if his staying here resulted in marital disharmony at home.
"You mentioned a gathering. What kind of gathering is it?"
Chen Ao respectfully accompanied Ye Fan on his way out. Along the way, the latter casually asked about the upcoming gathering.
And the topic caused Chen Ao to frown unconsciously. "We ran into a little problem, so I asked everyone to gather here to discuss countermeasures."
"Problem? What kind of problem?" Ye Fan's interest was piqued immediately. Although Chen Ao was not an invincible existence in Jiangdong, he was still one of the top five most powerful figures in the province.
Ye Fan was curious to know what sort of problem could trouble a kingpin like Chen Ao.
Chen Ao sighed and said, "Ai, it is embarrassing to admit, but I will still tell you. Mr. Chu, you don't pay regular attention to the affairs in Jiangdong, so you don't know this. But things are a bit unstable here right now."
"Oh? Unstable? Don't tell me that there are still people you can't control in Jiangdong?"
Chen Ao shook his head and smiled bitterly. "It's not that he doesn't accept my leadership. It's more like he doesn't accept all the leaders of Jiangdong.”
"Mr. Chu, have you heard about the consecutive deaths of Lin Qing-Quan, the top tycoon of Guyang city, and Niu Chao-Yang, the family head of the prestigious Niu family in Changdong city?"
"Didn't they pass away due to sickness?" The news had reported that their deaths were due to illness, and so Ye Fan had not given the matter much thought. But now that Chen Ao was bringing up the deaths all of sudden, Ye Fan could not help feeling suspicious about the circumstances surrounding their demises. "Are you saying
that..."
Chen Ao nodded and replied, "Yes. The two were murdered. They didn't die from sickness."
"And their murderer is the former top tycoon of Jiangdong, Wu He-Rong."
"Ten years ago, Wu He-Rong was the number one kingpin of Jiangdong. He was a cruel man. Someone who was willing to do anything for the sake of profit. Back then, he used unscrupulous means to bring about the ruin of his competitors and their families. Those victims became his stepping stones to success. Later, Wu He-Rong started making money from drug dealing. And finally, he incurred public wrath in Jiangdong. At that time, the top honchos from the sixteen cities of Jiangdong province worked together to report Wu He-Rong's misdeeds. In the end, they managed to topple his empire."
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Man In Rage