"Who do you think I am, your third brother?" Wei Haihong said coldly. "Hey, you surnamed Fang, what exactly do you want by coming here to ruin my brother's business? And let me tell you, don't try to use your tricks on my brother. Hurry up and shut up, or you won't be able to clean up the mess. My brother runs a legitimate business. Are you trying to smash up his shop, or are you trying to revoke his license?"
"Your brother?" Fang Jiacheng was taken aback, then looked at Zhou Xuan standing beside him. He shook his head and said repeatedly, "Wait, wait, there's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding!"
"What misunderstanding!" Wei Haihong pointed at him coldly and said, "Fang Jiacheng, your uncle is an official in the capital, just like my second brother. I don't want to get you into an irreconcilable situation, so I'm making this clear to you first, so you won't say I didn't warn you later. Today, you're the one who came here to cause trouble!"
Fang Jiacheng's face turned pale, and he quickly waved his hands, saying, "No, no, absolutely not, Third Brother, there's a real misunderstanding. I didn't know the owner of this shop was your brother. Yuan Li told me..."
"Yuan Li? Who does he think he is? You believe everything Yuan Li says and do whatever he says? Would you eat shit if he told you to?" Wei Haihong said angrily, then looked around at the people and leaned closer to Fang Jiacheng, saying in a very low voice, "Fang Jiacheng, my father and the father of Li Lei, the deputy commander of the Southern Military Region, are here. Let me tell you, the two old men are very angry. If we call your uncle, will he break your legs?"
Fang Jiacheng felt that the two old men looked familiar. Although he had never seen them in person, he had seen them on TV and in the news. They were founding fathers of the country. Although they were old and had not appeared in public for many years, their appearances were still roughly the same. When he heard Wei Haihong say that, he immediately remembered them, and in an instant, all the hair on his body seemed to stand up!
Cold sweat broke out on his brow, and Fang Jiacheng quickly said, "Third Brother, Third Brother, there's been a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. Please ask the two old gentlemen to rest first. I'll clean this up right away. Third Brother, no matter what, I want to apologize to Mr. Zhou first. This was my fault. First, please forgive me, and second, I will make amends. My uncle is very worried..."
Fang Jiacheng wiped his sweat while secretly glancing at the two old men, his body trembling slightly. Despite his usual arrogance, he was still inferior to people like Wei Haihong, let alone important figures like the two old men. If his uncle found out about this, he would definitely be banished to the cold palace.
Wei Haihong glanced at Fang Jiacheng, then at the two old men. The old men's expressions were ambiguous, and Wei Haihong understood their meaning. His second brother, Wei Haihe, was newly appointed as the municipal party secretary in Beijing, and his position was not yet secure. Recently, he had been involved in some troublesome cases, so it was not advisable for him to openly clash with the deputy secretaries and mayors. The system was very delicate. As long as it didn't come to the point of a complete falling out, even if they were opponents, they had to greet each other with a smile on the surface. In this environment, it was not advisable to openly break ties with Fang Qingshan. If Fang Jiacheng was let off the hook now, it would inevitably reach his ears later, and he would understand no matter what.
Wei Haihong pondered for a moment, then snorted and said in a low voice, "Fang Jiacheng, President Fang, you've come to break such a big hole for my brother today. This isn't up to me to decide. You have to let him say it himself and see what he means!"
Fang Jiacheng was stunned. How could Zhou Xuan, whom he had never seen before, with such an ordinary yet infuriating face, be Wei Haihong's brother? With both old men present, could Zhou Xuan's identity be simple? It wasn't just anyone who could invite two elders of such status. Moreover, it was clear that even his uncle wouldn't dare utter a single word in front of these two elders, let alone him!
It seems that everything is still Yuan Li's fault. He said he was Fu Yuanshan's die-hard supporter. Fu Yuanshan, a mere bureau chief, didn't care, but when it came to families like the Wei and Li families, the Fang family couldn't handle it!
No wonder even the crown prince Wei Haihong is doing odd jobs here!
This alone should make it clear that Fang Jiacheng wished he could slap himself twice!
How stupid!
Fang Jiacheng's face turned bright red, but he wasn't angry at the moment; rather, he felt fear and shame. He didn't need the other party to offer him a way out; he had to do it himself and make the other party happy!
After thinking for a moment, Fang Jiacheng turned around and glared at Yuan Li, then turned back to Zhou Xuan with a forced smile and said, "Mr. Zhou, it's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. Could you please give me some face and forgive me?"
Zhou Xuan glanced at the two old men and Wei Haihong, then at Yang Zhongjun. Yang Zhongjun looked dumbfounded, still not understanding what was going on. He certainly didn't know the identities of the two old men, and when Wei Haihong spoke, he had lowered his voice and whispered to Fang Jiacheng, so he still didn't know. But seeing Fang Jiacheng openly apologizing to Zhou Xuan and begging for his forgiveness, he was somewhat stunned. Just who was Zhou Xuan?
Volume 1, Chapter 323
“Fine, whatever you want me to say, I’ll do it.” Zhou Xuan could also see that the old man wanted to give Fang Jiacheng a good dressing down, but he didn’t want to push Fang Jiacheng to the brink and kill him completely.
Zhou Xuan is not the same Zhou Xuan as before. He thinks about many things more. His position is different, so his thoughts and ideas are naturally different. When he is in the old man's position, he can't do things the way he wants. He has to consider various factors and can only touch on many things and know when to stop.
Zhou Xuan glanced at the stunned Yang Zhongjun, thought for a moment, and then said to Fang Jiacheng, "President Fang, this Mr. Yang is my friend, and this Yuan Li is his man. So you should understand what I mean, right? If Mr. Yang is satisfied, then I am satisfied!"
Yang Zhongjun was invited by Fu Yuanshan to help him, and it was because of him that Yuan Li turned against him and broke ties with Fang Jiacheng. Yang Zhongjun was the most embarrassed person present, and I should help him no matter what. Judging from the current situation, Fang Jiacheng would definitely not dare to have any bad intentions towards him anymore, that's for sure, there's no need to think about it anymore. If I don't take this opportunity to vent my anger for Yang Zhongjun, then I will really lose face. Sometimes, venting for a friend is much more satisfying than venting for myself.
Upon hearing Zhou Xuan's words, Fang Jiacheng immediately understood, and his anger was already surging. This was all caused by Yuan Li. Of course, he was also responsible. If he hadn't wanted to poach Yuan Li and had privately invited him with a high price beforehand, Yuan Li wouldn't have come. But Yuan Li had overestimated him and took the opportunity to raise the price even higher. What was most hateful was that the bastard Yuan Li claimed that Zhou Xuan only had Fu Yuanshan as his backer, which was a huge injustice to him!
He rushed over excitedly to humiliate and defeat his opponent Yang Zhongjun, but he didn't expect to offend Zhou Xuan. What he didn't expect was that Zhou Xuan had a powerful background that he never dared to dream of. This has really caused him a lot of trouble. He doesn't know how his uncle will punish him when he finds out!
Enraged, Fang Jiacheng turned and glared at Yuan Li, who took a step back in fright and asked tremblingly, "Mr. Fang, what's wrong? The people I called... they'll be here soon, right?"
It would have been better if this hadn't been brought up, because the mention of it only made Fang Jiacheng angrier. He kicked him to the ground and yelled, "You surnamed Yuan, get out of here!"
Yuan Li was startled and scrambled to his feet, exclaiming, "President Fang, President Fang, what's wrong? We haven't signed the contract yet!"
"What the hell is this contract?" Fang Jiacheng was furious. He pointed at his nose and cursed, "Get out! Let me tell you, Dongfang Company will never sign a contract with you. Get out!"
Yuan Li panicked. If he didn't sign the contract, he would be unemployed. If Fang Jiacheng didn't want him, how could he go back to Baocheng? Besides, this whole mess would definitely damage his reputation. He immediately said, "President Fang, President Fang, you can't just kick me while I'm down. If you hadn't called me and asked me to come to Dongfang, why would I have broken my contract with Baocheng?"
"Go to hell! Who do you think you are? How could we in Dongfang want someone as morally bankrupt as you?" Fang Jiacheng was even more furious. Yuan Li's mention of their private negotiations was an insult to him and made him lose face.
"Get out! If you can betray Baocheng today, you'll naturally betray Dongfang tomorrow. Do you think Dongfang would want someone like you who has no integrity or character? Get out of here right now! I never want to see you again!"
Yuan Li was stunned. He never expected things to turn out this way. Just yesterday, he had been using his reputation to demand a higher price from Fang Jiacheng, and had really ripped him off. According to their agreement, Yuan Li's current income was twice as high as his previous salary in Baocheng. He was just waiting to go back now to sign his name, and Dongfang would handle his unfinished contract with Baocheng. But now Dongfang suddenly didn't want him anymore, and Fang Jiacheng had gone back on his word. What was going on?
Fang Jiacheng is a sensible man. Despite his ruthless methods, he knows that there are some things he can't do and some people he can't afford to offend. For example, today, Zhou Xuan is someone he can't afford to offend. Since Yang Zhongjun has a relationship with Zhou Xuan, he can't afford to offend him either. It seems that he has no choice but to back down in today's situation. He has even called for reinforcements. When those people arrive, he will have to clean up the mess!
"Mr. Yang, I, Lao Fang, have offended you today. Please forgive me!" Fang Jiacheng's face changed instantly, from sinister to conciliatory. He smiled obsequiously at Yang Zhongjun and said, "Mr. Yang, as the saying goes, there are no permanent enemies in business. Today, I, Lao Fang, will shake your hand. From now on, we are friends!"
Yang Zhongjun understood that Fang Jiacheng made this decision out of respect for Zhou Xuan and the others. Even when beating a dog, one must consider its owner. He needed to cultivate a good relationship with Zhou Xuan in the future. He originally wanted to give Fu Yuanshan face, but he unintentionally made friends with Zhou Xuan. He was just thinking that today's loss was not worth it, but unexpectedly, things are unpredictable. Every cloud has a silver lining.
"Mr. Fang, aren't we friends? Hehe, forget it, let's not dwell on the misunderstandings!" Yang Zhongjun shook hands with Fang Jiacheng, and their feud was resolved with this handshake.
“This person…” Fang Jiacheng pointed at Yuan Li and said, “President Yang, you can deal with him however you want. This has nothing to do with Dongfang. Sue him if you want, compensate him if you want. Also, I’m telling my friends in the industry, we can’t keep a scoundrel like him who has no integrity in the future!”
Fang Jiacheng's words terrified Yuan Li. If these big shots blacklisted him, how would he ever make a living? If it was just Dongfang and Baocheng that didn't want him, with his fame, he could lower his price and find work at other small companies or take on odd jobs. But if he made a big fuss and the big companies joined forces to blacklist him, he would be finished. He would definitely not be able to make a living in the entertainment industry!
“Alright, we’ll do as Mr. Fang says!” Yang Zhongjun nodded, then coldly said to the dazed Yuan Li, “Yuan Li, just wait for the court summons. We still have six months left on the contract. It’s not much, just a little over a million in compensation. For you, the great star Yuan, it’s just a piece of cake!”
After saying that, Yang Zhongjun thought for a moment, then leaned closer to Yuan Li and whispered, "Hey Yuan, I have something else to tell you. I have some documents I'm going to hand over to the procuratorate. The income I gave you was pre-tax. I heard you evaded a lot of taxes and concealed your income. That's not good; it's illegal. How could you do that? If you spend another year or two in jail, that's really bad..."
Yuan Li turned deathly pale with fright!
Honestly, which big-name celebrity hasn't done these things? These are all unspoken rules. The media occasionally reports on someone evading taxes, which is because they offended the wrong people. Originally, they were hoping to rely on their family business. The new boss has strong backing, and even if the former boss has something to do, they will consider the relationship. Although some things may cause enmity, the unspoken rules of the industry cannot be broken, otherwise it will only make other artists feel disheartened.
But things like Yuan Li's are different. With the big bosses of various entertainment companies joining forces to blacklist him, who would dare to say no? Besides, Yuan Li did it without any regard for integrity, which is something that all his peers would find shameful.
Yuan Li became increasingly frightened. If Yang Zhongjun really did as he said, it wouldn't just be a matter of paying for the breach of contract; he would face a lawsuit and might even end up in jail. If it really came to that, he would be completely ruined!
But how did it come to this?
Yang Zhongjun had already grasped the situation and ignored him. He turned around and greeted the artists under his management who were still in a daze and didn't know why, and arranged for them to sing a song to liven up the atmosphere.
Yang Zhongjun was particularly quick-witted. He understood that the focus here was on the two old men. He arranged for several female stars to sing old revolutionary songs. Although Wang Ziqing, Lan Yin, and Qin Ziyan were not very familiar with these old songs and sang slightly off-key, it didn't matter much. The old men and Lao Li were not professionals and could not hear the details, but they nodded frequently and were very happy. That was enough.
Fu Yuanshan had been invited to the hotel by Li Wei early in the morning and did not witness this scene. He was also unaware of the situation at the store. Fortunately, he was unaware. If he had witnessed the old man's outburst, it would have been quite frightening. It didn't matter to strangers, but he didn't have the courage to do so.
Qin Ziyan and several other female artists sang a few more old songs, such as "Nanniwan," "Jiaobao Xianghui," and "Xiu Hebao." Although they were all old songs, they were sung in a new style and with a fresh melody, adding more charm and emotion compared to the original versions sung by traditional singers. Because these were all celebrities, more and more people came to Zhouzhangdian. At first, it was government officials who came. Because Wei Haihong had secretly made arrangements, key departments such as the Industry and Commerce Bureau, the Tax Bureau, and the Public Security Bureau all came to give gifts and flower baskets. They arrived in official vehicles and uniforms, which frightened the antique shop owners who had secretly united to isolate Zhouzhangdian. They sent their employees to check it out privately, and it was indeed true. Moreover, the people from those departments all acted very discreetly.