Baozi's boss nodded: "Yes, that's absolutely right."
Lei Laosi slumped into a chair, wanting to say something but unable to utter a word. This once burly man was now as wilted as a withered eggplant.
I can understand his feelings—losing four businesses in one night for a woman like that, how frustrating! Actually, wars over women have been fought countless times throughout history. From Wu Sangui's famous act of defying fate for a woman, to the Trojan War, which lasted ten years for a beautiful woman named Helen, the Greek coalition and the Trojans engaged in fierce battles, producing countless heroes and involving tens of thousands of soldiers. In the end, they finally managed to take Helen back—thankfully, it only lasted ten years. If it had lasted forty or fifty years, I wonder if the Greeks would have accepted taking back an old woman. But speaking of which, those were all beautiful women, where were the steamed buns?
Seeing that he had really found a problem, Lei Ming curiously looked at the photo in the hand of Baozi's boss, and immediately said to me with a bitter face, "Boss, aren't you making things difficult for me? How could I have imagined that your wife would look like this?"
Lei Laosi roared, "Shut up! You're due to apologize to them by this afternoon. You have to go to both places, especially to this Miss Xiang, do you hear me?"
Lei Ming nodded dejectedly.
The green-shirted woman and the steamed buns' boss hurriedly said, "No need, no need..."
Lei Laosi waved his hand: "This is none of your business. Go back and do your business properly. This kind of thing won't happen again." The two bosses meekly withdrew.
Lei Laosi turned to me and asked, "Are you satisfied with what I did?"
Now things are finally completely clear. Lei Ming did smash up Baozi's shop, but it wasn't specifically aimed at Baozi. As for me taking Guan Yu to kick Dafugui, Lei Laosi had already settled the score with Boss Hao, after all, that was a boss-level feud between them.
In other words, Lei Ming messed up, and I ended up taking all the blame for the business. But I don't regret it at all. Baozi and the others beat me up, and I smashed up the shop. Even without this misunderstanding, I would have done the same. Now that Lei Laosi has spoken up, I said, "No objection."
Lei Laosi nodded and said to Lei Ming, "Since Brother Xiao has no objections, you can get lost too."
Master Gu chuckled: "Isn't it a good thing to resolve things this way?"
I put my hand on my bag and said, "Mr. Lei, you're very generous, and I can't be unreasonable. Since Brother Lei Ming has admitted his mistake, I'll cover the lost wages I caused yesterday and the medical expenses for those friends. Is 100,000 enough?" As I spoke, I pulled out a check. I felt that the amount should be about right. The so-called "smashing" was just a symbolic injury to a few people; there was no real killing or arson. Whether in the past or present, wars are all about money. From territorial concessions and reparations between countries to personal grudges, as long as the interests are right, yesterday's life-or-death struggles can be resolved peacefully today.
Lei Laosi waved his hand and said, "Brother Xiaoqiang, what are you saying? We were in the wrong first. Let's have a meal with those friends from yesterday sometime. Hehe, those six of you took down nearly a hundred of my men. You were all great! Alright, see you later—Master Gu, everyone, I'll be going now."
Grandpa Gu waved to him, then turned to me and said, "Xiao Qiang, how are those kids who played with you doing? The little rascals didn't even bother to visit Grandpa Gu. Did they think I was dead?"
I quickly replied, "Hehe, no way, they've gone abroad to compete again."
Lei Laosi walked to the door and suddenly turned back to ask, "You two know each other?"
Mr. Gu laughed and said, "We're old acquaintances."
Lei Laosi chuckled a few times and walked out the door. The remaining old men also bid farewell to Master Gu and went their separate ways.
There were only the three of us left in the conference room. I said, "Brother Gu, Brother Hu, let's go, I'll treat you to dinner."
Old Master Gu said, "Forget it. This old coffin of mine can't stand all that greasy stuff. I'm telling you, kid, you're something else. You took a few guys and wiped out Lei Laosi like a ton of bricks. Where did you find all those hotheads?"
I laughed and said, "I'll definitely come to see you when I have time this time. It's been a long time since I've heard you play the sanxian."
As Uncle Gu walked ahead, Tiger patted my hand and said, "I'm not going either. Be careful. Lei Laosi may seem generous and selfless on the surface, but he's not easy to please! If he doesn't take your money, he's just leaving this matter to you."
I squeezed Tiger's hand tightly. These two have helped me a lot today. First, Grandpa Gu subtly put Lei Ming down, then he made my relationship with Lei Lao Si more clear in front of him, making Lei Lao Si more cautious. And then there are Tiger's heartfelt words. This is a huge favor.
After seeing the father and son off, I walked to the car door and was about to get in when I suddenly felt someone pull me from the side. I looked and saw it was someone I had just met: Baozi's boss.
I told you, I never imagined my first meeting with my spouse's boss would be like this. It left such a bad impression. So I was quite embarrassed, speechless for a few seconds before quickly shaking hands and asking, "What's your surname?"
"His surname is Hu." Boss Hu seemed quite embarrassed, shaking my hand vigorously. "It's my fault for not getting to know my employees better; there are truly hidden talents among their families!"
My face flushed red. What kind of situation is this? How is Baozi supposed to work after this? In Boss Hu's mind, I've definitely become a reckless, arrogant thug. Will he dare ask Baozi to work as a doorman after he goes back?
Actually, although I don't know the boss's surname, I often hear Baozi mention it. She usually doesn't name him, just says "our boss," and she always says it with a very arrogant tone. For example, "Our boss, he doesn't even give change for parking 10 yuan a time," as if she's benefiting from it all. For a long time, I considered "giving 10 yuan without needing change" as a standard for a man's success. I felt a little jealous; why should my woman have to work for him when we're both men? I also know a bit about Boss Hu's business. He owns three chain soup dumpling shops, plus some stock trading. His monthly income is around 100,000 yuan, which is definitely considered wealthy in our area. Moreover, he has no bad habits, is down-to-earth, and is a model man.
Before Boss Hu could say anything, I said directly, "I understand your difficulties. Go back and fire Xiao Xiang. Just make up a good excuse. I won't blame you. Anyway, I didn't intend for her to work for much longer."
When Mr. Hu heard the first part of my sentence, he kept saying "Not at all, not at all." But when I got to the last part, he quickly said, "I understand, I understand." Finally, he grabbed my wrists with both hands and said, "Brother Xiao, I want to discuss something with you."
"Didn't I already promise you to fire Baozi?"
"No, that's not it... I want to transfer that shop to you."
I chuckled and said, "Why is that? You're not afraid I'll bring some people and smash up your shop, are you?"
Just then, Xiang Yu poked his head out and asked, "Who else are you going to smash?" Boss Hu jumped in fright. I quickly told Xiang Yu to go back and said to Boss Hu, "Actually, I'm not the kind of person you think I am."
Mr. Hu's hand was shaking uncontrollably as he held mine, and he said, "I...I know...So tell me, is it okay or not?"
I was getting a little annoyed: "Didn't I already say? I didn't want your shop."
“…Brother Xiao, please do me a favor.”
I could tell he had something he couldn't say, so I asked, "Can you tell me why?"
Mr. Hu said with lingering fear, "You saw it yourself just now, the one who smashed my shop was Mr. Lei's son."
"Hey, this is between me and them. You just need to fire Baozi and everything will be fine. They won't keep targeting an outsider like you."
Mr. Hu said in horror, "No...you didn't see the way Mr. Lei looked at me just now, he hates me!"
I thought about it and laughed. It's true, as Boss Hu left, Lei Laosi glared at him fiercely, probably a little angry that he'd hired a small-time employee like Baozi. But Lei Laosi is a big shot in the underworld; why would he really hold a grudge against a small-time baozi seller? This Boss Hu is far too cautious.
I laughed and said, "So what do you want to do?"
As he spoke, Mr. Hu reached into his bag and said, “I’ve made up my mind. I can only transfer the shop to you completely. Only someone like you can manage that place. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you’re a bad person.”
I said, "Then name your price." I thought about it and it didn't seem like a bad idea. Lei Laosi is high-ranking enough, but that kid Lei Ming might actually have his eye on Boss Hu. Besides, after marrying Baozi, she'll need something to do. Wouldn't it be great to give her the places she fought in?
Mr. Hu said urgently, "At this point, what's the point of talking about price? Just give me whatever you want."
Could I do that? Wouldn't doing so be considered taking advantage of someone in distress?
I quickly laughed again. Look at Boss Hu, all talk and no action, but he pulled out a huge stack of receipts, certificates, and proofs—not a single one was missing. The property certificate and all the payment receipts were prominently displayed. His meaning was clear: if I really didn't want to take advantage of him, I should calculate the total amount myself and give it to him. Baozi has really had a tough time working for this shrewish Boss Hu for so long.