People like Zhang Sinian are bullies who prey on the weak and fear the strong. Ruthless people are afraid of encountering even more ruthless people, let alone Zhang Sinian, who is not even a ruthless person.
Li Wei didn't know what Zhou Xuan wanted him to do to Zhang Sinian, but when Zhou Xuan first asked him to lend Zhang Sinian 100,000 yuan, he knew in his heart what Zhou Xuan was up to.
"Brother Xuan, what do you think, should we break Zhang Sinian's hand or foot?" Li Wei asked Zhou Xuan with a grin. Of course, he was joking, but only he and Zhou Xuan understood the true meaning of his words. Others, like Guo Zhicheng's group and Wang Liang's group, would never take it as a joke; they would take it as the absolute truth. No one among them dared to take Li Wei's words as a joke.
Zhou Xuan had naturally planned ahead. He smiled and said to Guo Zhicheng, "Guo Zhicheng, I can get Li Wei to let you off the hook and make things easier for you, but I have one condition. Will you agree or not?"
"Of course I agree!" Guo Zhicheng exclaimed happily, and quickly asked.
It seems that Li Wei is a person with a powerful background, someone that even his boss Luo Guangwei is afraid of. But now it seems that even his boss's boss is more respectful to this Zhou Xuan, meaning that Zhou Xuan is the boss's boss's boss's boss!
Volume 1, Chapter 222: The Evil Will Be Punished by the Evil One
"As long as it's within my power, Guo Zhicheng, there's absolutely no problem!"
Guo Zhicheng readily agreed to Zhou Xuan's request, though he was also apprehensive about what Zhou Xuan wanted him to do or whether he could actually do it. But agreeing first was necessary to gain Li Wei's favor. Besides, he had said that he could only do what he could, and if he couldn't, there was nothing he could do.
Zhou Xuan smiled faintly, pointed at Zhang Sinian and said, "This person owes Li Wei 100,000 yuan. I'd like to ask Boss Guo for a favor and help collect this 100,000 yuan debt!"
Guo Zhicheng was taken aback. That's all? That's easy then. Debt collection was his forte; there wasn't a debt he couldn't collect. Even if he was truly broke, he'd squeeze him dry!
"Of course, no problem, leave it to me, Guo Zhicheng!" Guo Zhicheng agreed, then asked, "Is there anything else?"
"Hehe, but this debt to Li Wei needs to be collected in a slightly special way!" Zhou Xuan said with a smile. "You don't need to force him to take out 100,000 yuan all at once. Find him a job, preferably one under your supervision!"
"My men? Find him a job?" Guo Zhicheng was increasingly confused, not understanding what Zhou Xuan meant. Looking at Zhang Sinian, the guy was already trembling with fear. Now he understood the ruthlessness of Zhou Xuan and Li Wei. It turned out they weren't the kind-hearted people he had imagined, nor were they the kind of people who would renege on their debts. Now, they weren't even showing up themselves, pushing the thug job onto Guo Zhicheng. Did he dare offend Guo Zhicheng? If he didn't pay back the 100,000 yuan, Guo Zhicheng had plenty of ways to skin him alive!
Zhou Xuan chuckled, a hint of mischief in his eyes, genuinely admiring himself for suddenly coming up with such a brilliant idea. "Mr. Guo," he said, "look at Zhang Sinian's abilities. Give him a job you can provide, one he's capable of. If it's worth 500, give him 500; if it's worth 1000, give him 1000. Then, give half of his monthly salary to Li Wei, and the other half to his own expenses. Also, restrict his gambling. For every time he gambles, cut off one finger; for every two times, cut off two; after that, cut off his toes. That's it, Mr. Guo, is that convenient?"
Guo Zhicheng immediately burst into laughter, his laughter echoing like a chicken pecking at rice. "Of course, no problem, absolutely no problem, you can rest assured!"
Zhou Xuan added, "Alright, give Li Wei a call. He'll give you a bank account number in a couple of days. You should transfer half of Zhang Sinian's salary to this account every month!"
After Zhou Xuan finished speaking, he said to Zhang Sidong, "Zhang Sinian, a man should live like a man. You're perfectly capable, yet you still have to feed your sixty-something-year-old mother. I have nothing more to say. Now give me a straight answer: are you planning to pay back this money or not? Give me a clear answer so we can make a decision!"
Zhang Sidong, with a mournful face, said helplessly, "I'll pay you back, I'll pay you back. I'll agree to your conditions, but can you please stop Boss Guo from chasing me? I can do it myself, okay?"
Li Wei stepped forward and kicked him, cursing, "Damn it, you think I, Li Wei, am easy to fool? You think you're only afraid of Guo Zhicheng but not me? You think I can renege on my debt?"
To be honest, Zhang Sinian really meant that. He was used to being lazy and didn't want to work. Besides, he still had that idea that he was just messing with Guo Zhicheng and not caring about the matter. As for Li Wei, he was afraid he wasn't as terrifying as Guo Zhicheng.
Guo Zhicheng had dealt with this kind of person the most, and he was very familiar with their psychology. He immediately stepped forward, grabbed Zhang Sinian, and slapped him several times, making his face red and swollen, and his head was buzzing.
"Zhang Sinian, are you blind? Why would I need Mr. Li to deal with scum like you?" Guo Zhicheng was very good at dealing with local scoundrels like Zhang Sinian. When he came out with his fierce strength of hitting and cursing, Zhang Sinian covered his face and trembled incessantly. He dared not cheat on Guo Zhicheng.
“Perfect timing! My friend’s casino needs a security guard. Base salary is 1200, plus bonuses and benefits, totaling 1800. That’s 900 a month, 10,800 a year, and it’ll be paid off in nine years and three months!” Guo Zhicheng had a lot of experience collecting debts and was very good with numbers, so he quickly came up with the idea.
Zhang Sinian's face burned with embarrassment; she was completely disoriented from the beating. Once she recovered and understood Guo Zhicheng's words, her mouth felt as bitter as if she had swallowed gall. Her plan had failed; she had been sold into servitude for ten years and was forbidden from gambling again. This was nothing like the casual promises she made to her parents and teachers. Under Guo Zhicheng, if she gambled again, her fingers would truly be cut off. And if she didn't quit this job and repay the money, Guo Zhicheng would make her suffer a fate worse than death—this was no joke!
After Guo Zhicheng finished speaking, he added, "Zhang Sinian, are you in or not? Give me an answer. If you're in, we'll do it today. If not, I'll make other plans!" He said "make other plans" through gritted teeth, which made Zhang Sinian tremble with fear!
Without even thinking, Zhang Sinian quickly replied, "I'll do it! I'll do it!"
"That's settled then, we'll head out first." Zhou Xuan smiled and stood up, thinking that it was best to leave the position to Guo Zhicheng for now. After what just happened, once they left, Wang Liang and his group, along with Zhang Sinian, would be in for a rough time.
Guo Zhicheng quickly saw Zhou Xuan and Li Wei off with a smile. Only after Zhou Xuan and the others had left the work shed and disappeared from sight did he turn around and go into the work shed.
Inside the work shed, Guo Zhicheng immediately revealed his vicious nature, stepping forward and stomping hard on the injured hands of Wang Liang, Zhu Yonghong, and the others, causing them to scream and howl.
If Zhou Xuan hadn't been so accommodating and Li Wei hadn't let him off the hook today, Guo Zhicheng's hard-earned foundation of one or two decades would have almost completely collapsed. How could he not vent his anger on the culprit Wang Liang and his gang?
On the way back, Zheng Bing and Jiang Jin drove one car, while Fu Ying and Zhou Xuan rode in Li Wei's jeep. In the car, Li Wei asked Zhou Xuan, "Brother Xuan, I really admire your tricks for dealing with Zhang Sinian today. You locked that bastard in for ten years in one go, and he doesn't dare to disobey. You're going to give his salary to his mother, aren't you?"
Li Wei knew perfectly well that Zhou Xuan wouldn't be after Zhang Sinian's meager salary of a few thousand yuan, yet he was so attentive to Zhang Sinian and had orchestrated a situation that Zhang Sinian would never be able to escape. Later, Li Wei understood Zhou Xuan's intentions. Zhou Xuan was a shrewd man; talking about education and reformation for someone like Zhang Sinian was all nonsense. This kind of person needed to be tormented by other wicked people. Only in this way was the most effective way to deal with Zhang Sinian.
Zhou Xuan smiled and said, "Yes, nine hundred yuan a month is nothing to others, but it is very important to Zhang Sinian's mother. If Guo Zhicheng can teach Zhang Sinian to live a proper life, then he will have done a good deed!"
After arriving at Panjiayuan, Zheng Bing and Jiang Jin said goodbye to Zhou Xuan and Li Wei and went back. Their mission was now complete.
Back at the antique shop, it just so happened that Old Wu was there too. As soon as he saw Zhou Xuan, he said happily, "You're here? That's perfect! I was just about to give you a call. There's an underground auction, and I was thinking of asking you to go and take a look."
Zhou Xuan asked in surprise, "Are we familiar with each other?"
He nodded and smiled, "I'm not familiar with him, but Old Wu is one of the five appraisal experts they hired. You know we're Old Wu's clients, so going there shouldn't be difficult. Besides, we still have two treasures to auction, right? I discussed it with Old Wu, and we'll bring them to the auction. That's why I wanted you to go. If the auction price is low, you can bid for them and we'll lose a little on the entrance fee. Anyway, you're a stranger, and no one will know we're in cahoots, right?"
Zhou Xuan nodded with a smile. Since he had nothing else to do, he figured it would be good to go and check out the occasion.
Underground auctions and formal auctions are quite different. In formal auctions, the seller of the item has to pay a certain fee after the item is successfully auctioned, and this fee is not cheap. Underground auctions do not have this fee. Moreover, five experts are invited to appraise the items on-site. Apart from the lack of formal procedures, there is basically no difference. However, the people who enter the auction are usually very familiar with the owner or have a guarantor who is a person of high status and prestige in the industry.
Unlike regular auction houses, underground auctions do not require a deposit. If you bid on an item but don't have the money to pay or then decide you don't want it anymore, the deposit will be forfeited. However, underground auctions never have a deposit requirement, yet they never fail to sell. This is because, although they are underground auctions, they all adhere to the principle of keeping promises.
In this industry, credit is the most important qualification. If someone has no credit, who will trust them?
Zhou Xuan glanced at Fu Ying and said, "Yingying, you don't need to come running around with me. I bet that underground auction house is full of stinky men. You should go home and go shopping with your mom and sister. If you're tired, just rest at home and don't come with me!"
Since it wasn't a big deal and there was no danger, Fu Ying thought about it and agreed. She had never seen an underground auction before, and she guessed it was really like Zhou Xuan had said—crowded with sweaty, smelly men.
But then she thought about it again, so Fu Ying opened the bag, took out her wallet, took out two bank cards and handed them to Zhou Xuan, saying, "Then take these two cards with you. If you want to buy something, or even if you don't, a man can only stand up straight if he has money in his pocket!"
Zhou Xuan chuckled. Fu Ying was so considerate of him. He already had several hundred million in cash; he certainly didn't need the money. The two cards she gave him were from Fu Tianlai and Fu Yuhai, containing a total of two hundred million US dollars, worth over 1.4 billion RMB. He certainly didn't need that much money.
However, Zhou Xuan knew Fu Ying wouldn't be happy to return it. After thinking for a moment, Zhou Xuan took one and said with a smile, "Yingying, I'll take one. One for each of us, it's fair. You need to have some money on you too!"
Fu Ying didn't object and agreed with a smile. It was good that Zhou Xuan accepted the money, because if Ran Xuan took the money, it meant that they were no longer distinguishing between "yours" and "mine," which made her happy.
Zhou Xuan asked again, "Yingying, I'll go out and call you a car!"
Fu Ying shook her head, walked lightly out of the store, and said as she walked, "You guys discuss your business, I'll take a ride back by myself."