Lei Laosi's voice was slightly hoarse but very penetrating: "It seems you didn't just smash my stock yesterday. People recognized you when you smashed my Dafugui the day before yesterday."
I said, annoyed, "Then why did it take you so long to realize it was me?"
Lei Laosi said, "Debts must be repaid. You had a good reason to smash me the day before yesterday. But those people yesterday were obviously looking for trouble. It's my fault for not contacting them."
I said, "I had good reason to smash you yesterday."
"Yes, I heard. Lei Ming really hit your wife?"
"real!"
"Alright, I've invited a few witnesses and some senior figures in the underworld. Let's talk about this. Come to Qianleduo now, we'll be waiting for you!"
I put down the phone and said, "Let's go, they're willing to talk."
Hua Mulan said, "Talk? A Feast at Hongmen, perhaps?" Then she immediately waved her hand and said to Xiang Yu, "I'm sorry, I wasn't talking about you."
Xiang Yu said, "Seriously, how about we bring Liu Bang back to accompany you?"
I said, "Forget it, let's see who runs first then."
Wu Sangui seemed to have the same idea as Xiang Yu, saying, "Anyway, we can't sit at the table with you to talk. We're the ones who smashed the shop, and if we come along, it would seem like a show of force. We can't let ourselves be the ones who lose the argument."
I said, "Let's get there first and then we'll talk."
When we got to Qianleduo's building, I turned around and said to them, "Here's what we'll do: you guys wait for me in the car. I'll text Brother Yu every 10 minutes. If it takes longer than that, you guys break in. My life is in the hands of you brothers—and sisters too."
Qin Shi Huang said, "Go away and get angry. I've never seen anyone as cowardly as you!"
"Preparation is key to success; charging in without proper preparation is just asking for trouble!"
After getting off the car, I put the biscuit I had shared with Xiang Yu in the most easily accessible spot in my jacket pocket, and then confirmed the time with them again—now you know why I set a 10-minute limit, right? Going in would be dangerous; within 10 minutes, I would be Xiang Yu. This was my first time negotiating with the underworld, so being a little cautious was a good idea.
The guy is still the same guy from last night, the meeting room is still the same meeting room, and the broken TV is still the same broken TV—it hasn't been cleaned up in all this time! I don't know if they're deliberately trying to embarrass me, but that makes me even more wary.
But as soon as the others came in, I knew the fight wasn't going to happen today—the first one in was Master Gu, followed by Tiger. Tiger, with his back to everyone, made a face at me, looking completely subservient; clearly, he considered my few men smashing up Lei Laosi's territories a monumental achievement. Behind them were several more old men, each with a swagger, but it was obvious they were following Master Gu's lead. After the old men were seated, a burly man with a clean-shaven face walked in. The younger man quickly introduced him: "This is our Boss Lei." It turned out he was Lei Laosi. Lei Laosi gave me a sharp look before going to talk to Master Gu.
After everyone had settled down, a short while later, more people started entering through the door. First came a young man, dressed very cleanly, but judging from the chains hanging from his chest and arms, he wasn't a respectable person. His face resembled Lei Lao Si's, with a fierce look in his eyes and brows, but he didn't dare raise his head in front of Lei Lao Si. After glancing at me, he obediently sat down against the wall. This person was probably Lei Ming.
Behind Lei Ming were two other men. Judging from their demeanor and attire, they didn't seem like itinerant swindlers; they appeared to be law-abiding businessmen. They looked to be around 40 years old, and their expressions were quite unpleasant. Occasionally, they would glance up at us, then quickly lower their heads again.
From the very beginning of the opening ceremony, I was utterly puzzled, wondering what Lei Laosi was up to. The meeting was hosted by a short man, who cleared his throat and first introduced Master Gu. Just as he was about to speak, pointing to the old man next to Master Gu, Lei Laosi suddenly stood up, interrupting him, and said gently to the two middle-aged men who entered last, "Don't be afraid, gentlemen. I invited you here only to ask for a small favor. Or rather, to apologize to you."
The two men clearly knew Lei Laosi's background, and they waved their hands repeatedly in fright, saying, "No, no, please tell us what you need."
Lei Laosi chuckled, then suddenly slammed his hand on the table and shouted sharply, "Stand up!"
Caught off guard, I jerked and tried to stand up, but Tiger subtly pressed me down. I saw Lei Ming slowly stand up with his head down, and only then did I realize he wasn't calling for me.
I wiped the sweat from my brow and thought to myself: I almost embarrassed myself!
Chapter Twenty-Two: Troy
There were even more embarrassing moments than mine; those two boss-looking guys were so scared they fell off their chairs. Lei Laosi bowed slightly and said, "Oh, I wasn't talking about you two, sorry." As he spoke, Lei Laosi seemed to glance at me casually; he must have seen my disheveled state just now.
I cursed inwardly. I knew that bosses, especially underworld leaders, liked to use a combination of kindness and severity. He seemed to be scolding his son, but he was probably just trying to intimidate me. I wasn't afraid of him hitting me, but who could take that sudden yell? It seemed that this Lei Lao Si wasn't entirely sincere.
After Lei Ming stood up, Lei Laosi put on a hypocritical face again and said to the two shop owners, "This is what happened. Yesterday, this good-for-nothing of mine ran into your shops and caused trouble, which may have caused you some losses. And this Brother Xiao Qiang—" he pointed at me, "his wife is said to work for you two. Because of this, Brother Xiao led a group of people and smashed up four of my shops in one night." The two shop owners looked up at me in fright, their faces full of both surprise and admiration, and then hurriedly lowered their heads.
Lei Laosi continued, "I invited a few of you here today to verify Brother Xiao's statement. Did you bring the photos of the employees I asked you to bring?"
It was only then that I realized these two bosses were the victims from yesterday, and it seemed they had been heavily coerced by Lei Laosi into coming here. No wonder Baozi said their boss personally called them late last night, demanding that everyone in their shop hand over photos.
The two hurriedly pulled an envelope from their pockets and placed it on the table. Just as Lei Laosi was about to reach for it, Gu Ye said slowly, "Laosi, don't rush. Let me ask Xiao Lei first."
Lei Laosi said with a fake smile, "Master Gu, please speak."
Old Gu hasn't glanced at me once since he came in, and he still ignores me now. He turns his head to Lei Ming, stirs the tea leaves with the tea lid, and says, "Little Lei, why did you smash up that shop?"
Lei Ming stood there stammering, "I... it's nothing. I drank too much with some brothers yesterday."
Old Master Gu chuckled and said to Lei Laosi, "Putting everything else aside, Lei Laosi is already in the wrong here. What do you think?"
Lei Laosi said with a stern face, "Yes, yes, it's my fault for not disciplining my son properly. I'll teach this kid a lesson when we get back!"
Grandpa Gu hummed in agreement, still sipping his tea, and said, "Let's talk about your matter now. Let Xiaoqiang identify which one is his wife. If she's not, then it means he's just using this as an excuse to cause trouble for you, and that's a different story."
With a gloomy face, Lei Laosi dumped all the photos from the first envelope onto the table and gestured for me to proceed.
I didn't even know which of the two men was the owner of the steamed bun shop. I never imagined that my first meeting with my wife's boss would be in this kind of environment. I flipped through the photos over and over, and Tiger, also very curious, leaned over to help me look through them. Lei Ming, that kid, seemed also very curious about what a woman who could marry a "strong person" like me looked like. He took two steps forward and stood in front of the table watching me search.
Tiger picked out several photos of pretty women and placed them in front of me, saying, "Which one is my sister-in-law?"
I looked through all the photos, but there were no steamed buns. This meant the man in the green plaid shirt on the left wasn't the steamed bun shop owner. I picked up another envelope and dumped everything out. Tiger whispered somewhat uncertainly in my ear, "Does your wife really work for someone else?" He probably thought I was just making up an excuse to make things difficult for Lei Laosi. I'm a man who's achieved some success; how could my wife be working for someone else in a small restaurant? He probably wasn't the only one with this thought; the old men next to Grandpa Gu were also looking at me with disbelief, as if I were performing a farce. I quickly picked out the photo of steamed buns from the second envelope and slapped it on the table.
Tiger took the photo, glanced at it, and said with a complicated expression, "...Do you know this person?" Of course I know her; I was the one who helped her find this photo.
When Lei Laosi heard that the person in question had appeared, he hurriedly took the photo from Tiger's hand. After only one glance, he quickly turned the photo upside down, clutching his heart and asking me, "Are you kidding me?" It seems that even Lei Laosi has a weakness; he was ultimately shocked by Baozi's appearance.
I declared righteously, "What are you talking about? That's my wife!"
Lei Laosi, leaning weakly against the chair, waved to the boss in the yellow shirt: "Come here!"
Baozi's boss quickly came over. Lei Laosi carefully rubbed the photo face down in front of Baozi's boss's nose and asked, "Is this one of your shop's employees?" Baozi's boss nodded. Lei Laosi glared at him venomously, then turned to me and said, "Then tell me... what's this woman's name?"
Without even taking a deep breath, I said, "Xiang Baozi is 26 years old this year. She works as a greeter at a chain soup dumpling shop—I'm sorry, although I know her measurements, I can't tell you."