Chapter 875 - Settle it with a 2,000,000 Compensation
Chapter 875 of "Super Soldier in the City" kicks off with: Chapter 875: Chapter 916: Settle it with a 2,000,000 CompensationTang Xinghuaiâs wife had given birth... Continue reading!
Chapter 875: Chapter 916: Settle it with a 2,000,000 CompensationTang Xinghuaiâs wife had given birth too, but he was not pleased. This guy had wanted his wife to bear him a son, but it was a girl who was born instead, which left him extremely disgruntled. As a result, ever since the child was born, his face had been stormy, and he paid no heed to his wife and daughter in the hospital room.
Although his wife was on the same floor, he had been avoiding an encounter with Li Yifei, knowing that the other man was not someone to be trifled with. Tang Xinghuai also worried about Li Yifei causing trouble for him; this fellow understood the art of pretendingâtargeting the weak, and going against those more powerful than himself was simply asking for trouble.
His wife had given birth to a daughter, and he was in a bad mood, so he went to the stairwell to smoke. But upon entering, he saw both Li Yifei and Ye Zhenyang.
Tang Xinghuai had just brought the cigarette to his lips and had just ignited the lighter when he saw Li Yifei. His actions froze abruptly, and he was at a loss about how to face Li Yifei for a moment.
"Ah!" The lighter remained on, the flame heating the metal piece until it was very hot. Only when a painful sensation crept up his hand did Tang Xinghuai react, uttering a low cry as he hurriedly tossed away the lighter. The cigarette fell from his mouth due to his startled yelp, leaving him in a rather disheveled state.
"Whatâs wrong, Boss Tang?" Ye Zhenyang asked with a smile.
He had worked in Mile City for many years, and it was only in the last few that he had been transferred away. Although never heavily utilized by the Ye family, he had worked long enough to rise to the position of a deputy secretary of the Municipal Youth League Committee. For someone his age, it was quite an achievement, but for a member of the Ye family, it was merely a token consolation, not a sign of substantial use.
Having been in Mile City for so many years, he naturally knew many people from there. While he didnât have any work-related contacts with Tang Xinghuai, Ye Zhenyang was quite familiar with his uncle, Tang Lekang, and had seen Tang Xinghuai a few times. They were acquainted, but without much rapport.
From the look on Tang Xinghuaiâs face when he saw Li Yifei, Ye Zhenyang could tell that Tang Xinghuai must have had a conflict with Li Yifei and deliberately asked this question now.
It was then that Tang Xinghuai recognized Ye Zhenyang, and he awkwardly said, "Secretary Tang, youâre here as well?"
"What, canât I be here? Seems like having a smoke with my son-in-law isnât a problem, is it?" Ye Zhenyang squinted at Tang Xinghuai.
"No, no... Ah! I see, itâs like the temple flood that doesnât spare the Dragon Kingâan in-house misunderstanding. Just the other day, I had a bit of a conflict with Secretary Tangâs son-in-law, it was all my fault. Tonight, I will host a dinner, to offer an apology to this brother."
Tang Xinghuai knew Ye Zhenyang and had heard from his uncle that Ye Zhenyang wasnât a simple character; he always remembered to be especially polite to Ye Zhenyang. Seeing that Li Yifei was Ye Zhenyangâs son-in-law, and considering that even Municipal Party Secretary Song Zhentao had made a special visit to Li Yifei, he knew he couldnât afford to provoke Li Yifei. The day he tried to take over Li Yifeiâs hospital room was like courting death.
Tang Xinghuai was quite cunning and knew Li Yifei was not to be provoked; he immediately took the initiative to admit fault. As the saying goes, you donât slap a smiling face; these people who mix in officialdom usually know to leave some leeway. With this attitude and a sincere apology, with his uncle helping to mediate, there likely wouldnât be a big problem.
Li Yifei looked at Tang Xinghuai and with a faint smile, said, "Boss Tang, letâs not bother with those games. Iâm quite direct as a person. Iâm fully aware of the tricks you play."
Tang Xinghuaiâs expression stiffened, and as he met Li Yifeiâs gaze, he felt an incessant unease. For some reason, he felt as if all his actions were known to Li Yifei. He tried to find a reason to explain himself but couldnât find any that convinced even himself.
Li Yifei went on, "I wonât make things difficult for you. That day, you tried to take over my hospital room, which I wonât hold against you, but you did scare my daughter into crying. You should pay for that fright, shouldnât you?"
Upon hearing this, Tang Xinghuai hastened to say, "Of course, of course. Thatâs my fault. I should compensate." These sorts of issues could often be settled with compensation of ten or twenty thousand at most; if he could smooth this over with some money, he felt it was a reasonable expense. He found making money easy, so he wouldnât dwell on the amount.
"Mm, Boss Tang is indeed decisive. Thereâs also the matter with Xiaoyao. Iâm now her guardian, and youâve involved her in your grudge with her father, which I canât ignore. Sheâs had a hard time due to the people you got involved, so sheâll need compensation as well, right?"
Tang Xinghuai inwardly sighed in relief, thankful that he had made the right assumption, that the other party indeed knew everything. He quickly responded, "Yes, yes, thatâs my fault as well. I should compensate."
"Good, I like dealing with someone as sensible as Boss Tang. Hereâs the deal, one million for my daughterâs shock, and another million for Xiaoyaoâs emotional damages, a total of two million will do."
"What? Two million?" Tang Xinghuai practically shouted the figure, his already small eyes bulging like light bulbs at the time, seemingly on the brink of popping out of their sockets. After he bellowed the sum, his mouth hung agape, big enough to stuff a large goose egg.
Li Yifei took out a business card from his pocket and handed it to Tang Xinghuai, speaking indifferently, "I want to see the money tomorrow." After speaking, he walked past Tang Xinghuai with Ye Zhenyang, never glancing back at Tang Xinghuai.
Tang Xinghuai had to wait a full half minute after Li Yifei and his group had left before he finally came to his senses. He shook his head vigorously and said through gritted teeth, "Damn it, are you robbing me? You scare your daughter a bit, curse your mistress a few times, and you want to charge me two million? Insane, utterly insane."
"Damn it, I just wonât give it to you. What can you do about it?"
After cursing bitterly, he lit another cigarette. Tang Xinghuai gradually calmed down but still felt extremely uneasy. The fact that they could demand two million suggested that their strength was definitely extraordinary. This was no longer just a matter of the legitimate world; otherwise, even if he really did rob Song Zhentaoâs hospital room, Song probably wouldnât ask him for two million. This was very likely related to some forces within the Underworld. If he did not pay up, they would probably take action against him.
Over the past few years, Tang Xinghuai had dealt with people from all walks of life, including some from the Underworld. He knew that among them were people who dared to do anything. If he really provoked such people and they decided to retaliate, he would indeed be very afraid.
The more he thought about it, the more worried he became, so Tang Xinghuai decided to call his uncle, Tang Lekang.
"Uncle, I just ran into that kid from the hospital."
Tang Lekang frowned and asked, "You didnât get into another conflict with him, did you?"
"No, it truly wasnât my fault this time. I went up to him and immediately apologized and even offered to host a dinner for him, but to my surprise, he demanded two million in compensation. Itâs downright robbery, such bullying."
Tang Lekang was shocked as well, "He really asked you for that much money? You didnât provoke him again?"
"I absolutely did not. I might lie to others but I couldnât lie to you, Uncle. Plus, Ye Zhenyang from the Municipal Youth League Committee was there too. That Ye Zhenyang turns out to be Ye Yunzhuâs father. He was just watching the whole time. Uncle, heâs that kidâs father-in-law. Could you give him a call and talk to him? This is too much bullying. Even if I was in the wrong, a compensation would suffice, but asking for two million right off the bat is just robbery."
Tang Lekang frowned as he listened, "Alright, Iâll give old Ye a call. In the meantime, you must not provoke them further, not even see them if possible."
"Yes, sir, I definitely wonât see them," Tang Xinghuai responded quickly.
After hanging up the phone with his nephew, Tang Lekang immediately looked up Ye Zhenyangâs number and called him.
Once the call connected, Tang Lekang exchanged a few pleasantries with Ye Zhenyang before getting to the point, "Old Ye, youâve met my nephew Tang Xinghuai. While he can be a bit flamboyant, heâs not a bad person. This conflict with your son-in-law was a mistake, as he didnât know who he was. Weâve known each other for so many years; could you, for the sake of our relationship, let this matter go?"
"Old Tang," Ye Zhenyang replied, "itâs not that I donât want to give you face, but this is my son-in-lawâs issue, and I canât really get involved and press him about it."
"Old Ye, thatâs not very considerate of you. If you, as his father-in-law, say something, wouldnât your son-in-law listen?"
"Youâre quite right; whatever my son-in-law decides, he truly doesnât listen to me. Iâve got no say in this, and when it comes to the matters of the younger generation, itâs best they resolve it themselves. Itâs a lesson learned, to prevent bigger mistakes in the future that could be irreversible."
"So, what you mean, Old Ye, is..."
"Old Tang, out of respect for our many years of friendship, I advise you to have your nephew stay in line. There are some people he just canât afford to mess with. If he still refuses to accept that, it will only bring more trouble. If it ends up involving you too, itâs just not worth it. Youâre just over fifty, with more than a decade of opportunities ahead of you. Itâs just two million; you can make that back easily enough."
After hanging up the phone, Tang Lekang was still in a daze. He lit another cigarette and after much thought, he finally dialed Tang Xinghuaiâs number, "Do as youâre told. This time youâve hit a wall, and I canât shoulder it either."
"Really?" exclaimed Tang Xinghuai.
With a sigh, Tang Lekang said, "Xinghuai, donât you trust your uncle? Take this as a lesson. Youâve had it too easy these years. This is a wake-up call. There are plenty of people out there much tougher than your uncle, and many you simply canât afford to provoke."