Lin Tao's face darkened. He pulled up a chair at the restaurant entrance and sat down, then said to Da Peng:

"Jiang Rou has already disappeared, and I'm looking for her too. Why don't you help me find her?"

Seeing his posture, Da Peng knew he had no intention of paying back the money. He rubbed his hands together, ready to force him to give in.

“Jiang Rou isn’t here. You’re her husband, so you have to help her pay off her debts. Otherwise, don’t blame my men for being blind.”

The nightclub had already been shut down under his tyranny, and he didn't believe Lin Tao had any other options.

He was wearing a leather jacket and expensive leather shoes; you could easily swindle money from him.

Lin Tao didn't dodge; he simply beckoned him closer with a finger, then lifted his jacket, revealing the corner of a pistol behind his back.

"We're all in the same boat, so don't make trouble for yourselves!"

Da Peng's face paled with fear, and he took a step back, his tone immediately becoming more conciliatory.

"Boss Pi, it's only right to pay back debts. Next time you see Jiang Rou, please pass on a message: we will definitely not give up until the debt is paid back."

With that, he hurriedly left with his men.

Lin Tao watched their disheveled departure and a wicked smile appeared on his face.

After tidying his clothes up, he waved to Sister Hong and prepared to go find the landlord.

Even if you decide not to rent the house anymore, you should still return the rent and deposit for the past few months to him before the lease expires.

Back then, the rent for the upstairs and downstairs units was 200 yuan a month, and the deposit was 1,000 yuan. I should be able to get back at least 1,500 yuan.

When he arrived at the small shop run by the landlord and explained the situation to her, she told him directly that the shop had been on fire and the property had been severely damaged, and that the rent and deposit would not be refunded.

"No refund?"

Lin Tao's expression changed. He was furious at the landlady's arrogant tone.

He then picked up a stool from beside him, placed it on the glass counter, and said coldly to him:

"Are you going to give me my money back or not? Believe me or not, I'll smash your little shop to pieces!"

The landlady looked shrewd; knowing that confronting him head-on would only lead to her being at a disadvantage, she quickly put on a smiling face.

"Brother, don't be angry. All you want is your deposit back. Here's what we'll do: I don't have time right now, but wait until tonight. Wait for me at the entrance of the dance hall, and I'll bring someone to check the room and settle the bill with you. How does that sound?"

Lin Tao figured that the dance hall didn't have much furniture, and the tables and chairs weren't worth much. He might as well inspect it; at most, he could get a refund of a hundred or two hundred yuan. He could settle this matter first.

In the evening, he grabbed a quick bite on the street and then went to wait outside the dance hall.

He smoked a cigarette while pondering what to do next.

The boss asked him to open a nightclub here last time, just to check out the environment.

He discovered that many young people here felt empty inside and needed an outlet for their emotions, so the flour should sell well.

This time, he doesn't need to exhaust himself anymore. As long as he finds a buyer, money will flow into his pockets continuously.

He originally wanted to develop Jiang Rou into his capable assistant, but she disappeared after being hit by a car.

There was a pile of cigarette butts at my feet when the landlady arrived.

She was carrying a searchlight, and several burly men were following behind her.

Lin Tao's heart tightened; he was a little confused about the landlord's tactics.

"You're here!"

The landlady greeted him and then used her key to open the door to the dance hall.

A pungent smell lingered from the fire.

Lin Tao was dumbfounded. The place was pitch black and the things inside were in complete disarray.

The landlady smiled at him and said, "Then our damage assessment will begin. I'm not being unreasonable. I will label and mark all the problems I find, and I will also record them on a list. Once all the work is completed, we will settle the account according to the list."

After she finished speaking, she instructed the burly men to disperse and begin their work.

Seeing her serious demeanor, Lin Tao wanted to say something, but she completely ignored him and started taking notes inch by inch in the room with a searchlight.

[A chipped tile in the toilet bowl will result in a 20-yuan deduction.]

[The black marks on the wall need to be repainted; deduct 200.]

[Flooring damaged by fire needs to be replaced; 300 deducted]

......

She meticulously recorded every detail of the damage to the room on a list.

Two hours later, the landlady came to Lin Tao with a thick list to reconcile accounts.

“I’ve calculated it. Adding all the items together, it should be 2,680 yuan. Since Jiang Rou once compensated me 500 yuan, we can deduct that. After deducting the deposit and rent of 1,500 yuan, you still have to compensate me 680 yuan. If you’re not sure, you can calculate it again.”

The landlady handed him the list.

Lin Tao's face immediately turned as ugly as if he had eaten shit.

Is she renting out the house?

They might as well just rob someone.

Even if you renovate all those things, it won't cost that much money!

Reinstalling a toilet only costs less than ten dollars, but damaging the porcelain surface a little costs twenty dollars!

He is not convinced!

"You're robbing me! How can you do that? I'm going to find the police."

Lin Tao touched the pistol in his back pocket. If all else failed, he would pull it out and scare this bitch to death.

To everyone's surprise, the landlady wasn't intimidated at all; instead, she called over the burly men who were assessing the damage.

"You don't need to look anymore, they are it. I specifically asked my relative to find them to help. Do you have any other objections?"

Lin Tao's hand, which was in his back pocket, immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

Fortunately, he didn't pull out his gun, otherwise he would probably spend the rest of his life in jail.

"Big sister is so thoughtful. I happen to have brought five hundred yuan with me. Could you be lenient and ask for a smaller amount?"

His tone was more humble than ever before.

The landlady smiled crookedly: "Brother, you're pretty sensible. Five hundred it is, let's just consider it a friendly gesture."

She took the thick stack of ten-yuan notes from his hand.

After the landlord locked the door and left, Lin Tao squatted on the ground, on the verge of tears.

What's going on?

It's better not to look for it at all; at least you can keep the five hundred yuan.

Now we have no choice but to accept our fate.

This big city is a deep well of hidden talents, full of unseen forces.

After smoking a few cigarettes, he went to the Huai Mansion to find Sister Hong and asked her who had set fire to the dance hall.

"I don't know, but I heard from Sister Li that it might be Jiang Ning and the others," Sister Hong gave him a vague answer.

Even after Lin Tao got home, he was still thinking about how to teach Jiang Ning a lesson.

At this moment, everyone was sitting together eating in the courtyard when Yang Lu brought them some news.

The Urban Construction Bureau will inspect all construction companies, from their qualifications and fire safety to the construction site's construction safety, equipment status, and staffing. If any of these are found to be substandard, work will be suspended for rectification.

Luo Guangming and Gao Baoliang attached great importance to the matter and stated that they would hold a meeting immediately to conduct a self-examination.

"By the way, your office address has changed. Please update it as soon as possible," Yang Lu reminded them.

Gao Baoliang nodded: "Okay, I'll arrange it as soon as possible."

To everyone's surprise, the very next day, the Urban Construction Bureau issued a notice ordering Fuqiang Construction to cease operations.