Chapter 75: Playing Green Tea

The slap was so loud and crisp, and the force was so great that Gu Jingmo's entire face was tilted, leaving a red mark on his right cheek. Everyone present was stunned. Gu Jingmo's eyes turned fierce, but he concealed it in an instant.

He maintained his gentle demeanor, reached out to hold Qin Qing's hand, but his fingers pinched it hard, causing Qin Qing to frown in pain.

"Qingqing, what's wrong with you?"

No one else noticed, but Lei Zi saw Gu Jingmo's nails turning white from exertion and Qin Qing's furrowed brows. He rushed forward and tried to push Gu Jingmo away, but was stopped by Qin Qing.

Qin Qing winked at Lei Zi, asking him not to go any further. She withdrew her hand and continued to hit Gu Jingmo's chest angrily.

"Brother Jingmo, why did you come so late? That guy surnamed Yang tried to insult me, and Director Zhao even accused me of arson and asked me to pay 500 yuan to the restaurant. They're all bullying me!"

Qin Qing forced out two lines of tears, seemingly crying out in grievance, but her fists were clenched tightly and her strikes were extremely fierce. Gu Jingmo felt like vomiting blood from the beating.

"Don't worry, I'm here!"

Gu Jingmo held Qin Qing's hand, preventing her from hitting him any further. He took a deep breath, looked at Zhao Hongjun and asked, "Director Zhao, is what Qingqing said true?"

Zhao Hongjun broke out in a cold sweat. The two had different surnames, so it was impossible for them to be real siblings.

But since he was called "brother", I'm afraid the relationship between the two must be extraordinary. How could a country girl be related to a person like Gu Jingmo?

"Misunderstanding, misunderstanding! Mr. Gu, she didn't start the fire. It was our fault! We will never wrongly accuse a good person! As for Director Yang's question..."

Zhao Hongjun threw the problem to Yang Zi. The matter was brought to Gu Jingmo. If Gu Jingmo opened his mouth, the governor would know!

Qin Qing's case couldn't stand up to scrutiny. Once thoroughly investigated, Yang Zi would definitely not be able to escape! Disaster was imminent, and he couldn't afford to fall into it with Yang Zi, this unlucky guy.

"I...what's wrong with me? Qin Qing, you said I insulted you. What evidence do you have? Did I succeed?"

Yang Zi was not stupid. Although he did not know Gu Jingmo, when he saw Hongjun flattering him like a lapdog, and the other party's accent had a Beijing accent, he immediately guessed that this person was a big leader from Kyoto.

But he absolutely cannot admit this. Once he admits it, he will not be able to escape once the charges are confirmed.

"It really didn't work, Brother Jingmo. He touched my hand, touched my face, and even wanted to touch me..."

Qin Qingqiao's face was sullen, and her crying voice was gentle and clear, sounding extremely aggrieved.

She lowered her head, trying not to let anyone see the contempt and disgust in her eyes. Didn't Gu Jingmo like this kind of green tea tone? She didn't mind pretending to be nice, just using him as a pawn.

As soon as these words came out, Gu Jingmo's eyes darkened.

Fortunately, this skinny monkey did not succeed, otherwise, once Qin Qing’s innocence was lost, how could he implement his plan?

"Who is this..." Gu Jingmo pointed at Yang Zi and asked, his calm expression showing no emotion.

"He's Yang Zi, the purchasing director of the Commerce Bureau. He signed the order for my fish, but he's using his position to insult me!"

Gu Jingmo looked at Qin Qing with some surprise. How come she knew how to do business and was still selling fish?

He didn't ask immediately, but just smiled and said, "I just discussed the business development plan for Shancheng in the next few years with Director Zhen of the Commerce Bureau. It seems I need to find an opportunity to talk to Director Zhen. After all, Director Yang helped Qingqing, so I should return the favor and take good care of Director Yang."

These words were flawless, but Yang Zi could still clearly feel the threat in them.

"Qin Qing, you haven't suffered any loss, so there's no need to make such a big fuss about this! After all, you'll still have to do business in Shancheng in the future, but Mr. Gu won't stay here forever, right?"

Everyone knows that a strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake. Yang Zi is also retreating to advance. He is about to fall out with everyone and is not willing to be intimidated by anyone.

"Director Yang, what you said does make sense. But if you do something wrong, you have to admit it. If you don't show some attitude, I'll be so angry that I won't be able to calm down."

"You!" Looking at Qin Qing's charming look, Yang Zi wanted to make her faint under him and torture her hard to see if she would act like a slut again!

"Director Yang, admitting your mistake shouldn't be that difficult, right?"

Gu Jingmo also had his concerns. He was just taking advantage of the situation. If you really dig deeper, it is hard to say how much power he had.

"Xiao Yang, why don't we just admit our mistakes and let it go."

Zhao Hongjun chimed in, and Yang Zi was so angry that his teeth were gnashing. In the end, he could only say, "I'm sorry!"

"What did you say? You spoke too softly, I couldn't hear you!" Qin Qing put her hands to her ears, looking as if she didn't hear clearly.

"I'm sorry! I shouldn't have been so pushy with you! Is that okay?!"

Yang Zi yelled angrily. Several waiters in the restaurant were standing in the corner watching the fun. They were all shocked when they heard him yelling.

"Just admit your mistake. Director Zhao, let's settle the bill! Today's fish weighed 57.8 jin (approximately 1.2 yuan per jin), so the total is 69.36 yuan. Lei Zi and I both got our coats burned while helping you put out the fire, and we also suffered some minor injuries. Is it too much to ask for some hard work compensation? 50 yuan, so you can be kind and give us 120 yuan in total."

Qin Qing's abacus was clacking, and Zhao Hongjun frowned when he heard it.

Fish costs 1.2 yuan per pound, and their restaurant has never charged such a high price before! And they're asking for 50 yuan for putting out a fire! How could this woman have the audacity to say such a thing?

Gu Jingmo looked at Qin Qing with some surprise. It had only been more than half a year since they last saw each other, but she seemed completely different from before!

The gentle and pitiful temperament is still there, but now she is a little more shrewd and calculating. Is this still the country girl he knew at the beginning?

"Boss Qin, everyone in Kyoto can hear your calculations clearly! Do you really think we run a bank?!" Yang Zi said angrily.

"Any objections? You can ask. I sell fish in the county town, and that's the price. Putting out the fire cost us two cotton coats, and it also helped the restaurant mitigate losses. 50 yuan isn't too much, right? But Director Zhao, Director Yang started the fire, so I think you should ask Director Yang to pay for it."

Qin Qing said a few words, and Zhao Hongjun immediately stared at Yang Zi, "Director Yang, what Boss Qin said does make some sense."

"Director Zhao, do you think this money can be counted on me?"

Yang Zi's eyes were about to burst into flames. This woman actually wanted him to pay for it, and judging from Zhao Hongjun's attitude, was he really going to listen to her?

"It's just money to avoid disaster, Director Yang. Let's just keep this matter to ourselves. A kitchen fire isn't a big loss, and the higher-ups won't pursue it too much. If this gets out, I think Chunxia will be the first to come after you."

Zhao Hongjun pointed out Yang Zi's Achilles' heel in one sentence, He Chunxia.

She is Yang Zi's wife, a notorious shrew in the mountain city. Yang Zi doesn't even dare to fart loudly in front of her.

"Okay! I'll pay for it!"

As expected, when He Chunxia was mentioned, Yang Zi was like a deflated ball, not daring to jump again. If word got to He Chunxia, he would have no hope of living a peaceful life.

"Have you two agreed? Fine, please pay me the money. But there's one thing left..."

The next words Qin Qing said made Zhao Hongjun's eyes widen. He had seen shameless people in his life, but he had never seen a woman with a skin thicker than a city wall!