Wang Peng followed Huang Ran to Honghuaju, the best entertainment venue in the provincial capital.

In the elegant private room, the two sat facing each other, while a waitress in professional attire knelt down to serve tea, much like a Japanese tea ceremony.

Huang Ran took a sip of the fragrant tea and said with a smile, "Brother Peng, how is this tea?"

"Good tea." Wang Peng, who was not an expert in tea ceremony, gently put down his teacup.

The other party is a millionaire; he wouldn't have the leisure to invite him for tea. He must have something to do.

Wang Peng didn't want to ask, so he slowly sipped his tea and waited for him to speak.

After a long while, Huang Ran spoke up, "Brother Peng, would you like to hear a story from me?"

"I'm all ears," Wang Peng said. "But Mr. Huang, please don't be so polite, just call me Wang Peng."

Huang Ran said, "There was a pair of brothers whose parents died in an earthquake when the older brother was eight years old. The older brother and younger brother could only depend on each other for survival. In order to survive, they lived an inhuman life."

"Until one day, my brother found ten yuan on the street. He used the ten yuan as capital to start a small business. Unexpectedly, the business grew bigger and bigger, and my brother became a big boss."

"But because he was too busy with business, the older brother neglected to discipline his younger brother, which led the younger brother astray. He became proficient in drinking, gambling, whoring, swindling, and cheating. In the end, he parted ways with his brother and never spoke to him again."

Huang Ran finished telling the story in one breath, gave a wry smile, and slowly picked up his teacup.

"While the older brother's indulgence played a part in the younger brother's downfall, it wasn't the main reason," Wang Peng said calmly.

"After that, the younger brother gave up and committed a serious crime, but the older brother couldn't just ignore it." Huang Ran chuckled. "Peng, if you were the older brother in the story, would you have intervened?"

“No,” Wang Peng said without hesitation. “The only way to prevent someone like him from harming others is to keep him in prison. Would I let him go and continue to harm others?”

“You can’t say that. After all, blood is thicker than water.” Huang Ran waved his hand and continued, “I am the older brother in the story. Our parents are gone, and as the eldest brother, I can’t just abandon them.”

The phrase "eldest brother is like a father" struck Wang Peng like a chord. He stared intently at Huang Ran, his gaze growing increasingly sharp.

“You are very smart,” Huang Ran said. “Huang Hao is the younger brother in the story. I hope you can understand him. He will surely be rewarded in the future.”

Wang Peng shook his head and remained silent.

A letter of understanding from the victim and their family can lead to a reduced sentence, generally in three situations.

Active compensation and obtaining forgiveness can reduce the base sentence by up to 40%; active compensation without obtaining forgiveness can reduce the base sentence by up to 30%; no compensation but obtaining forgiveness can reduce the base sentence by up to 20%.

Wang Peng didn't know which one the other party wanted.

“Brother Peng, the compensation I’m giving you is a promise: I will repay you handsomely one day.” Huang Ran opened his briefcase, took out a letter of understanding, and placed it in front of Wang Peng. “I want to reduce the base sentence by forty percent.”

"Ha!" Wang Peng laughed. "You expect me to forgive Huang Hao without a single penny of compensation, or even an apology? Mr. Huang, am I still dreaming? Or are you still dreaming?"

Huang Ran's eyes sharpened; he hadn't expected Wang Peng to show him any respect. A cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

“Mr. Wang, a wise man submits to circumstances. We’re both in the retail business. To put it bluntly, your little shop isn’t even as big as Brilliant Toilet. If I were you, I would sign the letter of understanding.” Huang Ran finished speaking and tapped the letter of understanding.

Wang Peng shook his head. "Huihuang is the largest supermarket in the province. I admire your management skills, but I will not sign the letter of understanding unless I receive 10,000 yuan in compensation."

He estimated that Huang Hao's sentence would be at least ten years, and a four-year reduction of 10,000 yuan would not be unacceptable, as he was short of money.

"Boss Wang, I bet your brother's tobacco and liquor store sells Qinghe liquor. How much do you sell in a year?"

"Last year, we only sold less than 20,000 yuan worth of Qinghe liquor, which is not much."

"Guess how much I sold last year? The entire Qinghe liquor series, I gave Qinghe Winery 500,000 yuan."

Huang Ran smiled slightly and tapped the tea table rhythmically with the five fingers of his right hand.

Seeing Wang Peng's furrowed brows, the smile on his face deepened. No matter how big an ant is, it is still an ant. Trying to be stubborn in front of an elephant will only get you shattered.

Wang Peng understood his meaning; it was a blatant threat.

If he makes a demand to Qinghe Distillery that it not supply goods to its sister stores, otherwise Huihuang will remove the entire series from the shelves, the distillery should compromise.

When faced with interests, no one wants to lose the big picture for a small gain.

Similarly, if Brilliant deliberately targets Brothers, many liquor distributors will not supply Brothers.

"Little Peng, it's better to resolve conflicts than to let them fester. Sign it." Huang Ran slowly pushed the letter of understanding in front of Wang Peng.

"Hehe," Wang Peng chuckled, "I'm not easily intimidated, and I don't believe you can control everything in the provincial capital. If you want Huang Hao's sentence reduced, you can always apply to the court for a lighter punishment, can't you?"

Huang Ran looked at Wang Peng and said, "I can't handle the court, but I can handle you."

He felt it necessary to be frank and say that he really didn't want to pretend to be polite to a small vendor like Wang Peng, who was like an ant, because the other party didn't deserve it.

In the eyes of Brilliant Supermarket, a mere brother tobacco and liquor store is no different from an ant.

Now that things were out in the open, Huang Ran decided to stop pretending. He said, "You can refuse, but I have to tell you, that would be extremely foolish. Even if you don't think about yourself, you have to think about your family, like your fiancée, cousin, and brothers."

A blatant threat.

Wang Peng put down his teacup, stared directly at Huang Ran, and said, "Fuck your mother!"

His family is his bottom line; he has already lost one group of family members and doesn't want to lose a second.

Huang Ran froze for a moment, thinking he had misheard, but he quickly realized what he had said, and a terrifying killing intent surged from his eyes. "Coward, what did you say?"

Wang Peng stared intently at him and said, enunciating each word clearly, "I...fuck...your...mother!"

He had been putting up with it for a long time, but the more he tolerated it, the more he was bullied.

Bang! Huang Ran slammed his hand on the table. "Fine, fine, fine! No one dares to insult me ​​like that. You're the first."

“Boss Huang, I’m not easily intimidated. Remember this saying: those with nothing to lose are not afraid of those with something to lose.” Wang Peng stood up. “I heard you’ve never been to school. I suggest you find a psychologist and ask them what it means for the happy to yield.”

Wang Peng turned and left, taking the elevator to the first floor where he saw Li Mingzhu and Du Lei sitting in the living room.

"elder brother."

"Brother Peng."

The two hurried over, and Li Mingzhu said anxiously, "Uncle called Brother Lei. The owner of Huihuang Supermarket is Huang Hao's older brother."

"I understand, let's talk in the car." Wang Peng chuckled, guessing why they were there.

It wasn't far from the tobacco and liquor store. Ever since he got into Huang Ran's car, Li Mingzhu had been driving behind him.

Back in her car, Li Mingzhu drove home.

Seeing Wang Peng's pale face, Du Lei glared at him and said, "Brother Peng, did he threaten you?"

"Brother Lei," Wang Peng nodded, "I want to work for Brilliant, are you willing to join me?"