There is no good banquet, but there is an iron fist.
Production at the beam yard was gradually getting back on track, with both progress and quality recognized by all parties. Ma Yu, the boss of the subcontracting team, was in high spirits. To celebrate and maintain relationships, he hosted a banquet at a fine downtown hotel, inviting key project managers, supervisors, and key personnel from the beam yard. Among the guests were Project Manager Liu Chao, Chief Engineer Zhang Xiao, Deputy Project Managers Feng Chang and Lan Tongtong, and Supervisor Liu Feng. Zhang Biao, a newcomer to the beam yard, was also invited by Feng Chang to "see the world."
The banquet began with a fairly harmonious atmosphere. Ma Yu, a master of the scene, was a man of many words, making friends and toasting frequently. After a few rounds of drinking, the atmosphere became even more lively. Liu Feng seemed to be in a good mood today. Perhaps, because of Lan Tongtong's status as his "godsister" and Zhang Biao's presence, he had restrained himself a lot at the beam yard recently, but now, at the table, he was showing some signs of his old ways.
He held the wine glass and staggered to Lan Tongtong, with an abnormal blush on his face and a vague look in his eyes.
"Lan... Lan Gong!" He spoke loudly, the smell of alcohol wafting towards him. "Come, I... I'll toast you a glass! Now... you're Mr. Mo's favorite, it's... it's incredible!"
Lan Tongtong frowned slightly and picked up the drink cup: "Mr. Liu, I'll have a drink, toast to you."
"That won't do!" Liu Feng waved his hand and raised his voice, "Look... you look down on me, don't you? Today... you must drink!" As he said that, he actually reached out to take Lan Tongtong's cup, and his arm rubbed Lan Tongtong's shoulder intentionally or unintentionally.
Lan Tongtong stepped back suddenly, avoiding his touch, her face darkening: "Mr. Liu, please respect yourself! I said, I drink the drink!"
This seemed to have touched a sensitive nerve in Liu Feng. Seeing Lan Tongtong so disrespectful to him in front of everyone, coupled with the alcohol, he immediately became angry and embarrassed, and his disguised politeness was instantly torn apart.
"Self-respect? Ha..." Liu Feng sneered, his voice full of sarcasm, "Why are you pretending to be noble? Don't think you're so great just because you have a sworn brother! You're just a whore, right? What can Mo Zhichi like about you? Ah? It's all because of..."
The foul language was so unbearable that the atmosphere at the table instantly dropped to freezing point. Project Manager Liu Chao and Chief Engineer Zhang Xiao's faces turned pale and they were about to speak out to stop it.
But someone is faster than them!
Zhang Biao, who had been sitting nearby, quietly eating his food, had already noticed Liu Feng's actions and clenched his fists. Hearing Liu Feng insult Lan Tongtong like this, he stood up with a jerk, his tall body blocking Lan Tongtong like a wall, his eyes wide open, and shouted angrily:
"Damn Liu Feng! What the hell are you spewing out of your mouth! How dare you bully Lan Gong?!"
Liu Feng was startled by Zhang Biao's aura, but the alcohol emboldened him, and coupled with his usual arrogance, he pointed at Zhang Biao and cursed, "Who the hell do you think you are? A temporary worker, and you dare to control me..."
"I don't care who you are!" Zhang Biao roared, unable to hold back any longer. His fist as big as a sand bowl made a sound of wind and hit Liu Feng's face directly!
There was a dull thud, followed by a scream from Liu Feng. He staggered back a few steps, knocked over a chair, and fell to the ground, his nose bleeding instantly.
The scene was in chaos! Ma Yu rushed forward to mediate, while Liu Chao and Zhang Xiao hurriedly held back Zhang Biao, who was about to charge forward.
"Biaozi! Don't be impulsive!"
"Zhang Biao! Stop!"
Lan Tongtong was also terrified. She didn't expect Zhang Biao to hit her directly. Although he was trying to protect her, this was a big disaster! She quickly went to pull Zhang Biao back: "Brother Biao! Stop it!"
Zhang Biao was panting heavily and was held back by everyone, still glaring at Liu Feng who was lying on the ground.
Liu Feng clutched his bleeding nose and struggled on the ground, shocked and furious. He pointed at Zhang Biao and Lan Tongtong, cursing incoherently. But he seemed to understand that calling the police would reflect poorly on him, since he had been the one who had spoken so frivolously first. He trembled as he pulled out his phone, but instead of calling the police, he made a direct call, howling in a tearful voice:
"Dad! Dad! I was eating out and was beaten by people from the construction site! It was Lan Tongtong and Zhang Biao! They teamed up to beat me! You have to take charge! Fire them! They must be fired!"
The person on the other end of the phone was Liu Tianyuan, the deputy general manager of Tianma Investment Co., Ltd.
The banquet ended in discontent. Liu Chao and Zhang Xiao's faces were extremely grim. While trying to calm the furious Liu Feng, they had someone rush him to the hospital. Boss Ma Yu was also extremely upset that a good celebration banquet had turned out like this.
Lan Tongtong was in turmoil, grateful for Zhang Biao's bravery but also terrified of the consequences. With Liu Tianyuan personally putting pressure on her, she and Zhang Biao were worried their jobs were in jeopardy.
Zhang Biao, however, didn't care at all. He wiped his mouth and said to Lan Tongtong, "Don't be afraid, Lan Gong! This kind of bastard deserves a beating! At worst, I'll quit, but I can't let him bully me like this!"
The storm had arrived. This time, how would Mo Zhichi's ruler measure this sudden storm? Everyone's eyes, perhaps subconsciously, turned to the chief supervisor, the engineer, who hadn't yet arrived but was destined to be involved.
On the way back to the project office, the atmosphere in the car was suffocatingly oppressive. Liu Chao and Zhang Xiao were sullen and silent. Zhang Biao grumbled to himself, occasionally cursing, "That bastard got away with it." Lan Tongtong watched the neon lights rapidly receding outside the window, her heart pounding and tears streaming. She wasn't afraid of losing her job, but rather of implicating Zhang Biao, who had intervened so righteously, and even more so of embarrassing Brother Mo.
At that moment, her cell phone rang. The words "Mo Ge" appeared prominently on the screen.
Lan Tongtong's heart suddenly twitched, and she pressed the answer button tremblingly, her voice thick with tears: "Hello... Brother Mo..."
On the other end of the line, Mo Zhichi's voice sounded unusually calm, without even a hint of emotion. He got straight to the point: "Tongtong, I just got a call from Mr. Liu. He's very angry. Tell me, what happened tonight?"
"Brother Mo... I'm sorry..." Lan Tongtong's grievance and fear burst out in an instant. She choked up and told the whole story in a crying voice: how Liu Feng spoke frivolously and touched her at the banquet, how she refused, how Liu Feng cursed at her, and how Zhang Biao couldn't bear it anymore and attacked her.
After she finished speaking, she waited nervously for a response from the other end of the phone, anticipating Mo Ge's reproach or a heavy sigh.
However, to everyone's surprise, after two seconds of silence, a low chuckle was heard from the other end of the phone. That chuckle contained an undisguised sense of...relaxation?
"Hehe..." Mo Zhichi's laughter came through the microphone and was particularly clear in the silent carriage. Even Liu Chao and Zhang Xiao in the front row turned around in surprise.
"Brother Mo?" Lan Tongtong was also confused, thinking she had heard wrongly.
"Yeah, I understand." Mo Zhichi's tone was strangely relieved, even a little... satisfied? "As long as it wasn't you who did it, it's fine."
He paused, his tone becoming increasingly calm, even with a hint of sarcasm: "Zhang Biao, that brat... is quite quick with his hands. Just hit him, and Liu Feng, that mouth of his, it's time someone put a lid on it."
Everyone in the car was stunned when these words came out! He had beaten the supervisor, who was the son of the owner's vice president, and yet Mo Zhichi just said, "So be it." Such a lighthearted thing?
Lan Tongtong couldn't believe her ears: "Ah? Brother Mo, but...but Mr. Liu..."
"I'll go talk to Liu Tianyuan." Mo Zhichi's tone instantly returned to its usual calm and unquestionable tone. "He knows what his son has done. Zhang Biao was defending his colleagues and stopping the harassment. His behavior was a bit extreme, but there were reasons. If Liu Feng feels wronged, he can choose to call the police. We can invite everyone present tonight to the police station and talk it over."
His voice turned cold. "Let's see if he dares to bring this matter to light and let the police judge it."
Mo Zhichi's words were like a reassurance, instantly calming Lan Tongtong's flustered mind. She realized then that the "trap" Mo had set up, along with the information he might have, had given him the confidence to speak so freely. Liu Feng's actions were untenable to begin with. If they became a major issue, the impact on public opinion and Liu Tianyuan himself would likely be far more severe than a beating. Liu Tianyuan's phone call was more of an attempt to exert pressure and intimidate than a genuine commitment to proper procedures.
"Tongtong, stop crying." Mo Zhichi's voice softened. "It's okay, the sky isn't falling. Go back to the project department normally and take a break. Tell Manager Liu and Chief Engineer Zhang that I'll handle this matter so they don't have to feel too stressed."
"Yeah...yeah! I understand, Brother Mo!" Lan Tongtong nodded vigorously, but her tears flowed even more violently. But this time, they were tears of relief and gratitude.
After hanging up the phone, Lan Tongtong conveyed Mo Zhichi's words to Liu Chao and Zhang Xiao.
Liu Chao and Zhang Xiao exchanged glances, each seeing a mixture of shock and relief. They hadn't expected Mo Zhichi to be so resolute and composed. With him standing up to the pressure from the owner, things would be much easier.
"Mr. Mo...it's really..." Liu Chao shook his head, feeling full of emotion. He didn't say the rest of the words, but the meaning was self-evident.
Zhang Biao also heard it and grinned widely, "Haha! I told you! Mr. Mo must be a reasonable person! That kind of jerk deserves to be punished!"
The atmosphere in the train car completely changed, from the previous oppressive despair to a sense of relief after surviving a disaster. Everyone understood that with Mo Zhichi standing in front of them, weighing right and wrong and holding up the sky, the current turmoil might finally subside.
At this moment, the lights in the General Supervisor's office were still on. Mo Zhichi put down his phone, his face devoid of any relaxed expression. He knew that the next battle against Liu Tianyuan would be a tough one. But he was not afraid, and even had some anticipation. Because this time, he held justice, the people's hearts, and a "bad card" that would make the other party hesitate. He picked up the internal phone and calmly dialed a number:
"Hello, Mr. Zhang? It's me, Lao Mo. I have something I want to report to you about something...unpleasant that happened between Mr. Liu and our on-site staff tonight."
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