To be honest, most people would have listened intently and then felt sorry for him. An Xin, for example, is such a saintly person.
Unfortunately, Tang Ping is not one of them.
Besides, he's tired of hearing that story.
"Old Gao, you've told that story so many times. Everyone was poor back then. I remember my mom was reluctant to buy pork. She would always buy some not-so-fresh pork when the stalls were about to close. Even then, she didn't dare to buy too much. She would only buy three yuan's worth each time," Tang Ping said, rolling his eyes.
"Really? Have I said it many times?"
Gao Qiqiang was a little embarrassed and asked Tang Xiaohu.
"Brother Qiang, I have a bad memory, I might have forgotten," Tang Xiaohu said, scratching his head.
"Haha, that's true, everyone was poor back then. But the neighbors in our old factory street were very united, we all got along like one big family."
Gao Qiqiang chuckled as he spoke, then paused, staring at Tang Ping, and said, "So, Ping, although we're doing better now, we're still family, right? Could you perhaps be lenient and let Xiao Hu off the hook?"
Sure enough, here comes the main topic.
"What's wrong, Xiao Hu?" Tang Ping asked expressionlessly.
“Look at you, you’re not being fair. Hu Xiandong must have told you, right? Last night in that alley of the Wenzhou hair salon, Xiao Hu’s little brothers mistook him for someone else. It was just a misunderstanding. You see, Hu Xiandong didn’t lose anything, but he’s asking for 50,000 yuan per person. How can Xiao Hu possibly come up with that much money?”
"Yeah, Ping, I really don't have that much money."
"If you didn't have money, why did you insist on hitting her last night?"
Tang Xiaohu immediately lowered his head and remained silent.
Tang Xiaohu could have ignored the fate of the underlings held captive by Hu Xiandong, but if he did that, he wouldn't be able to stay in the old factory street anymore, and who would dare to be his underling?
The scene became somewhat awkward at one point.
Just then, Old Li from the noodle shop brought up the noodles and called out, "The noodles are here!"
The first bowl of noodles was placed directly in front of Tang Ping.
Tang Ping didn't stand on ceremony and started eating as soon as he picked up his chopsticks.
Gao Qiqiang looked somewhat embarrassed and said, "Aping, although Xiaohu did something wrong, killing someone is just a matter of nodding your head. Please be lenient and let him go."
"If Hu Xiandong hadn't been lucky last night, I would be the one sitting here negotiating with you now," Tang Ping said calmly without looking up.
Now, Gao Qiqiang was speechless.
Indeed, if Hu Xiandong had been a little careless last night, he would have been captured by Tang Xiaohu. Tang Ping would have been in a very passive position, and it probably wouldn't have been resolved by simply spending money.
Two more bowls of noodles were served, and the three of them ate their noodles in silence, without saying a word.
Tang Ping finished eating first, wiped his mouth, threw the tissue on the table, and said, "Old Gao, don't say I'm not giving you face. The minimum is 10,000 per person. This is a one-time exception. I have family and friends, and so do you, including Uncle Tai. Find a chance to ask him. You can play it fair or dirty, but don't do anything dirty. If it really comes to a fight to the death, nobody will be happy!"
After saying that, Tang Ping got up and got into the car.
Lin Yuan barely ate a couple of bites before heading to her car.
Inside the noodle shop, Gao Qiqiang stared at the direction Tang Ping had left, his brows furrowed.
"Brother Qiang, even if it's 10,000 per person, that's still over 100,000. Why don't you talk to Tang Ping again and see if you can lower the price?" Tang Xiaohu said.
Seeing Tang Xiaohu's miserly appearance, Gao Qiqiang was furious and cursed, "Who told you that all your underlings are good-for-nothings? So many people couldn't catch a single person, and instead they got detained. It's embarrassing to talk about. You still have the nerve to ask me to negotiate again? Tang Ping has already given me a lot of face this time, understand?"
"Brother Qiang, I..."
"You take half, and I'll pay for the rest!"
Tang Ping called Hu Xiandong and told him to release the man once he received the money.
Ten thousand per person is indeed a friendly price.
"Boss, they've dared to attack me. Shouldn't you send a few more brothers over there?" Hu Xiandong asked.
"No need. If you're not injured, do me a favor tonight."
Tang Pingdao.
With his skills, he doesn't need bodyguards at all. As for his family, Gao Qiqiang isn't that depraved.
Even Uncle Tai didn't have the guts.
"Boss, you say it."
"Let's talk in person. By the way, your girlfriend is pretty good. She's willing to stand up for you in crucial moments. Does she have any decent girls with her?" Tang Ping suddenly remembered something and quickly asked.
"She's alright. She brings a lot of the hostesses to the KTV, and they're all pretty good. Boss, if you want one, I can have her arrange a virgin for you!"
Tang Ping laughed and scolded, "Get out of here. I need the girl to do serious business. Never mind, bring her over when we talk tonight. I have something to discuss with her."
"Yes, boss."
...
In front of the village committee office in Mang Village, Li Youtian gathered most of the villagers and passionately declared, "The production of fire-fighting equipment is the most important industry in Mang Village. Now those bastards at the fire department are actually saying that our fire-fighting equipment is substandard. They're taking away our livelihood! What do you all think we should do?"
"Go talk to the fire department!"
"Our fire-fighting equipment has undergone strict approval processes, so why is it substandard?"
"That's right, they've dared to bully our Mang Village. Do you even know where the 'Mang' in our village comes from?"
The crowd was outraged. This time, Li Hongwei didn't need to incite them at all; most of the villagers spontaneously surged to the entrance of the Public Security and Fire Department and blocked the gate.
They didn't cause any trouble; they just sat quietly at the entrance, and the large crowd attracted countless onlookers.
Fire Chief Xiao was having a headache and was on the phone at the moment.
"Director Meng, you'd better send someone over right away. These villagers from Mang Village are too lawless. They're actually staging a sit-in in front of our fire station. Isn't this a rebellion?" Director Xiao said angrily.
Firefighters are currently part of the public security and armed police force, but they do not carry firearms in normal times and are under the jurisdiction of the Jinghai Public Security Bureau.
They don't have much power, but they make a lot of money. Fire safety in all factories and shops throughout the city is under their jurisdiction, and they can shut you down for rectification at the slightest provocation.
After receiving the call, Meng Dehai frowned and said, "Most of the fire-fighting equipment in Jinghai is produced in Mangcun, and it's even sold to other provinces. There's no problem with the quality. Why are you so bored that you went and shut down their factory, and then said that the fire protection equipment is substandard?"
"Director Meng, I was just following orders."
"Who gave you those orders? Go and deal with them yourself!"
Meng Dehai was so angry that he hung up the phone immediately.
"What's wrong? Why are you so angry?" An Changlin asked in the office.
Meng Dehai cursed, "It's all because of this old Xiao. He came to us when he was causing trouble. He probably took some benefits from someone and angered the people of Mang Village."
An Changlin said, "This is ridiculous. There's nothing wrong with the fire equipment. They'll take any money they can get. Let's ignore them and let them handle it themselves."
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