Song Taiqing was so angry that his beard trembled violently, and his eyes seemed to be spitting fire. He was unlucky; he hadn't checked the almanac before going out and had run into this group of barbarians. Despite his handsome appearance, he was still a lowly commoner at heart.
"I told you to let go, are you deaf?" Song Taiqing gritted his teeth, determined not to give in. This barbarian was just a little stronger than him, but that was a decade or two ago. When he was young, he was also a muscle man, no less strong than Song Taiqing.
An Rong said coldly, "Apologize to her!"
"I gave her face, asking me to apologize to a woman? Bah!" Song Taiqing couldn't stand women like this who showed their faces in public, relying on their good looks to open shops and do business to attract customers. To put it bluntly, they were just using their looks as a means to an end, which was simply vulgar and despicable.
An Rong frowned and increased the pressure on his hands, and the sound of bones creaking could be faintly heard.
The two people behind Song Taiqing, fearing something might happen, came up to try and mediate, but An Rong completely ignored them.
Anyone who dares to speak disrespectfully to his wife deserves to have a broken bone.
"You, you, let go! My arm is going to break!" Song Taiqing's face was covered in sweat, and he looked extremely disheveled. If he were to lose his arm for a few dozen taels of silver, it would be a huge loss.
"Apologize!" An Rong shouted sternly.
Song Taiqing shuddered in fright. He suddenly realized that if he didn't apologize today, he wouldn't be able to leave the tavern unscathed. Well, a wise man doesn't fight a losing battle. He'd apologize first and deal with them another time. Don't worry, as long as Song Taiqing was there, the DouDou Tavern wouldn't have any peace.
Song Taiqing lowered his stance: "I apologize, please let go first."
An Rong hesitated for a moment, then decided to let go first. As long as he was there, Song Taiqing couldn't pull any tricks.
Song Taiqing breathed a sigh of relief after breaking free of his restraints, but when he moved his arm, it was in excruciating pain.
He concealed his reluctance, clasped his hands in a gesture of respect, and said to Yuan Doudou, "I have offended you greatly just now. Please forgive me, madam."
It has to be said that his apology was completely insincere. Yuan Doudou almost laughed when she heard it. A union chairman, really acting like a big shot, calling himself "this chairman" all the time. Is this an apology or just putting on airs?
Yuan Doudou crossed her arms and looked at her like she was looking at a spotted dog, and said jokingly, "It's really unfair to Chairman Song that you have to apologize to a mere woman like me. Chairman Song has extraordinary magnanimity, and I admire you greatly."
Song Taiqing scoffed inwardly, "You admire me for nothing! You're just putting on airs and being extremely hypocritical."
"Boss lady, please rectify what I just said as soon as possible, otherwise it will be difficult for me to maintain this position."
I've already gone all out, why be polite with her? The issue of exclusively selling red wine must be resolved, otherwise her tavern can forget about staying open.
Yuan Doudou didn't know how much kickback he had taken, but she knew that to resolve this matter, all she had to do was give him some money. He wouldn't turn down money, but she deliberately didn't do that. People are never satisfied; no matter how much she gave him today, he wouldn't be content. Perhaps, once he tasted the sweetness, he would come to cause trouble every now and then.
In that case, the tavern won't last more than a few days before it goes out of business.
"Oh? Chairman Song, there's something I'd like you to inquire about further. I wonder if Lord Lu is aware of this matter? If he knew you'd bullied his friend, I wonder what his reaction would be?"
Yuan Doudou silently prayed to herself, "Lu Chaoyang, I'm sorry, I have to bring up your big shot again. Please forgive me."
Song Taiqing scoffed: "What Lord Lu, Lord Xiong? Do you think I'm afraid of him?"
The two people behind him reacted quickly. One of them leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Lord Lu Chaoyang, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue."
In Ping'an Town, there is only one official with the surname Lu. Although his position as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue is not high, his father is Lu Jing'an, the current prime minister. Who would dare to disrespect him?
Upon hearing this, Song Taiqing felt as if struck by lightning. Damn it, those people had actually pushed him into a fire pit with just a few pennies. Everyone knew that the union relied on the Ministry of Revenue for its survival. Now that he had offended the Vice Minister of Revenue, he probably wouldn't be able to continue as the figurehead chairman.
Yuan Doudou watched him change his expression, sometimes red and sometimes white, which was very interesting.
The more panicked Song Taiqing was inside, the calmer he appeared on the surface. He came to his senses and realized that Yuan Doudou was nothing but a lowly woman. How could she possibly know someone like Lu Chaoyang? She was probably just trying to trick him and escape this rectification. Playing such childish tricks in front of an elder like him was a gross underestimation of him.
Thinking this to himself, Song Taiqing gradually calmed down. "Boss lady, I've seen plenty of people who rely on their master's power. You think you can fool me? No way. Lord Lu would only befriend someone like you if he were blind. You're just a common woman from the marketplace."
He seemed to have forgotten how much pain he had felt, almost breaking his arm, and started spouting rudeness again.
However, this time, before An Rong could make a move, someone walked gracefully from behind.
"Who is cursing me behind my back?"
Yuan Doudou looked towards the door and saw Lu Chaoyang standing there, dressed in a vermilion official robe embroidered with auspicious clouds and cranes, wearing a black gauze hat, looking incredibly handsome.
Song Taiqing's dog body trembled, and he froze on the spot.
No way, he can't be that unlucky, can he? Lord Lu arrived right after he finished speaking.
The person behind him was more quick-witted and hurriedly bowed to Lu Chaoyang, "Lord Lu, this is Song Taiqing, the chairman of the trade union."
Song Taiqing cursed inwardly, "You bastard, I'll teach you to be so talkative. You're afraid Lord Lu doesn't know who I am, aren't you?"
Yuan Doudou smiled sweetly: "Chairman Song, weren't you just speaking passionately? Why did you stop talking when you saw Lord Lu?"
She used to dislike using connections to intimidate others, but in this day and age, it's a waste not to use connections.
"This humble subject pays respects to Lord Lu." Song Taiqing knelt on the ground, trembling and shaking, a stark contrast to his previous arrogant demeanor, where he addressed everyone as "This Chairman."
Yuan Doudou's smile faded, and she sighed silently, "Indeed, those who know when to yield can bend and stretch."
Lu Chaoyang didn't even glance at him, strode over, and said in a deep voice, "I'm off duty and wanted to come here to relax with a glass of red wine, but I didn't want to be spoiled."
Even if Song Taiqing was stupid, he could tell that Lu Chaoyang was telling him to leave, so he quickly lowered his voice and said, "I will leave right away and will not disturb your enjoyment, sir."
Yuan Doudou couldn't help but laugh when she saw him go from being a commoner to being called a lowly servant.
Does this person truly possess any sense of propriety, righteousness, or shame? He lost all backbone upon seeing a mere vice-minister.
Song Taiqing stood there, stunned, waiting for Lu Chaoyang to say something.
"If you know that, why don't you get lost?" Lu Chaoyang said calmly, but no one dared to disobey.
That's what charisma is all about.
Yuan Doudou suddenly understood why some people would take the imperial examinations until their hair turned white and still not give up. Only the imperial examinations could give them such a position where they could be summoned and dismissed at will.
"DouDou, how are you going to thank me?"
After Song Taiqing slunk away, Lu Chaoyang adopted a nonchalant and irresponsible attitude.
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