Chapter 9: Bullying Newcomers

The subsequent events proceeded smoothly. Fang Chang and his accomplices, having a prior record and being involved in a large sum this time, were arrested.

When Chen Daguang reported the crime, he didn’t mention his wiretapping, as that was also illegal. He only stated his suspicion, given the large sum of money involved, and hoped the police could help investigate. The result was spot-on; like pulling up a radish and bringing out the mud, the other party was completely unprepared, waiting for Fang Chang’s good news to celebrate, only to be rounded up by the police with China speed.

With his distorted face pressed against the table, he was still dazed when his hands were pulled behind his back and double silver handcuffs were put on him.

How could they have been exposed? By Chen Daguang, whose brain was just for show, a guy who at most only knew how to pretend to be refined?

The truth of the matter was something they would never dream of.

The next day, Chen Daguang returned home. His home was a mess. Fang Chang’s wife was crying at home, and when she saw him return, she threw a tantrum, accusing him of betraying his brother and wronging his friend.

His wife and daughter were trying to pull her away.

Chen Daguang wouldn’t be rough with a woman. He dodged, but not quickly enough, and got a scratch on his arm. Immediately, a layer of blood beads appeared.

His son came over with alcohol, concerned: “Dad.”

Chen Daguang pushed away the cotton ball, impatient with the messy environment and unwilling to argue with Fang Chang’s wife. He walked out, telling his son: “Don’t worry about this. You personally prepare a generous gift. Don’t mind the house. Come with me to see someone.”

Now, thinking back, he felt a lingering fear, a cold sweat breaking out on his back.

He learned from the police that among the other two investors at the dinner that day, one was actually an accomplice of the fraud team – the one who pretended to snatch the contract. The other person, like him, was also a victim of the fraud. Chen Daguang narrowly escaped due to a stroke of luck, but that person had actually transferred twenty million after he left. It was still unknown if the money could be recovered.

He now only wanted to quickly apologize and express his gratitude to the expert. The expert had kindly guided him to escape from the fiery pit, but he had been ungrateful and spoken ill of them.

Ah, he wondered if the expert would be angry?

Compared to that, what was a bloody scratch?

Chen Daguang was anxious all the way. He didn’t know where the expert lived, so he could only try his luck again at Baiyun Temple.

—

Qin Qing was, of course, at Baiyun Temple.

Business was good yesterday, so she continued to try her luck today.

She would probably be rooted here for a while. If she was lucky enough to meet two or three clients a day, it wouldn’t be too much of a loss.

The main reason was her youthful appearance; most people would question her three times when they arrived at her stall. The few who tried were either driven by curiosity or, like the auntie the other day, wanted to take advantage.

Lu Yang even remotely gave her advice, telling her to buy a Taoist robe online. And to tie her hair up into a bun. Disguising herself as a female Taoist priest would create a sense of contrast, and customers would probably take her more seriously.

Was Qin Qing such a diligent person? Of course not.

As long as she made some money, that was fine.

Persist for a few days, accumulate a few regular customers, and then those regulars would introduce other customers. Wouldn’t business just come then?

Of course, she was still far from that stage now.

If there was business, she did business. If there was no business, she was also very busy…

When she went out today, she was fully equipped: a folding stool, a pillow, a sun hat, and snacks and drinks.

She could eat snacks and binge-watch shows if she wanted to, or sunbathe and sleep if she preferred. If she was really bored, she could watch cats and dogs for entertainment.

That Big Orange cat from the other day, which was on the courtyard wall, actually sauntered out of the Taoist temple gate today, looking left and right, and finally walked to her stall. It unceremoniously lay down on the cardboard she used for her stall. Its plump flesh overflowed, completely filling the stall.

This fellow didn’t ask for the stall owner’s opinion when it arrived. It even looked at her disdainfully, then just lay down, and in a moment, it was purring and asleep, sleeping in a rather uninhibited posture. Spread-eagled, the few “millet grains” on its belly were clearly visible. It made one want to reach out and pinch them.

Big Orange’s entire performance left Qin Qing stunned. She wondered if she was the legendary cat magnet? With so many stalls, Big Orange Cat didn’t lie down anywhere else, but specifically chose her spot. It wasn’t even a feng shui treasure spot. It was quite close to the trash can.

Mumu was equally stunned. The reason it didn’t react was that it couldn’t believe another animal would so brazenly occupy its territory, right under its nose.

Could this be tolerated? Absolutely not!

It crouched down and barked, announcing its presence to this uninvited fat cat.

The fat cat… was unmoved.

Mumu tried to lift it with its nose, but it wouldn’t! Budge!

The fat cat even woke up, opened its eyes, looked around, and then rolled over and continued to sleep.

That unshakeable aura of a big boss was truly captivating.

No wonder there were so many cat slaves.

Clearly, Mumu was not one of the many cat slaves. As a highly intelligent Border Collie, if it couldn’t lift it, it would think of other ways.

For example, biting the cat’s neck and dragging it in another direction.

The little cat curled up its four paws, looking pitifully at Qin Qing, as Mumu mercilessly dragged it away and threw it at the base of the wall. And it growled threateningly at it a few times, warning it not to come near.

The orange cat didn’t know if it understood or not, but it huddled there, looking incredibly pathetic. There was still dog slobber on the fur of its neck, wet and sticky.

Tsk… it really looked like it had been bullied.

If Qin Qing hadn’t witnessed the whole process, she would have definitely thought her own dog had caused trouble and bullied the weak.

Mumu, having repelled the intruder from its territory, trotted back with small, elegant steps. It lay down very stylishly beside Qin Qing, wagging its tail at her. Qin Qing rewarded it with a pat on the head: “Well done.”

An uninvited guest arrived at the stall, a very refined uncle. At first, Qin Qing didn’t notice, until the other party readily paid 100 yuan. Only when she checked the System Panel did she realize that the person was Liang Jian’s adoptive father, Liang Jinguo.

The other party came with ill intentions, to test Qin Qing’s true abilities. He was happy that his son could reconcile with him, but he didn’t believe in fortune-telling. He conspiratorially believed that this was a setup targeting their Liang family. Although the events of that year were secret, since they happened, they could be dug up by someone with ulterior motives.

Qin Qing: “…”

You’re really overthinking it.

He didn’t reveal his identity when he came, he just wanted to put Qin Qing on the spot.

Qin Qing: “…”

Someone like you, smiling and heading straight to a young girl’s fortune-telling stall, is even more suspicious, okay? Most people who came to her these days started with skepticism.

She was too lazy to deal with such an old fox from the business world, a smiling tiger.

He wanted to put her on the spot, didn’t he? Then she would give him a show of force. And make a small profit along the way.

Facing the God of Wealth, Qin Qing was very polite and thoughtful.

She took out another small folding stool, unfolded it and placed it at Liang Jinguo’s feet, smiling as she said, “Please sit, guest.”

Liang Jinguo looked at the small folding stool, which was not even as high as his calf, with an unreadable expression in his eyes.

This thing had never appeared in his life before.

How was he supposed to sit? Wouldn’t he fall?

Qin Qing: “It’s stable, guest, don’t worry.”

“Let’s just talk like this,” he said, standing tall with his long, straight legs.

Qin Qing looked up, her neck a little sore, and said with difficulty, “Mr. Liang, what I’m about to say is very confidential. You’re standing so tall, I can’t reach you.”

Suddenly having his identity revealed, Liang Jinguo’s eyes darkened slightly. He hadn’t even brought his assistant or driver this time, just to reduce the possibility of being recognized. But… he wouldn’t believe for a hundred reasons that this girl had no one behind her, he just didn’t know what their purpose was.

If the other party kept hiding things, it would be difficult for him, but after only a short while, she revealed her hand. Heh, she was just a young girl after all, couldn’t keep her composure.

He stared directly at Qin, his sharp gaze intimidating.

Was Qin Qing afraid of this gaze and pressure? What a joke. Thinking about all the sleep she got in class over the years, and countless times barely passing exams. She looked back openly and calmly.

In this eye-to-eye confrontation, it was actually Liang Jinguo who first backed down, averting his gaze first. This startled him; the other party’s gaze was too clean, too honest, reflecting his own baseness.

Pressing his lips together, he disdainfully pulled up his suit trousers and reluctantly sat down on the small folding stool, barely avoiding falling backward. He quickly adjusted his center of gravity to avoid making a fool of himself.

Qin Qing took out an unopened bottle of water from her bag—it was originally for Mumu, and there was a simple dog head drawn on the label with a marker. Now, she just had to temporarily inconvenience Mumu. She handed it to Liang Jinguo.

Liang Jinguo wasn’t thirsty, but he casually took it and held it in his hand.

He saw the half-grown Border Collie next to him staring at him menacingly. He was puzzled, only thinking it was a strange dog owned by a strange person.

He looked up at his current situation and couldn’t help but sneer.

The other party was setting up to negotiate with him, but this environment, this scene, was absolutely the most makeshift he had ever experienced in his life. It couldn’t even be called makeshift; a makeshift setup would at least have a chair.

What was here? Only a small folding stool.

Qin Qing didn’t care what he thought. Holding back the somewhat restless Mumu, she started a conversation that was anything but makeshift.

“Mr. Liang, I know why you’re here. It’s nothing more than you thinking I used clever words to deceive your son. You want to see who I really am and what tricks I have up my sleeve, right?”

Liang Jinguo neither said yes nor no, looking at her without changing his expression.

Qin Qing didn’t mind: “If I said I calculated it, you definitely wouldn’t believe me. I don’t have time to prove its authenticity to you, and you don’t need to dwell on it. You’re a businessman, and since you’re here, we can talk about a business deal.”

Liang Jinguo seemed to have heard something amusing. He raised a hand and gestured at the worthless stall in front of him, laughing, “This kind of business?”

“The size of the business is not up to me, but to you.” She leaned slightly towards Liang Jinguo, lowering her voice: “Mr. Liang, in a few days, for the bidding on that land in the south, I guess your bid will be…” She stated a number.

Liang Jinguo suddenly turned to look at her, the mineral water bottle instantly crinkling with a crunching sound.

Qin Qing leaned back, composed: “Don’t wonder how I know. I also know that with this price, you will win. The business I want to discuss is that I can help you win this bid by paying a lower price. In exchange, you pay me a commission, not much, just 10% of the savings.”