A Valiant Life

The next day.

The workers from the price regulation department came to Cloud Street. They were used to receiving compensation claims for damage to property, but the most recent one that they received was a rather hefty sum; three hundred thousand compensation for a wrecked shop. Anyone with common sense would realize that something was amiss.

But in order to show others that they were abiding by the rules, they still had to conduct an investigation fairly.

Cloud Street.

Two of the workers looked at the scene before them. "This is the shop front that got wrecked? Even if I completely destroyed this shop, he’d probably only be able to claim ten thousand for this."

"All these items that got wrecked are only ordinary things. There’s nothing of value over here." The workers took a mental note to relook the prices on the book again when they got back.

"Did you contact the shop owner? It would be to his disadvantage if he wasn’t here," one of the workers who was called Xiao Li said.

Xiao Hai nodded. "We’ll have to meet him in person. Looking at the current damages, it’ll only amount to a ten thousand dollar compensation. Three hundred thousand dollars is impossible. I don’t know what’s up with this guy but the claim has to be more reasonable."

Xiao Li shook his head in disapproval. "We’ll just do our job. We’ll just give him the right amount."

The two of them were looking around at the wreckage, which comprised mostly of normal things which could be purchased outside.

Both of them took pictures and recorded some notes.

A while later, both of the workers came to a conclusion. The damage was only worth ten thousand five hundred and twenty-eight dollars, and it was already a very generous estimate which included the renovation cost.

As the two of them prepared to leave, something ahead of them caught their eye. Both of them were stunned.

"Hey, I don’t remember Little Boss’s shop looking like that. "

"Who destroyed it? I wanted to get some scallion pancakes on the way back."

"Hey, there are two guys over there. Let’s walk over and ask what happened."

At this moment, one of the townsfolk walked up. "What are you guys doing here? Do you know where Little Boss went?"

"We’re from the price regulation department. This shop was wrecked and we came here to investigate. Who are you guys?" Xiao Li looked up, looking a little confused. How come so many people had appeared out of the blue?

"We’re all here to buy scallion pancakes. Although Little Boss hasn’t opened his shop for quite a while, we still come here to queue up in hopes that he’ll open it."

"This shop got smashed up? Who exactly did that? If I get my hands on him, I’ll beat him to death. It’s already hard enough to queue up for scallion pancakes. Now you’re telling us that the shop got wrecked."

Xiao Li turned his head and looked at Xiao Hai, feeling a little confused. Both their faces turned into surprise as they counted the number of people queueing up, which amounted to over a hundred. "All of you guys are here to buy scallion pancakes?"

"Yeap. Master Lin’s scallion pancakes are simply the best! Most of us here are regulars, but now that the shop is gone, what will we do?" one of the townsfolk lamented.

"How much is one scallion pancake?" Xiao Li asked.

"Fifty a portion, but there are also black market dealers who resell the pancakes for over a thousand dollars since not everyone here will get it," one of the city folk replied.

Xiao Li and Xiao Hai had seen quite a lot of things, but nothing quite as extreme as this. Xiao Li took out his phone, taking a picture of the scene in front of him. His job not only required him to assess damaged goods, but also the surroundings of the place.

The queue snaked down all the way to the next street. This scene was just too extreme.

The detainment center.

Qiao Fei had spent the whole night in here and he couldn’t take it any longer. He occasionally received a phone call from his boss who scolded him but he couldn’t care less. He knew he couldn’t delay the deal with Skyworth Organization any longer. They weren’t the only organization in Zhongzhou looking to deal with Skyworth Organization.

At this moment, Qiao Fei slammed the metal door. "Come over for a while, will you? When will you let me out? What does that b*stard want with me? Do you know how much time I’ve wasted in here?"

The warden walked over. "The people over at the price regulation department are currently doing an investigation. We’ll know the outcome once the court reviews the report."

Qiao Fei thought of the contract. "This b*stard still wants to fight me to the death even after I’ve conceded? Just tell him I’ll pay the three hundred thousand dollars and let me out now!"

The warden shook his head. "You can’t do that now. Since he has already made an official report, we need to bring this to the court of law. It would have been easier if you guys just settled it privately yesterday."

"F*ck." Qiao Fei seethed with rage and kicked the iron gate after hearing what the warden said. The matter in Zhongzhou had to wait.

Skyworth Organization.

Lu Li was busy working in his office when his secretary walked in. "President Zhong, Cheng Yun Organization’s Vice-President Zhang Hai Yang wants to discuss something with you."

Lu Li looked up at her and smiled. "Let him into the meeting room. I’ll join him shortly."

The Secretary nodded. "Will do."

The meeting room.

"How’re you doing, President Zhong? I’m Zhang Hai Yang, Vice-President of Cheng Yun Organization," Zhang Hai Yang introduced himself.

Lu Li shook his hand. "Hello..."

Zhang Hai Yang went straight to the point. "President Lu, I heard that your partnership with Hai Yun Organization is coming to an end. I’m not sure if you guys will be continuing with the partnership, but if not, I do hope that you can consider Cheng Yun Organization as a potential partner."

"Come and take a seat." Lu Li motioned for his secretary to prepare the tea. "As of now, nothing has been finalized. I’ve known about Cheng Yun Organization for a long time. One of the three largest transport organizations in Zhongzhou. A very powerful company."

"Thank you." Zhang Hai Yun smiled as he sat down. "President Zhong, I’m here on behalf of my organization to discuss with you a potential partnership. Although we aren’t the biggest organization, our safety standards, efficiency, and service are of top quality. Rest assured that we can put an end to all accidents."

"Haha." Lu Li chuckled, "President Zhang, one needs to strike a balance between being humble and having confidence in one’s own organization. If one doesn’t have any confidence in their own organization, how can he gain the trust of others?"

Zhang Hai Yang laughed kindly, "President Lu, we’ve done some research and found that the net worth of Hai Yun has stagnated at 3.6 billion..."

Lu Li smiled as he listened to Zhang Hai Yang, nodding kindly. "It seems that President Zhang has done his homework. Your information is clear and correct. Alright, I guess we could talk further and Skyworth Organization may be willing to work together with your organization."

Zhang Hai Yang felt a rush of excitement. He immediately reached into his briefcase and took out a stack of papers. "President Lu, we’ve drafted this partnership contract. Please do take a look at it and if there’s anything inside that you do not agree with, don’t hesitate to discuss it with us."

Lu Li looked at the papers in front of him, kindly nodding his head. "I’ll take a look at it later. Although your organization is at only half of Hai Yun’s net worth, you guys are sincere and I like that."

Zhang Hai Yang’s face beamed with delight.

Lu Li gave a huge grin as well, recalling the conversation he had had with his father the night before. Apart from looking at the ability of the company in partnerships, another key aspect was the people behind it. If they were sincere, they would send their people over overnight, which was what Cheng Yun Organization had done. Zhang Hai Yang had started traveling over from Zhongzhou the previous night and reached them early in the morning.

The choice was clear.

In the detainment center.

Qiao Fei was losing his temper. He had to wait to get to court. How frustrating.

If he had known that he would get delayed, he would have settled the contract renewal first before he settled matters with that b*stard. But now that he had gotten delayed, he had to wait for the issue to settle before he could discuss the contract with Skyworth Organization.

But what Qiao Fei didn’t know was that Cheng Yun Organization had already come.