I saw Wen Siqiang struggling to get up from the ground, failing after several attempts. I walked over, squatted down, and said to him, "Don't move for now. Someone will take you to see your injuries shortly."
Wen Siqiang: "Boss, I'm sorry, I couldn't stop them."
I said, "You did your best. I'll settle the score with them later. Just bear with it for now. Our people will be here soon."
As we spoke, I heard the sound of vehicles braking outside, followed by the commotion of many people entering.
I knew our reinforcements had arrived, but they were still a step too late, allowing those people to escape.
I shouted, "Quickly get all the injured into the vehicles and take them for treatment. The rest of you go to the workshops and warehouses to see if anyone else has been injured!"
Everyone quickly dispersed, first helping or carrying the injured lying on the ground into the vans.
There weren't many people left at the base, and almost everyone was injured.
Watching them all in this state, I felt a burning rage, cursing the bastard Crown Prince. Your debt just increased again.
Wen Siqiang was helped over to me and said, "We were too few, and we couldn't detain anyone. I'm sorry."
I had asked him to capture one alive to confront the Crown Prince, but how could a dozen of them, facing forty to fifty thugs, have a chance to capture anyone? It was good enough that they could leave with their lives.
Even the few I had knocked down earlier had disappeared, rescued by them.
It seemed I had been too careless. I hadn't expected the Crown Prince to have a backup plan. He confronted me face-to-face at the auction, but behind my back, he arranged for thugs to ambush me.
And he actually succeeded.
Looking at the raw stones scattered by the forklift, my heart felt as if it were being twisted by a knife. Gambling on stones is all about the quarry. Now it was like a reshuffle. I knew we were opening in two days, and reclassifying them would be an almost impossible task given the workload.
I hadn't yet checked the other workshops and warehouses, and I suspected they wouldn't be much better.
Just then, Brother Bao and Da Kui returned. Brother Bao asked, "Is it that serious?"
I said, "Our previous work is almost wiped out. The problem is, reclassifying everything in such a short time is too difficult."
Brother Bao nodded, also at a loss.
Only those with a discerning eye could sort the quarries. Most people couldn't distinguish them, so having more people wouldn't help.
Brother Bao said, "Should we settle this debt with him now, or after everything is over? If it were me, I'd retaliate immediately, return the favor, and destroy his raw stone base too!"
I said, "Honestly, I want to get rid of him even more than you do. But our main task now isn't fighting, but successfully opening the raw stone base. That's the greatest victory. I don't agree with fighting now. Even if we fight, it should be after everything is over."
Brother Bao: "Since you're being so considerate of the overall situation, I'll listen to you. But we can't let him get away with it for too long. I'm not that magnanimous."
I said, "Me neither. This revenge must be exacted!"
Although Brother Bao wasn't one to dwell on grudges, what they did was too much. First, they beat me into hospitalization, almost turning me into a vegetable. Now, they've dealt us a devastating blow. However, in the current situation, with so much responsibility on my shoulders, what outcome could we achieve by fighting? It was like how the demoness harmed my father; this was a blood feud. Why had I hesitated to act? I was just looking for an opportunity to strike at their vital points, to leave them no chance to breathe ever again.
After all, they weren't completely unreasonable; they wouldn't compromise just through fighting.
Brother Bao didn't insist further. We went together to check the other areas. As expected, the stones piled on the ground had all been mixed together.
Fortunately, our premium stones were locked in the vault. None of those were touched. That was a blessing in disguise.
Master Zhang wasn't severely injured. He stayed by my side. I told him not to sort them too meticulously; as long as they were from the same quarry, they could be mixed together regardless of size.
Master Zhang agreed and began directing people to clear the site.
A clear space needed to be cleared first to have a place for sorting.
Brother Bao asked Da Kui to pick some security guards to assist Master Zhang, and the remaining personnel were deployed around the winery to strengthen security.
Just then, Lan Ya and Jing Lei also returned to the winery. They walked up to me, looking at the chaotic scene in surprise. Lan Ya clenched her fists in anger, and I could hear her knuckles cracking.
If the Crown Prince is courting death, we can only hasten his demise.
I told Brother Bao and the two of them that they could handle the cleanup here. The out-of-town guests would start arriving tomorrow or the day after, so we needed to finalize the reception arrangements.
As they walked out, I remembered the matter of the large stone. I asked them to go back first, and I would go to the workshop where the large stone was kept.
That stone couldn't have any problems. Even if all the other stones were destroyed, this one had to be guaranteed to be there.
I arrived at the workshop door. The lock showed signs of tampering. My heart sank. It seemed they hadn't spared this place, but I didn't know if they had entered.
I looked at the door lock. Although it had been tampered with, it wasn't damaged. I inserted the key, and the lock opened.
I pushed the door open and felt that no one had entered. The cutting saw stood quietly, and the giant stone was covered with a tarpaulin by the master, showing no signs of damage.
My heart settled. As long as this stone was fine, everything could still be salvaged. If Brother Qing couldn't see the giant stone during the opening, both Brother Bao and I would have a difficult time.
Brother Bao had mentioned that Brother Qing was naturally suspicious and hated it when people acted behind his back. Although this stone had nothing to do with him in principle or sentiment, if he insisted on getting involved, a hundred mouths wouldn't be enough to explain ourselves.
I stepped back, closed and locked the door. The master still had a key, and he would complete the remaining work today.
Brother Bao and the others were waiting for me in the office. Da Kui was monitoring the site outside. I reported the recovery plan to Brother Bao, then asked Jing Lei to arrange the guests' accommodation and reception. The waitstaff, drawn from various clubs, were all in place today, led by Xiao Hong, who would act as the reception manager.
I used the intercom to notify the head of security and the reception manager to come to the office for a meeting, with the main focus on security and reception. Any problems in these two areas would affect the entire grand strategy.
Xiao Hong and Captain Li, the head of security, hurried into the office.
Both of them were wearing uniforms, looking sharp and capable.
Xiao Hong had completely shed her past timidity, her face beaming with radiance, a different person from before.
Lan Ya assigned them their tasks and mentioned that their performance would be evaluated during this event. If any team had problems, the entire team's annual bonus would be deducted, and the supervisor's salary for two months.
The annual bonus was a substantial amount, and it was for the entire team, which was immense pressure.
After Lan Ya finished speaking, she dismissed them. Xiao Hong didn't even glance at me, appearing obedient and well-behaved.