"Do you know him?" Li Yang turned his head and saw a burly man with a towel draped over his shoulder, asking with a smile.
The man with the towel nodded and said, "It's not just me who knows him. The workers who move goods nearby all know Zhao Laosan. He's famous for being lazy and gluttonous, and he can't go a day without alcohol or tobacco. If he earns two hundred a day, he spends a hundred on smoking and drinking, and keeps the other hundred to not work the next day!"
"Someone like that, let alone buying such a treasure in this lifetime, even if you gave him eight lifetimes, he still wouldn't be able to afford it."
"If you don't believe me, you can all go ask the moving workers. If I've told a single lie, may I die a terrible death!"
"You damn bastard, I'll kill you, you blabbermouth!" Zhao Laosan, seeing his entire history exposed, was so angry he lunged forward to attack.
But Li Yang's palm squeezed, instantly causing his wrist to ache intensely, forcing him to kneel on the ground, crying out in pain.
"We are all civilized people. A gentleman uses his words, not his fists. Why would you think of hitting someone?" Li Yang smiled and looked at Er Dong, "Give this brother who acted righteously and is full of justice ten thousand yuan in cash. We are opening a shop and doing business, and we absolutely cannot let down the kindness of good people."
"Yes, boss." Er Dong immediately went to get the money. Some customers liked to pay in cash when they bought things, and Li Yang hadn't taken it all away, keeping it in the shop's safe.
Usually, he would only take it to the bank to deposit when summarizing the accounts at the end of the month.
The man with the towel was greatly surprised, "I, I just said a fair word out of kindness, and you're giving me ten thousand yuan? Oh my, I can't accept it, I really can't."
"Take it." Er Dong took out ten thousand yuan in cash and quickly rushed to him, stuffing it into his hand. "Our boss is a man of principle, and this money must be given to you."
"This,"
"Take it, brother." Li Yang smiled.
The people around also said enviously, "Brother, Boss Li does big business; ten thousand yuan is nothing to him. Just take it."
"That's right, brother. This is called good deeds are rewarded. It's your fortune. Don't refuse it, or heaven will punish you instead."
"Then, then I thank Boss Li, thank the store manager." The man with the towel said gratefully.
He truly hadn't thought much of it; he had purely seen Zhao Laosan harming others and lying, and couldn't stand it, so he stepped forward to expose him.
As the saying goes, an unintentional act can yield unexpected benefits. He had unintentionally gained something.
Although a few people felt Li Yang was too generous, Li Yang himself didn't feel he had lost out. Not to mention that the man with the towel had helped him, just the fact that this incident was broadcast live was comparable to tens of millions in advertising fees. He had already made a huge profit.
Glancing at Zhao Laosan, Li Yang said, "Can you tell the truth now?"
"What I said is the truth, and no one instructed me!" Zhao Laosan gritted his teeth and said, "Even if you ask me a hundred more times, it will be the same answer!"
"You're quite tough, but I wonder how long you can stay tough." Li Yang said with a smile.
Zhao Laosan sneered, "If you have the guts, kill me. I'm telling you, I won't be afraid!"
"Do you think I'm stupid? If I kill you, I'll go to jail." Li Yang smiled and said to Er Dong, "Get a bottle of good wine. Give it to him only if he speaks, and if he doesn't, let him die of thirst!"
"You, you lunatic, you can't do this to me!" Zhao Laosan immediately panicked upon hearing this.
He was an alcoholic. He could endure being beaten, kicked, or scolded, but he couldn't bear to watch others drink while he couldn't.
Before Er Dong could buy the wine, he caved, "I already said it, Boss Xu gave me one hundred thousand yuan to do this!"
"Little brother Xu!" Wang Dongsheng's face changed drastically, disbelief evident.
The crowd present immediately booed, "Oh! Boss Xu, no wonder you were so eager to jump out and question earlier. So you were the one who bribed him!"
"Nonsense, this is slander!" Xu Zhongding's face changed, and he quickly said, "I warn you, without any proof or evidence, don't talk nonsense, or I'll sue you for defamation!"
"I have evidence!" Unexpectedly, Zhao Laosan had kept evidence. "Boss Li, Boss Xu said he would give me another one hundred thousand yuan as the final payment after the job was done. I was afraid he would go back on his word, so I secretly took a video with my phone."
"The phone is in his pants pocket. If you take it out and open it, the first video is it!"
"When did you film it? How come I don't know!" Xu Zhongding's face turned pale.
Zhao Laosan said disdainfully, "You're blind, what could you possibly know?"
"You!" Xu Zhongding almost spat blood.
Many people in the crowd burst into laughter. They usually wouldn't easily mock people with physical imperfections, and even treated them kindly. However, towards Xu Zhongding, who was blind, they didn't hold back. They laughed as loudly as they could. Some people were afraid their laughter would be drowned out, so they cupped their hands around their mouths in a triangle shape, amplifying their laughter even further.
"Hahaha!"
"Wow!" Xu Zhongding was so angry he spat blood and stumbled to the ground.
Wang Dongsheng wanted to reach out and grab him, but remembering his despicable actions, he angrily withdrew his hand and snorted hatefully, "How can he be so shameless!"
"Isn't this putting me and my master in a position of great injustice?"
"Mr. Wang, you probably don't know your sworn brother as well as you think." Li Yang said with a smile, "Why don't you ask around and find out the full story of how his eyes were dug out a few days ago."
"Oh, right, someone should have taken a video. Although it couldn't be posted online because the footage was too bloody, it could still be kept for private collection. You can ask."
"I filmed it!" The streamer with thick eyebrows and big eyes who had explained earlier immediately walked over excitedly and said, "Master Wang, if you want it, I can show it to you."
At the same time, he excitedly said to the phone used for live streaming, "Family, this is the treasure appraisal master from the capital, Master Wang Dongsheng. I am only tens of centimeters away from a master. I'm so excited!"
"No need to watch the video." Wang Dongsheng glanced at the expressions of the people around him and had already guessed about eighty percent of it. Xu Zhongding's account to him was likely vastly different from the truth.
Otherwise, after suffering so much, there was no reason for not a single audience member to sympathize with him.
It was clear how much he deserved it.
And he, this fool, not only believed his words but also invited his almost-retired master to help him!
Really!
He wished he could slap himself hard!
Turning around, he knelt before Zheng Xibei, regretting it deeply, "I'm sorry, Master, I've caused you harm!"
If it weren't for his connections, Xu Zhongding alone would never have been able to invite Zheng Xibei.
Looking at his disciple, whom he almost treated as his son, with tears almost streaming from his eyes, Zheng Xibei sighed bitterly, "What is destined to be will be, and what is to be avoided cannot be avoided. I have stumbled today, and I do not blame you. It is my own karma that I should endure this tribulation."