Uncle San's face changed drastically upon hearing Xu Teng's words. He then furiously reached out and slapped Xu Teng across the face.
Xu Teng was stunned by the slap. He looked at Uncle San with resentment. Unexpectedly, Uncle San showed no leniency and slapped his other cheek.
"You ungrateful brat, I knew something was amiss. This money was earned by the villagers through their hard work raising pigs. How dare you spend it without our consent?"
As he spoke, Uncle San's vision blurred, and he almost fell to the ground. If it weren't for Xiao Zhang supporting him, he might not have gotten the money back and could have even lost his life there.
Xu Teng took a deep breath and decided to drop all pretense. "The news of the pig plague disappearing hasn't spread widely yet. If I'm not mistaken, quite a few people in the village must be struggling to afford food by now.
I helped you sell the pigs and promised to give you the money in two days, yet you're giving me trouble. You're like a dog biting a benevolent person and not recognizing their good intentions!
I don't have the money right now anyway. If you're still angry, then kill me if you have the ability. You won't get the money then either. If you trust me, then go back obediently and wait for news!"
With twenty-two thousand yuan at stake, Uncle San dared not act rashly. He had to go back and discuss such an important matter with the elders and villagers before gambling with their hard-earned money.
Thinking of this, Uncle San covered his chest with his hand and said angrily, "You ungrateful brat, I've taken note of this matter. If we don't see the money in two days, you won't have a good life either.
Xiao Zhang, let's go. Don't associate with this scumbag! We'll report everything that happened today to the village chief. He will decide your consequences!"
With that, Uncle San, filled with rage, left the luxury hotel with Xiao Zhang.
Xu Teng watched their retreating figures and rubbed his forehead with a headache. He wished he could abandon everything and leave this place, but he didn't have any extra money on him.
If he were to abandon his responsibilities, be resented by the villagers, and be wanted by Yang Lili, his future life would likely be spent on the run!
After much deliberation, Xu Teng finally found Yang Lili to discuss borrowing money and stabilizing the current situation.
When Yang Lili heard that Xu Teng wanted to borrow twenty-two thousand yuan, her expression froze for a moment. She then retorted sharply, "Are you sure you're not mistaken? Twenty-two thousand yuan! I've worked for so many years and don't even have ten thousand yuan in hand, let alone twenty-two thousand!
I can't help you with this. Who told you to spend money so impulsively! You'd better think of another way."
Seeing that Yang Lili was unwilling to help him, Xu Teng became anxious. He strode over to her, placed his hands on the table, and said in exasperation, "I don't care about this. You must help me!
If you don't help me, I might not have the energy to handle the upcoming press conference. I can't guarantee whether it will achieve the results you want."
Threatened by these blatant words, a cold glint flashed in Yang Lili's eyes, and her clasped hands tightened.
However, now was not the time for infighting. She took a deep breath, suppressed her anger, and started to strategize. "It's not that I don't want to help you, it's just that I don't have the ability to help you right now!
How about this: I'll move the press conference to tomorrow. As long as Chen Lishu becomes my defeated opponent, I can then acquire her fashion company!
And as the main reason for this success, I can beg the boss to come up with thirty thousand yuan as a reward to express our gratitude! What do you say?"
When Xu Teng thought that the thirty thousand yuan would still require someone else's approval, he frowned and asked, "Is your boss reliable? If the plan succeeds, will he just discard me like a piece of trash?"
Yes, once the plan succeeded, Yang Lili couldn't wait to pack Xu Teng up and send him back to that dilapidated mountain village. But the plan hadn't succeeded yet, and she still needed Xu Teng for many things, so she wouldn't say such unpleasant things.
A mysterious and gentle smile appeared on Yang Lili's face as she slowly said,
"Don't worry, our boss is a very generous person. I guarantee you here that you will definitely receive your share of the money after the matter is successful!
Don't forget, we are birds of a feather. Would I lie to you? If you go rogue and leak all our dealings, then I'll be at a considerable loss!"
Xu Teng found Yang Lili's words to be reasonable. He then took a deep breath and slowly said, "Alright, I will cooperate with you to take down Chen Lishu. As long as you give me thirty thousand yuan after this is over, I will return to where I belong and will absolutely not become a stumbling block in your business!"
With that, Xu Teng left Yang Lili's office without looking back. He thought the matter had been resolved, unaware that Chen Lishu would not let him off so easily.
When Uncle San and Xiao Zhang left the luxury hotel, Chen Lishu had already called and sent people to intercept them along the way.
"I never expected this bumpkin from the sticks, Xu Teng, to be so rich. I've earned seventy to eighty thousand yuan from him these past few days. That's enough for our family's income for two to three years!"
"Yes, I heard that Xu Teng is using Chen Lishu's influence to start a business, apparently helping the villagers sell pigs. With the pig plague just ending, many businesses need to resume operations and require a lot of pork. These pigs can sell for a good price."
"But he's already taken the money he just earned and gambled it away with us brothers. I wonder if Xu Teng can even sleep soundly these days!
We should maintain a good relationship with him; maybe we can even squeeze more money out of him. I just don't know if he still has any pigs."
"..."
Listening to their discussions, Uncle San trembled with anger. "He... he actually took our hard-earned money and gambled it away! That scoundrel, I'm going back to demand justice!"
With that, Uncle San, trembling, prepared to turn back. Xiao Zhang quickly stepped forward to stop him and said, "Uncle San, don't go. I've heard through the grapevine that Xu Teng has found powerful backing. If we go empty-handed to offend him, it's uncertain whether we can even return alive!"