Return of the Celestial King

Chapter 197: Chapter 197: The Exorbitant Bill

Upon hearing Fang Zhengliang’s affirmative response, a cryptic smile played on Long Wu’s lips.

He waved his hand, and his two underlings immediately stepped back and stood to the side.

Meanwhile, Fang Hao had been beaten speechless.

His eyes were filled with sheer terror, and his hands were clamped tightly around his head.

Clearly, the beating had terrified him into submission.

Long Wu said casually,

"Alright then. Each bottle of this wine is worth four hundred thousand. He drank two, so that’s eight hundred thousand. Since that’s the case, you can compensate me with eight hundred thousand!"

"What? Eight hundred thousand?"

Hearing this, even the bigwigs present were all somewhat surprised.

Fang Zhengliang himself couldn’t help but wince at the amount.

He asked tentatively,

"Master Long, couldn’t you be a bit more lenient? Maybe a little less?"

Long Wu’s eyes immediately shot wide as he glared and cursed,

"Your good-for-nothing bastard of a son drank my wine, and I haven’t even settled the score with your family! This eight hundred thousand is for a vintage so rare you can’t buy it even if you have the money, and you have the gall to haggle with me? In that case, keep beating him!"

Fang Zhengliang’s expression changed instantly, and he waved his hands frantically.

"Alright, alright, stop hitting him! I’ll pay you, I promise I’ll pay you the money!"

At that moment, it felt as if his heart was bleeding, drop by drop.

You have to understand, ever since taking office as the Director of the Food Bureau, he had certainly used his authority to rake in a good deal of illicit income.

But eight hundred thousand was by no means a small sum for him!

Paying out this eight hundred thousand would be a major blow to his personal wealth, enough to cripple him financially.

Nearby, Qin Hongjian and his family were all trembling in fear.

Without a doubt, their family had also drunk a fair amount of the two bottles; in fact, one could say Qin Hongjian had polished off most of it himself.

Seeing that so much money had to be paid, Qin Hongjian hung his head low, wishing he could crawl into a hole, terrified that Fang Hao would rat him out.

But Fang Hao had apparently been beaten stupid and had completely forgotten about that detail.

And so, Fang Zhengliang had no choice but to foot the bill for his son.

With his son, Fang Hao, on the verge of being beaten to death, he could only grit his teeth and make the transfer on the spot.

Once the eight hundred thousand had been transferred, Fang Zhengliang squeezed his eyes shut, his face a mask of utter despair.

He’d spent so long scraping together what little he had, and now it had all been paid out in one fell swoop.

Seeing that the matter was settled, Xu Zhigang waved a hand to smooth things over.

"Alright, since the misunderstanding has been cleared up and the money has been paid, let’s just leave it at that!"

Seeing that Xu Zhigang had spoken, Long Wu gave a cold snort and let Fang Zhengliang off the hook.

Xu Zhigang stood by Qin Tuo’s side and took the initiative to pour him a full cup of tea.

Witnessing this detail, the corners of everyone’s mouths couldn’t help but twitch again.

Qin Hongjian and his family also saw the gesture, and their hearts churned like a raging sea, unable to calm down.

Suddenly, Qin Hongjian took a deep breath, mustered up his courage, and walked forward.

"Qin Tuo, please don’t hold this against us. Your uncle was wrong before. I apologize to you on behalf of my family!"

As Qin Hongjian spoke, he bowed his head low.

Behind him, the faces of his family members were also etched with deep shame.

The atmosphere was utterly silent. Faced with Qin Hongjian’s apology, Qin Tuo showed no intention of acknowledging him.

After the outrageous things Qin Hongjian’s family had said, Qin Tuo wasn’t about to let them off so easily.

But as long as Qin Tuo didn’t speak, Qin Hongjian didn’t dare to straighten his back.

After all, he had seen with his own eyes the terrifying power Qin Tuo commanded, to the point that even Xu Zhigang and the local kingpin, Long Wu, were so respectful toward him.

Thus, Qin Hongjian understood perfectly well that if he couldn’t obtain Qin Tuo’s forgiveness today, his entire family was probably finished.

Qin Tuo suddenly pointed to the table laden with food and asked,

"Long Wu, go ahead and tally up the bill. Let’s see how much this table costs."

Long Wu nodded, gave the table a casual glance, and said,

"For this whole spread, it’s two hundred thousand total!"

Upon hearing that the meal cost two hundred thousand, Qin Hongjian’s family felt their hearts lurch violently once again.

A bit of wishful thinking lingered in their minds. ’After all, Qin Tuo’s family is treating, so he should be the one to pay, right?’

However, Qin Tuo spoke slowly.

"Long Wu, they said they would be paying the bill. Go ahead and ask them for the two hundred thousand."

Long Wu nodded emphatically and grinned.

"Got it!"

His expression then turned ferocious as he shot a vicious glare at Qin Hongjian.

"Pay up! Two hundred thousand, and not a penny less!"

Qin Hongjian straightened up this time, but his face was a mask of pure bitterness.

He opened his mouth, desperate to say to Qin Tuo, ’But weren’t you the ones treating us today?’

But the memory of what had just happened made him lose his nerve instantly.

So, Qin Hongjian resorted to playing the sympathy card.

"Master Long, you see... we’re related to Qin Tuo. Couldn’t you give us a discount?"

But Long Wu was a sharp fellow. He could tell at a glance that Qin Tuo had no fondness for this family.

So, he said with a cold face,

"A discount? Two hundred thousand is already more than generous. Not a penny less. If you can’t produce the money, your entire family can forget about leaving Hong Lou today!"

Long Wu’s menacing presence immediately stunned Qin Hongjian into silence, his face turning deathly pale.

Beside him, Zhang Caixia grew agitated and couldn’t help but blurt out,

"Master Long, isn’t this just robbery? Two hundred thousand for a single table of food?"

Hearing her words, Long Wu’s face fell instantly, and a terrifying glint appeared in his eyes.

Qin Hongjian jumped in fright, gritted his teeth, and viciously slapped Zhang Caixia across the face.

The slap left Zhang Caixia completely stunned, tears welling up in her eyes.

"You... you hit me?"

Qin Hongjian cursed irritably,

"You stupid woman, shut your damn mouth!"

Qin Hongjian was furious with Zhang Caixia. ’This woman has no idea what kind of situation she’s in, yet she still dares to say such outrageous things?’

But clearly, Long Wu had no intention of letting Zhang Caixia off so easily. He asked with a cruel smile,

"It seems you have some issues with the price. Would you like me to itemize the bill for you, dish by dish?"

Qin Hongjian was terrified. He wouldn’t dare accept such an offer, so he quickly promised,

"Rest assured, Master Long! We’ll definitely pay. Since you say that’s the price, that’s the price. We won’t be a penny short."

Long Wu snorted coldly and ignored him.

From beginning to end, Qin Tuo remained seated, calmly sipping his tea as if he were a casual observer.

He didn’t speak, and the crowd of bigwigs around him didn’t dare to breathe too loudly.