A hundred flavors of life

Chapter 1327 Qu Lianjie: You beast! (Please subscribe!)
As Qu Xiaoxiao's parents drove out of the Joyful Ode residential complex, Qu's mother said angrily:
"I held back from saying anything when my daughter was here, but Lao Qu, that little bastard bullied us like that, are we just going to let it go like this? Look, your eye is all bruised!"

"Let it go? How could we possibly let it go!"

Compared to Qu Xiaoxiao, Qu's father was much more shrewd in his approach. After leaving Building 19, he immediately used his phone to contact a high-ranking official in the Joyful Ode property management company.

"Hello, this is Qu Yongquan from Yaohong Group."

He had it all planned out. First, he would get the elevator's security camera footage, edit it, and only keep the part where Hua Shier physically assaulted someone. Then, he would take his driver, bodyguard, and himself to the police station to have his injuries checked.

In short, we can't just sit idly by and let this slap in the face go unpunished; we have to make that kid pay the price.

Five minutes later, the property management called back to say that the other party had struck first and had already copied the video.

Qu's father's plans were immediately put on hold, realizing that he could not avenge Wu Yanqing.

He touched the eye that had been hit, hissing in pain, and felt extremely resentful.

"What's wrong, Lao Qu? They're not going to give you any face, are they?"

Seeing her husband's somewhat embarrassed and incredulous expression, Qu's mother was deeply moved.

Mr. Qu explained to her:

"It's not about saving face now; it's that kid's too cunning. He's already copied the elevator's security footage. If we try to cause him trouble, he can produce the footage to prove we started it."

Halfway through his sentence, he suddenly became wary. He had asked for the video to set the other party up, but now the other party had obtained the surveillance footage from the elevator, which contained Lao Qu's contemptuous remarks and the fact that his family had instructed their bodyguards to beat people.

Although they didn't gain any advantage, they were ultimately in the wrong.

That's judging others by one's own standards.
Could the other party have the same idea as him and use the surveillance footage to scam them?

You have to understand that their company has several projects underway. If negative news breaks out and people think that the leader of the group has poor character, wouldn't that be a case of losing more than you gain?
After thinking it over, Mr. Qu decided that he had to get the surveillance footage back from the boy. He called the property manager again and got the name and phone number that Hua Shier left when he signed the rental contract. He wanted to call and talk to the manager to buy back the surveillance footage.

But Qu Yongquan hesitated to dial the number, feeling too proud to do so. After all, he had just been beaten, and he didn't want to lower himself to beg for help at his age. Didn't he have any pride?

I thought about having my daughter talk to him, but I immediately gave up on the idea. That guy doesn't seem like a good person. It's best for my precious daughter to stay away from him.

Finally, after a moment's hesitation, Mr. Qu dialed a number and, upon receiving the call, gave the following instructions:
"Jianjie, where are you? Go do something for Dad."

After Hua Shier finished communicating with the renovation workers, he left the Joyful Song community. The workers said they would produce the design drawings as soon as possible and send them to his phone. If he was satisfied, he could go to the property management company to sign the contract for the renovation.

Just as he stepped out of the residential compound, an unknown number called his cell phone. Upon answering, the caller spoke rather rudely:

"You're Wang Baichuan?"

The tone was somewhat condescending.

Hua Shier was displeased by the other party's tone. According to the mission requirements, he had to refuse. He said directly:
"It's your father!"

"Fuck."

Just as the other party was about to start swearing, Hua Shier hung up the phone. Sigh, I'm done swearing now.

The sky was so bright, the land so vast, the emotions so stirring, and the heart so carefree—it was just so incredibly exhilarating!
The phone rang again immediately, and Hua Shier promptly blocked it!

The caller was Qu Xiaoxiao's older brother, Qu Lianjie. He received a call from Qu's father, who asked him to buy back a surveillance video from a man named Wang Baichuan. He said that paying some money was no big deal, the most important thing was to get the job done.

Qu Lianjie, used to being a spoiled rich kid, always thought that spending money made him a big shot, so he didn't speak nicely when he called. He was so angry by Hua Shier's words that he couldn't stand it. When he called back, he found that he had been blocked, which made him so angry that he developed breast hyperplasia.

He tried calling again from a different phone, and this time the call went through. Qu Lianjie immediately yelled:
"How dare you be so arrogant towards me?"

He was about to say, "Do you know who I am?" but was unexpectedly interrupted by Hua Shier:
"What are you talking about? I'm your father, so what if I'm a little arrogant with you?"

After saying that, I hung up the phone and promptly blocked the number!
Qu Lianjie had never suffered such a loss since he grew up. If it weren't for the fact that he hadn't failed to complete the task his father had given him, he would have smashed the phone.

He picked up the landline on his desk and dialed again. Before the call connected, he took two deep breaths and spoke first as soon as the call connected:
"Dude, I apologize for my tone earlier. Can you let me finish what I was saying?"

Hua Shier smiled and said:
"If you had just said this earlier, it would have been fine. Actually, I'm the easiest person to talk to. So, who are you? What do you want?"

Qu Lianjie really wanted to curse, but he had to hold back in order to complete his father's task.

"Let me introduce myself. My surname is Qu. My father had a small misunderstanding with you in the elevator. I heard you have the surveillance footage from that time. Brother, could you return it to us? Of course, I can also offer you some compensation."

When Hua Shier first heard the other party say they wanted surveillance footage, he almost laughed. What would he do with it? Edit it to trick him?
But when he heard that the other party would offer compensation, he raised an eyebrow:
You mean you want to buy it with money?

Qu Lianjie laughed and said, "A problem that can be solved with money is definitely not a problem, right?"

Hua Shier smiled and said, "Alright, let's find a place and talk in person!"

A Western restaurant on the Bund.

Hua Shier was enjoying his tomahawk steak when Qu Lianjie across from him said with a look of disdain:
"How about I get you a thousand yuan, the security camera footage, and a signed guarantee that I won't keep a backup?"

Hua Shier ate meat extremely quickly, soon putting the last piece of beef into his mouth. After finishing, he put down his knife and fork, picked up the red wine next to him, took a sip, and then extended a finger with his left hand.

Qu Lianjie frowned: "Ten thousand yuan?"

Hua Shier scoffed, his face full of disdain.

"It can't be 100,000, can it? Are you out of your mind for money?!"

Qu Lianjie found it somewhat unbelievable.

Hua Twelve said, word by word:
"Ten million, not a penny less!"

Qu Lianjie was so angry he laughed: "Do you know what you're saying? Ten million? Holy crap, have you ever seen that much money before?!"

Hua Shier wiped his mouth with a napkin and said with a smile:
"I've stated my conditions. Whether you agree or not is up to you. Excuse me, I'm going to have a smoke. Think it over carefully!"

After Hua Shier left, Qu Lianjie sneered, "These days, there are all sorts of mental illnesses!"

He picked up his phone to call his father and tell him that the man was crazy.

But when it came time to dial the number, Qu Lianjie suddenly hesitated.

Recently, the subsidiary he manages has been performing poorly, and his stepmother has been badmouthing him to his father. If he fails to handle this small task assigned by Lao Qu today, wouldn't that make him look even more incompetent?

Who knows what his stepmother will say about him then?

Suddenly, Qu Lianjie's eyes lit up, and he had an idea.

He took out his phone, turned on the recording mode, put it in his suit pocket, and then got up to go to the restroom.

It wasn't lunchtime yet, so there weren't many customers in the Western restaurant. In the smoking area next to the restroom, only Hua Shier was smoking.

After Qu Lianjie arrived, he immediately said:

"You're asking for too much. Can you reduce the amount? Brother, just give me a new number so I can report back!"

Hua Shier reached out and lightly patted Qu Lianjie's chest. When he withdrew his hand, he had a cell phone in his hand.
"I have some ideas, but unfortunately not many!"

Hua Shier turned off his phone and threw it onto the sink.

Qu Lianjie's scheme was exposed, and he became somewhat embarrassed and angry:
"Don't push your luck! Ten million more? Believe me, I'll make sure you never leave the Bund alive!"

Hua Shier extended one finger towards Qu Lianjie again.

Qu Lianjie frowned: "What do you mean?"

Hua Shier stretched forward and landed right on Lian Jie's left eye. The latter cried out and covered his eye, tears streaming down his face.

A waiter came over to check after hearing the noise, and Hua Shier helped explain: "My friend got sand in his eye, at most he'll go blind, it's nothing serious!"

waiter:
As soon as the waiter left, Hua Shier grabbed Qu Lianjie's hair and lifted his head up:
"You think I can't even leave the Bund? How can you talk such nonsense! Are you Du Yuesheng or Zhang Xiaolin? You think you can do what they couldn't?"

Hua Shier burst out laughing, and then analyzed the pros and cons for Qu Lianjie:

"You've been negotiating the domestic distribution rights with GI Air Conditioning recently, haven't you?"

"Your real estate company has two projects with funding exceeding one billion yuan under review, right?"

"Tell me, if at this critical juncture, videos of your father looking down on poor people and your stepmother instructing her bodyguards to beat people were to surface on the internet, and then online trolls added fuel to the fire, what do you think the consequences would be?"

As soon as Qu Lianjie followed this line of thought, he broke out in a cold sweat.

Hua Twelve scoffed:
"Your family assets are only 500 million, but you've spread out billions of dollars worth of projects, with 80% of the funds coming from bank loans. Do you think your whole family will have to beg for food if those two projects don't get approved?"

"Do you think I need over ten million from you? You should thank me, you know that?!"

He was referring to information that he had T1000 retrieve by hacking into the network before he arrived at the restaurant.

Qu Lianjie was initially furious, but after Hua Shier finished speaking, he lost all his temper and even forgot about the pain in his left eye, feeling cold sweat pouring down his face.

Hua Shier released his head, then turned on the sink faucet to wash his hands, and then dried them on Qu Lianjie's suit worth tens of thousands of yuan.

"You should wash your hair, it's a bit oily!"

Qu Lianjie's eye twitched: "What exactly do you want?"

Hua Twelve chuckled and said:
"I want to help you. You see, I need ten million, but you can go back and quote your dad twenty million. Then tell your dad what I just said, and do you think he'll agree to give you the money?"

"If he agrees, we'll split it 50/50, and you'll make ten million!"

"Think about it, the money in your family isn't necessarily yours, but this ten million will definitely go into your pocket!"

Qu Lianjie's eyes lit up, as if he had discovered a new continent.
After leaving the Western restaurant, Hua Shier went to the Peace Hotel and booked a room to wait for Qu Lianjie's reply. He planned to stay there during the renovation of the house in Ode to Joy, trading stocks in his room during the day and ordering food directly from Longfeng Hall, which was both delicious and convenient.

Meanwhile, Qu Lianjie returned home, and his father immediately noticed that one of his son's eyes was red. He asked with concern:
"Jet Jet, what happened to your eyes?"

Qu Lianjie complained, "It's all because of that Wang Baichuan. I was just trying to scare him, and he poked my eye."

He was halfway through his sentence when he noticed a dark spot under the old man's eye: "Dad, what happened to your eye?"

Mr. Qu coughed lightly: "That's not important, it's all trivial. How's the matter I asked you to handle?"

Qu Lianjie held up two fingers: "He wants twenty million!"

"How many?"

Not only was Mr. Qu startled, but even his stepmother, who was rolling her eyes, was shocked.

When Qu Lianjie recounted Hua Shier's earlier words, both Qu's father and mother gasped in shock.

Qu's mother asked worriedly:

"Old Qu, could this guy have come specifically for us? Otherwise, how would he know so much about our family's affairs? Besides, isn't this extortion? Should we call the police?"

Mr. Qu shook his head:

"No, do you have any evidence if we call the police? It's understandable that he copied the surveillance footage from the person involved. If we call the police, it might backfire and cause a media frenzy, turning a no-no into a problem!"

Mrs. Qu hesitated for a moment: "Then what should we do? Are we really going to give him twenty million?"

Mr. Qu sighed, "What else can we do? This is a critical moment for project approval, and we're also negotiating several other deals. If negative news breaks out now, things could really develop exactly as that kid predicted!"

Mother Qu tentatively suggested, "How about we let the fifth son do the work?"

The Qu family owns a real estate company, and like other real estate companies, they naturally employ special personnel to help handle difficult disputes—in other words, those who do the dirty work.

The fifth son that Qu's mother mentioned is the one who does this job.

Qu Lianjie was a little nervous. He was afraid that his father might agree on a whim, which would not only ruin his ten million yuan, but also make his father find out about his collusion with Wang Baichuan.

Mr. Qu thought for a moment and said, "Let's forget about it. Porcelain can't fight against tiles. Let's spend the money to avoid trouble first. As for the rest, we can deal with it after the project is approved!"

The next day, Qu Lianjie met Hua Shier at the Peace Hotel and immediately gave him a thumbs up:
"Dude, you're awesome. My dad didn't even haggle over the 20 million. He said we don't need the video anymore, you can just delete it. Now, how should I transfer this 10 million to you?"

Hua Shier looked puzzled:
"What do you mean ten million? It's clearly fifteen million! Don't be so greedy!"

Qu Lianjie was stunned: "No, that's not what you said yesterday. I helped you swindle money from my family, and you have the nerve to take the lion's share?"

"How dare you!"

Hua Shier smiled and pointed to a cabinet in the hotel room that looked quite historic:
"Do you see that camera on the cabinet? It's been filming you the whole time."

"If you don't give me 16 million, I guarantee your dad will see what you just said tonight and let him know that the Qu family has produced a thief in the family!"

Qu Lianjie was trembling with anger: "You!"

"What do you mean 'you'? Remember, it's seventeen million, not a penny less!"

"If you can't scrape together 18 million even if you're short a single penny, you can go back and cry!"

"Once I get this 19 million, I'll definitely keep my word. Don't worry, I, Wang Baichuan, am an honest and trustworthy person!"

Qu Lianjie's face turned pale. "Honesty and trustworthiness, my foot! Are you a devil?" In just a few words, his ten million had dwindled to one million. If he kept talking, he'd almost owe him money.

He suddenly stood up, looking down at Hua Shier sitting on the sofa, and said through gritted teeth:

"Hey Wang, I've trained in Sanda (Chinese kickboxing) for two years."

Hua Shier didn't even stand up. He kicked Qu Lianjie in the groin with his left foot, and Qu Lianjie immediately knelt down. Then, he comfortably performed a "Double Dragons Playing with a Pearl" move and finished the job.

Qu Lianjie covered his groin with one hand and his eyes with the other, howling and rolling on the ground before he finally calmed down.

Seeing that Qu Lianjie was almost done, Hua Shier took out a laptop, opened an overseas auction website, and pointed to an item on the page:
"This enamel spittoon artwork is one I consigned for auction. It's worth a little over 20 million RMB. You can just bid for it!"

Qu Lianjie felt like crying. This piece of art was exactly the same as the spittoon in his rural hometown when he was a child!
This overseas auction platform is actually a money laundering platform. The platform will take a certain commission to allow the Qu family's money to enter Hua Shier's account in a legitimate way.

Qu Lianjie left in tears because even 20 million yuan wasn't enough to buy that spittoon; he had also lost over a million yuan.

Beast!
Of course, Hua12 kept its word and deleted the surveillance video from its phone.

But after Qu Lianjie left, Hua Shier began to wonder.

With spending over 20 million yuan, why didn't Qu Lianjie check his 'Recently Deleted' list? What a spendthrift!
The next day, T1000 stayed in the room to help him trade stocks, while Hua Shier went out and rented an Audi R8 for transportation. It wasn't that he couldn't afford one, but getting a license plate was a bit of a hassle, so he decided to get a car to drive for now.

When renting a car, Hua Shier suddenly remembered that in the original plot, Wang Baichuan rented a car in Shanghai, probably because of the license plate, rather than because he couldn't afford an entry-level BMW.

After all, they've already rented office space in Shanghai to start a company, so why would they need 300,000 yuan to buy a car?

However, Fan Shengmei changed her attitude towards Wang Baichuan just because he rented a car, which can be described as short-sighted.

He drove his R8 around the streets of Shanghai for a while, then took out his phone and dialed a number that Wang Baichuan had found out from a classmate but had never had the courage to call.

"Are you Fan Shengmei? I'm Wang Baichuan."

Thanks to 08a, Little Tiger of the Demon Realm, and Dreamy Demon Brothers for their donations, and thanks to the brothers who voted for monthly tickets and recommendations. Thank you very much.