Film and Television: Bao Zong has finance in his left hand and entertainment in his right.

The private room suddenly fell silent.

A few beads of sweat unknowingly rolled down Du Honggen's forehead.

That was cold sweat. Although Du Honggen had dozens of men under his command, he knew very well that his power was no match for the big shots in the gambling city.

They're not even in the same league. Even if Du Honggen wanted to carry his shoes, the other person would probably have to think twice!

The fact that the man in the casino was able to give Liu Xiaobao an IOU shows how deep their friendship was.

In the underworld, an IOU is money, and a valuable asset that can continuously generate interest. People in the underworld would never give away something as valuable as a money tree.

At least Du Honggen wouldn't!

After figuring out the pros and cons, Du Honggen instantly went from being a 'big boss' to a 'little brother'.

Suddenly, Du Honggen's expression changed, a smile spreading across his face. He asked Liu Xiaobao, "Mr. Bao, you suddenly brought this out. I wasn't prepared at all, and besides, I've been..."

Before Du Honggen could finish speaking, Liu Xiaobao interrupted him, saying, "Consider that as a gift to President Du, and don't mention it again!"

After Liu Xiaobao finished speaking, he couldn't help but find it amusing. He realized that Du Honggen thought he had come to collect debts!

However, compared to the 300,000 yuan debt, Du Honggen was more valuable to Liu Xiaobao.

So Liu Xiaobao decided to be generous and do Du Honggen a favor by giving him the IOU directly, as a sign of his goodwill.

Du Honggen was quite shrewd. Hearing what Liu Xiaobao said, he stuffed the IOU into his pocket while smiling and saying to Liu Xiaobao.

"Since Mr. Bao is so kind, then I, Du, will accept it without hesitation. I will remember Mr. Bao's kindness forever, and if Mr. Bao ever needs anything in the future, I, Du, will do my utmost to repay him!"

Liu Xiaobao could tell that Du Honggen, despite his imposing appearance, was probably not well-off.

Otherwise, Du Honggen wouldn't have been in such a hurry to take back the IOU; he would have directly returned the 300,000 yuan to Liu Xiaobao and then taken back the IOU.

Realizing this, Liu Xiaobao's smile deepened.

"We can talk about the future later. Let's talk about the present. Mr. Du, what are your plans regarding the Zhizhen Garden incident today?"

Chapter 26 Slapping Lu Meilin in Anger (Please collect and give flowers)

Upon hearing Liu Xiaobao's question, Du Honggen couldn't help but turn to look at Lu Meilin.

"Meilin, please give Mr. Bao some face and stop making things difficult for Zhizhen Garden. We're all doing business right next to each other, so let's make money peacefully!"

Everyone was incredulous at Du Honggen's sudden change.

However, everyone could see that the reason Du Honggen had changed was entirely because of what was in that envelope.

Therefore, everyone was very curious about what was inside the envelope.

However, Du Honggen had already carefully hidden the envelope away from his body, so even if others were curious, they couldn't find out.

Unaware of the true situation, Lu Meilin found it unacceptable that Du Honggen had gone from supporting her to speaking on behalf of Zhizhenyuan to reconcile with her.

"Du Honggen, whose side are you on? If you can't handle this, get out of here. Things have come to this point, and I'm not going to let this go. Otherwise, how will I, Lu Meilin, ever have the face to stand on Huanghe Road again?"

After venting her dissatisfaction to Du Honggen, Lu Meilin turned to look at Liu Xiaobao and spat coldly.

"Pah! Giving Mr. Bao face? He doesn't even dine at my Jinmeilin restaurant often, why should I give him face? Besides, he's just a guy who does foreign trade. I'll call him Mr. Bao when I want to, but when I don't, he's nothing to me..."

Snapped!

Before Lu Meilin could finish speaking, a loud slap rang out from the private room.

It turned out that Liu Xiaobao, who had been silent all along, suddenly raised his hand and slapped Lu Meilin across the face.

Liu Xiaobao's slap not only interrupted Lu Meilin's words, but also left five clear finger marks on Lu Meilin's face, and even a trace of blood oozed from the corner of Lu Meilin's mouth.

Meanwhile, everyone in the private room was so shocked by Liu Xiaobao's unexpected slap that they couldn't close their mouths.

They were all stunned by Liu Xiaobao's slap, but they could also understand why Liu Xiaobao had acted that way.

If it were them, and Lu Meilin had publicly belittled them like that, they too would have been tempted to slap her.

So everyone was surprised by Liu Xiaobao's move, but they could all understand why he did it.

The reason Liu Xiaobao took action at this time was that he was genuinely angered by Lu Meilin's words.

Secondly, he intentionally wanted to give Du Honggen a hard time and intimidate him.

After all, Liu Xiaobao is currently using someone else's name to show off his power. If Liu Xiaobao cannot overpower Du Honggen in terms of momentum now, he may not be able to control Du Honggen. If Du Honggen acts rashly and acts out for the sake of a woman, Liu Xiaobao will really be unable to handle the situation.

Just as Liu Xiaobao had predicted, Du Honggen was stunned by the sudden slap Liu Xiaobao delivered and stood frozen in place for a moment.

The other party involved, Lu Meilin, was used to being arrogant. She never expected Liu Xiaobao to dare to slap her, so she was completely stunned by Liu Xiaobao's slap.

However, once Lu Meilin came to her senses, she immediately lost her temper.

Lu Meilin's eyes widened in fury, and she roared at Liu Xiaobao like a shrew from the countryside, "How dare you slap me! I'll fight you to the death..."

As Lu Meilin spoke, she lunged directly at Liu Xiaobao.

Snapped!

Before Lu Meilin's hand could even touch Liu Xiaobao, Liu Xiaobao slapped Lu Meilin across the other cheek.

Perhaps Lu Meilin lost her balance halfway through her journey.

Or perhaps Liu Xiaobao struck in anger, and the slap was too forceful.

Lu Meilin was slapped more than a meter away by Liu Xiaobao before crashing heavily to the ground.

At this moment, Liu Xiaobao spoke.

"You say I'm just a trader carrying a basket, and you're just a small restaurant owner? I don't know where you get the confidence to be so arrogant and domineering. Do you really think everyone is afraid of you? People just don't want to lower themselves to your level. If you dare to act recklessly again today because of President Du, believe me, I'll make sure your Jin Meilin restaurant closes down today, and President Du won't dare to say a word!"

Hearing Liu Xiaobao's sarcastic remark, Lu Meilin was filled with shame and anger, and she didn't take Liu Xiaobao's threat too seriously.

However, Lu Meilin knew that she was no match for Liu Xiaobao even if she tried to fight him, so she could only turn around and roar at Du Honggen.

"Du Honggen, are you dead? Didn't you see I was beaten? Now get your men to avenge me!"

In the past, Du Honggen would probably have taken action long ago without Lu Meilin's reminder.

But now, facing Liu Xiaobao, Du Honggen didn't dare to make a move at all, because he didn't dare to offend that person from the gambling city.

Besides, Liu Xiaobao had just given him the IOU unconditionally. The debt of 300,000 yuan was a huge sum for him at the moment, and he owed Liu Xiaobao a great favor.

So even though Lu Meilin was Du Honggen's former lover, Du Honggen was too embarrassed and dared not lay a hand on Liu Xiaobao!

No matter how much Lu Meilin roared and cursed, Du Honggen still didn't order anyone to attack Liu Xiaobao.

Of course, Du Honggen wouldn't just stand by and watch Lu Meilin get beaten up. He couldn't avenge Lu Meilin, but he still had to protect her.

Du Honggen rushed to Lu Meilin's side, helped her up, then shielded her behind him, and turned to Liu Xiaobao to plead for her.

"Mr. Bao, Meilin is just a woman, she doesn't know her place and offended you. I apologize on her behalf. Please forgive her this time, Mr. Bao, for my sake!"

Seeing that Du Honggen not only didn't help her get revenge, but also bowed his head and begged Liu Xiaobao for mercy, Lu Meilin, who was used to being domineering, couldn't stand it anymore.

"Du Honggen, are you even a man? Seeing me being bullied, not only did you not stand up for me, but you also groveled and begged for mercy..."

Du Honggen didn't let Lu Meilin continue. He sternly rebuked her, interrupting her.

"Shut up, or I'll never take care of you again!"

Chapter 27 Resolving the Crisis at Zhizhen Garden (Please add to your favorites and give flowers)

Lu Meilin was jolted awake by Du Honggen's loud shout.

Although Lu Meilin is usually arrogant and domineering, and seems to have nothing to hide, she is definitely not stupid, otherwise she would not have been able to make Jin Meilin so successful.

She was well aware of her own situation; she had neither power nor money. The reason she dared to be so arrogant and domineering, as Liu Xiaobao said, was simply because she had Du Honggen backing her up.

Without Du Honggen, Lu Meilin would not have been able to continue living such an arrogant life.

Seeing that Du Honggen was truly angry, Lu Meilin wisely shut her mouth, no matter how resentful she was. However, she still glared at Liu Xiaobao with resentment.

It wasn't until Du Honggen glared at Lu Meilin again that Lu Meilin calmed down a bit and shifted her resentful gaze to the side.

Seeing that Lu Meilin had stopped making a fuss, Du Honggen turned to Liu Xiaobao and said...

"Mr. Bao, I'll stand up for Meilin. We'll compensate Zhizhen Garden tenfold for its losses today. And Meilin will never go against Zhizhen Garden again. Are you satisfied with this arrangement?"

Liu Xiaobao didn't respond to Du Honggen's words, but instead turned to look at Li Li.

Li Li understood, and at that moment she spoke up.

"It's just a small loss, so there's no need for you to spend money, Mr. Du. I just hope that Mr. Du's words will be true, and that Jin Meilin will really not cause any more trouble for Zhizhen Garden in the future!"

Du Honggen nodded repeatedly and replied, "Of course, I, Du Honggen, keep my word. If Meilin doesn't listen to me and comes to cause trouble for your Zhizhen Garden again, then you won't need to lift a finger, Miss Li; I'll personally smash her Jin Meilin."

Li Li was satisfied and gave Liu Xiaobao a "enough is enough" look.

Liu Xiaobao had no intention of making things difficult for Du Honggen in the first place, and now that he saw that Li Li was satisfied, he didn't plan to escalate the situation any further.

However, there are some things that Liu Xiaobao still wants to ask for.

At this moment, Liu Xiaobao said, "As the saying goes, it's better to resolve conflicts than to let them fester. It's much better for everyone to make money together. President Du, I'll give you face. As long as Lu Meilin apologizes to Miss Li, we'll pretend that nothing happened today. From now on, Jin Meilin will still be a good neighbor of Zhizhen Garden, and we can still make money together on Huanghe Road!"

Upon hearing Liu Xiaobao's request, a look of gratitude lit up in Li Li's eyes.

She knew very well what Lu Meilin's apology would mean; it would signify her victory in this battle and also earn her dignity and prestige on the Yellow River Road.

Du Honggen, however, looked troubled. He also knew that if Lu Meilin apologized to Li Li, it would mean that Lu Meilin was admitting defeat to Li Li.