Du Ziteng looked at their indignant faces, his fists clenching.
"Isn't this what you brought upon yourselves? Who can you blame? Don't you forget, we went to great lengths, calling and messaging you repeatedly this week to resolve this matter, but you ignored our calls, never replied to our messages, and all hid at home like cowards.
If that's the case, then we'll just close the department store and see who's tougher."
Seeing their overwhelming numbers, Du Ziteng decided to clarify the situation to prevent any misunderstanding of Brother Liunian.
"You're spouting nonsense, you never notified us," someone from among the merchants retorted.
Others chimed in, "You never notified us, and yet you want to close the doors."
"You're treating us like fools, taking our money time and time again."
"..."
Du Ziteng was enraged by their shamelessness. He opened his mouth and said, "We have call records on our phones. How can you even utter such lies? It's a disgrace to the merchants of Nancheng, and it also opens everyone's eyes to what kind of people you are."
The merchants had only been making noise earlier, not thinking too deeply about how easily their lie could be exposed. Hearing Du Ziteng's words, they fell silent for a moment.
Fortunately, Wang Dachui stepped forward at the opportune moment to ease the awkwardness. "Say whatever you want. The landline is yours, and we, the victims, will not let you close the doors. You have no right to close them."
"Whether we have the right or not, you'll see," Du Ziteng said, leading everyone to continue rushing in to close the doors.
Wang Dachui and the others were unwilling, and the two groups began to pull and tug. Gradually, the situation escalated from a tug-of-war to a fight.
Just as the two groups were in a melee, Wang Fugui arrived at the scene with dozens of police officers.
"Gathering to fight, creating chaos, causing public panic, and spreading the virus – take them all away."
Upon hearing Wang Fugui's words, Wang Dachui and the others were stunned.
"Comrade, we are not fighting; we are merely seeking justice. This department store is about to close without notice. As partners who have paid rent, we naturally cannot allow them to close. If they truly close, how can we do business?" Wang Dachui attempted to argue.
However, Wang Fugui gave him no chance. "From what I know, this department store is not yours. You are merely tenants, and they are apparently closing because you are not cooperating with rent payments and contract signings. This is entirely your own doing. No matter how much you say, it's useless. Take them away."
Wang Fugui was resolute. With a single command, he had everyone present taken away.
Seeing that escape was impossible, Wang Dachui signaled to the Red Gang members waiting for his orders in the distance.
After they left, Li Chunhua intended to close the department store. The group instantly appeared and continued to obstruct them. However, Wang Fugui gave them no opportunity. Upon learning that more people were preventing the closure, he again brought his men and sent everyone to jail.
After being arrested twice, with the Nancheng jail almost at capacity, the department store finally managed to close its doors.
And it remained closed until the owner, Zhang Liunian, personally arrived and reopened it.
This resulted in direct losses of five to six hundred thousand yuan for these merchants, and they all harbored intense hatred for Zhang Liunian's actions.
But that is a story for later. Returning to the present, they were all in jail, and after the full details of the incident were understood, they were all sentenced to half a month's detention.
Meanwhile, Zhang Liunian encountered Mr. Xue at the entrance of Zhu Laosan's house in Hero Square.
"Comrade Zhang, are you here to take over the department store?" Mr. Xue was not surprised to see Zhang Liunian in the provincial capital, as the department store was something he had personally given to him.
"No, my wife was kidnapped by Zhu Laosan again. I'm here to find her," Zhang Liunian replied with a grimace.
"How could Zhu Laosan do such a thing again? Are other people's women that appealing?" Mr. Xue also had a woman he loved, and though not his wife, she was dearer than one. Thus, he deeply sympathized with Zhang Liunian's predicament.
"He probably just likes to snatch what belongs to others. Mr. Xue, I can't chat for long; I need to go find Qingqing."
"Wait, let me accompany you! With me there, Zhu Laosan won't go too far." Mr. Xue was a boss from Hong Kong, and Zhu Laosan would have to show him a lot of consideration.
Zhang Liunian was taken aback but did not refuse. Perhaps Mr. Xue could indeed help him.
And so, the two cars headed towards the outskirts. Coincidentally, as they reached the entrance of Zhu's house, they encountered Zhu Laosan, returning from the hospital with his left arm in a sling.
The moment Zhang Liunian saw Zhu Laosan, he lunged forward, intending to subdue him and force him to reveal his wife's whereabouts. However, he was met with Zhu Laosan's gun.
"Take one more step, and believe me, I'll blow you away right now," Zhu Laosan said, a bloodthirsty grin on his face as he looked at Zhang Liunian, who was just within reach.
If it weren't for Mr. Xue accompanying him, he would have wanted to blow Zhang Liunian away directly. But Mr. Xue had deep connections and a strong background, so if he wanted to help Zhang Liunian, he couldn't just watch him get hurt.
"Zhu Laosan, hand over my Qingqing," Zhang Liunian stopped in his tracks, looking at the extremely arrogant Zhu Laosan and secretly calculating how he could deal with Zhu Laosan once and for all.
"What are you talking about? I don't understand," Zhu Laosan said, inwardly startled. How did Zhang Liunian know Jiang Qingqing was in his hands? And why did he find this place so quickly? Could Mr. Xue have helped him? It had to be. Otherwise, he would never have received the news and found this place so soon.
"Heh heh! Learned to play dumb? The last time you kidnapped my Qingqing, you were caught red-handed. Now you don't even dare to admit it?" Zhang Liunian sneered, taking half a step forward.
Seeing this, Zhu Laosan immediately took half a step back, widening the distance between them. He had no intention of admitting to anything he had done, nor would he return Jiang Qingqing to Zhang Liunian, as he had not yet had his way with her. "Do I, Zhu Laosan, need to lie? If it's not there, it's not there. You're making groundless accusations and smearing me. Do you really think Zhu Laosan is easy to deal with and that I won't dare to touch you!"
Despite his words, he knew very well that in terms of pure strength, neither of them could defeat Zhang Liunian, that scoundrel, unless they used firearms.
"Is it really not there, or is it fake? I'll know once I go inside," Zhang Liunian was determined to enter and see.
But Zhu Laosan would never let him in, because as soon as he entered, his actions would be exposed. Jiang Qingqing was inside his house.
At that point, Zhang Liunian might send him to jail again. This madman's favorite pastime was sending him to the slammer.
He, Zhu Laosan, couldn't afford to lose face in the provincial capital.
"This is my house, Zhu Laosan's house. If you dare to break in, don't blame us for taking drastic measures," Zhu Laosan said, pointing the gun at Zhang Liunian's face.
Seeing this, Zhang Liunian not only wasn't afraid but even laughed. Because in that instant, he suddenly raised his hand and twisted, and the gun in Zhu Laosan's hand snapped into pieces. Then, he closed the distance and grabbed Zhu Laosan by the neck, successfully choking him.
"You... let me go." The change came too suddenly, giving Zhu Laosan no chance to react.
By the time he reacted, he was already in Zhang Liunian's grasp, and his life was in Zhang Liunian's hands.