"With me here, let's see who dares to send him in, who dares to twist facts."
Before the young policeman could finish speaking, Jiang Quan, impatient, stepped forward and met his gaze at close range.
"You..." The young policeman, hearing words even more arrogant than his own, was about to curse. But upon seeing Jiang Quan's expectant expression, he froze instantly.
Wasn't this the son of his superior's superior? Why would he speak up for an outsider?
Regardless of his reasons for helping this outsider, it wasn't something a mere subordinate like him could interfere with.
Thinking this, the young policeman's previously furious expression vanished, undergoing a complete 360-degree turn. He clasped his fists, bowed, and said, "So it's Comrade Jiang. It was my blindness for not seeing you. Please don't be angry."
Jiang Quan snorted, turned his face away indifferently, and asked, "Who did you say you wanted to send in for a 'life experience' just now?"
His tone wasn't heavy, but it made the young policeman break out in a cold sweat. Jiang Quan was the son of the Jiang City Public Security Bureau Chief. What had he just done, wanting to send in someone protected by Comrade Jiang? This was courting death!
"Heh, a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. You misheard. This troublesome fellow misrepresented the situation. Come and apologize." The young policeman grabbed the bald man, pressed his neck, and demanded the bald man apologize to Zhang Liunian and the others.
"Old..." The bald man didn't understand why his friend was acting this way and reluctantly started to retort, but before he could speak, the young policeman stopped him. "For the future, you'd better apologize quickly."
The bald man was speechless and wanted to ask why, but trusting his friend, he suppressed many thoughts and quietly said, "I'm sorry."
Zhang Liunian looked at the unwilling and temporarily subdued bald man, but didn't speak. Instead, he cast his gaze towards Jiang Quan.
Receiving Zhang Liunian's gaze, Jiang Quan puffed out his chest and then looked at the bald man, saying sarcastically, "Such a soft voice, did you not eat?"
The bald man was about to get angry, but his friend again pressed his neck and heard him whisper in his ear, "He's the son of our boss's boss."
Boom!
With just that sentence, the bald man's vision went black. He hadn't expected an outsider to have such a powerful backer. Would his extortion scheme fall through?
"Speak up, are you mute?" Jiang Quan crossed his arms, staring intently at the bald man, deliberately making him uncomfortable.
The bald man, with no way to explain his predicament, closed his eyes and shouted with resignation, "I'm sorry!"
The sound startled the surrounding neighbors, who all stopped their activities and looked over.
Jiang Quan finally seemed satisfied, but the earlier bullying of his master was akin to slapping his face. "Tell me, how will your shop be handled? Will you compensate..."
Midway through his sentence, Jiang Quan remembered he hadn't asked Zhang Liunian for his thoughts. He walked up to Zhang Liunian and said kindly, "Master, do you want this shop? I see your business is good, and you happen to be lacking a storefront. This shop, though burned, is quite large, which should suit you."
Zhang Liunian looked at him deeply and sighed. He had unknowingly incurred a debt of gratitude, and it seemed this disciple was unavoidable.
Fortunately, he didn't dislike his conduct. Otherwise, he would rather not have it.
"If the price is right, I can buy it," Zhang Liunian thought. He could indeed buy it and later build a three-story building here, which would be enough to become his primary base in Jiang City.
Seeing Zhang Liunian willing to buy, Jiang Quan turned with a cold face to the bald man and said, "Tell me, at what price will you sell?"
"..." The bald man was stunned. Wasn't this forced buying and selling? Had retribution come so quickly?
But he didn't want to sell. He only wanted compensation. However, under the pressure of everyone's gazes, he finally held up two fingers.
"Two thousand? That's sensible of you," Jiang Quan said with a satisfied smile.
The bald man panicked, "What two thousand? It's twenty thousand."
Jiang Quan's smiling face instantly fell. The young policeman was sweating profusely and slapped the bald man's shoulder. "State a reasonable price. Comrade Jiang won't make things difficult for you."
He truly didn't know his limits, daring to demand twenty thousand. It seemed he truly valued money over his life.
The bald man knew he had tried to steal a chicken only to lose the rice. Not only would he not get compensation, but he would also have to give up his shop.
"Eighty-five thousand. This is the lowest price I can accept. If not, I'll never sell."
The price the bald man quoted was still a bit inflated, but not by much.
Jiang Quan knew the value of this area of shops well, as his maternal grandfather's family had shops here on the main street. Shops there were worth only eight to ten thousand. As for this place, seven to eight thousand would be about right. However, the bald man's shop was large, estimated to be over three hundred square meters.
"You..."
"Alright. The extra is considered compensation for burning your house." Before Jiang Quan could finish, Zhang Liunian preempted him and agreed.
He knew the price was slightly inflated, but not excessively, and it was acceptable. Moreover, this matter had involved Jiang Quan.
Seeing Zhang Liunian satisfied with the price, Jiang Quan stepped forward and whispered, "Master, this price is still a bit high."
Zhang Liunian smiled and replied, "I know, but his shop was indeed burned down while we were renting it. We still need to provide some compensation. Don't get involved further; it won't look good for your reputation."
Given Jiang Quan's status, Zhang Liunian was sure he could acquire this shop for a few hundred dollars. However, since Jiang Quan had helped him, he naturally couldn't let him be blamed.
Jiang Quan hadn't expected that Zhang Liunian's acceptance of this price was partly out of consideration for him. He was so touched that he felt like hugging Zhang Liunian and calling him master right away.
"Master..."
Jiang Quan was so moved he didn't know what to say. Zhang Liunian, however, twitched his mouth and looked at the bald man. "Let's go. Transfer ownership and payment."
The bald man nodded. An hour later, Zhang Liunian returned to the scene.
"Brother Liunian, we've sold all the goods," Du Ziteng said as soon as he saw Zhang Liunian and the others return.
"Got it."
Zhang Liunian scanned Du Ziteng, Zhang Li, and the old driver. He keenly noticed that Zhang Li's hand was bandaged. "You're injured. Go to the clinic for treatment quickly. Ziteng, accompany him."
"Okay," Du Ziteng replied, pulling Zhang Li to get treatment.
After they left, Zhang Liunian looked at Li Shu, who was beaming. He was holding all the cash from the goods sold earlier.
"Boss Zhang, this is the money from the first batch. Take it." Li Shu handed ten thousand yuan to Zhang Liunian.
"By the way, you're familiar with Jiang City. Can you find some skilled builders? I've bought this shop, and I plan to build a three-story cement building. I'll draw the blueprints myself. They just need to help me build the shop within a month." Zhang Liunian stopped Li Shu and assigned him a task.
Li Shu was stunned upon hearing this. He had bought it? He was really quick. "Leave this to me."
Zhang Liunian buying this place to rebuild was also good for them. They wouldn't have to worry about changing locations to ship goods anymore, nor would they have to worry about landlords raising prices or refusing to rent, and many other troubles.
After Li Shu left, Zhang Liunian finally looked at Jiang Quan and his good friend Wang Xiao Shi.
"Master... can we be your disciples now?" Jiang Quan asked nervously as Zhang Liunian looked at them.
"I'm curious why you both want to learn this," Zhang Liunian said, not refusing them directly this time, but inquiring about their original intentions.