"I... I don't have any money..."
Wang Jingwu stared in astonishment, collapsing onto the ground.
Where would he get money?
How long had the hotel shares been transferred to his name? The turnover wasn't even enough to repay Li Zhonglou's investment.
Although he had taken his uncle's house and car, the money had gone back to the bank.
Now he was penniless, just an empty shell.
But Li Zhonglou's tone was firm to the extreme, leaving no room for negotiation.
"So Li Hanlong gave you an empty check, and you dare to betray your own uncle without money?" Li Zhonglou sneered, "Wang Jingwu, your brain must have been eaten by dogs."
"You think a simple 'I have no money' can dismiss me?"
As he spoke, he looked at Wu Zhijie, who was clearly frightened, and said, "Don't you have friends? Borrow from him."
Wu Zhijie's face instantly turned pale.
At this point, how could he not understand Li Zhonglou's intention?
Wang Jingwu had kicked a steel plate, and in doing so, had dragged himself into the pit as well.
This demon had made him less than a man, and he didn't even have a chance to retaliate.
Now, he was trampling on two friends, leaving him utterly defenseless.
Borrow money? It was clearly blackmail!
But could he dare to refuse?
Last time his vitality was crippled, this time he might just end up with broken bones all over.
Before Wang Jingwu could speak, Wu Zhijie nodded proactively, "Okay... how much... how much money, I'll borrow it..."
Wang Jingwu felt like he had been granted amnesty. Based on the shares he had received from Li Zhonglou earlier, it amounted to five million.
That was more than Li Zhonglou's original investment.
Seeing the money transferred into his account, Li Zhonglou chuckled coldly, considering the investment not a failure.
However, things didn't go as planned.
This matter was settled, but there were still other things to do.
"Send someone to pick up Wang Dehai. I'll wait for him here." Li Zhonglou had no intention of leaving.
He hadn't come here for the clown Wang Jingwu, but his real purpose was to find Wang Dehai.
This former underground overlord of Qin Prefecture, a scoundrel who valued loyalty above all, had been driven to the streets by his own nephew.
Such an end was truly lamentable.
Looking at his clothes, they weren't as dirty as a beggar's, just a bit disheveled. It seemed he hadn't suffered much physically.
After all, he had once been a man of influence with friends everywhere.
A skinny camel is still bigger than a horse. Even in his worst state, he wouldn't have truly ended up on the streets; that was just a figure of speech.
But being betrayed by his own nephew, having his house and car taken, was a blow that could be fatal for a man of his age.
This disheveled appearance was probably Wang Jingwu's doing.
"I'm much younger than you. If I haven't died, of course, you wouldn't have," Li Zhonglou said with a chuckle.
He stood up, walked to Wang Dehai, and patted his shoulder, "I'm back, and it's time for you to return too."
"Desheng Grand Hotel is your life's work, and it's yours again."
"I've already recovered the investment. Once Wang Jingwu transfers the shares back to you, we'll start anew."
Upon hearing this, Wang Jingwu's face turned ashen.
His eyes were filled with despair.
Not only did Li Zhonglou demand his money back, but he also wanted him to transfer the shares back to Wang Dehai.
Then...
Wouldn't he have gained nothing and be saddled with debt to Wu Zhijie?
Li Zhonglou was trying to utterly destroy him.
This move was a hundred times more ruthless than killing him outright.
"Forget it, my wife is gone, and my child left with her. I'm powerless now, brother." Wang Dehai glanced at Wang Jingwu and shook his head, refusing.
His voice was filled with sighs and lamentations, devoid of any former sharpness.
After Li Zhonglou disappeared, Baldy came to Desheng and asked him to cooperate in transferring all of Li Zhonglou's shares to himself.
He was attempting to embezzle Li Zhonglou's assets.
He didn't dare to offend Baldy, so he outwardly agreed but secretly kept delaying.
Baldy soon discovered his lack of cooperation, so he approached Wang Jingwu and directly ousted him from the picture.
Having lost Desheng Grand Hotel, the house registered under the company's name naturally fell into Wang Jingwu's hands. His wife, in anger, filed for divorce and took their child to Guangdong Province.
He, on the other hand, lived day by day on the charity of friends.
He thought he would never see Li Zhonglou again in this lifetime, but unexpectedly, things took a turn, and Li Zhonglou was not dead.
And had returned to Qin Prefecture.
Even though he was happy in his heart, what was lost could not be regained.
"A true man never lacks a wife!" Li Zhonglou said seriously upon seeing his state, "If you, Wang Dehai, fall because of your nephew's betrayal, you'll only become a laughingstock in the circle from now on!"
"Wang Jingwu is kneeling before you. This matter originated with me. I will only be at peace if you accept the shares."
"Otherwise, I'll have to start with him."
From the beginning, he had no intention of letting Wang Jingwu go.
Demanding money was only the first step; the second was taking the shares.
He just didn't expect Wang Dehai to be so disheartened that he didn't even want Desheng Grand Hotel anymore.
"Uncle..." Wang Jingwu, terrified and drenched in sweat, crawled to Wang Dehai and clutched his leg, begging, "Please, save me..."
"I don't want the shares anymore. I'll return everything to you..."
"Make Li Zhonglou not kill me..."
He thought Li Zhonglou meant killing him when he said he would start with him.
If it were in the past, he wouldn't have believed Li Zhonglou would do such a thing, but times had changed.
Even a rich second-generation like Wu Zhijie had been castrated, the formidable Li Hanlong had been eliminated, and Baldy had been hospitalized with fractured bones.
What was there that Li Zhonglou wouldn't dare to do?
His life could end at any moment.
Seeing his nephew so pathetic, a hint of compassion finally appeared in Wang Dehai's eyes.
In these past few days, he had also come to realize that while Wang Jingwu's actions were despicable, they were also opportunistic.
And he was destined to exit the historical stage.
Although the ending was very bad, that was fate, and no one could be blamed.
The hatred in his heart was gone, replaced only by guilt, guilt towards his wife and child.
He had always treated Wang Jingwu as his own son. Although this "son" had betrayed him fiercely and almost ruined him, the blood tie was ultimately hard to sever.
If Li Zhonglou were truly going to kill him, he would never want to witness such a scene.
"Alright, I'll accept it!" Wang Dehai made up his mind and said, "Brother, although he's a dog, it's my poor training of the dog that led to such a major incident."
"Hand him over to me, and I'll make him a waiter and deal with him properly."
This statement was actually a way to cover for Wang Jingwu.
After all, the uncle-nephew affection hadn't completely died, and he didn't want to pursue it further, but he was afraid Li Zhonglou wouldn't let go.
However, this suited Li Zhonglou perfectly.
Wang Jingwu was still at Desheng Grand Hotel, but only as a waiter. That was for the best.
A person like him cared most about vanity and face. Everything he did was to make others respect him.
When he was the lobby manager, he had offended many of the junior staff.
Once he went from being a high-and-mighty chairman to a waiter, he would surely be beaten down by those junior employees.
This was a hundred times more miserable than killing him.
This was the best way to deal with such a petty person.
"For your sake, this matter ends here." Li Zhonglou feigned indifference and looked at Wang Jingwu, "Transfer the shares within three days."
"Otherwise, I'll make you thoroughly experience my methods."
Li Zhonglou rarely threatened people with such blatant intimidation, but there was no need to be considerate of a scumbag like Wang Jingwu.
As expected, Wang Jingwu broke out in a cold sweat and nodded repeatedly.
After speaking, Li Zhonglou walked towards the door.
With this matter settled, he checked the time and realized it was about time to meet Feng Linxue.
"Brother, let's have a meal together and tell me what happened these past few days," Wang Dehai tried to detain him enthusiastically.
Unfortunately, Li Zhonglou had other things to do and declined his kind invitation.
Then he glanced at Wu Zhijie and strode away.
Wang Jingwu was completely defeated. As for someone like Wu Zhijie, who had lent five million to Wang Jingwu for nothing, he could collect it slowly later.
If he had the ability to get it back.
Thinking about the two million he had lost previously, which had not only returned to his hands but also multiplied by 2.5 times, Li Zhonglou couldn't help but feel a thrill of satisfaction.
As he left Desheng, it was already late.
The sun was still as high as a person from the ground, and the weather had turned refreshing.
The Indian summer was finally fading, and winter would soon arrive.
Li Zhonglou looked back at Desheng Grand Hotel, still bustling with wedding celebrations, and couldn't help but mock himself, "I'm really not suited for business. Everything I do fails."
He had once been ambitious, wanting to develop Desheng Grand Hotel into an antique-themed hotel.
He hadn't achieved his goal and had run into endless trouble, even causing Wang Dehai immense suffering.
Not only him, but also his senior sister's Donglin Pawnshop, and Xu Lie, who was lying in bed.
Since his rebirth, although he had changed the destinies of many people, it seemed that the closer they were to him, the more misfortune they encountered.
Could this also be a balance of fate?
Li Zhonglou dismissed the杂念 in his mind and got into his car to leave.
He needed to quickly sort out his initial goal, that Qin Dynasty mysterious gemstone.
He still had to find the base left by Yan Bin. Only by obtaining it could he get more information and locate the whereabouts of the mysterious treasure.
Before that, he had to get Zeng Wang's museum and his own antique shop up and running.
Coupled with an online appraisal platform, he was sure to obtain the information he needed.
Half an hour later, before the sun completely set, Li Zhonglou drove the car to Feng Linxue's parking lot.
He then walked out and went to a snack stall across the street.
At a glance, he saw the man making Jianbing busy at his stall. However, the satisfied smile on his face was gone, replaced by a hint of weariness.
"Do you remember me?" Li Zhonglou walked up to the stall, ordered a Jianbing, and asked.
The man finally looked up. After a careful look, his pupils dilated.
He then assumed a look of sudden realization, "It's you, little brother. You've finally come..."
"You've caused me so much trouble these past few days, little brother."
"You have to help me!"
The man's tone was urgent, and his expression was quite agitated. His words left Li Zhonglou utterly confused.
But it was not difficult to see that he had encountered trouble.
And it was a "big problem" that he couldn't solve on his own.