Chapter 1 Sparks Will Fly

　　The Fumanlou Restaurant. The very name is filled with Chinese cultural significance. In fact, it is one of the properties under the Fuzhou Chamber of Commerce. It has four floors, and the interior and exterior decorations are mainly red and yellow, making it look like a royal kitchen.

　　Fumanlou's business model follows the popular route. The dishes are not expensive, and most of the customers are from the lower and middle classes, so the daily flow of people is mixed. Fighting after drinking too much is a common occurrence. In addition, with the backing of the Fuzhou Chamber of Commerce, the well-known figures in the Jianghu (martial world) of Zhanan District also like to find people from Changqing Company or the Fuzhou Chamber of Commerce to mediate in case of any conflicts, and negotiate here, which is called "ma pan jiang shu" (setting up a negotiation table) in the local slang.

　　Therefore, in such a place, coupled with the recent relationship between the Su, Liu, Bai, and Kong families and Changqing Company, this night will obviously see some sparks fly.

　　...

　　On the fourth floor of Fumanlou, in the largest Sihai private room, Li Hongze, Lu Feng, and six or seven core members of Changqing Company are all sitting in the sofa area on the south side.

　　After Su Tianyu, Su Tianbei, Kong Zhengui and his party entered, the five family disciples they brought all sat at the dining table and waited, appearing very sensible. Then Su Tianyu and other main negotiators came to the sofa area on the north side of the room and sat down.

　　The Sihai private room is a full 160 to 170 square meters, a very large space, and Li Hongze and others sat with their backs to the south and facing north, taking full advantage of the host's position, appearing slightly aggressive.

　　After the two sides were seated, the older Liu Lao Er (Old Liu the Second) appeared very restrained and said to Li Hongze, "Boss Li, if we hadn't been forced to this point, we would never have taken the lead in causing trouble. The previous frictions were all acts of desperation, please forgive us."

　　Liu Lao Er is a typical ordinary middle-aged man. As he gets older, his passion has long been exhausted by the years. He has no ambition to explore and make progress, nor does he have the courage to fight to the death with anyone. Maintaining the status quo is the best result for him.

　　Listening to Liu Lao Er's words, Li Hongze waved his hand in a relaxed posture and said with a smile, "Let's skip the polite remarks. Now that everyone is here, let's get down to business."

　　"Yes, of course," Liu Lao Er nodded politely.

　　"Since Director Wang has greeted us, then we have to pay attention and stop at the right time." Li Hongze said in a calm tone while crossing his legs, "We will release the people, and the previous frictions will end with the arrest of Lu Feng's brothers. In the future, when the dirty gangs in Zhanan District start work, we will mind our own business, each managing our own territory, and jointly maintain prosperity!"

　　Hearing this, Liu Lao Er breathed a sigh of relief and immediately wanted to nod in agreement with Li Hongze's words.

　　"...Boss Li, I'm afraid that won't work." Su Tianyu interrupted before Liu Lao Er could respond.

　　Li Hongze turned his head to look at Su Tianyu, without saying a word, but his eyes conveyed a questioning meaning.

　　"Both sides take a step back and release people, that's fine." Su Tianyu also said calmly, "However, the frictions in the middle cannot be glossed over with a single sentence."

　　"If it can't be glossed over, then what do you want?" A middle-aged man next to Li Hongze asked with a fierce look in his eyes.

　　"Compensation. I won't mention the expenses of the strike, that's the cost of the confrontation, and there's no reason to ask anyone for it." Su Tianyu replied, looking directly at the other party, "But two workers were seriously injured, my Su family's garbage dump was smashed and burned, and my second brother was cut. These are all real losses, right? This exceeds the scope of competition, right? Boss Li wants to gloss over it with a single sentence, I'm afraid that's not appropriate, right?"

　　As soon as the words fell, the room fell silent. Lu Feng lowered his head and fiddled with the tea set on the table, without saying a word.

　　"Hehe, then how much money do you want us to pay?" Li Hongze asked with a smile.

　　"Six hundred thousand." Before Su Tianyu could speak, Kong Zhenghui, who had been silent all along, quoted the price.

　　"Six hundred thousand, even if I give it to you, would you know how to spend it?" The strong man next to Li Hongze stood up directly, "Being able to talk to you is giving face to Wang Daolin and Yu Jinrong, understand? You're really pushing your luck!"

　　Kong Zhenghui didn't even look at the other party, only said to Li Hongze, "I spent almost 200,000 just to find the media. You were only willing to talk after the matter was prepared. Shouldn't you reimburse me for this money too?"

　　Li Hongze was silent for a long time, without refuting.

　　Kong Zhenghui looked directly at the other party, feeling very confident, because he felt that Li Hongze could no longer withstand the pressure and had to settle the matter and make concessions as soon as possible. Otherwise, if the trouble continued, the Hua Chenshan (Flower Shirt) line would involve Lu Feng, and the shooting case would be exaggerated by Wang Daolin, turning it into a key case for the police station. No matter what kind of punishment Changqing Company would face in the end, they would definitely be labeled as a gang by the public. And this was absolutely unacceptable to Zheng Fuan, who supported them.

　　As for the media, Li Hongze currently didn't have the ability to suppress all the public opinion. Now that Hua Chenshan had been caught and the evidence was conclusive, if Kong Zhenghui used the seriously injured workers and the smashing and burning of the Su family's cargo yard to make a fuss, then Li Xing would also be very uncomfortable. Because the cause of this incident was that the anti-smuggling department arrested the leaders of the four companies, he would naturally be implicated.

　　Li Hongze still had a card in his hand, that is, the heads of the Su, Liu, Bai, and Kong families had not yet been released, and he could use this to threaten them.

　　But was it really cost-effective to continue to make trouble with these four families and make the matter bigger because of the 600,000 compensation?

　　Li Hongze was angry, but his mind was very clear. The expression on his face remained unchanged, and he nodded with a smile, "So it's 600,000 in cash, right?"

　　"That's right, just 600,000." Su Tianyu nodded in response.

　　"Okay, then it's settled." Li Hongze stood up directly, looked at Lu Feng expressionlessly, and said, "You messed up the matter, you can figure out how to compensate."

　　Lu Feng nodded, without saying a word.

　　"Okay, you guys sit down." Li Hongze waved his hand to the four families and left the private room directly with the three men in the room.

　　In the quiet room, Lu Feng squinted at the people in front of him, and softly ordered, "Have the finance department bring 600,000 over immediately."

　　"Okay." The person next to Lu Feng also stepped out.

　　Lu Feng lit a cigarette and glanced at Su Tianyu, his negative emotions reaching his forehead.

　　About ten minutes later, the finance officer of Changqing Company walked in from the office next to Fumanlou, carrying two plastic bags.

　　"Have you counted it?" Lu Feng asked.

　　"Yes," the finance officer nodded.

　　Lu Feng pointed to the money bags, holding a cigarette in his mouth, and said, "Take it."

　　On the north side of the sofa, Liu Lao Er looked at Lu Feng's sweating forehead, and Bai Hongbo felt his testicles tremble slightly after sensing the atmosphere in the room.

　　Su Tianyu and Kong Zhenghui looked at each other, stood up, grabbed the money bags, and said in unison, "Thank you, Boss Li."

　　"Let's go!" Su Tianbei called out.

　　"Bang!"

　　As soon as the words fell, the fierce man who had been sitting on Li Hongze's left hand rushed in with a machete and cursed at the four families, "We give it to you, and you actually dare to take it?!"

　　"Buddy, don't be impulsive, there are police officers downstairs." Bai Hongbo kindly reminded him after getting up.

　　Hearing this, the strong man replied crisply, "I know there are police officers. I'll chop you down now, go downstairs and throw the knife to surrender. What's the big deal about going to jail? I'll admit to serving five years. Changqing's people, chop them!!! Don't touch the money, cripple them and throw the money and them down together!"

　　Su Tianyu put down the money bags, picked up the floor lamp next to the sofa with one hand, took two steps to Lu Feng, and said, "I see you drooping your dog head, looking like you're not convinced?! Cnm (swearing), today, in your territory, I'll break you in two!"

　　"Bang!!!"

　　The meter-long floor lamp smashed directly at Lu Feng, who suddenly jumped up, raised his arm to block, and the battle officially began.