Lu Zecheng and the others stared, wide-eyed, unable to believe what they were seeing.
Old Master Tang was actually showing respect to the young man who had attacked him, even bowing slightly?
How was this possible?
In Hangzhou, what was Old Master Tang's status?
It could be said that Lu Zecheng and the others, combined, undoubtedly surpassed Old Master Tang in wealth. However, in terms of connections, resources, and power, they were still no match for him.
"Old Master... Old Master Tang?"
Lu Zecheng spoke with uncertainty and disbelief.
Tang Yiming, pale and writhing in pain, was also stunned. "Grandpa..."
Old Master Tang shot Tang Yiming a fierce look and said, full of disappointment, "You useless scoundrel, I'll settle with you later."
He then turned to Chen Fan and said, "Mr. Chen, I have failed to properly educate my younger generation. Please forgive me!"
Chen Fan said casually, "I stepped in to educate him for you, but it's clear he's still not convinced!"
"It is the Tang family's honor to have Mr. Chen intervene. How could we possibly consider it overstepping?" Old Master Tang said in a deep voice. "As for this brat not being convinced, then make him convinced until he is. Only then will it be considered not having let Mr. Chen's good intentions go to waste!"
With that, he turned and took a step forward.
"Grandpa... Grandpa, you can't do this!"
Hearing the conversation between Old Master Tang and Chen Fan, Tang Yiming felt a sense of dread. Seeing Old Master Tang's attention turn to him, and knowing his grandfather well, he felt not surprise but a pounding heart.
"Grandpa, I'm the victim! Look at my hand, my hand is about to be crippled! Ah... wuwuwu!"
"Grandpa, spare me! Forgive me, I'm your grandson!" Da Feng Novel Network
At this, Old Master Tang became furious. "Tang Yiming, if you dare to resist, I will disown you from the Tang family!"
Tang Yiming started crying.
Old Master Tang slapped him. It was hard to believe that, at his age, his hand still possessed such strength. With a crisp crack, Tang Yiming's tears and snot flowed together from the pain.
This was not the end. Old Master Tang, still full of vigor, delivered seven or eight slaps in quick succession, leaving Tang Yiming disoriented and screaming.
It was clear that Old Master Tang was holding nothing back, putting all his strength into each blow.
As expected, after such a flurry of action, Old Master Tang was breathing heavily.
But when he stopped, Tang Yiming's entire face was swollen.
"I ask you, are you convinced now?" Old Master Tang demanded sternly.
"I am, I am! Wuwu, Grandpa, I'm convinced..."
Tang Yiming, tears streaming down his face, immediately conceded. If his hand weren't still nailed to the table, he would have knelt and begged for mercy.
The wise man knows when to yield. Without the old man's backing, he knew he was nothing.
However, the thought of today's events made him feel utterly miserable. He had thought he was bringing in reinforcements, but unexpectedly, his own grandfather was more ruthless than Chen Fan. After these slaps, his face was more painful than his right hand nailed to the table. He wouldn't be able to show his face for a month or two.
Everyone watched in dumbfounded silence.
Lu Zecheng and the others were even more aghast, shocked beyond comprehension.
What was the background of that young man, for a single casual remark to make Old Master Tang treat his own grandson so cruelly?
With Old Master Tang's status and power, did he still need to do this to appease the young man?
In an instant, sweat began to bead on Lu Zecheng's forehead.
What was this young man's identity?
He grabbed his son, Lu Mingfa, and asked in a low voice.
When his son, equally bewildered, said that Chen Fan was just a delivery driver, Lu Zecheng was first dumbfounded, then couldn't help but fly into a rage.
"You're telling me the person Old Master Tang treated like this is a delivery driver? Lu Mingfa, at twenty years old, have you lived your life in vain?" he hissed at his son.
Lu Mingfa also felt it was absurd and quickly said, "I really don't know him. Huang Bowen said so!"
All eyes turned to Huang Bowen.
...
Old Master Tang ignored Tang Yiming's miserable state and instead smiled at Chen Fan. "Mr. Chen, this brat says he's convinced. What do you think?"
Chen Fan waved his hand and said, "Take him away."
Old Master Tang nodded, also letting out a long sigh of relief, his anxious heart finally at ease.
He then signaled his subordinates to pull out the chopsticks and take Tang Yiming away.
But something shocking happened. The strong bodyguards by Old Master Tang's side, wrapping the chopsticks in paper, tried to pull them out but found they couldn't budge.
It was as if the chopsticks had been hammered into the thick Huanghuali wood tabletop and couldn't be pulled out by hand.
Fortunately, someone quickly brought pliers. They clamped onto the end of the chopsticks and, with all their might, managed to pull them out.
Throughout the entire process, Tang Yiming was in agony, so much so that he was weak from the pain, his screams like the death throes of a slaughtered pig.
The bodyguards helped Tang Yiming away to treat his wounds. Old Master Tang, however, did not leave. He stood by Chen Fan's side and said respectfully, "Mr. Chen, I will confine Tang Yiming for half a year so he can reflect properly."
Chen Fan glanced at Old Master Tang and simply nodded faintly.
Only then did Old Master Tang turn his gaze to everyone in the private room.
...
"The Su family's live-in son-in-law? The one who was kicked out?"
Under the gaze of a group of influential figures, Huang Bowen's forehead broke out in a sweat, and his breathing became labored.
He still couldn't believe what he was seeing, but the fact was, Old Master Tang's demeanor had intimidated everyone.
The problem was, the Chen Fan he knew was truly just a son-in-law, a good-for-nothing who made a living delivering food, despised by the Su family!
He couldn't figure out why Old Master Tang was so respectful to Chen Fan!
He could only think of one possibility: that Old Master Tang had mistaken him for someone else, or there was some misunderstanding?
Lu Zecheng and the others didn't believe him at all.
"Old Master Tang?"
Lu Zecheng respectfully approached Old Master Tang and asked in a low voice, "May I ask who this gentleman is?"
Old Master Tang squinted as he looked at Lu Zecheng.
He vividly remembered the excited and trembling demeanor of Qin Tianyou when he met Chen Fan.
He glanced at Lu Zecheng, then at the calm-faced Chen Fan, and after a moment of thought, decided to guide Lu Zecheng and the others.
It wasn't just to do him a favor, but also to prevent the situation from escalating and becoming unmanageable.
Putting aside the mysterious Chen Fan, just Meihui Zi and Hathway, who were still sitting there watching the spectacle, could cause the entire Hangzhou to tremble with a single word.
"If you shouldn't ask, don't ask," Old Master Tang said with a stern face. "Do I need to tell you what to do?"
Lu Zecheng's body trembled.
He took a deep breath and no longer hesitated. He stepped forward, grabbed his son's collar, pulled him over, and forcefully pushed him down.
With a thud, Lu Mingfa, whose knee was already injured, cried out in pain.
Lu Mingfa's wife, unable to bear it, stepped forward to intervene but was roughly pushed away by Lu Mingfa.
He bowed to Chen Fan and said, "Mr. Chen, I am Lu Mingfa's father, Lu Zecheng, chairman of Yuanfa Group. I have failed to discipline my son, leading to Lu Mingfa's misbehavior. Please bear with us."
"Dad!" Lu Mingfa pleaded.
Chen Fan showed no reaction, looking at Lu Zecheng indifferently.
Lu Zecheng gritted his teeth and, like Old Master Tang with Tang Yiming, delivered swift blows with both hands.
Amidst the screams, Lu Mingfa cried tears of pain and resentment.
But Lu Zecheng remained unmoved. It could be said that he had his own merits to establish the vast Yuanfa Group and make the Lu family a prominent family in Hangzhou.
Chen Fan still couldn't be bothered to speak and waved his hand, signaling Lu Zecheng to take his son away.
Lu Zecheng let out a sigh of relief, bowed slightly, and dragged his crying son out of the private room.
Hathway and Meihui Zi watched all of this with smiles, showing no discomfort, and calmly observed the unfolding drama.