Zhang Hong hurried forward and whispered to her father, Zhang Haimin, about what had just happened. Zhang Haimin felt surprised that such a thing had occurred. However, he remained calm on the surface, politely brushing off the situation, taking all the blame upon himself: "It's just some acquaintance, not really familiar."
But how could others believe this? Someone unfamiliar sending such good wine? The scene became even livelier, with relatives vying to praise.
Zhang Haimin and He Shuya went around toasting table by table. When they reached Zhang Zhili's table, relatives stood up one after another to toast. Even Tang Yanran stood up with her drink, greeting, "Uncle!" Only Zhang Zhili lifted his eyelids slightly, refusing to stand up. Zhang Haimin frowned disapprovingly, and Tang Yanran quickly nudged Zhang Zhili, who then stood up lazily.
Aunt He Shuya couldn't help but say, "Ignoring the fact that your uncle just helped you, even if it's just a toast to an elder, you should stand up. Really, no manners at all." Other relatives, upon hearing He Shuya's words, reacted as if they heard a clarion call.
"Young people these days lack gratitude," Zhang Haimin waved his hand, and everyone quieted down. Although he was also displeased, he didn't immediately react, especially after just receiving two million.
Zhang Haimin snorted, "No manners. If you were my son-in-law, I would've kicked you out a long time ago... Just toast, why so much nonsense?" Zhang Zhili directly interrupted impatiently, then took a sip of wine and put down his glass. "You toast, I drink, face saved."
"I need to use the restroom, excuse me!" Zhang Zhili left the banquet in a casual manner, leaving everyone stunned.
He Shuya trembled with anger. "Yanran, is this your husband? It's too outrageous."
"If your uncle hadn't helped, could your family have been so peaceful?" Zhang Haimin's face darkened. "If it weren't for your parents' sake, I really wouldn't have bothered!"
Tang Yanran was speechless. She knew Zhang Zhili was unhappy because Zhang Haimin had demanded two million. But after all, Zhang Haimin had settled matters with Huang Wuye, so it was a case of spending money to mitigate disaster.
"I'll apologize for Zhili! He's emotionally unstable. I'll definitely talk to him when we get back!" Tang Yanran blushed and said.
Zhang Haimin snorted and didn't say anything, turning to exchange a few words and drinks with some useful relatives before walking out of the banquet hall and heading straight to the restroom. He didn't want Zhang Zhili to blabber about the two million matter everywhere in the future.
At the entrance to the restroom, Zhang Haimin bumped into Zhang Zhili, who had just finished washing his hands. Zhang Haimin lit a cigarette and said to himself, "Zhang Zhili, you seem to have a big grudge against me?"
Zhang Zhili calmly washed his face with cold water and said with a smirk, "Two million spent quite easily, huh?"
Zhang Haimin squinted. "What kind of talk is this? What do you mean by 'spent'?"
"If it weren't for me, could you have passed Huang Wuye's test? Did you not see Huang Wuye sending wine to me just now?" If it weren't for me pacifying Huang Wuye, do you think you would still be alive and challenging me here?"
"Only I, in this position, can still afford to send money after asking for help. Try it yourself. Try to deal with Huang Wuye's matter with two million on your head. See who dares to agree? Who would take the money?"
"People need to know their place, understand when to advance and when to retreat. If you provoke someone you can't handle, you'll have no idea how you'll end up. Always blabbering about two million, beware of causing trouble with your mouth." With these words, Zhang Haimin was confident that his combination of persuasion and coercion would make Zhang Zhili give in. He might have squandered two million, but he hadn't really found anyone to settle the matter. So what? He had said he'd help, and if Huang Wuye didn't give face, what could Tang Dapeng do? Even if Tang's family asked him to return the money, if he refused, could the Tangs do anything about it?
As Zhang Haimin was indulging in his thoughts, he suddenly saw a bald-headed man with a fierce expression walking towards him with a smile. Zhang Haimin realized he looked familiar and then remembered—it was Huang Wuye!
How could Huang Wuye be here? Zhang Haimin's face changed slightly. Huang Wuye didn't recognize Zhang Haimin at all and walked straight to Zhang Zhili, asking, "How was the wine I had someone send just now?"
Zhang Zhili still didn't look at Huang Wuye, lazily picking up a tissue from the sink to dry his hands. Being ignored by Zhang Zhili didn't anger Huang Wuye; instead, it proved Zhang Zhili's strength.
With well-informed sources, Huang Wuye already knew about Zhang Zhili curing Song Qianjin's illness. Song Siming would be Zhang Zhili's backer from now on! A person with both ability and a backer, and no deep-seated conflicts of interest, the greatest resentment was having his face slapped. In the past, Huang Wuye might not have let it go, but now with underground conflicts looming, as an old hand in the game, he knew that for such a meaningless clash of egos, offending a master and the Song family would be self-destructive. He was an old hand in the game and knew when to advance and when to retreat. Moreover, Zhang Zhili's warning about impending disaster was also something he deeply believed.
With a smile on his face, Huang Wuye said, "If you're not satisfied, I have better wine over here.""Send it over later. Zhang Zhili finally spoke up: "The five-year-aged Feitian Maotai is good." "It's a pity, it's all gone to waste!" "???" The chubby face of Mr. Huang was full of question marks. Zhang Haimin also looked bewildered. Was Mr. Huang trying to please Zhang Zhili? The wine just now was sent to Zhang Zhili, not to him. Was he joking? Zhang Zhili, a lunatic with no status or background, why should he? Zhang Zhili didn't explain either. After drying his hands, he looked at Mr. Huang calmly and asked: "Mr. Huang, someone just told me that as long as he said a word, you would have me pressed on the ground and rubbed. Is this true?" Zhang Haimin was so frightened that his legs went weak, and he blurted out Mr. Huang's nickname? This name was a taboo in Jingzhou. Zhang Haimin felt that even the Director of Public Security might not be so disrespectful. Was Zhang Zhili looking for trouble? Unexpectedly, Mr. Huang was not angry at all, still smiling: "Where did that come from, it was all a misunderstanding. I've already explained it." "The wine today is just my attitude. Zhang, my old friend, you must not listen to others' attempts to sow discord. You are Mr. Song's honored guest, as well as my esteemed friend. We have no grudges, only friendship." Zhang Zhili nodded indifferently: "Oh! Can I trust you?" Mr. Huang pounded his chest loudly: "Of course." Zhang Zhili curled his lips: "But just now, someone said that without him, I couldn't pass your test! And he even advised me to know my place, to know when to advance and retreat, that if I provoked you, I should admit defeat, otherwise, I wouldn't even know how I died!" Mr. Huang's face changed slightly, pretending to be angry: "Which bastard is spreading rumors behind my back? What a fool! Actually slandering me like this. Zhang, my old friend, who said this? Tell me, I won't let him off lightly!" Zhang Haimin beside him saw Mr. Huang's fierce gaze and couldn't help but gulp down a mouthful of saliva. Zhang Zhili smiled faintly, patted Mr. Huang on the shoulder: "No need, there are plenty of fools in this world. I don't believe it. If you're willing to resolve our old grudges, I'm not someone who doesn't know how to forgive. Our matters were settled long ago." "Today's wine, I appreciate it. Go about your business, and we'll have tea together when you're free!" Mr. Huang nodded slightly, Zhang Zhili's words were straightforward, and he immediately smiled: "Then I'll wait for you, my old friend, to have tea together when you're free!" Zhang Zhili nodded slightly, and Mr. Huang left with a long stride, not even sparing Zhang Haimin a glance throughout the entire process. It took Zhang Haimin a while to recover from his bewilderment. Zhang Zhili was smiling at him: "Uncle, you just said a lot, but you didn't mention whether you're enjoying spending the two million you swindled. Are you having a good time?"