Wu Zhiming's words made Chen Yanping's face turn pale. He could tell that Wu Zhiming was serious about fighting them. If a brawl broke out, they'd be at a massive disadvantage. With just over a hundred people, they would be overwhelmed by the hundreds of construction workers on-site. Even if they called for backup, they'd still take heavy losses.
"I refuse to believe that a big boss like you would dare to hit an old man!" An elderly man with silver hair but still robust stature stepped forward from the crowd and spoke defiantly.
"And you are?" Wu Zhiming asked with a smile.
"This is my grandfather!" Chen Yanping said.
"I'm Yanping's grandfather. You can call me Chen Jiawei," the silver-haired elder introduced himself.
"Oh, so it's a family affair. No wonder you all talk the same way!" Wu Zhiming said with a look of realization.
"Young man, don't think having a bit of money makes you invincible. If you don't believe me, go ahead and touch me," Chen Jiawei said as he pointed to his head. "Here, if you even touch me, it's fifty thousand yuan. This here," he pointed to his chest, "is my chest. Touch it, and it's twenty thousand because I have a bad heart. This is my waist, which is also bad, so that's ten thousand. And these are my legs, which have always had problems. That's five thousand per touch. To be honest, my whole body is full of ailments. You'll be responsible for fixing me up."
"Alright, so fifty thousand for the head, twenty thousand for the chest, ten thousand for the waist, and five thousand for each leg. That's a total of seventy-five thousand. Let's round it up to a hundred thousand. I'll take all those parts," Wu Zhiming said calmly.
"Threatening me won't work," Chen Jiawei shook his head. "I'm an old man, over seventy years old. One touch, and I might die. Then whoever touched me would spend the next few decades in prison. You might think I lose out, but you don't win either. Let's see who's tougher. I can last for decades; let's see if you young folks can outlast me."
Wu Zhiming raised an eyebrow.
Chen Jiawei was far more formidable than his grandson. His words hit the mark. Nowadays, people defer to the elderly not because they're in the right, but because they can't afford the risk. A slight touch and they might claim any ailment was your fault. If things go south and someone dies, especially an old person, the media would spin it into a huge scandal. Then, the construction project would be halted.
If the site shuts down, delays ensue. Partners and banks get nervous, and the entire school district housing project could collapse. This would be a huge blow to Wu's Group and would turn Wu Zhiming into a laughingstock once again.
This move was brilliant. Even if they didn't think it through that far, it was much more effective than Shen Hongyue's brute force tactics.
"So, it's about who's tougher? Fine, let's play." Wu Zhiming checked his watch. "There are twenty seconds left on the minute."
The crowd, emboldened by Chen Jiawei's words, suddenly felt a pang of fear as Wu Zhiming continued counting down.
"Ten seconds left. Looks like no one wants to leave," Wu Zhiming sighed.
"I'll go, I'll go!" A sixty-something elderly man in the crowd raised his hand and hurried out.
"Zhuzi, what are you doing?!" Chen Yanping yelled in frustration.
"I've got two lovely grandchildren at home. No need for me to risk anything here. You all handle this," the man called Zhuzi said as he made his way to the gate.
His departure triggered a domino effect. Several more elderly people followed him to the gate. Clearly, everyone feared death, especially these old folks who, when faced with a tough opponent, quickly abandoned their strategy of exploiting their age.
In no time, almost all the elderly had left, except for Chen Jiawei.
"Alright then," Wu Zhiming smiled at the remaining crowd. "Since you all chose to stay, I'll give you what you want."
With that, he snapped his fingers and casually said, "Go ahead."
Upon their boss's command, the workers surged towards Chen Yanping's group, shouting as they went.
Chen Yanping's face turned ashen.
Just then...
*Woo-woo-woo!*
Police sirens blared.
Everyone froze and looked towards the gate.
Three police cars had just arrived, moving swiftly into the site and stopping beside the crowd.
Several officers stepped out of the cars.
"What's going on here?!" Deputy Director Wang Zhiqiang shouted with a stern face.
Seeing the tense standoff, he frowned deeply. The city of Haixia was promoting itself as a model city. A brawl here would ruin everything and bring trouble to him.
"Officers!!" Chen Jiawei shouted, rushing over and grabbing Wang Zhiqiang's hand. Pointing at Wu Zhiming, he cried, "You have to help us! These people are gangsters! They're going to kill us!"
Wang Zhiqiang, already scowling, followed Chen Jiawei's finger and spotted a familiar face.
"Wu Zhiming?!" Wang Zhiqiang exclaimed in surprise.
"Officer Wang! What a pleasant surprise to see you here!" Wu Zhiming called out with feigned shock.
"We received a report of a disturbance. What's going on? Are these your people?" Wang Zhiqiang asked, pointing at the armed workers.
"Officer Wang, this is one of our construction sites. These are just workers. Your timing is perfect. These people have barged onto our site demanding money and causing trouble! Officer Wang, you must help us!" Wu Zhiming responded with feigned distress.
"Extortion?" Wang Zhiqiang looked at Chen Jiawei.
"Nonsense! We're just here to claim what's rightfully ours!" Chen Jiawei retorted.
"What do you mean? From what I've heard, the Wu Group is developing this land. How have they infringed on your interests?" Wang Zhiqiang asked.
"It's like this... We didn't know this area was going to be developed into a school district. We saw someone buying up land and sold ours at a low price. Now, the land has appreciated significantly. We've suffered huge losses. Don't you think they're infringing on our rights?" Chen Jiawei explained.
"Sir, you can't look at it that way. If you demand compensation because the land value increased, would you refund money if it depreciated?" Wang Zhiqiang frowned. He quickly understood that these sellers were causing trouble out of envy over the land's increase in value.
"Officer, how can you side with them? Ah, I get it now. You're in cahoots with them—colluding officials and businessmen!" Chen Jiawei shouted excitedly.
Wang Zhiqiang's face darkened. "Sir, we enforce the law impartially and our actions are based on facts and legal principles. If you have any complaints about our conduct, you are welcome to report it to the relevant authorities. But please do not insult us here!"
"It's collusion between the government and business! The police are bullying us!" Chen Jiawei shouted.
Hearing this, the surrounding crowd immediately echoed his cries.
Wang Zhiqiang's face turned even darker. He sternly said, "Sir, I am giving you a verbal warning. If you do not comply, we will take compulsory measures. This is your first warning."
Chen Jiawei remained unfazed and continued shouting.
"This is your second verbal warning!" Wang Zhiqiang said.
Chen Jiawei might fear Wu Zhiming, but he didn't fear Wang Zhiqiang. He kept shouting.
"This is your third and final warning! Handcuff him and take him to the station," Wang Zhiqiang commanded with a wave of his hand. Several officers immediately moved in, cuffing Chen Jiawei and leading him to the police car.
Seeing Chen Jiawei get handcuffed left everyone around him dumbfounded.
Just then, outside the iron gate, a large group of people wielding hoes and other tools stormed into the construction site.
There were easily several hundred of them.
Wang Zhiqiang was stunned. How did so many people show up all of a sudden?
A massive crowd flooded the site, surrounding Wu Zhiming and his group.
"Boss, these are all locals with the surname Chen," Wang Hai said gravely.
Wu Zhiming smiled and turned to Wang Zhiqiang. "Officer Wang, you'd better call for backup."
Realizing the situation, Wang Zhiqiang quickly grabbed his radio.
Within minutes, local officials, leaders from the bureau, and district authorities arrived at the site. Reporters from the television station also showed up.
In less than half an hour, all the Chen family members retreated, not a single one remaining.
The construction site returned to normal, and the district authorities repeatedly assured that no such incidents would happen again. They promised severe consequences if any did.
On the construction site, Wu Zhiming stood with a red safety helmet on his head, a cigarette dangling from his lips.
"Boss, your tactics were incredible! I never expected that it was you who called the police!" Wang Hai said admiringly.
Wu Zhiming smiled but said nothing.
"You first acted like you were ready for a brawl, scaring off some of the people. Those who left would run back to the village to spread the word. Then, you preemptively called the police, ensuring that when they showed up, you wouldn't actually fight and give them leverage. When the villagers got wind and came rushing back, the situation escalated, drawing the attention of the higher-ups. Once the higher authorities got involved, we didn't have to handle it anymore. Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!" Wang Hai continued to praise.
"Do you really think I wouldn't have fought?" Wu Zhiming asked.
"Of course, you would have!" Wang Hai quickly replied.
"The tactic of exploiting one's age doesn't work on me. Whoever needs a beating will get one, regardless of their age. But this matter isn't just about a few greedy individuals... Remember this name," Wu Zhiming said.
"Who?"
"Chen Weichao."