Old Zhang and Yao Jing exchanged smiles and didn't say much more.
This scene seemed odd to Liu Ning and his wife. They glanced at each other and hurried over to Old Zhang.
"Old Zhang, what's going on? Why did you thank Wu Zhiming?" Liu Ning asked, puzzled.
"There's nothing I can't tell you. Early this morning, Little Wu found me. He said you might come to buy a house from me and asked me to prepare early. He also told me not to set the price too high," Old Zhang said with a grin.
"Why?" Liu Ning was even more puzzled. "If you knew we were coming to buy a house, why not set a high price? What's his game?"
"He said if the price is too high, you might not buy it! Well, I'll continue moving!" Old Zhang said.
Liu Ning and Feng Lijuan exchanged a look, vaguely feeling they might have been tricked by Wu Zhiming. But what exactly they were tricked into, they couldn't say—it just didn't sit right.
"Whatever, we've bought it anyway. We'll connect the two floors and continue!" Feng Lijuan gritted her teeth.
"Should we take out the trash?" Liu Ning asked.
"Yes, I'll call my brother and have him come over to take out the trash. Let's see how impressive he is. I want to see if he can still act so tough now! Let's go, time to open the shop," Feng Lijuan said, turning to leave.
Night fell.
When Liu Ning and his wife finished a busy day's work and returned home, they didn't feel tired at all because they were looking forward to seeing Wu Zhiming's doorstep littered with garbage.
As they stepped into the elevator, they ran into Wu Zhiming, who had also just returned.
"Well, isn't this a coincidence?" Liu Ning looked at Wu Zhiming. "Are you going to the ninth floor too?"
"No, I'm not going to the ninth floor," Wu Zhiming shook his head and pressed the button for the eighth floor.
"Why are you going to the eighth floor?" Liu Ning asked, shocked.
"Well, I didn't think the duplex was that great, so I bought apartment 802 on the eighth floor as well," Wu Zhiming said.
Both Liu Ning and Feng Lijuan were stunned.
He bought apartment 802 on the eighth floor too? How is that possible? Buying two apartments in a row—where did he get so much money?
"I heard you also bought apartment 901? That's quite a bold move," Wu Zhiming smiled.
Ding. The elevator arrived at the eighth floor.
Wu Zhiming stepped out, while Liu Ning and Feng Lijuan continued to the ninth floor.
The hallway of the apartment building was filled with garbage, courtesy of Feng Lijuan's brother.
At that moment, Feng Lijuan's phone suddenly rang.
Feng Lijuan took out her phone and saw that it was her brother calling.
"Sis, I've got all the trash ready. I even found some fresh garbage with a strong smell. Guaranteed to make anyone who offends you gag!" Feng Lijuan's brother said.
"I...," Feng Lijuan was speechless. She simply hung up the phone.
"Now what do we do?" Liu Ning asked.
"Well, what can we do? Where did Wu Zhiming get that money? It's so strange. I think Old Zhang might know something. I'll give him a call!" Feng Lijuan said, dialing Old Zhang's number.
Old Zhang seemed to be drinking on the other end of the phone.
Earning hundreds of thousands in a moment was like a windfall for someone of Old Zhang's age, something worth celebrating with a drink.
"Old Zhang, I heard Wu Zhiming also bought apartment 802. How does he have so much money?" Feng Lijuan asked.
"You didn't know Wu Zhiming is very wealthy?" Old Zhang asked in surprise.
"I, how would I know? I just went on a trip for over a month," Feng Lijuan said helplessly.
"Oh, no wonder. Let me tell you, Wu Zhiming is quite something. He spent ten billion to acquire the bankrupt Wu Group. Then, unexpectedly, several properties under Wu Group suddenly became prime real estate, increasing in value tenfold. Now Wu Zhiming's net worth is said to exceed five billion, making him the richest person in our Haixia City!" Old Zhang said.
"Uh..." Feng Lijuan was stunned. In her eyes, the useless Wu Zhiming had become the wealthiest person in Haixia City! It was almost overturning her worldview.
"Moreover, Wu Zhiming has also become the head of the Wu family. His methods are well known. He sent his elder brother to prison, eventually forcing him to relinquish the position of family head. He also managed to pressure the former matriarch of the Wu family, Shen Hongyue, back to the provincial capital. His methods are just ruthless! I advise you not to compete with Wu Zhiming. He's not the same person he used to be!" Old Zhang said, before hanging up.
Feng Lijuan stood dumbstruck on the spot, realizing only then the kind of person she had provoked.
"What's wrong?" Liu Ning asked.
"Lao Liu, we... we've messed with the wrong person!" Feng Lijuan said, on the verge of tears.
The next day at noon, the couple arrived at their modest restaurant, just opening for business, when they unexpectedly received two visitors: Wu Zhiming and Yao Jing.
"Business seems good," Wu Zhiming said with a smile.
"Why are you here, Wu Zhiming?" Liu Ning's expression shifted slightly as he asked.
"I just wanted to ask, when will you clean up the garbage outside your door?" Wu Zhiming inquired.
"Wu Zhiming, don't think you're all that just because you have some money. I won't clean it up. What can you do, kill me?" Liu Ning clenched his teeth, knowing he couldn't match Wu Zhiming in a fight, but he had to maintain his stance for now.
"Very well!" Wu Zhiming smiled and said, "I'll have stir-fried beef, boiled fish, and two portions of rice."
With that, Wu Zhiming walked into the restaurant with Yao Jing.
"Why did you suddenly decide to eat here?" Yao Jing asked. She was originally supposed to have lunch at her mother's place but received Wu Zhiming's call and came here instead.
"I want to show you how I handle things through diplomacy," Wu Zhiming said with a smile.
Meanwhile, Liu Ning and Feng Lijuan were also puzzled, not understanding why Wu Zhiming suddenly decided to patronize their business.
"Hmph! Since he dares to eat, I dare to mess with him!" Liu Ning gritted his teeth.
"Yes! Show him what you can do, honey!" Feng Lijuan said.
Liu Ning nodded and started cooking.
After the dishes were cooked, Feng Lijuan walked over to serve them.
"I added a little something extra," Liu Ning whispered proudly.
"What did you add?" Feng Lijuan asked.
"Nose mucus, saliva. They won't notice, let them eat!" Liu Ning said.
"Good job!" Feng Lijuan gave a thumbs-up.
Later, Feng Lijuan brought the food to Wu Zhiming's table.
"It looks pretty good," Yao Jing remarked, looking at the dishes on the table.
"We've been in business for so many years, there must be a reason for our success," Wu Zhiming said.
Yao Jing nodded and picked up her chopsticks, about to pick up a piece of fish.
Wu Zhiming raised his hand and stopped Yao Jing, then looked at his phone.
"What's wrong?" Yao Jing asked.
"Nothing," Wu Zhiming smiled, sent a message, and then said to Yao Jing, "Wait a moment."
"Okay," Yao Jing put down her chopsticks.
Feng Lijuan, who was attentively watching nearby, felt a bit nervous, not understanding why Wu Zhiming suddenly stopped Yao Jing.
Just then, the sound of cars suddenly came from the front of the restaurant.
Feng Lijuan looked towards the door and was surprised to see officials from the Food Safety Administration!
The group got out of the car and immediately walked into the restaurant.
"Routine inspection," the leader said as he walked in.
"Captain Li, have a smoke," Liu Ning hurried over, handing a cigarette to the speaking officer.
Captain Li waved his hand, glanced at the scene, and then said to his subordinates, "Take samples of a few dishes and bring them back for testing."
With that, Captain Li pointed to Wu Zhiming's table and said, "This table."
"Yes!"
"Captain Li, please, any other table would do. This food has just been served, they haven't eaten it yet!" Liu Ning quickly interjected.
"It's okay," Wu Zhiming stood up with a smile and said, "We're done eating."
With that, Wu Zhiming walked out with Yao Jing.
"Sample collection," Captain Li said.
Several subordinates immediately stepped forward.
"No, don't touch them!" Feng Lijuan rushed forward excitedly to stop them, but Captain Li's subordinates ignored her and moved forward.
"Liu Ning, what are you doing? Interfering with law enforcement?" Captain Li frowned and rebuked.
"Lijuan, step aside!" Liu Ning ordered.
Reluctantly, Feng Lijuan stepped aside with resentment.
Subsequently, Wu Zhiming's dishes were sampled and taken away from the scene.
"Now what? What do we do?" Feng Lijuan asked nervously.
"Why worry? Cooking inevitably involves spitting while talking; worst case, a few days of closure due to hygiene issues. It's fine. But it's strange these people came today. Normally, we hardly see anyone from the Food Safety Administration, yet today they show up right after Wu Zhiming arrives?" Liu Ning wondered aloud.
"This Wu Zhiming... something's fishy, very fishy!" Feng Lijuan nodded in agreement.
Liu Ning frowned, feeling that something was amiss.
On the other side, Wu Zhiming and Yao Jing walked out of the restaurant and got into their car.
Without waiting for Yao Jing to ask, Wu Zhiming handed his phone to her.
Yao Jing saw a video on Wu Zhiming's phone and watched it, her expression changing.
The video showed Liu Ning cooking, spitting into the dishes while cooking, and even wiping his nose on the food!
This scene made Yao Jing suddenly feel nauseous and her scalp tingle.
If she had eaten those dishes just now...
She'd probably be disgusted for half a year.
Yao Jing handed the phone back to Wu Zhiming and said, "This person is disgusting."
"I just wanted to see where his bottom line was. Turns out, he has no bottom line at all. This saves a lot of trouble," Wu Zhiming said, uploading the video directly to the internet.
"Isn't this too harsh?" Yao Jing asked. Once this video went online, the Liu Ning family's business would be finished.
"Kill with one blow, eradicate the roots," Wu Zhiming said calmly.
Yao Jing looked at Wu Zhiming, suddenly feeling that Wu Zhiming, who didn't resort to violence, might be even more terrifying than the Wu Zhiming who did.