Thinking of Hu Wei’s smiling face, Bai Yang felt that just one drink wouldn’t suppress this anger.
He immediately poured himself another cup and said coldly: “Lin Xiufen has been living in the nursing home for so long, and all her treatment costs until now have relied on charity fundraising. Now you’re asking me to remove this set meal—what about her future treatment?”
Manager Guo truly lived up to his battle-tested reputation. The smile on his face didn’t change one bit due to Bai Yang’s stern scolding. Seeing this, he simply raised his wine cup and politely drained his glass as well.
He smiled: “Mr. Bai, don’t be hasty. We naturally know that you’re keeping this charity set meal to do your part for the victims’ families in this matter. I’ve also consulted with my superiors about this… If Mr. Bai, you’re willing to remove the set meal, the future costs can be covered by our Guan Yinli Real Estate. Compared to fundraising from customers, I think through us, we should be able to efficiently raise more charitable funds at once, shouldn’t we?”
In just a few sentences, Manager Guo didn’t forget to subtly disparage the efforts Huangliang Yimeng had made so far. With two cups of alcohol in his system, Bai Yang felt a surge of anger rush to his head: “What do you mean—”
“In other words, you plan to bear all their expenses?”
Bai Liu held down her agitated brother and narrowed her eyes: “Then, if I’m not mistaken, you’ll also conveniently hold a grand media press conference to let everyone know about your great charitable heart?”
Manager Guo smiled: “President Bai, you’re also in business. For large groups like Guan Yinli Real Estate, isn’t a media press conference quite normal for such matters?”
Like hell!
If Bai Liu wasn’t holding onto him, Bai Yang, with alcohol going to his head, would have exploded on the spot.
Damn it, even thinking with his pinky toe, he knew these blood-sucking capitalists had indirectly caused the deaths of so many people. Now that Hu Wei’s case was settled, they actually had the audacity to whitewash themselves from perpetrators into philanthropists?
Hearing this, Bai Liu’s hand also tightened around her wine glass, and she laughed coldly: “Generally speaking, press conferences are for being transparent with the public about the full picture of events. But I estimate you can’t even manage honesty. In such circumstances, having us remove the set meal so you can wrap things up—that’s all benefits for you, but for us, people outside will inevitably think we’re irresponsible, using the set meal as a publicity stunt before abandoning it halfway. Manager Guo, this isn’t something my brother can agree to with just a nod.”
Han Sha also suddenly interjected: “Besides, we don’t take a cent from this charity set meal—the boss even puts in his own energy and time for nothing… Manager Guo, forgive my ignorance, but when it comes to charitable acts, I’ve only heard of sincerity in the past, never heard of anyone measuring it by efficiency.”
Immediately, the atmosphere at the table became tense.
Having encountered two tough nuts like Han Sha and Bai Liu in succession, Manager Guo’s expression finally changed somewhat, but he remained polite: “It sounds like President Bai has conditions to propose?”
Bai Liu folded her arms and leaned back in her chair, and hearing this, she actually laughed out loud: “Manager Guo, it seems you still don’t understand.”
Her tone turned cold: “Huangliang Yimeng is currently a Bai family enterprise. My brother, like me, is also President Bai—not some small-time individual businessman you can pester into compromise. I came today to tell you that if you continue to casually try to make my brother agree to inherently unequal terms, what you’ll face next will be the legal team of the entire Bai Group.”
Finally, with words reaching this point, everyone across the table looked stern, with Manager Guo especially straightening up and putting on his watertight smile again.
“Then… Presidents Bai, regarding changing the menu, you can propose any demands you have. We can also formalize everything in contracts to ensure both parties’ interests.”
Thus, this Hongmen banquet finally officially entered its second phase.
By the time the lobster on the table had completely gone cold, Bai Yang had finished four cups of alcohol. The destructive power of drinking on an empty stomach was enormous—in the final five minutes, not only was his stomach churning violently, he couldn’t even clearly hear what others at the table were saying.
Repeatedly, Lin Xiufen’s tear-filled eyes behind her mask appeared before his eyes, and Manager Hu’s voice echoed in his ears.
They stood shoulder to shoulder in front of the burned Number 29, watching him, with the rose bushes burned to charcoal behind them, their voices seeming to scatter in the wind.
“Please don’t forget us, Mr. Bai.”
Bai Yang felt terribly nauseous, but thinking about who was sitting across the table, he forced himself not to collapse. Just as he was enduring with cold sweat pouring down his forehead, suddenly someone grabbed his hand, and Han Sha’s voice seemed to jump from far away right in front of him.
“Stop drinking, boss. The talks are finished.”
Han Sha pulled him up from his chair. Bai Yang came back to his senses and realized that the untouched lobster on the table had already been packed in takeaway bags.
Han Sha held him with one hand and carried the huge takeaway box with the other, saying flatly: “We’ll take our leave then.”
They quickly reached the outside.
Almost as soon as they walked a few steps, Bai Yang couldn’t help rushing to a tree on the side, vomiting violently into a garbage bag while Han Sha patted his back and said helplessly: “Boss, you have such little promise. Your sister even had them call you President Bai, but I’ve never seen any president who can’t drink like you.”
“If being President Bai means having to discuss these kinds of things with people every day, I’d rather not be one.”
Bai Yang struggled to catch his breath.
Although he felt terrible, he surprisingly found his mind very clear, so much so that he still remembered most of what had happened during this Hongmen banquet.
After emptying his stomach completely, Bai Yang could finally straighten up. In the distance, he saw Manager Guo from earlier making phone calls while getting into an expensive car with several other people, wearing a smile that made him feel sick.
Obviously, the business they wanted to discuss had been “concluded.”
“Isn’t this letting them have their way?”
Bai Yang gritted his teeth: “Even if they compensate us… even if they compensate the victims, as long as the menu is removed, customers coming to Number 29 in the future will gradually forget what happened here before. These bastards can then pretend like nothing ever happened, continue making tons of money in the future, completely trampling those past victims underfoot.”
Just thinking about how Hu Wei was still in detention waiting to die, while Lin Xiufen couldn’t even remember her son until now, made Bai Yang’s teeth itch with hatred: “So what if I don’t agree? At worst, I won’t do business here…”
“What are you thinking, boss? If you don’t do business here, once they raze this house to the ground and give other residents here soft gag orders, even fewer people will know about everything that happened at Number 29.”
Han Sha came over to hand him a tissue and rolled her eyes: “This house is the biggest evidence. Even without publicity, as long as you’re still here, occasionally stabbing them won’t be a problem.”
“But…”
Bai Yang still couldn’t get over his anger.
Just because he still had to continue doing business in Guan Yinli, he had to “collude” with these bastards and watch them hypocritically become philanthropists…
This kind of thing was just like how every time he accepted interviews, he inevitably got asked questions related to Bai Yiming. Just thinking about it made him feel sick enough to lose sleep.
Clearly these people were also murderers… Clearly, Huangliang Yimeng belonged to mom, and even Bai Family Hot Sauce itself wasn’t surnamed Bai.
Under the influence of alcohol, Bai Yang cursed viciously for a while. At this moment, Bai Liu, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly coughed lightly. Han Sha looked back and frowned: “Your complexion is so poor—don’t tell me you’re also drunk. I don’t have a second bag here.”
“Just take care of him.”
The woman’s voice in the night wind was calm and cold, but the ending trembled slightly as if she was enduring something.
Bai Liu took a deep breath: “Yang Zi, doing business isn’t making cakes—there aren’t so many fairy tales. Have you ever thought that sooner or later, everyone will call you President Bai, and I can’t always stand in front of you? When that time comes, relying on naivety alone won’t let you get mom’s cakes to more people.”