Chapter Twenty-Nine: A Private Settlement

The three of them looked at one another, bewildered as to why the security office had suddenly sent people over.

Originally, Wu De was supposed to arrange everything, but now that someone had come, it was clear he hadn't managed it properly.

Liang Long led four or five men to the snack shop and switched on the lights. The moment he saw Wu De and his companions, his expression changed drastically.

Of course, this was all an act—he had known all along that Wu De would come to smash up the snack shop that night.

"Wu De, Gao Weidong, so it's you two! Looks like you’ve been scheming for quite some time. If I hadn't been on duty tonight, you would have gotten away with it."

"Arrest all three of them and take them to the police station. Out in the middle of the night, instead of sleeping, they come here to wreck someone’s business. The constables must lock them up."

At Liang Long’s words, Wu De and Gao Weidong were struck dumb. They had only wanted to vent their anger, but instead, Liang Long had caught them red-handed.

"Liang Long, we’re all from the same factory. Why are you making things difficult for me? Just turn a blind eye, and I’ll slip you some money—how about it?" Wu De quickly tried to smooth things over.

"I wouldn't dare take your money. Do you know who owns this shop? First, he's connected to our factory director; second, he’s got ties to Black Tiger. I can’t afford to cross either of them. You’d better come quietly with me."

Liang Long said this deliberately for Wu De and Gao Weidong to hear. In truth, Chen Huajiang just wanted to teach them a lesson—he had no intention of actually sending them to jail.

Chen Huajiang also knew that both Wu De and Gao Weidong’s families would certainly spend money to settle the matter privately.

"Listen, we really didn’t mean to do this. Just let us go," Wu De tried to protest.

"Liang Long, we’ve known each other for years. Are you really not going to give me any leeway?" Gao Weidong chimed in.

"It’s not that I don’t want to help you, but my hands are tied," Liang Long replied with feigned helplessness.

Had Wu De and Gao Weidong known a bit more, they’d have realized the connection between Liang Long and Chen Huajiang.

In the end, they were taken to the police station. It was too late at night to notify Chen Huajiang, so they had to wait until morning.

Early the next day, Chen Huajiang was summoned to the police station.

When he heard his snack shop had been vandalized, Chen Huajiang put on a show of exaggerated distress. When asked how he wanted to handle things, he replied unhappily, "What else can I do? Lock them up! These people have been up to no good for a while—they already brought four or five guys here before, ate and then claimed to have food poisoning."

"And now, while I was off work, they went and smashed up my shop. This has happened again and again—how am I supposed to do business?"

At his reaction, Wu De and the others grew anxious.

"Brother! I was talked into this by those two, and I barely did anything. Ask your security office, they did all the damage—I just kicked the door," Zhang Qiang began to put on his own act.

Chen Huajiang glanced at Zhang Qiang, and just then, Liang Long arrived and gave a brief account of what happened. Chen Huajiang pretended to look grim.

"Since you didn’t do much damage, let’s settle this privately. Tell me, how will you compensate for my door?"

"Brother, I’ll install a new one for you—better than the old, I promise," Zhang Qiang replied immediately.

Chen Huajiang nodded, accepting peace with Zhang Qiang. But no matter how they tried to negotiate, he refused to settle with Wu De and Gao Weidong.

Finally, Wu Min and Gao Zhiguo arrived at the station and pleaded with Chen Huajiang.

"Huajiang, we’re all from the same factory. They were being foolish and broke your shop, but we’ll compensate you for all the damages at full price—will that do?"

"Exactly! We’ve known each other for so long, there’s no need to take this so far. When we get back, we’ll deal with those two rascals properly. Just give them another chance."

The two men took turns persuading him.

Chen Huajiang sighed and, pretending to be reluctant, said, "You two are elders, so for your sake, I won’t pursue it any further."

"But you’ll have to cover the compensation. My shop’s a mess—I’ll need five thousand yuan at least. If you’re willing, pay it; if not, so be it."

At the mention of that sum, everyone’s hearts sank. Five thousand yuan was no small amount—split between them, it was twenty-five hundred each.

But if they didn’t pay, and Chen Huajiang pressed charges, Wu De and Gao Weidong would end up in jail.

Gritting his teeth, Wu Min nodded. "Fine, five thousand it is. We accept."

Chen Huajiang stood up and left at once, not worried they’d refuse to pay since everything had been said at the police station.

Returning to the snack shop, Da Guang was tidying up. He already knew who was responsible, and when Chen Huajiang returned, he rushed over.

"Brother Jiang, so what’s the compensation? How much?"

"They don’t have a choice but to pay—five thousand yuan," Chen Huajiang replied, a hint of satisfaction in his tone.

Hearing the amount, Da Guang figured there was no point cleaning up the broken things since they’d be replaced anyway—might as well toss them.

After Xiao Wu and Gao Weidong left the station, though aggrieved, there was nothing they could do. After all, they’d been caught red-handed.

They each took twenty-five hundred yuan and went to settle with Chen Huajiang.

"I’m warning you—there’s no escaping justice. If you try anything like this again, I won’t settle privately. You’d better keep your noses clean," Chen Huajiang said coldly.

The two exchanged glances, said nothing, and left the shop.

"That guy swindled us out of five thousand yuan—his stuff isn’t worth nearly that much," Gao Weidong grumbled on the way back.

"Bad luck, that’s all. Liang Long hardly ever works the night shift—why did he have to show up yesterday?" Wu De couldn’t figure it out.

Suddenly, Gao Weidong’s eyes widened as a thought struck him. "What if they set us up? Maybe Zhang Qiang was in on it too, and they trapped us on purpose!"

Wu De paused, considering. It didn’t seem likely, but why hadn’t Zhang Qiang done anything after they got inside?

Could Zhang Qiang really be working with Chen Huajiang?

But then again, even if that were true, the money was gone now—what could they do?