Chapter 56 : Chapter 56
Chapter 56: It’s Just Sealing Up a Shop, an Easy Favor
At the Li family’s banquet hall.
Ever since Li Dayong had called the director of the Jixiang Road Branch last time and gotten cursed out by the man, the other side had never answered his calls again.
By now, Li Mu had become a thorn in the hearts of everyone in the Li family.
Originally, after kicking that piece of trash out of the family, all they had needed to do was sit back and watch how Li Mu died.
They had plenty of family businesses to manage.
They still had wealth and luxury to enjoy.
Yet they had never expected a mere Li Mu to throw the whole household into chaos.
At that moment, a full table of food and wine had already been laid out in the banquet hall.
The Li family members seemed to be waiting for someone.
Li Xiaohao, seated at the table, looked the most impatient of all.
“Dad! He’s just some minor supervisor from the Commerce and Industry Department!”
“Not long ago, when he came to our house, he was the one carrying gifts!”
“Why are we even hosting a banquet for him? Aren’t we giving him way too much face?”
Li Mu’s Second Uncle, Li Zhi, shot his son an irritated glare.
“Shut your mouth!”
Inside, he was cursing that useless boy all over again.
In the Abyss First Battle, Li Xiaohao had only managed to place thirty-first!
That result had completely changed many people’s attitude toward the Li family.
The Li family had a medical industry project these past two days.
The other party was responsible for the capital investment and the entire medicinal herb supply chain.
The Li family, meanwhile, needed to handle the more troublesome pharmaceutical approval procedures.
Back when the Li family had awakened an S-Grade Talent, a Minister and a Supervisor from the Commerce and Industry Department had personally come to pay a visit.
They had brought quite a few gifts at the time.
They had even promised to look after the Li family on the business side of things.
There was no helping it.
In Huaxia, family powers were a very special kind of force.
If you wanted to climb in official circles, and at the critical moment you did not have one or two family powers backing you, then you simply could not compete with others.
What the Li family had not expected was that when they called that Minister from the Commerce and Industry Department this time, the man had been vague and perfunctory.
It was obvious that he no longer thought much of the Li family.
When the Li family asked to meet him, the Minister said he was busy.
So he had only sent a supervisor under him instead.
The Li family had already bragged to their project partner.
Now they had no choice but to grit their teeth, set out a banquet, and entertain this Supervisor properly.
No matter how bad things had been before, the Li family had still been a second-rate family.
After awakening an S-Grade Talent, they had thought that no matter what, they ought to at least climb to the top tier of the second-rate families.
Instead, they had fallen so low that they had to host a banquet for a mere supervisor!
It was truly infuriating!
“This is all that dog-bastard Li Mu’s fault!”
Old Madam Ma gave a cold snort and slammed her cane hard against the floor.
She knew it best.
It was precisely that strike Li Mu had delivered in the square, the one that had beaten Li Dayong to his knees, that had exposed the Li family’s current weakness in terms of combat strength for all to see!
Originally, if they had managed to capture Li Mu and teach him a harsh lesson, they still could have salvaged quite a bit of the situation.
At the very least, it would have let people know that angering the Li family came at a price.
But what had happened in the end?
There on camera, in front of the media, Li Mu had been picked up openly and grandly by a military vehicle!
He had beaten them and come away completely unharmed.
What kind of message did that send to the outside world?
The Li family had truly been ruined by Li Mu this time!
Li Xiaohao was deeply displeased.
He stood up in irritation and said, “You can all stay and keep him company if you want! I’m not going to embarrass myself like this!”
After saying that, he turned and left.
What a joke.
He was an S-Grade Talent holder.
What heights would he reach in the future? And they wanted him to put on a smile for some lousy little supervisor?
“Exactly. Why should my son keep company with some pathetic supervisor?”
“It’s fine, son. Go have fun.”
Li Mu’s Second Aunt nodded in wholehearted agreement.
Li Zhi looked as if he wanted to say something, but stopped himself.
He wanted nothing more than to curse his son for being useless.
But he did not dare say it aloud.
The Li family’s last shred of dignity was being propped up by him and his son alone.
If he cursed his son for being useless, would that not be the same as slapping his own face?
The rest of the Li family sat in silence, and the atmosphere was heavy with oppression.
Especially Li Dayong.
Ever since he had been beaten by Li Mu, he could no longer hold his head high when speaking at home.
At this point, he wanted nothing more than to tear that bastard Li Mu apart with his bare hands.
No sooner had Li Xiaohao left than the butler brought someone in from outside.
Li Zhi and Li Dayong hurriedly stood up.
“Supervisor Liu, forgive us for not going out to receive you.”
Li Zhi stepped forward with a chuckle and a polite clasp of the hands.
Supervisor Liu wore a smile on his face, but inwardly he was deeply displeased.
If you knew you ought to have gone out to greet me, then why did you not?
What was the point of saying such nonsense here?
“The Minister is rather busy, so he specifically sent me over to see what the Li family needs.”
Li Zhi’s face became a little ugly.
The implication was obvious. I came here on the Minister’s behalf. You did not come out to greet me. I am very dissatisfied.
“Haha, yes, yes. Supervisor Liu could still come despite being so busy, and we are very grateful for that.”
“Please, have a seat. The food and wine are already prepared. Let’s talk over drinks.”
Everyone invited Supervisor Liu to sit down.
Supervisor Liu greeted Old Madam Ma, exchanged a few casual pleasantries, and after some idle chatter, the conversation gradually entered the real topic.
After hearing what sort of pharmaceutical approval the Li family wanted, Supervisor Liu immediately put on a troubled expression.
“Aiya, you all know how it is. Pharmaceutical approvals have always been the strictest.”
“And Pills and liquid medicines are the strictest of the strict.”
“This matter will not be easy to handle.”
As he spoke, Supervisor Liu shook his head and reached out to pick up a dish.
Then he suddenly praised it. “Oh? This is delicious. Dragon Fragrance Fish is not cheap.”
“It has to be worth at least over a thousand, right?”
The moment he heard that, Li Zhi’s face changed drastically.
Supervisor Liu was hinting at his price.
And the moment he opened his mouth, it was ten million!
That was outright robbery.
They estimated that even after the project went into production, the total profit from the first quarter would only be about that much!
Li Zhi gave a stiff laugh.
“Ah, haha, that fish isn’t quite that expensive. I think it was only six or seven hundred.”
Supervisor Liu waved his chopsticks emphatically.
“Huh? Impossible! You definitely could not buy it for six or seven hundred! It has to be at least twelve hundred!”
The Minister had authorized him to ask for ten million. If he could squeeze out another two million on top of that, then naturally he had to pocket a little something for himself as well.
Those in the Li family who understood what he meant were grinding their teeth in hatred.
A mere little Commerce and Industry supervisor.
The Li family was asking him to help with one matter.
And it was going to cost them that much money?
So the Li family’s reputation was not worth anything at all?
This was simply too much!
Old Madam Ma clenched her teeth hard, and her smile had already become painfully unnatural.
“Good! Supervisor Liu truly has a sharp eye! This fish just so happens to be worth twelve hundred!”
Supervisor Liu burst into laughter.
The Li family had agreed.
He smiled and said, “See? I told you so.”
But Old Madam Ma continued, “However, we would also like to ask Supervisor Liu for one small favor!”
Supervisor Liu set down his chopsticks. “Please, Old Madam, go ahead!”
So the other party was attaching a condition.
Twelve million was no small sum. If it was not anything major, then he could help.
Old Madam Ma took a deep breath.
“There is a blacksmith shop on Happiness Street called Jinshi Forge!”
“The owners are Chen Jinshi and Yang Yourong.”
“I will not hide it from you. That rebellious wretch our Li family produced, Li Mu, is staying there!”
“As far as I know, that blacksmith shop has serious problems!”
“I hope the Commerce and Industry Department can deal with them properly!”
“I see that Supervisor Liu likes fish. If you punish them severely enough, then I can give you another fish worth one hundred!”
Supervisor Liu’s eyes lit up at once.
Just for investigating one shop, the Li family was willing to pay one million?
The Li family’s money really was easy to make!
“Ah, of course! Punishing unscrupulous merchants is our bounden duty.”
“I’ll take care of it as soon as I get back!”
Supervisor Liu said, patting his chest.
Only then did Old Madam Ma let out a long breath of relief.
Last time in the square, those few words from Yang Yourong had nearly made her die on the spot from anger!
The person she hated most now was Yang Yourong.
She hated her even more than she hated Li Mu.
That woman’s mouth was simply too vicious.
Even if it cost her a sum of money, she would still ruin that woman’s livelihood and make her suffer properly.