Chapter 1957

Seeing Zhao Desan push the door open and enter, Li Fang put down her disposable tea cup, stood up, and said, "You were gone for such a long time. How is it? Can I go to the Finance Department to collect the money now?"

"Sister Li, sit down first, listen to me..."

"What? Are you going to drag it out again! No, I must get the money today!" Upon hearing Zhao Desan's opening, Li Fang became aggressive again and expressed her position bluntly.

"It's not dragging it out, Sister Li. Sit down first and listen to what I have to say." Zhao Desan walked up with a forced smile, his hands resting on Li Fang's shoulders without hesitation, pressing her into the chair.

"What exactly do you want to do? Tell me!" Li Fang turned her head, looking very angry.

Zhao Desan stood in front of Li Fang, first apologizing sincerely with his head bowed, saying, "Sister Li, I'm truly sorry, but I'm afraid I can't resolve this problem for you for the time being."

"Why!" Li Fang asked, almost shouting at him.

Zhao Desan sighed and said, "Sister Li, although I negotiated with you last time and wrote the IOU, the Construction Commission's finances cannot pay this money out because the Audit Office will be checking the Construction Commission's accounts at the end of the year, so..." Zhao Desan didn't know what else to say.

Li Fang said with a cold face, "Enough! I don't care what your internal systems or regulations are! I only recognize the money today, and I must get it! This IOU was written by you, Deputy Division Chief Liu. You wrote it clearly in black and white and even pressed your thumbprint! Don't even think about reneging on this debt!"

"Sister Li, that's right, I wrote this IOU, and I don't want to renege on it, but now the leadership has stated their position that this money cannot be paid out to you for the time being!" Zhao Desan explained quickly.

"Cannot be paid out to me?" Li Fang sneered with a 'Hmph' and then said aggressively to Zhao Desan, "No matter what you say today, I, Li Fang, must get back this hard-earned money that belongs to us!"

"Sister Li, you... aren't you making things difficult for me?" Zhao Desan was truly at a loss for what to do and said helplessly.

"I'm making things difficult for you? You're the one making things difficult for me! My brothers worked hard, and now they can't get their wages. Are you going to let them drink the northwest wind?" Li Fang kept bringing up her brothers, asking Zhao Desan blankly.

Seeing Li Fang's aggressive and determined attitude, Zhao Desan really had no other choice. He broke the pot and said, "Then what do you suggest, Sister Li? I have no way out now. I've done everything I could. If you have the ability, go ask the leadership!"

"You were the one who negotiated with me, so I'm looking for you!" Li Fang picked up on Zhao Desan's words. It seemed she had set her sights on Zhao Desan.

"You're looking for me? What can I do! Anyway, I have no way to handle this matter!" Zhao Desan turned around, also acting like a dead pig not afraid of boiling water.

Seeing that Zhao Desan was really putting on an act of being unbothered, and it looked like he was going to renege on the debt, Li Fang used her last resort. She 'Hmphed' and changed her tone, saying, "Deputy Division Chief Liu, what's this? You really want to renege on the debt? You might be able to renege on this debt, but you can't renege on the debt from when we were in bed!"

Sure enough, as soon as Li Fang brought up the matter of them sleeping together, Zhao Desan's scalp tightened. He turned around, looked at Li Fang's sneering expression in panic, and stammered, "Sister Li, you... don't bring up things that shouldn't be brought up. These are two different matters!"

Seeing that Zhao Desan was indeed caught off guard by her words, Li Fang flashed a triumphant, sinister smile and said unhurriedly, "Before today, they were two different matters, but now they are one!"

"Wh... why?" Zhao Desan stammered.

"Because you're refusing to acknowledge the debt and want to renege on our hard-earned money!" Li Fang said fiercely.

Zhao Desan quickly explained, "Sister Li, you've misunderstood. I haven't. How could I want to renege on this debt? That's absolutely not the case."

Seeing Zhao Desan soften again, Li Fang softened her tone and said, "Look at your dead-pig-not-afraid-of-boiling-water act just now. Isn't that wanting to renege on the debt?"

Zhao Desan said with a bitter smile, "Sister Li, I have no choice. You know I'm just a small deputy division chief. I was only able to negotiate with you under the authorization of our Director Zheng. Otherwise, how would a small person like me be qualified to negotiate such a big matter with you? So, please... please don't make things difficult for me. I truly have no way!" At this point, Zhao Desan began to protect himself, pushing the responsibility onto that old fox, Eunuch Zheng.

"Stop giving me so many excuses. I, Li Fang, don't have much education, and I'm a straightforward person. Since you were the one who negotiated with me, I only recognize you. I don't recognize anyone else!" No matter what Zhao Desan said, Li Fang wouldn't let him go.

This left Zhao Desan truly at a loss. He said with a mournful face, "Sister Li, aren't you pushing me to my death?"

"Stop acting pitiful! If we're talking about pitiful, I, Li Fang, and my brothers are the ones who are pitiful. We are migrant workers. The hard-earned money we earned working outside all year round hasn't been received because of problems with your Construction Commission's payment procedures. We can't even get enough to eat three meals a day. I think you're the one pushing us to our death!" Li Fang had a whole set of arguments.

Her logical rebuttals left Zhao Desan speechless for a moment. He looked at Li Fang helplessly, not knowing what else to say.

Seeing Zhao Desan stop talking, Li Fang arched her beautiful brows and said with a mocking tone, "What's wrong? Playing dead?"

Zhao Desan sighed helplessly and said, "Sister Li, with you saying it like that, what else can I say?"

Li Fang asked with a frivolous tone, "According to you, you really want to renege on this debt?"

"It's not that I want to renege, it's that I really don't know what to do. I hope you can understand me, Sister Li. I'm also working for the public. The leadership above doesn't agree, and being caught in the middle, I really have no way. Why do you have to make things difficult for me?" Zhao Desan sighed helplessly.

He had said all the nice things he could, but Li Fang still looked at him aggressively and used her trump card again. She stared at Zhao Desan with a look of contempt and said, "I don't care if you're in a difficult position. I just want to get back the hard-earned money that belongs to us. If you don't resolve this matter for me today, don't blame me, Li Fang, for not giving you face. I'll expose our affair, and I'll make sure you have no face to see anyone!"

"You..." Zhao Desan was so incensed by Li Fang's words that his eyes widened. He wanted to curse at her, but seeing Li Fang's serious and determined expression, and thinking that if she exposed what happened that night, he would be completely finished, Zhao Desan softened again. He lowered his tone and said, "Sister Li, don't push people too far. If this matter is exposed, I, Zhao Desan, will have no face to live, but I'm afraid you won't have any face to see anyone either, right? And if you want to get this money, I'm afraid it will be even more impossible!"

Zhao Desan's implication was to let Li Fang know that if this matter were exposed, it would be a lose-lose situation. But to his surprise, Li Fang looked indifferent. She sneered twice and said unhurriedly, "I, Li Fang, am a migrant worker from the countryside. I don't know anyone in the city, and I'm not afraid of losing face. Also, last time I, Li Fang, gave you face by not pursuing Lan Mei's responsibility. If you can't give me a satisfactory answer today, not only will I demand back our hard-earned money, but I'll also go find trouble with Lan Mei!" To make Zhao Desan resolve this matter himself, Li Fang added another weight to the scale, making the advantage lean entirely toward her.

*Damn it! You stinking bitch, don't push me too far! * Zhao Desan cursed Li Fang hatefully in his heart. Hearing her say this, Zhao Desan was completely defeated by her tough attitude. It seemed this woman was truly not someone easy to deal with. He knew he was full of anger because he was being forced by this woman. Since she definitely wouldn't get the money today, he could only drag it out for a while and then find Eunuch Zheng to apply pressure. Helplessly, Zhao Desan patted his chest and made a decision. He hardened his heart and said, "Sister Li, you definitely won't get the money today, but I, Zhao Desan, guarantee you that this money will not be a cent less. If you still believe in me, Zhao Desan, then go back today and don't make a scene here. How about that?"

Seeing Zhao Desan's serious and sincere expression, Li Fang asked, "How can I be sure you won't renege on the debt and that it won't be less?"

Zhao Desan thought for a moment and said to Li Fang solemnly, "How about this, Sister Li? Within three days, I will definitely help you resolve it. I'll write an IOU for the equivalent amount in my own name. If it's not resolved within three days, I will definitely pay you the money personally within a week. That should be enough, right?"

The matter finally developed according to the result Hu Tao had instructed Li Fang to achieve. At this point, Li Fang's attitude softened, and she asked Zhao Desan, "How can I believe you?"

Zhao Desan said, "You have the IOU I wrote, what are you afraid of?" As he spoke, he sat at his desk, picked up a pen, wrote an IOU for over 400,000, pressed his thumbprint on it, and handed the IOU to Li Fang.

Li Fang glanced at him, took the IOU, and checked it. Seeing there was no problem, she put it away and said, "What if you run away?" ===== CHAPTER 1958 =====

Li Fang glanced at him, took the IOU, and looked it over. Seeing that there were no problems, she put it away while saying: "What if you run away?"