Chapter 229

Halfway there, Pei Yi's phone suddenly rang.

"Boss, something's happened!"

……

……

At the intersection of Hongkou and JA District: Qiaqi Commercial Center.

A delivery rider in an orange KuaiPao uniform lay sprawled on the roadside, face bruised purple and black, blood oozing from nose and mouth, soaking a patch of ground.

"Oh my, why's this guy lying on the ground? Someone help him up!"

"You can't just move him—better wait for the Police Inspector."

"Isn't he a KuaiPao delivery guy? How'd he get beaten up like this?"

Bystanders pointed and whispered, chatting loudly, but no one dared step forward to help.

A few minutes later, another KuaiPao rider passed by and rushed over to help the young man up.

"Did you fall?" The rider, in his thirties, eyed the youth's injuries with suspicion.

"Brother Zhang, I was hit by an Ele. e rider—they fled the scene after attacking me." Cheng Jinhui sat on the curb, took the tissue Zhang Tao offered, and wiped the blood from his nose and lips, his voice trembling with grievance.

Beat someone?

Zhang Tao shot to his feet, eyes blazing.

Cheng Jinhui was their station's only part-time rider who was a college student—Tongji's top graduate—who called every one of them, these working-class riders, "Big Brother" every day.

Now he's been beaten by Ele. e people?

Zhang Tao let out a bitter laugh, pulled out his phone, and posted in the station's group chat: "Jinhui was beaten. Anyone without a delivery, head to Qiaqi—we're going to Ele. e to demand an explanation."

It was the off-peak delivery hour; most KuaiPao riders were at the station eating or resting, with only a few orders left.

As soon as they saw Zhang Tao's message, they dropped their chopsticks, hopped on their electric scooters, and sped off to Qiaqi Commercial Center.

Station chief Li Ziqiang, seeing the commotion, first reported to headquarters, then rushed out after them.

Fifteen minutes later, the intersection outside Qiaqi Commercial Center was packed with thirteen KuaiPao riders and five YunSu couriers.

After hearing Cheng Jinhui's story, they flew into a rage, demanding revenge.

"Brother Li, Brother Zhang, don't act rashly—I already called the police. Let the Police Inspector handle this."

Cheng Jinhui blocked Li Ziqiang and Zhang Tao, trying to stop them.

But Li Ziqiang, in a fury, shoved Cheng Jinhui aside and led the group straight toward the Ele. e station.

In his eyes, Cheng Jinhui was only nineteen—a kid. How could anyone hit him so hard?

As a rival, Li Ziqiang knew the exact locations of nearby Ele. e stations. After two turns, he found the target in a narrow alley.

"I'm Longlin Ma! Half an hour ago, at Qiaqi Commercial Center—who beat our guy? Step forward!"

Li Ziqiang was from Luzhou, had studied a few years, but not much.

He'd once been the top rider in Shushan District, followed Pei Yi to Shanghai to open a new market, usually cheerful and rarely lost his temper.

But now, his face was dark as storm clouds.

The Ele. e riders inside, hearing the commotion outside, stepped out in small groups, eyeing the furious KuaiPao crew nervously: "Brothers, is there some misunderstanding here?"

"Misunderstanding? Cheng Jinhui? Where is he? Point him out!"

Li Ziqiang waved his hand, dragged the bruised and bloody Cheng Jinhui forward, and pointed at the Ele. e riders without mercy.

Whoa!

Who did this?

Eight or nine Ele. e riders stared at each other, utterly baffled.

"Brother Li, he's not among these guys." Cheng Jinhui looked up, studied them carefully, then shook his head.

"Go inside and search!"

Li Ziqiang turned to go in, but the Ele. e station chief objected: "This isn't your house—you can't just barge in!"

The two sides immediately began shouting, then exchanged curses, then shoved each other.

No one knew who threw the first punch.

Soon it turned into a full brawl; several Ele. e riders were beaten and fled, heads down.

In no time, chaos broke out as the Hungry Ones' riders were beaten and fled like rats with their heads tucked.

Cheng Jinhui dropped the wooden stick—he'd enjoyed the fight, but now, calm returning, fear crept in.

If responsibility was pursued, he might end up in the Police Inspector's office as well.

If the school found out, he could get suspended!

Li Ziqiang glanced at Cheng Jinhui, thinking: this college kid hit harder than I did.

Some Ele. e riders ran out, calling for backup from nearby stations.

Li Ziqiang and his crew searched the Ele. e station thoroughly—no attacker found.

They returned to the KuaiPao rest station, ready to take Cheng Jinhui to the hospital, when several riders surrounded the entrance.

Li Ziqiang stuck his head out, cursed back, and paid them no mind.

Li Ziqiang stuck out his head and hurled insults back, paying not the slightest heed to these people.

Riders and couriers from Hongkou and JA District were rushing toward Li Ziqiang's location.

Both delivery platforms provided five insurances and one fund, making their riders unusually united.

Ele. e riders heard: KuaiPao riders had stormed in and beaten their colleague!

KuaiPao riders heard: Ele. e riders had beaten one of their own!

YunSu couriers thought: KuaiPao was their sister company—attacking KuaiPao meant attacking YunSu!

Pei Yi and Kou Zhen received the news and immediately drove to the scene.

When they arrived, the Police Inspector had already come and gone, taking both the attackers and the beaten riders.

"Boss Pei, don't worry—I checked. All injuries are superficial, not even minor." Kou Zhen whispered.

Meaning: let Legal handle it, pay some compensation, and it's over.

"Where's Cheng Jinhui?"

Pei Yi exhaled, pressing further.

"He's fine—just one tooth broken. Legal says it's likely minor injury. He should get a medical assessment first, then pursue liability."

"He's fine—just a broken tooth. The Legal team says it's likely a minor injury; we can start with a medical assessment before pursuing their liability."

"As long as he's safe." Pei Yi finally relaxed—he'd worried all the way from Xu Hui that things would spiral out of control.

If a brawl broke out, it'd be a disaster.

He paused, then dialed Chen Yansen's number.

This could be big or small—if the boss found out tomorrow from the news and questioned him, he'd be on the defensive.

Chen Yansen had planned to return to his villa, but after Pei Yi's report, he told his driver to turn around.

"Have they all been released?" Chen Yansen asked.

"Not yet. Too many people involved. Fines are minor—they'll probably be detained for ten days to half a month. The lawyer says he'll try to negotiate." Pei Yi answered.

"Not yet. Too many people were involved. Fines are minor—they'll probably spend ten to fifteen days in detention. The lawyer says he'll do his best to coordinate," replied Pei Yi.

"During the Thousand Groups War, this happened often—usually fines plus detention." Song Yuncheng added.

"One of those taken away is a Tongji student—so it's complicated."

Chen Yansen said honestly.

The kid got beaten, but he also hit back—if investigated deeply, he'd need to cool off in detention for days.

If he were a regular employee, it'd be simple: keep paying his salary, give him a consolation bonus after release.

But he's a college student!

Song Yuncheng frowned. She'd dealt with many similar cases for group-buying platforms—she understood the difficulty.

"No problem. First, get this kid out."

Chen Yansen smiled, voice light.

When he arrived at the Police Inspector's office, dusk had fallen; a golden afterglow faded along the horizon.

Pei Yi, Kou Zhen, and KuaiPao Legal sat in the lobby, listening to a middle-aged man scold: "Are you KuaiPao a delivery company or a fighting club?"

"Mr. Wei, this isn't entirely our fault," Pei Yi argued. "It started as a minor clash, but Ele. e riders bumped into our man, refused to apologize, then beat him to minor injury. When our crew went to protest, they were beaten and cursed again…"

"I don't care about your excuses. All KuaiPao personnel must serve fifteen days." Wei Zhe waved his hand, impatient.

He couldn't imagine how his boss would berate him if the brawl had escalated—might even get a demerit.

"Uncle Wei, what are you doing here?"

Chen Yansen walked in and spotted Wei Zhe, immediately smiling and walking over.

"This is my territory—why can't I be here? You're just in time. How do you train your staff? Always brawling?"

Wei Zhe turned, saw Chen Yansen, and snapped.

"Uncle Wei's right—I'll punish them. One month's salary deducted, let them learn a lesson." Chen Yansen smiled.

"Too late. Come back in half a month to pick them up." Wei Zhe's face was stern.

"Uncle Wei, there's a Tongji student inside—he's the victim. Can he go to the hospital first?"

"Uncle Wei, there's a Tongji University student inside—he's the victim. Can we get him to the hospital first?"

Tongji student?

Wei Zhe remembered, shook his head: "No. He hit someone too."

Wei Zhe remembered and shook his head: "That won't do! He also hit someone."

Chen Yansen, seeing Wei Zhe's air of impartiality, felt helpless and gave up arguing, walking outside to make a phone call.

He wasn't some nobody with no connections—if he was willing to call in favors, how could he fail to settle such a minor matter?

After hanging up, he returned to the service hall and plopped down into a chair.

"Boss, sorry for the trouble," Pei Yi said, head bowed.

"Running a business means not fearing trouble—when problems arise, solve them," Chen Yansen said, clapping Pei Yi on the shoulder.

In his view, Pei Yi was capable; with proper training, he might one day stand on his own.

The other side simply lacked sufficient resources; otherwise, they wouldn't have needed him to show up at all—they could've handled this easily themselves.

Twenty minutes later, Wei Zhe returned, staring intently at Chen Yansen—he'd seriously underestimated this guy.

"Cheng Jinhui can leave. The rest must pay their fines first. Have your company's lawyer come back in ten days."

Wei Zhe said, frowning.

"Thank you, Uncle Wei," Chen Yansen replied with a faint smile.

"What does this have to do with me? Do you know how serious the consequences would've been if a real fight broke out this afternoon?" Wei Zhe emphasized again.

"Uncle Wei, I understand. I just said I'd reprimand and educate them when I get back—I wasn't joking," Chen Yansen replied seriously.

"Good. You understand," Wei Zhe nodded, then stood and left.

If it weren't for the connection with Meng Zhenguo, he wouldn't have bothered saying any of this.

About ten minutes later, Cheng Jinhui walked out slowly, following a Police Inspector.

Chen Yansen waved him over. When Cheng Jinhui arrived, he said sternly: "You're still in school—don't be so impulsive next time."

"If it weren't for the Boss stepping in to protect you, you'd have lost your student status," Kou Zhen warned, fearing the kid wouldn't learn his lesson.

"Thank you, Boss—I'll remember," Cheng Jinhui said, deeply grateful. He knew he'd originally been sentenced to fifteen days, yet within an hour, the Police Inspector had changed his tune.

"Next time, if you can't win, run away. Come back later to settle the score. The company employs so many lawyers precisely to serve you. Whoever hit you, the company will pursue them to the end. Rest up, recover, and go home."

Chen Yansen added a few more reminders.

Cheng Jinhui nodded obediently. When he heard the Boss say the company would cover all medical expenses, dental implant costs, and nutrition fees during recovery, he suddenly felt the beating hadn't been in vain.

Kou Zhen stood up and offered to take him to the hospital.

"By the way, where are the Ele. e people? Don't they even have a legal team?"

Chen Yansen asked Pei Yi.

"They never showed up—not even to pay the fines," Pei Yi shrugged.

"In addition to the rider who hit Cheng Jinhui, pay the fines for the other eight unfortunate souls too."

Chen Yansen said.

"Pay their fines?" Pei Yi froze, thinking he'd misheard.

"To be honest, they had little to do with this incident," Chen Yansen said seriously, not sounding like he was joking.

"Understood. I'll handle it right away," Pei Yi sighed, heading toward the window with the legal team.

After seeing the matter settled, Chen Yansen bid Pei Yi farewell and left with Song Yuncheng.

At that moment, all the delivery riders holed up in the Police Inspector's office wore gloomy expressions.

KuaiPao's riders were fine—they only had to serve ten days, and the legal team had already passed word: "The company will deposit ten days' wages directly into your payroll accounts, based on your average daily income."

Ele. e's riders were in bad shape—no one from the company had shown up yet.

After hearing about the incident, Zhang Xuhao urgently transferred ten riders to the affected Ele. e station, then dispatched a legal officer to the Police Inspector's office.

"What? Someone already paid the fines?" The Ele. e legal officer stared blankly, incredulous.

In Shanghai's delivery world, news spread fast.

"Chen Zong of KuaiPao is really something—he told the Police Inspector in person that KuaiPao was also at fault, so he paid the fines for Ele. e's riders."

"Isn't that true? I heard KuaiPao announced that riders will get full wages for the ten days, plus a bonus when they return."

"Damn! Being an Ele. e rider really makes you feel inferior—better to join KuaiPao!"

The next day, when Zhang Xuhao heard rumors spreading that Ele. e didn't care about its riders' well-being, he felt wronged—he'd sent a legal officer, after all.

But lies spread easily; refuting them took legs off. No one paid attention to Zhang Xuhao's Weibo statement.

The few riders who remained now fled by the dozens—no need to guess; they'd all gone to KuaiPao.

At ten a. ., the Police Inspector summoned the heads of KuaiPao and Ele. e separately, making one core demand: fair business competition was fine, but malicious brawling was not!

(End of Chapter)