Chapter 1882: Conditions of Exchange

Zichen did not waste words with him, getting straight to the point: "It's easy if you want me to let you off. You bail Lao Li out of the police station, and I will naturally clear up the impact of this matter. From now on, we are square, and we'll pretend nothing ever happened."

"Impossible."

Huo Zhenteng shouted loudly: "He took a kitchen knife to hack at me; I won't let him off easily..."

Zichen spread his hands: "Then there's nothing to be done. Lao Li is just my employee. My willingness to let you off for his sake is already doing all that is humanly possible. Since you aren't willing, then there's no need to talk. Walk slowly, I won't see you out!"

This was an order to leave.

Huo Zhenteng could not leave; he had come here specifically to get a result.

Now that Sheng Zichen was using Lao Litou as a condition, although he was very unwilling, in the end, he could only agree reluctantly.

"If I let him off, will you let me off?"

"Yes, I keep my word."

Huo Zhenteng did not dare to play any more tricks in front of Sheng Zichen. There was only one day left until the deadline; if Caifeng Restaurant could not open for business again, that person would definitely do what they said they would do.

Sheng Zichen personally accompanied Huo Zhenteng to the police station to bail out Lao Litou!

Lao Litou walked out of the main gate with his head held high and chest puffed out, declaring: "Old thing, you got off easy. If you hadn't run so fast last time, you wouldn't be able to stand in front of me now."

"I will definitely slice you into pieces and let you see my knife skills! If you're a chef, just be a qualified cook. Only when your knife skills are practiced well can you earn others' respect. Constantly practicing schemes is meaningless."

Lao Litou had been a consultant at Phoenix Restaurant; although it hadn't been long, he had received unprecedented respect, which made him feel wonderful.

The chefs in the back kitchen didn't want another competitor, but they didn't mind having another master with superb techniques, especially since it was free.

One by one, in order to learn more skills, they were all incredibly polite to him.

First, they changed how they addressed him, from "Lao Litou" to "Old Li" and "Teacher."

Then, he was taken care of in every aspect, and everyone scrambled to flatter him. All the treatment he was enjoying was because he had become a consultant.

Now that he had been personally picked up from the police station by Huo Zhenteng, he was even more smug, and even triumphantly started acting like a master toward Huo Zhenteng.

Although Huo Zhenteng couldn't beat Sheng Zichen, he couldn't lose his spirit in front of Lao Litou!

He glared fiercely at Lao Litou and pointed at Sheng Zichen, saying: "Don't flatter yourself. If it weren't for him, do you think I would have let you off easily? Don't dream. I am doing Chairman Sheng a favor; otherwise, do you think you could still be standing here looking so full of yourself?"

Even at a time like this, he didn't forget to sow discord.

But it didn't work this time. Zichen warned: "Go back and change the restaurant's menu. You are not allowed to use our dishes, otherwise, our business isn't over yet."

Huo Zhenteng was anxious: "Didn't you say that if I let him out, you wouldn't pursue it anymore? How can you go back on your word and not keep your promise?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he realized he had fallen for Sheng Zichen's trap yet again.

What a clever feint to the east to attack the west; with just one light sentence, the truth of the matter had been revealed.

Lao Litou had originally been about to lose his temper; he felt uncomfortable seeing these two people walking together.

But with Zichen's one sentence exposing Huo Zhenteng's purpose, he was no longer angry and even mocked him a couple of times.

"Old thing, you've never been a decent person your whole life, and now that you're old, you still don't do decent things. You're already half-buried in the dirt; your life is just like this, you should at least accumulate some virtue for your children and grandchildren."

"You old thing, you're so old you can barely walk, yet you still want to harm people. In your next life, you'll turn into a pig..."

Huo Zhenteng's face turned livid, and he turned and left in a rage.

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After returning home, the more he thought about it, the more stifled he felt. He sighed and groaned at home, unable to eat or sleep.

His wife didn't comfort him; instead, she complained that he was too old to accept his age and was tossing and turning all day. He had tossed all their savings away, and now, at his age, he still had to live at the mercy of his daughter-in-law...

"If we had money in our hands, it wouldn't have come to this!"

"Our own Villa was sold, the luxury cars were sold, and we can't even afford to hire a nanny. Now, at her age, she still has to take care of her grandson, cook, and be a free, unpaid nanny for their family..."

"Working herself to the bone, she doesn't even get a kind word, and she's still blamed by her daughter-in-law for being a burden! And all of this is your fault. If you hadn't been tossing and turning, we wouldn't be in this state now..."

His wife rambled on, repeating the same old complaints. Huo Zhenteng didn't want to listen and impatiently interrupted: "Enough, all you do is nag, nag, nag. You only know how to blame me and say useless things. Back when I was making money, you all enjoyed the good life with me. Now you just know how to blame me."

"So what if I blame you? Which part of what I said was wrong?"

"Enough, the hotel will reopen tomorrow. It won't be long before you have your life of luxury back. Shut up now and let me have some peace!"

Huo Zhenteng felt stifled and went to bed early to sleep.

But he was burning with anger inside. In the middle of the night, he was suddenly awakened by a headache. He wanted to shout but couldn't make a sound; his throat felt as if it were blocked by a ball of cotton.

He wanted to sit up but found that half of his body couldn't move at all, so he tried to use his functional arm and leg to make some noise to wake his family in other rooms.

He was in a room by himself, and his wife was staying with their grandson in another room.

"Clang!"

The alarm clock on the nightstand was knocked onto the floor, but the sound wasn't loud enough to wake his family.

He waited for a long time, but no one came, and finally, unable to bear it, he passed out!

When Huo Zhenteng was discovered, it was already the next day, and it was broad daylight.

His cell phone kept ringing; the call was from his niece, Wang Qing. It just kept ringing over and over, but no one answered.

His wife was cooking in the kitchen and was so annoyed by the phone ringing in the room that she came over to protest, only to find her old man lying on the bed, foaming at the mouth and unconscious!

"Oh no, oh no..."

"Old man, wake up, don't scare me!"

After a flurry of activity, Huo Zhenteng was sent to the Hospital Ward. After examining him, the doctor shook his head: "You brought him too late; he has already missed the best window for treatment. The best outcome is that he will be a vegetable."

Huo Zhenteng became a vegetable, and the only ones truly heartbroken were his family members.

His wife had to take care of him, so she couldn't continue taking care of their grandson, and the daughter-in-law had even more complaints!

Right there in the Hospital Ward, she told Huo Peng: "If you want to take care of your father, I won't stop you, but our family can't go on like this. Let's get a divorce. The house goes to me, the child goes to me, and you and your family can go wherever you want."

The house they were currently living in was the daughter-in-law's dowry; the Huo Family's assets had long since been completely exhausted during their several "battles of wits" with Sheng Zichen.

It was only reasonable for the daughter-in-law to take back her own house, and there was nothing to say about her wanting the child.

But the old lady couldn't bear it.

Huo Zhenteng's wife tearfully persuaded her son: "Don't get a divorce. I will take care of your father, and you won't have to worry about it in the future. I still have a bit of a pension, and when your father is discharged from the hospital, we can rent a place to live; it will be enough."

Although Huo Peng did not want to abandon his elderly and ill parents, he could not ignore the reality of the situation.

After struggling with the decision for a long time, Huo Peng had no choice but to compromise with reality—he agreed to kick his parents out so that his own family of three could live their own lives.

The child was still young and could not be without parents.

His parents were already old, especially his father, who now had absolutely no value to be exploited, so he could be abandoned!

It must be said that Huo Zhenteng's upbringing was quite successful.

His son had been influenced by him and had learned every bit of the selfishness and self-interest deep in his bones.

"My Wife Always Wants to Anger Me"

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