Chapter 718: The Price of Favoritism

Liu Guangtian sneered, "I don't want to do this either. But the old man is unreasonable—the moment Liu Guangqi said he was being mistreated at his in-laws', the old man handed over twenty thousand yuan just like that. But I don't even have a wife yet! Why doesn't he care about me? From that day on, I decided: don't come to me for retirement support, go find the eldest brother!"

Liu Guangfu leaned in and asked, "Second Brother, do you think our dad can still make a comeback?"

Liu Guangtian shook his head, "Once this incident happened, it was all over. Originally, he could have relied on his two apprentices, but now, who would dare to deal with him?"

Liu Guangfu suddenly laughed, "Second Brother, I always thought you were stupid, but now it seems you're the smartest of the three of us, even sharper than the eldest."

Liu Guangtian raised his hand and slapped him, "Go to hell! You're mocking me to my face, aren't you? I'm just avoiding trouble because I can't afford to provoke them. If our dad only has his eldest son in his heart, then let him count on the eldest son!"

Just as they were talking, two people walked in through the door.

The one walking in front was tall with thick limbs, his suit stretched tight, and he wore a pair of large toad-eye sunglasses on the bridge of his nose, looking exactly like a thug from a Hong Kong movie. The one behind him was shorter, wearing a Zhongshan suit, appearing a bit rustic and reserved.

Liu Guangtian stared fixedly at the two of them.

Liu Guangfu lowered his voice, "Brother, why do these two look so familiar?"

Liu Guangtian didn't answer, standing up directly to meet them and blocking their path.

The big man took off his sunglasses, looked him up and down for a few moments, and suddenly laughed, "You brat are Liu Guangtian."

Liu Guangtian grinned, "The moment I saw your pigeon-toed walk, I knew you were Xu Xinghai. You've been gone for almost thirty years, right? I recognized you at a glance, pretty impressive, huh?"

Xu Xinghai raised his hand and punched him, "You haven't changed either, big round head; no one else looks like that but you."

Xu Xingfu, standing to the side, chimed in, "Brother Tian, how about we eat together?"

Liu Guangtian waved his hand, very generously, "My treat today."

Xu Xinghai didn't stand on ceremony and followed them to sit at their table.

"Waiter! Add four plates of Zhizi Barbecue and two plates of Braised Beef Strips!" Liu Guangtian shouted loudly.

Soon the dishes were served, filling the table completely.

Liu Guangtian asked while pouring wine, "Xinghai, how long have you been back this time?"

Xu Xinghai thought for a moment, "About half a year. I looked for Yan Jiefang, but that grandson has changed; he doesn't want to bother with me."

Liu Guangtian laughed, "That bastard is acting high and mighty now. He's a Transportation Department Director at Xueru Clothing Group, and his wife is the General Manager; he's a somebody now, so of course he won't bother with you."

Xu Xingfu interjected indignantly, "My brother is the General Manager of Fenghua Garment in Hong Kong! A big factory with hundreds of people!"

Liu Guangtian's eyes lit up, "Xinghai, where have you been making your fortune all these years?"

Xu Xinghai gave a bitter smile, "I went south and found it wasn't easy to get by, so I did odd jobs. Later, I met a group of deserters and ended up drifting to Hong Kong. Washing dishes, working as a laborer, slowly grinding away. Later, I met a woman who made clothes and we got married. I hung out with a gang for a while, I could fight, and I earned some money, so I let her open a clothing shop, which slowly developed into a factory. After the Reform and Opening-up, I went to Guangdong Province and invested in a garment factory, which my son manages now. Sigh, it's hard to leave one's homeland, so here I am back again."

Liu Guangtian's eyes darted, "Xinghai, what are your plans next?"

Xu Xinghai sighed, "I wanted to cooperate with Xueru Clothing through Yan Jiefang, but... Chen Xueru is currently negotiating the acquisition of Xueru Clothing, so my plans all fell through. Yan Jiefang and Xiaomei both want to follow Chen Xueru and won't pay any attention to me at all."

Liu Guangfu asked curiously, "Chen Xueru wanting to acquire Xueru Clothing must cost a lot of money, right?"

Xu Xinghai nodded, "At least ten million to start. I heard she also wants to take over the factory from the Nanluoguxiang Street Office and establish the Xueru International Fashion Group."

Liu Guangfu cursed, "Damn, how much money does that He Yuzhu have? Running a restaurant on one hand, and wanting to take over a massive factory with thousands of people on the other."

Xu Xinghai laughed, "It's not He Yuzhu's money; I heard it's also Hong Kong capital."

Upon hearing this, Liu Guangtian finally perked up, "He Yuzhu used to be quite something, serving as the Factory Director of the Red Star Rolling Mill, but later he was squeezed out and resigned. Now he's jumped into the market and opened a dozen Spicy Hot Pot shops." He gestured toward the opposite side, "See that 'He Ji Spicy Hot Pot' across the way? That's his."

Xu Xinghai said, "Nothing special, just small business. By the way, what are you two doing now?"

Liu Guangtian said, "Don't mention it, we originally opened a Trade Company, but recently someone reported us... so we're idle now."

Xu Xinghai thought for a moment, "How about working with me?"

Liu Guangtian laughed, "You're in the clothing business, I can't really help with that."

Xu Xinghai shook his head, "I'm not asking you to make clothes. You can sell clothes. There are many idle people in society now, and there are people causing trouble everywhere when doing business. You must know a lot of people; can you help look after the place?"

"We're good at that." Liu Guangtian said confidently, "Then, let's have a strong alliance."

In the East Cross Courtyard, the He Family was eating and chatting.

Fang Deng hadn't been to Wang Xia's place recently and was eating with the He family.

He Yuzhu patted Fang Deng's head, "Girl, are you getting used to going to school in Beijing?"

Fang Deng was a little proud, "The textbooks here are slower than where we were; I've already learned a lot of this stuff. I can get first place in my class now."

He Yuzhu took out a Parker pen and handed it to her, "This is your reward. Every time you get first place from now on, there will be a reward."

Fang Deng happily accepted the fountain pen.

He Jia spoke up, "Dad, Liu Haizhong has a cerebral infarction; even if he recovers, it won't be convenient for him to move around in the future. The Liu family is finished. The joys and sorrows of people really happen in an instant. A while ago, their family was still showing off desperately, and now they are all miserable."

He Yuzhu sighed, "Liu Haizhong was just too greedy."

He Jia laughed, "Dad, do you know who tipped them off this time?"

"Who?"

"Yan Jiekuang did it!"

He Yuzhu was stunned, "Why?"

"Aunt Li Xiangxiu told me when I went to deliver things to her. She said if the Xu Family, the Liu family, or the Yan family caused trouble for our family, we should expose this matter. She went to check the surveillance, and it was indeed Yan Jiekuang."

"Then spread this news and let them bite each other," Chen Xueru said.

"Bang Geng's grandmother has already spread it," He Jia laughed.

He Yuzhu nodded, "I heard Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu both ran away?"

He Zheng said with a smile, "I heard from Bang Geng that it wasn't because his dad's goods were seized, but because Liu Haizhong gave the eldest son twenty thousand yuan. The two sons who had worked for him for a year only got a few thousand each. The brothers said they wouldn't support Liu Haizhong in his old age no matter what."

He Yuzhu asked, "Isn't Liu Guangqi a Section Chief now? Why is he still asking for money from home?"

He Zheng said with a smile, "The Second Aunt told Bang Geng's grandmother that he has always lived at his wife's house and felt he had no face, so he cried to Liu Haizhong, and Liu Haizhong gave him money to buy a small Siheyuan."

He Yuzhu thought to himself: This Liu Guangqi really has some vision; buying a Siheyuan at this time is the perfect opportunity.

After everyone chatted for a while, He Yuzhu suddenly asked, "Xueru, how are things on your end?"

Chen Xueru sighed, "After talking back and forth, I can only acquire forty-nine percent of the shares; the controlling party still has to be Xiaomei's side. Actually, I would rather start a new company, but those are all old employees who have followed me for a long time, and I really can't bear to abandon them."

He Yuzhu thought for a moment, "If you can't be the one to make the final decisions, then forget about this acquisition."