He gently patted Liu Li's back and whispered, "It's alright, this is what they call 'evil begets evil'!"
As he said this, Lu Chen's heart skipped a beat. This Pang Bei seems to have a lot of influence. Just one sentence made the previously vicious Miao Wan immediately draw his knife and stab his own men. Can a security minister and safety director have such coercive power? It seems there's more to this than meets the eye!
This Pang Bei, I really should befriend him in the future. If I have any trouble, I can always ask him for help!
Thinking this, Lu Chen glanced at Pang Bei.
Pang Bei also looked at him. His previously murderous face immediately changed, becoming as warm as a spring breeze, with a hint of respect, even a touch of ingratiation.
It seems Pang Bei doesn't want to be friends with me! That expression... he wants to acknowledge me as his elder brother.
Lu Chen thought thoughtfully. He was also a little puzzled. Was it because he had saved Shangguan Bei? And he had even healed her leg? And he had offered some improvements to their Fire Dragon Liquid?
However, the first two reasons were understandable in making Pang Bei respectful; after all, he seemed loyal to the Shangguan family. But asking him to curry favor was another matter. It seemed the third party's contribution was more significant.
Suddenly, Lu Chen was even more impressed with his Seven-Life Flower ability; that medical god ability was truly impressive.
At this moment, Miao Wan returned to Pang Bei, his face deathly pale. He looked at the blood-stained dagger in his hand, then at Pang Bei, his expression shifting between anger and uncertainty.
The dagger in his hand was less than twenty centimeters from Pang Bei's chest; a stab would be quite easy.
Lu Chen couldn't help but warn, "Old Pang, be careful."
Miao Wan immediately shuddered. Old Pang? That kid actually called Pang Bei, the godfather-like figure in Yunzhou City's underworld and now a notorious figure, "Old Pang"? Their relationship must be something else! Damn it, what kind of monster have I messed with?!
Thinking this, he couldn't help but turn and glare fiercely at Du Chao and Miao Yuemei, who were still sitting on the ground.
Pang Bei smiled at Lu Chen again, a smile so suggestive it sent shivers down Lu Chen's spine. Pang Bei continued, "Little Chen, don't worry, if he dares to do anything… hmph."
This hmph nearly made Miao Wan drop the dagger in his hand. He pleaded, his face contorted with grief, "Pang Ye, you're a man's lifeline, how could I dare do anything to you? I... I beg you, please spare me! I still need this hand to work; if it's crippled, I'll suffer a huge loss. Or... I can make up for it with something else?"
Lu Chen was stunned. So, offending Master Pang meant Miao Wan would have to lose one of his hands according to his rules?
Pang Bei sneered, "According to my old rules, you've dared to bully my best brother. Forget one hand, I'd spare your life. Consider yourself lucky; I've tempered my temper quite a bit these past few years. Here's the deal: you bullied my brother, so let my brother settle the score with you."
As he spoke, he beckoned Lu Chen over and, in a friendly and affectionate tone, told him that according to the rules, the ringleader of a disturbance would lose one hand, and in particularly serious cases, both hands.
Pang Bei, however, classified this incident as exceptionally serious, deeming it warranting the crippling of both hands.
However, whether or not to cripple them was ultimately up to Lu Chen, the aggrieved party.
Miao Wan muttered bitterly to himself, "The rule has always been to cripple one hand, not both! This is outrageous!"
Although filled with resentment, Miao Wan dared not show it on his face. Instead, he forced a smile, trying his best to appease Lu Chen. He said sincerely,
"Mr. Lu, I know I was wrong. I... I shouldn't have smashed things like that, I shouldn't have bullied you! I was terribly wrong. Please, for the sake of my family, I promise I'll never do it again! Whatever compensation you want, just tell me, okay?"
As he spoke, he completely lost his previous arrogance, appearing remarkably obedient.
Lu Chen glanced at the mess around him, then at Du Chao and Miao Yuemei lying on the ground.
Du Chao's face paled. He had heard of Pang Bei's reputation, not to mention the many hotel tycoons he had brought. Even these bigwigs had completely defeated him, the number one figure in the catering industry.
Meanwhile, Miao Yuemei still looked defiant, her fleshy face contorted with a fierce glint, as if she might spring into action at any moment. This kind of woman was the most terrifying; she could kill her husband and brother at any time.
If Du Chao hadn't been holding her down, she would have jumped up.
Lu Chen, having surveyed the surroundings, spoke calmly: "As I said before, I won't make things too difficult for you. For the damage you caused us, we'll compensate you tenfold. For example, the floor-to-ceiling windows cost us 35,000, so we'll pay 350,000. Hmm… that's just one item; there are others."
As he spoke, he turned to Liu Li and extended a hand to her.
Although Liu Li was three or four years older than Lu Chen, and technically the owner of Moon's Fang, she acted as if she completely obeyed him. She jogged over, grabbed Lu Chen's hand, and smiled sweetly.
She looked like a young girl in the throes of first love holding her sweetheart's hand.
Lu Chen said, "Sister Li, just tell us what losses we've suffered. We'll ask them to compensate us tenfold, but they can't be too demanding. Don't worry, Old Pang has our back, everything's fine."
Miao Wan's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Tenfold compensation? And that's not demanding?
"You little beast..." Miao Yuemei almost jumped up, but Du Chao forcefully pulled her back down and covered her mouth tightly. Du Chao said in a panic, "Miao Yuemei, just sit here and don't move. Let your brother handle this! This isn't something you can cause trouble for. If you want to live, don't cause trouble..."
Miao Yuemei struggled for a while, but temporarily gave in, though the fierce light in her eyes carried a hint of madness.
Liu Li also looked around, hesitated slightly, and then began to calculate.
The overturned food cabinets were worth about 50,000 yuan.
The pastries were worth about 7,000 yuan.
The walls and some paintings were also damaged; repairs would cost an estimated 5,000 yuan.
"That's about it," Liu Li said, then hesitated slightly before adding, "The food cabinet can be repaired; I estimate it'll only cost three or four thousand."
Lu Chen nodded, then shook his head. "Don't repair the food cabinet, let's replace it while we can. So, fifty thousand multiplied by ten equals five hundred thousand. Then, these pastries, multiplied by ten, equals seventy thousand. The walls and paintings… well, let's just repair them. We can't be too stingy, so that'll be fifty thousand. Three hundred and fifty thousand plus five hundred thousand plus seventy thousand plus fifty thousand… how much is that?"
Liu Li quickly arrived at a figure: "Ninety-seven hundred thousand."
This number immediately startled her.
Shh? Ninety-seven hundred thousand—enough to open another, even more spacious and upscale pastry shop.
Miao Wan's face contorted with pain, his facial muscles twitching. "I...I mean, Mr. Lu, this 970,000...this is too...too..."
"Don't think it's too little!" Lu Chen waved his hand. "There's more!"
He continued with his calculations: "Look, today we definitely couldn't do business. A huge loss of customers caused incalculable economic losses. Although incalculable, we can calculate it based on our average daily sales from last week, which is about 12,000 yuan."
"Furthermore, there's the emotional distress of myself, my boss, and the three employees. Let's say 100,000 yuan for all five of us! Ten times 12,000 yuan is 120,000 yuan, so adding 100,000 yuan makes 220,000 yuan. Adding the 970,000 yuan from before, it's a total of 1,190,000 yuan. Let's round it up to 1,200,000 yuan!"
"Alright!" Lu Chen clapped his hands. "Forget it, let's leave some odds and ends out. Leave some room for maneuver, so we can meet again in the future! Old Pang, do you think I'm being fair?"
Pang Bei was completely bewildered by Lu Chen's calculations. He thought to himself, "This kid's too ruthless! Such a small matter, and he's asking for 1.2 million in compensation! What a huge trap!"
"Fine, he's got potential! No wonder the young lady took a liking to him!"
Pang Bei smiled obsequiously, "Little Chen, you're so kind and fair, calculating every penny, and you only want this little bit! If it were me, I wouldn't even bother; I'd ask for at least three million!"
After saying that, he turned to look at Miao Wan, his expression turning vicious.
Miao Wan, his face contorted with distress, said, "Mr. Lu, how can you calculate it like that? For example, that compensation for lost customers—I think it should be included in the pastry losses, or at least reduced by a portion. And..." He swallowed hard, "...and that tenfold compensation, I think..."
"Alright!" Pang Bei interrupted him, then said, "Xiao Chen, it's just 1.2 million, I'll put in 2 million as an investment, let's see who dares to cause trouble again! This guy, don't make him put in any money, just give him your hands! Damn it, so much nonsense!" His last sentence was dripping with menace, then he reached out to Zhong Ji beside him.
Zhong Ji understood and immediately drew a dagger and handed it to Pang Bei.
Pang Bei, without even glancing at Miao Wan's face, which had instantly turned deathly pale, casually brandished the sharp dagger in his hand and said, "Haven't played this game in a while, it feels quite nostalgic. Seven Stars Opening, Old Zhong, remember?"
Zhong Ji respectfully replied, "I remember, I've done it for you a few times before. Seven stabs to make seven holes in the violator's palm, they can't overlap, and they have to be in a seven-star shape. It really tests your hand skills."
"Alright, today, for Xiao Chen's sake, I'll personally do a double-handed Seven Stars Opening for this blind fool." Pang Bei flicked the tip of his dagger, then sighed at Miao Wan, "Kid, this is your good fortune!"
Zhong Ji raised his hand, and two companions behind him dragged over a small square table, disarmed Miao Wan, and pressed his hand onto the table.
None of the dozen or so thugs Miao Wan had brought dared to help.
Lu Chen, watching this scene, felt a pang of sadness. Seven bloody holes pierced a palm; it's definitely going to cripple him!
Old Pang is ruthless!
Miao Wan's trembling hand touched the table, and he suddenly screamed hysterically, "Master Pang! No...no! I'll give it! I'll give you the money, don't torture me, I'll give you everything! 1.2 million, I'll give you all of it!"
Pang Bei looked at Lu Chen.
Lu Chen said calmly to Miao Wan, "You're really making a fuss. Why didn't you say so earlier? Now you've caused all this trouble. Old Pang won't care about your money, but these three brothers have worked hard; give each of them 100,000. Just make up 1.5 million."