Chapter 147 — The Long-Awaited...

Yang Ce had never thought well of Dekang Real Estate to begin with, and after hearing Zhou Xiaoming's words he found him utterly loathsome. Still, at this moment he had no intention of making trouble for this Zhou Xiaoming—there was no need for that yet.

Yet even if Yang Moyi had been willing to let this Zhou Xiaoming off, Zhou Xiaoming had no intention of letting Yang Ce off.

Zhou Xiaoming went on: "Zheng Lüzi, go and have a word with those guests over there. Tell them to go eat down in the main hall—on me."

"Brother Zhou, we're paying for it? That's a loss," Zheng Lüzi muttered, reluctant to part with the money.

"Damn it, you're hurting over a little money like that? Skim a bit off each demolition household later and you'll have it all back, idiot," Zhou Xiaoming scolded.

"True enough," Zheng Lüzi said, nodding quickly.

Hearing this, Yang Yongjin felt a surge of anger. What kind of hero was Yang Yongjin that he could right every injustice in the world? But the demolition households involved the interests of Lin Yanhe's family, and that was why Yang Ce paid such particular attention to the shantytown demolition.

Hearing Zhou Xiaoming talk of skimming off the demolition households' money, his anger flared up beyond bearing, and there was no longer any need to have Liu Baoqiang say anything. Yang Ce already had a mind to teach this Zhou Xiaoming a lesson.

Having received Zhou Xiaoming's instructions, Zheng Lüzi went around the screen and came to Yang Ce's table. He looked over Yang Ce and the others, then at Chen Shutang and Liu Ting, and envy rose in his heart. Damn it, why didn't I have a top-notch beauty like that at my side? Once the demolition money comes through, I've got to find a better one and toss aside the mistress I've got now.

"Our boss says for you to go downstairs to eat. Your meal's on our boss," Zheng Lüzi said, his tone faintly betraying a certain lofty superiority. In his view, if they hadn't wanted to avoid trouble, why on earth would they treat these strangers to a meal? The two beauties were one thing, but what the hell did those two men have to do with them?

"Why don't you go down and eat, and I'll pick up the bill?" Liu Baoqiang had already felt humiliated enough. He was the young heir of the restaurant, and yet he couldn't even treat his friends to a meal in peace. So when he heard the contempt in Zheng Lüzi's tone, he grew even angrier. This restaurant was his family's—did he need anyone else to pay the bill?

"Damn, what's this? You putting on airs with us?" Zheng Lüzi was used to acting like a jackass, and if not for Zhou Xiaoming's orders, why would he ever treat anyone to a meal? But now that Liu Baoqiang had provoked him, his jackass nature flared up at once.

To be continued

914. Screwing You Over (Part Two)

914. Screwing You Over (Part Two) "So what you're saying is, you're loaded?" Zheng Lüzi glared and barked.

Zhou Xiaoming frowned. He hadn't expected Zheng Lüzi to turn mulish after just a couple of exchanges, and fearing a brawl, he hurried over. "What's going on here?"

"Brother Zhou, this punk and his two pals are putting on airs, telling us to get out and eat because he's paying," Zheng Lüzi said, pointing at Liu Baoqiang. With Zhou Xiaoming here, he no longer dared flare up.

"Gentlemen, my brothers and I have important business to discuss here. Would you kindly oblige us? This meal's on me," Zhou Xiaoming said politely, also wary of complications. They needed to hash out the specifics of the demolition compensation plan, and such matters naturally could not be overheard by outsiders.

"We'll each eat our own. I don't think that'll bother you any," Yang Ce said, lifting his head to glance at Zhou Xiaoming.

"Brother, talking like that means you're not giving me any face." On any ordinary day, Zhou Xiaoming would never have stooped to such meek talk; he'd have let Zheng Lüzi and Niu Xiaobo tear into them long ago.

"Do you even have a face worth giving?" Yang Ce sneered.

Zhou Xiaoming's fury flared at Yang Ce's words. He glanced at the dishes on Yang Ce's table and said with contempt, "The minimum spend for this private room is five hundred. Do your dishes even add up to five hundred? If you're broke, don't try to sit in a private room—it's embarrassing."

"So what you mean is, whoever spends more gets to eat here?" Yang Ce had been looking for a foothold to teach Zhou Xiaoming a lesson, and now the fellow had delivered himself right to his door.

"That's not me talking—that's the restaurant's rule," Zhou Xiaoming snorted, thinking to himself, I'm about to be a millionaire. Compared to me, you're nothing.

"Is that so? Then we'll order some more, enough to reach five hundred." Yang Ce shot Liu Baoqiang a look. "Call the waiter over. I want to order more."

Liu Baoqiang laughed inwardly. These people—they truly didn't know their own limits. Who was Yang Ce? Competing with him in wealth was courting death.

"Five hundred?" Zhou Xiaoming's eyes darted. Then he said, "It's not a question of five hundred anymore. Now it's the two of us fighting over this private room. What's five hundred bucks? The stuff we were planning to order already comes to over five hundred."

"Then what do you propose?" Yang Ce narrowed his eyes.

"How about this: whoever orders more money's worth stays in the private room, and the side with less gets out." Zhou Xiaoming chuckled. "But let's be clear—if you lose, I won't be paying your bill."

"Fine, we'll do it your way. The capable one keeps the seat," Yang Ce said with a nod. "That's fair enough. Waiter, over here—we're ordering."

Zhou Xiaoming stood off to the side, absolutely certain of victory, thinking: there are six of us and only four of you. Even if you try, you can't outorder us. I'm a millionaire—competing with me in wealth? You all look like students. You think you can beat me?

Meanwhile, Liu Baoqiang had also called a waiter over, and the two groups began to order.

"Give us two plates of these tiger prawns," Yang Ce said, pointing at the tiger prawns listed at eighty-eight yuan a plate.

"We'll have three plates," Zhou Xiaoming said casually after a glance at the menu.

"Two more plates of scallops," Yang Ce said, flipping through the menu.

"Three plates for us," Zhou Xiaoming said without hesitation.

Yang Ce ordered a few more hotpot items, and Zhou Xiaoming always ordered a bit more than he did.

Yang Ce was quietly amused. So you've got to order more than me no matter what? Fine, then. He looked up at the waiter. "That big lobster of yours—the one at eight hundred yuan apiece—give me four."

"Ah—lobster?" The waiter froze. The most expensive lobster here was only a hundred and fifty-eight each—where would an eight-hundred-yuan one come from? But since the young boss's friend had said it, he couldn't be sure. Could it be a new shipment?

Yang Ce kicked Liu Baoqiang under the table. Liu Baoqiang was no fool; he caught on at once and asked the waiter, "Do you have that?"

"Do we have it?" The waiter had no idea whether they did, and so he asked instinctively.

"Of course we have it. We can have it," Liu Baoqiang said.

"Oh—yes, yes, we have it!" Hearing the young boss say they had it, the waiter saw no problem at all and put in the order straightaway.

"What lobster? We'll have six of those too!" Zhou Xiaoming's heart ached. How could it be so expensive? Could it have been flown in from the South Pole? But he couldn't show weakness, so he clenched his teeth and spoke.

As for Liu Baoqiang's "we can have it," he hadn't taken it seriously at all. It never occurred to him that Liu Baoqiang was the young owner of this hotpot restaurant; he assumed they were just copying a bit from a TV skit.

"Oh, right—I heard some big Hokkaido crabs came in this morning. Let's have one each," Yang Ce said, barely suppressing a smile and keeping a straight face.

"Big Hokkaido crabs?" the waiter repeated, then looked at Liu Baoqiang.