The Strongest Dandy in the City-Chapter 204: What Do You Think You Are?

The Lis had reserved private room number three on the first floor, which was not far from Ye Chenfeng’s private room number eight.

After entering private room number three, the Lis’ family head, Li Tangming, warmly invited Secretary Cui Yong of the Municipal Committee to take a seat, "Secretary Cui, please feel free to order whatever you want to eat, there’s no need to stand on ceremony with us. If there’s ever anything you need from the Lis, we are absolutely willing to go through fire and water for you."

"Yes, Secretary Cui, my father is absolutely right, please don’t be polite with us," the eldest son, Li Shouchun, said, his face also filled with smiles.

"Secretary Cui, we must keep in touch in the future! I believe that with your abilities, you will have a boundless future," the second son, Li Shouxia, eagerly flattered.

Only Li Tangming’s youngest son, Li Shouqiu, and his wife, Fang Qin, remained silent, and even had unmistakable worry on their faces—they were undoubtedly concerned about their own son, Li Pangzi!

"Humph," Li Tangming let out an angry snort, "Are you two still worrying about that little beast? If you’re worried, you can go and join him! If you two dare to stand by him, from then on, you’ll have nothing to do with the Lis—I suspect that once you leave the Lis, you won’t even be able to survive, right?"

Li Tangming disdainfully looked at his youngest son; he had always had the least amount of faith in Li Shouqiu. Now that Li Pangzi had essentially betrayed the Lis, he vented all the fury in his heart onto Li Shouqiu.

Fang Qin’s face flushed with anger; she had suffered her fair share of humiliation in the Lis over the years. Holding the status of daughter-in-law in this family had been stifling! Now that her own son had been driven out of the Lis, she really felt there was no longer any point in staying. Just as she was about to stand up and leave, Li Shouqiu, sitting next to her, grabbed the hem of her clothes and whispered, "Qin, don’t act rashly. If even we are driven out of the Lis, we won’t be able to help our son anymore."

Fang Qin took a deep breath and gradually dissipated the fire in her chest. She knew her husband was right. Now that the Lis had invited the secretary of the Municipal Committee Secretary, if Secretary Cui decided to go against Zhu Maode and Ye Chenfeng and the others, it was likely that in the end, their own son, Li Pangzi, would also be implicated.

If they left the Lis in a fit of rage, they would be unable to help in any way later; if they stayed and endured silently, they might still be able to plead with Li Tangming. After all, Li Pangzi was of the Lis’ bloodline!

Seeing that his third son, Li Shouqiu, and daughter-in-law, Fang Qin, didn’t talk back and didn’t even make a peep, Li Tangming’s expression significantly improved. He then showed an apologetic smile to Cui Yong, "Secretary Cui, I apologize for what you’ve seen. This youngest son of mine has been useless since he was young. He’s been of no help to the Lis, and what infuriates me even more is that my useless grandson actually betrayed our family."

"Old Master Li, you shouldn’t get too angry anymore. Just outside Lanfeng Pavilion earlier, that fattest kid should be your grandson, right?" Secretary Cui quite enjoyed the feeling of being flattered.

"Secretary Cui, you guessed right, that little beast is indeed my youngest grandson, and he’s completely useless," Li Tangming responded with a nod.

"I really don’t know how they managed to give birth to that little beast. How could he turn his elbows out? He has truly lost the face of the Lis."

"However, that little beast will probably soon come begging to return to the Lis. When that time comes, we definitely can’t give him any chances."

Hua Mei, the wife of Li Shouchun, and Qian Lan, the wife of Li Shouxia, muttered quietly among themselves. Since these two shrewish women were sitting close to Li Shouqiu and Fang Qin, their words were heard loud and clear by Li Shouqiu and Fang Qin.

Under the table, Li Shouqiu’s hands clenched tightly into fists. He felt a burning impulse to explode, as he not only had been called useless by his own father but also his son had been labeled the same. Over the years, regardless of what he did for the Lis, it was always about enduring and giving in.

This made Li Tangming regard him as a weak and incompetent waste; his elder and second brothers treated him as a soft target to be bullied and taken advantage of at will, and as time passed, Li Shouqiu’s personality became increasingly docile.

However, even the most docile person has limits, and Li Shouqiu’s rage was climbing steadily.

At this moment, Fang Qin took hold of Li Shouqiu’s tightly clenched fists and whispered into his ear, "Have you forgotten what you just said to me? For the sake of our son, we can only endure."

Upon hearing this, Li Shouqiu’s tightly clenched fists gradually loosened, and with a rather helpless sigh, he thought to himself that too often, he felt incapable, neither a qualified father nor a proper husband.

"Is Director Zhu’s party in private room number eight? You go ahead and pay your respects with a toast," Cui Yong instructed. "If Director Zhu is willing to apologize to the Lis and take legal action against that young man Ye Chenfeng, I don’t think there’s any need to bother Secretary Zou with this. However, if Director Zhu insists on going his own way, I’m also prepared to play along with them."

As the secretary to the municipal party committee secretary, Cui Yong had many things to consider! Although most officials in Tianhai would show him some respect, it all stemmed from his backer, Zou Wenhai.

Moreover, Zhu Maode is, after all, a venerable branch bureau chief. If Secretary Zou were to get involved, he would certainly investigate from the beginning, and the whole matter would become very troublesome. It would be best if Zhu Maode could see the error of his ways. If he still refused to give face to Cui Yong, Cui wouldn’t mind taking the matter to Zou Wenhai.

"Family Head Li, later you should take the initiative to pay a visit to Director Zhu’s private room. If Zhu Maode is the sensible man he should be, he will come to see me immediately," said Cui Yong with a calm demeanor.

"We’ll do as you say, Secretary Cui," Li Tangming had no objections to Cui Yong’s demands. He was actually quite eager to see Zhu Maode humbly apologizing to them. The Lis had been holding back for a very long time, and today they could finally vent all their frustration.

...

Lanfeng Pavilion, first floor, private room number eight.

The table was filled with dishes that catered to the tastes of Capital City, as Zou Wenhai knew Ye Chenfeng was from there. Therefore, today’s menu was tailored to Ye Chenfeng’s preferences.

During the meal, Ye Chenfeng introduced Monkey and Li Pangzi to Zou Wenhai. Zou Wenhai did not put on any airs, greeted them amiably, and told them to come to him if they encountered any trouble in the future.

"Mr. Ye, I’d like to toast to you," Zou Wenhai said, raising his glass to Ye Chenfeng. "I’ve been wanting to invite you for a meal for a while now, but my work has been so busy recently that it kept getting delayed until today."

Seeing the respectful way Secretary Zou treated Ye Chenfeng, Zhu Maode knew he had backed the right horse. As long as he could strengthen his relationship with Ye Chenfeng, advancing his career further in the future was not an impossibility.

Initially, Zhu Maode, Monkey, and Li Pangzi were a bit restrained due to Zou Wenhai’s status, but as Ye Chenfeng mingled freely, the atmosphere at the dinner table gradually warmed up.

"Secretary Zou, I’d like to toast to you," Zhu Maode said, lifting his glass. "These past years, you’ve been working tirelessly for the benefit of Tianhai!" With that, he downed his drink in one go.

Just as Zou Wenhai was about to reply, the door to private room number eight swung open. Li Tangming, Li Shouchun, and Li Shouxia walked in with glasses in hand. Li Tangming fixed his gaze on Zhu Maode, "Director Zhu, the Lis have come to offer you a toast. I wonder if you will grace us with your acceptance?"

The Lis had never met the municipal party committee Secretary Zou Wenhai before, only ever seeing him on TV occasionally, and in their current enthusiastic state, how could they have guessed that the man sitting to Ye Chenfeng’s right was the municipal party committee secretary?

Award your face? With Secretary Zou present, Zhu Maode had no need to worry about that secretary Cui. He bellowed unabashedly, "I’m not familiar with you. Please leave; don’t disrupt our meal."

The Lis had not expected Zhu Maode to be so discourteous. Li Tangming immediately became indignant and rebuked, "Zhu Maode, do you think you’re so great just because you are a bureau chief? Now even the secretary to the municipal party committee secretary is on our side. You’d better apologize to the Lis honestly, and then take legal action against this young man. Otherwise, Secretary Cui will definitely make you regret it." While speaking, Li Tangming pointed to the calmly dining Ye Chenfeng. novelbuddy-cσ๓

Secretary Zou, listening on the side, found the conversation more and more wrong, and they even implicated his own secretary? Moreover, it seemed to involve Mr. Ye, so he asked, "The municipal party committee secretary’s secretary you mentioned, is it Cui Yong?"

Li Shouchun retorted angrily, "Who are you to refer to Secretary Cui by his name?"

Li Tangming glanced at Zou Wenhai, finding him somewhat familiar, yet he didn’t think much of it. With the backing of Secretary Cui now, this middle-aged man who dared to speak up was probably just an official of roughly the same level as Zhu Maode, he assumed.

Zou Wenhai’s face flushed with anger at being so blatantly insulted; he, the municipal party committee secretary, was being derided by these men, who relied on his secretary Cui Yong. He found the situation absurd, almost to the point of making him want to spurt blood with rage.(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.)