Big Data Cultivation

Chapter 490: Chapter 490: Confused Old Dou (2nd Update)

That evening, Dou Jiahui left his shop, which was almost finished for the day, and headed to the Yunyuan Grand Hotel to have a drink with Feng Jun.

He basically knew everyone accompanying Feng Jun, but the mother and daughter Yang Yuxin were rather unfamiliar to him.

Therefore, he didn’t feel too out of place and brought up the topic at the table, “Lao Na and the others will also be coming over tomorrow. Should we have a chat?”

Lao Na was also a grade school classmate of the two of them and had a pretty good relationship with Feng Jun, but he always enjoyed bullying Gazi back then. They even fought over it once. When Lao Na wanted to find someone to deal with Feng Jun, Dou Jiahui stepped in and suppressed him.

Now, Lao Na was doing quite well for himself in Yunyuan. His family had connections with the vehicle administration office, and he had opened a driving school, which boasted assets of over a million — but that probably included the training cars.

“It’s fine to meet, but let’s not talk too much. ‘No common ground for understanding means no working together,'” Feng Jun answered nonchalantly. “Just give Gazi a heads-up. Gazi, these days… could take on three of him.”

“We’re all old friends, who’s still fighting?” Dou Jiahui smiled, “It’s just about joining in on the excitement.”

“Then arrange it however you want” Feng Jun didn’t want to say much more. Er Pang wanted to manage the lighting store well and would definitely have to deal with all sorts of people in society. Although Feng Jun had put up most of the capital, this was ultimately his brother’s stall after all.

That same night, Feng Jun took everyone to experience the nightlife of Yunyuan. The city wasn’t big, with a downtown population of just over a million. They drove around in two cars and casually visited a few spots.

The next morning at nine o’clock, Dou Jiahui’s lighting store officially opened for business.

According to the custom in Yunyuan, such an opening ceremony should take place after ten, but the weather had been extremely hot these days, so it was set for nine o’clock. Although it was overcast that day, it was still oppressively hot.

Since it was a grand opening, there had to be gongs, drums, and firecrackers. After about half an hour of bustling noise, the lighting store put up a “three-day special offer” sign and began to welcome customers inside.

The promotional event was sponsored by manufacturers, but there wasn’t a discount sale per se. Instead, it was a “buy and get one free” event. This was a manufacturer’s product positioning issue, so no need to say more.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ƝοѵǤօ.с0

Because the opening was earlier than usual, not many customers entered the store. All the other shops’ employees or owners on the same street came by in succession to scope things out.

Feng Jun came to express his congratulations and didn’t prepare anything special—just a flower basket. He had advanced all the shop’s funds and had also placed a large order ahead of time. Bringing anything more meaningful would have seemed inappropriate.

He brought a flower basket and so did the others. However, Xu Leigang and Wang Haifeng each sent a red envelope with five thousand through Gazi.

There were many others who brought flower baskets as well. Since the store opened early, people kept bringing flower baskets until nearly ten o’clock.

In fact, for an opening, as long as the flower baskets were delivered by noon, it would look outwardly impressive, showing off a strong network of support.

Among the well-wishers, Feng Jun also recognized many acquaintances, including mutual classmates from his and Dou Jiahui’s elementary school years, and acquaintances from Dou Jiahui’s middle school years, with whom he too was familiar.

Lao Na from the driving school came early and brought two huge Money Trees as a gesture previously discussed.

In the midst of the lively atmosphere, time flew by quickly. Around 10:30, a group of about fifteen thuggish guys came to the store’s entrance, beating an old gong and swaggering in with puffed chests.

Following behind them were two men who were obviously migrant workers, carrying a fairly large Fortune Tree.

The hooligans walked in, set the Fortune Tree on the floor with a clang, and spoke loudly, “We’ve brought wealth for you, where’s the boss?”

“Off you go,” Gazi stepped forward to shoo them away, “We don’t need this…”

“Let it be, it’s all for a good fortune,” Feng Jun, who was nearby the door, stepped in to stop Gazi, “What’s the rate?”

One of the thugs glanced sideways at Feng Jun, “Are you the boss?”

Feng Jun shook his head and replied seriously, “I’m not.”

“If not, then why the hell are you butting in!” The thug cursed at him with a scowl, and then called out loudly again, “Where’s the boss?”

Hearing the commotion, Dou Jiahui hurried over and immediately became furious when he saw what was happening, “The hell… You’re trying to extort me now?”

“Boss, don’t put it that way, you’re taking the fun out of it,” the thugs responded with a forced smile, “We’ve specially come to congratulate you. From now on, you’ll be laying roots here to prosper, right? And these lighting products, they’re quite delicate.”

This was a clear declaration from the other party: no matter how powerful you are, if you’re doing business on this street, you have to listen to us.

These situations are actually quite helpless. The Dou Family was definitely not afraid of these thugs, but as the saying goes, there’s only a thief for a thousand days, not a thousand days to guard against one. They catch you off-guard, play dirty, and then you can’t afford the trouble.

So generally, for serious business people facing this kind of situation, it was common to spend some money to buy peace.

Bulging veins started to appear on Dou Jiahui’s forehead, and there were signs that the Dou Family’s explosive temperament was about to be unleashed.

“What’s going on here?” A cold snort sounded; it was his father, Chief Dou, walking over with his hands behind his back.

Without saying anything else, he first reprimanded his son, “I always said ‘stay calm to prosper, stay calm to prosper,’ what’s with that temperament of yours!”

Dou Jiahui reluctantly curled his lip and said no more.

Then Chief Dou turned his head to eye the thugs and asked in a deep voice, “This Fortune Tree, how much do we have to pay for it?”

“Initially, I planned to ask for five thousand from you,” the leader of the ruffians spoke up, “but since you folks are so unwelcoming, make it fifty thousand.”

Director Dou laughed, his chubby face somehow managing to show a rather sinister smile, “Do you think we’re easy to bully?”

“Think whatever you want,” the ruffians replied nonchalantly, recognizing the local accent, “In the city, do you think you Chaoyang people can turn the sky upside down?”

Director Dou was furious. It has been said before that Dou Jiahui’s father was actually a bit muddleheaded. He had a carefree temperament, and despite being the deputy chief of the police station for many years, he seemed to have become somewhat shrewd. But in fact, when his temper flared up, he would forget everything.

Just now he knew how to lecture his son, but now he had exploded, “My surname is Dou!”

“So what if your surname is Dou?” the ruffians laughed disdainfully.

The Dou Family had a notorious reputation in Chaoyang, but within the Dou family, there really wasn’t anyone involved in the underworld. At most, they were a bit arrogant in the county. No one specifically mingled in the underworld in the city.

Once, a member of the Dou Family had killed someone in Yunyuan, and the police officer’s family was from the city. However, the city wouldn’t publicize that the people of the Dou Family from Chaoyang were extremely vicious. Once the case was solved and the murderer punished, it was over.

Thus, among the ruffians of Yunyuan, there were some who knew the Dou Family of Chaoyang was trouble—notably those ruffians who came from Chaoyang themselves. But most ruffians wouldn’t pay attention to such a family.

Seeing their reaction, Director Dou grew even angrier. He was about to erupt when he heard Feng Jun’s voice, “Uncle Dou, let me handle this.”

Then, Feng Jun looked at the ruffians, his tone undisturbed, “Fifty thousand is too much, give us a discount.”

Just then, another person walked over, “Fifty thousand, right? I’ll pay it!”

The speaker was none other than Yang Yuxin, who was bent on ingratiating herself with Feng Jun. With Gu Jiahui’s health improving, her mood had brightened, her daily routine had become more structured, and not only did she look better, even her demeanor had regained some of its former grace.

With a light word from her, she exuded an air of effortless elegance.

The ruffians were taken aback, wondering who this person was.

“Stop messing around,” Feng Jun gave her a glance, then turned to the ruffians and said sternly, “It’s my friend’s big day. Don’t spoil it by being too greedy. Alright, how about five thousand…we’ll take care of the tree.”

The ruffians were a bit surprised at first, wondering who the woman with such an impressive air was and whether they had hit a snag. Seeing him bargain again, they immediately felt relieved.

“Fifty thousand, not a penny less,” the leading ruffian declared arrogantly, then stepped forward, poking Feng Jun’s chest with force, “Someone has already offered to pay. Who the hell are you to come showing your face here through torn pants?”

“Da Pang!” Dou Jiahui was so incensed he was about to rush forward.

It was at that moment that Director Dou also recovered, realizing he had been so preoccupied with his wrath that he had forgotten about this mess.

He stretched out his hand and held onto his son tightly, shouting, “Don’t be impulsive; they’re the local snakes. We can’t afford to provoke them.”

Director Dou, having calmed down, actually knew how to be sneaky.

Yang Yuxin pulled out her mobile phone, looking at the ruffians with her usual calm demeanor, “What are your full name, account number, and the bank where your account is held?”

“Online banking?” the head ruffian was taken aback, and then chuckled, “Beauty, why don’t you add me on WeChat? You can just transfer the money to me directly that way.”

“You fucking sick or what?” a shorter ruffian pushed him, “Cash, we only accept cash.”

Add WeChat now? Those transaction details would all be evidence!

Actually, those involved in the underworld really do prefer cash, no matter the country.

Yang Yuxin spoke indifferently, “I didn’t bring that much cash with me; I can only make a transfer if you want the payment.”

The ruffians turned to look at Director Dou, “Old man, running such a big place, don’t tell me you don’t have cash.”

In their view, this chubby old man seemed to have already capitulated.

Director Dou, true to his muddleheaded nature, nodded, “Alright, I’ll go…”

“Go where?” Feng Jun almost laughed with disbelief, “How can you, a deputy station chief, act like this? This resembles entrapment, you know?”

He glanced at Lu Xiaoning, “Gazi, go get five thousand…should we make them sign a receipt?”

“What receipt?!” the ruffians scoffed at the suggestion, “Who gives receipts when selling flowers? Are you expecting a warranty too?”

Their arrogance was backed by confidence, for they knew Dou Jiahui’s opening ceremony had drawn over two hundred guests. With about fifty to sixty people still inside the store, mostly young folks, they dared to cause trouble with just about a dozen men. How could they not have confidence?

It wasn’t long before Gazi arrived with a black plastic bag, murmuring, “Should we…count it?”

The ruffians knew there must be cameras in the store. One of them grabbed the bag, glanced inside from the opening, and sneered, “If the amount is incorrect, we’ll be back.”

As soon as these words fell, Director Dou pulled out a badge from his pocket, flashed it, and shouted loudly, “Police! Don’t move!”