Chapter 113: The Mask Slips

Li Yong wanted to lash out in anger, but he knew that losing his temper here wouldn’t help him forcibly take Liu Xiaoli away. Once a woman’s heart changes, it’s hard to win her back. He needed to think of another plan.

After some thought, Li Yong quickly turned to Zhang Can and said, “Brother-in-law... please, you have to talk some sense into Xiaoli...”

Zhang Can replied coolly, “Sorry, but don’t call me brother-in-law. I’m not your brother-in-law. The one who marries Xiaoli in the future will be my real brother-in-law. For now, you should focus on working diligently instead of chasing unrealistic dreams. It’s better to be steady and responsible.”

Li Yong nodded hastily, “Yes, yes, I’ll work hard, but I really don’t want to work in the supermarket. Brother-in-law, please let me work at your store. I don’t need to be the manager or store owner, just let me handle finance or accounting. That’s my specialty—I’ve studied it!”

Zhang Can sighed uncontrollably. He was at a loss for words about Li Yong. He truly couldn’t understand what Liu Xiaoli had seen in him in the first place.

“Sorry, we don’t need anyone in the store right now. And to be honest, even if we were hiring, we’d only take people with skills, experience, and proper qualifications. Our store’s scale is over ten million in revenue; we only hire accountants and cashiers who are college graduates. Which university did you graduate from?”

Li Yong smiled awkwardly and quickly said, “Nowadays, a formal degree doesn’t mean much. Real talent depends on ability. Degrees are just rote learning...”

Zhang Can cut him off immediately, his tone cold: “A golden nugget will shine wherever it is. If you can’t perform well in a supermarket, how could you do better anywhere else? No matter how capable you think you are, sorry, I don’t appreciate your kind of ‘talent.’”

Li Yong’s face twitched slightly. He glanced at Liu Xiaoli, who sat inside with a pale, sullen face, not uttering a word. Zhang Can looked utterly indifferent to him, a far cry from the first time they had met.

Breathing heavily, Li Yong felt he had no other option. Suddenly, a fierce look crossed his face. He pulled out a dagger and said harshly, “Fine! Liu Xiaoli, you’ve found someone new, haven’t you? You want to kick me out and find a rich man, right? Since you’ve turned your back on me without mercy, don’t blame me for being ruthless too!”

He then plopped down heavily on the sofa, startling Zhang Hua and Liu Xiaoqin, who immediately stood up and hurried away.

Li Yong behaved like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum, caring about nothing. Zhang Qiang and the other employees didn’t dare approach him—he was holding a knife, and any sudden move might cause trouble. A minor injury was one thing, but if it turned fatal, it would be disastrous.

The situation had changed significantly since Zhang Can arrived. The store suddenly made more money, and Zhu Senlin had become more generous. Besides, with Zhang Can as a co-owner, the store was more prosperous. Bonuses of ten or twenty thousand were given to employees, sometimes exceeding their salaries. As apprentices, such benefits were rare and made the job highly desirable.

Seeing Li Yong acting out, Zhang Can’s gaze darkened. He walked into the back room, closed the door, and took out his phone to call Zhu Senlin. After briefly explaining the situation, Zhu Senlin understood immediately and said, “Brother, leave this matter to me. I didn’t like him the last time, but I stayed silent because it was your father-in-law’s family matter. Now that it’s disrupting our store, I won’t stand for it. Don’t worry about anything—someone will come by shortly to deal with him.”

Zhang Can replied, “I understand, Old Zhu. People like Li Yong can only be handled by those from the underworld. The police won’t do much—they might chase him away once, but he’ll just come back. We’re businessmen; no one wants chaos in the store. The underworld types are different; they have a certain aura that scares people like Li Yong. Just scare him enough so he won’t dare come back or trouble Xiaoli again, but don’t let anyone get hurt.”

“Don’t worry, I know my limits,” Zhu Senlin said before hanging up.

Zhang Can pondered for a moment. This was a minor issue—not worth involving Wang Qian. After a while, he opened the door and stepped out. Li Yong was lying back on the sofa near the coffee table, smoking, blowing rings of smoke, and grinning when he saw Zhang Can.

“Brother-in-law, if you want to do business, you need talent like me. Talent is rare! If I’m here to keep watch over your shop, I guarantee you won’t sell fake products or be cheated. I’ve got it covered. You know, back home, I’m the most notorious underworld figure in the county!”

Since their relationship was already strained beyond repair, Li Yong shamelessly revealed his true colors and boasted, “I’m not asking for much—just ten to eighty thousand a month, end-of-year profit sharing, and a car. It doesn’t have to be a fancy one; something around 150,000 yuan is enough. I’m here to show off your store’s image. If I have to take a taxi everywhere, it’ll be embarrassing for you, right?”

Even Liu Xiaoqin couldn’t hold back and snapped, “Shameless!”

“Shameless?” Li Yong glanced at her and sneered coldly. “Little auntie, I’ll tell you what shameless really means. You haven’t even met a truly shameless person yet. I live by my ability. Your status and identity now? That’s only because you hooked up with a rich man and benefited from Brother Zhang. If you were still back home in the county, you’d just be someone others boss around. And you dare criticize me?”

Zhang Can’s face darkened with anger. He snapped, “Li Yong, I’m giving you one last chance. Be sensible and leave immediately, or you’ll only bring yourself disgrace.”

“Brother-in-law, if you’re going to be like this, I have nothing more to say. Let’s lay it all out clearly. If Liu Xiaoli wants to ditch me, fine. But I want compensation for the years I lost with her, for all the hardship I endured. If you want to settle everything at once, then pay me two million yuan.”

“Two million? Why don’t you just go rob someone?” Liu Xiaoli exploded with rage. She couldn’t believe Li Yong’s shamelessness. She had been with him for two or three years, yet he never let her into the Li family home or gave her any benefits. She had worked hard to support his expenses and now, at the breakup, he demanded compensation instead of returning anything. Truly, he had no shame.

Li Yong casually smoked while waiting for Zhang Can’s counteroffer. He was experienced in this kind of negotiation—always start with a high price, then bargain down to a better final sum. If you ask too little at first, you’ll only get less.

But Zhang Can ignored him completely, showing no intention of negotiating. Li Yong hesitated. What was Zhang Can up to?

Just as Li Yong tossed his cigarette butt, debating whether to show his true colors, five or six men in black suits suddenly surged into the store. The leader stepped forward and asked, “Who is Li Yong?”

Li Yong was surprised. “What’s this about?”

The man said, “The store owner said to bring tens of thousands to Li Yong.”

“That’s me, I’m Li Yong!” Li Yong grinned inwardly, thinking that old Zhu must have quick connections. It had only been a short while since the call, and the money was already on its way. Maybe Zhang Can had just called Zhu Senlin. Either way, as long as the money came, he was willing to cooperate. If the payment was this quick and easy now, he could keep extorting them later by exploiting their weaknesses. But for now, he had to keep quiet and get the money first. If they got scared, they might not pay so readily next time.

“Are you really Li Yong? Do you have proof? This is a matter of fifty or sixty thousand, not a trivial sum. We need to be sure,” the man asked calmly.

“Yes! Yes, I do!” Li Yong quickly pulled out his ID card and handed it over, smiling brightly. “Look, this is my ID. You can’t mistake me for anyone else!”

The man examined the ID, then looked at Li Yong to confirm his identity. Nodding, he said, “Good. Follow me to the car to collect the money. Once you get it, you’ll sign a receipt. By the way, who is Zhang Can, the store owner?”

Zhang Can said calmly, “That’s me.”

The man gestured invitingly. “Then, Mr. Zhang, please come with us as a witness. We want to prove we really delivered the cash.”

Li Yong was practically bouncing with anticipation. He stood up and urged, “Let’s go, let’s go! After we get the money, I’ll treat everyone to a meal—let’s make friends.”

The men chuckled silently and led the way out of Lao Shi Zhai. Zhang Can followed at the back. As they left, he gave Zhang Hua, Liu Xiaoli, and Liu Xiaoqin a slight smile, signaling them not to worry.

Outside the store, to the right, Li Yong spotted three silver Toyota sedans parked along the roadside outside the market. The windows were tinted, concealing the interior. Thinking about soon having half a million yuan in cash made his heart race with excitement. Honestly, although his family’s assets totaled two or three million yuan, none of it was really his. His parents were still relatively young and wouldn’t hand over the money anytime soon. In his entire life, he had never had more than a few thousand yuan at once.

Half a million was easily the largest sum Li Yong had ever seen or possessed. His father had once given him twenty thousand yuan as startup capital, but it had all gone up in smoke—literally. He had either squandered it on drinking, smoking, or worse.

The man at the front opened the rear door of one car and slipped inside, sitting by the right door. The second man deliberately lagged behind and invited Li Yong in.

Li Yong, focused solely on the money, didn’t think twice and climbed into the car. As soon as he got in, another man quickly followed and slammed the door shut behind them.