Chapter 244: The Price of a Glass of Water

“Mr. Liu… I’m sorry, I couldn’t stop them.”

A security guard, drenched in sweat, nervously looked at Liu Lang, panic written all over his face.

“Useless! Get out!”

After his initial shock, Liu Lang regained his composure and snapped angrily at the guard.

“Yes, yes, right away!”

The security guard sighed in relief, nodding repeatedly, then quickly left the office, closing the door behind him.

“Lin Youguo, Director Lin, it’s such an honor for you to visit. May I know the reason for this visit?”

Liu Lang didn’t bother to consider that Xu Shaochen and the others were still in the room. He brusquely shoved the secretary off his desk while calmly adjusting his belt.

In truth, he was nervous. By all rights, Lin Youguo should still be dealing with those reporters. So why was he here, and why did he seem so hostile?

“Humph! Liu Lang, you know very well! When you couldn’t compete with our Dafeng Factory, you resorted to such dirty tricks. Despicable and shameless!”

Lin Youguo snorted coldly, glaring at Liu Lang.

Liu Lang furrowed his eyebrows. Did this mean the reporters not only failed but also ratted him out? Damn, what a bunch of useless fools. All that money I wasted on them, gone to the dogs.

“Director Lin, you can’t just throw baseless accusations around. I could sue you for slander.” Although Liu Lang was seething with anger, he maintained a calm facade.

Xu Shaochen took a step towards Liu Lang, speaking indifferently, “I just came to inform you that Zui Jianghu should start preparing to close its doors. If not, with trash like you, you’re not even qualified to speak to me.”

“Ha, that’s hilarious! Who do you think you are? Even your director hasn’t spoken yet, and here you are playing the big shot. Don’t you think you’re overstepping your boundaries?”

Liu Lang laughed, as if hearing a joke, and looked at Xu Shaochen with disdain.

“Liu Lang, let me introduce you. This is our boss, Chairman Xu,” Lin Youguo said, pointing at Xu Shaochen.

Liu Lang’s smile slowly disappeared upon hearing this. He narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Xu Shaochen, a mix of curiosity and suspicion in his gaze.

He had heard that Dafeng Factory had a new, young owner. But he never imagined he’d be this young.

“Chairman Xu, you say Zui Jianghu should close its doors. Just one thing: on what grounds? We’ve been in Jiangzhou for many years, and you think that’s something you can just do?”

Now that Liu Lang knew who Xu Shaochen was, he became more serious. However, he still didn’t take Xu Shaochen’s threat seriously.

After all, Zui Jianghu had connections in many areas, giving Liu Lang confidence. He believed Xu Shaochen could put pressure on him, but he didn’t believe Xu Shaochen could actually shut him down.

“Because I am Xu Shaochen.”

Xu Shaochen spoke each word slowly and clearly, then smiled before turning to the secretary, “I’m a bit thirsty. Please get me a glass of water.”

The secretary awkwardly looked at Liu Lang.

“Sorry, Chairman Xu, but there’s no water here.” Liu Lang sneered, glaring at Xu Shaochen with a provocative grin.

Behind him, the water cooler was full. But he chose to deny it, deliberately trying to humiliate Xu Shaochen.

Xu Shaochen’s arrogance had infuriated him.

Xu Shaochen shook his head. “You probably can’t imagine the price you’ll pay for this glass of water. I was willing to give you a chance, but now it seems that’s unnecessary.”

With that, Xu Shaochen pulled out his phone and made a series of calls.

“Hello, Chairman Han, this is Xu Shaochen…”

“Director Chen, it’s Shaochen…”

“Mr. Zhou…”

With each call Xu Shaochen made, Liu Lang’s expression grew darker. His grip on the edge of his desk turned so tight his knuckles whitened.

He couldn’t tell if Xu Shaochen was bluffing or if he really had this much power.

After all, Liu Lang was merely a factory owner, and his position was too low to access higher circles. Naturally, he knew little about Xu Shaochen’s status in Jiangzhou.

If he had, today’s situation wouldn’t have occurred.

A few minutes later, after finishing his last call, Xu Shaochen walked over to the sofa and sat down, smiling at Liu Lang. “Mr. Liu, now it’s time to witness a miracle. Let’s wait and see.”

“Humph! Bluffing! Do you think you can scare me, Liu Lang!”

Liu Lang snorted, forcefully suppressing a touch of fear in his heart, and sat back on his chair, glaring coldly at Xu Shaochen.

“Long Er, could you do me a favor? Go get me a bottle of water. Mr. Liu is too stingy to even offer a drink, so I have to trouble you.”

Xu Shaochen said, looking at Long Er.

“Yes, Boss.”

Long Er nodded and then turned to leave the office.

Time ticked by.

“Bang!”

Suddenly, the office door burst open. Liu Lang thought it was Long Er back with the water, but it was his deputy.

“What’s going on? Why the rush? You’re making a scene in front of our guests!”

Liu Lang’s face darkened as he scolded the deputy, displeased.

“Mr. Liu, there’s trouble! People from the Industrial and Commercial Bureau, the Health Bureau, and the Food Safety Bureau have all arrived. They say it’s a joint inspection, pointing out that our factory’s machinery is outdated, and our hygiene issues. They want us to stop operations for internal review before resuming production.”

The deputy was clearly too anxious to mind Liu Lang’s disapproving look. He spoke urgently.

“What did you say!”

Hearing this, Liu Lang jumped up from his chair, staring at the deputy in disbelief.

Outdated machinery and hygiene issues are common in factories. As long as they’re not severe, no one really chases them down.

But today, three departments simultaneously latched onto these issues. And that now meant big trouble for them.

The real concern wasn’t the internal review but the attitude of these three departments. It meant serious trouble for Zui Jianghu.

“Ring, ring, ring…”

Suddenly, Liu Lang’s phone rang on his desk. Seeing the caller ID, he quickly answered.

“Hello, Mr. Chen, hello… What? The contract’s off? But… Hello? Hello? Damn it!”

After hanging up, Liu Lang couldn’t help but curse. He had spent so much time on a project, and just like that, the deal was off.

And that was only the beginning. One call after another came in, either reneging on agreements or pushing for payments or terminating contracts.

“Thud!”

After hanging up the last call, Liu Lang slumped into his chair, as if all the energy had been drained from him. His face was ashen, and cold sweat poured from his forehead.