Chapter 8 - Luring the Mastermind Out
Cai Yan"s eyes flickered when she saw Su Tao coming out. Su Tao walked to her and gently patted her on the shoulder, then shook hands with Grandpa Xu. "Thanks for waiting here for me, everyone."
Grandpa Xu replied, "It"s all good! It"s all good!"
Su Tao felt warmth in his heart. He finally realised why his Grandfather wanted him to protect the Three Flavour Hall; his Grandfather wanted to him protect the Old Street.
Grandpa Xu"s papercutting shop had been there for generations, obtaining an international award. With the declining market, he only earned 2,000-3,000 a month but still, he persisted to make an effort to keep the tradition going.
Every single shop had its own specialities in the 30-meter street. The antiques, papercutting and the Three Flavour Hall. All of them contained the foundation of China"s culture, making their worth exceed money itself.
After getting Su Tao out, Du Pin had already accomplished his task. As for the matters between Su Tao and Hongsheng Group, it wasn"t convenient for him to meddle. He shook Su Tao"s hand and smiled. "Physician Su, you can come and look for me if there"s any trouble in the future."
Du Pin gave Su Tao a pretty good impression. "a.s.sistant Du, you can also come and look for me if there"s anything."
Du Pin smiled as he responded, "Everyone has a little problem here and there. At that time, I"ll have to seek help from Physician Su."
He knew that Su Tao"s medical skills were excellent, so getting to know another acquaintance wasn"t a bad thing.
"Boss, Physician Su is out, shall we go and greet him?" Secretary Li suggested as he saw Su Tao exchanging greetings with everyone else.
Vera shook her head as she declined, "There isn"t a need for that, we"ll see each other tomorrow in the hospital, anyway."
However, Su Tao was already knocking on the window of her car. He proceeded to enter the car and Vera smiled. "Are you going to treat me to a meal now?"
Su Tao shrugged before his gaze fell on her fair and smooth neck. Her neck was truly gorgeous. He pondered how wonderful it would feel if he could land a peck on it. Awkwardly, he smiled. "I still have things to do, can we postpone it?"
Vera"s gaze flashed with wittiness. "Oh, then there"ll be interest after today."
Su Tao smiled as he nodded his head and showed two fingers. "But of course. How about 2 meals, then?"
Vera nodded her head in satisfaction before she gently b.u.mped his fingers, "Deal."
Su Tao walked out from the Buick GL8 before Cai Yan walked to his side and b.u.mped the side of his elbow. "Who is she?"
"Just like you, a patient of mine." Su Tao answered.
Cai Yan examined Su Tao from his head to bottom before she suddenly changed the topic. She noticed that Su Tao had been wearing the same clothes yesterday and today. "Do you only have this set of clothes?"
Su Tao smiled. "I have a habit of buying two sets of the clothes I like."
However, Cai Yan didn"t seem satisfied with Su Tao"s fas.h.i.+on sense, so she shook her head. "Let"s go, I"ll bring you to buy clothes to chase the bad luck away."
Those involved in antiques were practically superst.i.tious or, speaking in another way, they believed in their own fortune. The police station was considered an ominous place, so after coming out of it, it"s best to chase the bad luck away and this was also the reason why Cai Yan suggested Su Tao to have a change of clothes.
Su Tao was led by Cai Yan to a department store and she got him a full makeover.
Clothes made a gentleman, so when Su Tao wore a suit, it looked like it was tailored for him. It matched him perfectly.
Black suit and purple s.h.i.+rt were the best match in elegance. Su Tao looked cultured and wise with stunning charm emanating from him, which left Cai Yan and the sales ladies dumbfounded by his appearance.
Su Tao shyly smiled. "It"s hard to walk in this."
Cai Yan got Su Tao to turn around before she took out her card in satisfaction with a smile. "I"ll first pay for your clothes and we"ll go pick some shoes for you."
Su Tao immediately declined, "How can I let you pay for it?"
Cai Yan"s eyes squinted from her smile as she insisted, "Deduct it from the consultation fees in the future, then!"
Su Tao gave up refusing. In any case, Cai Yan"s illness wasn"t something that could be cured in two or three days. Furthermore, he would still have to get change for her, so this would be a better way.
The relations.h.i.+p between the two of them grew more complicated as time went. Using the term "close" between them would be more appropriate.
A sales lady had found a pair of black-leathered shoes, which Su Tao did not feel comfortable in. However, he was too embarra.s.sed to say it out loud, since leathered shoes usually got better with frequent wear.
After Cai Yan and Su Tao left, the sales ladies started to gossip between them and the plumper sales lady said, "That man is really das.h.i.+ng."
The thinner one answered, "How can he be kept if he"s not das.h.i.+ng?"
The plumper one curled her lips. "Then, I"ll have to work hard to earn money. In the future, I can also have a gigolo to myself."
"Boss Nie, what"s going on? You gave me huge trouble this time! Station Chief Yao just reprimanded me a while ago, you want me to get fired?" Station Chief Cheng Long said unhappily through the phone.
Nie Weiting sighed as he apologised, "I"m sorry about that, Station Chief Cheng. I express my sincere apology regarding this matter and I will make it up to you later."
"No need for that!" Cheng Long unhappily waved his hand and warned, "You can"t demolish the Old Street, even the Secretary of the Munic.i.p.al Committee was alarmed by this matter. You will just be playing with fire if you insist on demolis.h.i.+ng that, even I cannot protect you."
Hearing his words, Nie Weiting"s eyes flashed with a firm resolution. "I have thrown all my fortune in this. If I can"t demolish this street, then I"ll go bankrupt!"
Cheng Long briefly paused before he said on the other side of the phone, "I have already warned you. Deal with this matter yourself."
Nie Weiting"s eyes flashed with anger when Cheng Long hung up the phone. That fellow was truly a b.a.s.t.a.r.d, seeing that the situation wasn"t looking too good, Cheng Long immediately pulled himself out of this matter.
At the same time, he was also surprised that Su Tao would be so difficult to deal with. Wasn"t he just a young man, how did he get the Secretary of the Munic.i.p.al Committee to support him?
Nie Weiting punched the table, but because of the force he put behind that fist, even his face had alternated between red and white.
After a long time, he calmed his heart. Looks like I will have to personally talk with Su Tao to deal with this matter.
He actually did not want to meet Su Tao, since he had previously promised Su Guangsheng that he would not demolish the Three Flavour Hall or the Old Street.
But the situation had changed. Not only did he have to obtain the Old Street, but he also needed to obtain over 80 units of land with the Old Street in the centre for this project. The other units were almost done with their demolition, but due to the favour he owed to Su Guangsheng, he had left the Old Street as it was.
Initially, he wanted to preserve the Old Street and integrate it into his project. But the altered project couldn"t get approval from the Government, sounding voices from his partners.
So right now, he had no choice. If he couldn"t demolish the Old Street, then his partners would withdraw their investment. If that happened, the entire project would be called off and he would lose hundreds of millions, which Nie Weiting wasn"t willing to suffer that kind of loss.
A Black Maybach S-Cla.s.s stopped by the door of the Three Flavour Hall. The chauffeur opened the door and a middle-aged man wearing a peach s.h.i.+rt and black trousers walked out of the car with a cane in his hand and a bodyguard was following him.
"I am the Chairman of Hongsheng Group, Nie Weiting." The middle-aged man swept his glance on Su Tao"s face.
At this moment, Su Tao had already changed out of the suit. Although he looked das.h.i.+ng in it, the weather was too hot for him to wear it. When he saw the unexpected guest, he shook his head. "You"re not welcomed here."
The bodyguard behind Nie Weiting took a step forth, since they were unhappy with Su Tao"s att.i.tude, while Nie Weiting sneered as he took a step back.
It had always been Nie Weiting"s style to show his power to intimidate the other party.
The black-clothed bodyguard pounced towards Su Tao with a military knife in his hand.
Su Tao knitted his brows at this scene. Compared to Mo Dong, this bodyguard was definitely more threatening, since he was emitting a killing aura. He must have been someone that had gone through battlefields and saw countless deaths.
The two of them were three or four meters apart. If Su Tao allowed that bodyguard to get close, it would definitely be a considerable problem. Thus, he gently flicked his finger.
The bodyguard"s reaction was swift. He suddenly dropped to the ground and rolled. A silver needle was shot into the wooden door.
Nie Weiting took a step forth and said, "Xiao Leng, come back. You"re not his opponent!"
It was a surprise to him that Su Guangsheng"s grandson seemed to know a thing or two.
Xiao Leng"s face was pale as he s.h.i.+fted towards the side while holding onto his left arm. The needle from before had pierced through his arm and he could no longer feel a thing from his left arm. Thus, one could tell how powerful Su Tao"s strength was.
Su Tao had already shown mercy. If he aimed the needle at the centre of Xiao Leng"s brows, then he would be a cold body by now.
Nie Weiting gently knocked his cane on the ground twice. Western gentlemen of the past liked to carry an exquisite cane with them to show their elegance and status, becoming a sign for gentlemen in their western counterparts. However, there weren"t many in the current society that carried a cane with them.
"It has been a long time since I came to the Three Flavour Hall. I have promised Physician Su that as long as he was still alive, I would not demolish the Three Flavour Hall. But it"s a pity that he left so suddenly."
Su Tao shook his head at Nie Weiting"s words. "I"m afraid that"s not the case. You promised my Grandfather that you would never touch the Old Street, not an agreement that you spoke of."
Nie Weiting was slightly stunned before he smiled in surprise. "If it wasn"t for your Grandfather curing me of my sickness, this would have been turned into a flouris.h.i.+ng shopping mall by now. But since your Grandfather has pa.s.sed away, it"s a little too wasteful for the Three Flavour Hall to occupy the prime location."
Su Tao faintly replied, "Chairman Nie, you walked the underground society and loyalty is the most valued virtue. My Grandfather not only cured you, but he also saved your life. But now, you want to demolish his blood and efforts after his death. Isn"t that a little too much?"
There"s a difference between curing and saving a life.
Nie Weiting waved his hand. "Young man, I have gotten someone to investigate the situation in the Three Flavour Hall. There"s practically no business after you have taken over and I"m growing with anxiety watching from the side. If you"re willing to demolish the Three Flavour Hall, I can give you the price of 100,000 for every square meter, guaranteeing you a future of no worries. This is considered my respect for the late Physician Su."
Su Tao shook his head and declined, "I will not agree to the demolition regardless of your price. Not only the Three Flavour Hall, but I will also protect the Old Street."
Nie Weiting sighed, "I"m impressed by your resolution but we are in a practical society. Are you really thinking of stopping me with your power alone?"
Su Tao faintly replied, "Since my Grandfather has stopped you in the past, I would like to give it a try as well."
Su Tao was stubborn indeed. Nie Weiting shook his head. "Looks like there"s no chance of negotiating. So we"ll depend on our own means, then."
"What a hypocrite, come on then!" Su Tao sneered.
"Since you"re rejecting my kind offer, then I"ll teach you a lesson." Nie Weiting"s expression drastically changed with ruthlessness in his eyes.
He slowly raised his head before the cane in his hand exploded. Su Tao"s gaze flashed when he noticed that there"s a nail that struck a medical box beside him and the medical ingredients splatted in every direction.