From Evil Sect Leader to Doctor-Chapter 400 - 374: Mediation

Chen Qianfan said, "I have quite a few graduates from 985 universities in my company, and they all call me President Chen obediently."

Xu Chunliang laughed, "That’s because you pay them salaries; it doesn’t mean they genuinely respect you from the bottom of their hearts."

Chen Qianfan said, "Got any plans tonight? Let’s grab a drink together."

Xu Chunliang said, "I have plans, but I’ll treat you in a couple of days."

Chen Qianfan said, "Where are you going?"

Xu Chunliang told him the location, and it happened to be on Chen Qianfan’s way, so he offered to take him there.

Chen Qianfan specifically rented a Mercedes Benz van this time for his trip to Capital City. The driver was already waiting at the door, and after getting in the car, his assistant handed him a decent quality Tang suit, which Chen Qianfan changed into in the car.

Clothes make the man as a Buddhist robe makes the monk; after changing, Chen Qianfan indeed looked very distinguished.

Chen Qianfan was on his way to discuss some business. With Spring Festival approaching, his Five-Whip Rejuvenating Wine was also entering its peak sales season, and he was considering expanding into the Capital City market.

Xu Chunliang was having dinner at a place reserved by Huang Wanglin, right next to Linzheng Hall at the Celestial Fragrance Inn. Chen Qianfan had the driver drop Xu Chunliang at the door and also arranged for his assistant to carry a case of Five-Whip Rejuvenating Wine there.

Unable to refuse the kindness, Xu Chunliang had to accept it.

As soon as Chen Qianfan left, Pu Jian arrived with Huang Wanglin, and Pu Jian said, "Brother, you didn’t have to bring anything."

Xu Chunliang said, "I brought a case of wine for everyone to try."

Pu Jian couldn’t help but laugh upon seeing the packaging, "Isn’t this wine a bit too strong? What if we get swollen after drinking it?"

Huang Wanglin smiled calmly, as these young people reminded him of his own younger days.

Pu Jian had come early because Master Huang San was helping settle things, so they couldn’t let him pay. He had brought a case of Wuliangye and had already put a deposit of three thousand yuan at the front desk at Celestial Fragrance Inn, enough to cover any meal ordered there.

However, Master Huang San insisted on using the Maotai he had kept at the hotel, because Xie Boxiang would drink nothing but Maotai.

Xu Chunliang’s case of wine was kept at the front desk; though it was all in good fun, such a venue was not fitting for tonic wine.

Xie Boxiang arrived on time, bringing two people with him—his nephew Xie Zhiyuan and Liu Kui, who had had a conflict with Pu Jian.

The large tobacco pipe Xie Boxiang used to carry had kept up with the times and been replaced by a Hetian jade mouthpiece; after all, in the 21st century, carrying a dry tobacco pipe on the streets would draw odd looks from others. Thus, the nickname "Master Xie the Tobacco Pipe" was becoming increasingly inaccurate.

Xie Boxiang was short and stout, with a face full of rosy cheer, and he resembled the veteran Hong Kong star Eric Tsang.

His nephew, Xie Zhiyuan, was in his early thirties, slender and fair-skinned, with black-framed glasses upon his nose, looking every bit the scholarly bookworm.

Liu Kui still bore a bruised and battered complexion, with marks of abuse and resentment on his face, yet with Xie Boxiang mediating, he didn’t dare not come.

Huang Wanglin got up to greet him with a smile, "Master Xie is here!"

Xie Boxiang quickly clasped his hands in salute, "Third Master, you’re too kind. It’s a trivial matter; just say the word, you didn’t need to set up a drink banquet—this is being too formal with me."

Huang Wanglin smiled, "Mainly, it’s been so long since our old friends have seen each other that I very much wanted to have a few drinks with you. Taking this opportunity, let’s have the younger ones get to know each other so there won’t be misunderstandings that outsiders would laugh at."

Huang Wanglin glanced at Pu Jian, who quickly stepped forward to greet, "Master Xie!"

Xu Chunliang also chimed in, "Master Xie."

On the other side, Xie Zhiyuan and Liu Kui addressed Master Huang San, although Liu Kui was eager to stab Xu Chunliang, in the presence of the two seniors, he dared not; it remained but a thought.

The six sat down, and Huang Wanglin asked Xie Boxiang what he’d like to eat. Xie Boxiang asked him to take care of it, but Pu Jian had actually already instructed the waiter to start serving dishes.

Even though they were all in Capital City, Huang Wanglin and Xie Boxiang hadn’t seen each other for almost a year. They talked about old memories, and the younger ones couldn’t interject. Xie Zhiyuan had never met Xu Chunliang and was seated right next to him, so he proactively took out a business card and handed it over with both hands.

Xu Chunliang took the business card, which stated he was the general manager of Xibao Hall, and noticing the QR code on it, he promptly added Xie Zhiyuan on WeChat in return for the gesture.

Once the cold dishes were served, everyone began to drink. Huang Wanglin called out, "Pu Jian!"

"Third Master, at your service!"

Huang Wanglin said, "I don’t care what happened between you and Liu Kui before. Since you’re here today, let’s put an end to all the unpleasantness. From now on, do your own business. If there’s fate, be friends; if not, don’t be enemies."

Pu Jian took the initiative to stand up, walk over to Liu Kui, and raise the wine glass in front of him. He said, "Brother Liu, it was my fault in the past. Please be the bigger person and forgive the pettiness." Overall, it was his fault, and he didn’t suffer much loss in the process. It didn’t hurt to lower his head and apologize.

Liu Kui didn’t like him from the bottom of his heart, but since he came here today, he couldn’t ignore the face of Huang Wanglin and Xie Boxiang. However, he didn’t stand up. He took the glass of wine and said, "Since Master Huang San has said so, let’s turn the page on past matters between us." He drank the glass of wine, but had no intention of becoming friends with Pu Jian.

Xie Boxiang laughed and said, "You young people, after earning more money and living a good life, your tempers have grown too. Back when Master Huang San and I first entered the business, we supported each other. We never sabotaged one another." Although he gave Huang Wanglin face, he believed the fault lay with Pu Jian, who cut off Liu Kui’s financial path first.

Huang Wanglin laughed and said, "It’s a harmonious society now, a society ruled by law. It’s better to do business honestly. If everyone was like you, fighting all day, the industry’s reputation would be ruined."

Xie Boxiang detected the underlying hint in Huang Wanglin’s words. Both of them were prominent figures in this field. Huang Wanglin knew very well what business Xie Boxiang was in. However, they never interfered with each other. Xie Boxiang understood that deep down, Huang Wanglin did not want to be associated with him.

However, in today’s society, Huang Wanglin’s reputation had reached a pinnacle that Xie Boxiang couldn’t even hope to match. While Xie Boxiang wasn’t short on money, his reputation was terrible. Back then, when they both entered the business, he even thought Huang Wanglin was too pedantic and inflexible. Now, he realized that after a lifetime of hustling, he hadn’t matched Huang Wanglin’s approach of hoarding valuable collections.

If he had retained good collections like Huang Wanglin from the start, his wealth might be worth at least several billion now.

The two were like two types of stock investors: one played the short game while the other was willing to go long. Now it seemed the latter had greater gains. Their biggest difference was one was doing business, while the other was genuine about collecting.

Xie Boxiang looked toward Xu Chunliang, smilingly asking, "I heard it was this young man who hit Liu Kui?"

Xu Chunliang nodded and said, "Master Xie, it was me!" He was straightforward.

Xie Boxiang said, "Why don’t you two have a drink and erase past grudges?" By "having a drink," he didn’t just mean drinking. He wanted Xu Chunliang to hand a drink to Liu Kui like Pu Jian had done.

To everyone, it didn’t seem inappropriate. After all, Liu Kui suffered a loss, and Xu Chunliang was much younger. There was nothing wrong with him handing Liu Kui a drink.

Liu Kui waited for Xu Chunliang to bring him a drink, thinking about how to make things difficult for him.

Xu Chunliang raised his own drink and said, "Then I’ll finish this first as a gesture of respect."

Liu Kui was stunned. What did this guy mean? Was he disrespecting him?

After Xu Chunliang finished his own drink, he asked, "Why aren’t you drinking?"

Liu Kui was furious and slammed the table as he stood up. "Master Xie, you see, it’s not that I’m disrespecting you!"

Xie Boxiang’s face also darkened. This young man was indeed a bit arrogant.

Pu Jian gave Xu Chunliang a look, but Xu Chunliang remained unmoved. Pu Jian quickly stepped in to mediate. "I started this whole mess, Brother Liu. It’s really up to me to serve you this drink."

Huang Wanglin didn’t rush. He pulled out a cigarette and handed one to Xie Boxiang. Xie Boxiang took the cigarette and placed it in his holder. Today, Huang Wanglin had organized the meeting, so he wanted to see how he would resolve it.

Xu Chunliang said, "The rights and wrongs between you two are none of my business, but he brought a group to surround you. Of course, I couldn’t just stand by. Was it wrong for me to help a friend?" As he spoke, he intentionally looked at Xie Boxiang.

Huang Wanglin said, "There are very few young people who value loyalty now." He was clearly siding with Xu Chunliang. It was appropriate for Pu Jian to hand Liu Kui a drink, but Xu Chunliang really didn’t need to.

Xu Chunliang said, "If Pu Jian hadn’t stopped me that day, I would have sent you to the hospital immediately. Instead of being grateful, you repay kindness with enmity, illegally detaining Pu Jian, making him wear a vest and shorts while standing on ice, and eat three large bowls of chili. Liu Kui, if you want me to hand you a drink, I’m doing it now. Would you dare to drink it?"

Xu Chunliang stood up, his formidable presence like a mountain crashing down on Liu Kui, who shivered in fear, suddenly recalling the scene of him releasing hundreds of scorpions into the warehouse.

Seeing the fear on Liu Kui’s face, Xie Boxiang realized Liu Kui was terrified by Xu Chunliang, and calmly said, "Liu Kui, since Xiaoxu is willing to hand you a drink as an apology, just sit down peacefully."

No matter how strong Xu Chunliang’s words were, as long as he was willing to hand over a drink in apology, it meant he was backing down. Xie Boxiang didn’t care about the process, just wanted Xu Chunliang to publicly relent.

Xu Chunliang smiled at Xie Boxiang and said, "Master Xie, it’s just handing a drink, not an apology, since I didn’t do anything wrong."

Xie Boxiang was already feeling displeased, but it wasn’t worth arguing with a junior.

Xu Chunliang approached Xie Boxiang, raising his drink. "Master Xie, I speak harshly, but it’s about the matter, not the person. Please don’t be mad at me." He wasn’t afraid of Xie Boxiang, but Huang Wanglin, as the mediator here, needed to show respect to the people involved.

It was like giving Xie Boxiang an out. Xie Boxiang took the drink, smiling, and said, "This Xiaoxu has a character I like!"

Pu Jian was sweating nervously, afraid Xu Chunliang might offend Xie Boxiang. It’s no exaggeration to say, if this man stomped his foot, the Antique World in Capital City would tremble three times.

Yet Huang Wanglin wasn’t anxious at all. Since the first time he met Xu Chunliang, he knew this guy wasn’t any ordinary person. Xu Chunliang’s actions actually gave him face. Although he owed Master Xie a favor, it didn’t mean his side was in the wrong. The stance needed to be made clear.

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