Power and Wealth

Chapter 2006

Evening.

Side hall of the club.

After the commotion, Chen family’s Little Sixth and his group had left. The onlookers among the staff had also dispersed, leaving only a few curious guests casting lingering glances. Most of the guests who frequented this place were notable figures, but even among them, those with backgrounds like Fang Shuiling or the Chen family’s Little Sixth were rare. Some recognized Fang Shuiling, and naturally were also aware of Chen Little Sixth’s notorious reputation. When they saw these two scions of powerful families nearly come to blows, those with insider knowledge were secretly stunned, thinking, Today was worth the trip.

A couple of acquaintances of Fang Shuiling’s, clearly not close ones, greeted her politely from a distance.

“Did Chen Little Sixth just leave?”

“That’s not like him at all.”

“Yeah, the Chen family bowing their heads? That’s rare.”

“He said it was out of respect for ‘Brother Dong’… who is this Brother Dong?”

Those with only partial knowledge whispered among themselves, not daring to speak out loud.

Fang Shuiling wasn’t about to stand there like a panda on display either. She turned back and called to Zhang Dongfang, Xu Zhuang, and Sun Lihan, who were still standing there awkwardly, “Let’s go back to the private room.”

“Yes, yes,” Zhang Dongfang quickly responded.

The group turned and left, returning to their private room.

Not long after they sat down, the club owner came in, face full of apologies.

“Miss Fang, I’m sorry you were frightened.”

Fang Shuiling waved her hand casually, “It’s fine.”

“It wasn’t even a big issue at first,” the club owner said. “But it escalated. That’s our fault for not managing things well. I’ll fire the waitress who served the tea—there must be an explanation for you.” (The incident had started when Xu Zhuang bumped into a waitress carrying tea, spilling it on Chen Little Sixth.)

Fang Shuiling was reasonable.

“Why fire her? It wasn’t her fault.”

At that moment, the female manager knocked and entered, bringing the young waitress involved—she had been the one holding the teapot when she collided with Xu Zhuang.

“She’s here,” said the manager.

The club owner’s face darkened.

“Well? Hurry up and apologize to Miss Fang and her guests!”

The young waitress looked about ten, close to tears, head bowed.

“I’m sorry… I… I didn’t mean to…”

Xu Zhuang, sobered up quite a bit by now, quickly interjected,

“It’s not your fault, young lady. I drank too much and wasn’t watching where I was going—I bumped into your teapot.”

Fang Shuiling looked at the club owner and said,

“You better keep her on. Right is right—this wasn’t her fault. Why fire her?”

“Alright. Since Miss Fang says so, we’ll go with that,” said the club owner.

“Thank you, Miss Fang, thank you!” the young waitress said gratefully.

Fang Shuiling replied, “No need. It had nothing to do with you. That Chen brat is just arrogant and overbearing. We were at fault first, and County Head Xu even apologized to him. I even offered to pay for the clothes. What more did he want? Does he think he’s some big shot or something?”

She was still angry.

“Next time I see his sister, I’m bringing this up with her.”

Chen Little Sixth’s third sister was Fang Shuiling’s age, and they had attended the same high school—close friends even now.

The club owner didn’t dare say much. Neither Fang Shuiling nor Chen Little Sixth was a person he could afford to offend, so he kept quiet.

After Fang Shuiling finished venting, the owner said,

“I’ve arranged a booth in the bar area, drinks are on the house—just something to calm your nerves. Again, apologies.”

“No need, we’ll just have some tea,” Fang Shuiling replied.

“That’s fine too. I’ll send in another pot,” he said, then bowed out quickly with his staff, not lingering.

Once the door closed and the others left, Xu Zhuang immediately looked at Fang Shuiling with guilt.

“Miss Fang, I’m sorry for causing all this trouble. If I had known earlier, I wouldn’t have drunk at all. My alcohol tolerance is terrible—just a little and I’m out. This time, I nearly messed everything up.”

Zhang Dongfang also scolded him.

“Old Xu, seriously, stop drinking from now on.”

“Absolutely. I won’t touch it again,” Xu Zhuang said, still shaken.

The way Chen Little Sixth had even dared to ignore Fang Shuiling’s status scared him. That kind of person—whose family was at least equal in power to hers-could have crushed him like nothing. He knew that if Fang Shuiling hadn’t been there, he’d have been done for.

“No need to thank me,” Fang Shuiling said. “I didn’t do much.”

“Of course you did!” Sun Lihan exclaimed. “The moment you walked over, they all got polite, calling you ‘Sister Ling’ this and that. You do have a face.”

Fang Shuiling laughed.

“If I had that much clout, I wouldn’t have had to talk so long with that brat. You should thank Brother Dong instead. It was his name that scared Chen Little Sixth off. Otherwise, this whole situation would have been difficult to resolve. You don’t know that kid—he’s used to doing whatever he wants. Gets into fights every few days. Even his family can’t control him.”

She chuckled again.

“It’s only because of Brother Dong’s name that he didn’t dare push back. If it had just been me, he wouldn’t have given me the time of day.”

Dong Xuebing’s name.

What kind of reputation does Secretary Dong have?

Zhang Dongfang and Xu Zhuang were stunned. When Fang Shuiling mentioned Secretary Dong’s name earlier, they had been deeply confused.

In a situation like this, where even someone with your background can’t get the other side to back off, what good would bringing up Secretary Dong’s name do?

But what shocked them was that as soon as Fang Shuiling said they were Dong Xuebing’s colleagues, Chen Little Sixth and the other boys went completely silent. They exchanged nervous glances, and their aggression disappeared entirely. In the end, Chen Little Sixth even mumbled something about giving “Brother Dong” face before leaving quietly.

Who is this Secretary Dong?

Does he have this kind of sway in Beijing?

Someone who didn’t even fear the granddaughter of the Premier backed off the moment “Dong Xuebing” was mentioned?

Unbelievable.

Zhang Dongfang was deep in thought. Sun Lihan’s eyes also lit up. From this moment on, the name Dong Xuebing was burned into their memories.