Old Wang held him back, "Don’t go out yet, let them talk first. If they can negotiate themselves and that girl can coax Steward Wu into dropping the matter, wouldn’t that save us a lot of trouble?"
"That’s true, Old Wang, you are always so thoughtful."
The two of them continued to sit inside, drinking water and enjoying the breeze.
As soon as Wu Zhiyuan entered, he saw Chiang Songhai and Ge Liutao standing in the corner and immediately put on a smile, walking over to them.
"Uncle, Aunty, we meet again. How are you? Enjoying your time in the provincial city, I bet?"
"Mr. Wu... Mr. Wu, it was wrong of us to hit you. Could you please let it go and not pursue it further..." As soon as Chiang Songhai saw him, he hurried over, eager to plead with him.
Chiang Xiao interrupted him.
"Grandpa, you and grandma can rest, there’s no need to talk to him."
Only then did Wu Zhiyuan notice Chiang Xiao, his smile deepening. He no longer cared to continue speaking with Chiang Songhai and went straight to Chiang Xiao.
"Ah, Student Xiao Chiang!"
As soon as Chiang Xiao heard him address her this way, she knew he must have looked into her background.
After all, she had recently won an award, and there were newspaper articles about her. Plus, she had joined the Painters Association, and her information was registered there. Many people knew about her; it wouldn’t have been difficult for Wu Zhiyuan to inquire.
"Wu Zhiyuan, you seem to be doing quite well. What, did you tell the Public Security Officer that I beat you until you got a gastric perforation?" Chiang Xiao said with a gaze as cold as ice.
Upon meeting her icy stare, Wu Zhiyuan’s heart skipped a beat, and at the same time, he thought how annoying this damned girl was. Not only was she fierce at such a young age, but the way she looked at people wasn’t like a little girl at all.
Nevertheless, he decided to have a proper talk with Chiang Xiao.
"Actually, this might all be a misunderstanding. Even if it’s not, I can be magnanimous and tell the Public Security Officer not to pursue it anymore. We can downplay the whole issue, and then it’ll be in the past. Student Xiao Chiang, what do you think?"
"You want Wild Ganoderma?" Chiang Xiao immediately pointed out his motive.
She had been thinking about the purpose of Wu Zhiyuan’s police report all the way there.
Firstly, he might want her to return the five hundred yuan.
Secondly, and more likely, it was for the Wild Ganoderma.
Otherwise, he would not have waited two days to file the report. If it was out of spite or for the money, he should have taken action yesterday.
Wu Zhiyuan was startled, not expecting her to be so astute.
His face darkened, but he admitted it directly.
"That’s right, I want Wild Ganoderma, the same kind you gave to Xue Liujin! I don’t need much, just one will do. And I won’t take it for nothing; I’ll pay you money. One thousand yuan, how about that?"
Wu Zhiyuan thought she considered the amount too little, and the corner of his mouth twitched, his expression turning somewhat grim, "Xiao Chiang, one thousand yuan is a lot. Don’t get greedy. I know you’re an ambitious young lady; you managed to win first prize in an art competition and got an eight hundred yuan prize, so your appetite has grown. But do you believe that Zheng Yucheng’s Painters Association can really make something big happen? I’ll tell you, they have a lot of procedures to deal with, and they all have to go through me. If I just hold up a simple process, Zheng Yucheng will have to come begging to me, asking me out to meals, wining and dining me with sweet talk, to get on my good side. If I’m happy, I’ll process it; if not, they can forget about getting anything done. Do you understand?"