Chapter 826
Demanding the Principal
Since Xu Bo'an arrived in Jiangcheng these past few days, Li Jiayin and the other rich kids have been busy entertaining him and haven't had a chance to tell their father about it yet. So Li Zhiqi doesn't know that his son Li Jiayin made money from the old houses he bought.
Just then, Li Jiayin heard her father bring up this matter, and since Xu Bo'an happened to be there, she thought it best to introduce the two of them. With that in mind, Li Jiayin extended her hand and pointed to Xu Bo'an with a very polite gesture, saying to her father, Li Zhiqi, "Dad, this is Brother Xu, whom I mentioned to you before. It was under his guidance that we bought those old houses in Jiangcheng..."
Li Jiayin was about to say, "I didn't expect those houses to be such a huge profit." But his father, Li Zhiqi, didn't give him a chance to finish his sentence. He pointed at Xu Bo'an and said in a very sarcastic tone, "So it was you who tricked my son into buying those old houses."
"You heartless bastard! Everyone in Jiangcheng knows that those old houses in the suburbs have absolutely no potential for appreciation. Their value will only keep dropping until they're worthless and rot in your hands. I think you've lost all your conscience! You're just trying to take advantage of my son when he was young and naive!"
During this time, Li Jiayin quickly pulled her father, Zhiqi, back and hurriedly explained to him, "Dad... Dad, it's not like that, there's a misunderstanding, don't be impulsive, let me finish speaking!"
Li Zhiqi looked at his son and said irritably, "What misunderstanding? You young people are easily fooled. I've been in the business world for years, and I can see through his little tricks. This Xu guy just wants to take advantage of the situation to make money! Get out of the way, I'll deal with this swindler today!"
Hearing her father say such things about Brother Xu, Li Jiayin became agitated and shouted at her father, "Dad, what you're saying is too harsh! Please watch your words! I voluntarily agreed to buy those old houses with Brother Xu, and those old houses..."
Before Li Jiayin could finish speaking, Li Zhiqi glared angrily at his son and said, "Well, you brat! You actually talked back to your old man because of a stranger, and this stranger is a conman! Have you lost your mind? You got scammed and you're still foolishly helping him count his money! How could I, a shrewd old man, have given birth to such a good-for-nothing! Forget about the 100,000 yuan allowance this month!"
Li Jiayin got angry after being scolded by her father. With her cheeks puffed out, she looked like a rebellious teenager and said to her father, "If you don't want to give it to me, then don't! Stop threatening me with money!"
Li Zhiqi was furious when he heard his son say such things. He said to Li Jiayin, "Li Jiayin, you unfilial son! You never dared to talk back to me like this before. You must have been fooled by that swindler surnamed Xu!"
Then Li Zhiqi glared angrily at Xu Bo'an and said, "You liar, don't think I can't do anything to you just because you've put on a good act. You'd better return the money you swindled from my son to buy a house, or see how I deal with you!"
The group of rich kids who came with Xu Bo'an had finished their work and were preparing to meet up with him when someone pointed at Xu Bo'an and called him a liar. Xu Bo'an was now their idol, a walking money tree. They could make a lot of money as long as they clung to Xu Bo'an. How could they tolerate anyone disrespecting Xu Bo'an on Jiangcheng's turf?
Qu Feifan, who was in the lead, quickly stepped forward and said to Li Zhiqi, "Li Zhiqi, what's wrong with you? Brother Xu is the person I respect the most. How could you point your finger at him and curse him? You're being very rude. Apologize to my Brother Xu right now!"
Of course Li Zhiqi knew Qu Feifan. Although the Qu Group in Jiangcheng was far less powerful than the Zhong family, it was still a top-tier second-rate family, something the Li family looked up to. Moreover, his family had business dealings with the Qu Group, and his son hung out with Qu Feifan every day. How could he not know him?
After hearing Qu Feifan's words, Li Zhiqi looked at Qu Feifan with a puzzled expression and said, "Young Master Qu, how could you be fooled by this Xu guy? He's just a laborer. My company people know him. He came to the hotel today to take charge of this matter, and now he's even smashed a mirror in the hotel. We'll make him pay for it, but he's trying to pin the blame on my company's employees."
You said how could you associate with such a despicable person? I don't necessarily want to treat him like this, but recently my son bought one of those dilapidated houses in the suburbs with him. You know the condition of those old houses; they're notoriously worthless and not worth investing in in Jiangcheng. Even your father and the Zhong family don't think much of it. So, my son was completely scammed by buying from him.
I don't ask for anything else now, I just want this kid surnamed Xu to give me back the money my son spent!
After hearing Li Zhiqi's words, Qu Feifan said to Li Zhiqi, "Chairman Li, I'm afraid you have some misunderstanding about our Brother Xu. I also bought those old houses in the suburbs that you mentioned, just like Brother Xu, and I made quite a bit of money."
Li Zhiqi was very emotional in front of his son, but he was much more composed when facing Qu Feifan. After all, the Qu family had a certain status, and even if Qu Feifan was a junior, he had to give him face. Even if he had emotions in his heart, he couldn't vent them in front of Qu Feifan.
Although he suspected that Qu Feifan had also been deceived by Xu Bo'an, Li Zhiqi didn't react with the same agitation he showed his son. Instead, he spoke to Qu Feifan with humility, saying, "Young Master Qu, those old houses in the suburbs have been abandoned for years. No big shot from Jiangcheng has ever shown interest in that land, which means everyone knows it's worthless. Now you've bought houses there from a stranger and made money so quickly? There are too many swindlers these days. Did he use some high-tech methods to deceive you?"
Hearing Li Zhiqi's disrespectful words to Xu Bo'an and his distrustful attitude towards him, Qu Feifan wanted Li Zhiqi to pay the price for his terrible attitude towards Xu Bo'an. Suddenly, he turned to Li Zhiqi and said, "Chairman Li, how about this? If you really think your son has been scammed in his investment and only wants to get his principal back, my brother Xu will definitely agree. But are you really sure you want to do this?"
Nobody's money grows on trees. Besides Xu Bo'an and Qu Feifan who invested the most, Li Jiayin was next, investing nearly four million. Even for wealthy families, this was a considerable sum. Li Zhiqi was a relatively conservative person. Without thinking, he said to Qu Feifan, "Young Master Qu, my son invested nearly four million behind my back. As long as the principal is intact, I'm at ease. I don't dare to hope for anything more!"
After listening to Li Zhiqi's words, Qu Feifan looked at him and said, "Are you sure you only need the principal?"
Before Li Zhiqi could even speak after Qu Feifan said this, Li Jiayin, who was standing to the side, hurriedly said to her father, Li Zhiqi, "Dad, this is my investment money. You can't make decisions for me. The most important thing is that I made a lot of money buying those old houses with Brother Xu! If it's just the principal, I'll lose a lot!"
Li Zhiqi didn't believe his son's words at all. In his mind, he was convinced that those old houses had absolutely no potential for appreciation, so he would never believe what his son and the younger generation like Qu Feifan said.
I'm afraid Li Zhiqi wouldn't believe it unless those top billionaires in Jiangcheng City came forward and said that the houses there had appreciated in value!
Li Zhiqi said to his son, Li Jiayin, "You still have the nerve to talk about the money you invested? Where did the money you invested come from? Didn't you swindle it from your old man? When you asked me for the money, you said you were going to start your own company. I didn't expect you to follow others and buy that junk. Shut up right now. If I can get my principal back, I won't hold it against you. But if I can't get my principal back, you can forget about your monthly allowance of 100,000!"
Hearing his father's words, Li Jiayin panicked and quickly said to Li Zhiqi, "Dad, I'm your son! Why don't you believe me? I really made money! I don't need your monthly allowance of 100,000 yuan anymore. I'll give you the principal in a bit. Please stop arguing about the principal!" Li Zhiqi replied, "You lied to me when you asked me for money, and now you're trying to find another reason to lie to your old man? Get out of my way! I don't want to hear you!"
Perhaps all fathers in the world will always put on this experienced and wise demeanor in front of their sons. Li Zhiqi was like that, giving his son no chance to explain and only thinking about getting his principal back.
However, if we look at it from Li Zhiqi's perspective, his actions were indeed not wrong. His son had spent several million yuan behind his back to buy a piece of land in Jiangcheng City that everyone had no confidence in, with an unknown young man. How could a father not be angry?
Then he said to Qu Feifan, "Young Master Qu, since you are Mr. Xu's friend, please be my witness today. I only need to get back my share of the principal."
Qu Feifan asked Li Zhiqi again, "Are you sure? You won't go back on your word?"
Li Zhiqi said to Qu Feifan with certainty, "I'm sure! If you can help me get my principal back, I'll give you an extra 100,000 yuan as a token of my gratitude!"
Upon hearing her father's words, Li Jiayin quickly said to him, "Dad, I really made money. You don't need to give Qu Feifan 100,000 yuan at all!"
Today, he finally ran into this Xu guy who cheated his son out of his money, and Qu Feifan has agreed to help him get it back. He has to seize the opportunity to get the money back quickly. That's millions of yuan! As long as he gets the money back, what's a mere 100,000 yuan reward to Qu Feifan?
At this moment, Li Zhiqi had absolutely no desire to pay attention to his brainless spendthrift son.
"A fool wouldn't take advantage of a good deal," Qu Feifan thought. Ignoring Li Jiayin's words, he hurriedly said to Li Zhiqi, "Okay, deal. There are so many witnesses here, you can't go back on your word!"
Li Zhiqi looked at Qu Feifan with a determined gaze and said, "You help me get money, and I'll give you a reward. It's a matter of course, so why would I go back on my word!"
After hearing Li Zhiqi's words, Qu Feifan happily said to Li Zhiqi, "Okay, Chairman Li, then it's settled!"
After Qu Feifan finished speaking, he turned to Li Jiayin, raised his right index finger and thumb to make a money gesture, and said to him with a playful tone, "Little Li, give the principal to your dad, and give the rest to Brother Xu!"
Li Jiayin glared at Qu Feifan and said angrily, "Despicable!"
Even the closest of friends would find it hard to accept being called "despicable" by older people, but young people who hang out together often say such things to each other as if it were commonplace, and they wouldn't feel uncomfortable at all.
Upon hearing Li Jiayin's words, Qu Feifan showed no anger whatsoever. Instead, he chuckled and said to him, "Look at what you're saying. This was decided by your father. How can you blame me?"
Li Zhiqi was completely bewildered after hearing his son's conversation with Qu Feifan, having no idea what was going on. He looked at Qu Feifan with a puzzled expression and said, "Jiayin's money has all been swindled out of her. Shouldn't that Mr. Xu have given me the money? Why is my son giving it to me? You must have made a mistake!"
Li Zhiqi addressed Xu Bo'an as "Mr. Xu" only out of respect for Qu Feifan. Otherwise, he would have already taken Xu Bo'an to the law enforcement department for a face-to-face confrontation. Why would he be so polite to him?
Qu Feifan said to Li Zhiqi, "Chairman Li, you don't need to worry about this. I just need to be responsible for returning your principal to you!"
Li Zhiqi said, "Yes, yes, you're right!"
After finishing his conversation with Li Zhiqi, Qu Feifan turned to Li Jiayin with a grin. Li Jiayin rolled her eyes at Qu Feifan's smug and self-satisfied expression before transferring the nearly four million yuan she had asked her father for from her phone to her father.
A moment later, Li Zhiqi's phone rang, and he saw that nearly four million yuan had been added to his account. He was so happy to see the money that he didn't even have time to check who the sender was before he excitedly said to Qu Feifan, "Young Master Qu, it's you again! Wait a minute, the 100,000 yuan I promised you will be in my account soon!"
After Li Zhiqi finished speaking, he promptly transferred 100,000 yuan to Qu Feifan.
Qu Feifan was delighted to see this and said to Li Zhiqi, "Thank you so much, you've gone to so much trouble!" (End of Chapter)