bookbashuk Chapter 157 Zhang Shuotian: Arrogant Yet Cowardly
Chapter 157 Zhang Shuotian: Arrogant Yet Cowardly
Upon hearing the word "arm," Zhang Shuotian's expression changed. He was about to explode in anger, but then, as if remembering something, he carefully looked at Fatty Lin, then at me and Long Nier, and gritted his teeth, saying, "Alright!"
"Alright, learn your lesson. Don't forget how you broke your arm!" Fatty Lin said with a smile.
"How the hell do you talk like that?"
A fat, dark-skinned man stepped forward, pointed at Fatty Lin, and cursed.
"Erhei, shut up!"
Before we could say anything, Zhang Shuotian glared at the fat man.
"Erhei!"
The fat man was still a bit indignant, feeling that he had stood up for his older brother, so why was his older brother criticizing him? But someone recognized the three of us and pulled the fat man back.
"Old Master!"
At this point, Ma Shuai shook hands with Zhang Shuotian, which was considered giving him a way out.
"Brother Ma, come, have a seat!"
Zhang Shuotian, no longer arrogant, smiled warmly and offered his seat.
"Old Shuo, please give me some face regarding Ah Long's matter!"
After sitting down, Ma Shuai poured Zhang Shuotian a glass of wine.
The eldest brother, Long, remained silent, sitting to one side like a younger brother.
"Brother Ma, since you've opened your mouth, I have to give you face!"
Zhang Shuotian waved his hand generously and said, "How about this, I'll forgo the 30% share of the performance, and I'll give you a 20% discount on the cost of stage setup and equipment—five million!"
Upon hearing this, Ma Shuai's face immediately turned ugly.
"What's wrong, Brother Ma? Not satisfied with the 20% discount?"
Seeing that Ma Shuai didn't say anything, Zhang Shuotian picked up his drink, took a sip, and said, "Brother Ma, how about this, I'll give you another 10% off, making it 30% off, how about that?"
After saying that, Zhang Shuotian turned around and asked, "How much was the 30% discount again?"
"Big brother, let me calculate!"
A young man holding up a calculator shouted.
"Big brother, four million three hundred and seventy-seven hundred thousand!"
Soon, the younger brother gave the accurate number.
"Brother Ma, you heard it too, I'll round it down to four million three hundred and fifty thousand, how about that?"
Turning around, Zhang Shuotian said with a smile.
"Old Shuo, is that enough?" Ma Shuai said with a gloomy face.
"Brother Ma, with just one word from you, I'll give up 30% of the box office revenue, and even lower the discount from 20% to 30%, rounding it down to zero. How can that be acceptable?" Zhang Shuotian said with a forced smile.
"It hasn't eased up, has it?" Ma Shuai asked in a deep voice.
"Brother Ma, it's not that I don't want to give you a break, but Ah Long is having a concert today, and you're giving me a break? What about the next person having a concert tomorrow? Am I supposed to give them a break then?"
Zhang Shuotian's face also darkened. "Rules are rules, and they can't be broken!"
"How did it break last time?" Fatty Lin suddenly asked.
Zhang Shuotian paused, intending to curse, but upon seeing it was Fatty Lin, he swallowed his words and choked back his anger.
"I'm asking you, what happened last time?" Fatty Lin asked again.
"Why couldn't you break it this time when you could last time?"
"The situation is different!" Zhang Shuotian said through gritted teeth.
"Is it not necessary?"
Fatty Lin clapped his hands, suddenly realizing, "I get it! This time, no one's going to shove a gun in your mouth!"
"What the hell did you say?"
Upon hearing this, several of Zhang Shuotian's underlings objected.
"Brother Shuo, I'm asking you, if you can't break through this time, is it because no one put a gun in your mouth?" Fatty Lin ignored his underlings and continued to ask.
"Brother, have I offended you?"
Zhang Shuotian's eyes instantly became bloodshot.
"This is my uncle, and this is my brother. Tell me, have you offended them or not?" Fatty Lin first pointed at Ma Shuai, and then at his elder brother Long.
"The rules cannot be broken!" Zhang Shuotian said through gritted teeth.
"Oh, you mean you can only break free if someone shoves a gun in your mouth, right?" Fatty Lin said with a grin.
Zhang Shuotian looked at Fatty Lin with red eyes.
"Come on, look around a little longer!"
Fatty Lin pointed to his face with one hand and took out his phone with the other, saying, "I'm calling Brother Kang right now. Once Brother Kang arrives, you won't have a chance to see me!"
Zhang Shuotian's eyelids twitched twice, but he still didn't speak.
"Xiao Lin, put your phone down. This is such a small matter, don't bother Young Master Kang!"
Ma Shuai raised his hand, grabbed Lin Pangzi, and said to Zhang Shuotian, "Old Shuo, I'm going to swallow my pride and beg you to break the rules one more time. Consider it a favor I owe you. From now on, no matter how big the matter is in the Northeast, I'll take care of it for you!"
"Brother Ma, since you've put it that way, I have to break the rules for you this once!"
Zhang Shuotian accepted the ladder that Ma Shuai handed him without hesitation.
"hehe!"
Fatty Lin smiled and slowly put his phone in his pocket.
"Old Shuo, how about this? In a couple of days, you can appear as a guest at the concert and let bygones be bygones. That way, Ah Long will save face, and you'll save face too. People in the industry will all say that Master Shuo is kind and righteous!" Ma Shuai said again.
"Brother Ma, I'm fine with anything, I'll do it your way!" Zhang Shuotian nodded with a smile.
"Ah Long, Lao Shuo, you two became friends after a fight, so how about this, I'll treat you to a drink today!" Ma Shuai said with a smile.
"Brother Ma, don't try to take it from me, it's my treat today!" Zhang Shuotian said, patting his chest.
"Fine, it's your territory, you can do whatever you want. I won't fight you for it!"
Ma Shuai nodded.
In just a few words, the conflict was resolved, and they became buddies.
Actually, it's very simple: Zhang Shuotian chickened out.
If he doesn't back down, things will be difficult to handle.
Ma Shuai is a shrewd person; as soon as he saw that Ma Shuai was intimidated, he immediately offered him a way out.
The drinking session lasted until late into the night.
The next day, after sobering up, I got up to go to the bathroom and saw Fatty Lin there. I asked, "Fatty, what were you thinking? Why did you stand up for Big Brother Long and Ma Shuai? Aren't you afraid Zhang Shuotian won't back down?"
"You're crazy, you have absolutely no experience navigating the underworld!"
Fatty Lin tossed him a cigarette and said, "If we go with Commander Ma and just stand there silently pretending to be mute, neither Big Brother Long nor Commander Ma will say a word, but they'll resent us!"
"Zhang Shuotian seems tough on the surface, but he's actually a coward!"
"If he were really tough, he would have exploded when I mentioned his arm!"
"Since it didn't explode, why should I indulge him!"
"Aren't you afraid that if you corner him, he'll explode even if he doesn't want to?" I asked.
"Crazy, think about it carefully. With Ma Shuai around, how could he possibly be cornered?" Fatty Lin said.
I thought about it, and it really is true.
Just as Fatty Lin said, Ma Shuai is too cunning; yesterday's ladder was handed over at just the right time.
"You madman, from now on, whatever you do, talk less and observe more. Leave the rest to me. You need more practice!"
Fatty Lin walked over, patted my shoulder, and said smugly.
"Damn, you're getting cocky just because I said you're fat!" I laughed in exasperation.
"What's wrong with me being short of breath?"
Fatty Lin raised his head and said, "Crazy, let's make a bet, this isn't over!"
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"What do you mean?"
Fatty Lin scoffed and said, "You think Ma Shuai will just let this go? Let me tell you, with Ma Shuai's personality, he'll deal with Zhang Shuotian sooner or later!"