Since they are reborn, they must be supported by the school beauties.

Chapter 131: A soldier never tires of deceit
Halfway through Chen Cheng's dinner, the boss's wife rushed over with 200,000 yuan in cash.

She put the money in a black plastic bag that was lined with three layers, and the innermost layer was tied in a knot, so you couldn't tell what it was from the outside.

The 200,000 yuan in cash was heavy, and the couple felt a pang of heartache looking at it.

However, the two of them had already figured out the stakes, and the boss was also shocked by Chen Cheng's background. As long as the matter could be resolved safely with 200,000 yuan, he was willing to pay it, even though it hurt his heart.

His biggest wish now is to use the 200,000 yuan to buy out Chen Cheng's help to him in one go.

The best outcome would be for the two to forget each other and go their separate ways. Chen Cheng could take the 200,000 yuan and do whatever he wanted, while Chen Cheng could wait for the demolition compensation and the 680,000 yuan net profit to fall into his pocket without any worries.

When they were almost finished eating, Xiao Suqin excused herself to go to the restroom and then went to the cashier to pay the bill.

It's been such a tacit understanding between her and Lu Zhixing for so many years that whenever Lu Zhixing treats someone to a meal, and she accompanies him, she will always pay the bill before the meal ends.

When she arrived at the cashier and explained her purpose to the restaurant owner, the owner smiled and said, "Hello, you don't need to pay the bill for the Osmanthus Hall."

Xiao Suqin asked in surprise, "Has anyone already bought it?"

"No no."

The boss waved his hand repeatedly and explained, "The tall, thin guy who came with you did me a big favor before. I promised him that after it was done, I would treat him to meals whenever he came to my restaurant. Today is no exception."

Xiao Suqin was even more surprised.

The tall, thin guy the boss was talking about must be Chen Cheng.

Why does Chen Cheng have so much influence here?
What help can he give the restaurant owner?
Xiao Suqin couldn't understand it.

So she said, "Boss, to be honest, he also helped my husband a lot, so my husband is treating him to dinner today. If you give the meal for free, then our original intention of treating him to dinner is lost, isn't it?"

The boss thought to himself with resentment, "I know he helped your husband a lot; 60,000 tons of coal, it was all settled with just one phone call..."

While he was amazed, he said seriously, "I'm sorry, you really can't treat me to this meal, because I didn't ask the waiter to write down the bill from the beginning."

At this point, he added, "If you really want to treat that guy to a meal, you can go somewhere else next time. As long as that guy comes to my place to eat, no matter who he comes with, I can't charge him!"

Xiao Suqin was stunned. She noticed that the boss had an undisguised sense of awe when he mentioned Chen Cheng.

When a middle-aged man in his forties mentions an eighteen-year-old, he not only shows respect, but there is even a hint of fear in his eyes.

Isn’t this too incredible?
But Xiao Suqin also knew that since the other party's attitude was so firm, she wouldn't have the chance to force them to pay.

So she had no choice but to say to the boss, "Okay then, thank you."

After saying that, she turned around and went back, thinking to herself, "I still need to find an opportunity to invite Chen Cheng to dinner again, and go back to ask Youyou what the relationship between the two of them is. If they are really close, I'll invite him to my house for dinner!"

When Lu Zhixing saw his wife return, he assumed the bill had been settled. The meal was almost over, and it was almost time for the train to arrive. So he stood up and said, "Xiao Chen, it's almost time. Uncle won't keep you any longer. Go home early. I'll definitely invite you out for dinner again when I go to Jiangcheng."

Chen Cheng smiled and said, "Thank you for your hospitality, Uncle Lu!"

Xiao Suqin quickly said, "Xiao Chen, this meal wasn't paid for by your Uncle Lu, it was paid for by the restaurant owner."

Restaurant owner?

Lu Zhixing was stunned.

He recalled Chen Cheng's conversation with the shop owner when he came in and asked in surprise, "Little Chen, did the shop owner really give you a free meal?"

Chen Cheng smiled and said, "I think so."

Lu Youyou was even more surprised. She suddenly became curious about what Chen Cheng had said to the boss at the farewell dinner.

Just then, someone knocked on the door of the private room, and the owner walked in carrying a heavy black plastic bag, smiling as he asked everyone, "Did you all enjoy the meal? Were you satisfied with today's food?"

"Satisfied, satisfied."

Lu Zhixing nodded and asked him in confusion, "Boss, why aren't you taking the money? I'm treating you to this meal."

The boss pointed at Chen Cheng and laughed, "I told you, little brother, that as long as he comes, it's on me."

As he spoke, he approached Chen Cheng, handed him the heavy black plastic bag, and said sincerely, "Brother, thank you so much for what happened last time. I won't say much more, but you just need to know that I am very grateful to you. This is a small token of my appreciation, a local specialty. You must accept it."

Chen Cheng, Lu Zhixing, and Xiao Suqin are all people who frequently deal with money. They can tell from the shape and width of the bag that it must contain cash.

Chen Cheng didn't take it, but deliberately pressed his hand down, and said with a smile, "Oh, brother, you're too kind."

"No, no, no, you're not being polite at all."

The boss is no longer afraid of Chen Cheng accepting money; he's more afraid of Chen Cheng refusing to accept it.

Accepting the bribe proves that the two are in cahoots, and neither of them will be able to escape responsibility if problems arise in the future.

If I don't accept it, I'll never have peace of mind. Who knows how big his appetite really is?
So he insisted on putting the three layers of black plastic bag handles into Chen Cheng's hands, holding Chen Cheng's hands tightly, and said emotionally, "Brother, this is just a small token of my appreciation, far from enough to express my gratitude. If you don't accept it, I'll feel guilty for the rest of my life. Please, I'm begging you, please accept it!"

"Hey bro, this is really something..."

Chen Cheng feigned a troubled sigh, but his hands were anything but polite. He weighed the bills in his hand, assessing their weight. If they were all hundred-yuan bills, it would probably be between tens of thousands and two hundred thousand yuan. Compared to the boss's actual profit, which was probably only around twenty percent, it wasn't a small amount.

Moreover, I didn't ask him for the money; he gave it to me willingly, so I felt perfectly justified in taking it.

Of course, the reason he brought Lu Zhixing here was indeed to give him some support.

If Lu Zhixing weren't here, he probably wouldn't have prepared so much for himself.

But isn't that how business works? Utilizing every available opportunity to gain greater profits.

As the old saying goes, all's fair in war.

So he shook the boss's hand and said earnestly, "Brother, since you've said that, I won't stand on ceremony with you. Thank you, and I wish you a prosperous business and abundant wealth in the future."

The boss was overjoyed to hear the wish that his business would prosper and his wealth increase.

He understood the implication in Chen Cheng's words: once the money was given to Chen Cheng, the two should truly forget each other and go their separate ways.

A one-off deal is always the most satisfying!

From now on, I can finally wait for the demolition compensation to come in with peace of mind!

So he happily said to Chen Cheng, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, my good brother!"

After saying this, he didn't dare to say that his younger brother should come often in the future, but instead said, "You two chat, I won't bother you any longer."

Chen Cheng nodded and smiled, "Alright, brother, you go ahead and do your thing."

After the boss left, Wu Haoyang muttered to himself, "Chen Cheng, did the boss give you Zhonghua cigarettes again?"

"right."

Chen Cheng smiled and casually said, "This boss is just being polite."

As he spoke, he quickly stuffed the plastic bag into his backpack.

The bag of money was stuffed into the schoolbag, making it so bulging that it was almost impossible to pull it open.

Afterwards, the group left the restaurant, but the owner, who usually liked to stay at the cashier, was nowhere to be found.

He didn't leave; he just hid in another private room.

At times like this, he didn't want to see Chen Cheng anymore.

Chen Cheng understood that since it was a one-time mutually beneficial arrangement, ending it here was the best course of action.

So he called over a waitress and told her, "Please tell your boss that I won't be coming here anymore. I wish him good business."

The waiter was confused, but still nodded and said, "Okay, I'll tell my boss in a bit."

Once outside, Lu Zhixing said to Chen Cheng, "Little Chen, Uncle will take you home first."

Chen Cheng wanted to be polite, but since the other party had already brought him back from Jiangcheng, he figured he might as well let them take him the rest of the way. So he smiled and said, "Thank you, Uncle Lu."

Xiao Suqin said to them, "You can all ride in my car. After dropping off Xiao Chen, the three of us will go home and have Lao Liu drive the car back to the company."

Lu Zhixing didn't think much of it and said to the driver, "Okay, Lao Liu, you can drive the Mercedes back to the company."

"Okay, Mr. Lu."

The restaurant wasn't far from Chen Cheng's house; it only took a few minutes to drive there.

Chen Cheng got off the bus at an intersection not far from the residential area, said goodbye to everyone, and then turned and walked towards his own residential area.

Xiao Suqin then drove Lu Zhixing and Lu Youyou home.

As soon as the car pulled out, Xiao Suqin asked Lu Zhixing, "Old Lu, how much do you think the restaurant owner gave Xiao Chen?"

Lu Zhixing stroked his chin: "It should be 200,000. It feels like four bundles of 100-yuan bills, stacked in a grid pattern five times. If they were all new bills, it might be even more."

Sitting in the back, Lu Youyou asked in surprise, "Mom and Dad, what are you talking about? Was the black plastic bag that the restaurant owner gave Chen Cheng filled with money?"

"Correct."

Lu Zhixing nodded: "It's definitely money, you don't even need to look to know."

Lu Youyou was stunned: "But...why did he give Chen Cheng so much money?!"

"why?"

Xiao Suqin laughed and said, "This is the first time your father and I have met him. How could we possibly guess why?"

Remembering something, Lu Zhixing quickly asked, "Yoyo, I heard from Chen Cheng that you had your farewell dinner at this restaurant. What happened there?"

(End of this chapter)