Chapter 819: A Moment of Triumph
Over the course of a morning, the mood of the Lin family members underwent a transformation from despair and anger to excitement and elation.
Especially for Su Ruochu's eldest maternal uncle and others, they felt that life's ups and downs came too quickly, it was truly too thrilling.
The face they had lost over the past two days was all regained in less than an hour.
Seeing the shocked and dazed expressions of the neighboring Song family, if it weren't for the inappropriate setting, Su Ruochu's eldest maternal uncle would have wanted to let out a few long laughs towards the sky.
Under the watchful eyes of a large group of guests, the memorial service proceeded smoothly.
Su Xuecheng found Chen Fan at the back of the crowd and asked in a low voice, "Su Ruochu's eldest maternal uncle asked me to check if you want to give a speech later?"
Chen Fan smiled wryly, "Let's not. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to go up there."
Su Xuecheng nodded, he had anticipated that Chen Fan wouldn't accept the invitation.
However, Su Ruochu's eldest maternal uncle doing this was merely out of courtesy, after all, most of the important guests present had come because of Chen Fan.
As the ceremony was about to end, a sudden rebuke came from behind the crowd.
"What are you doing here? Still want to fight?"
The speaker was Su Ruochu's eldest maternal uncle's son, who was now standing at the door blocking those outside.
Everyone turned to look towards the sound, only to find that the arrivals were none other than the 3 Song brothers.
The hall immediately fell silent.
Su Ruochu's eldest maternal uncle hesitated for a moment before coming to the door.
"What do you want now?"
Song Weixiong's second and third brothers looked extremely embarrassed, hanging their heads dejectedly behind their eldest brother.
As for Song Weixiong, where was his previous air of superiority now? His face bore a faint smile.
"Mr. Lin, I've come to apologize."
"These 2 brothers of mine have been used to being arrogant, and they caused a conflict with the Lin family today. That was wrong of them."
"The responsibility lies with me. I'm to blame for not managing these 2 fellows properly in daily life."
"I've come this time to offer a sincere apology."
With that, he beckoned, and his 2 brothers beside him brought over a wreath.
"I've asked these 2 to apologize to you and also bring a wreath to express our regrets."
The eldest maternal uncle was stunned, his expression a mix of surprise and oddity.
Just as he didn't know how to handle the situation, Lin Wanxiu stepped out from behind.
"You still have the nerve to come here?"
"Get out of here quickly. We don't need your apology."
"Now you're putting on an act and coming to apologize, where did that arrogance from earlier go?"
"Weren't you going to hit me just now? Try hitting me once..."
Seeing this, Su Xuecheng quickly grabbed his wife, fearing she might say something wrong.
But Lin Wanxiu struggled desperately to break free, then shouted, "Let me tell you, this isn't over."
"You think you can just apologize and let it go? Dream on."
She now felt utterly refreshed.
Lin Wanxiu wasn't a fool, she had seen clearly today that the reason so many guests had come was all because of her son-in-law's influence.
Especially that Vice Chairman Gao, who was no small figure, yet was so polite to Chen Fan.
What did this mean?
It meant that her son-in-law's status and position were now different.
With her son-in-law here, why should she still be afraid of these people?
Being scolded so harshly by Lin Wanxiu, the expressions of the 3 Song brothers became extremely awkward.
But they didn't dare to get angry.
Song Weixiong's expression changed several times before he finally managed to squeeze out a smile.
"Well... it's all actually a misunderstanding, we... we can make amends."
"Look, we're all from the same town, there's no need to fall out over a small matter..."
Hearing this, the eldest maternal uncle originally wanted to use this opportunity to let the matter go.
However, his son who had been beaten spoke up first.
"Make amends? How do you plan to make amends?"
"They hit me, does that mean I can hit them back?"
Song Weixiong's expression became even more awkward.
At this moment, Pang Qinglai, who had arrived last, stepped forward.
"What's going on here?"
"Xiao Song, did you have a conflict with them?"
Song Weixiong shuddered in fear.
Among those present, he wasn't afraid of anyone except this Pang Qinglai.
This man was his meal ticket, and more importantly, Pang Qinglai was no pushover either, his methods were far more formidable than his own.
He only wielded power in a small town, while the other's influence radiated throughout the entire city.
Song Weixiong smiled awkwardly, "Chairman Pang, this... it's actually a misunderstanding..."
"Misunderstanding my ass!"
Su Ruochu's second maternal aunt couldn't hold back anymore. She stepped out and, with flying spittle, recounted everything that had happened earlier to all the guests present in great detail.
As they listened, everyone's brows furrowed.
Even Pang Qinglai looked exasperated.
These 3 Song brothers usually knew how to conduct themselves, which was why he would assign them some projects that didn't require much technical skill.
He hadn't expected them to hit a snag this time.
Even if he wanted to play peacemaker, he couldn't.
At this point, Chen Fan, who had been silent all along, suddenly asked leisurely.
"Chairman Pang, you know them?"
Pang Qinglai's body trembled, and he shook his head decisively.
"Not really. We've just had some business dealings before. They were responsible for transporting sand and soil for one of my construction sites."
Pang Qinglai, fearing Chen Fan might misunderstand, quickly distanced himself from them.
But he immediately realized that this might be an opportunity.
An opportunity to build rapport with Chen Fan.
So Pang Qinglai immediately turned to look at the Song brothers at the door.
"You blind dogs, you dare to offend Mr. Chen."
"Song Weixiong, from today onwards, all cooperation between us is cancelled. Moreover, all your business in the city district has been suspended. In the future, neither my company nor my friends' companies will cooperate with you again."
Hearing this, Song Weixiong was startled and immediately became anxious.
"Ch... Chairman Pang, you can't do this."
"This is just a misunderstanding, Chairman Pang, I really didn't know..."
"Enough, stop talking nonsense. Get out of here quickly."
"I'm warning you, behave yourselves from now on. I'll have people keeping an eye on you."
Pang Qinglai glared at them discontentedly, then immediately turned around with a change of expression, smiling as he said to Chen Fan.
"Mr. Chen, don't mind them. Come on, let's go inside. Don't let people like that affect your mood."
Chen Fan looked at the Song brothers at the door expressionlessly, without saying a word, and turned back into the hall.
Pang Qinglai followed behind, still smiling and assuring Chen Fan.
"Don't worry. I'll have someone keep an eye on him. For small fry like them, I have plenty of ways to deal with them."
"Thank you for your trouble," Chen Fan said calmly.
Hearing this, Pang Qinglai immediately became excited, feeling that he had greatly shortened the distance with Chen Fan.
"Haha, Mr. Chen, you can rest assured. If these 3 fellows dare to cause trouble again, I'll directly have someone put them away. I might not be able to say this elsewhere, but in this little patch of Suzhou and Hangzhou, my word still carries weight."
Looking at the Song brothers at the door, wilting like frost-bitten eggplants, everyone on the Lin family's side felt refreshed and invigorated.
"Serves them right!"