Chapter 55: Utterly ruined, signing this receipt makes my scalp tingle

To make their strategic intentions clear and prevent any operational miscommunication, Fang Xinghe was forced to explain in greater detail.

"First, my new book must not be released simultaneously with the New Concept Composition Anthology; ideally, it should be published a month afterward.

Second, if you leak my negative news right now, it would be equivalent to working for free for the New Concept anthology. They would reap all the benefits, while by the time my work hits the shelves, I'd likely be weighed down by scandals, lose a massive wave of fans, and end up with poor sales.

Third, I don't care for my current hype profile. I don't want to use an even bigger piece of news to stimulate the public. Not only is that a waste of resources, but it's also extremely likely to backfire.

Fourth, things that have been done will eventually come to light; you can't hide them forever. However, I am confident that I can use my new book to offset the negative press to the greatest extent possible. Therefore, the best landing strategy is for these two events to happen simultaneously.

Can you understand my logic?

All you need to do is help me buy time—make the media peers inquiring about this believe that no such major scoop exists. Drag it out for two full months, and those fifty thousand yuan will be a windfall dropped straight into your laps.

If you can handle the job even better, establishing a long-term cooperative relationship—obtaining first-hand material from me that regular channels can't easily publish—is also a possibility.

Well? Are you going to make this money, or not?"

"Damn it!"

Dark Circles slammed the table and sprang to his feet, so excited that the dark circles around his eyes were no longer black, but turning a bruised purple.

"Why wouldn't I make it? Young Master Fang, from now on, I'm your man!"

Ugh, disgusting. What kind of talk is that?

Before President Fang could make a move, Dark Circles turned his head and emotionally persuaded Baldy: "Brother Gan, stop fighting against your own interests. The two of us get twenty-five thousand each—that's several years' salary!"

Baldy wasn't completely unmoved; he just still had reservations.

"Young Master Fang, of course I want to cooperate, but there is still one problem with this—we can spread fake news and block most people, but there will always be a few individual die-hards who refuse to give up and poke around..."

"You don't need to worry about that."

Fang Xinghe waved his hand and said calmly, "Since I've made up my mind to do this, from today onwards, no out-of-town reporters will ever get close to that family of three."

How simple could it be?

His good cousin had a whole school full of young boys helping to keep an eye on him.

As for his uncle's family, Xiao Long and the others were bored out of their minds day in and day out. Pay them a hundred yuan a day to post a few people as lookouts, and they could count every single mouse that entered the house.

And finally, his uncle's workplace... Should he go pour his heart out to the old man in charge, or drop a few hints to the county leaders?

Fang Xinghe never intended to drag this matter out indefinitely; he only wanted to buy two or three months of time, so applying pressure from any angle would easily get the job done.

His calm demeanor was so powerful that in just an instant, Baldy and Dark Circles were completely convinced.

"Alright, we are willing to cooperate, but I must make it clear beforehand—I only do the work when I see the money."

"Don't blame us for being realistic; fifty thousand is truly not a small sum..."

Fang Xinghe waved his hand, cutting off any further explanation.

"You can write the new drafts right now. My friend will stay here with you and temporarily hold onto your mobile phones.

Tomorrow morning, I will come back with the full amount in cash.

Once you fax the drafts back and they get published in the newspaper, my friend will accompany you back to the Imperial Capital with the money and escort the two of you home.

Finally, you will write a receipt according to a specific format, sign it, and press your thumbprint, and we'll be even.

As for whether we can cooperate again in the future...

We'll discuss each matter as it comes, depending on how well you execute this task.

To speak some blunt and unvarnished truths, I am not short of media resources; there's no need for me to round up a bunch of good-for-nothings and hand out poverty alleviation funds. Therefore, only value earns you a next time."

The transaction was essentially finalized, and Fang Xinghe's cynicism finally revealed itself... just a tiny fraction of it.

It felt humiliating, but fundamentally, it wasn't meant for the sake of humiliation.

Dealing with people in their thirties at the age of fourteen, with a distance of over a thousand kilometers separating them, politeness could not guarantee loyalty; only strength could safeguard one's rights.

Pan Hong had a famous saying whose phrasing was rough but the logic sound: if you give them food and spend money to support them, you must make it clear who the master is.

On the contrary, tight logic and slightly harsh "wake-up calls" could effectively boost their confidence and raise the probability of them persisting to the very last moment.

Baldy and Dark Circles exchanged one final glance. At this moment, their eyes were filled with excitement, and if one probed deeper, a trace of mutual vigilance could even be detected.

If I take the money and don't do the work, will he snitch on me?

If he takes the money and doesn't do the work, should I snitch on him?

As similar stray thoughts flashed through their minds, the two men remained friends, but they were no longer entirely on the same side.

Frontline reporters—it sounded nice, but in reality, they were nothing like the senior editors sitting in the office writing columns.

They harbored zero confidence in whether Fang Xinghe's new book could actually be as insanely good as claimed; they simply lacked the luxury of treating 25,000 yuan as petty cash.

And that was already enough.

The most direct evidence was this—when they nodded heavily and began pledging their loyalty, under the projection of the Starlight Panel, a glowing white light emanated from their bodies.

This meant that the two men, who had originally harbored ill intentions, not only genuinely agreed to the transaction, but were even conquered by Fang Xinghe, becoming light-pink tier fans.

A tier-one fan might not be all that worshipful, but this transformation itself represented a great deal...

***

Having handled the matter, Fang Xinghe walked out of the inn alone.

As soon as he reached downstairs, he was blocked by a middle-aged man.

"Young Master Fang!"

The middle-aged man sported a typical Northeast-style buzz cut with the sides shaved down to the blue stubble, a very short layer on top, a thick gold chain hanging around his neck, and a leather clutch tucked under his armpit.

Classic. Extremely classic.

Fang Xinghe, who was already quite familiar with the current era, knew that in the Northeast, this was a look exclusive to big bosses who had attained a certain status.

He stopped in his tracks, tilted his head, and stood still to await developments.

***

"My name is Wang Ye!"

The middle-aged man took two quick strides forward, extended his right hand from afar, and beamed with an enthusiastic smile.

"I heard your esteemed self graced my humble establishment, so I rushed right over to take a look. No other reason, just wanted to meet our great talent. Oh my, in the flesh you're even more dashing than the rumors say... How is it? Are things going smoothly?"

Wang Ye was extremely polite, but his speech was a strange mix of literary and vernacular phrasing, sounding rather awkward.

"Hello." Fang Xinghe didn't shake his hand, merely nodding. "Pretty smoothly. Sorry to have troubled you."

"Where is that talk coming from, where is that talk coming from? We're all family here, and nothing got broken anyway, so what trouble?"

Wang Ye smiled, withdrew his hand, opened his bag, and took out a business card.

"From now on, if anything comes up around the station area, just give Brother Wang a call. The inns, the hair salons, and the video parlors around here—while I might not own all of them, they all have to give me a bit of face!"

Fang Xinghe took the business card and twirled it between his fingertips, not bothering to look down at it, only coldly scrutinizing Wang Ye himself.

Scrutiny usually implied coldness, devoid of emotion.

He maintained a sense of vigilance toward anyone who proactively approached him. The reason he displayed it outwardly rather than concealing it was simply because he couldn't be bothered with the trouble.

"Thank you." Fang Xinghe ultimately gave a nod that was neither friendly nor hostile. "No need to see me off."

With that, he turned and walked toward the door.

It wasn't until his figure vanished into the night that a henchman hurried over and stood behind Wang Ye.

"Boss..."

"Is this little fellow townsman of ours a big deal?"

"Yeah, he's a big deal."

"Not easy!" Wang Ye shook his head with deep emotion. "Do you know what to do if you see him near the station in the future?"

"I know. Offer help if there's trouble, stay away and don't crowd him if there isn't."

"I fucking knew you had what it takes! Good, do it just like that. From now on, the business around this area will be handed over to you, and be a bit more polite to those little punks."

"Understood!"

Wang Ye rubbed his belly and walked contentedly toward the back door.

Halfway there, he suddenly turned around. "Oh right, disconnect the phone line at the front desk."

The henchman caught the hint immediately and sat down inside the counter. "Don't you worry, I'll keep an eye on it myself."

Wang Ye laughed heartily, gave a thumbs-up, and turned around with a brisk step, humming a little tune under his breath.

When he had just learned that Fang Xinghe had brought people to his inn, he had genuinely been given a massive fright, breaking out in cold sweat.

There were always people who thought so-called underworld bosses were insanely badass, acting as absolute monarchs on their own turf and doing whatever they wanted to whoever they pleased.

In reality, bosses who had made a name for themselves in the underworld feared crazy young punks the most, followed closely by the authorities.

Fang Xinghe single-handedly embodied both. He was already black-listed in the county's grey zones, walking around like a plague god—both a pest and a deity.

If nothing happened, you politely escorted him off; if something went wrong, you swallowed your tears and helped clean up the mess.

As for those two reporters from the capital upstairs... I'm terribly sorry, if anything's the matter, please call the police.

If Baldy and Dark Circles refused to accept it and secretly tried to find an opportunity to seek help from the inn... that would surely make for a very entertaining show.

However, President Fang's methods were truly too brilliant. The two of them genuinely sat there obediently writing drafts, pulling an all-nighter until they finally hammered out a flawless set of talking points.

Working hard enough to melt one's heart...

***

The next day, after finishing his physical exercises, Fang Xinghe paged Xiao Long and headed straight for the bank.

Last night, he hadn't bothered to contact Xiao Long. Drink? What wine? Hanging out and drinking with those fierce chicks was damn well too dangerous; you'd have to be crazy to truly integrate into their circle.

Keeping a distance and maintaining ties through money was just fine.

Upon arriving at the Construction Bank branch, he was once again mobbed by the older female tellers. Someone started it, and then all of them pulled out notebooks asking for his autograph.

Outside, he certainly didn't possess such widespread renown and general popularity, but in the county, it was indeed different.

The advantage was that the normally troublesome withdrawal process was vastly simplified as a result.

The disadvantage was—his hand got sore.

He withdrew 55,000 yuan, shoved 5,000 separately into his bag, packed 50,000 into a kraft paper envelope, and took a taxi back to the inn.

By this time, Baldy and Dark Circles had already finished writing the new drafts.

The two brothers stared eagerly at Fang Xinghe: "Young Master Fang, take a look and see if this reads okay?"

He tossed the kraft paper envelope over casually and picked up the drafts to scan through them briefly.

True to their status as veteran reporters, this piece of work was executed exceptionally well.

Under their pens, Wang Deli (the uncle) had not a single kind word to say about Fang Xinghe. Every answer was laced with bitterness, complaining that Fang Xinghe didn't come to visit them after getting famous, chattering about how well he had treated Fang Xinghe when he was a little boy, and when the conversation turned to his deceased sister, claiming, "Our family had a hard time back then too, but we lent a hand in the end." When talking about the present, it was all about how Fang Xinghe had made a fortune and how much his exam rewards alone amounted to...

The draft as a whole had plenty of interesting angles, but they were all petty, trivial matters, and the underlying reality projected by it was—doesn't this uncle look like a total scumbag?

Dark Circles explained: "The reason we didn't write a positive piece is because of our Southern Metropolis standpoint... Before the two of us set out, the higher-ups already hinted at it."

"So we could only dig from a somewhat negative angle," Baldy chimed in. "We mainly reinforced your rebellious character traits and your indifference toward family affection. Only this kind of draft can satisfy the higher-ups."

Dark Circles picked up again: "However, we also don't want anyone else to go looking for Wang Deli, so we portrayed him as a lying, mercenary petty person. When our peers see that there's no real scoop on him and that he's a pain to deal with, they'll most likely stop going out of their way to invite trouble."

Splendid. Fang Xinghe was quite satisfied.

"Very well, fax it."

The group arrived at No. 3 Middle School. Fang Xinghe relied on his face-recognition privilege to open the administrative building's main doors and marched straight into Liu Dashan's office—given our brotherly bond, what's wrong with using his equipment?

Right in front of Fang Xinghe, Baldy made a phone call to his superior.

"Leader, there's really nothing to dig up here. Who knows which asshole spread that fake news? Fang Xinghe's uncle indeed has a bad relationship with him, but it's mostly petty grievances about not getting any benefits after he got famous. Damn it, I burned through three packs of cigarettes and two bottles of liquor, and the most explosive scoop he gave me was that Fang Xinghe used to wet the bed as a kid!"

Pfft!!!

Heizi and Duoyu hurriedly turned their heads toward the wall, holding back their laughter with shaking shoulders.

Yet this flavor was spot-on. Whatever the editor-in-chief on the other end was squawking back, Baldy raised his voice indignantly: "Why can't the two of us go back? What else is there for us to waste time hanging around here for?!"

"I'm certain! Of course I'm certain!"

"Whoever got the tip, tell him to come do the interviews himself!"

"The two of us took turns and still couldn't get anything out of him. What's this? Are you suspecting the two of us took Fang Xinghe's money?!"

After another round of vague affirmative grunts, he finally sounded reluctant as he conceded: "Alright then, the two of us will stay a few more days and see... Fang Xinghe is keeping his doors closed and refusing to see anyone. Even if there really were interview opportunities, it wouldn't be our turn..."

"Fine, fine, phone bills are damn expensive, that's it!"

As soon as the call was hung up, Baldy immediately looked eagerly at Fang Xinghe.

President Fang gave a thumbs-up: "Not bad, Brother Gan, your acting is eye-opening."

No kidding, if we were just talking about grounded, everyday acting, Baldy could teach a masterclass to many actors. Although this wasn't artistic creation, artistic creation often drew its material straight from these slices of life.

"Alright, divide the money."

In light of their cooperation, Fang Xinghe took the initiative to alter the workflow.

"You two can deposit it if you want, or keep it on your persons—whatever you prefer. My two little brothers still have to accompany you for a while, and the receipts need to be written right now."

"OK, OK! No problem!"

Dark Circles blurted out English in his excitement, which, in this era, carried a certain high-end aura.

The two brothers began writing the receipt according to Fang Xinghe's outline.

[Received today the sum of Fifty Thousand Yuan RMB in full from (Wang Ye, General Manager of Zhongtai Hotel), used for the purchase of all audio, video, and textual materials concerning the massive collective orgies organized by Zhongtai Hotel obtained by myself () and () through undercover investigation. We guarantee there are no duplicate copies, nor will we expose or report this to any party. Payment made against delivery, and all accounts settled as of this moment—August 4, 1999. Signatory: xxx]

Sweat poured in torrents from the two brothers as they wrote the receipt, wiping away handfuls of it whenever they touched their brows.

During the process, they opened their mouths several times, looking as though they wanted to say something, but in the end, they shut them with an expression of agony, unable to squeeze out a single word.

Heizi and Duoyu were also stunned silly, their jaws hanging open as if they were dislocated.

Bro, you play way too wild!

Can you even fucking do this?!

The two boys couldn't help muttering under their breath, "Bro, Wang Ye has quite a bit of muscle on the streets..."

"I know." Fang Xinghe lifted his eyelids casually. "Isn't that just perfect?"

"Then if you make him take the fall, once he finds out..."

"Whoever signed their name, he can go look for them, right? I'm not the one who took the money."

Fang Xinghe turned his head, looking at the two older brothers with a smiling expression, and joked: "Besides, how could the two big brothers be so foolish as to give that scourge a chance to hound them for debts?"

"Ah, yes, yes, yes!"

Dark Circles and Baldy nodded frantically, placing their hands obediently on their thighs like schoolchildren.

Rest assured, Young Master Fang, we two brothers are extremely sensible!

Fang Xinghe put away the receipt bearing their fingerprints, nodded with a smile: "Brother Gan, Brother Gan, we're all family from now on. Enjoy your vacation in peace, and feel free to order these two around if you need anything."

Afterward, he instructed Duoyu: "You two must show proper hospitality as the hosts..."

"Don't worry, Boss!"

Heizi's eyes glowed, licking his lips in excitement.

Hospitality?

No, no, young master is going to eat your food, drink your booze, play your games, and if you dare pull any funny business, I'm going to beat you up too!

Daring to come and stir up trouble for his boss—capital punishment could be spared, but minor penalties were inescapable.

***

When Fang Xinghe returned home, Xiao Long and his two henchmen were standing at the doorway, having waited quite a while.

"Young Master Fang!"

The three of them had changed into new clothes, shaved, and styled their hair into neat front-spikes, making them look at least five percent more handsome.

"Not bad, very sharp."

Fang Xinghe patted Xiao Long's shoulder and led them into the small courtyard.

"I have a task for you guys to handle..."

When he laid it out simply and mentioned the daily wage of twenty-five yuan per person, the young men grew excited once more.

It was enough for cigarettes and food, enough to play video games all day, but not quite enough for a heavy session of drinking—however, grouped in pairs, two groups for a total of four people, pooling their money together would be enough for a fine drinking session.

This was the most appropriate standard Fang Xinghe had calculated and deliberately controlled.

Giving too little gave no motivation, while giving too much easily bred bad habits. Right now, it struck the exact balance to keep them motivated yet well-behaved.

Fang Xinghe warned them once more: "Keep a close eye, but don't resort to violence. If there's anything you're unsure of, call me to handle it."

"Understood, don't you worry, we'll sort this out clean and proper!"

Xiao Long took a solemn oath, slapping his chest with loud thuds.

Though this fellow tended to be a bit boisterous and didn't look entirely reliable, truth be told, for his age, he already handled things quite reliably.

Fang Xinghe had nothing more to worry about. He counted out 700 yuan, notified them to report for duty tomorrow, and leisurely returned inside to continue writing his book.

Everything that could be done had been done. As for how they wanted to play the rest...

Just follow my lead.