Chapter 863 — Tricked Again
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
"I've seen Kang the Divine Physician's wound medicine—it should be this old formula. Only many of the ingredients are rare and precious, and the cost too high, so I swapped a few of them out; not only did it save on cost, the efficacy improved as well." Wei Zhao shrugged. "Now I'm merely returning the old formula to them. A formula they already had, sold for three hundred thousand—isn't that a bargain?"
"That is quite the bargain!" Only now did Kang Xiaofeng understand Wei Zhao's intent. "Boss, you're something else—you casually fleeced another three hundred thousand out of Kang Jingming! That really feels good!"
Kang Xiaofeng had harbored a grudge against Kang Jingming for longer than a day or two. Had Wei Zhao not been here today, he could never have sat at the same table with the man. He had been puzzling all along over why Wei Zhao did what he did; only now did he realize that Kang Jingming had been tricked by Wei Zhao yet again.
"I hadn't planned on fleecing him either—I only wanted to tag along and see what new tricks he was up to." Wei Zhao smiled wryly. "But since he brought three hundred thousand to our door, how could we not take it?"
"True enough! I was scared half to death earlier—I thought the formula had been sold off for a mere three hundred thousand, and my heart nearly burst!" Kang Xiaofeng breathed a sigh of relief. "Boss, here, you take the money. I'm going to the shantytown to pick up Xiaofen and bring her to the company with me."
Lately Kang Xiaofeng had been going to the company every day to study under Fat Lai and Fat Lai's friends. Though he had already absorbed a good deal of theory, without practical application it was nothing but empty talk on paper; and so Kang Xiaofeng treasured this chance to learn on the job.
Xiaofen was the same, though her legs made getting about inconvenient, and so naturally she went wherever Kang Xiaofeng went each day. Xiaofen's family home had been torn down, and her mother had rented a place near the new house, waiting for the renovations to be finished so they could move in.
"You keep the money. Get a driver's license, buy a car—otherwise carting Xiaofen around every day won't be easy. And with what's left, buy some appliances for Xiaofen's family?" Three hundred thousand was nothing in Wei Zhao's eyes; naturally he would not lug a box of cash back to school.
"This... how can I accept it?" Kang Xiaofeng was startled. He had never imagined the money could be his. True, Wei Zhao had taken it in his name, but Kang Xiaofeng knew his place and had never set his sights on it—which was why, on the way out, he had proposed returning the money to Wei Zhao. He had never expected Wei Zhao to give it to him.
"What's so hard about accepting? Take it." Wei Zhao patted Kang Xiaofeng on the shoulder and waved off any further protest before it could be voiced.
Wei Zhao was a man who kept clear accounts of kindness and grievance: good to his friends, merciless to his enemies. Even when an enemy had done nothing to provoke him, Wei Zhao would seize the chance to give him a good drubbing. Just now, for instance, Kang Jingming had once again lost three hundred thousand for no reason at all.
Kang Xiaofeng had not been able to do much for Wei Zhao, but Wei Zhao did not mind in the least. Back when Zhong Yongliang had come knocking, Kang Xiaofeng's readiness to stand by him through thick and thin had been enough to make Wei Zhao regard him with new respect. Friendship was not a matter of taking from one another, so Wei Zhao would not grow cold toward Kang Xiaofeng merely because he could be of no help to him now.
"This... all right! Thank you, Boss!" Hearing Wei Zhao's words, Kang Xiaofeng knew the decision had been made. He nodded gratefully and gripped the case firmly in his hands once more...