Chapter 4379 — The Banquet Invitation
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"Don't worry yourself sick over it. We couldn't get Wei Zhaotong convicted this time, but there's no way he can keep serving as branch manager, and he certainly can't stay on at the Weihu Branch. So he's not much of a threat to you," Wei Zhao reassured him.
"Truly?" Chai Laoshi asked at once.
"Truly. Hong Zhong has already said so. The worst outcome this time is that Wei Zhaotong gets recalled to the Zhongdao headquarters and made an ordinary chamber steward. But Hong Zhong still means to go to the Zhongdao headquarters in person and push for severe punishment. Whether he succeeds, only time will tell," Wei Zhao said with a nod.
"Recalled to Zhongdao as a chamber steward?" Only then did Chai Laoshi finally let out a long breath, and he said with lingering fear, "That'll do, then. If he'd stayed on here as branch manager, I'd truly have had no way to live."
"Ha, you needn't fret over that. Never mind Wei Zhaotong being recalled to Zhongdao—even if he stayed right here, he wouldn't dare touch a hair on your head. After all, we're here, aren't we? Besides, Hong Zhong is going to the Zhongdao headquarters himself, and the final outcome is still uncertain. What I said just now was only the worst case," Wei Zhao said with a smile, clapping Chai Laoshi on the shoulder.
"Oh, oh, that's good, that's good." Chai Laoshi had been afraid that the whole matter would quietly fizzle out and that Wei Zhao and Hong Zhong would simply cast him aside and forget him. Hearing this, he finally felt a weight lift from his heart and could steady himself a little.
"Just set your mind at ease. Hong Zhong is no ordinary man to be fooled so easily. However solid Wei Zhaotong's backing at headquarters may be, this matter will never be allowed to dissolve into nothing," Wei Zhao said with a smile. Hong Zhong hadn't said so outright in his letter, but Wei Zhao could more or less guess the man's intent.
This trip of Hong Zhong's to the Zhongdao headquarters was, plainly put, a trip to haggle with the high-ups there: either they agreed to further punish Wei Zhaotong, or they made concessions in other respects. It might not be entirely satisfying, but it had to be one or the other.
Wei Zhao wrote back to Hong Zhong at once. The letter contained only two lines. The first was that there was no problem on his end and everything was Hong Zhong's to decide. The second was that Chai Laoshi, deputy manager of the Weihu Branch, was worth employing.
Given the understanding between them, Wei Zhao believed those two short lines were enough to make Hong Zhong grasp his meaning. No matter how one looked at it, Chai Laoshi was a man of some use, and he had no background or backing to speak of. Hong Zhong was short-handed just now, so he might as well promote the man and take him under his wing.
As for how to deal with Wei Zhaotong, by Wei Zhao's own temper it would be root and branch—this sort of human scum who had exhausted every last shred of decency deserved to be struck down with a single blow. Still, he could understand Hong Zhong's difficulty. The man was, after all, one of the Hong Merchant Guild's own, and he had backing at the Zhongdao headquarters. He wasn't someone you could simply kill at will.
Since Hong Zhong had already stepped forward to take the matter in hand, Wei Zhao would say no more, whatever the outcome. One good turn deserved another—Hong Zhong had trusted him without reservation, and he in turn trusted Hong Zhong absolutely.
And if it came down to it, he was only the Hong Merchant Guild's honorary vice chairman. Dealing with Wei Zhaotong was neither within his authority nor his duty, and there was no private grudge between them either. He had stepped in this time purely because he could not stomach such a shameless petty villain. As for how the Hong Merchant Guild finally handled it, that was beyond Wei Zhao's control, and he had no wish to control it.