Absolutely Not Taking the Blame! So How About Paying Up?

Hearing this, Chen Dazhu and Ma Yulian were both taken aback. They assumed Li Junsheng was trying to raise the price, and Ma Yulian's previously simmering anger flared up again.

"What are you talking about…" Ma Yulian began to question, but Chen Dazhu quickly shot her a look, signaling her to keep quiet. He realized that he couldn't let her and Zhiyuan take the upper hand; otherwise, it would complicate matters.

Receiving Chen Dazhu's silent cue, Ma Yulian had to swallow her words back. She rolled her eyes in frustration!

At that moment, Chen Dazhu looked more serious as he asked Li Junsheng, "Junsheng, didn't I already give you a thousand yuan? We agreed that the fee for this job was a thousand yuan; why do you need more money now?"

"You know that the thousand yuan was all for me, right? The proof I prepared for you was out of that thousand—it's my own money."

"In this factory, relationships are everything; they won't do anything without money. If I have to get the proof done again, you'll have to reimburse me for those expenses, right?"

Chen Dazhu felt frozen in place upon hearing this. This was even worse than it seemed that Li Junsheng had hiked the price himself—at least he could have negotiated. However, it was clear that he wanted more money due to the factory's demands, which put Chen Dazhu in a difficult position to refuse.

"Think it over," Li Junsheng said nonchalantly, before reclining back on the chair, closing his eyes for a moment.

Ma Yulian was about to say something, yet it was Chen Zhiyuan looking extremely dissatisfied. "Is this even a state-owned factory? How can they be so greedy?!"

"Zhiyuan! Shut your mouth; you don't have a say here right now."

Chen Dazhu lightly scolded Chen Zhiyuan, then rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He was weighing whether Li Junsheng's words held any truth. Chen Dazhu stared at Li Junsheng, who sat confidently on the bench, looking at him boldly without flinching.

Their gazes met without any hint of deceit; they didn't appear to be the type to lie just to swindle him for money.

In reality, Li Junsheng had been reborn and was no longer the same person as before. There was no way he would show any signs of weakness while looking into Chen Dazhu's eyes.

Chen Dazhu had heard earlier that state-owned enterprises were quite troublesome; to get anything done, one had to go through numerous approvals and paperwork. A simple matter might require several seals, which was akin to running errands and ingratiating oneself with others.

Now, observing Li Junsheng's demeanor, Chen Dazhu felt that what others had said about the bureaucracy must be true.

While Chen Dazhu contemplated this, Ma Yulian, already in a bad mood, began to berate Li Junsheng. "Money, money, money! Are you really that obsessed with money? Why do you have to be so calculating? What's wrong with taking a little loss? Guojun only listens to you; you and your son keep making things difficult for me!"

"The proof is in your hands; you shouldn't let Guojun snatch it away! You're useless; you mess everything up. If you had just dodged that time, we wouldn't need to redo the proof now!"

Ma Yulian shockingly blamed herself, which made Li Junsheng's expression darken significantly.

"Why don't you say it's Chen Zhiyuan's fault? It's clearly his mistake for bringing up the proof in front of Guojun; he couldn't contain his excitement and made a mess of it in just over a day!"

"I had the proof ready; it was him who didn't act on it first. I could tell he didn't really value this proof or job. I risked Guojun's resentment just to go back to the factory for the proof, and yet you blame me?"

Ma Yulian was momentarily speechless by Li Junsheng's reasoning. She was furious, feeling as though Li Junsheng had become more sharp-tongued than before.

"Stop yelling, stop yelling! Yulian, say less; Old Li is right!" Chen Dazhu spoke to Li Junsheng, unusually displaying a less favorable attitude toward Ma Yulian.

Li Junsheng snorted, understanding that Chen Dazhu was currently cautious about upsetting him.

"Chen Dazhu, let's be honest, have I not done everything I was supposed to? Your son's impulsiveness has disturbed my household."

"I never said I wouldn't help you out. If I need to go to the factory again to ask for favors, I obviously have to pay for that, right? I haven't said anything about running around asking for assistance yet!"

Li Junsheng directly established his stance with Chen Dazhu. He wasn't a nice guy and wouldn't show sympathy to Chen Dazhu either. However, for the sake of the work at the factory, he was more than willing to put on a friendly face.

Li Junsheng was eager to see Chen Dazhu's internal struggle, how he must be gritting his teeth in silent anger while unable to act on it!

Sure enough, Chen Dazhu approached Li Junsheng with a smile, nodding in agreement, "Yes, yes, I know this is causing you trouble, Old Li, but we're in a tough situation here, aren't we?"

"Don't be angry, Yulian is just upset and spoke out of turn. You two shouldn't be arguing!"

Once the topic of "you two" came up, Ma Yulian looked disdainful; who would want to be paired with Li Junsheng, anyway?!

On top of that, Chen Zhiyuan still wore an expression of discontent because Li Junsheng blamed him for revealing the job transfer in front of Li Guojun.

Chen Zhiyuan couldn't care less and muttered to himself, "You took my dad's money, and transferring the job to me—isn't that perfectly reasonable?"

"It's your fault for not explaining things to your son beforehand and then blaming me!"

Chen Dazhu secretly nudged Chen Zhiyuan!

He understood that the problem right now was Li Junsheng needing money. To get things done, one had to not be afraid of taking losses.

Having already given a thousand yuan, giving a little more wouldn't be a big deal.

However, Chen Dazhu felt uneasy about it! He had no idea how much Li Junsheng was planning to ask for this time.

Chen Dazhu didn't want to give him a single cent, but refused to comply!

All of this was the fault of his son who couldn't keep his mouth shut. If not for that, the matter would have been settled by now, and they wouldn't have to spend more money.

Thinking this, Chen Dazhu shot an irritated glare at the defiant Chen Zhiyuan.

He silently swore that once they returned home, he would teach his son to learn patience and approach things gradually!

Chen Zhiyuan, receiving the glare, felt utterly confused and never thought he had done anything wrong.

As Chen Dazhu organized his words, he quickly began to flatter Li Junsheng. "You truly have the skills, Old Li. If I were to handle this myself, I might not even get to see the factory leadership!"

Li Junsheng readily agreed. "Indeed, the factory leadership isn't easy to come by. Plus, as a veteran worker, I'm reliable and easy to deal with, and I wouldn't want to hand over a job to a young person whose character I'm not familiar with!"

"I understand that logic. When asking for favors from people, treating them to a meal or presenting some gifts is the norm, right? Is that correct?"

Li Junsheng nodded, then pointed at the disordered items brought by Chen Dazhu that had been kicked around by Li Guojun.

"Those people have high standards; just look at these things you brought today—none of them would be valued. Otherwise, they could at least still be put to use!"

Li Junsheng spoke with a serious demeanor, as though it was a crucial matter.

Chen Dazhu quickly fell for the act, sitting next to Li Junsheng and tentatively asking, "So, how much more would I need for you to get the proof done again?"

"Old Li, give me a number, and I'll hand the money over. Just please get this sorted for me."