Cheng Xiaodong dodged it with a quick movement.
"The spacing of the rebar in this foundation exceeds the standards. Didn't you see it?" Cheng Xiaodong pointed to the foundation pit on the east side, his voice suddenly rising. "The spacing of the stirrups over there is three centimeters wider than in the blueprints. Only you old foxes could tolerate such shoddy work."
Before he finished speaking, Cheng Xiaodong suddenly turned to look at Jiang Cheng and said rudely, "You are the boss of Xingchen Company, and Company Name is responsible for the construction of this project. I bet Company Name has embezzled a lot of money on this project, hasn't it?"
His words were like a bombshell, causing a massive uproar at the scene.
The Project Manager's face instantly turned extremely ugly. Cold sweat poured down his purple-blue face, and pea-sized beads of sweat rolled down his chin continuously.
Seeing Jiang Cheng's face also darken instantly, Cheng Gui's heart skipped a beat.
Frustrated by his son's failure to live up to expectations, he lunged forward like an enraged lion and grabbed Cheng Xiaodong's collar tightly.
The force was so great that he almost lifted his son off the ground.
"Do you fucking know who you're talking to?" Cheng Gui roared in a low voice, fuming with rage. "You don't know anything, so stop talking nonsense here! Apologize to President Jiang immediately!"
Cheng Xiaodong was startled by his father's sudden outburst of rage.
In all his years, this was the first time Cheng Gui was about to strike him.
But his rebellious streak kicked in, and he stiffened his neck. "Why? What did I say wrong? Isn't he just..."
Before he could finish, there was a crisp "slap" sound.
His face suddenly felt hot and painful.
A resounding slap struck his face hard.
The slap was so heavy that Cheng Xiaodong's body swayed, and he almost fell to the ground.
Cheng Xiaodong had never expected that Cheng Gui would actually hit him.
He clutched his face, looking at his father in shock, as if he couldn't believe this was real.
His cheek swelled instantly, and a trace of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. The stinging pain made tears well up in his eyes.
"You... you hit me?" Cheng Xiaodong's voice carried a sob, filled with grievance and disbelief.
In fact, when Cheng Xiaodong stumbled forward just now, Cheng Gui's paternal instinct almost made him reach out to steady him.
But at the last moment, he forced himself to hold back.
Because he knew that if he didn't deliver this slap, someone else surely would, and it would likely be much harsher.
Suppressing his inner pain, Cheng Gui didn't let his gaze linger on his son for even a second. Instead, he quickly glanced at Jiang Cheng, who was standing nearby. He noticed that Jiang Cheng's expression was somewhat surprised, but mostly cold and disdainful.
Enduring the heartache, Cheng Gui continued to observe Jiang Cheng's expression from the corner of his eye.
After that slap, the entire scene fell into a deathly silence.
The Project Manager standing nearby was even more dumbfounded. His eyes were wide and round, and his mouth was open wide enough to fit an egg.
He had followed Cheng Gui for over a decade, yet he had never seen this real estate tycoon lose his composure and hit his own son.
No matter how much Cheng Xiaodong acted up normally, Cheng Gui would at most scold him a bit, then turn around and buy him a new car to make him happy.
He could never bear to hit him, let alone in public.
Xiao Dong's group of fair-weather friends, who were standing nearby watching the spectacle, were all stunned.
Especially the red-haired girl; the gum she was chewing suddenly stopped as if she had been hit by a freezing spell.
They usually followed Cheng Xiaodong around acting like bullies because they knew Cheng Gui doted on his only son without limit.
They never expected things would turn out like this today.
"Dad... you..." Cheng Xiaodong clutched his stinging cheek, his face full of disbelief, his voice trembling slightly from the shock.
In his entire life, he had never received such a harsh slap.
Wang Congcong watched this scene from the side, clicking his tongue repeatedly and looking at Cheng Xiaodong as if watching a show.
In his eyes, Cheng Xiaodong was just stupid. If he were that idiotic, his own father would probably slap him to death too.
Leaning close to Jiang Cheng's ear, he said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "It seems President Cheng is really desperate this time, actually willing to lay a hand on his precious son."
"Still not apologizing?!" Blue veins bulged on Cheng Gui's forehead. He grabbed the back of Cheng Xiaodong's neck with such force it seemed he might snap it. "If you don't get President Jiang's forgiveness today, don't even think about getting a single cent from home ever again!"
The Project Manager finally snapped out of it and hurried to smooth things over. "Chairman Cheng, please calm down. Young Master Xiaodong is young and doesn't know any better..." Before he could finish, Cheng Gui silenced him with a sharp glare.
Seeing this, the senior executives of Tianlong Real Estate all looked at each other in bewilderment.
One should know that even when Cheng Gui met Chengdu's top real estate developer, Shang Dong, they would glare at each other and neither would yield.
Yet, this sentence from Cheng Xiaodong actually made Cheng Gui care so much.
Old Zhou, the Financial Director, quietly tugged on the sleeve of the Engineering Department Manager.
"Old Li, what's the background of this Xingchen Group? Why is President Cheng acting like he's seen his ancestor?"
"Shh!" The Engineering Department Manager lowered his voice. "I don't know, but looking at it now... he must have a significant background. Could it be a connection with some leader in the province?"
He made an upward pointing gesture. "Otherwise, why would President Cheng suddenly give away 49% of the shares?"
The Marketing Director leaned in to interject, "That's not right, is it? Haven't you heard? He's the only son of Company Name. What does he have to do with the province? But recently Company Name seems to have pivoted and started developing towards energy extraction." He said, stealing a glance at Jiang Cheng's attire. "Look at the watch on his hand. Don't let it look like an electronic watch; that's a Richard Mille. TikTok says it's worth millions or even tens of millions. Recently, Chengdu's top street-style influencer specifically mentioned this brand while filming at a bar."
Not far away, several contractors were also whispering to each other.
Boss Zhang, wearing a thick gold chain, narrowed his eyes. "Goodness, President Cheng's son has really hit a steel wall this time, hasn't he? That young man looks only in his early twenties, yet Cheng Gui respects him so much..."
"Serves him right. His son has no manners at all; it's about time he was disciplined!" President Wang, who started in building materials, spat. "This Handsome Guy is definitely not simple. Didn't you see the young lady from Ansheng Group clinging to him?" He lowered his voice mysteriously. "If those two get together, won't the whole of Chengdu belong to him?"
Cheng Xiaodong's head was held down, his eyes red.
He stole a glance at An Xin, only to see the goddess casually looking at the documents in her hand.
She didn't even spare him a side glance.
Thus, the realization that An Xin didn't even acknowledge his pathetic state hurt him more than his father's slap.
"Hitting you is merciful! Is your brain filled with shit? Get lost."
Jiang Cheng waved his hand at Old Cheng. "Hey, hey, Old Cheng, don't be angry." After speaking, Jiang Cheng looked at Cheng Xiaodong, a meaningful smile curling his lips. "Xiao Dong, you were right about one thing: I am indeed very young. So, we have plenty of time to get to know each other. However, Company Name's reputation over all these years is obvious to all."
Seeing Jiang Cheng change his form of address to Old Cheng, Cheng Gui's expression relaxed slightly.
He was right; it was a good thing he had acted just now.
If he had been too soft-hearted to strike Cheng Xiaodong, the situation would have only worsened.
Cheng Gui explained, "President Jiang, this useless freeloader doesn't know shit. If we only looked at blueprint data without considering the actual situation, then every building in Chengdu would be substandard."