Everyone knew that Hong Tian was afraid of his wife. Knowing this didn't surprise you either—after all, he was someone who was desperate to save face. Though his heart screamed "yes, yes, yes," his mouth hesitated to admit it.
You placed a stepping stone for him: "I know you might think this amount of money is too little, but this is all I can afford. After all, I have other uses for my money. Take this three million as my fee for paying respects to you."
This so-called "respect-paying fee" was a custom where an outsider would give a gift to the local underworld boss when starting a business in their territory.
