Chapter 52 Buying Shoes Exclusively on Jinjiang

Zhang Weizi was so frightened that he started kowtowing and begging for mercy, crying with snot and tears streaming down his face.

He had no doubt that the man in front of him would do such a thing; this man looked like a ruthless character.

Su Ruyi frowned: "Don't do anything rash."

Although she felt that the person in front of her was not worth dying for, she still had to act according to the law. Otherwise, it would not be worth it to tarnish her reputation for such a person.

Lu Ting smiled brightly, as if the threat from before had never existed.

"I'm going to put him in jail. What do you think I'll do?"

Su Ruyi choked. His expression and tone just now didn't seem to match what he said at all.

"But if we do that, the two sisters will be exposed."

Lu Ting said dismissively, "How could someone like that only commit one mistake? There must be other things going on, otherwise he wouldn't be so bold."

That's what they say, but it makes things much more complicated. Zhang Weizi visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

"If they can't find the source, there are plenty of places that take in this kind of scum."

Zhang Weizi, who had just relaxed, tensed up again upon hearing these words.

Su Ruyi could tell that Lu Ting wasn't joking, but he was also sensible, so she didn't say anything more.

People like Zhang Weizi are best suited for labor reform. Work such as desertification control and coal mining needs such laborers.

If they actually send it over, they won't profit from it, so Su Ruyi doesn't see anything wrong with it.

Su Ruyi explained Lu Ting's plan to the Yao sisters, "We will take you to a safe place in a while. You can stay there for now, and we will come over in three days. Try not to go out during the week, as there is no one around to protect your safety."

The implication was that if you agreed, then it would be three days later.

If you don't agree, then leave that house yourself; your future is none of their business.

Su Ruyi wanted to help, but it was based on the other party's wishes; she only pointed out the way and would not take responsibility for their future.

Yao Sanmei was a smart woman, and she immediately understood the meaning behind the words.

She was torn at this moment. Although Su Ruyi had saved her, it didn't mean she could completely trust her.

She didn't know whether Lu Ting and Su Ruyi were paving a path of hope or another pit of fire.

After all, they weren't familiar with each other; they were just strangers who had met once.

Yao Sanmei's experience made her afraid to trust anyone easily.

Su Ruyi understood this in her heart and didn't think there was anything wrong with it. If the other party was naive, Su Ruyi would have to be careful.

The Yao sisters were sent away by someone arranged by Lu Ting; they did not directly get involved in this mess.

"I'm sorry to have troubled you again. Are you free at noon? I'd like to treat you to lunch."

As she stepped out of the office, Su Ruyi extended an invitation.

"You really like to take the blame upon yourself." Lu Ting raised an eyebrow. "Couldn't it just be that I meant well?"

"You should always say polite things."

"And this meal?"

"Absolutely genuine!"

"I'll make a note of this meal. Let's arrange it another time when we have time. Let me treat you today."

Before Su Ruyi could say anything, Lu Ting whispered:

"Give me some face. If I let a girl pay for things in front of my brothers, they'll laugh at me for the rest of their lives. I still want to maintain my status as the big brother in front of them, so please do me a favor."

Su Ruyi glanced over and saw Cao Fei winking and talking to Xu Dazhi. Xu Dazhi was expressionless and didn't react much, but his eyes were obviously different from usual, constantly looking back and forth between her and Lu Ting.

Lu Ting's words were so humble that Su Ruyi couldn't help but laugh. She didn't believe his nonsense, but she didn't refuse.

"I've never seen anyone enjoy being ripped off as much as you."

Lu Ting said seriously, "That depends on who you're talking to. I'm not some spendthrift with a hole in my pocket."

Lu Ting was clearly more familiar with Zhaoguang City. He asked Su Ruyi and Tong Yunyun if they could eat spicy food, and received an affirmative answer, saying:

"How about I take you to a Sichuan restaurant? There's a Sichuan restaurant here that's really authentic."

Upon hearing this, Su Ruyi immediately became interested.

"OK."

Unlike decades later when Sichuan restaurants were everywhere, Sichuan restaurants don't have that much influence now, at least not in Qing Province. There aren't many Sichuan restaurants on the streets, and Liulin County doesn't have a single one yet; the restaurants there serve local dishes.

Since arriving here, Su Ruyi has been eating local delicacies. Although they taste good and have a wide variety, she now wants to try something different.

The Sichuan restaurant was a 30-minute drive from the stadium. Lu Ting had Cao Fei drive, Xu Dazhi sat in the passenger seat, and Lu Ting, Su Ruyi, and Tong Yunyun sat in the back seat.

Su Ruyi sat in the middle, next to Lu Ting.

Although Su Ruyi and Tong Yunyun were both very thin, and Lu Ting wasn't fat either, his height was still considerable. When he sat down, he was a huge lump, making Su Ruyi feel a sense of oppression. It was as if her entire aura was enveloped by him, and she inexplicably felt a bit hot. Even the open car window couldn't dispel that heat.

Lu Ting shifted to the side, his long legs tightly closed.

"Move over a little more, your sister is going to be squeezed out of shape."

Su Ruyi then realized that she had been subconsciously crowding around Tong Yunyun, almost squeezing the child into a small clump.

Tong Yunyun didn't say anything, but tried her best to shrink herself down.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

Su Ruyi quickly moved closer to Lu Ting, secretly annoyed at herself for sitting in the middle.

The car suddenly turned, and Su Ruyi unconsciously leaned towards Lu Ting, her arm touching his.

The intense heat made Su Ruyi quickly grab the front seat and move towards the middle.

"Excuse me……"

Before she could finish speaking, the car suddenly swerved again, throwing Su Ruyi towards Lu Ting once more.

Su Ruyi nearly crushed the front seat, but managed to avoid the inertia by sheer force.

Lu Ting kicked the front seat: "Drive properly!"

"Yes, sir!" Cao Fei shrugged.

The road ahead was smooth, and there were no further mishaps.

The Sichuan restaurant that Lu Ting found was indeed very delicious, full of wok hei (the smoky aroma imparted by a hot wok), and Su Ruyi was very satisfied with her meal.

Although there weren't many of them, they were all big eaters. Even the youngest, Tong Yunyun, had quite an appetite and ate all the food. They had to hurry up and cook more rice, so the guests who came later would have to wait a while.

Since Tong Yunyun didn't have a competition in the afternoon, Su Ruyi started to get down to business.

Such a large event attracted more vendors who wanted to sell hula hoops, and she had to catch these people.

Now, Hongxing Plastics Factory is no longer the only plastic factory in Qing Province producing hula hoops. Other plastic factories have also started making them, and there are more and cheaper sources of hula hoops from other places than before. These are all competitors.

Su Ruyi cannot take Qiao for granted just because there is a supply shortage.

Before coming, Su Ruyi had told Tong Yunyun that she was busy with work and that Tong Yunyun had to stay by her side and couldn't go anywhere else to play.

Tong Yunyun agreed, so she spent the whole afternoon with Su Ruyi without making a fuss about going out to play. She also tried her best to help, and when she couldn't help, she did her homework on the side.

Su Ruyi glanced at him; the little guy was very focused and not affected by the noisy environment.

She is usually carefree, but once she sets her mind to something, she won't be disturbed by the outside world.

When Su Ruyi had free time, she would teach her the new material to prevent her from skipping classes and affecting her studies.

After the competition ended in the afternoon, she would take Tong Yunyun around the city, taking her to places like the library and Xinhua Bookstore, and letting Tong Yunyun know what a children's palace is.

The TV often talks about the Children's Palace, but there isn't one in Liulin County. Tong Yunyun is very curious about what the Children's Palace is.

"Living in the city must be so nice," Tong Yunyun said enviously.

The Zhaoguang City Children's Palace also teaches martial arts, which Tong Yunyun finds very interesting.

She usually loves to run and jump, and she really wants to have strength so that no one will try to bully her just because her family is all women.

"That's not impossible either."

Tong Yunyun blinked her big eyes, looking puzzled.

"Why don't we just move to the city?"

Tong Yunyun's lips twitched. Just because she was a child didn't mean she didn't understand anything.

Moving to the city isn't that easy!

"Big sister, you're teasing me again."

Su Ruyi didn't explain, but just smiled and said, "Everyone should have dreams."

After three days of competition, the results were finally announced, and Tong Yunyun made it to the regional finals!

Moreover, her grades were in the middle, which made Tong Yunyun jump for joy.

"Big sister, I've advanced!" Tong Yunyun had been paying close attention to her results these past few days and had already felt that her results were quite good, but the moment the dust settled still made her extremely excited.

Four more people made it to the finals than expected, because there were cases where the last-place finisher had the same score.

Su Ruyi was also very happy for her, and took her to the department store, waving her hand generously and saying:

"Go ahead, I'll buy you whatever you like!"

Tong Yunyun had never seen anything like this before, and said timidly, "Sister, I'm not even sure I'll make it to the finals."

Based on her current performance, she won't be able to make it to the finals.

Especially considering that she performed exceptionally well that day, she might not have achieved the same result in the regional finals.

"No matter what happens in the future, it's great that you made it to the next round. You took down thousands of people! And you're the youngest one to enter the regional finals. You deserve a good reward for this achievement!"

Tong Yunyun blushed with excitement at the compliment, "Can I...can I buy it?"

"Anything is fine, as long as you like it."

Tong Yunyun's eyes instinctively drifted towards the television, but she quickly looked away, so quickly that Su Ruyi didn't even notice.

In the end, Tong Yunyun bought a pair of sneakers at the department store; they were from the famous swoosh brand.

This is because Tong Yunyun said she wanted to buy sneakers, and Su Ruyi took her to buy them.

Tong Yunyun entered the store, saw the prices, and wanted to turn around and leave, but Su Ruyi pulled her back.

"I'll buy this one."

Currently, the comfort level of the tick brand is better than that of domestic brands. Tong Yunyun is active and likes running, so Su Ruyi should buy her the best.

Su Ruyi directly blocked the price list and let Tong Yunyun try on each pair to see which one was the best fit.

Tong Yunyun tried on almost all of them and picked out the most suitable pair.

Su Ruyi glanced at the price and realized that you get what you pay for, but she remained calm and didn't let Tong Yunyun see the price.

Wearing running shoes that cost several hundred yuan, Su Ruyi was afraid she wouldn't be able to walk anymore.

Tong Yunyun: "Sister, I want to change to a larger size."

"Isn't this pretty big?" Su Ruyi glanced at it; there was still room for another finger to fit in.

“My feet grow quickly, so I need to buy a pair that are a little longer so I can wear them for a longer time. I probably won’t be able to wear these next year.”

"Then we can buy it next year," Su Ruyi said nonchalantly.

These shoes already have room for growth, but they're not too big yet, so they're fine for normal exercise. If you buy a bigger size, they'll be very difficult to wear.

Tong Yunyun stared wide-eyed, having never heard such words before.

When adults around me buy things for their children, they don't just buy big items; they want things that can be worn for a lifetime.

Su Ruyi rubbed her head: "You wear out shoes quickly. Buy a bigger size. By the time they fit, they'll be worn out."

Tong Yunyun didn't know how she wore the shoes, and they quickly became tattered and worn out.

Li Mei had bought the sandals at the beginning of summer, but after only a few months of wearing them, she patched them with tires several times.

This time, Li Mei bought Tong Yunyun a new pair of sneakers, otherwise they looked too shabby, as if they had been worn for years.

Li Mei used to worry about this a lot, as buying shoes cost a considerable amount of money.

She also tried buying cheap cloth shoes for Tong Yunyun, but they wore out even faster. Before long, her big toe would have a hole in them. In the end, they were not as good as sneakers.

"Can I still buy it next year?"

"Yes, I can take care of your shoes."

Su Ruyi received a lot of orders today, and her voice was louder than usual.

She originally wanted to buy another pair to replace Tong Yunyun's.

Tong Yunyun vehemently disagreed: "If you buy it, my butt will be bruised and battered."

Su Ruyi didn't insist, as buying two pairs of shoes that cost several hundred yuan was indeed too much for Li Mei to bear.

Tong Yunyun left the department store wearing her new shoes. She was very timid when she first started walking, but Su Ruyi scolded her, and then she returned to normal.

After entering the hotel, she took off her shoes and carefully placed them in a corner, almost as if she were enshrining them, which was completely different from how she usually kicked her shoes around when she entered the room.

"Sister, I feel like I own the whole world." Tong Yunyun stared at her new shoes with fascination.

Su Ruyi was overjoyed.

Perhaps the new shoes brought good luck, because not long after returning to the hotel, Su Ruyi received a call from Li Mei.

"Ruyi, Qiuyu's mom, your Aunt Zeng told me today that the factory has agreed to the fabric issue!"