Chapter 8 Is your scumbag father going back now to curry favor with your dad? ...

Qiu Xiaoman died too young in her previous life, and before she died, she lived in a poor and remote area and had never experienced the chaos of public security in big cities.

Now, she finally witnessed firsthand that taking a taxi could lead to a driver threatening to kill her for money.

But she wasn't afraid. She smiled, leaned back, and raised an eyebrow, saying, "You've got some nerve, uncle. Do you even know who I am? How dare you steal my money?"

"Who else could it be? A stranger from out of town. Stop acting like a big shot. Hurry up and hand over all the money you have on you." The driver, looking menacing, pointed the knife at Qiu Xiaoman.

He hesitated a little, though, because the girl looked vaguely familiar.

Qiu Xiaoman was not afraid at all. Instead, she greeted him with a smile. She rummaged through her pockets, turned them inside out, and showed them to him: "Here, I only have two hundred left, uncle. It's so chaotic outside these days. Who would carry a lot of money with them when they go out? Even if I give you all two hundred, it won't be enough for you, will it?"

"Stop talking nonsense and give me the money!" The driver frowned, worried that there might be pockets in her clothes, and snatched the two hundred yuan from her hand, urging, "Unbutton your coat! Let me see if there are any pockets inside!"

Qiu Xiaoman ignored him and instead grabbed the hilt of the knife in his hand, slowly coaxing him: "Uncle, don't get excited. What if I have a better way to make money and take you along? Wouldn't you be tempted? Let me remind you, Li Erhu from the police station is my buddy. If anything happens to me, he'll find you right away. Your old Beidu is only so big. You can't just disappear into the sky or the ground, can you?"

The driver was a gambler and in debt. He didn't want to risk his life by robbing someone and then starving. He frowned and asked, "What way do you want to make money? Stocks?"

Qiu Xiaoman smiled and pushed the dagger aside: "That's right, to be honest, my parents were both sent-down youth during the Cultural Revolution. I came here to find them. They have new families and new children, and they just want to pay me off. Guess where their money came from?"

"They got their money from stock trading?" The driver was instantly intrigued. "How do they trade? Do they have inside information?"

"What else?" Qiu Xiaoman was a master at deception. In her previous life, after her death, during the days her soul wandered, she investigated several things thoroughly—

First, her biological mother's second husband was a wealthy businessman in Shanghai. He later lost money due to his obsession with stock trading and was dumped by her mother. Her mother was shrewd; realizing something was wrong, she transferred some of her assets to Beijing. After the divorce, she found a much younger man and began enjoying life.

Secondly, her father's second wife had some connections; she even had relatives in Hong Kong. So, whenever there was any turmoil in the stock market there, her father would receive advance notice. Within a few years, he had made a fortune through stock trading. In order to have a son in order to exceed the one-child policy, he simply resigned from his state-owned enterprise job and started his own company.

So she now has three half-brothers and four half-sisters.

What a big family! It's a pity she has nothing to do with any of them.

However, it was enough for her to fight for a chance at survival, so she whispered, "Let me tell you a secret, my dad's second uncle is a big shot in Hong Kong's financial institutions. He's made a lot of money for him. If you don't believe me, I'll tell you a name and you can look it up."

The driver raised an eyebrow: "What's your dad's name?"

"Sound—" Qiu Xiaoman tried to snatch the dagger away. The driver's face turned ugly. Was this stranger lying to him? But what if he was? Should he listen again?

He stared intently at Qiu Xiaoman, showing no intention of loosening his grip on the dagger.

Qiu Xiaoman continued, "Qing—"

The driver instantly thought of a familiar name and subconsciously held his breath.

As soon as the third word was uttered, the driver quickly let go of her hand, turned around and took out a newspaper from the glove box, flipped to the financial column, turned to look at Qiu Xiaoman, and then at the big boss Shen Qinghuai who was being interviewed.

Suddenly stunned: "You do look alike, are you really his daughter?"

"Otherwise what? Uncle, don't even think about kidnapping me, it's not worth it. As long as you listen to me, I guarantee I'll make you rich in the future." Qiu Xiaoman quickly dispelled his unrealistic fantasies. "After all, I'm just his child in the countryside, and a daughter who isn't favored. Even if you kidnap me, you won't get much money. Why not cooperate with me and make big money together?"

The driver fell silent. That's right. Shen Qinghuai resigned because of having more children than allowed. He also said in an interview that he just wanted a son, even if it meant paying a hefty fine.

Last summer, they finally had a son, just as they had hoped.

The driver put the newspaper away: "How are you going to make me believe you?"

"It's simple. I'll write you an IOU. If I go back on my word, you can go to Shen Qinghuai to collect the debt. He's a big boss. Are you afraid he'll lose face and renege on your debt?" Qiu Xiaoman continued to deceive him with a smile, since the driver didn't know that her surname wasn't Shen.

The driver genuinely didn't know, so he quickly took out paper and pen: "Write down an IOU for 10,000, and I'll let you go."

"Is 10,000 enough?" Qiu Xiaoman was quite considerate.

The driver thought about it and decided that the more the better, so he suggested, "Then let's make it 20,000!"

"Okay." Qiu Xiaoman quickly wrote down the IOU and signed it at the end—Shen Xiaoni.

Worried that she was trying to cheat, the driver compared the father and daughter's appearances several times and asked again, "Do you live with them?"

"Otherwise what?" Qiu Xiaoman smiled, leaning back in her chair and brandishing the dagger in her hand. "Alright, I can't fool you. Let's go, I have important business to attend to."

The driver reversed the car and asked again, "So, who was the person you were following today?"

"Oh, that beast stole goods from my dad's warehouse." Qiu Xiaoman made up a whole bunch of stories, but she could always justify them.

The driver curled his lip: "Sure enough, I knew it. Why would a young lady like you follow a truck? Are you going back now to curry favor with your dad?"

Qiu Xiaoman continued to deceive him: "That's right, uncle. After all, I wasn't born to a stepmother, so I have to be obedient to fight for what's rightfully mine. Don't worry, if you spare my life today, I'll treat you to the best of everything in the future."

The driver was happy. Putting everything else aside, at least he got those two hundred yuan, which would shut his wife up when he got home.

Once on the street, he drove the car forward: "Where to?"

"Of course, we'll go to Shen Qinghuai's company building." Qiu Xiaoman smiled and located the company in the system: Shen's Import and Export Trading Company.

I hope I don't run into Shen Qinghuai, but if I do, it'll be good to annoy her father.

The car quickly arrived at the trading company building. Qiu Xiaoman got out of the car, but the driver refused to leave. He went around to the other side to see if Shen Xiaoni had lied to him.

Unexpectedly, a group of people walked out of the building, led by Shen Qinghuai.

A tall, imposing man, standing at 1.83 meters, wearing a black suit, a gold tie, and gleaming top-grain leather shoes; the watch on his wrist was said to start at five figures.

Shen Qinghuai was stunned the moment he saw "Shen Xiaoni".