With Li taking the person away, the Zhou family's cloth shop instantly became quiet.

Because no one has been coming to Zhou's Cloth Shop to buy anything recently, it's quiet except for the shop assistants.

Jing Zhe also knew that Yu Li would only detain these people for a day at most for questioning before releasing them, since they hadn't committed any serious crimes. However, this would make them behave much better.

Jing Zhe and Zhou Ziqiong arrived at the Zhou residence through the back gate of the cloth shop. Zhou Gui was sitting in the courtyard and immediately stood up when he saw the two of them enter.

"How is it, Ziqiong?"

"Father, Zhe'er has taken care of everything..."

So Zhou Ziqiong recounted what had just happened, and Zhou Gui listened with great emotion.

"Nephew, that move of yours... was truly brilliant!"

It should be noted that Zhou Family Cloth Shop currently has less than 100 taels of silver in its accounts, and its inventory is constantly piling up, so there is basically no extra silver coming in. When Boss Gou and others come to collect their debts, Zhou Family Cloth Shop simply cannot come up with the money.

If Jing Zhe hadn't shown up, the most likely outcome would have been the same as what Boss Gou predicted: they would have had no choice but to mortgage the Zhou family's cloth shop to them.

When Jing Zhe stepped in, not only did he send Boss Gou and the others to jail, but most importantly, he also nullified the previous debt of 4,500 taels of silver, leaving the Zhou family with no debts at all!

Although Zhou Ziqiong herself lied, she was still shaken: "Zhe'er, isn't this... a bit unfair? This is their hard-earned money, and now they're not getting a single penny. How are they supposed to live...?"

Zhou Ziqiong is still too kind-hearted; she's still worried about how others are going to live.

Jing Zhe said with a smile, "Sixth Sister, they only have themselves to blame. And don't worry, although they lost a hundred or two taels from us, someone will definitely give them money."

"Someone gave them money?"

"Yes, Sixth Sister doesn't think these people came here on their own initiative to ask for money, does she?"

"..."

After thinking for a moment, Zhou Ziqiong asked, "Are you saying they were acting under someone's orders?"

Jing Zhe nodded: "It's obvious! Didn't you see how these small business owners all act according to that old dog's wishes? Besides, given their long-standing relationship with Zhou's cloth shop, if someone wasn't instructing them, why would they disregard the rules?"

Someone must have promised them benefits, and they also felt that the Zhou family's cloth shop was doomed, so they came to do a quick buck, getting their money back and getting something in return—why not?"

"..."

Zhou Ziqiong pondered for a moment and then asked, "Who is it?"

"Without a doubt, it must be someone surnamed Qu!"

Zhou Gui gritted his teeth: "I've long heard that the man surnamed Qu had contacted these textile factories that supply us many times, but they stopped contacting us so frequently after they got their own cotton-padded clothes. If it weren't for his meddling behind the scenes, how would that man surnamed Gou dare to offend us?"

Jing Zhe nodded and said, "Uncle, please calm down. As long as I'm here, they won't be able to cause any trouble!"

Zhou Gui smiled broadly: "Yes, thanks to my nephew's presence this time, I can rest assured a lot, and Ziqiong won't have to work so hard!"

"..."

...

After talking for a while, Zhou Gui went inside.

Jing Zhe and Zhou Ziqiong did not go inside, but sat on the stone bench next to them.

"It must be the Crown Prince of Yu who is behind this, right?"

Zhou Ziqiong asked.

She naturally didn't see things as superficially as Zhou Gui; with a little thought, she guessed it.

Jing Zhe nodded: "They originally wanted to use the Lantern Festival Poetry Gathering to defeat the Zhou family's cloth workshop. Since they failed at the poetry gathering, they can only work on other aspects. So, there's no need to pity those people; it's all their own fault."

Zhou Ziqiong nodded in agreement, clearly acknowledging Jing Zhe's statement.

"Sigh, they were too impatient. Even without these people coming to collect debts, Zhou's Cloth Shop probably wouldn't last much longer!"

Zhou Ziqiong said somewhat pessimistically.

The Zhou family's cloth shop is currently out of money, and a large number of workers and shop assistants have not yet received their monthly wages. Meanwhile, the number of cotton-padded coats they have been holding onto is increasing, and as the weather warms up after the fifteenth of the lunar month, the cotton-padded coats will become even harder to sell.

If they want to stop this decline, Zhou's Cloth Shop must start to restore its original business and start selling all kinds of clothes. However, the problem is that the warehouse is now full of cotton and cotton-padded clothes. If they want to make clothes again, they must clear them out. However, buying cotton has almost exhausted Zhou's Cloth Shop's savings. Once they clear them out, it means they will lose all their money.

Therefore, Zhou's cloth shop was caught in a dilemma.

Jing Zhe smiled and said, "Sixth Sister, you're too pessimistic. Don't worry, with me here, the Zhou family's cloth workshop won't be finished!"

Zhou Ziqiong wanted to smile like Jing Zhe, but she couldn't smile no matter what. She knew that her younger brother was very capable and rich now, but that was a completely different thing from running a cloth shop!

Moreover, Zhou Ziqiong didn't want to use Jing Zhe's money. Although it wouldn't be a big deal for them to use it, they had only just recognized each other, and she was already using his money. He had three women in Ruzhou City. What would they think? Would they think she was a useless older sister who only caused him trouble?

So, when Boss Gou was demanding payment from her and Jing Zhe appeared later, she had the urge to just let them take away Zhou's cloth shop, because she really didn't want Jing Zhe to get involved.

...

Zhou Ziqiong was struggling with her decision when she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her lower abdomen. Her brows furrowed immediately: Oh no!

Jing Zhe was looking at Zhou Ziqiong when he immediately noticed the change in her expression and asked with concern, "What's wrong, Sixth Sister?"

"N-nothing...it's nothing..."

While saying she was fine, Zhou Ziqiong covered her lower abdomen with one hand and stretched the other hand behind her as if supporting her buttocks, a strange posture. Moreover, her face turned red after she finished speaking, as if she was blushing with embarrassment, but a lot of cold sweat appeared on her forehead.

You call this nothing?

Although he didn't know what had happened to Zhou Ziqiong, Jing Zhe knew she definitely didn't seem to be alright.

"Sixth Sister, let me help you up!"

Jing Zhe stood up, preparing to help Zhou Ziqiong up and ask her some questions.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ziqiong quickly waved her hands, startled, "No need, no need..."

As she spoke, her face, which had been flushed just moments before, turned deathly pale.

"Sixth Sister, what happened?"

This made Jing Zhe even more curious. Judging from her appearance, it seemed like she had a lower abdominal pain... Was she on her period?

Then she laughed and said, "Sixth Sister, don't feel embarrassed. Women have those few days every month when they're not feeling well. Besides, I have so many wives, don't I know this? So just tell me, Sixth Sister, there's nothing wrong with it!"

As he spoke, Jing Zhe walked towards Zhou Ziqiong.

What do you know?

Zhou Ziqiong was almost in tears, but there were some things she just couldn't bring herself to say!

"You...don't come any closer!"

Zhou Ziqiong said, her voice trembling with tears.

————