Chapter 207 Face-to-Face Confrontation

Li Huachen stood there, stunned.

Even when surrounded and attacked by the crowd, Zhou Yufan did not fight back, but silently protected his head and retreated.

"Oh."

Pan Ming sneered, put his hands on his hips, and approached with a sinister smile.

"Could it be that he hooked up with someone because of that pretty boy and now thinks he's someone important? Tsk tsk, outsider, stop pretending to be high and mighty. Everyone knows you swindlers make a living with these kinds of tricks."

Yesterday, Clerk Yang muttered to himself that this woman was really beautiful.

"Don't spout nonsense in broad daylight, or your lips will cramp up!"

Zhou Shufen got annoyed and turned to spit at the man.

Pan Ming's father was stunned by her fierce aura and didn't come back to his senses for a few seconds.

"Don't be so stubborn! If this outsider doesn't kneel down and kowtow to admit his mistake today, this isn't over! We'll show him what the Pan family is all about!"

The two burly men standing behind him immediately stepped forward.

Zhou Yufan slowly helped Li Huachen to her feet.

"Your son started by hurling insults and pushing me, and even tried to pull off my son's cotton trousers in public. If word got out, people would feel ashamed or disgusted just hearing this! If we're talking about reason, you're the ones who should be kneeling down and kowtowing!"

"Bullshit!"

Pan Ming's father was furious.

"My son, A-Ming, is a precious gem, raised with the utmost care since he was a baby! How can he compare to you bastards who came from who-knows-where? Don't you even take a piss and look at yourselves in the mirror!"

Who are you calling a bastard?

Zhou Shufen was furious.

“Rong Kai is Hua Chen’s biological son, the flesh and blood born after ten months of pregnancy. He is a legitimate member of the Zhou family! His name is recorded in the family genealogy! If you call him a bastard again, I will expose every single one of your dirty secrets! Let’s see if you still dare to swagger around here!”

These words immediately caused an uproar in the crowd.

"Really? His family has certainly been living a very comfortable life these past few years, much better off than others."

Pan Ming's father's face turned deathly pale instantly.

"You're making baseless accusations! I'm just an honest worker, why would I do such a thing? Do you have any evidence? Show it to me!"

"Am I talking nonsense?"

Zhou Shufen sneered and slowly glanced at several female workers in old factory uniforms in the crowd.

“Sister Zhou, Sister Yang, tell me, didn’t your workshop lose a lot of cotton yarn last month? Three whole rolls disappeared, and it doesn’t match the logbook! And what about the coal pile behind the factory? Isn’t a truckload always missing at night? Don’t you really know? Or are you just pretending to be confused?”

The two female workers had been keeping their heads down and remaining silent, but one of them couldn't help but whisper a reply.

“I’ve had a feeling something was off for a while… Pan the Cripple, Pan Ming’s father, would sneak home with things every night shift as soon as he finished, carrying sacks, acting suspiciously and hiding from people.”

Zhou Yufan suddenly stepped forward and stood next to Zhou Shufen.

"Little sister, how do you know so much about this? I've never even heard of these things before. Where did you find out?"

"Second brother, don't ask so many questions. Now is not the time to investigate the source."

Zhou Shufen replied to him softly in Yu Xin's accent.

Zhou Yufan's eyes narrowed, and he stared at her for two seconds.

"Since that's the case, let them see for themselves whether the Zhou family has any backbone or not! They're not pushovers!"

He suddenly raised his voice.

"Pan the Cripple! In the middle of the night on the 5th of last month, didn't you pull a cart and secretly smuggle half a bag of cotton yarn through the back gate of the factory? Old Zhou, who was on patrol, saw you hiding behind the coal pile and almost got caught by you! Should I call him over for a face-to-face confrontation? Tell me, did you or didn't you? Do you dare to admit it?"

Pan Ming's father's face turned deathly pale.

He did indeed pull the cotton yarn on the night of the 5th.

They stole it from the waste pile under the cover of darkness.

Who would have thought that this outsider remembered the date so clearly, even mentioning Grandpa Zhou.

Could it be that someone is really watching him?

"You're talking nonsense!"

With wide eyes, he roared out in a shrill voice.

Pan the Cripple instinctively took a half step back.

With a thud, her back bumped into the man behind her.

Zhou Shufen stood to the side, her gaze calm and composed.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, she added in a low voice.

"Second brother, is his coal-stealing shovel hidden under that locust tree? I remember seeing him squatting there suspiciously last time I passed by, and he even buried something in the soil."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yufan's pupils contracted, and he quickly rushed towards the old locust tree.

He squatted down and rummaged through the cracks in the tree roots.

Then, with a strong pull, an iron shovel was pulled out of the soil.

Sure enough, a crooked character "Pan" was engraved on the shovel head.

"This...this...this isn't the one that went missing from the warehouse!"

A scream suddenly erupted from the crowd.

Old Chen, the warehouse keeper, pointed at the shovel, his voice trembling.

"I recognize it! This is the one; I personally engraved my name on it when I registered it last month!"

Pan the Cripple's face turned deathly pale in an instant.

He turned to run away, but Zhou Yufan kicked him in the ankle.

He stumbled and fell heavily to the ground.

With a muffled "bang," half of his front tooth broke off on the spot.

"Don't let him get away! Catch him! We can't let this scum get away!"

Someone roared angrily.

Several strong young men immediately rushed forward and pinned Pan the Cripple to the ground.

The burly man who was swaggering around just moments ago has vanished without a trace.

I don't know when they slipped away.

Li Huachen stared at the shovel in Zhou Yufan's hand, and a scene from last month suddenly flashed through her mind.

That evening, Old Chen squatted alone at the entrance of the warehouse.

He was leaning on a cane with one hand and wiping the corner of his eye with the other.

He said the tools were lost and he would have a month's salary deducted.

She happened to be passing by then, and her heart softened, so she gave him two steamed buns.

I never expected it was Pan the Cripple who did it!

"Sister Hua Chen, quickly call Rong Kai over."

Zhou Shufen suddenly shouted towards the alley entrance.

Deep in the alley, Li Rongkai was huddled in a corner, secretly watching.

Hearing the shout, he jumped in fright and ran away.

She rushed to Zhou Yufan's side and buried herself in her father's arms.

Zhou Yufan touched his son's ear tenderly.

Then she took out a small package from her bosom and stuffed it into Rong Kai's small hand.

"Here, warm your hands. It's alright now, don't be afraid."

With trembling hands, Rong Kai opened the oil paper package, and a sweet aroma wafted out.

He took a bite of the steaming hot sugar cake.

The sweetness melted on my tongue, but tears involuntarily rolled down my cheeks.

He suddenly raised his little hand and pointed it straight at Pan the Cripple.

"It's him! He was chasing me and yelling at me yesterday, saying that if I dared to complain again, he would throw me into the river to feed the fish! He said he would make me sink so I could never float back up!"

These words caused an uproar in the audience.

"My God! Stealing is one thing, but threatening a child is another! They're worse than animals!"

"This kind of scum will only harm people if left here! He must be sent to the police station and handed over to the police!"

The crowd was indignant, and murmurs rose and fell.

Zhou Shufen watched quietly as Pan the Cripple was pushed and shoved away.