make trouble

She pointed at Liu Xiangmei and shouted, "You shameless filthy hussy! I was wondering why you, a woman without a man, would sneak off with a child in tow. So you've come out to find a man! Our Wang family is an upright family, how could we have attracted such a disgraceful slut like you?"

Neighbors and strangers passing by were drawn to her shrill voice and gathered at the restaurant entrance to watch the spectacle. Liu Lan was not ashamed at all; as more and more people gathered, she cursed even more vehemently.

Liu Ailing chimed in, "That's right, sister-in-law! My brother's only been dead a few days, and you've already run off with another man. My poor brother's body's barely cold, and he's already a cuckold! Ah~"

Liu Xiangmei could tolerate being smeared, but she couldn't stand Wang Tianmiao being insulted, so she rushed forward and slapped Liu Ailing across the face.

Thanks to her constant cooking practice, Liu Xiangmei had developed considerable strength. With one slap, she stunned Liu Ailing.

Wang Tianhua quickly shielded his wife and questioned Liu Xiangmei, "Sister-in-law, how could you hit someone?"

Liu Xiangmei scoffed, "She has a foul mouth, so I can't teach her a lesson? I hit her, so what can you do about it?"

Liu Ailing came to her senses and felt her left cheek swelling rapidly. She spat out a mouthful of bloody foam into her palm, and a tooth came out. She screamed and lunged at Liu Xiangmei.

Old Li quickly stepped forward to stop them, and a man's voice came from the doorway: "Boss Liu, it's quite lively today!"

Liu Xiangmei took a look and realized it was the contractor, Liu Hai.

"I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Mr. Liu. Please go to the private room and have a seat. I'll be ready in a bit," Liu Xiangmei said.

Liu Ailing pointed at them and shouted to the onlookers outside the door, "Look, look! My sister-in-law is really open to all tastes, young and old. She has an old man by her side and a strong man on the side. How can her business not be good?"

No sooner had she finished speaking than a slender woman strode in through the door and slapped her right cheek with a loud "smack."

The woman's strength wasn't as great as Liu Xiangmei's, and she didn't knock Liu Ailing unconscious. However, Liu Ailing didn't dare to make any rash moves. The woman in front of her was dressed in leather and looked like she was no ordinary person, so she just stared at the woman in disbelief, not daring to say a word.

That's right, they're that cowardly. They're subservient to outsiders but strike hard at home.

She didn't speak, but the woman scoffed, twirling her car keys and saying disdainfully, "How dare you talk about my man like that? You must be tired of living."

Liu Ailing tentatively tried to retort, but when she saw the group of strong, muscular men who followed her in, she didn't dare to say anything and just wanted to shrink behind Wang Tianhua.

Seeing how useless she was, the woman rolled her eyes and walked towards Liu Hai.

Liu Xiangmei stepped forward to apologize and greeted Liu Hai and Wang Caihua: "Sister Hua, I'm so sorry, please come inside and sit down with Boss Liu. The drinks are on the house today."

Wang Caihua waved her hand: "No need, you're just running a small business."

As she spoke, she glanced at the four members of the Wang family and said, "Who are these people? Mr. Liu, if you need anything, just say the word. We may not have any other skills, but we have a lot of brothers."

The dozen or so people following behind laughed and echoed, and seeing this, Old Wang's family members all shrank back.

Seeing Liu Xiangmei usher the group into the private room, Wang Sheng whispered to the other three, "Stop talking nonsense, don't forget why we're here today."

Wang Tianhua nodded. Their purpose today was to get money, not to cause trouble. It was all his mother and wife's fault; they started by rambling on and on without doing anything of substance.

When Liu Xiangmei came out of the private room, Wang Sheng took the initiative to step forward and said, "Xiangmei, let's find a quiet place to talk since we're all family."

A family? Ha, do they think that certificate they wrote back in their hometown is worthless?

Liu Xiangmei was curious to hear what other shameless things this family could do, so she told Chen Xiu to hurry up and cook, while she led the Wang family into a private room.

The door to the private room closed, and Liu Xiangmei sat directly in the main seat.

Wang Sheng frowned slightly, inwardly cursing her for being so ill-mannered. What kind of daughter-in-law would take the seat of honor from her father-in-law? But now was not the time to talk about such things; he had to get the important business done first.

He sat opposite Liu Xiangmei, sighed, and began to talk about how difficult things had been back home lately. He started with the hot weather and the poor harvest this year, then mentioned that Wang Tianhua had lost several thousand yuan in compensation to others, and how difficult it had been for them to raise Wang Tianmiao...

It was almost 11:30, and people were starting to arrive outside, but the old man was still rambling on and on. Liu Xiangmei interrupted impatiently, "What do you want? Just say it."

Wang Sheng choked up, seeing Liu Xiangmei's unyielding attitude and her feigned ignorance. He regretted not listening to his wife back then and resolutely refusing to let this woman into the house, but now it was too late for regrets.

Seeing that Wang Sheng was lost in thought and remained silent for a long time, Wang Tianhua assumed that Wang Sheng was unable to speak and that the family still needed him.

He coughed, drawing everyone's attention, before speaking, "Sister-in-law..."

Before he could even open his mouth, Liu Xiangmei interrupted him: "Wang Tianmiao isn't your brother, and I've already signed a document severing ties with you. What kind of sister-in-law are you calling me?"

Before Wang Tianhua could finish speaking, he was choked half to death. But he was thick-skinned and acted as if he hadn't heard anything. He composed himself and continued, "You've made a fortune in big business, and you can't be anything less than a king. We're really in a difficult situation right now. It's only right and proper that we ask you, sister-in-law, to help us out. If you ever encounter any trouble in the future, we will definitely do our part without hesitation."

Liu Xiangmei sneered: "What feelings? What logic?"

Wang Tianhua was cornered again, and he realized that Liu Xiangmei truly hated them. Since polite words hadn't worked, Wang Tianhua decided to stop being so accommodating.

“Sister-in-law, doing business is all about making money through harmony. Anyway, we have plenty of time. If you really refuse to help today, then we’ll come every day, every month. I believe there will come a day when you’re willing to help.”

"Oh? You have a lot of time? Aren't you going to the village clinic?" Liu Xiangmei asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's all thanks to my little niece. Nobody comes to me for medical treatment anymore, so it doesn't really matter whether I go or not. Sister-in-law, is my little niece doing well at the county's No. 1 High School? I was thinking of taking some time to go to the school and ask the teachers about her studies!"

"How dare you!" Liu Xiangmei didn't expect Wang Tianhua to be so despicable as to threaten her with Wang Yao. She stood up and walked out of the private room.

The four members of the Wang family looked at each other, wondering what Liu Xiangmei had gone to do. Just as they were wondering, Liu Xiangmei returned, followed by someone else.

Others didn't recognize this person, but Wang Tianhua did. This person was the deputy head of the personnel department of the Health Bureau, and his surname was Ji.

Wang Tianhua immediately stood up, a fawning smile on his face, and tried to shake hands with the man, but the man had a stern face, so he had to reluctantly withdraw his hand.

Seeing his expression, Liu Xiangmei chuckled and said, "Wang Tianhua, why don't you talk to this leader? You're planning to bring your whole family to my shop to cause trouble every day. What are you going to do about your job?"

Wang Tianhua hadn't expected Liu Xiangmei to be so ruthless, actually bringing Section Chief Ji directly. He didn't know how Liu Xiangmei knew this person, but this wasn't the time to think about that. He quickly explained to Section Chief Ji, "No, no, we were just passing by today and stopped by to see my sister-in-law."

Section Chief Ji asked, "You should be working at the village clinic today, why are you passing by here?"

A slight sweat broke out on Wang Tianhua's forehead. He swallowed hard before forcing a smile and saying, "Well, my mom, yes, my mom isn't feeling well, so I brought her out for a checkup."

Section Chief Ji looked at Liu Lan and asked, "Are you feeling unwell?"

Liu Lan pursed her lips and remained silent. Wang Sheng secretly pinched her, and she reluctantly nodded and said "Yes".

Section Chief Ji then asked, "Is the examination complete? When do you plan to go back?"

Wang Tianhua: "Alright, alright, we're about to head back."

Section Chief Ji nodded in satisfaction and was seen off by Liu Xiangmei.

When Liu Xiangmei returned to the private room, the Wang family members all looked unhappy. Liu Xiangmei was overjoyed. She crossed her arms and asked, "Aren't you leaving yet?"

"I never would have guessed that my sister-in-law was so capable, able to order the deputy section chief around at will."

Liu Xiangmei knew they must think she had some shady relationship with that deputy section chief. Their minds were like a garbage dump; it was no wonder they thought such dirty things. She didn't want to argue with these kinds of people.

"It's good that you know I'm capable. Don't just think that the health bureau can see you; if you sit here a little longer, even the police will be able to see you."

Having met the person from earlier, they believed Liu Xiangmei's words and felt even more resentful. They were angry that Liu Xiangmei could do so well after leaving Jinhua Village, and they hated that Liu Xiangmei was heartless and ungrateful, having money but refusing to share any with them.

Liu Lan couldn't stand Liu Xiangmei's smug look, so she stood up to scold her, but Wang Tianhua stopped her.

Now he really doesn't dare to mess with Liu Xiangmei. If Liu Xiangmei uses some tricks—no, she doesn't even need to use tricks—and directly reports to the health bureau that he ruined someone else's leg injury, he can be kicked out of the village clinic, and then his family will be really finished.

Hearing that more and more people were eating outside, Liu Xiangmei didn't want to get entangled with them anymore and directly told them to leave: "Hurry up and leave. If you dare to cause trouble again next time, I won't let it go so easily."

As she spoke, she glanced at Wang Tianhua, convinced that he was a smart man.

Wang Tianhua panicked at her gaze and, forgetting everything else, quickly pulled Liu Lan away. Liu Ailing glanced at Liu Xiangmei and followed.

Wang Sheng gave Liu Xiangmei a deep look and asked, "Are you going back to pay respects at Tianmiao's grave during the Great Cold?"

Liu Xiangmei thought Wang Sheng was trying to threaten her with Wang Tianmiao's grave, so she immediately glared at him, ready to curse.

Then Wang Sheng said, "This is the first year, so buy more paper money for burning; we should also burn it at the graves of the other ancestors in the cemetery."

After saying that, Wang Sheng left.

Liu Xiangmei had no idea what Wang Sheng was planning.

"What else could it be? I know you're soft-hearted, Mom. Since I can't beat you with force, I'm resorting to the gentle approach. I want you to know that no matter how much we fight, we still share the same ancestor and are family. Once the old wounds heal, I can make demands of you." Wang Yao said disdainfully while eating her late-night snack.