Cheng Yaoyao said: "I just want you to take care of him and not let him suffer."

"..." The deputy captain began to make calculations in his mind. This ration ticket must be fifty kilograms. Who can refuse food these days? He gritted his teeth, took the ration ticket and put it in his arms: "Okay!"

Anyway, he had already accepted Xie Zhao's gold leaf, so what else was he short of? He had also handcuffed Xie Zhao, so at most he could give him some water when no one was paying attention and let him untie his hands, which wouldn't be a big deal.

Cheng Yaoyao gave the deputy captain many instructions and finally sent her away. When he returned to the office, the captain and his group had already returned.

The captain asked, "Is the boy in there still behaving himself?"

The deputy captain hurriedly said, "Behave yourself! I handcuffed him as you said. His bones are very hard and he didn't make a sound."

The captain took a sip from the teacup, and the deputy captain lit a cigarette for him and asked, "That guy is from another province. He has nothing to do with the crab sauce, right? Do we really want to punish him?"

"Who let him offend that gangster? This is what the nephew of the Lu Bureau said himself." The captain blew away the tea leaves and took a sip of the boiling strong tea: "Go, deal with that kid."

The deputy captain quickly stopped him and said, "You've been busy all day, take a break, let me handle this."

The captain held a cigarette in his mouth and smiled: "Okay, it's rare for you to be so diligent."

The deputy captain called his men and went into the warehouse together. Soon, the dull sound of fists and feet hitting flesh could be heard from the warehouse, accompanied by muffled groans.

After a long time, the deputy captain came out panting. The captain glanced behind him and saw Xie Zhao's hands were still handcuffed behind his back, his head was hanging, and his body was covered with dust and footprints.

The captain asked, "How is it?"

One of the deputy captain's men said, "Don't mention it. This guy is too stubborn and won't confess a word!"

"Don't recruit? Even if you don't recruit, I can still find out! Continue to recruit him for me!"

The deputy captain wiped his sweat and said, "Take a break. If we deal with this guy again, we'll lose half our lives."

"Who made this kid get into trouble by offending someone he shouldn't have offended?"

Cheng Yaoyao left the inspection team and took a taxi to the movie studio. Director Rong had given her the address, but it was her first time to visit the studio. The movie studio was smaller than she had imagined, and looked more like a school. It was not easy to meet a great director like Director Rong, but fortunately, Cheng Yaoyao's face was her pass, and the concierge made an exception and informed her.

"Come in, Director Rong is in the office." The concierge looked at her face and said, "You must be the new actress, right?"

Director Rong received Cheng Yaoyao in his office with a beaming smile and personally made her a cup of tea: "Since you came to Shanghai, you have never been to my house. I will show you the edited film later. The effect is quite good!"

Cheng Yaoyao didn't want to exchange pleasantries, and got straight to the point: "Director, do you know anyone from the inspection team? Xie Zhao has been arrested!"

"What?" Director Rong's face turned serious and he handed the tea to Cheng Yaoyao. "Don't be impatient. Take your time to talk."

Cheng Yaoyao quickly explained the whole story and added, "I made the crab roe sauce. It has nothing to do with Xie Zhao!"

Director Rong thought for a moment and said, "Don't worry. Xie Zhao has only been in Shanghai for a few days. This matter cannot be blamed on him. Did Xie Zhao offend anyone?"

Cheng Yaoyao suddenly had an idea: "Yes! It's a group of thugs!" He just met Xu Nanfang and his gang yesterday, and Xie Zhao was arrested today. How could it be such a coincidence!

Director Rong smiled and said, "It will be easier now that we know the reason. I happen to be having dinner with the leader of the XX Bureau tonight, so I'll tell him about it during the dinner. I still have some face."

Cheng Yaoyao burst into laughter and said, "Thank you, Director!"

Director Rong pointedly asked, "What can you give me to thank me?"

Cheng Yaoyao played dumb: "I'll give you two bottles of special crab sauce!"

Director Rong sneered, pointed at her and shook his head: "Don't mention this crab roe sauce again. This time Xie Zhao is covering for you. If you, a girl, get caught, you will lose face."

Cheng Yaoyao got the assurance from Director Rong, and he felt relieved. He went to Yang's yard without stopping. Meng Jie was there too. Cheng Yaoyao told her that someone in the black market was investigating them. Meng Jie felt like she was facing a powerful enemy.

Mrs. Yang was calm: "Our customers are all well-known people. The inspection team dare not check my place."

But the same cannot be said for the bald butter on the market. Cheng Yaoyao and Sister Meng have discussed that the existing bald butter will no longer be sold, and will only be left for Sister Yang to sell to regular customers in the restaurant. I believe the inspection team will not dare to check her customers. It's a pity that the two days before the New Year are really the busiest time for the black market. This huge amount of revenue was lost for nothing. Sister Meng was so distressed that she gasped and gritted her teeth and cursed those people for being so idle that they didn't catch the bad guys but caught those of them who worked hard to run a small business.

Cheng Yaoyao is not concerned about money now. As long as Xie Zhao is safe and sound, she is willing to never sell crab roe sauce again.

When Cheng Yaoyao dragged his tired body slowly back home, he encountered another wave of violent storms.

"Yaoyao, where have you been all day?" Cheng Zheng had been waiting for her, and as soon as he saw Cheng Yaoyao coming back, he couldn't wait to ask her.

Cheng Yaoyao glanced at Wei Shuying, who was gloating over the misfortune, and Cheng Nonuo, who had no expression on her face, and said, "Let's go into the study and talk alone."

Cheng Zheng didn't say anything. He followed Cheng Yaoyao into the study and locked the door.

The father and daughter sat down across the desk. Cheng Yaoyao clasped his hands across his chest, the corners of his lips slightly raised, looking extremely cold and charming.

Cheng Zheng looked at him. Although they were less than half a meter apart, he felt that they were very far away from each other.

"Yaoyao, you..."

Cheng Yaoyao interrupted him: "I know what you are going to say. I will not break up with Xie Zhao. I only want him in my life."

Cheng Zheng had a quiet afternoon. Even his own daughter was soft-hearted. He said slowly, "Yaoyao, Daddy saw Xie Zhao today and finally understood why you like him. Regardless of his appearance, temperament and conversation, he is indeed a very outstanding young man. But you are still young. You can't just look at the surface when judging a person, but also his inner qualities and personality. Xie Zhao was born a landlord, let's ignore this point for now, but he speculates on the black market! The current struggle situation is still very serious. Think about it. If Daddy hadn't been here today, what would you do if those people from the inspection team bumped into you? If one day you marry him and she is imprisoned because of this, what would you do?"

"I'm the one selling crab roe sauce." Cheng Yaoyao said.

The long speech that Cheng's father had prepared was blocked, and he said in a lost voice: "What did you say?!"

Cheng Yaoyao said word by word: "I said that the crab roe sauce on the black market was made by me. I was the one who sold the crab roe sauce. Xie Zhao just took the blame for me."

"No, it's impossible!" After a brief moment of loss of composure, Cheng Zheng flatly denied it, "Don't take this crime on yourself for Xie Zhao's sake. Doesn't Daddy know you? When have you ever been short of money since you were a child? Why would you take the risk of doing something like this?"

Cheng Yaoyao sneered: "Then you really don't know me very well. I have been short of money. When I first went to the countryside, I knew nothing and spent all my money. My family didn't send me money. I needed money to buy grain and give gifts to village cadres. I needed money..."

Hearing Cheng Yaoyao bring up the past, Cheng Zheng felt uneasy and said with difficulty: "Yaoyao, it was Dad who was sorry for you at first, but Dad sent you money later!"

"You can give me money, but can you help me with farm work?" Cheng Yaoyao raised her peach blossom eyes and looked straight into Cheng Zheng's eyes: "Do you know how hard life is in the countryside? There are wild boars in the mountains, leeches in the fields, and snakes in the ground. I have to walk three miles every day to turn over the soybean fields, and I can't even carry a hoe. Xie Zhao has been helping me with farm work for as long as I have been in the countryside."

Cheng Zheng took off his glasses and wiped the mist off his head, saying: "Dad knows that life in the countryside is hard. Xie Zhao helped you, and Dad is willing to compensate him. Since he took the blame for you, Dad will use all his connections to get him out. When he gets out, no matter how much money he wants or how much he wants to go to college, Dad is willing to do everything he can to help him! But Dad can't just watch you sacrifice your life's happiness for him!"

Cheng Yaoyao took a deep breath and said, "Do you think your daughter's life can be measured by money?"

Cheng Zheng was shocked: "Yaoyao, what do you mean by that?"

Cheng Yaoyao counted the times: "I was almost trampled to death by a wild boar, and it was Xie Zhao who saved me. I was bitten by a snake, and it was Xie Zhao who saved me. I was disfigured and almost died of a high fever in the dormitory, and it was Xie Zhao who saved me... In total, Xie Zhao saved me three times. Can this life-saving grace be measured by money?"

"How could it be!" Cheng Zheng cried out, "Yaoyao, how did you run into a wild boar? What about the disfigurement and fever? Your face..."

Cheng Zheng's eyes fell on Cheng Yaoyao's face. There was no flaw on his creamy skin. Cheng Yaoyao touched his cheek and sneered, "Of course it's a gift from your beloved little daughter."

"Impossible! Nuonuo is so well-behaved..." Cheng Zheng denied it with his mouth before his brain did. As soon as he opened his mouth, he realized that he had said the wrong thing. He stammered, "Yaoyao, there must be some misunderstanding. Although Nuonuo and Shen Yan... after all, you are sisters, how could she hurt you? You never told Dad before."

Cheng Zheng was confused and kept repeating the same thing over and over again. In his mind, Cheng Nonuo was still that well-behaved little girl. He refused to believe that Cheng Nonuo would do anything to harm Cheng Yaoyao's life. But... the story of Shen Yan and Cheng Nonuo came to his mind. Thinking about how Cheng Nonuo always followed Cheng Yaoyao and Shen Yan with a harmless look, Cheng Zheng suddenly felt a chill.

Cheng Yaoyao sneered, "If I had known you wouldn't believe me, what's the point of telling you? Anyway, I've told you, whether you agree or not, I've decided to be with Xie Zhao for the rest of my life."

Cheng Yaoyao said this and turned away without waiting for Cheng Zheng to answer. As soon as he opened the study door, he bumped into Wei Shuying.

Wei Shuying quickly stood up straight. Seeing that Cheng Yaoyao and Cheng Zheng seemed to have reached a dead end in their negotiation, she could not hide her secret joy and said, "Oh, is there anything that we cannot even let our own family members hear? Why do we have to talk about it behind closed doors?"

"Shut up!" Cheng Yaoyao burst out the anger he had been holding back for a day, pointed at Wei Shuying's nose and said rudely, "Don't mess with me! I didn't say it before because I was afraid of dirtying my mouth. Do you believe me, I will tell you all the shameful things between you and your daughter?"

"You...what shameful thing have I done? You and that country boy did something, and the whole village knows about it. Now your father knows about it too. Who do you think you can hide it from? And you are even blaming me..." Wei Shuying felt guilty and spoke haltingly.

Cheng Nonuo whispered, "Sister, did you have a fight with Dad? If you are angry, come to me, don't scold my mom."

Cheng Yaoyao narrowed his peach blossom eyes and stared at her with an ambiguous expression. Cheng Nuonuo's pale face twitched, and he looked at her nonchalantly: "Sister, what's wrong?"

Cheng Yaoyao didn't answer. He reached out and pulled out a red string from her neck and took out a dull jade pendant.

"What are you doing!" Cheng Nonuo was shocked, but she saw that the jade pendant, which had touched Cheng Yaoyao's hand, suddenly broke into several pieces and fell to the ground.

Cheng Yaoyao was also shocked by this sudden situation. Cheng Nonuo, who had just lowered his head and looked obedient, suddenly exploded, pushed Cheng Yaoyao away like a madman, and tightly grasped the jade pendant on his neck, but the jade pendant fell down like powder.

Cheng Yaoyao was not prepared for her great strength and his back hit the door frame heavily, causing him to fall to the ground.

"Yaoyao!" Cheng Zheng rushed up and supported Cheng Yaoyao, but saw Cheng Nuonuo lying on the ground like a madman, holding the jade pendant fragments in front of him.

Cheng Zheng's eyes narrowed: "What is that?"

The jade pendant was extremely dull, and no one would want it even if it was sold at a stall. But Cheng Zheng recognized the pattern of the jade pendant at a glance: "Isn't this... isn't this the relic of Yaoyao's mother?! How did it end up in your hands? And it's in such a state!"

"This is mine... This is mine!" Cheng Nonuo muttered to himself, his eyes wide open, and he tried his best to pick up the fragments on the ground, not caring even if he cut his hand.

Cheng Zheng picked up the fragments at his feet. He could trace the lotus pattern on it even with his eyes closed. His tone was full of the calm before the storm: "What is going on? How come the jade pendant from far away is on you?"

Wei Shuying was also stunned. After hearing this, she subconsciously covered up and said, "How can this be Yaoyao's mother's thing? This is... This is something I gave to Nuonuo!"

Cheng Yaoyao took out his own box and took out a small box: "I found this box in the box. It was empty when I found it."

"Yes. This is the box for the jade pendant, left by your mother." Cheng Zheng took the box as if it were a treasure: "When you insisted on going to the countryside, I secretly put this in your box. I was thinking of finding a chance to tell you..."

Cheng Yaoyao raised her eyebrows. No wonder she couldn't remember the origin of the jade pendant.

Cheng Nuonuo struggled to piece together the shattered jade pendant, and then snatched the fragment from Cheng Zheng's hand: "That's mine!"

Cheng Zheng slapped her in the face and yelled, "How dare you steal this!"

The slap made the corner of Cheng Nuonuo's mouth bleed. Wei Shuying screamed and rushed into Cheng Zheng's arms: "Just beat us to death! You have no conscience. You want to kill us mother and daughter just for a broken stone!"

Cheng Zheng usually feared her scolding and swearing, but tonight he was furious and scolded Wei Shuying as well.

The three of them were in a mess. Cheng Yaoyao was a little surprised. A jade pendant made Cheng Zheng lose his composure. It seemed that the original owner's mother was very important to him. But no matter how important she was, didn't Wei Shuying and her daughter force the original owner away?

Cheng Yaoyao picked up her packed suitcase and turned around and left. She did not go to the guesthouse, but stayed in Xie Zhao's small room. The quilt on the bed was neatly folded, and still retained Xie Zhao's unique scent.

Cheng Yaoyao wrapped herself in the quilt, as if Xie Zhao was hugging her. She closed her eyes, hoping that Xie Zhao would appear in front of her when she woke up.

But on the third day, Xie Zhao still hadn't come back. Cheng Yaoyao had no choice but to go find Director Rong again. Director Rong looked ashamed and said, "Yaoyao, this is difficult to do."

Cheng Yaoyao guessed correctly that this was done by Xu Nanfang and his group. To be more precise, it was Wei Qiang who did it in the name of Xu Nanfang.

It is easy to find fault with Xie Zhao. He is from another province. Isn't it easy to accuse him of a minor crime of black market trading? But Wei Qiang is determined to get a bigger one, so that Xie Zhao will never be able to turn over. There is another reason for this - Liu Yue is Wei Qiang's girlfriend, and the two are in love. It is said that Liu Yue was suppressed by Cheng Yaoyao in the crew, so naturally he wants to avenge his girlfriend. Cheng Yaoyao harmed his girlfriend, so he will kill Xie Zhao!

Others said: "There is no deep hatred, right?"

Wei Qiang insisted: "You guys are too cautious. If anything goes wrong, I'll take care of it!"

Everyone knew that Wei Qiang, the son of a small director, was just relying on Xu Nanfang's name to bully others. But he would rather offend a gentleman than a villain, so no one paid any attention to him.

So Wei Qiang found someone from the inspection team. With Lu Qingtang's words as a token, the inspection team dared not be careless. Who knew that by following the vines to pull out the melon, he actually found something incredible!

Wei Qiang went to find Xu Nanfang with great joy. These young men had no hometown, no proper job, and no school. They were bored all day long, either playing ball or chatting at home, and they called it "Salon".

Lu Qingtang lives alone in a small three-bedroom apartment. He lives alone, without the constraints of his elders. Everyone has fallen in love with his home recently. The living room of Lu Qingtang's home is very spacious, with a full set of imported leather sofas. Don't mention the aesthetics. When a family like theirs wants to renovate, naturally someone will rush to help. All materials are used regardless of cost, and the work is done to perfection.

The heating in the living room was turned on high, and everyone took off their coats and drank the wine or coffee that they had found at Lu Qingtang's house. Only Lu Qingtang was wearing a white shirt, holding a cup of tea, and smiling as he listened to everyone's impassioned empty talk.

Wei Qiang's arrival interrupted everyone's idle chatter: "Guess what I'm investigating?!"

Xu Nanfang asked blankly, "What are you looking for?"

"Xie Zhao, it's about Cheng Yaoyao, that country bumpkin!" Wei Qiang acted as if he knew some huge secret.

Xu Nanfang had long forgotten about that incident. After all, what happened that day was Wei Qiang using money to attack someone, and he didn't think much of it. Hearing Wei Qiang say this, he couldn't help but say, "What can they find out? Isn't it just speculation?"

Wei Qiang was a little disappointed that he didn't get the expected reaction. He continued, "There is a difference between speculation and profiteering. Do you know that the guy was not selling crab roe sauce, but..."

Wei Qiang dragged out the last part of his sentence. Everyone finally looked up and speculated: "Hey, no matter how big he is, what can he do? Can he dare to resell gold?"

"You guessed it right!" Wei Qiang slapped his thigh fiercely, "Not only gold, this guy actually dared to destroy steel in Shanghai recently! It's a lot!"

After Wei Qiang finished speaking, he gestured with a number.

Everyone was shocked: "Oh my god, is this true? How could a country boy come across such things?"

Wei Qiang said proudly: "What a coincidence. The inspection team just caught a gold dealer who had come from Suzhou. He recognized Xie Zhao at first sight and confessed his crime in order to confess his guilt."

Others said, "You are quite good. You really figured it out."

Wei Qiang waved his hands and said, "This is all thanks to our Brother Lu. If it weren't for Brother Lu's face, the inspection team wouldn't have been able to find out the truth so quickly."

Everyone's eyes turned to Lu Qingtang, who smiled faintly: "I just gave a message to the inspection team. It's still your own ability to find out. There's wine over there, help yourself."

Lu Qingtang's house had rare foreign liquor and snacks, and many people went over to drink.

Only Xu Nanfang was leaning on the sofa, rarely not joining in the fun. Lu Qingtang asked, "Nanfang, what's wrong?"

Xu Nanfang shook his head and said, "I just feel quite frustrated. Besides, if Cheng Yaoyao knew about this, he would never forgive me. Otherwise, I will ask Wei Qiang to stop investigating."

Lu Qingtang smiled and lowered his voice: "Now that these things have been exposed, it's no longer possible for him to stop. I advise you to get yourself out of this. The waters here are deep, don't get yourself killed with that kid."

Xu Nanfang looked up blankly, but Lu Qingtang stopped talking. He blew on the tea, and his handsome face became even more mysterious behind the lingering mist.