Chapter 94 Exclusive Trouble on Jinjiang
The news that Li Mei was leaving Liulin County for the provincial capital quickly reached the ears of the Tong family.
"What? Closing the shop? She's gone mad!" Zhang Cuihua suddenly stood up.
They all saw how well Li Mei's braised food business was doing, and they would often try to get a bargain from her stall.
Tong Tietou frowned. "Everything was going well, why did you suddenly close the shop?"
Wu Jinfeng recalled the scene she had just witnessed at the vegetable market, her eyes sparkling with excitement: "They said they were going to the provincial capital, so they couldn't take care of things here."
Li Mei's braised food business has always been good, but today it's especially good. Ever since Li Mei set up her stall at the vegetable market and was spotted by Wu Jinfeng who was there to buy vegetables, she has been secretly thinking about how much she could earn in a day.
She conservatively estimates that she can earn a hundred a day.
You should know that Zhao Guifang, who helped her, earns 180 yuan a month, which is not low compared to many workers.
She originally wanted to help, but Su Ruyi sent someone to shut her up.
They usually didn't dare to take too much advantage, because Su Ruyi also had a share in this business. Even though Su Ruyi wasn't often in the county now, she had a group of people under her who were extremely well-informed.
Wu Jinfeng curled her lip at the thought. Li Mei was a complete vixen, deceiving both the old and the young. She had really underestimated her before.
Wu Jinfeng had never seen a child who was truly open and honest with their stepmother. Children from the countryside were just not very bright. They didn't know how to treat proper relatives well, but insisted on getting along with this complete stranger. To be honest, their social status should have made them enemies.
Zhang Cuihua: "This stall can't be closed; it's our family's pride and joy."
Ever since Li Mei opened this shop, the Tong family has been keeping a close eye on it.
Li Mei has no son, so these things will all belong to the Tong family in the future.
It's because that brat Su Ruyi can't hold on any longer, but they don't believe Su Ruyi will stay here and keep watch forever.
Although they opened a factory, the Tong family felt frustrated again when the factory was mentioned. Despite having such a large factory, they couldn't gain any advantage from it.
The Tong family also tried to go to the garment factory and use their identities to their advantage, but Su Ruyi ignored them completely, and they couldn't even get in the door.
No matter how noisy it got, Su Ruyi wasn't afraid. If things escalated, Su Ruyi would simply say, "At worst, I'll close this factory and move to the provincial capital." A group of leaders wouldn't allow the Tong family to continue causing trouble.
Moreover, Su Ruyi was perfectly justified and not morally coerced at all; this is the custom in our clan. Tong Aihua was a son-in-law who married into the family in their village; he recognized his mother but not his father, following the custom of walking marriage. The children didn't need to care about their father, let alone his relatives.
As for legal support, it's not Su Ruyi's responsibility, since Tong Tietou and Zhang Cuihua's children aren't all dead yet.
It was precisely because of this that the Tong family kept a closer eye on Li Mei's braised food stall.
Su Ruyi is a tough character, and they can't get her to cooperate, so Li Mei is much easier to control.
Tong Tietou pondered for a moment and said, "Although Aihua is gone, we can't forget our brotherhood. Since we can't take care of the second brother's family anymore, we'll help look after his braised food stall."
Wu Jinfeng's eyes lit up. This way, she would definitely be the one to take over the stall! Her parents-in-law were too old to help, and her husband, Tong Aiguo, had his own work to do, so wouldn't she be the boss's wife?
Others may look down on self-employed individuals, but she doesn't care. As long as there's money to be made, she doesn't care what she does.
Once they've made some money, they'll find a good wife for their eldest son, Tong Guangzong. The few they've been set up with before were all too picky. Once their family is rich, good girls will be begging to marry into the family!
Tong Aiguo sneered, "It should have been done a long time ago! What kind of image does a widow have, always showing her face in public? She was willing to help us before, but now she's begging us for help."
The Tong family spent the whole night thinking about it, and the more they thought about it, the more they felt that the business should belong to them.
The next day, Wu Jinfeng went to the stall and asked Li Mei to go to the Tong family's house that evening.
“You’re leaving soon, and the elderly at home don’t know when they’ll be able to see Yunyun again. You absolutely have to take the child back to visit her.”
Hearing this, Li Mei had no choice but to agree.
She could refuse the Tong family's unreasonable demands. According to Su Ruyi, once Tong Aihua died, she had nothing to do with the Tong family anymore.
If we're really going to drag this into it, then her first husband's family is ranked before the Tong family, so the Tong family has nothing to do with it.
But the Tong family elders wanted to see the child, so she couldn't refuse.
Tong Yunyun did come that evening, but Li Mei did not.
"Where's your mother?" Tong Aiguo's face darkened.
Tong Yunyun: "Uncle, didn't you want to see me? Why aren't you happy that I'm here? Why are you missing my mom?"
Wu Jinfeng's already unpleasant expression turned even uglier after hearing these words.
Upon hearing this, Tong Aiguo was so angry that his mind went blank:
"You brat, what nonsense are you spouting!"
Tong Yunyun shrugged: "Uncle, the moment I arrived, you didn't ask me how I've been lately, but you immediately asked about my mother. Isn't that just because you're after the little money in my mother's pocket?"
"You brat, you were born of a mother but raised by one, your mouth is full of filth! If I don't teach you a lesson today, you'll never know your place!" Zhang Cuihua tried to pinch Tong Yunyun, but Tong Yunyun slipped away like an eel, shouting all the while.
"The Tong family is going to beat the child to death! The Tong family is going to kill the child because they've squandered their inheritance!"
Tong Yunyun ran rampant throughout the Tong family home, sweeping everything off the table and leaving the house in a complete mess. If Wu Jinfeng hadn't been quick-witted, she almost knocked down the black-and-white television from the table as well.
Tong Guangzong was furious: "I'm going to beat you to death today!"
Tong Yunyun didn't linger and ran straight into the yard.
As soon as Tong Yunyun shouted, the Tong family's front door was banged on and on, and a group of children were shouting outside.
"The Tong family has killed a child! Open the door!"
"The Tong family has kidnapped a child! Brothers, break down the door!"
"The Tong family murders for money, they don't even spare children!"
It was right after everyone had finished eating and was at home when they heard the noise and started to peek out to check what was going on.
Tong Tietou's face was extremely ugly. After such a shout, his family had lost all reputation among the neighbors.
"Shut up!"
Tong Yunyun didn't care and rushed to the door. Before opening the door, she haphazardly grabbed her hair and her clothes were a mess. As soon as she opened the door, she burst into tears and wailed.
"Uncles and aunts, help! I'm going to be beaten to death!"
Those watching the spectacle noticed that Tong Yunyun's exposed areas were covered in injuries, and immediately felt that the Tong family was extremely unkind, as the entire family had attacked an orphan and a widow.
The Tong family felt extremely wronged. They hadn't even touched each other's clothes or exchanged more than a few words when Tong Yunyun suddenly went crazy.
The scars on Tong Yunyun's body had nothing to do with them.
"Don't believe this brat! We didn't touch her! She's just trying to scam us!"
But no one around believed this explanation. Everyone had witnessed the family's outrageous behavior when Tong Aihua left. If it weren't for Tong Aihua's previous child, they might have already robbed Tong Aihua's family of everything.
Tong Aihua never hesitates to tell everyone that his job was given to him by his wife, Li Mei, after they got married, and that the job spot originally belonged to her first husband. He'd rather lose face than admit that his job has nothing to do with the Tong family.
But even after Tong Aihua left, the Tong family still refused to acknowledge their debts, which shows the true colors of this family.
Tong Yunyun just wailed and cried, silently showing her injuries to everyone.
Hmph, serves you right for trying to steal my money! I'll make sure you get mud all over your pants, even if you're not shit, you'll still look like shit.
Our children, seeing this, cried out louder and louder than the other.
"Yunyun, your life is so hard!"
"Yunyun, if you don't come out now, you'll be beaten to death!"
A group of children were crying and wailing; it sounded so pitiful.
The Tong family members looked extremely grim, and they experienced firsthand what it meant to be unable to defend themselves.
Zhang Cuihua wanted to sit on the ground and cry like before, but there was nothing she could do, since these were all children whose average age was no more than eight!
As an elderly woman, she had absolutely no advantage in front of a group of little kids.
Tong Tietou was furious and could no longer maintain his usual calm demeanor.
"Tong Yunyun, is your mother just going to hide and let you cause trouble like this! Old woman, let's go find her and ask her what's going on with her letting the child make such a scene!"
Tong Yunyun wiped away her tears, "Grandpa, didn't you say you missed me and asked me to come? Why did you call my mom over? You miss her too!"
Upon hearing this, everyone burst into laughter.
Tong Tietou's face turned ashen. He had never seen such a reckless child who completely disregarded her mother's reputation.
Tong Yunyun really didn't care. She didn't think there was anything wrong with what she said. Her older sister had said that what outsiders said was nonsense, and as long as you didn't care, nothing would happen.
Besides, they were about to go to the provincial capital, so they had even less to worry about.
"You little rascal, always spouting nonsense. Your mother doesn't care about you, so I'll teach you a lesson." Zhang Cuihua was about to hit her again.
Tong Yunyun slipped into the crowd and said, "You still say you didn't hit me? So many people are watching! You call me 'Mom' just so you can get her to give you the braised food stall? Dream on! It belongs to me, Tong Yunyun. Anyone who tries to take it will be poisoned with rat poison! Anyway, I'm still young, so even if I kill someone, I won't have to pay with my life. I'll still live a good life!"
Upon hearing this, everyone gasped. What had driven the child to say such a thing?
The Tong family members also shuddered; Tong Yunyun's serious gaze didn't seem like she was just trying to scare them.
This child is a wolf cub; she's never held back in a fight since she was little. Even if she gets beaten half to death, she'll still try to tear a piece of flesh off you.
Tong Tietou's hands trembled as he said, "Fine, fine, fine. Since you say so, I'll disown you as my granddaughter from now on. And if you're ever bullied, don't expect us to even glance at you!"
Tong Yunyun sneered: "You talk as if you used to treat me like your granddaughter. You only ever remembered me when you needed money."
Seeing the meaningful looks from his neighbors, Tong Tietou was so angry that he told his family to go inside and close the door.
Wu Jinfeng was very unwilling: "Dad, are we just going to let it go like this?"
Tong Tietou glared at her. Li Mei was about to leave the county, so she was carefree. But they still had to live here! If their reputation was bad, their children's marriages would be in trouble, and no one would pay attention to them if they wanted to find work in the county.
Wu Jinfeng also thought of her eldest son, and although she was unwilling, she could only give up.
Tong Yunyun left surrounded by a group of friends, cheering as they walked. Their efforts hadn't been in vain; when they passed a convenience store, they let the children go in and choose their favorite snacks.
Li Mei originally wanted to come along, but Tong Yunyun stopped her.
“My father is gone, so you have nothing to do with the Tong family anymore. We, the Tong family, will handle our own affairs.”
Tong Yunyun knew that she was vulnerable as a child, so she brought a group of friends with her. Whenever she cried and screamed, the others would start acting out the scene.
As for the injuries on her body, they were from a fight she got into.
As the leader of the kids, she never lacked fighting. If any older kids or kids from outside wanted to bully them, she would definitely be the first to rush in.
Su Ruyi only learned about these things two days later, and gave Tong Yunyun a thumbs up: "Amazing."
Tong Yunyun was smug, her chin held high, and her little braids bobbed up and down.
Tong Yunyun no longer dresses like a boy and has grown her hair in pigtails, so no one can tell whether she is a boy or a girl anymore.
Yet she remained the leader of the local children, still able to sell a considerable number of hula hoops during holidays and earn a good amount of money.
She earns more money on her own than all the children around her combined!
She still gets the best grades in her class; she's not inferior to any boy just because she's a girl.
Seeing Tong Yunyun like this, Li Mei felt a mix of emotions. Ever since Tong Yunyun caused a scene, the Tong family hadn't bothered her again when she left the county, saving her a lot of trouble.
Although she is not as wary of the Tong family as before, it's always different to have someone protecting her.
With Tong Yunyun being so capable, how will she ever get married?
Li Mei thought to herself that she should earn more money, so that she wouldn't have to worry about not having suitors.
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