The tingling, numb sensation made Qiao Xia involuntarily shiver.
She pulled her hand back abruptly. "What are you doing?"
"So Miss Qiao prefers this kind of coy resistance? No problem, I can play along."
The car was cramped, and Zhao Yuncheng moved closer again, their breaths mingling, forcing Qiao Xia to look him in the eye.
His eyes were lowered, and there was a clear hint of loneliness in them.
Qiao Xia shoved him away with disdain. "What nonsense! You're taking advantage of me and expect me to give you money? Dream on!"
Qiao Xia got out of the car and slammed the door shut. Still feeling annoyed, she leaned against the window and yelled, "Brother, why don't you look in the mirror and see yourself? How old are you and you're still playing the role of a delinquent youth? Selling your body, do you even know how to sell it properly?"
Zhao Yuncheng stood there, stunned, watching Qiao Xia's departing figure. He hadn't expected to be rejected before Qiao Xia spoke.
Zhao Yuncheng only came to his senses after everyone had completely disappeared from the doorway. He then burst out laughing, all the gloom in his eyes vanishing.
Selling one's looks is a dead end; one has to rely on oneself.
Zhao Yuncheng shook his head, but felt much more relaxed.
Qiao Zhaoxing arranged all the antiques that Shen Shuoyu had sent back exactly as they were. Looking at the familiar bedroom, Qiao Xia's frustration subsided somewhat.
"Xia Bao is back. What did that policeman say to you just now?" Hearing the noise, Qiao Zhaoxing came out to greet him, waving a spatula.
Qiao Xia's lips twitched, but she finally shook her head. "It's nothing."
Seeing that she didn't want to talk about it, Qiao's father didn't press her further and cleverly changed the subject, "Mom said that the families of the workers who came to cause trouble have been dealt with. They voluntarily provided the police with the suicide notes left by the two men before they died, confirming that they committed suicide. We've cleared our names. Are you happy, Xia Bao?"
Qiao Xia smiled and nodded, "I'm happy. Mom is amazing."
Although Qiao Xia said this, she secretly decided to hire a private investigator to get to the bottom of the matter.
Tang Xining pushed up her glasses, the carving knife in her hand gleaming with a cold, eerie light. "I've decided to participate in a jade carving competition. Who agrees? Who disagrees?"
Qiao Xia and her father exchanged a glance, then simultaneously raised their hands and said in unison, "We wholeheartedly agree."
Tang Xining nodded in satisfaction. "Before the competition, I need to practice my knife skills, so you two better not get yourselves back into the police station."
"Absolutely not!" came the unanimous reply.
Seeing Tang Xining's satisfied smile, Qiao's father rushed into the kitchen and brought out the cooked porridge. "Everything's been resolved, let's eat."
Qiao Xia sat at the dining table, took a spoonful of porridge, exchanged a glance with her mother, and barely swallowed the porridge. "Dad, let's find Aunt Wang tomorrow."
Qiao Zhaoxing asked with teary eyes, "Why? Is it because Dad's cooking is bad?"
Qiao Xia savored the taste from earlier and found it hard to lie and say it was delicious, so she could only say gently, "Do you really have to hear the truth?"
Qiao Zhaoxing silently dialed Wang Ma's number.
Unfortunately, at that time, Wang Ma was taking her whole family on a cruise in the Pacific Ocean. Although she agreed to come back after hearing their request, it would be difficult for her to appear for at least ten days to half a month.
The next morning, Qiao Xia drove three kilometers to a snack stall to buy breakfast, and for the first time felt that the mansion on the mountaintop was somewhat inconvenient.
Qiao Xia went on a shopping spree at the mall, filling the refrigerator to the brim, and then announced that she would not be coming back until the construction site was completed, so as to leave plenty of space for her mother.
Mr. Joe said he wanted to learn cooking skills so he could come home every day to be with his wife.
The three reached a consensus, and Qiao Xia drove her father to the construction site again. Many workers were already waiting there, sitting cross-legged and chatting idly.
Upon seeing Qiao Xia arrive, he greeted her warmly, "Ms. Qiao, when will this place be unsealed? We're all waiting to get back to work!"
Qiao Zhaoxing slapped his forehead. "I forgot, the seal hasn't been removed yet."
Qiao Zhaoxing made a phone call to someone, and the police station quickly closed the case and reopened the construction site.
Qiao Xia clearly noticed that the workers were much more enthusiastic about their work than before.
Aunt Qiao, who sells sweet soup, explained, "The wages here are more than three times higher than elsewhere, and they're very generous with compensation in case of accidents. They work like their lives depend on it."
Looking at the generous amount of ingredients in the sweet soup, Qiao Xia exclaimed, "This soup is packed with ingredients!"
Aunt Qiao's eyes lit up when she saw her respond, and she immediately launched into a long explanation, "That's right, back when my deadbeat husband and I worked on construction sites, we never had such good sweet soup. The sweet soup back then..."
"Speaking of which, I have to thank President Qiao. If it weren't for the huge compensation you gave me, I really don't know how I would have survived," Aunt Qiao said, tears welling up in her eyes.
Qiao Xia seized the opportunity to ask, "Now that you have money, why are you still working so hard?"
Aunt Qiao smiled sheepishly, “The cost of living in City A is high, and I thought I couldn’t just sit around and do nothing. I don’t know how to make anything else, so I thought I’d make some sweet soup. My ingredients are more expensive than elsewhere, but luckily everyone is making more money and is willing to support me.”
As she spoke, Aunt Qiao served a bowl to Qiao Xia, who also complimented that it was delicious.
Aunt Qiao laughed even more heartily, but a shadow hung over her smile. Qiao Xia seemed oblivious and continued chatting with her, asking where she lived and how many people were in her family. Before long, Aunt Qiao had revealed everything.
By noon, the sweet soup was completely sold out thanks to the workers' efforts.
Qiao Xia helped her pack up her stall, and just as she was about to leave, Aunt Qiao suddenly grabbed her hand and whispered in her ear, "Be careful, things aren't that simple."
Aunt Qiao moved extremely quickly, without attracting anyone's attention, but it solidified Qiao Xia's original thought: there was indeed someone behind the deaths of those two workers.
Soon, Qiao Xia realized that what Sister-in-law Qiao meant by "not so simple" was not just referring to the two dead workers.
Several homeowners, having somehow gotten wind of a death in the building, started clamoring to cancel their leases.
Based on the land price, it's clear that the houses here won't be cheap; the most affordable ones will cost at least 20 million. But they not only want the Qiao family to return their pre-paid payments, but also demand an additional 3 million in compensation.
Otherwise, they'll make a scene and prevent construction from starting.
Dozens of households arrived in a grand procession, and the various compensation payments totaled over three billion yuan, but not a single penny of this money went into the pockets of the Qiao family.
Their attitude was so tough that anyone else would have been at a loss for how to handle the situation; they were clearly pushing someone to their doom.
But the Qiao family is different. The Qiao family has a super-rich system, and 3 billion is just a day's expense for them, so Qiao Zhaoxing readily agreed to their request.
This put them in the trap set by the person behind the scenes, which made Qiao Xia very unhappy. She hated being schemed against, especially such an blatant scheme, so she proposed a second plan.
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