"Xiaomei was in the wrong, I apologize on her behalf..."
Su Jianguo raised his hand to interrupt her.
"Grandma, I didn't come here today to hear your apologies."
His voice wasn't loud, but every word was as firm as iron.
"In the market, I believe in making money through harmony. But if anyone dares to scheme against my family, don't blame me for being impolite."
Upon hearing this, the old lady's fear faded somewhat, replaced by a hint of defiance.
"Su Jianguo, don't think you're so great just because you have a few stinking bucks! I'm an old lady who's lived most of my life, what haven't I seen? I'm not easily scared!"
Su Jianguo curled his lips into a cold smile and slowly stood up.
He walked up to the old lady, looked down at her, and lowered his voice.
"In this day and age, making money is both easy and difficult."
Then, Su Jianguo looked at the old lady's legs and continued.
"As far as I know, on the black market, you can buy a person's leg for a hundred dollars. Orphans and widows like you..."
He paused deliberately.
"Pack everything up, five hundred should be enough."
The old woman's face turned deathly pale instantly, and her lips trembled as she was unable to speak.
Xiaomei was so frightened that she took two steps back and almost tripped over the threshold.
"You...you dare!"
The old woman shouted, her voice trembling despite her bluster.
Su Jianguo said no more and turned to walk out of the courtyard.
He stopped as he passed Xiaomei, his voice icy.
"You'd better watch yourselves."
After saying that, he strode away, leaving Xiaomei and her daughter standing there dumbfounded.
When Su Jianguo returned home, he pushed open the courtyard gate.
In the center of the courtyard, Su Mingfu knelt upright.
Wang Xiulan was bending down and pulling his arm, her voice filled with anxiety.
"Say something, kid!"
Hearing the door open, Wang Xiulan turned around abruptly.
Upon seeing that it was her own man, Wang Xiulan went straight to Su Jianguo.
"Master, what happened? Why is the third son kneeling here as soon as he gets back, and he won't say a word..."
Su Jianguo didn't answer, but walked straight up to Su Mingfu.
The boy hung his head, his face still clearly marked with Su Jianguo's handprint.
"You tell me yourself."
Su Jianguo's voice wasn't loud, but it made Su Mingfu tremble.
He looked up at his father's gloomy face, then quickly looked down again.
"I...I have an exam today..."
"Speak louder!"
Su Jianguo suddenly roared.
"Xiaomei came to the school to find me!"
Su Mingfu cried out.
She said there was an emergency at home and lied to me about leaving the exam room...
The boy's voice grew softer and softer.
"Then she took me to Donglaishun for dinner and made me drink alcohol..."
Wang Xiulan gasped.
Su Mingfu suddenly collapsed and began to kowtow, his forehead hitting the brick surface with a "thud".
"Dad, I was wrong! I'll never do it again! She... she was about to take my pants off..."
A loud crash came from outside the courtyard wall, like someone's enamel basin had fallen to the ground.
Su Jianguo caught a glimpse of the curtains in the side room suddenly trembling out of the corner of his eye.
The father-in-law and his wife were obviously eavesdropping as well.
"Master..."
Wang Xiulan's voice trembled.
"How could that widow...?"
Su Jianguo bent down, grabbed his son by the collar, and stared at his swollen face.
"That widow clearly has ill intentions. Instead of staying away, you're just getting close to her?"
Su Mingfu felt very ashamed upon hearing this.
"Dad, hit me! I deserve it!"
As he spoke, he reached for the firewood sticks in the corner.
Su Jianguo grabbed his shoulder.
"It's not necessary."
Su Jianguo was certain that after his words, those two widows would not dare to provoke his family again.
A coughing sound suddenly came from the main room.
Grandpa Wang walked out leaning on his cane, followed by Su Yufen, who was peeking around curiously.
The old man's cotton-padded coat was not buttoned up properly, indicating that he had rushed out in a hurry.
"Jianguo, what major event has occurred?"
Just as Su Jianguo was about to speak, Wang Xiulan suddenly grabbed his arm.
"Boss, in the shop..."
She glanced at her parents-in-law, hesitant to speak.
"Perfect."
Su Jianguo patted his wife's hand and turned to his family.
"My judgment was correct; the one causing us trouble is that Deputy District Chief Liu."
"Deputy District Head Liu?"
Grandpa Wang's cane thudded on the ground.
"How high-ranking is that official? Is he as high-ranking as a county magistrate?"
Su Jianguo sneered and pulled out a stack of receipts from his pocket.
"He's way more powerful than the county magistrate. Look at him, in just one day, he issued twelve tickets to our shop, totaling two hundred and fifteen yuan."
"How many?"
Su Yufen was so shocked that she covered her mouth.
This amount is equivalent to half a year's salary for an ordinary worker.
Grandma Wang shakily leaned closer to take a look.
"Oh my God, this, this..."
"He came to our door in person that evening."
Su Jianguo slammed the receipt on the stone table.
"He told me I either had to close the shop, or he'd have to give 70% of the profits to his brother-in-law."
The courtyard fell into a deathly silence.
"Seventy percent?"
Wang Xiulan's voice even changed tone.
"Isn't this blatant robbery?!"
Su Jianguo's tone was frighteningly calm.
"He's blatantly robbing us, bullying us ordinary folks. He has no connections and no power."
Grandpa Wang suddenly started coughing violently, and Grandma Wang quickly patted his back.
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