Qiao Zhixia was cooking Cantonese-style soup at home under the guidance of Sister Juan when Zhang Yanmei and her husband came in carrying bags of gifts.

When the man's eyes under the glasses unexpectedly met Sister Juan's eyes, he felt extremely guilty.

Sister Juan had never thought that after seven years, they would meet again under such circumstances. Thinking of her son, she could not hide the hatred in her eyes.

As soon as they opened their mouths, the couple asked Qiao Zhixia to withdraw the lawsuit and they were willing to apologize and compensate.

Since Qiao Zhixia had made such a big fuss, why would she care about their little compensation? After sternly refusing, they turned their attention to Sister Juan.

"We want you to forgive and reconcile, and explain to the outside world that it was all a misunderstanding. We will agree to any conditions..."

Zhang Yanmei, who was so arrogant a few days ago and trampled on Sister Juan, now looks so humble.

"Give my son back to me." Sister Juan clenched her hands tightly, and every word seemed to be squeezed out from the cracks of her body.

When the couple heard her mention their son, they looked at each other guiltily and shook their heads, indicating that their son had died long ago and did not exist at all.

Sister Juan could no longer control her anger. She rushed over, grabbed the man's hair, dragged him to the side, and asked at the top of her voice:

"Chen Sheng, you beast! How have I ever let you down? Do you want to destroy me? Do you still have the right to steal my son? Give him back to me!!!"

Not sure whether it was because his angry mother was too strong or because he was afraid of Qiao Zhixia's presence, Chen Sheng was pulled and beaten by her and pressed down on his back. He passively endured her palms and grabs and did not fight back.

Sister Juan was venting her accumulated anger over the years on this negligent man like a madman. Zhang Yanmei watched from the side and wanted to pull her away several times, but she gave up when she remembered the purpose of her trip.

"Juan... I'm sorry! I will compensate you in my next life." Chen Sheng promised while protecting his face.

Qiao Zhixia didn't know what Sister Juan thought after hearing this, but she laughed out loud anyway.

"You should pay off this life's debts in this life! Don't talk about the next life..."

"You guys have already come here to offer gifts and apologies, what else do you want?" Zhang Yanmei was obviously unable to pretend any longer. Chen Sheng, who had been pushed down, pushed Sister Juan aside and stood up, the impatience in his eyes particularly obvious.

Qiao Zhixia sneered: "It seems that your apology is very reluctant! Forget about the insincerity, just go back and accept the retribution you deserve!"

Qiao Zhixia insisted on refusing to forgive!

Not long after, the couple, including their father who was a secretary, were investigated by the relevant departments.

Things have become a big deal and have been exposed to the sun. Some people can't hide it even if they want to. On the contrary, in order to protect their own interests, they must fight to survive at the critical moment.

Therefore, there is no need for Qiao Zhixia to intervene further in the future, as this family will be severely punished soon.

Qiao Zhixia's Rose Restaurant finally reopened after being closed for a month.

Business was booming as soon as they opened, as if the criticism of them using rat meat to make soup a few days ago had never happened.

The dozen or so partners who had falsely sued her restaurant finally panicked after receiving the court summons.

They wanted to ask Qiao Zhixia to withdraw the lawsuit, saying they were willing to cooperate with Qiao Zhixia to clarify the facts, even for free.

Qiao Zhixia ignored all of them, and the case was soon tried in public in court.

Qiao Zhixia's lawyer submitted a very favorable piece of evidence to the judge to prove the innocence of the restaurant, that is, a videotape.

It turns out that Qiao Zhixia's restaurant is equipped with surveillance cameras, which are not yet common in the country and are only available in important institutions such as banks.

But Qiao Zhixia asked the technicians to install them as soon as possible, and there were them in the lobby and kitchen on each floor, because she knew that her restaurant business was booming and it was inevitable to arouse jealousy.

It is easy for people in the catering industry to make mistakes, but the key is to find it difficult to defend themselves, so monitoring equipment is a must.

Although the cost of importing all the equipment was high and data storage was not as convenient as in later generations, she still specifically asked the security department to insist on preserving the daily video data.

It was precisely because of this action that the videotape clearly recorded the process of these crimes.

They had a clear division of labor. Some were responsible for distracting the staff, while others were responsible for covering their eyes and ears. They assisted their partners in throwing the five skinned mice into the soup pot in the back kitchen.

Then about thirty minutes later, after they were sure the rat was cooked, they started to make trouble, saying they felt uncomfortable in their stomachs, suspected that there was something wrong with the soup, and asked to check the soup pot.

Finally, after they pulled the mouse out of the soup pot, their faces, which looked angry but actually smug after their success, were frozen on the screen.

This scene angered the audience at the trial, and the dozen or so defendants were so guilty that they dared not raise their heads.

Faced with such irrefutable evidence, they had no excuses and confessed the whole truth that they were instructed by Zhang Yanmei in order to obtain lenient treatment.

In the end, due to different divisions of labor, more than a dozen people were each sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment ranging from several years to several months and fined.

The moment the gavel fell, they regretted deeply. Everyone should be responsible for their own mistakes.

As for Zhang Yanmei and her husband and their secretary father, because the influence was too great and they were involved in many cases, the impact was very bad, which even alarmed the investigation team on the surface and sent a special investigation.

Qiao Zhixia was naturally very cooperative and provided all the clues she had.

This time, a number of officials were implicated, and five officials in Guangzhou were removed from their posts within a month.

This naturally included Zhang Yanmei's father and husband Chen Sheng, who were both expelled from the party.

In addition to other crimes they committed, they were sentenced to life imprisonment and all their illegal gains were confiscated.

Zhang Yanmei, the wife of an official who had been pampered for half her life, moved out of the family compound with her sick mother and stolen son amid the spit and curses of all the family members.

Before she could settle down in her new place, she was arrested for suspected attempted murder and organizing prostitution.

As the news of their marriage fraud spread quickly, Zhang Yanmei's son also learned the secret that he was not his biological son.

One day, just as Sister Juan cleaned up the mahjong room and prepared to open for business, a boy of seven or eight years old appeared at the door of her house.

Sister Juan looked up, and the moment their eyes met, the water bottle in her hand fell to the ground. She stared at the boy, her eyes swollen, her throat and chest blocked.

The dry lips opened and closed for a long while, and finally uttered a few hoarse and unpleasant words with difficulty: "...Are you...looking for me?"

The boy stared at the tearful girl in front of him with clear eyes, "Is she your mother?"

Sister Juan held onto the door frame, and slid down to her knees as if she couldn't hold on any longer. She nodded excitedly: "You...your mother..."