In the steel mill's residential compound, Li Fang carried a basket downstairs, eager to go to her cousin Wang Peng's supermarket.
She is Wang Peng's cousin. She married Chen Qingshu, Wang Peng's high school homeroom teacher. The couple had been living in another city and just returned to the provincial capital yesterday.
She was overjoyed to hear that her cousin had become a successful businessman after not seeing him for several years.
Downstairs, Li Fang ran into her neighbor Zhou Lili across the street. The two waved and greeted each other. Seeing that Zhou Lili was carrying a basket, Li Fang smiled and said, "Sister Lili, are you carrying something?"
Zhou Lili nodded, "We're out of eggs at home, I'll go buy a few pounds."
Li Fang said, "I also need to buy some things, let's go to Brothers Supermarket together."
"Brothers Supermarket? Forget it, I'm afraid of getting beaten up." Zhou Lili sneered.
"Get beaten up? What do you mean?" Li Fang scratched her head, her face full of confusion.
"Fang, you just got back, you don't know anything." Zhou Lili took a flyer out of the basket.
Li Fang took the flyer and read it carefully. It stated that on a certain day, month, and year, Li Guifen, over fifty years old, went shopping at Brothers Supermarket and accidentally bumped into Wang, a shareholder of the supermarket. Wang slapped her twice across the face. Li Guifen was outraged and vowed to bring Wang, the owner of Brothers Supermarket, to justice. She offered a large reward for witnesses to the incident…
Zhou Lili sneered, "Brother's boss looks down on working people, and the police station speaks up for Boss Wang. I hate people like that the most. I will never buy anything from Brother in my life."
"Haha." Li Fang burst out laughing.
Others may not know who Li Guifen is, but she does; others may not know Li Guifen's character, but she does; Li Guifen is her own aunt.
"What are you laughing at?" Zhou Lili frowned. "I'm not joking with you. From now on, I'll only buy things at Huihuang."
“Sister Zhou, I’m not joking with you. I can guarantee that the truth is different from what’s on the flyer,” Li Fang said.
"How can you guarantee that? What makes you think you can?" Zhou Lili pressed.
“Because Li Guifen is my aunt, and the owner of Brothers Supermarket is her son, my cousin,” Li Fang said.
Zhou Lili stood there stunned for a moment, then gave a cold laugh, "Wang Peng is even worse, hitting his own mother?"
Li Fang shook her head, "Although they are like oil and water, Wang Peng would never lay a hand on her."
There are many stories behind this, and Li Fang didn't want to explain. The two went out, took a bus, and arrived at Garden Road Supermarket Avenue.
Zhou Lili got off at Huihuang Station to buy eggs at Huihuang Supermarket, while Li Fang got off at Xiongdi No. 1 Store.
Stepping into the store, she was immediately stunned by the crowds. People were packed together, one after another. She was overjoyed; the business was booming!
She walked over to the fruit counter and said with a smile, "Comrade, your business is really good."
Saleswoman Ji Miaomiao shook her head, "Sister, the foot traffic is much worse than before."
"Huh? This is still not enough?" Li Fang exclaimed in surprise. "I've lived in Runcheng for two years and I've never seen a supermarket with so many people."
Runcheng is the second largest city in the province, second only to the provincial capital in size.
Ji Miaomiao shook her head, "A few days ago there were even more people, it was so crowded you couldn't even move. Recently, my brother was slandered, and our revenue dropped by 10%."
Li Fang frowned, realizing that it was Li Guifen who was spreading rumors; she had just taken the flyer as a joke.
"Comrade, my name is Li Fang. I'm Wang Peng's second uncle's daughter. Is Wang Peng at the supermarket?"
Ji Miaomiao was taken aback, and quickly looked Li Fang up and down. After a moment, she smiled and said, "Unfortunately, the boss didn't come today. Should I call him?"
"No need, I'll go to his house tonight," Li Fang said.
She bought three pounds of apples and carried them home.
Ji Miaomiao immediately called Wang Peng and said, "Boss, don't you have a cousin named Li Fang?"
"Sister Fang?" Wang Peng said, "She's my second uncle's daughter, what's wrong?"
"She came to the supermarket looking for you just now, and said she'd come to your house tonight," Ji Miaomiao said. "Boss, there are noticeably fewer customers today."
“It’s normal, don’t worry, the peak will come soon,” Wang Peng said.
"Boss, how can I not worry? If you earn less money, I'll get less," Ji Miaomiao complained into the phone.
...
Wang Cheng and Liu Yunlai were strolling around on the fourth floor of Huihuang Supermarket.
"Xiao Cheng, your plan worked. Although business at the main store is still bad, it has improved," Liu Yunlai said.
"Don't rush, rumors are like alcohol, they have a stronger aftereffect." Wang Cheng sneered.
"Haha. Even if Wang Peng doesn't die this time, he'll be badly hurt." Liu Yunlai put his hands in his pockets, his face full of smugness.
Back in the CEO's office, Wang Cheng said in a deep voice, "Old Liu, you didn't make contact with Chen Mengchang, did you?"
"No, don't worry," Liu Yunlai said with a smile. "Chen Mengchang is a master of spreading rumors, and Wang Peng can only suffer the loss."
Li Fang returned home, washed the apples, and started cooking and washing clothes.
In the evening, Zhou Lili brought her child to the Chen family's house to watch TV, as the Zhou family didn't have a TV.
At 8:30 p.m., one episode of television ended, and the next program was the provincial capital news.
Zhou Lili joked with Li Fang, "Sister Fang, did Boss Wang hit you when you went to Brothers Supermarket to buy things today?"
"Hehe," Li Fang said, "Even if I smash up Brother's Supermarket, Wang Peng won't lay a finger on me. That's how confident I am."
"Come on, men with money will go bad," Zhou Lili said.
At this point, the television news anchor said, "Recently, there have been rumors that the owner of Brothers Supermarket assaulted a customer. In response, we interviewed the police officers who responded to the fight."
The scene shifts to Hu Juan being interviewed by the camera. She says, "Facts speak louder than words. I'd like to first show the public the live video footage of the incident."
Wang Song appeared on television, standing by the electronics counter, chatting and laughing with a customer. Suddenly, Li Guifen appeared and slapped Wang Song across the face…
After the short video finished playing, Hu Juan appeared and said seriously, "Our station has issued a police notice to the public. The police demand that those who spread rumors immediately stop spreading rumors, otherwise, you will be severely punished by law."
Zhou Lili stared at the television, dumbfounded.
"Sister Lily, there's video footage and police evidence. Do you believe me now?" Li Fang asked seriously.
"I..." Zhou Lili was speechless, never expecting that the message was a case of the guilty party accusing the innocent first.
"Luckily, my cousin has video evidence; otherwise, we wouldn't be able to clear our names even if we jumped into the Yellow River," Li Fang sneered.
Zhou Lili blushed. "Sigh, rumors are indeed unreliable. I misunderstood Brothers Supermarket. That Li Guifen is a real scoundrel."
Li Fang nodded. "I know what kind of person she is. My uncle has already divorced her."
"Sister Lily, will you still buy things from Brothers in the future?" Li Fang chuckled.
“Go away, damn it, from now on I’ll only buy things from Brother.” Zhou Lili gritted her teeth. “Sister Fang, I’ll go to Brother to buy a TV tomorrow.”
The cozy residential community, Wang Cheng's home.
Li Guifen heard a loud bang in the living room and hurriedly grabbed a spoon to go there. She saw her son, Wang Cheng, with a dark expression.
A cup broke under the TV, and tea spilled all over the floor.
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