Chapter 22

In the evening, Song Shu clearly felt that the number of customers had increased. The number of customers who came to the shop in the afternoon was more than that of the previous few days combined.

She was busy sweating, thinking that the reports must have played a role, because almost every customer would say something to her when buying clothes, such as "Boss, I think your saying 'dress to express yourself' is very good, I fully support you", "Keep going, you will definitely become a famous designer."

Hearing these encouraging words, Song Shu felt warm inside. She felt that all the tiredness of the day had dissipated, and she was happy that there were so many people who identified with her.

Just at this moment there was a noisy sound coming from the door. Song Shu was packing clothes for a customer.

Five gangster-looking young men walked in. They walked arrogantly and looked down on people. It was obvious that they were gangsters.

The one walking in front, with a cockscomb on his head, a big silver chain around his neck, and a toothpick in his mouth, stood in the store and asked nonchalantly, "Who is the boss?"

When these people appeared, they looked like they were looking for trouble and scared away most of the customers in the store. Some girls looked at Song Shu worriedly as they walked out of the store.

Song Shu glanced at those people, her heart trembled, and she tried her best to calm her expression, "I am."

This was the first time someone came to her house looking for trouble, and it would be a lie for Song Shu to say she wasn't afraid.

The cockscomb-headed man looked Song Shu up and down wantonly, spat out the toothpick in his mouth, and said with a click of the tongue: "Boss lady, you look very attractive."

The other gangsters also laughed wildly after hearing this, "Boss, I didn't expect the boss lady to be such a pretty girl."

Song Shu ignored their teasing and asked, "What's the matter with you guys?"

The cockscomb-haired man reached out and rummaged through the clothes hanging in her shop. "It's nothing. I just saw a new store opened here. Pretty girl, you should know the rules of the road. If you want to run a store safely, you can't do without our protection."

The other gangsters chimed in, "That's right. Look, we are strong and healthy. With us protecting your store, no one else will cause trouble."

They spoke in high-sounding terms, saying that they were collecting protection fees because they were there to help her watch the store, and that she wouldn't be harassed with them in her store, but they were the biggest harassment at the moment.

The cockscomb messed up the clothes and walked to the cashier, resting his hands on them, approaching Song Shu and saying, "Boss lady, you are quite famous in the newspapers, these protection fees are a small amount for you, pay it, it's good for you, it's good for me, it's good for everyone."

Song Shu took a step back when he approached her. Now she was alone. If she resisted seriously, it would be a thankless task. So she decided to stabilize them first and go along with them. "How much money do you need?"

"Pa pa," Cockscomb clapped his hands and laughed, saying to his followers, "Look, our boss lady is so kind. Be polite, Tiger, and take your dirty hands off her clothes."

The gangster who was called over was originally rummaging through the clothes in Song Shu's store with others. When he heard this, he stood at attention and saluted in a funny way, "Got it, sir. We will behave ourselves after receiving the protection fee."

He threatened that if she paid the protection fee, they would not touch the things in her store, otherwise they could not tell what might happen to the store.

The cockscomb-haired man turned around and looked at Song Shu with a smile on his face. "See, boss lady, we are very trustworthy. After receiving the protection fee, we will help you to protect your store safely. I guarantee you will be satisfied."

As he spoke, Cockscomb Head made a counting motion with his right hand, "The protection fee is not expensive, 10,000 yuan a month."

After listening to this, Song Shu glanced at him. This was a complete robbery. Even if it was for protection fees, it was only a few hundred yuan, or a thousand or two thousand at most, because the turnover of most stores was less than 10,000 Hong Kong dollars.

They are just looking for trouble under the pretext of collecting protection money.

Song Shu figured out from their words that they were Chen Zonghao's enemies. On the one hand, the store had been open for a few days and no other gangsters had come to disturb it. On the other hand, they mentioned the news report. Song Shu guessed that these people were probably sent by people who were dissatisfied with her remarks.

Seeing that she didn't say anything, the cockscomb-headed man put away his smile for a moment and slapped the cash register vigorously, "Pretty girl, what's wrong? You don't want to pay?"

The forceful movement caused the thermos that she had placed on the cash register to fall with a clang, rolling on the table before falling to the ground.

The atmosphere in the store suddenly became tense, and those gangsters surrounded them, looking like they were about to start a fight.

At this time, the shop door opened again, and several people rushed in, led by Uncle Liang and a tall, muscular man.

According to Song Shu's vague memory, it was her neighbor Zhu Rourong who had come to her banquet before, but apart from that banquet, Song Shu had little contact with him.

Uncle Fu followed in, followed by Mrs. Liang and Liang Shuyi.

Liang Shuyi followed behind, holding her mother's clothes, feeling scared.

She had left home a few minutes ago. Her sister was not at home, so she took the opportunity to sneak out and went to play with some friends. After all, she had been trapped in the house by her sister to study for the past few days and was almost going crazy.

But as soon as she stepped out of the door, she turned around and saw a few tough guys walking into Sister Shu's store. She was so scared that she immediately ran back to the store and shouted, "Dad, mom, something bad has happened. A few tough guys have come to Sister Shu's store to cause trouble."

Then her parents called Uncle Rong, the strongest pork seller in the area, and Uncle Fu to go over together.

＊

Uncle Liang walked in, looked at the gangsters, and smiled politely, "Hey handsome guys, let's talk it out. There's no need to resort to violence."

The cock-comb-haired guy saw Uncle Liang and his friends coming in, raised his eyebrows, and smiled in a way that made him want to be beaten, "Why, are you guys here to fight for justice?"

Then he turned to Song Shu and sneered, "Come on, boss lady, you're still looking for help. If you want to find someone, don't look for the old, weak, sick, or disabled ones. Hahaha, that grandpa is so old, I'm afraid I can punch him into the coffin."

The other gangsters also laughed, "Boss, you don't even need a punch, just a finger is enough to make him see the king."

Song Shu and the others looked at the arrogant gangsters with red faces, but the situation was not strong enough for them to confront them head-on.

Zhu Rourong, who was standing nearby, grabbed the hand of a gangster who was trying to push Uncle Fu, and bent his hand back with force, causing the gangster to scream in pain.

Zhu Rourong pushed him aside and said, "Boy, you still have to respect the old and love the young. I have been killing pigs for more than 20 years."

The other gangsters heard this and took a look at his physique. His strong body was almost twice as big as theirs. They were not afraid of the others, but they were mainly afraid of the man in front of them.

The cock-comb head glanced at Zhu Rourong with an unhappy expression, and snorted, "What, boss lady, are you planning not to pay the protection fee? Then we won't be polite."

After saying that, Liang Sao and the others looked at Song Shu worriedly. If a fight really broke out, they wouldn't get the upper hand and they would still be in the store, so Song Shu would be the one who suffered the loss.

Song Shu also understood this logic, but she didn't think they would keep their promise even if she gave them the money.

"Mountain ghost, I see you got drunk in broad daylight and staggered to Causeway Bay." A male voice sounded.

Ah Hao walked in wearing a police uniform, walked up to the cockscomb head and looked at him unceremoniously, "Shan Gui, do you want to go to the police station to clear your head?"

When the cockscomb saw the police, the expression on his face fell, "Sir, what are you talking about? We just came to the store to look around and buy some things. This is not allowed."

Ah Hao sneered, "You liar, you came to a women's clothing store to buy something, how come I didn't know that you went to Thailand for sex change."

If it wasn't for the wrong timing, the others would have almost laughed out loud after hearing what Haozi said.

The cockscomb was very shameless and yelled, "It's unfair, sir, don't you have a daughter? I can't buy clothes for my daughter, brothers, are you right?"

The other gangsters echoed, "That's right, sir, why not buy it for a girl or your wife?"

Ah Hao's face turned cold and he glared at them, "Why are you yelling, An Jing, you really want to go to the police station."

After being glared at by him, the gangsters quieted down. After all, if they offended the sir, they would be severely punished if not killed, and they were not the big bosses.

The cockscomb head didn't look very happy either. He had no idea how such a nosy policeman would appear. It seemed that nothing could be accomplished today.

Ah Hao looked at him coldly, "How dare you? Do you want to collect protection money from the police?"

As he spoke, Ah Hao approached him and whispered in his ear, so that only the two of them could hear: "Mountain ghost, if you want to die, you should look at who you have offended. It is not your turn to call the shots in Causeway Bay. Don't tell me you don't know whose territory this is."

Shan Gui's face turned pale when he heard this. Of course he knew who was in charge in Causeway Bay. He also found out that Chen Zonghao was not there, and he had received a lot of money, so he thought of coming over. He didn't expect to run into the sir.

Shan Gui took a step back, raised his hand, and said to Ah Hao with a smile, "Sir, it seems that the store doesn't have the clothes I like, so we'll leave."

As he said this, he jokingly said to Song Shu, "Madam, it's just a misunderstanding. We're leaving now."

After saying that, he yelled at those gangsters, "Mutou, why don't you leave?"

The gangsters didn't dare to say anything and just followed him away.

＊

Liang Sao saw those people leave, walked over and took Song Shu's hand, and asked worriedly: "Ah Shu, are you okay?"

Song Shu shook her head and said to them comfortingly: "It's okay, luckily you guys came over. Thank you so much."

Song Shu thanked them one by one. Those gangsters were not easy to deal with. Song Shu was very grateful that they came over.

Uncle Fu waved his hands, "We were just worried and came to take a look, but we couldn't help. It was still thanks to Ah Rong that he scared them, and Haozi arrived in time."

These old guys can't do much to help, but they can't let Ah Shu be bullied, so they can just put some pressure on her.

Ah Hao said, "If you guys delayed them, I wouldn't be able to catch up in time."

He was patrolling another street when he met a few girls who said there was trouble in this store, so he rushed over.

When Song Shu heard him say that a few girls told him, she thought of the girls who looked at her worriedly before leaving the store just now. Thinking that it was them, she couldn't help but feel warm in her heart.

I thought that if I meet them again next time, I must thank them very much.

"Okay, if you're okay, we'll go back first." Liang's wife breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that she was not injured, and spoke.

The others nodded, "Let's go first."

Song Shu escorted Liang Sao and the others out the door and said, "Thank you so much for today. I'll treat you to dinner next time. Don't refuse."

Uncle Fu nodded, "That won't be rejected."

The others smiled, and seeing that Song Shu was sincerely thanking them, they did not refuse.

After seeing them off, Song Shu turned around and looked at Ah Hao and thanked him, "Thank you so much for this time."

Haozi smiled innocently, completely different from the arrogant look just now. "Second sister-in-law, you are too polite. I promised Brother Hao to help look after the store. I still have to make my rounds, so I won't keep you here. Don't worry, I will ask my colleagues to pay more attention to your store, and those people probably won't come."

Then I told Brother Hao that those people didn’t dare to come even if they wanted to.

After hearing this, Song Shu took out a few Hong Kong dollars from the drawer at the cashier and stuffed them into his hand. "We are all friends. Thank you very much this time. I wanted to treat you to dinner, but I have something tonight. Sorry, I will treat you to dinner tonight. Don't refuse. You call me your second sister-in-law. If your brother Hao was here, he would definitely treat you to dinner as well."

Ah Hao originally wanted to return the money to her, but after hearing what she said and seeing her expression, he stopped refusing and said, "Okay, thank you, Second Sister-in-law."

Song Shu watched him leave and breathed a sigh of relief. This whole day was full of ups and downs.

Thinking about the banquet tonight, Song Shu slapped her face and decided to get down to business first.

＊

In the evening, Song Shu went to the kindergarten to pick up Jiahui. After she finished eating and washing up, she discussed with her, "Jiahui, my sister has something to go out tonight and will be back very late. Jiahui, can you stay at Liang's house tonight?"

After hearing this, the little guy clasped his hands together and looked up at her, "Will sister send Jiahui to school tomorrow?"

Song Shu was startled when she heard this, and realized the worry in her words. She was worried about whether she would come back, so she tentatively asked if she would send her to kindergarten tomorrow.

Song Shu touched her head and curled her lips, "Yes, I will send you to kindergarten tomorrow and buy Jiahui your favorite pineapple buns, okay?"

"Okay." Jiahui nodded. In the past, when her mother was busy, she would ask Aunt Liang to take care of her, so she was used to living at Aunt Liang's house.

Song Shu picked up a bag in the room. The bag contained three skirts of different sizes that she had made. The sizes were the ones she had learned from Mrs. Liang about the figures of her three daughters. Thinking that she was always bothering Mrs. Liang and that she didn't know how to do anything, she made a skirt for each of the three sisters.

Holding Jiahui, they walked towards Liangsao's store. There weren't that many people eating noodles in the store at night. Liangsao was sitting at a table. When she saw them coming in, she came over and said, "Ah Shu, it's time to eat. What's going on?"

Song Shu nodded. "I've eaten. Sister Liang, I came here to ask you to look after Jiahui tonight. I have to attend a banquet tonight and may be back very late."

Song Shu explained everything about the banquet to her.

Liang's wife nodded and said, "It's nothing. Jiahui has lived in my house before. Don't worry. But you, is that banquet reliable?"

Mrs. Liang was a little worried. She also read the newspaper today. Those celebrities were far away from her, and she didn't know whether that agent was trustworthy or not.

Song Shu felt warm at heart after hearing this. It was nice to feel someone caring about her. "I've seen the invitation. It's reliable. Don't worry, Sister Liang. I'll pay attention."

"That's fine."

"And Sister Liang, these are the three skirts I made. One for each of Shuyi and her two sisters." Song Shu said as she stuffed the bag in her hand into hers.

Liang's wife held the bag, looked at her helplessly and said, "Ah Shu, you are too polite."

＊

After coming out of Liangsao's shop, Song Shu went back, took a shower and changed into a skirt.

The skirt is red, sleeveless, with a small V-neck and a fitted waist. There is not much fancy detail on it, but it is smoothly cut and fits every inch of her body. When she wears it, it shows off her beautiful figure to the fullest.

Song Shu looked at herself in the small mirror in the bathroom. Maybe because she had been staying in the store for the past few days and eating well every day, her skin had become fairer and more rosy.

She picked up a comb and combed her long hair, then tied it into a low bun.

Her hair was all tied up, revealing her eyebrows and full forehead. Her skin was so moist that even if you looked closely, you couldn't see any pores.

Song Shu also found it magical. The person in the mirror looked more and more like her previous self, and she could not find any other differences. She wondered if it was caused by the complete fusion of her soul.

Not wanting to figure it out anymore, Song Shu picked up a lipstick and started applying it. The rosy red color of the lipstick made her complexion look even better.

She looked around and found nothing wrong, so she walked out of the bathroom, went to the room, and took out a pair of black high heels, which she had bought when she went to buy boots.

The heels were not very high, only five centimeters. After taking a few steps, Song Shu immediately regained the feeling of walking briskly in high heels in her previous life.

After walking a few laps to get used to the time, Song Shu looked up at the alarm clock on the table. It was already past six fifty, so she picked up a small black leather handbag on the bed.

She made it using excess cowhide fabric in the spirit of not wasting fabric, but she never expected it to come in handy now.

Song Shu walked out of the room with her bag. When she reached the door of the front room, a black sedan was already parked there.

Agent Eve was standing next to the car. When she heard the sound, she looked up at her. Song Shu walked over to meet her gaze.

When Song Shu walked over, Eve who was standing next to the car and Tian Tian who was sitting in the car both looked at her.

Tian Tian looked at her and couldn't help but think of what Sister Eve had said before, about wanting to bring her into the entertainment industry.

Tian Tian felt that Sister Eve was really Sister Eve and had a sharp eye.

She had seen her once before at the racecourse, next to Zhang Ershao, but she had only glanced at her at that time, her attention was focused on what she said. It was the first time she had seen someone advertising on a paparazzi, and she found it interesting.

Now watching her walking towards me, the neon lights of the shop behind her shone on her. She walked slowly, and her graceful figure caught everyone's attention.

Song Shu stood beside the car and raised her lips to greet Eve, "Sister Eve."

Eve nodded, "Ms. Song, get in the car." Then she reached out and opened the back door for her.

Song Shu thanked her and sat down. Tian Tian was already sitting in the back row. She nodded when she saw her. "Hello, Miss Song. We didn't have time to introduce ourselves to each other last time we met."

Song Shu sat down, curled her lips, and looked at her, "Ms. Tian."

At this time, Tian Tian was wearing a black evening dress with a deep V-neck and a pearl necklace around her neck. The pearls seemed to be of the same size, round and full, and it was unclear whether the person complemented the pearls or the pearls complemented the person.

The look in her eyes was full of charm that could easily draw people in. Even a woman like Song Shu couldn't help but exclaim at her beauty.

Eve sat in the passenger seat and the car started moving. She turned her head to look at them, her gaze lingering on Song Shu for a few seconds. Even though she was sitting next to the female star, she was no less attractive.

Eve looked away and said, "I won't introduce you to Ms. Du. Many celebrities from Hong Kong will be attending this banquet. It's not easy to get in touch with Ms. Du, and I don't expect you to get in touch with Ms. Du. Once you enter the banquet, it's up to you to perform. Remember, it's better to do nothing than to do more."

Sometimes doing too much can backfire.

Eve paused and looked at Song Shu and said, "Don't be nervous. Just think of it as a chance to broaden your horizons."

Song Shu nodded. No one would care if she went in without any power or influence. She was able to attend the banquet thanks to Eve. She couldn't just expect others to help her.

She wasn't nervous at all, after all, she had participated in many banquets of all sizes in her previous life.

Tian Tian twisted her curly hair with her fingers and said to Song Shu nonchalantly, "You can follow me into the banquet."

No one would be so careless as to cause trouble at such a formal banquet. Tian Tian only spoke out of kindness, thinking that she might not be able to adapt.

Song Shu nodded and accepted her kindness. "Okay, thank you for your help."

Tian Tian smiled and said, "No problem, I feel good just looking at beautiful women."

Song Shu couldn't help but laugh when she heard this. She didn't expect Tian Tian to have such a personality. It was exactly the same as what was reported in the newspaper. Some rumors really weren't credible. She couldn't help but reply, "I also find beautiful women pleasing to the eyes."

After saying this, the two of them looked at each other, and both felt that they had a very good affinity with each other.

Eve, who was sitting in the passenger seat, raised her eyebrows. This was rare. In her impression, Tian Tian rarely made friends with others.

＊

The car drove all the way, then headed towards Taiping Mountain, uphill, and around the mountain road.

Song Shu sat in the car and looked outside. She had been to Taiping Mountain once in her previous life, but that time was to design clothes for a vvvip client.

The Peak at that time was almost the same as it is in later times, and it was the place where the richest people in Hong Kong lived.

Standing on the top of the mountain, you can overlook the night view of the entire Hong Kong River. Turning around, you can see the prosperity of the city, as if you were stepping on it under your feet.

No wonder the rich like to build houses on the mountains. Standing on the mountain and looking down, one really feels very proud.

The car drove on the mountain road for more than ten minutes and drove into a two-story villa. A bodyguard in a black suit stood at the door of the villa.

At this time, there were already luxury cars parked in the parking spaces. Gorgeously dressed ladies and men got out of the cars and walked inside alone or in pairs, led by their attendants.

The villa was brightly lit and filled with elegantly dressed people.

Song Shu was in a daze for a moment, feeling as nervous as if she was attending a modern banquet.

Tian Tian got out of the car, saw her standing there and said, "Come in."

"Yeah." Song Shu nodded and walked in.