Let her bump into
The Lei brothers didn't have much cash on hand, not enough to rent a nice house, so they could only afford to rent a house in a remote location in the south of the city.
Fu Zhiqiao had sent someone to inform the brokers in the south of the city in advance, asking them to keep an eye on the Lei brothers' movements.
There were at least a hundred brokers in the city, and to Fu Zhiqiao's surprise, they didn't ask for an exorbitant price and agreed without hesitation.
Fu Zhi Qiao assumed that things went exceptionally smoothly because she had paid a lot of money.
She didn't know that the reason the human traffickers were so obedient was because of Xie Zhuo. It was only because Wang Qianxin had Xie Zhuo's waist token that all the human traffickers in the city were able to speak with one voice.
Lei Jiancheng spent the whole morning trying to find a suitable house, so he went back to the shop to work in the afternoon. He had already missed enough work in the past two days, and if the project was delayed and the customers didn't pay, he would lose both his job and his money.
On the third day, Wang Guanrong arrived with his men to collect the house as promised.
"Why haven't you moved out yet?" Wang Guanrong asked in surprise. Hadn't he made himself clear enough last time?
Yao Chengfang clasped her hands together and pleaded with him repeatedly, "Master Wang, please grant me two more days!"
"No! It's three days, and that means three days." With that, Wang Guanrong was about to lead his men inside.
"Help! Help! Someone is breaking into a private home!" Yao Chengfang blocked the door tightly, preventing anyone from entering, and her shrill screams attracted a lot of onlookers.
Wang Guanrong's face was grim: "I've already compensated you for the rent. Are you going to take over my house?"
When Wang Guanrong arrived with a group of people, the residents in the alley were all watching quietly.
Even the maids in the Fu family were gossiping about the trouble at the alley entrance. When Yinxing heard this, she quickly asked, "Really?" Her tone was filled with barely suppressed excitement.
"Sister Ginkgo, it's true, it seems the Yao family didn't pay their rent this month, so the landlord won't rent to them anymore."
Yinxing was overjoyed upon hearing this. If it were true, that would be wonderful. That old woman Yao Chengfang had repeatedly slandered the lady and young lady, and now she was getting her comeuppance!
"Hahaha! This is called karma, she deserves it!" Yinxing clapped her hands and cheered. She couldn't wait for Yao Chengfang to suffer a great misfortune, and hurriedly told Fu Zhiqiao the news that she had run back.
Fu Zhiqiao was practicing calligraphy in the study. She nodded to indicate that she understood, and couldn't help but find it a little funny to see Yinxing's indignant expression.
The young lady reacted indifferently and even mocked her. Ginkgo protested, "Miss!"
"Alright!" Fu Zhi Qiao's smile faded; everything that happened at the Yao family was within her expectations.
Putting down her pen, she instructed Ginkgo to call a few servants, "Let's go inspect the house."
How could she not get involved in the Yao family's lively celebration!
"A house? What house? Girl, you bought another house?" Ginkgo followed her out, completely bewildered.
When they reached the alley entrance, a crowd had already gathered in front of Yao Chengfang's house. Yinxing walked in front, clearing a path for Fu Zhiqiao.
When Wang Guanrong saw Fu Zhiqiao, he cupped his hands in greeting and said, "Miss Fu."
Fu Zhi Qiao asked casually, "What's going on, Master Wang? Hasn't the house been cleared out yet?"
"Almost there, almost there!" Wang Guanrong said, pointing to a few people. "What are you all standing around for? Go inside and move your things!"
"No! We can't move it!" Yao Chengfang cried out, "Stop! Stop it now!"
Seeing that her attempts to stop them were futile, Yao Chengfang pretended to bang her head against the wall, crying out, "Heavens above! Are you trying to kill this old woman?!"
Wang Guanrong's men went inside to move things, while the others stood at the door, too afraid to come in. Only Yao Chengfang's eldest daughter-in-law hugged her and cried out, "Mother! How could you be so foolish? You couldn't have done something like this!"
At this point, the onlookers came to their senses and rushed over to help pull Yao Chengfang back.
"Master Wang, don't go too far in everything. Be lenient when you can."
"Yes, we have to give people a way to survive!"
"Saving a life is more meritorious than building a seven-story pagoda."
The neighbors felt that Yao Chengfang was the vulnerable party, and they couldn't help but speak up for her.
Wang Guanrong was inexplicably accused by a group of people. His face flushed red, and he angrily asked, "What do you know?"
Let her crash into it!
Just then, a clear voice rang out from the crowd.
Everyone turned around at the sound.
"So many eyes are watching. She's occupying someone else's house and threatening the homeowner with suicide. I'd like to see if she dares to ram it!"
Fu Zhi Qiao was wearing a light purple embroidered jacket and skirt today. She looked very gentle, but at this moment, she exuded a sense of aloofness and authority.
Yao Chengfang froze, tears welling in her eyes, looking somewhat comical as they seemed about to fall.
Meeting Fu Zhi Qiao's cold gaze, Yao Cheng Fang's heart trembled. She was initially at a loss, but she immediately reacted and pointed at Fu Zhi Qiao, "It was you, you did it! You wanted to drive us away!"
"What are you saying, Aunt Yao? You're the one who's occupying someone else's house, don't try to frame an innocent person." Fu Zhi Qiao took out the property deed. "Master Wang has already sold this house to me, please move out of my house immediately!"
By this time, Wang Guanrong had already led his men to clear out all of Yao's furniture.
"Stop! Stop! This is my stuff, you can't touch it!"
Yao Chengfang pounced on him like a madwoman, trying to snatch his belongings, but how could an elderly woman like her possibly outmaneuver a young man?
Wang Guanrong said irritably, "Madam Lei, since you're not going to move it yourselves, then I'll have to do it for you."
Yao Chengfang's family has been renting this courtyard for almost two years. They have a lot of odds and ends, and since they can't take all their important belongings with them in a short time, they have to leave them by the roadside for now.
Lei Jiancheng went out to look for a house early in the morning, and when he returned, he saw a messy scene. He suppressed his anger and said, "Master Wang, didn't we agree on three days? Today is only the third day!"
The implication was: the third day hadn't arrived yet, so they couldn't be driven out.
Wang Guanrong's face was grim: "It's not that I, Wang, am being aggressive, but I waived your rent for this month, gave you five taels of silver as compensation, and gave you three days to move out. Yet you still refuse to leave, delaying my business. Master Lei, if you don't move out, I will report you to the authorities!"
Wang Guanrong became increasingly angry as he spoke. He had initially thought the Lei family were honest people when he rented the house to them, but he never expected them to be so difficult to deal with. They had taken his money but refused to move out.
The neighbors who were watching initially sided with Yao Chengfang, but after hearing what Wang Guanrong said, they felt that it made sense. The landlord had not only waived the rent but also compensated them with ten taels of silver, which was more than enough.
*
Unable to rent a house and having no other relatives in the city, Yao Chengfang and her son had no choice but to stay in a guesthouse. Five people needed at least three rooms, and staying in a guesthouse would cost half a string of cash a day.
After staying at a guesthouse for one night, the family felt it wasn't worth it, so they moved back to the carpenter's shop. However, the shop was in such a state that it was filled with wood chips and dust, making it impossible for anyone to live there!
A family of five squeezed together for two nights, which not only made their stay uncomfortable but also affected the shop's business.
The second son, Lei Jianxin, asked, "Brother, we were living in that house just fine, why did Master Wang suddenly change his mind and refuse to rent it to us?"
Lei Jiancheng sighed and remained silent.
The second daughter-in-law finally couldn't help but complain, "Isn't this all Mother's doing? She went around gossiping about other people for no reason, and now look what's happened, the whole family is being punished."
Yao Chengfang remained silent.
Both of her daughters-in-law had some complaints about her.
Eldest daughter-in-law: "If it weren't for Mother making up stories about other people, we wouldn't be in this situation."
Second daughter-in-law: "That's right, Mother, go and apologize to Madam Fu. Maybe they'll calm down and stop targeting our family."
Lei Jiancheng and Lei Jianxin exchanged a glance, neither refuting their wives' words.
Yao Chengfang stood there somewhat awkwardly, unsure of what to say, and looked at her two sons: "Do you think so too?"
As a result, both of her sons avoided her gaze.
Yao Chengfang felt a pang of sorrow. These were her two "good sons," who had forgotten their mother after getting married. She said defiantly, "Fine! It's all my fault! I'll apologize and admit my mistake tomorrow."
Neither of her two sons came to comfort her, which made Yao Chengfang even angrier.
The next morning, at the entrance of the Fu family's house.
Yao Chengfang carefully knocked on the door.
"What are you doing here?" The doorman recognized her and spoke in a very unfriendly tone.
Yao Chengfang said awkwardly, "I...I want to see Madam Fu."
"Who do you think you are? Do you think you can just see our lady whenever you want?" the doorman sneered.
"Please inform him, young man, that I really am..." Yao Chengfang said as he squeezed through the door.
"Get out! Get out!" The gatekeeper didn't want to listen to her and tried to close the gate.
"Oh, isn't this Aunt Yao?" Ginkgo came out when she heard the noise. "What, don't you find our house unlucky anymore?"
"Hehe, you're joking, young lady." Yao Chengfang smiled awkwardly.
"Go away! Don't stand at our door, it's bad luck!" Ginkgo pinched her nose, as if she had smelled something very foul.
Yao Chengfang didn't want to come and embarrass herself, but things had already developed beyond her control. The house she rented now belonged to Fu Zhiqiao, and her family had nowhere to go. She had no choice but to come and apologize, even though she felt ashamed.
Yinxing ridiculed Yao Chengfang, and Fu Zhiqiao finally arrived late.
Yao Chengfang calmed herself down and said ingratiatingly, "Miss Fu, I only heard those things from others. Please don't misunderstand. Don't let others sow discord between our two families."
"Aren't all those rumors outside just things that the old lady was saying?"
"Of course not, you can check, it's definitely not me!"
Fu Zhiqiao nodded: "Aunt Yao is right, we should investigate this thoroughly. Do you think I haven't investigated? 'Wife-killing' and 'jinx'—which of those phrases didn't come from your mouth?"
Seeing that she couldn't fool him, Yao Chengfang steeled herself and immediately knelt on the ground, wailing, "I was wrong! Madam Fu, Miss Fu, I was wrong! It's all my fault for being so talkative, please let me go!"
One was standing high up, while the other was kneeling on the ground with his head down. To an uninformed person, this scene would really make them think that Fu Zhi Qiao was bullying someone.
Fu Zhiqiao: "Aunt Yao, you'd better get up quickly! You are an elder, how can an elder kneel before a junior? Do you want to shorten my lifespan?"
Yinxing stepped forward and scooped her up.
Having her attempt to gain the sympathy of the neighbors exposed, Yao Chengfang said awkwardly, "No, I didn't mean that..."
"You want me to let you go? It's simple. Starting today, don't let me see you in Qingzhou City again."
"No way!" Send her back to the countryside? No way! Yao Chengfang refused without even thinking.
When she first came to the city, she boasted in the village that she was coming to the city to enjoy a better life with her son, and that everyone in the surrounding area envied her. If the villagers found out that she had been sent back to the countryside, where would she put her face?
"You're not leaving? Fine, then I'll make sure your whole family can't stay in Qingzhou City. I heard your son's shop is doing quite well?"
They want to get rid of her son? That won't do! Yao Chengfang struggled and grabbed Fu Zhiqiao's skirt: "Miss Fu, please let my son go!"
"Want to know why you can't find a suitable place to rent? I told you I'd make sure you can't stay in Qingzhou City anymore..."
Fu Zhiqiao leaned down to look Yao Chengfang in the eye, staring intently into her eyes: "You know I have that ability!"
"No, please don't! Please!"
Yao Chengfang felt her heart trembling and her whole body shaking uncontrollably. At this moment, she finally realized that she had messed with someone she shouldn't have.
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