Chapter 499 - 398: Trashing the Shop

Chapter 499: Chapter 398: Trashing the Shop

"This is a great idea. It’ll keep people from sneaking into my second kitchen, and I can open and close it whenever I want."

"So we’ll go with that, then? As for the roll-up door, how about we seal it up and put in an ancient-style wooden window?"

"Is it sturdy?" Jiang Liu asked.

He was worried someone might get in through the window and cause trouble.

"Don’t worry. The ’wood’ is just steel rebar in disguise. We can’t use real wood; it would break too easily."

"Alright."

Jiang Liu went back to his shop and came out with a bottle of juice for each of the workers.

"Here, here, take these and have a drink. It might get hot today. If you’re thirsty, just come into my shop. I’ve got cool water."

The seven workers were ecstatic to see the juice.

’This is Boss Jiang’s juice!’

But they didn’t dare step forward. Instead, they looked to their foreman, who in turn looked at Wang Han.

Wang Han nodded. "They’re from Jiang Liu. Go ahead and take them."

"Thank you, President Wang! Thank you, Boss Jiang!"

"I’ve been dreaming about Boss Jiang’s juice for days, but I could never manage to buy any."

"Thank you, Boss Jiang!"

The workers took the juice and sat happily on a long wooden bench, savoring their drinks.

They even licked the fruit pulp from inside the bottles until they were clean.

The foreman was in a good mood and said, "Boss Jiang has treated us to his juice quite a few times. Let’s all put in some extra effort and work hard. Don’t disgrace President Wang, you hear me!"

"Got it!"

"We know!"

"Boss Jiang is a great guy, really easy to get along with. I’ve already had five or six bottles from him. I heard this juice sells for several thousand in the big cities."

"Drinking one of these is like throwing away a whole month’s salary, haha."

Everyone felt a warmth in their hearts. They didn’t have time to savor the juice and quickly got back to work after finishing it.

Jiang Liu brought Wang Han back into the shop.

He got her five bottles of juice, two bottles of beer, a pound of ham, and two servings of tuna.

"Sorry to have troubled you, Sister Wang. By the way, Sister Wang, isn’t it time to settle the project payment?"

"Didn’t you already pay?" Wang Han looked astonished.

"I paid?"

Jiang Liu pointed at himself, completely baffled. When had he paid?

’He suspected this woman was trying to pull a fast one on him again, but he had no proof.’

"Mhm!"

Wang Han nodded and winked at Jiang Liu. "That candlelight dinner just now... consider it payment for keeping your big sister company. Let’s just forget about the money."

With a wave of her hand, she wrote off a sum of several hundred thousand.

???...

"How about I just pay you? How could that one meal be worth so much money?"

Jiang Liu was adamant. He couldn’t let himself be labeled a gigolo, so he insisted on paying.

"Alright, alright, have it your way. You’re too much for me, okay? How about this? I’ll just leave the money here in your shop. Consider it me loading up a meal card for myself, okay?"

Wang Han patted his head, then turned and waved. "I’m off. You get back to work, Jiang Liu."

"Okay."

Jiang Liu touched his own hair. ’What is all this?’ he thought.

In the past, several hundred thousand had been a huge sum for him.

Now, he could earn that much just by cooking a single meal.

’Fate really plays tricks on people.’

’I should stay away from this woman in the future. She’s too cunning. My own wife is much more obedient.’

*

’I’m exhausted. No, I have to eat a few more buns later to recharge!’

’As for healthy eating? To hell with it!’

Jun Xinghe found himself a good excuse. He left the conference room, thermos in hand, and sat down in his office.

He had barely taken a moment’s rest.

Ren Qingqing sent Jun Xinghe a message: "President Jun, something big has happened at your and Boss Jiang’s company!!"

Jun Xinghe was startled and quickly asked, "What is it? Tell me, quickly."

Ren Qingqing: "It’s very serious!"

Jun Xinghe: "?? If you waste any more time, I’m confiscating your salary for this month."

Ren Qingqing: "It’s like this, President Jun. Around two in the morning yesterday, the surveillance cameras at our second store captured something."

Ren Qingqing: "A short woman in a black coat was lingering right outside our shop. She seemed to have an iron rod hidden in her sleeve. She loitered for about ten minutes, and then for some reason, she suddenly left."

Ren Qingqing: "She thought she’d hidden herself well, but I pulled the surveillance footage from nearby shops. Luckily, one of the cameras got a clear shot of her face."

Jun Xinghe breathed a sigh of relief but at the same time asked, puzzled, "So, what’s the big deal?"

He was quite confused.

’Never mind that she didn’t trash my son-in-law’s shop—even if she had, it wouldn’t be worth reporting to me. I could earn back the few thousand in losses in the time it takes to drink a few sips of tea.’

’Besides, she didn’t actually do anything. Even if they caught her, it would be useless.’

However, Jun Xinghe still had faith in Ren Qingqing’s intelligence.

If it were just a simple matter, she would never have reported it to him so formally.

A moment later.

Ren Qingqing replied: "There is. It’s the woman’s identity. I did some digging. Manager Hu has seen this woman before. Her name is Li Xiaoyan. She’s Yang Yixue’s biological mother, and Yang Yixue is President Jiang’s ex-wife!"

Ren Qingqing grew more and more excited as she spoke. This was a major accomplishment, a chance to shine.

Ren Qingqing: "And another interesting thing: President Jiang’s ex-wife opened a restaurant across the street, which also mainly sells buns."

Ren Qingqing: "Also, I found something out. Yang Yixue forced President Jiang to give her the bun recipe by using Tongtong’s visitation rights as leverage!"

Hmm?

When Jun Xinghe read this, a firestorm of rage erupted in his heart.

His previously calm expression now turned serious.

Jun Xinghe: "Is this information reliable? Are you sure the recipe was extorted from him?"

Ren Qingqing: "Yes, absolutely. I also asked Lawyer Wang. He was present at the time."

Ren Qingqing: "President Jun, what do you think we should do about this?"

Jun Xinghe put down his phone.

His fingers tapped on the desk.

He knew Jiang Liu had an ex-wife who had given up custody in exchange for their house. As for the details, Jun Xinghe had never bothered to ask.

He had thought it was a simple matter, but he didn’t expect it to have so many twists and turns.

Jun Xinghe thought for a moment, then picked up his phone and asked, "How much do you know about this mother-daughter pair, Li Xiaoyan and Yang Yixue, and their history with Xiao Jiang?"

Ren Qingqing felt a little flustered. "I-I’m not entirely clear on it. This is all just what I’ve heard from others. They say that Yang Yixue was very selfish and wasn’t the least bit kind to Boss Jiang and Tongtong. She completely failed to fulfill her duties as a wife and mother."

Ren Qingqing: "That Li Xiaoyan likes to badmouth people behind their backs. Their whole family looked down on President Jiang, and later Yang Yixue asked for a divorce." ...

She didn’t dare hide anything, relaying every last detail she had heard from the neighbors to Jun Xinghe.

Jun Xinghe didn’t speak. His fingers tapped on the desk, his expression terrifyingly cold.

’My son-in-law, whom I treasure so much, was actually bullied like this in the past?’

’Not only was my granddaughter beaten and scolded, but the house that took his family three generations to buy was stolen by Yang Yixue using custody as a threat? And then she used visitation rights to extort his recipe?’

The more Jun Xinghe heard, the angrier he became.

’That mother-daughter pair really are a couple of vampires, sinking their fangs into my son-in-law’s weak spot.’

’They wanted to suck him dry.’

’This was his son-in-law! His daughter’s husband! The one he treasured and bragged about all day long.’

’And why was that? Because he was thoroughly satisfied with him, because he genuinely liked him!’