Chapter 406: If That’s What You Think, Then There’s Nothing I Can Do

Ma Hong cleared his throat, drawing everyone’s attention back to him.

"President Pan, I trust you won’t disappoint us?"

President Pan was conflicted.

The truth was, Ma Hong had played a part in him securing the position of the Commerce Association’s president.

It wasn’t a major contribution, but he had accepted the favor all the same.

"Sir, what are your thoughts on the suggestion I made last time?"

His shipment couldn’t be delayed any longer. President Pan had asked Ma Hong about the military armored vehicles, but Ma Hong had just brushed him off with an "I’ll think about it."

And now he was being asked to punish Shen Lu? That was out of the question.

"What do you mean by that?" Ma Hong’s tone darkened. "Are you trying to bargain with me?"

Ma Tao immediately started cursing in support of his brother. "We’re doing you a favor by giving you something to do, and you dare to bargain with us? You son of a bitch!"

President Pan was more than ten years older than Ma Hong and Ma Tao. Being cursed out to his face by two juniors was a genuine loss of face.

But he couldn’t afford to lash out.

Suddenly, he found himself envying Shen Lu.

’How does she manage to just refuse to give face whenever she wants? Isn’t she afraid of their retaliation?’

"To be honest, the owner of Little Deer Cuisine and I had a bit of a disagreement a few days ago, so I even hired a Mercenary Corps to teach her a lesson." President Pan sighed. "But I just wasted my money. I couldn’t even touch a single hair on her head."

"Couldn’t you have just hired some more competent mercenaries?" Ma Tao said dismissively, assuming it was because the two bodyguards Shen Lu had hired were too strong.

President Pan didn’t waste any more words and showed the two of them the video.

Ma Tao’s voice shot up. "Are you serious? That unfinished building of hers is that tough?"

"I’m just a small-time merchant in the Lower City District. This is the best I can do. It’s not that I’m shirking your orders, sir, but my abilities are genuinely limited." President Pan looked utterly sincere. "You, sir, have powerful connections. It would be best to use your contacts in the military. Regular army troops are always better than that small fry from the mercenary corps."

Ma Hong pondered this for a long moment before saying, "Get her to meet with me."

The corner of President Pan’s mouth twitched. He knew perfectly well that he couldn’t get Shen Lu to come out for a meeting.

But Ma Hong surely wouldn’t believe him. President Pan simply opened his Light Brain’s permissions so they could see his chat screen.

President Pan: Boss Shen, are you free tonight? To show my gratitude for your help, I’ve prepared a simple dinner at my home. I hope you’ll do me the honor of attending.

Shen Lu: That’s very kind of you, President Pan, but it’s not wise to travel at night during the sandstorm season. Let’s talk about it after spring arrives.

President Pan: The main purpose is to thank you for your tremendous help, Boss Shen. How about this, I’ll send a car to pick you up.

Shen Lu: No need. I don’t like going out at night.

President Pan: Boss Shen, you wouldn’t be refusing because you find my humble home too crude, would you?

Shen Lu: If that’s what you want to think, there’s nothing I can do about it.

Shen Lu: A bit busy. Talk later.

President Pan spread his hands and looked at Ma Hong helplessly. "She’s always been this impervious to persuasion."

"How infuriating! She’s completely lawless! It’s like we don’t even exist in her eyes!"

Ma Hong narrowed his eyes. "I refuse to believe she’ll stay holed up in that dump of a restaurant forever. Send people to the market and cut off her supplies."

President Pan had no choice but to agree. He didn’t even need to send anyone; a simple phone call would get it done.

"President Pan, this person is a destabilizing element. If she stays in the Lower City District, she’ll cause trouble sooner or later. As the president of the Lower City District Chamber of Commerce, it’s your duty to pull out a thorn like this."

Ma Hong said meaningfully, "Don’t disappoint me."

A chill went down President Pan’s spine. He nodded in acknowledgment.

’Ma Hong actually wants her dead.’

Many people thought that of Ma Shiyou’s two sons, the elder was calm and competent, while the younger was a rebellious bastard.

President Pan, however, felt that Ma Hong was petty and a master of graft and extortion. Ma Tao was a bit of a scoundrel, but he was all bark and no bite. When it came to viciousness, he couldn’t hold a candle to his older brother.

In any case, neither of them was someone to be trifled with.

After the Ma brothers left, President Pan sat alone, thinking for a while.

He couldn’t disobey Ma Hong’s orders, but at this critical juncture, he couldn’t make a move against Shen Lu either.

’I’ll create a smokescreen first, just to fool him. Once I’m done using Shen Lu, I can go in for the kill.’

’Shen Lu, oh Shen Lu, don’t blame me for being ruthless. You’re the one who provoked Ma Hong and Ma Tao.’

...

After realizing that going to the police wouldn’t get them what they wanted, the Deng Family quieted down and never came to the restaurant again.

Deng Ying felt a sense of unreality. She had thought her family, persistent as leeches, would torment her until she died, but she never expected them to give up so easily.

"What else could they do?" Shen Lu patted her shoulder. "They can’t get into the restaurant. If they dare cause a scene outside, I’ll just have Huo Qian and Wu Jun go out and take care of them."

If they had a Light Brain, they could have filmed some videos twisting the truth and launched a public opinion attack online.

Unfortunately, the Deng Family was so poor that the four of them couldn’t even scrape together enough money to buy a second-hand Light Brain.

Deng Ying’s problem was solved for the time being, but Shen Lu’s own troubles were not.

Sang Yue’s bakery had opened. It was called Heart Moon.

Shen Lu was too busy to go on opening day, so she had Cai Su take Xiao Lang in her stead, sending two electronic flower baskets.

The bakery was a commercial-residential property. Shen Lu had assumed that once the bakery opened, Sang Yue would move out, but to her surprise, Sang Yue didn’t want to leave.

"Boss Shen, please just let me keep living at your restaurant." Sang Yue pressed her palms together, looking pitiful. "I’ve been living here for so long, I’ve grown attached to it. If I move to the bakery, I’ll be living all by myself. I’m scared."

Previously, Sang Yue had indeed considered moving out. She felt Shen Lu lacked warmth, and the other employees’ ways of thinking were a bit odd.

But after getting to know them, Sang Yue realized that the problem wasn’t with them. It was that her own values were different from the values of this world, which was why she found them strange.

After all this time, Sang Yue gradually discovered that Shen Lu and her staff were actually some of the most enthusiastic and normal people in this world.

They might be a bit aloof, but each of them was quite genuine. While they wouldn’t go out of their way to enthusiastically help others, they would still lend a hand if it was necessary.

Suddenly, Sang Yue didn’t want to move anymore.

Besides, Shen Lu’s building was sturdy and very safe. If she lived alone, she’d be afraid of burglars breaking in.

"This is a restaurant, not a hotel." Shen Lu was naturally unwilling. "The staff dormitories are only for employees and their families. You’re a business owner yourself now; it’s not appropriate for you to live here."

"I’ll pay rent!" Sang Yue clung to her arm. "And I can give you fifty small pastries for free every day, how about that?"

"No." Shen Lu wasn’t exactly hurting for her pastries.

Her baking skills might have been a little worse than Sang Yue’s before, but now she possessed god-tier culinary abilities. Whether it was Chinese food, Western food, or baking, her skills were top-notch.

If she wanted to, she could make pastries even more delicious than Sang Yue’s.

Sang Yue persisted, "Then what will it take for you to agree?"

"Miss Sang, your request is really absurd. You’re not a child who needs a guardian. Since you never intended to work at my restaurant long-term from the beginning, your departure was always just a matter of time."