As soon as Section Chief Hu walked in, his face immediately wore a warm, spring-breeze kind of smile.
When Yuan Yingyu saw this, she was so moved she almost cried.
Damn, when it really mattered, it was still Section Chief Hu who came through! Not only was he smiling so warmly, he even took the initiative to reach out and shake her hand. Unlike those people doing the inspection, who were all cold and expressionless.
“Section Chief Hu, you’re finally here. Please, take a look—” Yuan Yingyu said with a tearful tone, also reaching out her hand toward Section Chief Hu.
“Oh my, Division Chief Wang, what a coincidence to run into you here.” Before Yuan Yingyu could even finish speaking, Section Chief Hu walked right past her and clasped both hands around the tax team leader’s hand, bending forward at the waist, a humble smile plastered across his face.
“This—” Yuan Yingyu was stunned on the spot.
“Oh, Xiao Hu. What are you doing here? Don’t tell me you came to put in a good word for them?” Division Chief Wang withdrew his hand without a trace of awkwardness and spoke flatly.
“No, no, not at all.” When Section Chief Hu heard this, he waved his hands repeatedly. “I came to buy something. Yes, to buy something.”
Pfft!
Yuan Yingyu, standing nearby, nearly twisted her nose in anger.
Damn it, you came to buy something? When have you ever bought anything yourself? Isn’t it all stuff I gave you!
“Buying something? Then I’d suggest you go to a different store. This supermarket won’t be able to stay open.” Division Chief Wang said flatly.
“What!” Yuan Yingyu, standing beside them, felt as if a thunderbolt had struck her from out of the blue.
Section Chief Hu was also stunned. This Yuan Yingyu gave him quite a lot of gifts every year. Damn it, if this supermarket went under, it would definitely affect his income, right?
“Division Chief Wang, what exactly is the reason for this?” Section Chief Hu asked with a look of surprise.
When Yuan Yingyu heard Section Chief Hu ask, she quickly perked up her ears as well.
Right now, she wanted to know more than anyone—what the hell was the reason for all this?
Division Chief Wang didn’t speak. Instead, he looked Section Chief Hu up and down, staring until Section Chief Hu felt a chill run down his spine.
“Xiao Hu, some things are better not known than known.”
When Section Chief Hu heard this, his heart gave a violent jolt.
“Yes, yes, yes. Thank you for the reminder, Division Chief Wang.” They were all people who moved in official circles. With just one casual sentence from Division Chief Wang, Section Chief Hu already understood.
“Division Chief Wang, I won’t disturb you any further. Since I can’t buy anything here, I’ll go to another store to shop.” Section Chief Hu smiled and nodded toward Division Chief Wang, then turned and left.
“Hey, hey, hey, Section Chief Hu, this—” Yuan Yingyu saw this and quickly chased after him.
“Boss Yuan, I can’t help you with this one. You’d better look out for yourself.” Section Chief Hu shook his head and walked out of the supermarket without even looking back.
Watching Section Chief Hu’s retreating figure, Yuan Yingyu stood there in a daze, then finally stamped her foot in anger.
Damn it, what the hell was going on here?
The three groups of people kept at it for four or five hours before finally leaving one after another.
Except, when they left, there were several seals plastered on the supermarket’s front door.
Standing at the entrance, looking at her sealed supermarket, Yuan Yingyu was utterly dazed and devastated.
“What exactly is going on? Can someone tell me, what the hell is going on!!!”
“Boss, your phone is ringing.” At that moment, one of the employees reminded her, a little frightened.
Yuan Yingyu blankly pulled out her phone.
“Hello?” Her voice was weak and listless.
“Boss, something terrible has happened. Our Lujiang Restaurant has been sealed shut.”
“What did you say!” Yuan Yingyu shrieked!
“Damn it, drive! To Lujiang Restaurant!” Yuan Yingyu yelled at the driver.
More than ten minutes later, the car stopped in front of Lujiang Restaurant.
Yuan Yingyu looked at Lujiang Restaurant, already covered in seals, and nearly collapsed to the ground.
“Why? Why is this happening!”
Yuan Yingyu grabbed the driver by the collar. “Tell me, what the hell is the reason for this!”
“Boss, your—your phone is ringing again.” The driver said weakly.
When Yuan Yingyu heard this, an ominous premonition suddenly rose in her heart.
“Hello?” Yuan Yingyu tremblingly answered the call.
“Boss, our Same Song has been sealed shut.”
Thud!
Yuan Yingyu sat straight down on the ground.
“It’s over. All over!” Yuan Yingyu sat on the ground, eyes vacant, as if she had gone stupid.
Three businesses, all sealed on the same day. Yuan Yingyu was completely crushed.
“What is the reason? What on earth is the reason!” Yuan Yingyu couldn’t help but burst into tears.
“No, I have to get to the bottom of this. Even if I die, I need to die knowing why!”
Yuan Yingyu shakily climbed up from the ground and called Section Chief Hu again.
“Section Chief Hu, it’s me, Yuan Yingyu. I—”
“I can’t help you with your problem!”
“No, I just want to ask—hello? Hello, hello?” Section Chief Hu had already hung up.
“Fuck your mother!” Yuan Yingyu was so angry she nearly smashed her phone.
“Boss, how about calling Captain Liu?” At that moment, the driver suggested from beside her.
“Captain Liu? Yes, yes, yes, how could I have forgotten?” Yuan Yingyu’s eyes instantly lit up. She hurriedly, with trembling fingers, found Captain Liu’s number and dialed it.
“Hello?” It took quite a while before the call connected, and a somewhat displeased male voice came through.
“Captain Liu, this is Yuan Yingyu.” As soon as the call connected, Yuan Yingyu immediately bent forward, forcing a smile.
“Oh, what is it?” The man’s voice was laced with impatience.
“Captain Liu, all three of my businesses have been sealed. Please, Captain Liu, save me.” As Yuan Yingyu spoke, tears streamed down her face.
“All sealed? When did this happen?” Captain Liu was clearly surprised as well.
“Captain Liu—” A coy, feminine voice came through the phone.
“Get lost!” Captain Liu snapped.
“Huh?” Yuan Yingyu was taken aback.
“I wasn’t talking to you. What exactly happened?” Captain Liu had a cooperative relationship with Yuan Yingyu and pocketed quite a bit from her every year. If Yuan Yingyu went down, his income would definitely take a big hit too.
So when Captain Liu heard that Yuan Yingyu’s businesses had been sealed, he too felt a wave of irritation.
“I don’t know why either. Here’s what happened—” Yuan Yingyu recounted the whole sequence of events from beginning to end.
Captain Liu listened quietly on the other end. After hearing everything, he said nothing for a long time.
Seeing that Captain Liu was silent, Yuan Yingyu didn’t dare ask. Her heart was in her throat as she anxiously waited for a response.
After a long while, Captain Liu let out a long breath.
“Old Yuan, this matter of yours is obviously targeted at you.” Captain Liu said slowly.
“Targeted at me? Why? Just who is targeting me?” Yuan Yingyu couldn’t figure it out.
She had already been extremely careful in doing business. Anyone in her family who had a bit of money or a bit of background, she normally treated like a grandfather. Even if someone had a distant relative working as an ordinary clerk in the government, she wouldn’t dare offend them.
The people she cheated and offended were all old farmers and migrant workers from the bottom rungs of society—people who couldn’t pose any threat to her.
“Who’s targeting you, I don’t know either. But one thing I’m certain of: for the industry and commerce, tax, and fire departments to all join forces like this, it means you’ve offended someone extremely powerful!”
