The Female Cannon Fodder With Boundless Merits
Chapter 452 - 456: The Shang Family’s Daughter (17)

Chapter 452: Chapter 456: The Shang Family’s Daughter (17)

Under the somber gaze of everyone from the Yuan Family, Su Li happily ordered the maid to pack up her possessions.

Everything that didn’t belong to the Yuan Family was packed up cleanly, without leaving a single trace behind.

Even the extra tiles had been removed or knocked off the stove, leaving everything neat and tidy.

The clanging and banging awoke Old Lady Yuan, who had been taking care of Old Man Yuan all night without sleep and had just nodded off in bed.

She opened her door only to find her own house being dismantled.

Her three sons, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren all stood there dumbfounded, watching what was happening in front of them.

She ran over, screaming sharply, "What are you doing? Eldest son, what are you staring at? Hurry up and report this to the authorities!"

"Don’t worry, Old Lady Yuan", Su Li responded, "I’m just taking what belongs to me. I won’t damage your house in the slightest."

Old Lady Yuan then realized that the one speaking these chilling words was the daughter-in-law she despised to death.

"You, what did you just call me?"

Su Li: "Old Lady Yuan."

The old women nearby also happily explained, "Our Madam has just divorced your son and, naturally, needs to take her possessions with her."

Su Li nodded in agreement, "Exactly. The roof tiles were placed there because I paid someone to fix them, and the kitchen stove, which I no longer need, so I had it smashed. And... When I married into this house, I will certainly restore it to exactly how it was, down to the last detail."

What was it like originally?

It was just a few dilapidated rooms with leaky roofs, completely bare.

This was the only house in the village with green tiles, and it was being taken apart.

Old Lady Yuan felt as though her heart was bleeding, throbbing in pain, and she clutched at her chest, unable to bear it, and faltered.

Su Li quickly stepped back as if avoiding the plague, fearing being falsely accused.

Seeing that the house was almost dismantled, she quickly left with her entourage.

When Old Lady Yuan finally recovered, she found that the instigator had long vanished.

Old Lady Yuan, wailing to the heavens, slapped Yuan Wen, crying out, "Are you out of your mind?"

Now that the eldest daughter-in-law had left, they truly had no way to deal with her.

Old Lady Yuan thought hard for some time, finally coming to an understanding.

Their Yuan Family’s roots were here, with the village chief and clan members; why fear just two Martial Artists?

As long as they could detain the other party and use some means, they were confident they could extract the Silver Coin.

Later, they could spend some money to silence the villagers’ mouths - that would settle everything.

No sooner had she figured it out than the plan was aborted before it could be implemented, leaving Old Lady Yuan seething with resentment.

Leaving behind a bare house, Su Li dusted off her hands and cheerfully led everyone away.

She took her two young charges, named Su Zheng and Su Nuan, and returned to the Su Family.

Mrs. Su, although slightly displeased that Su Li had truly divorced, immediately cast aside her feelings upon seeing the two soft little children, devoting herself wholeheartedly to their care.

Old Master Su looked at the two little tykes with envy as well.

Unlike visiting their Yuan paternal grandparents, Yuan Jiaming and Yuan Xiaoxiao didn’t show much closeness to the Su elders when they were little.

The elderly couple had never really experienced the joy of an intimate family.

"Now that you’re divorced, you’re free every day, so you’ll manage the family shop", Old Master Su handed a tall stack of account books to Su Li and quickly followed after his wife.

It seemed the old wife planned to make clothes for the two children, and he wanted to go take a look.

These two children were indeed of the Su surname, especially Su Zheng, the little boy with clean, bright eyes, full of liveliness and intelligence.

Just looking at him filled his heart with joy.

This child, he had to educate well.

The smarter the child, the more carefully one had to guide them, or they could easily veer onto the wrong path.

The Yuan Family’s twins served as a cautionary example.

It’s not that Old Master Su was cold-hearted, so quickly casting aside his own grandchildren.

The truth was, after so many years of interaction, those grandchildren’s hearts, no matter how one tried to shield them, always leant towards their father’s family.

Even the closest of relationships, without equal maintenance and effort, could not last long.

Flipping through the account book, thinking of the Yuan Family’s typical attitude, Su Li felt that by having let them suffer such a great loss, they certainly wouldn’t let the matter rest.

Even in the previous life, wasn’t the original owner devoted enough? Yet in the eyes of the Yuan family, it was never sufficient, and any slight deviation from their wishes was a grave error.

Feeding off the original owner’s meat, drinking his blood, and then still splashing the dirty water onto him.

Such a family, there was no point in trusting their conscience to be righteous.

Su Li’s concerns were not without reason; within just three days of returning home, rumors about the Su Family and Su Li became more and more outrageous.

The Yuan family members spared no effort in ruining Su Li’s reputation, and everyone believed them to be true.

Mainly because when others inquired, Su Li’s stepchildren showed such a resentful demeanor that it led people to wild speculations.

If even his own children were like this, it clearly showed how deplorable the actions of the Su Family’s eldest daughter must have been.

Raising such a daughter with questionable morals, the upbringing of the Su Family...

was coming earlier than the storms of the previous era, and was even more violent.

Upon closer investigation, there seemed to be someone deliberately guiding the direction of the rumors among the people.

Most of the Su Family’s shops were impacted, and while people questioned the Su Family’s integrity, the common folk, led by those with ulterior motives, unanimously boycotted the Su Family’s business.

But confronted with all that was happening, Su Li had prepared in advance, and without even discussing with the Su Family elders, he leisurely sent the worried managers back to their posts.

"No worries, if these people do not wish to patronize the Su Family’s business, then let them be."

All the goods sold by the Su Family were high-quality and reasonably priced.

The modest profit margins greatly benefited the town’s people.

Not to mention the monthly free porridge distribution, and the construction of bridges and roads.

Old Master Su could be called a truly great kind person, but these people, who had received such immense kindness from Old Master Su, turned around and spoke ill of him without hesitation.

"Uncle Zhong, cancel the porridge distribution scheduled for the next few days."

"As for the county magistrate, you go and respond that our Su Family currently has more expenses than income and truly lacks the extra capability to support the county magistrate’s charitable deeds."

"Additionally, move the city’s business dealings underground."

The Su Family’s strategy caught everyone by surprise.

Confronted with gossip, the Su Family neither explained nor tried to remedy the situation; instead, they appeared indifferent, adopting a laissez-faire attitude.

This made those behind the scenes stirring up trouble gleefully happy.

By acting this way, the Su Family was courting disaster; with just a little instigation of the public’s sentiments, the hostility quickly turned towards the Su Family, and the conflict between the two sides escalated further.

It was only a matter of time before the Su Family would be squeezed from their position as a leading merchant in the city.