"But..." Luo Qianqian still hesitated a bit.
He Wenyu directly grabbed her, "Don’t worry, if my dad tries to beat you, I’ll definitely stand in front of you as a human shield!" He had an air of righteousness about him. Luo Qianqian’s mouth twitched slightly. Were you actually planning to get beaten up?
"Then let’s go," Luo Qianqian sighed weakly.
Jimo Cheng made a call indifferently, ignoring those unread messages, and called for a car.
Although it wasn’t far, it was late, so it was safer to go by car.
He Wenyu stared dumbfounded as Luo Qianqian put her backpack inside her jacket and then put on the coat.
Soon, the group arrived near He Jun’s shop, opting not to go to Fragrance Comes as it felt much safer than this area.
As expected, seeing Huang Yueran there too, and even Xiao Mei and her siblings.
Luo Qianqian furrowed her brow and moved closer to the car window.
Then she actually saw He Guo and his wife, her eyes wide with surprise.
"Xiao Yu, that..." Luo Qianqian pointed outside the car window in disbelief. He Wenyu quickly moved closer to the window, and his face also showed a shocked expression, "What?!"
"What’s going on?" Lin Jiayou was clueless and looked toward the bustling area, recognizing no one.
Luo Qianqian was taken aback. Right, Lin Xu hadn’t made his relationship with An Zilan public when the issue with the He Family happened.
She waved her hand and didn’t explain, then saw He Wenyu grinding his teeth and clenching his fists, "Wasn’t one enough? Now a whole family has come??"
"No," Luo Qianqian frowned as she looked at the people there. "He Juncai isn’t there."
He Wenyu was stunned and also looked around. While it was night, He Juncai’s hair should have been quite noticeable.
"Brother Jiayou, you and Xiao Yu stay in the car, and don’t let her run off," Luo Qianqian made a quick decision as she couldn’t hear anything from here and thought it better to see what was happening. She turned to Jimo Cheng, "Senior Brother..."
Jimo Cheng reluctantly nodded his head, "Let’s go." He wasn’t at ease letting Lin Jiayou accompany her alone.
She indeed had some conscience, knowing not to leave herself and the young girl alone in the car.
The two got out, one on each side, and moved toward the restaurant entrance, only to see that the outdoor barbecue tables were all overturned and several people holding skewers, visibly upset, were standing beside. Frowning slightly, they looked toward He Jun’s side.
He Jun spotted Luo Qianqian at first glance and looked around, not seeing his daughter. He then looked at Luo Qianqian and shook his head slightly, feeling relieved because the person standing next to Luo Qianqian reassured him a lot about the situation.
"He Jun, that’s not the way to do it—haven’t even paid the wages and you’re out of money? Your employees are waiting to be paid to eat, and you’ve spent all the money? Are you planning to delay the wages? These days, even migrant workers don’t have their wages delayed like this," He Guo began by talking about money.
Luo Qianqian slightly furrowed her brows, remaining silent, yet her gaze wandered around, quickly fixing on an individual who seemed to be avoiding eye contact. Clad in an apron emblazoned with the words "barbecue," could this person be the fellow villager He Wenyu had mentioned?
"I just finished paying them their wages, what does that have to do with you?" He Jun was irate, unable to comprehend why his own brother would wish for his downfall. If it weren’t for the money being spent, would it only be a matter of days before he came knocking for more money?
"I’m your brother!" He Guo asserted seriously.
"Heh, I have no obligation to support you, even if I die, my wealth will go to my wife and children, or perhaps you want to dig up mom and share a portion with her?" Now free from catering to the old lady’s face, He Jun spoke without mincing his words. After all, he had honed his skill in the catering business over many years, adept at speaking to all manner of folk.
"Heh, would you speak to me like this if mom were still alive?" He Guo immediately sat down on the ground, "Everyone, come look, my brother He Jun doesn’t care whether I live or die, his conscience must have been eaten by a dog..."
"The law does not mandate that I have to support you, you have hands and feet, can’t you earn your own money? Yueran and I were taken advantage of by you, losing our house and her dowry, left with nothing but our child when we came to this city. The two of us worked together to buy a house, do you think our money was easily picked up or just blown in by the wind? We owe you?" He Jun clenched his fists, "I respect you as my elder brother, but don’t think you can keep lording over me! I bear the hardships, and you want a share of the fortune, I want to know, why!"
Yueran covered her mouth with her hand, tears continuously falling.
Xiao Mei comforted her from time to time.
Luo Qianqian was about to go over when Jimo Cheng grabbed her arm, shaking his head at her.
Although Luo Qianqian didn’t understand the reason behind Jimo Cheng’s gesture, she still halted in her tracks. She knew that Jimo Cheng must know more than her.
"I’m your brother, the pillar of the family! It’s only right for you to respect and support me!" He Guo stared with wide eyes.
Since He Jun stopped sending money home, the household’s situation worsened steadily, eventually forcing them to sell all their property and land just to come and rely on him.
Even though he knew He Jun might already be aware of some matters, He Guo still felt that, out of respect for being his elder brother, He Jun would still give him money. Hence, after days of hiding, almost running out of money in his pocket, he found out He Jun was broke? How could this be?
Yueran couldn’t help feeling that the He Family was a pit, barring He Jun, everyone else felt entitled to his sacrifices, believing that He Guo deserved to enjoy them. It had always been like this, from childhood to old age.
He Guo had no intention of working to earn his keep.
"Respect you? What use is my respect? Giving to you is less comforting than giving to a statue in a temple!" He Jun said sternly, "here’s my final word, you want money, you get nothing! Don’t even start saying what you have done for me, there isn’t any, and even if there were, I have done my part for the past forty years, both financially and physically, what more do you want? From now on, everything is Xiao Yu’s, don’t even think about it! If you dare touch Xiao Yu! ..."
"Brother Zhang Ye?" Luo Qianqian stared dumbfounded at the figure emerging from the area bathed in red and blue light, whispering in shock, indeed someone had called the police – it was that kind of disturbance, after all.
"Don’t force me to kill her! Either way, in jail, I have a place to eat and stay, pretty good indeed!" He Guo revealed a menacing smile.
He Jun immediately picked up a small stool nearby. Others might tolerate it, but touch Xiao Yu? That was his lifeblood!
"Uncle He, Uncle He, stay calm, stay calm, resorting to violence won’t solve anything." Zhang Ye quickly intervened, aware that this situation could not be easily extracted from if it escalated, clearly He Guo was no easy mark.
He Jun knew it too, but overwhelmed with anger, let Zhang Ye take the stool away.