"Er-ge is a boy; he’s not in a hurry," Xu Nian’an said with composure.
"Oh, please, isn’t it just because Er-ge doesn’t dare to pursue her?" Xu Nianhua leaned in, speaking earnestly, "Su Xi isn’t as aloof as she seems. She’s actually a very warm-hearted girl when you get to know her."
"You’re the same age as her," Xu Nian’an reminded.
Xu Nianhua playfully stuck out her tongue, feeling more and more like a real young woman in her early twenties the longer she was home.
"So what if I am? I’m still a young lady," Xu Nianhua glanced at him sidelong and said, "Er-ge, if you don’t make a move soon, someone else might sweep Su Xi off her feet."
Xu Nianhua felt a knock on her forehead. It didn’t hurt, but she exaggerated her reaction, yelling out loud.
Xu Nian’an gave her a stern look and seeing her over-the-top behavior said, "I didn’t use much force, so cut the drama. Don’t worry, your Er-ge will definitely find you a sister-in-law."
"That’s for sure, with Er-ge’s handsome looks, the girls wanting to marry you could line up from here all the way to our house," Xu Nianhua said, her words becoming more playful towards the end.
Xu Nian’an simply ignored her.
"When is Yicheng coming back?" Xu Nian’an changed the subject, asking, "Go and check, will you?"
Xu Nianhua quickly agreed, but before she could get up, Pei Yicheng’s tall figure already appeared at the door.
Xu Nianhua quickly reviewed in her mind what she had just said to Er-ge.
Ling Dong had been investigating a twenty-one-year-old case. As soon as he heard about the incident at the Chili Sauce Factory, he immediately phoned Pei Yicheng, sensing that this was no simple matter. Especially after hearing rumors the next day in South City about someone dying from eating the chili sauce, he felt all the more that someone was stoking the flames.
Ling Dong hurried to Gaoliang County to start looking into Li Jianbin. However, he was shocked to find out that just ten days before, Li Jianbin was in debt of three hundred yuan due to gambling. In the span of a few days, not only had Li Jianbin cleared his debts, but he also bought quite a few things. Rumor had it he even boasted to a neighbor that he was going to buy a bicycle.
Li Jianbin worked on a construction site where a month’s salary was at most thirty-five yuan, and he had to support a wife and two kids. It was said that while his wife and children scrimped and saved at home, Li Jianbin was out eating and drinking freely, and he often gambled. When he ran out of money at home, he would borrow to gamble. This borrowing led to the substantial gambling debt of three hundred yuan.
Because of this, Li Jianbin had countless fights with his wife, and all the neighbors knew about it. But recently, for some unknown reason, not only had Li Jianbin repaid his debts, but he had also been bragging about buying a bicycle. The neighbors were curious about where he got the money from, but he claimed he had earned it.
Of course, the neighbors didn’t believe him, yet Li Jianbin did have money in his hands now. They murmured among themselves but chalked it up to Li Jianbin’s streak of luck.
By the time Ling Dong found out about this, he was absolutely certain that someone was pulling strings behind the scenes.
"Who exactly is trying to harm us ?" Xu Nianji gritted his teeth as he spoke. If there was something wrong with their factory’s chili sauce, like improper storage or a quality issue, causing someone to fall ill, they would take full responsibility. But he couldn’t just accept these groundless accusations.
Ling Dong was silent. He did have suspects in mind, but without concrete evidence, he couldn’t speak out.