"Wow! So the little rich girl is here to shop?" Xu Lai called out in a mocking tone when he saw Sheng Anlai.
"Why aren’t you making money today? How come you have time to visit our place?"
With a forced smile, Sheng An tugged at the corner of her mouth and said, "I’m not setting up my stall today. I’ve run out of sugar at home and came to buy some."
Sheng An, who conducted business daily, had become one of the wealthiest young women in the village. This fact made Xu Laodi quite jealous, and he often spoke ill of her behind her back.
"Then let me have a piece to try."
Sheng An smiled, went into the small shop, bought a bag of rock sugar, and then sat down on a tree stump in front of Xu Laodi.
"Here, I’ll treat you to one today." Since she wanted to extract information, Xu Laodi was her best option. Sheng An knew Xu Laodi well; he loved small advantages and could reveal a lot if paid.
Seeing the sparkling rock sugar, Xu Laodi’s mouth watered; he grabbed a large handful after taking one piece wasn’t enough.
"Hehe... An’an, you are always so generous, not like Second Aunt Qin. She was given so many delicious things, yet she wouldn’t share any with me."
"I don’t think so, really? She didn’t want to give you any?" Sheng An shook the remaining rock sugar in front of Xu Laodi, laughing, "I think Second Aunt Qin isn’t like that; she must have given you a lot to eat, right? There must be many delicious things from the city that I’ve never seen."
Xu Laodi’s eyes followed the rock sugar; hearing Sheng An’s words, he looked around to see no one was listening and then whispered, "I’ll tell you, but you can’t tell anyone else."
"You can trust me, my lips are sealed."
"It turns out that Cuifen isn’t actually Second Aunt Qin’s natural daughter; she’s the child of an educated youth from the city. That educated youth is very wealthy. He not only bought a lot of delicious things but also gave a lot of money to Second Aunt Qin."
"Really?" Sheng An feigned disbelief. "You’re not just making this up?"
"Why would I lie? Second Aunt Qin even told me not to talk about it everywhere."
"Do you know the educated youth’s name?" Sheng An said, handing over another handful of rock sugar.
Xu Laodi eagerly took it and said, "Yes, I know! His last name is Su, a rare surname. He came with his sister. Although the brother isn’t young, he’s quite handsome."
"Laidi isn’t slightly handsome at all. With those shifty eyes, it would be weird if he were!" As Sheng An handed over the last bit of rock sugar to Xu Laodi and stood up, ready to leave upon getting the information she needed, she noticed a shadow looming over her.
"Girl, are thieves ever handsome?" A deep, pleasing voice sounded overhead. Sheng An abruptly looked up, only to meet the deep eyes of Su Hai.
She jumped back startled, "Who are you?"
"The man with shifty eyes!" Su Hai replied, amused.
Disdainfully wrinkling her nose, Sheng An instinctively took another step back.
Su Hai, amused inwardly, thought she truly was Sheng Ning’s sister, as both sisters reacted the same way upon seeing him.
"Your name is Sheng An?" Su Hai, remembering the information from the investigative file, was exceptionally cordial to Sheng An.
The friendlier he acted, the more guarded Sheng An became.
She couldn’t help but step back again, "How do you know my name?"
"I am a leader at the General Union from Comrade Sheng Ning’s office, here specifically because of her excellent work performance to express condolences."
"Really?" She believed he was a leader, but why did she doubt that he was here to offer condolences?
Su Hai, slightly exasperated, smiled wryly, "Really!"
When Xu Laodi saw Su Hai, he excitedly tucked the rock sugar into his pocket. "Are you going to Second Aunt Qin’s house? I can show you the way!"
Su Hai turned to Xu Laodi, shaking his head. "The County Office Director is visiting Second Aunt Qin’s house, not me."