20 years of restarting life

Chapter 3811 Hu Qian's Phone Call

Because of her panic and trembling, Hu Qian spoke somewhat incoherently. Although Zhao Chang'an was surprised, he had seen a lot in his life, and this matter was nothing more than an outsider to him. It was understandable that he enjoyed watching the excitement.

So Zhao Chang'an was surprised at first, but then he felt that what goes around comes around, and that the Zhou couple deserved to say something unpleasant!
With his reassurance and methodical questioning, the matter was quickly clarified.

Before the Lunar New Year, the Zhou family of three had already decided to break ties with the Hu family. To this end, they specially purchased two truckloads of sheep to raise at the homes of their relatives in their hometown, and stopped buying sheep from the Hu family.

At the time, Zhao Chang'an didn't know, and thought that this driver was really working hard, transporting a truckload of sheep during the Chinese New Year, and then losing another sheep.

In reality, there were two trucks carrying sheep, which were also the sheep that Lao Zhou had bought, and they were going to take them to Lao Zhou's hometown in the mountains dozens of miles outside of Shancheng City.

When they saw that Lao Zhou refused to buy her family's sheep, Hu Qian's parents and her brother and sister-in-law thought that the Zhou family was forcing Hu Qian to take her daughter back, so they forced Hu Qian to take her daughter back to the Zhou family yesterday.

After much pleading and cajoling by Hu Qian's parents and brother, Old Zhou finally agreed to buy the more than one hundred sheep from the Hu family. As for whether he would buy more in the future, that would be decided later.

Many things can only be seen clearly in hindsight. The purpose of Zhou Jiajin bringing those two cartloads of sheep was not really to stop doing business with the Hu family, but to use those two cartloads of sheep to threaten the Hu family: if they were ignorant and disobedient, then they would no longer use your sheep.

Mr. and Mrs. Zhou and Xiao Zhou are eager for Hu Qian to get a divorce so that they can formally marry Xiao Liu, who is already pregnant.

Previously, Hu Qian and Zhao Chang'an said that Xiao Zhou had been hit by a bull and could no longer be virile, but Xiao Liu was pregnant and they ended up sleeping in the same bed. It's likely that Hu Qian was also deceived about the truth.

The Zhou family was betting that Hu Qian, a woman, wouldn't be able to endure the life of a widow and would readily agree to divorce Xiao Zhou.

Because the Hu family needed the Zhou family to continue buying sheep, the Zhou family promised to continue buying their sheep after learning that Xiao Zhou was no longer able to work. After all, although they were divorced, Zhou Zhou was Xiao Zhou's daughter and the granddaughter of the old Zhou couple. Under these circumstances, they would probably readily agree to their daughter's divorce from Xiao Zhou.

It can be said that the Zhou family of three is both shrewd and wicked, and has no conscience whatsoever.

During dinner, Xiao Zhou and Hu Qian had a fierce argument. Xiao Zhou even said that he felt disgusted by the mercenary and greedy faces of Hu Qian's family, and that he would divorce Hu Qian the next day. If she didn't go, he would beat her up.

The couple, Mr. and Mrs. Zhou, who were supposed to be guarding the shop every night so they could start cooking mutton soup the next morning, didn't go to the shop. Instead, it was Xiao Zhou who, angry that he didn't want to sleep in the same bedroom as Hu Qian, went to the shop to guard it.

As a result, a thief sneaked into the store that night. Xiao Liu, who originally lived in a nearby rented room, was also sleeping in the store, and he was even sleeping naked in the same bed with Xiao Zhou.

The shop was emptied of several hundred yuan in loose change, Xiao Zhou's cell phone, and the gold chain he bought for Xiao Liu. Mr. and Mrs. Zhou only discovered the tragedy when they arrived at the shop at around 4 a.m.

"Have you called home?"

Zhao Chang'an asked Hu Qian.

"Not yet, I'm so scared, I don't know what to do."

Although Hu Qian harbored deep resentment towards Xiao Zhou and was angry that the Zhou couple wanted to kick her out, she was already planning to divorce them.

But she could never agree to Xiao Zhou's fantasy of "getting a divorce tomorrow" because she couldn't swallow her anger.

She was a beautiful girl, and countless young men from all around wanted to propose to her. But she ended up marrying into the Zhou family and even gave birth to a daughter. Now that she feels useless, she wants to get rid of them without spending a penny. Is there such an unreasonable thing in the world?

However, while she was indeed angry and resentful, Xiao Zhou was, after all, her husband with whom she shared a bed. Two lives had been lost. It would be a lie to say she was heartbroken, but the panic and fear were absolutely real. Zhao Chang'an couldn't help but think of Ma Er and Gunzi, those two idiots.

The branching lines of the story are clear and obvious. In this life, Zhao Chang'an visited Zhou Ji's restaurant several times, bringing Zheng Wenzheng, Tang Shuang, Ye Yiyi, Ai Qiuqiu, and others to drink mutton soup at Zhou Ji's restaurant.

Therefore, Zhou Ji became famous in the city two or three years earlier than Zhao Chang'an in his previous life, and his business was booming.

Business was so good that they couldn't keep up with the demand. Old Zhou had hired waiters two years earlier. Hu Qian hadn't yet come to Zhengzhou to make a living, while Ma Er and Gunzi still had their eyes on Zhou's restaurant, only three years earlier.

This time, the Zhou couple from the previous timeline have been replaced by Xiao Zhou and Xiao Liu in the branching storyline.

A few days ago, Zhao Chang'an encountered Ma Er and Gunzi. If he was willing to take action, he could change the fate of Ma Er and Gunzi, as well as the Zhou family.

However, he eventually gave up his desire to help others and respected other people's fates and choices.

My father helped Lao Zhou so much back then, saving his life and finding him a place to set up a stall and make a living. But after my father was laid off, Lao Zhou, who used to visit my home every year for the Spring Festival and was so grateful that he said he would be grateful for the rest of his life, never visited my home again that year or after the Spring Festival.

The year after his parents were laid off, Xiao Zhou married Hu Qian. A few years later, in order to entertain his wife's colleagues, Zhao Chang'an went to Hu Qian's restaurant to say nice things and buy a bighead carp from Peach Blossom Lake at a high price.

Upon meeting Hu Qian, Hu Qian introduced himself as a native of Shancheng, saying his father was Zhao Shubin. Hu Qian's expression remained unchanged upon hearing his father's name.

This shows that this past event became a taboo subject in the already wealthy Zhou family. It seems that they have always been so wealthy because of their own abilities, and they have never experienced the hardships of the past, nor have they received any kind help or assistance from others.

Therefore, in this life, Zhao Chang'an, having learned a lesson from his father, would only help the Zhou family escape danger again if he had nothing better to do.

"Call your family. We don't know the situation yet. It might not be safe for you to stay at the Zhou family's house. Have your dad and brother come and pick you up and take you home until the truth is out."

Zhao Chang'an said to Hu Qian, "Don't be afraid. Lock the door from the inside now, and don't open it easily even to people you know."

After hanging up the phone, facing Ai Qiuqiu's questioning gaze, he said, "It was Hu Qian on the phone. She said her husband and one of Zhou's female employees were sleeping naked in bed, and a thief broke into the shop."

Ai Qiuqiu was shocked: "So ruthless, is it for money or revenge?"

Zhao Chang'an shook his head, indicating that he did not know.

"Your goddaughter's mother is really quite dependent on you. She doesn't even call her own family first, but instead calls you."

Ai Qiuqiu's eyes were smiling, and her words clearly had a hidden meaning.

Zhao Chang'an pretended not to understand what she meant, nodded and sighed, "I guess Old Zhou won't be able to make such authentic mutton soup anymore. It's such a pity."

"Yes, their mutton soup is really authentic. When I went there last time, I even suggested that they could develop their business in Zhengzhou. It would definitely be more promising than staying in this mountain city."

Ai Qiuqiu also sighed, "I don't know if I'll ever be able to drink her family's mutton soup again."