From humble beginnings to the pinnacle of life

The rooftop stalls, once filled with small wooden tables and creating a lively atmosphere, are now completely empty.

All the tables, chairs, and equipment were removed. The colorful lights that had been wrapped around the railings and lit up countless nights were also dismantled, leaving only bare railings and cold cement ground.

The scene was desolate and chaotic.

"Who's so unethical as to report someone for no reason when they're running a perfectly good business?" Su Qing muttered angrily, looking at the empty rooftop.

I stared intently at the empty platform, my doubts and unease growing stronger.

A stall that had been operating for a year was suddenly shut down after being reported. A familiar old shop just disappeared like that. Something was definitely wrong.

I immediately took out my phone, opened WeChat, and sent a message to Brother Luo.

"Brother Luo, I heard your stall got reported and you moved? Where did you move to now?"

He most likely didn't check his phone until after Su Qing and I went downstairs, when he finally replied to my message:

"Yes, we moved. I've been busy these past few days getting the new business license, and the shop hasn't reopened yet, so I haven't had a chance to tell you."

I immediately pressed, "What exactly happened? You've been doing everything perfectly fine, and the neighbors have no complaints. How did you suddenly get reported?"

Luo Ge replied with several helpless shrugs, saying, "I'm completely baffled too, I have no idea what's going on. A few days ago, people from the Industry and Commerce Bureau, the Urban Management Bureau, and the community suddenly came to inspect and ordered everything to stop."

Just as I was wondering, Brother Luo sent another message: "Oh right, before the incident, a strange man came by, and he didn't look like someone to mess with."

Upon hearing this, I immediately sensed something was wrong and pressed, "What kind of person? Do you remember their physical features?"

"He has very fair skin and is dressed elegantly. He looks like a rich and powerful person, completely different from us ordinary people."

For some reason, as I read Brother Luo's description, a clear image instantly popped into my mind.

The first person I thought of was probably Fang Heng.

The reason is simple: he must have had people watching me all this time.

He knew perfectly well about our last barbecue trip to the urban village.

He knew everything about my activities, from buying cars and opening stations to generating huge profits.

Even the thugs who suddenly rushed out that night to harass Su Qing and attack me might not have been just random local bullies causing trouble, but rather something he deliberately arranged with his money!

The more I thought about it, the more disheartened I became, and all my doubts suddenly became clear.

This old street in the urban village looks chaotic, but the public security has always been relatively stable. In addition, the crackdown on organized crime is very strong now, so ordinary thugs don't dare to openly gather crowds to cause trouble, let alone openly harass girls in front of others.

There is absolutely no other possibility for such an outrageous and deliberate incident than that someone is deliberately manipulating things behind the scenes.

More importantly, he came to the hospital the very next day.

Where did he get his information from?

The answer is self-evident.

Although there is no concrete evidence at the moment, all the clues point to him.

But I wasn't sure either, so I asked Brother Luo, "What did he say to you?"

Within seconds, Brother Luo's message popped up:

"He came over and asked about your situation, wanting me to connect with him and talk about your recent situation. I didn't know who he was and didn't want to get involved in your affairs, so I refused directly. As a result, he made some harsh words on the spot, indirectly threatening me."

"I suspect that this shutdown was an act of retaliation against my lack of cooperation.

After reading those two lines, my heart sank.

Ninety percent certain, it's Fang Hengqian's!

That bastard!

It's bad enough that he's constantly at odds with me and targeting me at every turn.

But he actually targeted even someone like Brother Luo, whom I only knew by nodding acquaintances!

He resorted to any means to control me; he was utterly inhuman!

I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm down.

After a long pause, I finally typed out a message filled with remorse: "Brother Luo, I'm sorry, I've dragged you into this. He was probably targeting me, ruining your business and causing you to suffer this undeserved misfortune."

Brother Luo quickly replied: "What nonsense are you talking about, brother? It has nothing to do with you. I knew all along that setting up a stall in a residential area was illegal, and I had been planning to save up money to rent a proper storefront to open a shop. This time, it just happened to force me to transform my business, so it's not a bad thing."

Looking at the words on the screen, I felt increasingly guilty and distressed.

I know very well about Brother Luo's family situation; he doesn't have much savings at all.

Setting up a stall in a residential building on the street costs nothing, but a proper storefront not only has high rent but also requires a deposit and transfer fee, all of which are considerable expenses that he simply cannot afford.

Moreover, this joint investigation by multiple departments could not have been without consequences. He was probably just trying to reassure me because he was afraid I would feel bad.

After considering for a moment, I asked him again, "Don't hide it from me, how much was the fine? Send me the bill, and I'll transfer the money to you. Otherwise, I'll feel really bad."

"You're being too polite! There's really no fine, don't worry, brother."

I wouldn't give up and kept pressing, "Brother Luo, just tell the truth. I know what I'm doing and I can handle it. You don't need to cover for me."

After a few seconds, Brother Luo replied, "I'm not lying to you. The landlord paid the fine. He knew I was running a stall downstairs and was aware of my difficulties, so he turned a blind eye. This time it was a surprise inspection by higher authorities, and he couldn't protect me. He didn't make things difficult for me and just urged me to move out as soon as possible. He didn't ask me to pay a single penny."

After hearing this, I felt a little relieved, but at the same time, I was even more moved.

These days, some ordinary people you meet by chance are much kinder than those rich and powerful big shots.

As the saying goes, those who are righteous are often from humble backgrounds!

I stopped dwelling on it and typed, "Okay, then I won't say any more. Message me as soon as your new store reopens."

"Absolutely! We'll be waiting for you guys and your brothers to come and support us!"

"No problem, you go ahead with your work. If you encounter any difficulties later, feel free to contact me."

After sending the message, I closed the chat window and put my phone away.

Su Qing watched me with a serious expression the whole time. Seeing that I had finished the conversation, she immediately leaned closer and asked, "Did you find out? Who was behind this?"

"Someone made a malicious report, and I'm pretty sure it was Fang Hengqian."

As soon as I said that, Su Qing's eyes widened, and she said in astonishment:

"It's him again?!"

Su Qing's eyes widened instantly, her face filled with disbelief. "Will he ever stop?! This place is so remote, how come he's even keeping an eye on this spot?"

I sneered, "What's so surprising about that? He knew I bought a car before. Simply put, he has complete control over all my movements."

My eyes darkened, and I continued, "And those thugs who caused trouble on this street that night and harassed you, they probably weren't just causing trouble randomly. Nine times out of ten, he paid them to come."