During famine years, I had a divination slip in hand, and my whole family ate chicken, duck, fish, a

Zhou Defa walked to the counter with a smile, took out a red envelope from his sleeve, and placed it on the counter.

"Miss Ye, I was wrong about what happened yesterday. I've already sent those two clueless guys away."

The yamen fined me today. I came here specifically to apologize to you, young lady… Please take this money to calm your nerves.

Ye Qingqing glanced at the red envelope, tapped the counter repeatedly, and sneered.

"Manager Zhou, your two employees sneaked into my shop in the middle of the night carrying kerosene. Don't tell me you're just going to let it go."

Zhou Defa's smile froze for a moment, then he forced a smile back.

"Miss Ye, you can't say that. I didn't know they were going to do such a despicable thing!"

Besides, Huo didn't have a shop sign, so you didn't suffer any loss, young lady.

"No loss?"

Ye Qingqing looked up at him coldly, "I paid someone to keep watch all night, and I was worried sick all night. Does that count as a loss?"

So, Manager Zhou means that only when your employees set fire to my shop and destroy it all will it be considered a loss?

Zhou Defa blinked repeatedly at her question, and replied with a forced smile,

"So...what does the girl want?"

"What do I want?" Ye Qingqing stood up, placing her hands on the countertop.

"Manager Zhou, you didn't really come here to apologize today, did you? Are you trying to give me a few taels of silver to shut me up and make me stop pursuing this matter?"

Sorry, I, Ye Qingqing, don't lack that little bit of money!

It was clear that she was not someone to be easily appeased, and Zhou Defa's face darkened.

"Miss Ye, you can't say that! I came here with good intentions to apologize, but you insist on making a big fuss... It won't do either of us any good."

"Oh? What do you mean there's no benefit?"

Ye Qingqing crossed her arms and gave a cold smile.

Zhou Defa took a step forward and lowered his voice,

"Your shop is doing well, but the town is full of all sorts of people. You're just a country girl, all you want is to run a shop peacefully."

I, Zhou Defa, have run a shop in town for seven or eight years. I know quite a few people. If you offend me, aren't you afraid someone will cause you trouble again in the future?

Ye Qingqing looked at him coldly and smiled.

Zhou Defa thought she was scared, so he softened his tone.

"I'm not threatening you, I just want to give you a friendly reminder: when doing business, having more friends means having more options."

"Once you accept this money, we're even. From now on, we won't bother each other. Wouldn't it be better if we could all make money peacefully?"

Ye Qingqing reached out and picked up the red envelope, weighed it in her hand, and then threw it back onto the table.

"Manager Zhou, how sincere are you?"

"Ten...ten taels."

Zhou Defa felt a little uneasy under her gaze.

Ye Qingqing, being too thin, pushed the red envelope in front of him. "You have the nerve to bring out such a small thing? Manager Zhou must have forgotten to include something."

Zhou Defa was taken aback. "What?"

"Is all the fear and anxiety I, Ye Qingqing, endured worth this little bit of money?"

She snorted coldly, "You think you can buy my silence with ten taels of silver, and that I won't pursue this matter further? Manager Zhou, you've got a clever plan."

Zhou Defa's face turned pale and then red, and he gritted his teeth and said...

"Ye Qingqing, I'm telling you this now! If you don't take this money today, you can forget about running your shop peacefully in town from now on! I, Zhou Defa, am not someone who's easy to talk to!"

"Really?" Ye Qingqing tilted her head.

"Who do you know? Hu, the clerk in the county government's household registration office?"

Zhou Defa was taken aback; he hadn't expected her to know.

Ye Qingqing said slowly and deliberately,

"Manager Zhou, your cousin Hu is just an accountant. How far can his influence reach?"

As if you don't know anyone. If I set fire to your shop and threw ten taels of silver at you, would you do it?

Zhou Defa's expression changed, but he remained defiant.

"Hey Ye, I know you're acquainted with Bian Saizhen, but don't try to scare me with that girl! She's just a fur shop owner, what right does she have to interfere in government affairs?"

"She can't control the government offices, but the people she knows can."

Ye Qingqing stood in front of Zhou Defa, half a head shorter than him, but her presence definitely overwhelmed him.

"Manager Zhou, let me make this clear today. First, the yamen has ruled on your two employees' matter, and I don't intend to file a complaint with the higher authorities, but I also won't accept a private settlement."

Secondly, if you, Manager Zhou, dare to lay a finger on my shop again, don't blame me for being impolite.

third……"

She paused, her cold gaze landing on Zhou Defa's face.

"Your connections might scare others, but they're no match for me."

Zhou Defa stood there, his face showing an expression as if he had swallowed a live fly.

He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but when he met Ye Qingqing's eyes, a chill ran down his spine.

As luck would have it, Ye Dazhuang appeared out of nowhere, half of his body hidden in the shadows, his eyes fixed on Zhou Defa with a sinister gaze that sent chills down Zhou Defa's spine.

He instinctively took a half step back, frowned, and said guiltily,

"What are you looking at?"

Ye Dazhuang took a step forward, and light and shadow parted his face, revealing half of his well-defined features.

His face remained expressionless, but his cold, sharp gaze sent chills down Zhou Defa's spine.

Miss Zhen burst out laughing.

"Manager Zhou, who are you to boss around the people in my niece's shop?"

You should think about yourself. If word gets out that you set this fire, will anyone dare to come to your shop again?

Zhou Defa's body trembled involuntarily, and his face turned pale instantly.

I never expected Ye Qingqing to be so difficult to deal with!

"Fine, fine, Miss Ye, you win."

Zhou Defa gritted his teeth, picked up the red envelope from the counter, and uttered a harsh statement, "Since you can't reason with me, then we'll see!"

Ye Qingqing raised her chin. "Take care."

"Pah! What a piece of junk!"

Zhao Lao Er caught up and spat at his retreating back.

Miss Zhen glanced at Ye Qingqing indifferently.

"Second daughter, what are your plans for the future?"

Ye Qingqing casually flipped the abacus, "He can find people, but I can't? He's just putting on an act because he's a distant relative!"

If someone cheats me, and I don't get back at them, they'll think I'm easy to bully!

This isn't over yet!

Miss Zhen nodded. "You're right! Without some tricks up your sleeve, you'll have a really hard time establishing yourself in this town!"

He stood up and said, "Let me go back and find out some information, then we'll think of something. Alright, I'm going back too... You guys take care."

……

In Kaoshantun, Li Chunyan and Ye Dali were extremely busy.

Not satisfied with digging two baskets of wild vegetables from the cave, the two men asked the Zhao brothers to return the vegetables so they could hurry up and dig more.

This isn't wild vegetables, it's like gold lying everywhere!

Li Chunyan carried five or six baskets of wild vegetables home, and only when it was getting dark did she finally feel reluctant to go home.

Who would have thought that as soon as she got home, the way people in the village looked at her changed. A bombshell piece of news scared Li Chunyan so much that she almost fell to the ground!

Last night, someone set fire to her shop, but luckily her second daughter discovered it in time, preventing the arsonist from succeeding and even catching him!