Chapter Forty-Six: Could That Person Be a Fool?

"Mr. Chen, my elder brother wants to ask Master Su for help, but he offended Master Su yesterday. Now he's in deep regret and self-recrimination!"

Seeing Su Zheng hesitate, Wei Er quickly whispered an explanation at his side.

When Chen Muxue heard this, she looked at Su Zheng again, her brows gently furrowing. "Haven't I already told you? Stop treating people—you don't have the credentials! If anything goes wrong, we simply can't bear the consequences. Why won't you listen?!"

Her tone was rather stern, mostly out of concern that Su Zheng might get himself into trouble.

"Enough, just go upstairs now. Let them seek treatment at the hospital on their own," Chen Muxue said coolly.

Su Zheng said nothing. Meanwhile, from a distance, Hua Li, who had already cried his fill, refused to give up. After finally catching a chance to be treated by Su Zheng, if he failed now, his life would truly hang by a thread!

"Sister-in-law! Please, save me! I beg you, let Master Su help me! If not for him, I really wouldn't know where to turn. Please, you can't just stand by and watch me die!"

Hua Li was nearly on his knees before Chen Muxue, his face earnest and full of pleading.

"Shut up! Stop talking to me—I don't even know you!" Chen Muxue's delicate face was frosted with coldness. With so many people around in the community, she felt acutely uncomfortable.

A man his age, calling her ‘sister-in-law’—was there anything more humiliating?

Seeing that Chen Muxue was angry, Su Zheng naturally didn't want to linger any longer. He quickly edited a text message on his phone and sent it to Wei Er.

Hearing his phone chime, Wei Er checked the message, his face lighting up with joy. He rushed to Hua Li and whispered a few words into his ear, upon which Hua Li's expression turned ecstatic.

"Thank you, Master Su! Thank you for saving my life, this is wonderful! I’ll let you get on with your day—once I’ve recovered, I’ll come to thank you properly!"

Su Zheng had sent over the method to break and dispel the evil influence via text. Knowing he was saved, Hua Li couldn’t contain his joy, thanking him repeatedly.

At Su Zheng's subtle signal, Hua Li quickly left with Wei Er and A Biao.

"That man… could he be a fool?" Chen Muxue murmured, her face full of confusion.

First he was wailing for help, then suddenly thanking them loudly—if he wasn't a fool, what was he?

"Why is Mr. Wei associating with such people?" Chen Muxue shook her head slightly, her feelings toward this business partner now tinged with unease, worrying that Mr. Wei might not be quite right in the head either.

"What are you standing there for? Here, go to the shop and buy a few rolls of garbage bags for your mother, and some cooking wine. Hurry up, don’t keep her waiting," Chen Muxue said, busy tidying her files. She handed Su Zheng a hundred yuan to buy household supplies.

Su Zheng took the money and went out. When he returned, Muxue had already left for work.

His in-laws were seated at the dining table, waiting for him with stern expressions.

"Su Zheng, did you go out and bully some fool? Have you no conscience at all?" Lyu Hongmei was the first to attack, her tone sharp.

"Look at yourself, useless as you are—yet you go bully the feeble? Trying to cheat them out of their money, is that it? Listen, our Chen family may be poor, but we still have basic decency. Bullying a few simpletons, is that something to be proud of? Or do you just want the neighbors to laugh at us?"

Chen Jianguo had been dragged out of bed after a night of drinking with his old superior. Irritated from being woken up, his voice boomed even louder, as if he might start throwing punches.

"Well? Did you cheat them out of money or not? If you did, hand it over now, so I can return it next time I see them. You’re a disgrace!"

"If I hadn’t just asked Muxue, I wouldn’t even know about your wicked little schemes!" Lyu Hongmei held out her hand, her gaze coldly fixed on Su Zheng.

"I didn’t deceive any fools. Those people weren’t fools—they came to ask for my help. I helped them, and in gratitude, they gave me ten million. I’ll transfer it to you later," Su Zheng replied calmly.

"Bang!"

Chen Jianguo slammed the table in fury. "You scoundrel! Ten million? Do you even know what that looks like? Looks like today I’ll have to teach you a lesson, or you’ll never understand your mistakes!"

He stood up, about to slap Su Zheng.

Su Zheng’s eyes grew cold, and he was just about to speak when the phone on the table rang.

Chen Jianguo glanced at the caller ID, and his actions froze, his face turning sullen.

"Sigh, it’s from the ancestral home—never anything good. If I count, it's been five days, hasn’t it?" He didn’t answer immediately, but turned to ask Lyu Hongmei.

"Yes, today makes exactly five days," she replied, her head bowed, hands clenched tightly, overwhelmed by a sense of despair.

Last time at the ancestral home, the old matriarch had made it clear: if the task wasn’t accomplished in five days, their family would be expelled from the clan. This call was clearly about that.

"Answer it! If you don’t, there’ll be even more to explain later," Lyu Hongmei urged.

Having lost all interest in scolding Su Zheng, Chen Jianguo pressed the answer button, his lips pursed tightly.

"…Alright, alright, I understand. We’ll come immediately," he said at last, hanging up in a daze, his face etched with defeat and despair.

The old matriarch wanted the entire family at the ancestral home by this morning, saying she had an important announcement.

"Sigh…" Lyu Hongmei hung her head, sighing deeply.

"Father, mother, don’t worry. I’ve already taken care of what the matriarch asked. I’m confident you won’t be expelled from the family," Su Zheng tried to reassure them.

"Shut your mouth! Who do you think you are? The old matriarch has always looked down on us. Do you think things will be settled so easily?"

"Besides, most of the reason she looks down on us is you! If it weren’t for you, even with her eyes closed, Muxue could have found a husband a hundred times better. The matriarch would be eager to curry favor with us, but look at us now!"

Lyu Hongmei covered her face, her words full of grievance.

"Honestly, what was the old man thinking, insisting that Muxue marry this useless fool, even threatening death if she ever divorced you? I just can’t understand it. Didn’t he dote on Muxue the most? Why would he insist on making her suffer like this?" Chen Jianguo spoke resentfully, his face full of confusion and bitterness.

"Enough, forget breakfast. Let’s clean up and go. If it's fate, we can’t escape it. If the matriarch truly wants to drive us out, sighing here won’t help!"

"Su Zheng, what are you standing there for? Clean up the dishes! You’re getting lazier by the day!" Lyu Hongmei, having come to terms with things, barked at Su Zheng before heading to her room to change.

Chen Jianguo simply bowed his head and stepped out onto the balcony to smoke.

The entire mood of the household turned bleak and hopeless after that call from the ancestral home.