From Wage Slave to Tycoon

Chapter 145: Chapter 115: Being a Good Person Comes at a Cost

You have to understand, the people living along the northern shore of Houhai in Shichahai were all either rich or powerful—the absolute top-tier kind.

Even the restaurant manager and the old woman standing beside them stared wide-eyed, looking incredulously at Chen Fei and... Su Chen.

Everyone knew that *this* one... was the real big shot.

As a genuine resident of the Imperial Capital’s hutongs, Yang Sufen naturally knew what this address represented...

It meant that everything her family had, put together, wasn’t worth the tip of his finger.

What Yang Sufen did next stunned everyone!

Just as the crowd was still in shock over Su Chen’s residence, the old woman, Yang Sufen, had already raised her fleshy right hand. WHACK! She brought it down hard on the little boy’s bottom!

"I’ll beat you to death, you little rascal! I told you to walk, but you just had to run! You bump into someone and don’t even apologize, and then you go and ruin his takeout roast duck!"

The little boy never expected his own grandmother to hit him. The thick, fleshy palm striking his body hurt so much that he screamed, "Mommy, save me! Mommy! Bad Grandma’s hitting me! WAAAAH, it hurts so much! Stop, Grandma!"

The little boy’s heart-rending cries didn’t make Yang Sufen pause in the slightest; instead, she started hitting him harder and faster.

However, she kept sneaking glances at Su Chen out of the corner of her eye.

’I was originally planning to teach this grandmother and grandson a lesson, but this old woman’s performance is a real eye-opener.’

"Officer Chen, aren’t you going to step in? If she keeps hitting him like this, someone’s going to get hurt," Su Chen said softly, glancing at the officer beside him.

Officer Chen naturally understood what he meant. He strode forward and grabbed Yang Sufen’s hand as it swung through the air.

"Yang Sufen, if you keep hitting that child, I’m going to have to take you in!"

Yang Sufen had overheard their exchange and used it as an excuse to stop.

Looking at the little grandson she was holding, she said silently in her heart: ’My dear grandson, please don’t blame Grandma. This is all for the good of our family! It’s your own fault for causing such a huge mess!’

Well, now. Was she really just going to push all the blame onto the little boy? If that child were old enough to understand, he would have to give his dear grandmother a proper "thank you"!

Su Chen had lost the heart to continue. He couldn’t help but feel a little unsettled.

He turned to the restaurant manager and said, "Please pack up another Peking roast duck for me. As for the bill..." Su Chen looked at the old woman, Yang Sufen, who was crouching on the ground holding the child, and said, "Get it from her."

"I’ll get it, I’ll get it! Let me pay for it!" Yang Sufen was suddenly a model of enthusiasm, a world of difference from her earlier arrogant expression.

Seeing the matter resolved so bizarrely, Officer Yang didn’t linger. They were so busy all day they were practically run off their feet.

As he was leaving, he couldn’t help but look at the crouching Yang Sufen and say, "You should really work on that temper of yours. And you need to discipline your grandson properly, too. You were lucky to run into a magnanimous gentleman this time. You might not be so fortunate next time!"

Hearing this, Yang Sufen gave a bitter smile. "Don’t worry, it won’t happen again."

Everyone knows that in a place like the Imperial Capital, you could throw a brick and hit someone important... But in reality, most of the people you meet are just transplants from other parts of the country. The ones with real status and power rarely hang around places like this, and even if they do, it’s only occasionally.

What kind of powerful family has a member personally taking a child out? The truly rich and influential would have nannies. When taking a child shopping, wouldn’t they be accompanied by a bodyguard?

Why was Yang Sufen so arrogant, so brazen? It was because she had figured this out. Most people she ran into were just out-of-towners trying to make it in the city. As a born-and-bred native of the Imperial Capital, she felt she had the capital to bully them.

Her attitude was plain: I’m bullying you, so what? What are you going to do about it?

Most of the out-of-towners would just pretend it never happened and give her a wide berth.

........

This time, the restaurant manager was unusually fast. And the insulated bag he carried was completely different from the previous one—it was much larger.

"Sir, in addition to the roast duck, I’ve also included some of Quanjude’s signature pastries. It’s just a small gesture, I hope you’ll accept it."

After handing the insulated bag to Chen Fei, he took a gold-foil business card from his pocket and presented it to Su Chen with both hands. "Sir, this is my card. In the future, if you’re ever craving Quanjude’s roast duck, just give us a call, and we’ll deliver it right to your door!"

"Home delivery?" A faint smile touched Su Chen’s lips. He could see that this restaurant manager was quite a sharp fellow.

He took the card, glanced at it, and saw that the manager shared his surname. The name was "Su Qingyun."

"Alright. I’ll call you next time I’m in the mood," he said, handing the card to Chen Fei.

The two of them walked out under the watchful eyes of the crowd... Only after they had left did the manager, Su Qingyun, glance at Yang Sufen on the floor and say, "Take your grandson and leave. You are no longer welcome at Quanjude."

He had just put the old woman on the blacklist.

Yang Sufen staggered to her feet, picked up her grandson, who had cried himself unconscious, and slowly walked out.

"Manager, she looks kind of pitiful, don’t you think?" a waiter muttered quietly, watching Yang Sufen’s retreating back.

Su Qingyun turned and glared at the man. "What, you want to be a bleeding heart? Remember this: every pitiful person has their hateful side. If it were you in that situation today, you’d be hard-pressed to clear your name!"

With that, he strode back inside, while the other waiters glanced at the one who had spoken and shook their heads slightly.

The price of being a "nice guy" is too high. It can cost someone everything.

-----------------

"Steward Jiang! Aunt Tang! Come on out, Sir brought you back something good to eat!" Chen Fei yelled in his booming voice as soon as he stepped into the courtyard house.

Aunt Tang, who was busy washing vegetables in the kitchen, poked her head out. "Sir, you’re not eating dinner at home tonight?"

"Nope. I brought back a roast duck for you all. You and Old Jiang can go ahead and eat it while it’s still hot."

Hearing this, Aunt Tang’s face broke into a wide smile. She took the insulated bag from Chen Fei’s hands. "Thank you, Sir!"

"No need for thanks. We’re all family here." After speaking, Su Chen headed for the middle courtyard and happened to run into Jiang Hui coming out.

"Sir," Jiang Hui called out, stopping in his tracks.

Su Chen gave a slight nod. "Go on, eat while it’s hot." With that, he prepared to head inside.

"Sir, wait a moment. There’s something I need to report to you!"

"Hm?" Su Chen stopped and looked at Jiang Hui, confused. ’Nothing should have happened recently, right?’

"Sir, while you were out this afternoon, Mr. Xiao Chen stopped by. He said he had something to discuss with you."

"Brother Cheen came looking for me? Why didn’t he call?" Su Chen pulled his phone out of his pocket as he spoke. There were indeed no missed calls.

"Mr. Xiao Chen said he was just passing by. He didn’t call because the matter wasn’t urgent, and he was afraid of interrupting your outing," Jiang Hui quickly explained.

Su Chen nodded thoughtfully. "Alright, I understand. Go get something to eat."

Back in the living room of the rear courtyard, Su Chen lay down on the sofa. He didn’t call Xiao Chen right away, but instead mulled over what he might want.

’It must be about those two beast heads.’ After some thought, it was the only thing Su Chen could think of.

Xiao Chen had mentioned before that he would need his help. He figured the plan Xiao Chen had talked about was probably about to be put into motion.

Having figured out the likely reason, he picked up the phone on the table and made the call.

The phone had barely rung twice when a deep and slightly weathered voice came through the line. "Is that Su Chen? That kid, Xiao Chen, went to the kitchen to cook."

Su Chen’s whole body jolted when he heard the voice. He asked, his tone laced with uncertainty, "Elder Xiao?!"

"HAHAHA! You’re a sharp one!" Elder Xiao’s hearty laughter came through the phone.

Su Chen could only manage a dry laugh. He never would have imagined that *he* would be the one to answer the phone.

"I received the six bottles of 50-year-old vintage wine you sent. Thank you!"

"Six bottles? Wasn’t it a case?" The moment the words left his mouth, Su Chen knew he’d misspoken.

Sure enough, when Elder Xiao on the other end of the line heard it was a case, his anger flared up in an instant. "Xiao Chen, you little bastard! You skimmed my good wine again, didn’t you!"

"Su Chen here says he sent a whole case, and you told me it was six bottles!"

Soon, the sounds of Elder Xiao’s roars and Xiao Chen’s pleading came through the phone.

Seeing this, Su Chen silently hung up the phone, praying for Xiao Chen in his heart. ’Elder, please go easy on him!’