Chapter 55: The Su Family Meets with Disaster

  "How dare you say that? Young master, even if I had ten times the courage, I wouldn't dare speak ill of you." Su Lun's question made Chen Yufei shudder all over, his legs went weak and he knelt down on the ground.

  Su Lun glanced at him and said lightly, "Alright, alright, get up. It's not good to be like this early in the morning. You've been following me for over a decade, so I won't say anything more about it. But remember, if you speak out of turn again, you..."

  "I won't dare, I won't dare. I was just carried away for a moment. From now on, I will definitely remember the hierarchy and absolutely not say anything wrong again." Chen Yufei said hastily.

  "Alright, you can go now. Since the rumors outside have stopped, I'll take a break for two days too. My sister doesn't want me to interfere with household matters anymore, and honestly, I don't want to either."

  After Chen Yufei left, he beckoned towards the back of the screen and said: "Miao Miao, come out."

  ……

  After washing up and having breakfast, Su Tong began his day's work.

  Everyone in the family knows that she is now the pillar of the entire family. Although those older uncles and aunts can't help but grumble a few words about their daughter not following the rules, as the proper master of the current Su family, he has never interfered with her at all, giving Su Tong ample room to maneuver. The achievements she has made over the years are also evident to everyone, and gradually, these opposing voices have also disappeared.

  First, I checked the accounts at home, which were all recorded in the warehouse. Those old guys are still loyal to the old master of the house, and no one can move them, so the data is absolutely impossible to fake.

  "Recently, the profit seems to have decreased." Seeing the recent sales data, Su Tong said with some confusion. During her absence from home, the entire Su family's income had decreased significantly, which surprised her greatly.

  The old accountant, who looked like he was in his seventies or eighties, said: "Miss, this all happened after the Zhang family's business was established. Their things are more convenient than ours, and the prices are the same, so they've taken all our business."

  "Oh? Is that so? Then you haven't taken any measures?" Su Tong heard this, and was slightly surprised in her heart, but her tone of voice remained calm.

  That man bitterly smiled and said, "Young lady, you haven't seen it before. They use machines for production over there. A large log can be turned into countless small sticks in just a moment. I think he's able to keep the price at the same level as us because of the cost of wood materials. Maybe his profit is even higher than ours. The level of productivity is not on the same level, how can we compete?"

  "We have all the wood resources here, but they are not as fast as them? From the moment I stepped onto land today, everything I saw and heard seemed to be related to Zhang Lei. It seems that I should find some time to visit him." Su Tong thought to himself.

  "After a while, she said: 'What have you been doing in the store all this time? They won't be making progress step by step and we don't do anything, will they? If they can come up with new ideas, so can we.'"

  "That person said: 'Alas... during this period of time, what new things have emerged? First, everyone's attention was drawn to Zhang Lei, and then the young master and they had a battle of magical powers. Where is there still any spare thought...'"

  Before he could finish speaking, Su Tong had already left.

  "Is Boss Zhang in?" Zhang Lei had been busy for the whole morning and had just come out of a shower when he heard a shrill voice coming from outside. He now lived alone in a small building not far from Xu's place.

  After tidying up the messy room, he said: "Come in."

  With a creak, the gate of the small courtyard outside was pushed open, and the Blood Throat Horse named "Rapid" by Zhang Lei let out a loud whinny to show off its presence. Two teenage girls walked over in this direction with gentle steps.

  Zhang Lei looked at the slightly larger eyebrow and saw a few similarities with Su Lun, then looked at her big feet, and suddenly had an idea. When the two of them walked closer, he went up to greet them and said: "So it's Miss Su who has arrived."

  "Do you all know me?" Su Tong asked with a faint smile.

  As for flattering words, Zhang Lei could say them with his eyes closed for three days and three nights without repeating himself. At this time, he naturally said: "You've come to my house, how can I not know your great name? Moreover, Su Niang is a beauty with both talent and looks, once she arrives at Songjiang Prefecture, it will be a sensation that attracts tens of thousands of people. How could I not know about such a big commotion?"

  "As soon as I came back, I heard that Boss Zhang's eloquence is unmatched. Today, I finally see it for myself and indeed, his reputation is not exaggerated." Who doesn't love to hear praise? Even Su Tong, a girl who has grown up in the midst of flattery since childhood, couldn't help but feel delighted upon hearing Zhang Lei's words.

  Zhang Lei slightly lowered his head and said, "No choice, no ability to tie up a chicken, can't take the imperial examination, can only rely on eloquence. Spoke for so long without offering tea, truly impolite. Come come come, first sit down."

  "Are you the only one living here? Haven't you hired any maids?" Su Tong couldn't help but ask in surprise as she saw Zhang Lei busily serving tea and water all by himself. In her impression, which household boss didn't buy a few maids to serve them?

  "No way, no way, we're not that lucky yet. We're just ordinary people, struggling to make ends meet, can't afford it."

  Su Tong said: "If Boss Zhang is still poor, then how many rich people are there in Songjiang Prefecture? Right, I came today to understand the situation of our two families. I hope Boss Zhang will tell me the truth."

  "What's there to understand? Ha ha, it's not like I'm some kind of big shot. Besides, the Su family has connections all the way up to the top in Songjiang Prefecture, so investigating a small farmer like me should be easy, right?" Zhang Lei said with a smile as he poured tea.

  "Is Mr. Zhang praising my family or scolding us? I'm not going to do those things. The other day was a mistake made by my brother, and I apologize on his behalf to Mr. Zhang." Su Tong stood up and bowed slowly.

  Zhang Lei smiled and said: "So Miss Su had this intention today, okay, I accept it. Your brother indeed made a bit of trouble. What else do you want to see me for, Miss Su?"

  "In our family, we really spoiled him a bit and he did many wrong things. Luckily, Mr. Zhang tolerated it. It's truly an honor for the Su family." Su Tong said with a smile.

  "I accept apologies from anyone, but as for anything beyond that, I don't guarantee anything. Miss Su should be mentally prepared from now on." Zhang Lei said with a hearty laugh.

  Su Tong's face stiffened and he said: "I don't know what Mr. Zhang means by saying this, could it be that you also want to do something deceitful?"

  "Of course not," Zhang Lei hastily waved his hand to clarify, "How could I be that kind of person? I've never held a grudge in my life. Whenever I have one, I settle it on the spot."

  "Boss Zhang is really good at joking, okay, I understand, I'll just tell my brother to not cause any trouble when I get back," Su Tong replied.

  Just then, someone rushed in from outside. Zhang Lei heard the sound of the door opening and thought it was Er Gou coming to report back, but when he looked up, it wasn't him. Instead, it was a stranger. However, this stranger seemed to know him.

  "Miss Su, something terrible has happened!" The man exclaimed loudly as soon as he saw Su Tong.

  Su Tong stood up and smiled apologetically at Zhang Lei, who made a please gesture and said: "Since Miss Su is so busy, I'm afraid that if I keep you here any longer, I'll incur the wrath of everyone."

  "I'm really sorry today, thank you Mr. Zhang for the hospitality, in that case, I'll come again another day to ask for advice." Su Tong said.

  "Please go ahead," Zhang Lei said indifferently.

  As soon as Zhang Lei left the house, Su Tong immediately regained his usual sharp and capable demeanor, expressionless, saying: "What's going on? Can't you see I'm a guest in someone else's home? What kind of behavior is this?"

  Xiao Ru said: "Don't blame the beggar either, miss. If he didn't have something important to attend to, would he be in such a hurry?"

  Su Qi'er nodded repeatedly, and only then did Su Tong say: "Alright, then tell me, what's going on? You're always wandering around outside, what have you seen?"

  "Our cargo ship has been hijacked." Su Qi'er's words were astonishing.

  "What?" As soon as Su Tong heard this, her face changed color and she exclaimed in surprise: "When did this happen? Does the family know about it?"

  Su Qi'er said: "It was this morning that we received the news, and it has already been discussed at home. Young Master went to inform Magistrate Tong, and then he took people to the dock."

  Su Lun returned very positively, Su Tong nodded in satisfaction and said: "Then we will go to the dock too."

  "Sister, you're here." The dock was now crowded with people. Seeing Su Tong coming over, Su Lun ran to her side and said.

  Su Tong glanced around and finally fixed his gaze on the huge ship at sea, asking in a deep voice: "What's going on?" Su Lun replied with a helpless expression: "I don't know either, I just heard that our ship was hijacked when I was at home, so I brought people here. Now I still haven't figured out what's going on. All I've heard is that this big ship belongs to the Admiral of the Navy."

  "Naval Commander?" Su Tong suddenly felt that something was wrong, but then thought about it and said: "Why would the Naval Commander's ship be here?"

  "It's just hearsay, sister is calm, but our boat was intercepted by this big ship, it's a fact." Su Lun said helplessly.

  Su Tong asked, "Isn't there someone in charge? Even if they've seized our boat, shouldn't they at least negotiate some terms? What's going on here? Go call someone to ask around and find out who this boat belongs to."

  "Sister, negotiate with the Admiral of the Navy? I'm afraid that won't work?" Su Lun said worriedly.

  Su Tong turned his head and looked at him, saying: "Then where are you going?"

  Su Lun shrunk his neck and suddenly retreated a few steps, saying nothing.

  Suddenly, two people appeared on the deck of the big ship. If Zhang Lei were here, he would definitely recognize that the man with a crutch and one blind eye was Qin Luofeng.