125: Daqiang forces his way into buying an expensive cemetery plot; the three men cause trouble again, only to be thwarted by everyone else.

Chapter 43: Daqiang Forces the Purchase of a High-Priced Cemetery Plot; the Three Men's Antics Are Exposed by Everyone Again

Tuesday at 2:00 PM, the wind outside the suburban cemetery brokerage shop was thick with dust, making the leaves of the roadside poplars rustle loudly. Su Daqiang was wrapped in an old cotton coat with a pilled collar, clutching a plastic compass with peeling paint to his chest—the words "Feng Shui Treasure Land" on the Face were just a crooked sticker. In his other hand, he gripped a curled cemetery flyer while blocking the shop's glass door. Seeing Su Mingyu get out of a taxi, still holding a car company cooperation agreement for the new energy project (having just finished negotiating the first batch of orders), he immediately rushed over and grabbed her arm, his nails nearly digging into her light gray knitted sleeve.

"Mingyu! You finally came!" Su Daqiang's voice carried a deliberately forced sob, though there were no tears at all. He shoved the flyer in front of her eyes—the bold characters reading "Dragon and Phoenix Auspicious Tomb, 100,000 Yuan to Guarantee Prosperity for Descendants" were particularly eyesores. "Great Master Zhang said this tomb can help Mingzhe get an American green card and help Mingcheng pay off his gambling debts! You need to contribute 80,000, Zhu Li 10,000, and Wu Fei 10,000. That'll be enough!"

Su Mingyu's arm hurt from the grip, and she frowned, trying to pull away. "Dad, a normal double-occupancy plot can be bought for 30,000. This 10,000 is the agent doubling the price! Besides, Mom's old grave headstone was just renovated last year; there's no need to buy a new one!"

"The old grave is in some remote corner of the suburbs; how can it be worthy of my Su Family!" Su Daqiang sat down on the ground, the compass falling beside him with a 'clack.' He took the opportunity to lift the hem of his cotton coat, revealing a cloth pouch sewn inside. "Look, I've sewn all my pension money here, just waiting to buy this cemetery plot to change our luck! If you don't buy it, and Mingzhe loses his job or Mingcheng gets into gambling debt again, it'll all be your fault!"

Just as he finished speaking, Su Mingzhe and Su Mingcheng ran over from the nearby bus stop. Su Mingzhe wore an ill-fitting suit—the sleeves were rolled up twice, clearly borrowed—and held a worn shopping bag with an American supermarket logo. He pretended to be helpless as he persuaded, "Mingyu, the green card application costs a lot of money; I really can't spare any extra for the cemetery. Zhu Li is an audit supervisor now with a monthly salary of over 8,000; Wu Fei's house rental brings in 3,000 a month. Let them bear more of the burden; we're all family."

Su Mingcheng kept his hands in his pockets, chiming in sloppily, "Exactly! I went to the temple yesterday to ask, and Great Master Zhang said this tomb can help change my luck! If you don't buy it, I'll go to the Hengtong Electronics audit site where Zhu Li is in charge and cause a scene, saying she took kickbacks, and ruin her project!"

As soon as those words left his mouth, Zhu Li's voice immediately rang out: "Su Mingcheng, don't you dare touch my project!"

She was holding a printed A4 sheet—a screenshot of a chat between the agency's internal employees. It clearly stated, "'Great Master Zhang' is just the shop's cleaner, Zhang Wei, who specifically scams the elderly." Behind her was Wu Fei, holding Xiao Mi's hand (who was clutching her newly drawn entry for the botanical garden's chrysanthemum show). In her other hand, Wu Fei held a court enforcement order: "Su Mingzhe, this is the enforcement order for the three months of child support you owe Xiao Mi. The court has already frozen 2,000 dollars in your American account. Do you still have the Face to say you have no money?"

Su Daqiang swiped away Wu Fei's enforcement order, the paper flying far off in the wind. "Stop talking nonsense! Great Master Zhang is truly capable! Wu Fei, give me 10,000 quickly, or I'll live in your living room and fight Xiao Mi for the TV every day!"

Xiao Mi hid behind Wu Fei, her small hands tightly clutching her drawing, and said softly, "Mommy, Grandpa was on the phone yesterday with a man in a suit (the agent). He said, 'Let the aunts pay for the cemetery, and I'll keep 20,000 for myself to buy an opera player for seniors.' The man also said Grandpa has money hidden in his inner coat pocket."

Su Daqiang's Face turned pale instantly. He quickly zipped his coat up to his chin and pressed his hands against his pockets—there were indeed 20,000 yuan in cash hidden inside, his secretly saved pension.

"Is there money or not? Do you want me to help you pull it out and see?" Xie Hui's voice came from across the road. He was carrying a black briefcase, followed by a young man in a suit—it was Li Lei, the manager of the cemetery agency. Li Lei held an "intent money receipt" signed by Su Daqiang yesterday, which read "Prepaid deposit of 1,000 yuan, remaining balance to be paid by Su Mingyu and others." Beside it was a surveillance screenshot: Su Daqiang in the shop yesterday, tapping the counter with his compass and asking, "Can you quote a higher price? I want to keep some to buy an opera player."

Xie Hui walked over quickly, first nodding to Li Lei. "Please tell Mr. Su what his true thoughts were during his consultation yesterday."

Li Lei opened the receipt book and pointed to the remarks column: "Mr. Su Daqiang, yesterday you told me, 'I want the 100,000 yuan plot. My daughter is a Director at Company Name and cares about Face, so she'll definitely pay.' You also told us to inflate the cost, saying, 'I'll keep the extra 20,000 to buy an opera player, and the rest can be your commission.'"

Su Daqiang panicked instantly and reached out to grab the receipt book. "You're lying! When did I ever say that?"

"Whether you said it or not, it'll be clear once you listen to the video." Xie Hui took his mobile phone from his briefcase and clicked on a video—it was recorded yesterday using Time Stop. It showed Su Daqiang's conversation with Li Lei in the agency: "That girl Mingyu bought me new furniture after I made a scene last time. If I make a scene at the cemetery agency, she'll definitely compromise again. MingPhilosophy will help me talk up the 'Green Card Feng Shui,' and Mingcheng will help me threaten Zhu Li's project. If we work together, we'll surely get the 100,000! I'll keep 20,000 for an opera player, and you'll earn a commission. It's a win-win-win..."

The calculating voice in the video was clear and harsh. More and more passersby gathered. Someone picked up the chat screenshot blown by the wind and couldn't help but shout, "So he wanted to scam money for an opera player! This old man is such a faker!" "Director Su is so pitiful; her family calculates against her every day!"

Su Daqiang's Face turned the color of pig liver. He tried to grab the mobile phone but Xie Hui turned and pinned his wrist—using a neutralizing force technique learned from the condor heroes world. It looked effortless, yet it left him unable to move. Su Mingzhe quickly tried to smooth things over: "Mr. Xie, this is our family matter, don't interfere! I really am applying for a green card, which is why I think Feng Shui is important. It wasn't an intentional scam."

"Applying for a green card?" Xie Hui pulled a bank statement from his briefcase and slapped it in front of Su Mingzhe. "You just bought a 12,000 USD luxury bag in America last week as a birthday gift for your sister Su Minglan. How can you say you have no money? This 'Luxury Consumption 12,000 USD' record on the statement—do you want to read it out for everyone?"

The statement was held in front of Su Mingzhe. His head sank lower and lower, his voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz: "I... I bought that bag for a friend..."

"For a friend?" Xie Hui produced another WeChat chat screenshot, showing a conversation between Su Mingzhe and Su Minglan: "Dad wants Mingyu to buy the cemetery plot, so I'll say I have no money. Once she buys it, I'll tell Dad it's thanks to the Feng Shui and have him send me more money for the green card application fee." The timestamp on the screenshot was yesterday. Su Mingzhe's Face lost all color.

Seeing this, Su Mingcheng tried to sneak into a nearby alley, but Xie Hui grabbed his arm. "Where do you think you're going? Didn't you call a casino debt collector yesterday and say, 'Once Mingyu buys the cemetery, I'll ask Dad for 5,000 yuan to get back in the game'? Did you forget?"

Xie Hui played a recording on his mobile phone. Su Mingcheng's voice came through, mixed with the background noise of a casino: "My dad can definitely force my sister to pay. Then I'll take 5,000 and gamble again. Maybe I can pay off the 10,000 in new debt I owe..."

Before the recording finished, Su Mingcheng's legs went weak, and he slumped to the ground with a 'thud.' "I was wrong! I won't gamble anymore! I'll go to a construction site and move bricks to pay it back right now!"

The surrounding passersby finally understood everything. Someone took out their mobile phone to call the Market Supervision Bureau: "There's an agent here inflating cemetery prices, and people threatening professional women!" Su Daqiang couldn't bear the shame any longer. He scrambled up, grabbed his compass, and ran into the alley. As he ran, the 20,000 yuan in cash fell out of his coat. Su Mingzhe and Su Mingcheng also hurriedly followed, nearly crashing into a utility pole in their panicked escape.

Looking at the three pathetic departing figures, Su Mingyu breathed a sigh of relief. She rubbed her reddened arm and said to Xie Hui, "Thank you, Mr. Xie. I have to trouble you every time."

"Why be so polite with me?" Xie Hui reached into his inner universe and pulled out a brocade box containing a bottle of hot ginger tea—he had specifically put it in a purple clay thermos this morning. "You must be cold from being outside; drink something hot to warm up. I've already spoken with General Manager Meng. In the future, if anyone from the Su Family goes to the company to cause trouble, the security guards will stop them directly. You won't need to deal with them yourself."

Zhu Li and Wu Fei also walked over. Zhu Li held the screenshot of "Great Master Zhang's" identity: "Mr. Xie, I've saved this screenshot. If the agency ever dares to use a 'Master' to scam Dad again, we'll use this to file a complaint."

Wu Fei waved the enforcement order in her hand. "Su Mingzhe's child support is finally settled. If he ever dares to fall behind again, I'll go straight to the court for mandatory enforcement. Xiao Mi was so scared just now she wouldn't let go of her drawing. Why don't we take her to the botanical garden for the chrysanthemum show? She wanted to use the chrysanthemums as a background for her drawing."

Xie Hui nodded and pulled three small porcelain bottles from his inner universe, handing one to each of them. "These are nine flower jade dew pills. You've had a fright today; taking one will calm your nerves. I've already spoken with the botanical garden manager; they've reserved the best photo spot at the chrysanthemum show for us."

Hearing "chrysanthemum show," Xiao Mi immediately poked her head out from behind Wu Fei, her eyes sparkling as she held up her drawing. "Uncle, I want to take a picture of the yellow chrysanthemums! And I want to give the drawing to you!"

Xie Hui smiled as he took the drawing. It depicted four small people (Wu Fei, Xiao Mi, Su Mingyu, and Zhu Li) with a blank space left for the chrysanthemums. "Thank you, Xiao Mi. It's a beautiful drawing. I'll stick it on my car's dashboard."

In the afternoon botanical garden, the sunlight filtering through the clouds made it much warmer. Xiao Mi crouched in front of a cluster of yellow chrysanthemums while Xie Hui held her drawing for a photo. Su Mingyu sat on a bench, looking over the car company cooperation agreement for the new energy project—General Manager Meng had just messaged saying the first batch of orders from two car companies had been confirmed and production could start next month. Zhu Li sat beside her, talking about a multinational audit project she had just been assigned, her eyes full of drive. Wu Fei held some freshly bought cotton candy, occasionally giving Xiao Mi a bite, a long-absent, relaxed smile on her Face.

"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be able to focus on the project at all." Su Mingyu handed Xie Hui a bottle of cold cola. "I used to get such headaches from family matters, but now I can finally work in peace."

Zhu Li also said with a smile, "The firm notified me last week that I'll be sent to Shanghai next month for multinational audit training. I'll be able to lead projects independently when I get back. This is all thanks to you helping me block Su Mingcheng's harassment."

Wu Fei walked over, holding a doodle Xiao Mi had just finished at the chrysanthemum show—it now had a patch of yellow chrysanthemums and the words "Uncle Xie" written beside them. "Xiao Mi added this specifically, saying thank you to Uncle for playing with her."

That evening, Xie Hui booked a farmhouse restaurant. The table was covered with a checkered tablecloth, and a steaming pot of ribs and corn was stewing. Xiao Mi sat next to Xie Hui, her Face covered in corn as she ate, even picking a rib from her bowl for him. "Uncle, this rib is so fragrant. You eat it!"

Xie Hui took the rib and said with a smile, "Thank you, Xiao Mi. The rib Xiao Mi gives me is the most fragrant."

Su Mingyu served Xie Hui a bowl of rib soup. "You helped us expose the cemetery scam today. This soup has been stewing for two hours; it's good for your Qi and blood. Drink more."

Zhu Li gave Xie Hui a piece of flatbread. "This flatbread is best dipped in the soup. You've been running around all day; you must be hungry."

Wu Fei looked at the scene and said with a smile, "Xiao Mi told me today that she wants Uncle to be her 'Weekend Uncle' and accompany her to the park every weekend."

Xie Hui raised his glass and said with a smile, "Come, let's have a toast! May we never be bothered by the Su Family's nonsense again, and may our lives get better and better!"

"Cheers!" Four glasses clinked together. Xiao Mi also raised her juice cup, shouting in a sweet, childish voice, "Cheers! I want to see chrysanthemums with Uncle, Mommy, and Aunts!"

When the gathering ended, Xie Hui drove them home separately. When he dropped Su Mingyu off at her building, she took a handmade embroidered car sachet from her bag—it was made of off-white cotton with an osmanthus flower embroidered on it, filled with dried osmanthus petals. "Mr. Xie, I sewed this over the weekend. osmanthus can calm the nerves; you can use it while driving. I've troubled you so much before; consider this a small token of my appreciation."

Xie Hui took the sachet. A faint scent of osmanthus lingered around his nose, and the fabric felt soft to the touch. "I like it very much, thank you. If you ever need anything, call me anytime."

Su Mingyu's Face turned red instantly. She turned and walked quickly into the apartment building, but after a few steps, she looked back and waved at Xie Hui. The streetlights fell on her Face, making her look exceptionally gentle, as if coated in a layer of soft sugar.

On the drive home, Xie Hui hung the osmanthus sachet on the rearview mirror. As the wind blew, the sachet swayed gently. He touched his chest where his inner universe resided—inside were today's video, the bank statement, the agency chat records, as well as Xiao Mi's drawing and the osmanthus sachet. These weren't just cold objects; they were proof that the three female leads were becoming more confident, and they were the meaning behind his protection.

As the night deepened, the car traveled smoothly under the streetlights. A smile remained on Xie Hui's Face—the satisfying journey in the all is well world was continuing. He looked forward even more to seeing them completely shed the shadows of the Su Family and live the lives they wanted. And he would always be their strongest support.