CHAPTER 404: CHAPTER 404: DON’T DRAG ME DOWN

Lv Ping twisted and turned here and there, then entered an animal shed.

When they arrived there, they saw a small, monkey-like child curled up silently, as if dead.

Beside him were only some spoiled leftovers.

Lv Ping walked over, reached out to Lv Chuan, and sneered.

"Lv Chuan, you can’t blame your father. If you want to blame anyone, blame your blockhead of a mother. She refused to cooperate, otherwise you wouldn’t have to suffer so much."

The name Lv Chuan sounded incredibly familiar to Shu’er.

As he spoke, he took out a dagger and chopped towards Lv Chuan’s little finger.

Lv Chuan’s eyes showed no fear, only numbness.

"Father, rather than this, you might as well kill me cleanly."

Lv Ping sneered, "Do you think I don’t want to? How much money have you wasted from the family?"

While astonished at Lv Ping’s cruelty, Shu’er also realized how precocious Lv Chuan was.

She couldn’t help but recall a young genius from a book, seemingly also named Lv Chuan, who should be around ten years old now.

This genius only started to shine after his gambler father died.

In the original book, the genius was eventually taken in by the female lead and became a business prodigy, bringing her great wealth.

His life was sustained by the female lead, and the money he made was all used by the female lead to raise an army.

Eventually, the female lead and male lead overthrew the Emperor of Dayan together, then defeated Tang Zan.

And thus, they ascended the throne together.

This Lv Chuan was also from Su County, also had a gambler father, so could it be this child before her?

She saw that the dagger was about to cut through Lv Chuan’s little finger, her eyes turned cold, and she raised her hand to shoot her homemade secret weapon.

Small needles coated with anesthetic shot into Lv Ping’s wrist, causing it to go numb, and the dagger immediately fell to the ground.

Shu’er looked at the government officials, who immediately shouted angrily.

"Men, arrest Lv Ping, he recklessly harmed others."

Because of the relationship with Mrs. Hu, none of the officials dared to disobey, and they rushed to grab Lv Ping, who was about to commit violence.

Lv Chuan’s emaciated, skeletal face immediately turned towards Shu’er, and upon seeing the woman in the light green dress, he was stunned, his eyes slowly reddening.

Apart from his mother, it was this woman before him who saved him, and in her eyes, he saw respect, treating him as a human being.

Lv Ping was taken aback and hurriedly shouted.

"Lord, I’m wronged, you can’t arrest me."

The government official sneered, "The evidence and witnesses are both here, no room for your quibbling."

As Lv Ping saw Shu’er behind the government officials, his face turned extremely unpleasant.

"Manager Pei, you have no right to arrest me, be careful or I’ll accuse you of slander."

Shu’er smiled, "Shall I take you to see Manager Zhang first? Perhaps he might have a way to save you."

Lv Ping’s eyes brightened, he knew the manager of Zhang’s had connections, and now Shu’er took the initiative to mention seeing Manager Zhang, which made him even happier.

He reckoned Shu’er would be embarrassed then, maybe even have to apologize to him.

With this in mind, Lv Ping said, "Fine, let’s go, but don’t regret it later."

Upon reaching the entrance of Zhang’s, Shu’er noticed that ever since Liu Dafeng hadn’t come for a few days, business there had declined significantly.

The customers had returned to Pei’s to buy pastries, leading to an overall improvement in sales.

Zhang’s pastries, at first glance, appeared the same, but the taste differed vastly.

After all, Pei’s pastries were delicious because of the ingredients, unique formula, and baking tools.

Evidently, it was exceedingly difficult for Zhang’s people to obtain these.

Yinxing also informed herself that these Zhang’s people had been trying hard to poach other people from Pei’s recently.

However, Pei’s people had confidentiality agreements, and Shu’er treated them well, so they wouldn’t engage in such acts.

When Manager Zhang saw Shu’er bringing Lv Ping, his face changed instantly, knowing there was trouble.

Subsequently, Manager Zhang put on a smile and welcomed her.

"Oh, isn’t this Manager Pei? What brings you here? Please, come in and have a seat."

Shu’er smiled and said, "It was the aroma of your pastries that drew me here."

This was indeed double entendre, Boss Zhang remained unfazed, smiling at Shu’er.

"Everyone in Su County knows Pei’s pastries are the most delicious, why belittle yourself, Manager Pei? We merely rely on Pei’s to run this shop on this street."

Though he said this, his eyes still showed obvious disdain.

His distant relative was the manager at Liu’s, who hinted at obtaining Pei’s recipes and promised to cover him.

Also, with Zhang’s business picking up, he’d started to associate with County Magistrate Hu.

Now, in his eyes, Pei’s was worth nothing.

Had he obtained the complete formula, Pei’s would be of no consequence.

Shu’er smiled and nodded, "Indeed, after all, Zhang’s flavors are all modeled after Pei’s."

"Plus, Manager Zhang is considerate, never forgetting how this street flourished. If you provoke me, I’ll move the shop to a busier street, and it won’t be my loss."

At these words, Manager Zhang’s smile faded as he looked at Shu’er.

"Manager Pei can move as she pleases; we have no say in the matter."

"As for saying we copied your recipe, that’s quite offensive. When have we ever copied your formula?"

Shu’er shrugged, then pushed Lv Ping forward.

"Lv Ping, why don’t you talk about the recipe issue."

Lv Ping’s face changed, hurriedly denying.

"I don’t know anything about any recipe."

Shu’er nodded lightly, "But your wife has confessed. She said you used your son to threaten her, making pastries for Zhang’s."

Lv Ping said, "That’s not true."

Shu’er looked at a government official, who promptly stepped forward to cooperate with Shu’er.

"Since there’s no connection with Manager Zhang, we’ll have to trouble you, Lv Ping, to come with us to the County Government for an investigation."

At these words, Lv Ping’s face changed instantly.

He dared not go to the County Government alone, that place would draw blood without connections.

"Manager Zhang, you can’t abandon me."

Manager Zhang’s face changed, "Lv Ping, don’t drag me into this, I’m unaware of this matter."

Shu’er, from the side, coolly said, "Lv Ping, daring to implicate Manager Zhang will only worsen your crimes."

If Lv Ping were resolute, he wouldn’t gamble or be bribed by Manager Zhang, his interests lay solely in himself.

"Manager Pei, I was indeed bought by Manager Zhang, I can tell when he approached me, and what he asked of me."