Chapter 174: Chapter 174: Asking Around
Translator: 549690339
Mrs. Cao instantly regretted it, but then said, “But it’s not a big deal, these children come every day. If they want to ruin our shop’s reputation and sabotage our business, they’ll likely come again tomorrow. At that time, we must catch them and interrogate them thoroughly to find out who the heartless person is behind this shameless act.”
“Even if we catch these children and question them, they probably won’t admit it.”
Zhuang Qingning chuckled and said, “They will probably claim that children’s words cannot be trusted, that they have offended the children, so the children came to defame him. They might even claim that we had a grudge against him and specifically directed the children to frame him.”
“If this issue becomes a hot topic and is widely known, we may not stand to benefit. On the contrary, if the shop’s reputation for being haunted by little ghosts spreads, our business operations may have to cease soon.”
Mrs. Cao’s face changed instantly.
Indeed, if someone could scheme to this extent, they could also turn things around to bite back.
If this issue escalates, even if there’s no resolution, it’s okay. But if it scares the customers away from our shop, then it’s
“What should we do then…?” Mrs. Cao immediately looked worried, “just let others cause trouble behind our backs?”
Not to mention that it really affects the business, but this indignation is also unacceptable.
“Of course not, we just need to secretly find the person behind it, then figure out a way to deal with him.” Zhuang Qingning smiled and said, “You don’t need to worry about this. Just keep doing your business and I will figure out a solution.”
“What if those children come again tomorrow?” Mrs. Cao was worried that if these children came again the next day, she might not be able to control her rolling pin.
“If they don’t come tomorrow, that’s fine, but if they do come, just ignore them.”
“Ah?” Mrs. Cao was taken aback.
So they are just going to ignore those who were instigated to cause trouble?
Zhuang Qingning laughed heartily, “Auntie, don’t worry, I have a way. You guys go ahead with your work. Qingsui, you stay here and help Auntie and Qiuying, I’m going out for a bit.”
“OK.” Zhuang Qingsui nodded and watched Zhuang Qingning leave the shop.
Soon, there were customers who came in to buy things, and the three of them got busy again.
“Mother, this is not a small matter. Can Big Sister Ning really handle it alone?” Zhang Qiuying asked worriedly, “Should we also look for someone to help?”
For example, Fushun Tower.
Zhang Yongchang had a good relationship with Zhuang Qingning, so he might be willing to offer help if he knew about the situation.
Having been in town for a long time and having many connections, other people would give them face. They themselves believed that they could find a way to deal with the situation.
“Since Big Sister Ning said that we don’t have to worry, we shouldn’t meddle.” Mrs. Cao said, “She looks like she already has a plan, so we should leave her be. If we interfere now, we might end up hindering instead of helping.”
“If Ning was overwhelmed, she wouldn’t deliberately hide it from us or try to be tough. Don’t worry, just focus on your job. If we can’t handle the business in the shop while she’s out, it might distract her. We will genuinely be helping her by doing our respective tasks.”
Zhuang Qingsui also added, “Yes, Big Sister Qiuying, since our sister asked us to look after the shop, let’s do that first. We don’t need to worry too much with her around.”
“Okay.” Zhang Qiuying nodded vigorously and carried on with her tasks.
Zhuang Qingning left the shop and turned a corner into a small alley, heading towards Mrs. Deng’s house.
Mrs. Deng was washing clothes in the courtyard. When she saw Zhuang Qingning coming, she quickly stood up and wiped her hands, “Why is Ning here? Please sit down, let me make you a pot of tea and get some sunflower seeds.”
Zhuang Qingning successfully rented the shop and her business was booming, giving Mrs. Deng the confidence to retaliate against those who previously said bad Feng Shui plagued her shop. Mrs. Deng liked her very much and was extremely hospitable when she visited.
“There’s no need to rush, Auntie. I just came to talk to you and ask you something.” Zhuang Qingning smiled and said.
“What’s the matter? Just ask.”
“Are there any people who wanted to rent our shop before but didn’t because the price wasn’t agreed upon?”
“There are many such people.” Mrs. Deng thought for a while and replied, “There have been more than a dozen of them. Especially after someone said that the Feng Shui of this shop was bad, some people wanted to take advantage of the situation and rent this shop at a lower price.”
“The location of my shop is good and it’s spacious too, I can’t rent it out for that low price! They even said something about bad Feng Shui. I think their minds aren’t working properly. Even if I have to leave this shop vacant, I won’t let them get their way!”
At the mention of this, Mrs. Deng became increasingly agitated and emotional.
“What I want to know is, before the rumors about bad Feng Shui started, were there any people who wanted to rent but didn’t because they had a disagreement with you?”
Zhuang Qingning paused before adding, “Around the time the antique shop suffered setbacks and before the legs-breaking incident.”
“If you put it that way…” Mrs. Deng scratched her head and thought for a while. Suddenly, she slapped her thigh, “There was one. After the antique shop was doing badly and decided to close, someone came to rent the shop but offered a low price. He was troublesome and rude, so we argued.”
“But the man seemed very interested in my shop. Despite our argument on the first day, he came back the next day, pleading and insisting on renting the shop.”
“I originally thought that after such a heated argument on the first day, he would have softened his tone on the second day and raised his offer. But his tone was still harsh and his price didn’t improve at all. I was so annoyed that I chased him away. He cursed and grumbled as he left.”
“He came one more time later on. By then, I had already rented the shop to someone else. I didn’t want to waste my breath with him, so I told him that the shop was already rented and dismissed him.”
“When he left that time, his eyes were like daggers, as if he wanted to stab me a few times. I still remember it even now, but since he never came again to discuss renting the shop, I didn’t pay much attention to it. If it were not for you coming to ask about it, I would have almost forgotten about it.”
“But why did you suddenly bring up this matter?”
Visit freewe𝑏nov(e)l.𝗰𝐨𝐦 for the 𝑏est n𝘰vel reading experience