Chapter 54 – His Family Owes Me a Debt, I’m Going to Collect Gold—As My Dowry

After the gathering, Xie Shiyu and Tu Shanju returned to the old house.

On the way back, Tu Shanju took the initiative to tell Xie Shiyu that the person who tried to harm Lu Zeyuan’s grandfather… was actually Lu Zeyuan’s own father.

Xie Shiyu was a bit surprised.

But after thinking about it, he recalled hearing that Lu Cheng, Lu Zeyuan’s father, had been unambitious since youth—only interested in drinking and women.

Old Master Lu had long realized that his own son was a failure, so he chose a woman with suppressed talent and status—Lu Zeyuan’s mother—as his daughter-in-law, hoping she could keep Lu Cheng in check.

But obviously, that plan didn’t work.

Later, Lu Zeyuan’s mother died young from acute leukemia.

Now, although Lu Cheng held the title of CEO in the company, it was common knowledge that he had no real authority—only a nameplate.

All decisions in the company went through Chairman Old Master Lu. Any documents signed by Lu Cheng were invalid. He wasn’t even allowed to touch project matters.

Because of this, Lu Cheng had become a laughingstock—a cautionary tale parents used to teach their kids.

Over the years, hidden tensions within the Lu family must have simmered beneath the surface. Eventually, that resentment turned into hatred—leading to tragedy.

Xie Shiyu sighed.
“I don’t know if Lu Zeyuan can handle this.”

Tu Shanju looked out the window. Tree shadows under the streetlights were stretched long, flying past—sometimes light, sometimes dark.

Where there is light, there is shadow. Under the lamp, only blackness.

She lowered her gaze, no longer looking outside, and softly said,
“He can. It’s a path everyone must walk. Once he crosses it, it’ll be like seeing the light—it’ll be a rebirth.”

…

These past couple of days, Tu Shanju had nothing urgent to do. She idly played Go with Old Master Xie or taught him some tai chi to pass the time.

Oh, and beat up Goudan.

But today she didn’t go—because after several consecutive days of being violently beaten, the once-rowdy Goudan had completely submitted.

He followed all her conditions for reform.

The shady backdoor dealings were shut down. The gang was disbanded. He started a legitimate business.

Gousheng was extremely satisfied with this and even took the opportunity to belittle Goudan, saying he’d been buried in the sand by his own granddaughter, Tu Shanju.

Around noon, Tu Shanju received a message from Bai Yu. He said he’d be returning to South City tomorrow and wanted to treat his savior to a meal—and introduce a new business opportunity while he was at it.

Tu Shanju agreed.

Old clients introducing new clients was routine for her. She was used to it.

Meanwhile, Xie Shiyu had been busy too.

But not with the Xie family business—he was helping Lu Zeyuan.

Lu Cheng had taken advantage of Old Master Lu’s illness to secretly transfer a large portion of company funds into overseas accounts. This resulted in a major funding shortfall in Lu Corporation’s new project—creating a massive hole in their finances.

Old Master Lu had collapsed in anger after discovering that his own son had planned to poison and harm him—and was now hospitalized.

But the situation was still within control.

This turmoil was destined in the Lu family’s fate—unavoidable. But with Xie Shiyu and Qi Chen’s help, the Lu family might stumble, but they would not fall.

Lu Cheng fled, leaving Han Linran behind.

She shamelessly tried to stay in the Lu household, but she had no right to.

She was kicked out with nothing.

Coincidentally, on the day she was evicted, she happened to be wearing that same white rose-patterned qipao.

Lu Zeyuan pulled himself together, and with Xie Shiyu and Qi Chen’s support, the Lu family would soon rise again.

During this time, Tu Shanju had Xie Jingting call Wang Xin (the guy who had pretended to be a ghost that day) and tell him to come credit a knife.

Once the deal was made, Tu Shanju told Wang Xin to inform his father to invest all his capital into Lu Corporation’s new project to fill the funding gap.

In time, the Wang family could make a fortune from this project—both families would win and rise to a higher level together.

After lunch, Tu Shanju suddenly remembered something:
She was originally planning to collect her dowry.

How did she forget?

Since she had nothing else to do, she opened her drawer and pulled out her little white leather notebook, flipping to a random page.

South City, Xiao Family – Xiao Yingwei.

He was in the gold business.

Ten years ago, he credited a knife. Tu Shanju gave him a prediction about the gold industry trend over the following ten years.

Using that forecast, he bought and sold gold at the right moments, eventually establishing his own independent jewelry brand: Xiao Da Fu.

In just ten years, Xiao Da Fu had opened branded stores nationwide and had counters in all major malls. It was now one of the top ten jewelry brands in Daxia.

This client came through her Second Granduncle, Tu Shanliang.

“Hmm. This one’s not bad. Gold is a must for a dowry. I’ll go knock on the Xiao family’s door today.”

Before leaving, Tu Shanju used her senses to probe the Xiao family’s current status and location.

The moment she did, her brows furrowed.

Xiao Yingwei’s long-lost cousin was him!

She clicked her tongue. What a coincidence.

She closed the ledger and put it back in the drawer.

Then she took a nap.

Roughly an hour later, her lunch break was over. She packed up and prepared to head out.

Knife-crediteers had always been the type to show up uninvited.

That’s just how their profession worked—you could never predict when they’d show up to collect.

This knife credit from ten years ago involved a prophecy predicting a gold industry trend lasting ten years. That prophecy had come true as of March this year—marking exactly ten years.

So the transaction was officially complete.

They all knew this at the time of crediting. Knife-crediteers had unpredictable movements. The client just needed to be ready to pay up when the time came. As for when they showed up? That was uncertain. Best to always be prepared.

The Xiao residence was in the exact opposite direction from the Xie family estate.

Xie Shiyu had arranged a car and driver specifically for Tu Shanju.

Considering her job’s nature, he even hired two drivers to rotate shifts.

And both drivers had their birth charts examined by Tu Shanju—only those deemed compatible were kept.

After getting in, Tu Shanju gave the address. The driver started the car and pulled away from the old estate.

On the road, Xie Shiyu messaged her, asking if she had woken up. He wanted to take her on a date tonight.

Tu Shanju replied by asking, “What time?”

The moment she sent that, Xie Shiyu replied:
[You’re out on a job?]

Tu Shanju texted back:
[Mm. I’m heading to the Xiao family. They owe me a debt—I’m going to collect gold. For my dowry!]

At this moment…
In the top-floor CEO office of the Xie Corporation—

Lu Zeyuan and Qi Chen looked speechlessly at Xie Shiyu, who was sitting on the couch opposite them, staring at his phone with a grin so wide it nearly reached his ears.

“Bro, what are you laughing at?” Lu Zeyuan knocked the coffee table.
“You tell me—how did Chairman Wang suddenly show up wanting to invest in our project? How did he even know about our situation…”

Xie Shiyu finished texting Tu Shanju back, telling her to message him when she was done so he could come pick her up.

Only then did he put down his phone and finally look up.

Seeing both of them staring at him, he raised an eyebrow and asked:
“Hmm? What did you just say?”

Lu Zeyuan & Qi Chen: “……”