Chapter 14 – Taken Away

Su Yunqi lay on Lu Zhao’s back and spoke earnestly. “Then why not buy one? I have money too. I can pay for it.”

She was now eager to buy a bicycle. Walking was exhausting and too hard on her feet. She still had some private savings.

“No. You’re not allowed to buy one either.” Lu Zhao coldly refused, then lifted Su Yunqi’s bottom a little higher to keep her from slipping down.

“You’re not even giving a reason. Then I will buy one!” Su Yunqi pouted and squared off against him.

“Go ahead. If you buy one, I’ll take the chain off.”

“Then I’ll throw out your clothes.”

“Fine. Then I won’t wear anything, and you better not think about wearing anything either.”

When it came to being shameless, Su Yunqi was no match for Lu Zhao.

Furious, Su Yunqi pinched his ear again, but Lu Zhao still would not give in. After making enough of a fuss, she gave up and lay back down, then launched into another topic without pause.

“Then tell me, what kind of job should I get? Now the train attendants at the department store have to stand for work. They can’t sit anymore. Standing all day is exhausting.

The grain and oil store was hiring before. You could sit there, just take money and keep accounts. But that place has a smell—I don’t like it. And now, I’m not even sure if they’re still hiring.

Otherwise, I could go back to our village and become a primary school teacher. If you have a high school diploma, you can teach elementary school. But writing on the blackboard gets chalk dust all over your face. It’s really uncomfortable. I don’t like that either.”

Su Yunqi listed several jobs, none of which she liked. As she went on, she started to feel dejected again.

“Do you think I’m going to be bad at everything?”

She knew what kind of person she was—delicate and lazy. Every job seemed like an insurmountable mountain to her, and she wasn’t sure if she could stick with it.

“No, you won’t. If you don’t want to work, then don’t. I’m not someone who can’t afford to support you.” Lu Zhao casually responded, steadily carrying Su Yunqi on his back as they continued toward the town.

“Really? Don’t boast. How much money have you saved? Supporting me takes a lot of money. My parents spent so much on me, and now they haven’t saved much.” Su Yunqi was skeptical. She tugged at Lu Zhao’s hair, truly pulling at the tiger’s mane.

“I’ll tell you when we get back.” Lu Zhao refused to answer right now, trying to keep Su Yunqi curious.

“Then do you have a job you really want to do?”

“Nope. As long as it’s easy, decent, clean, and I can sit down.”

Su Yunqi seriously counted off her requirements on her fingers.

Lu Zhao chuckled. “Well, there is one that fits exactly what you said.”

“Which one?”

“Being a boss’s wife. You just sit and boss people around, don’t have to move. It’s absolutely clean, easy, and respectable. You can sit when you want, stand when you want, and walk when you want.” Lu Zhao was subtly hinting that he planned to pull her into his own shop.

“Really? Being a boss’s wife sounds great! When are you opening your store?” Su Yunqi suddenly remembered that Lu Zhao had mentioned he wanted to open a shop. She could just work for him there!

“Soon. In about half a month. For now, you can rest a bit. No need to rush to find a job.”

“Okay!” She was happy that she wouldn’t have to be bossed around anymore.

Besides, Lu Zhao was opening a dry goods store, so it should have no smell. She could clean the shop herself to make it spotless, and that wouldn’t be a problem!

“Then… heh heh, Lu Zhao, will you pay me a salary?” Su Yunqi rubbed her hands together and asked, a bit shyly.

Lu Zhao turned his head to look at her, the corner of his mouth lifting. Seeing Su Yunqi’s hopeful eyes, he parted his lips.

“No salary.”

“…”

“I think I’ll go look for a job after all.” Su Yunqi said seriously.

“You can’t put all your eggs in one basket. What if your store doesn’t make money? I’ll be working and earning a salary to support the family. Otherwise, we’ll have no money for food.”

“You won’t starve. Don’t worry about that. I’ll make sure there’s always enough for you to have steamed buns at every meal.”

Steamed buns? That wasn’t enough! Her goal was to eat meat at every meal!

Su Yunqi wanted to say that Lu Zhao’s standards were too low and short-sighted, but she was afraid he might throw her off his back, so she had no choice but to sulk and remain silent.

Upon arriving at the town, of course, they had to visit the department store. Things had improved a lot now. With money, she could buy most things. It was nothing like before when everything required coupons. Without them, one couldn’t go anywhere.

“I want to buy…”

Her face cream had run out, so she wanted to buy a new one. But just as she finished speaking, Zheng Ye and several Public Security officers charged toward them.

Behind them, there was also his crippled, one-armed subordinate.

“It’s him! It’s him who made us like this! Public Security comrades, you must stand up for us!”

Zheng Ye pointed at Lu Zhao, speaking through gritted teeth. His front teeth had been knocked out, so his speech was muffled, and he couldn’t speak clearly.

He had endured and endured, but he still couldn’t swallow his anger. He brought his little underlings to file a complaint.

He was going to make sure that Public Security locked Lu Zhao up!

The so-called Village Tyrant, huh? He thought he was so tough?

Zheng Ye didn’t believe anyone could be tougher than Public Security! He’d beaten up so many people, surely it was time for him to be sentenced. This was far more serious than the petty scuffles they’d had before. Money couldn’t solve this!

Zheng Ye was riding on his power, looking arrogant again. He was talking, but with his three missing teeth, he looked like an old man and was hideously ugly.

“Lu Zhao, right? Come with us. We need to take your statement.”

The Public Security officers immediately attempted to take Lu Zhao to the Public Security Bureau. Seeing this, Su Yunqi immediately stepped in front of him, her small body standing bravely.

She wasn’t happy and loudly retorted. “How can you arrest Lu Zhao, Public Security uncle? It’s not Lu Zhao’s fault! We already reported this before. It was him and his little underlings, those little bullies, who tried to drag me away on the street. They’re the real bad guys!

It was also them yesterday, they saw me again and tried to cause trouble, trying to take me away. Lu Zhao was the one who knocked them down. How can you blame him? If anyone should be arrested, it should be them!”

Su Yunqi pointed at Zheng Ye, speaking angrily. Her cute little face was flushed with fury, and she was livid. These evil people were making the first move to report them!

“Let’s keep things clear. They caused trouble for you, but do you have any evidence? It’s true that they were injured, but whether it was intentional or just self-defense, we need to take them back to the Public Security Bureau and question them properly. Just because we’re taking him away doesn’t mean he’s going to jail. Little girl, you don’t need to worry too much.”

The Public Security officer tried to reassure Su Yunqi. Ignoring her objections, they forcefully took Lu Zhao away.

Lu Zhao turned back and gave her a gesture to follow. “It’s fine. I’ll resolve it soon. Don’t worry.”

He said this, but how could Su Yunqi not worry? She quickly followed him.

The last time, when Zheng Ye and his group tried to drag her away on the street, there were witnesses—passersby and people from the village all saw it. Because of this, when they went to report it, Public Security did indeed arrest Zheng Ye and his group, holding them in detention for a few days.

But because they were wealthy, they were soon bailed out. During that time, they were still under observation, and Zheng Ye didn’t dare to cause any more trouble. That’s why they waited for half a month, until Lu Zhao returned, and then Father Su hurriedly arranged to marry Su Yunqi off.

Otherwise, before Lu Zhao returned, Zheng Ye would have come knocking to forcibly marry her.

This time, when Lu Zhao beat someone up in the street, it was witnessed again. However, this time, he was only provoked verbally and hadn’t done anything yet, but Lu Zhao directly knocked the person out.

In order to settle things, Public Security offered two choices. “Either you pay compensation and apologize, or you spend some time in detention. It’s up to you.”