RGL – Chapter 129

“Minzi is right. Look at those men in the village who are addicted to gambling—how many of them are living well? They don’t care about their families and even bring trouble home. Their wives have all run off!”

Sun Qiufang also deeply loathed gambling.

Seeing that both his daughter and wife were saying this, Su Changrong quickly added, “Didn’t I already say I’m not going? Don’t worry. I’ll hold steady and won’t be tempted, alright?”

Su Min thought for a moment and said, “Dad, if he invites you, you should agree first—but don’t go right away. Set a time to go later.”

“You’re telling your dad to go gambling?” Sun Qiufang stared with wide eyes.

Su Changrong also looked confused.

Seeing their expressions, Su Min realized they misunderstood and laughed. “How could I dare let my dad do something like that? What I meant is, have him agree first, and then we can find a way to trap him.”

“Oh, I see.” Sun Qiufang finally understood but still looked doubtful. “But what’s the use of that? If your dad really goes along, isn’t that just giving in to Wang Mingsong’s plan?”

“Mom, Dad just needs to pretend to agree, but he doesn’t really have to go. We’ll create some problems on our end too. Besides, if Dad refuses outright, Wang Mingsong might try something else to harm us—he’ll be in the shadows while we’re out in the open. Only by letting Dad get close to him will we have the chance to catch him red-handed.”

“Will that really work? He’s already scheming against us—can we really out-scheme him?”

Su Changrong was also worried. “Your mom’s right, that Wang Mingsong seems pretty smart.”

“Too clever for his own good,” Su Min said. “Whether it works or not, we have to try. At least we won’t suffer for trying.”

Su Min was determined that this time, Wang Mingsong would suffer the consequences of his own schemes.

Although Su Changrong and Sun Qiufang had learned many lessons and understood business better now, they were still a bit lost when it came to these kinds of tactics, so they could only follow their daughter’s lead.

They thought to themselves: if this worked, it would be great. That scoundrel Wang Mingsong had already harmed others, and now he wanted to hurt their family too—he was truly heartless.

After the family finished their discussion, Su Min called Manager Song and asked him to tell Wang Mingsong that Su Changrong was fond of playing mahjong and preferred high-stakes games.

A couple of days later, Manager Song indeed reported that Wang Mingsong wanted him to make an introduction so he could meet Su Changrong.

“Looks like Minzi was right. He really is thinking that way.”

Su Changrong was furious.

Sun Qiufang said, “Minzi, tell us how we should handle this. We’ll take care of the arrangements.”

“I’ve got it all planned,” Su Min said. “I’ve got a classmate whose uncle is a police officer—he’ll come with us. And Li Liang is even more eager than we are to bring down Wang Mingsong, so everything is in place.”

“Sigh, all the family matters are falling on your shoulders.” Sun Qiufang felt a stab of pain for her daughter. Taking care of the family should have been her and Su Changrong’s responsibility, but now it was all weighing on their daughter.

Looking at her daughter, now a graceful and capable young woman, Sun Qiufang felt a deep ache in her heart. In the blink of an eye, her daughter had grown up and could shoulder the family burdens. If not for her daughter’s cleverness, they really would’ve fallen into Wang Mingsong’s trap. Who knows what their family would look like now?

A few days later, Manager Song indeed introduced Wang Mingsong, who came to the supermarket to find Su Changrong.

“Mingsong heard about you from me, and when he found out you were from the same hometown, he said he wanted to come visit.”

Manager Song made a warm introduction.

Su Changrong looked at Wang Mingsong, so furious he wanted to hit him, but he kept a calm expression. “Oh, so we’re from the same hometown. That’s quite the coincidence. Why don’t you come into the store and sit for a while?”

Wang Mingsong, a sociable person, smiled and walked into the store.

Looking around the large supermarket, Wang Mingsong said with a smile, “I’ve heard this place sells cheap and has a great selection. Brother Su, this is really impressive.”

“Ah, business is tough. We were almost forced to close recently because someone tried to sabotage us.”

Hearing this, Wang Mingsong’s heart skipped a beat, but he smiled and said, “Yeah, I heard about that. Good thing the person was caught. As long as the store is fine, that’s what matters. I’m doing business in the city too—if you ever need anything, just let me know. We’re from the same place, no need to be formal. It’s not easy to meet a fellow townsman out here.”

“Ain’t that the truth.”

Su Changrong smiled.

Seeing how quickly Su Changrong warmed up to him, Wang Mingsong felt smug. This kind of man has never seen much of the world—just treat him nicely and he’ll be overjoyed.

Since it was the first meeting, Wang Mingsong didn’t act too familiar. After chatting a bit, he left.

For several days after that, Wang Mingsong came by the supermarket frequently—sometimes for errands, sometimes to shop. Over time, he and Su Changrong started appearing quite close.

“Uncle, when are you actually going to deal with Su Min and the others? She still looks perfectly fine at school.”

After school, Su Wenwen rushed into the office to confront Wang Mingsong.

Wang Mingsong saw her agitation and laughed. “What are you so worried about? It’s just a matter of me saying the word. In the business world, I can deal with them however I want.”

As he said this, his face carried a bit of arrogant confidence.

Looking at him like this, Su Wenwen suddenly felt her heart stir.

Uncle was only in his forties and was just like the powerful older male leads in novels—capable, good-looking, and refined. Especially since he treated her so well.

She remembered one novel where the female lead was raised by the male lead, posing as a father-daughter pair, and they eventually got married. Thinking of that, Su Wenwen felt a little awkward and couldn’t help blushing, especially remembering what had happened earlier.

Seeing her like this, Wang Mingsong knew those novels were having an effect. He smiled and pulled a few more books from the drawer. “A friend gave me some new ones the other day—take them and have a read. By the way, did you finish the last ones?”

Su Wenwen nodded shyly with her head lowered.

“Go on, get back to your studies so your mom doesn’t worry,” Wang Mingsong said with a smile.

Handsome, rich, refined, and devoted to her mom—what more could she ask for?

Su Wenwen felt a mix of emotions.

Meanwhile, Su Changrong had already told his daughter the current situation with Wang Mingsong.

After hearing it, Su Min said, “That Wang Mingsong is indeed clever and quite patient. Dad, you need to stay calm and make sure he doesn’t suspect anything.”

“He hasn’t noticed anything yet,” Su Changrong replied. “But I just feel like he’s fake. He’s clearly trying to harm me, yet acts like we’re best buddies. Seriously, how can someone be so two-faced? You really do live and learn.”

Sun Qiufang said, “I’m not worried about anything else. It’s just that the New Year is coming up in a few days. This matter probably won’t be resolved until after the holidays.”

Su Min figured it would likely be handled in just a few days.

Sure enough, not long after, Wang Mingsong—having learned that Su Changrong liked to secretly play mahjong—hinted that he knew of a good place for it. It was a dedicated spot, and there were usually a lot of players.

“That won’t do,” Su Changrong said with a worried look. “I just play with relatives for fun. What if we get caught outside?”

Wang Mingsong laughed. “Don’t worry about that. If someone is running a place like that, they’re definitely keeping it well hidden. Just go.”

Su Changrong thought for a moment, then said, “Alright. But I’m usually busy. The only time I’m free is the night of the 29th. How about then? It’ll be safer too.”

Wang Mingsong hadn’t expected Su Changrong to take the bait so quickly, so when he heard the confirmed date, he agreed right away.

After Wang Mingsong left, Su Changrong spat forcefully on the ground.

When he got home, he told Su Min the agreed-upon time.

Su Min grinned. “Nice choice, Dad. Let’s make sure he doesn’t get to enjoy New Year’s Eve.”

On the afternoon of the 29th, Sun Hai brought the whole family to Sun Qiufang’s place for an early New Year’s dinner.

He had decided to take everyone back to the hometown for the New Year. After all, they’d been away for a long time, and the kids were grown—plus they rarely celebrated the holidays there. Since his older brother had extended an olive branch, he didn’t want to embarrass him by refusing.

Although Sun Qiufang still held some resentment toward Sun Bing, she didn’t object to them going back.

“I wonder if Zhang Guihua will go back too. But with Mengmeng tagging along, I’m not worried.”

“Maybe Guihua has changed like Bingzi,” Grandma Sun said, always favoring harmony. “A peaceful family brings prosperity.”

Sun Qiufang replied, “She can say she’s changed all she wants—I’ll believe it when I see it.”

Su Changrong tugged her sleeve discreetly, signaling her not to argue with the elder. He then smiled and said to Grandma Sun, “Mom, you all come back soon, okay? It feels lonely here without you.”

Hearing this from her son-in-law, Grandma Sun felt better instantly and smiled. “We’ll be back after the third day of the New Year.”

“Alright, then Qiufang and I will meet you at the station.”

“It’s just a short walk—no need to trouble yourselves.”

“No trouble at all, we’re family.”

Grandma Sun grinned so wide she could hardly close her mouth.

After lunch, Sun Hai took the family to catch the afternoon bus back home for the New Year.

Su Changrong and Sun Qiufang accompanied them to the station. Once the bus drove off, the couple sighed. Another New Year with just the three of them—it was a little too quiet.

If their hometown wasn’t so filled with drama, they would have liked to spend the holidays there too. It would feel more festive.

Back at home, Su Changrong brought up the plan to play mahjong with Wang Mingsong that night.

“Didn’t Minzi say she’s already arranged everything? Let’s just stay home and wait. We’ll see the results tomorrow,” Sun Qiufang said. She turned to Su Min and asked, “Minzi, are you sure this will work? People don’t get detained for long over gambling.”

Su Min was warming her hands over the charcoal stove and laughed. “I never intended to really get him punished badly. I just want him to suffer a little. Let him spend the New Year in a police station. When the time comes, Dad, just tell him Mom held you up, and when you were finally on your way, you saw the police raiding the place, so you didn’t go. He doesn’t know we’re onto him—he won’t suspect us.”

Sun Qiufang said, “Good. Just a few days in there is way too easy for him.”

Su Min nodded, already plotting how to deal with Wang Mingsong long-term.

Now that he had shifted focus to targeting her father and wasn’t bothering the supermarket anymore, their previous strategy wouldn’t work. This little trap was just to teach him a lesson. But if they really wanted to take him down, they’d need a better plan.

Wang Mingsong was too clever—ordinary tricks wouldn’t fool him.

To deal with someone like him, they needed someone even more cunning.

Su Min thought carefully—and suddenly, someone came to mind. For a man like Wang Mingsong, who thinks he’s smart and enjoys hurting others, the best solution was to use someone even more ruthless.

“Why isn’t Mingsong home yet? It’s already so late.”

Back at the Wang household, Mother Wang kept glancing worriedly out the window.

Seeing how unconcerned Gao Hong looked, she scolded, “Your husband isn’t home yet, and you’re not the least bit worried?”

“Mom, Mingsong always comes home late.”

Gao Hong was long used to Wang Mingsong staying out late.

Seeing her talk back, the old woman grew angry. “Do you think today is just another day? It’s the 29th! I really don’t know why Mingsong ever married you.”

“Mom, don’t go too far,” Gao Hong snapped, standing up.

Now that she’d had a son, the Wang family still didn’t treat her with respect. She wasn’t going to take it anymore—there was still a long life ahead.

Seeing her yelling back, Mother Wang pointed to the door and shouted, “Get out! This is my house. If you don’t want to be part of this family, we don’t need you! A woman who’s been married before, and you dare act all high and mighty in my home? Do you think I’m like that clueless country bumpkin Su family grandma? Even your own mother would have to bow to me if she saw me!”

Gao Hong’s face turned red with rage. Before she could retort, the phone rang.

Father Wang ignored the two women and went to answer it. After a few words, his expression changed drastically.

“What is it?” Mother Wang asked anxiously.

Father Wang hung up and said urgently, “Mingsong got caught gambling in a raid!”

On the morning of New Year’s Eve, Su Changrong carried some gifts and took a bus back to the countryside.

He first rode to the county, then transferred to a bus to the town. By the time he arrived at Su Changfu’s house, it was almost noon.

Grandpa Su, knowing he was coming, had been waiting at the station early. Seeing Su Changrong get off, he rushed over to help carry his things. “Why didn’t Qiufang and Minzi come back for the New Year? Families should celebrate together.”

Su Changrong replied, “The house is too busy—couldn’t get away.”

If he brought his wife back and they got into a fight again, how would that be any kind of New Year?

Grandpa Su knew that was just an excuse. He understood that his daughter-in-law still held a grudge over what happened in the past, but he didn’t push it. As long as his son was still willing to come home, it meant he still cared about the family.

On the way, Su Changrong slipped Sangen 200 yuan.

“I haven’t been back all year and haven’t done anything for you both. Take this and buy yourselves something nice.”

Of course, he knew that money would end up going to his second brother’s family. But still, he was doing his duty as a son. As for where the money went—that wasn’t for him to interfere with.

Grandpa Su accepted the money with a heavy heart.

He had raised several sons, but it was always the second and third who benefitted most. The second always needed financial help, and the third never cared about the family. In the end, it was always the eldest who gave money to support the parents.

“Changrong, have Qiufang come home next year. I won’t let your mother give her a hard time.”

“We’ll see,” Su Changrong replied, not making any promises. Whether his wife wanted to come or not was up to her—he wasn’t going to give empty assurances.

When they arrived home, Su Changgui’s family was already there. Shao Yun was helping Li Yulan in the kitchen, while Su Changgui sat next to the charcoal stove reading a book, looking like a laid-back gentleman.

Seeing Su Changrong return, he looked up and greeted him.

It was Su Changfu who came to pour him a cup of hot water and set off a small firecracker.

“Good to have you back. I thought Cancan would come with you, but that rascal came home by himself.”