Seeing his business flourish, Song Qiao invited his wife to visit his processing plant, hoping to reassure her about his ventures.
"Honey, the factory now has nearly three hundred workers. Our average daily production brings in over twenty thousand yuan in profit."
Song Qiao offered Xia Yuqing the meticulously prepared accounts, observing her disbelieving expression.
"This, is this all true?" Xia Yuqing was utterly stunned by the scale of the factory. She had never imagined that Song Qiao's words that day were not only true but that the factory was so profitable.
She had also observed the workshop earlier, seeing the workers toiling away with such enthusiasm that there was no possibility of fabricated accounts.
"Of course, it's true. I promised you," Song Qiao said, putting an arm around her shoulder.
Looking into Xia Yuqing's eyes, he continued, "I promise you, this factory is just the beginning. I will create even more brilliant industries in the future."
Xia Yuqing shivered. It had been a long time since Song Qiao had held her, and she now felt a pang of unease.
After a moment of stunned silence, she whispered, "Song Qiao, you don't need to push yourself so hard. As long as our family is happy together, that's all that matters."
A warmth spread through Song Qiao's heart. He smiled, "It's not as hard as you might imagine. And for our daughter's future happiness, I need to save enough money now."
"I'll drive you to the shop. The account books there are even more detailed."
Xia Yuqing finally came back to her senses and asked with some confusion, "These accounts are so detailed, they clearly aren't your work. Have you hired an accountant?"
Song Qiao shook his head. "Not exactly. The company's accounts have always been managed by Lin Jing. She's very talented in this area and keeps every ledger perfectly organized."
"Why don't you quit your job at the factory and come help me here?"
Song Qiao seized this opportunity to make this request to Xia Yuqing. He wanted her to avoid the strenuous physical labor and to truly understand the fruits of his business.
Xia Yuqing paused at Song Qiao's suggestion, then said after a moment's hesitation, "I don't know much about your business, so I'd just be a hindrance. Besides, I really like my current job."
Song Qiao thought about it. Seeing Xia Yuqing's resolve, he didn't press the matter further.
He gently pulled Xia Yuqing to the car and drove her to his shop.
Awei was busy with deliveries at the shop when he saw his sister-in-law arrive. He immediately put down his work and greeted her warmly.
"Awei, how are the various stalls doing today?" Song Qiao gave Awei a look, signaling him to report the day's earnings to Xia Yuqing.
"Boss, the weather was too hot today, and there weren't many people on the street. We only sold over three thousand skewers."
Awei immediately understood Song Qiao's intent and reported, with a hint of humblebragging, to Song Qiao.
Xia Yuqing was once again shocked by Awei's report. Over three thousand skewers meant over six thousand yuan. And this was on a slow business day.
It seemed Song Qiao's stinky tofu shop was as lucrative as a money-printing machine.
Before she could recover from her shock, several ruffians swaggered into the shop.
"Call your boss out. I need to talk to him."
The leader of the thugs, disregarding the onlookers, swaggered to a chair and adopted an arrogant posture.
Awei, seeing this, was about to confront them, but Song Qiao stopped him.
After a careful look at the man, Song Qiao said sternly, "I am the boss of this shop. What is it?"
"Our boss saw you raking in money every day, so naturally, he wants to borrow some cash from you."
The gang leader sneered dismissively.
Song Qiao frowned. "Did Duan Kun send you?"
The man's expression changed when his guess was confirmed.
"How did you know?"
Song Qiao's heart sank when his suspicion was validated.
"What was bound to happen has happened."
His shop had previously cooperated with Duan Kun, and the various factions in the area had refrained from bothering them. He hadn't expected Duan Kun to come looking for him at this particular juncture.
Song Qiao was not intimidated. He retorted without politeness, "If you want money, tell Duan Kun to come get it himself. Not just any stray cat or dog can come here and cause trouble."
The thug heard this and became furious.
"You ungrateful wretch, be sensible and give us money as a token of respect."
"Otherwise, when Brother Kun comes looking for you himself, you'll regret it."
As he spoke, he drew a knife from his pocket and threatened Song Qiao.
"If you want money, tell Duan Kun to come himself. Otherwise, you won't get a single cent."
Song Qiao snorted, completely ignoring the threat.
"You're looking for death." Seeing his repeated rebuffs, the thug could no longer contain his rage.
He brandished his knife and lunged directly at Song Qiao.
Awei, who had been itching to act, immediately shielded Song Qiao when he saw the attacker threatening his boss.
"Ah, be careful!" Xia Yuqing cried out in alarm, not expecting a fight to break out.
Trembling, she fumbled for her phone to call the police.
Awei and Song Qiao, facing a group of desperate thugs, were outnumbered.
Before long, Awei was ambushed and a knife was plunged into his abdomen.
"Damn it!" Seeing Awei injured, Song Qiao's eyes turned red. He grabbed a cleaver from the table and charged at the attackers recklessly.
The thugs were also frightened by the scene. They immediately dropped their weapons and fled.
They didn't get far before being apprehended by the police who had arrived on the scene.
Song Qiao didn't hesitate. He immediately drove Awei to a nearby hospital.
After explaining the situation to the police, Xia Yuqing rushed to the hospital as well.
Awei, having lost a lot of blood, had fallen into a deep coma.
Song Qiao and his wife stayed by his side, not daring to close their eyes all night.
Looking at Awei's pale face, Song Qiao's eyes were bloodshot. He wished he could tear Duan Kun to pieces.
"Mmm."
A low groan came as Awei slowly regained consciousness.
"Boss, how are you?" As soon as he woke up, he saw his boss and sister-in-law surrounding him, and his heart warmed.
He had been injured countless times for Duan Kun before, but Duan Kun had never shown him the same concern as Song Qiao. Sometimes, Duan Kun hadn't even covered his medical expenses.