Chapter Thirty-Seven: Du Yu’s Dominance
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“What do you mean? Du Yu found you jobs and introduced you to businessmen from the city, and somehow he’s the one in the wrong? He hasn’t been home these past few days because he went out to sea. Didn’t you know that?”
Li Chunhong’s tone was calm, but flames seemed ready to leap from her eyes.
Normally, Li Chunhong was an honest, mild-mannered woman. But if someone came looking for trouble at her doorstep, she was no pushover!
Still, how could one woman possibly outargue an entire crowd? Before long, her face had flushed crimson as she found herself surrounded.
Du Yu and Wang Xiaowei drove into the village, chatting and laughing.
As they passed through the entrance, Wang Xiaowei spotted Li Chunhong at once.
“Brother Yu, why is Auntie Hong surrounded?”
Du Yu had clearly seen Li Chunhong standing amid the crowd, her face filled with indignation. Anger surged through him in an instant. He flung open the car door, jumped out, and activated [Crisis (5/5)] at full power.
“Everyone, get the hell out of my way!”
The crowd fell silent at once.
Many of them felt their hearts seize at the roar. What major figure had arrived? That voice carried such authority!
But when they saw that it was Du Yu, they immediately began muttering under their breath.
“So having a loud voice makes him impressive? What a useless coward…”
Du Yu shot the speaker a fierce glare, and the man immediately fell silent.
Du Yu hurried to Li Chunhong’s side and took her hand.
“Mom, did they bully you?”
Li Chunhong replied, “I heard them saying bad things about you, so I came over to reason with them.”
“Mom, next time, just call me directly if something like this happens.”
Du Yu smiled as he spoke.
Wang Xiaowei had also come to stand beside him.
After reassuring his mother, Du Yu turned toward the crowd.
“Go ahead. What exactly are you dissatisfied with?”
His voice was not loud, but it was deep and solemn.
“Du Yu, tell us yourself. Hasn’t the shop been out of stock these past few days? Aren’t you planning to take the money and run?”
Cuifen was the first to step forward and point at Du Yu.
Du Yu let out a derisive laugh.
“That’s right. We were out of stock. But we have goods now.”
Then his tone abruptly changed.
“What does that have to do with you? Are you in charge of purchasing or something? Or have we failed to pay your wages? Hmm?”
Du Yu stared sharply at Cuifen.
The crowd around them fell silent.
Could it be… that Du Yu actually had a point?
“I… well…”
How could Cuifen possibly match Du Yu? Her face flushed crimson, and she was unable to utter another word.
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“You… You say there are goods, so there are goods?”
After struggling for a long while, that was all Cuifen could manage.
Du Yu shook his head helplessly, took out his phone, and called Ma Yue.
“Hello, Brother Yu. What is it?”
“There’s an employee at the shop named Cuifen. She says the shop is out of stock and has even spread rumors that I’m taking the money and running away. We don’t need someone who betrays the company from within. Do you understand, Yue?”
Du Yu was genuinely angry by then.
Ma Yue immediately understood what he meant.
He wanted to make an example of someone.
“I understand, Brother Yu.”
With that, the two of them hung up.
“Isn’t that young woman the owner? How could Du Yu speak to the owner in that tone? I think he’s just bluffing. Don’t worry, Cuifen. There’s no way this boy can fire you!”
Zhao Qinqin was the first to shout.
Cuifen, standing nearby, nodded in agreement.
Then, rather ironically, Cuifen’s phone rang.
The expressions on everyone’s faces instantly became rather peculiar.
“Hello? Who is this?”
Cuifen answered the phone nervously.
“This is Ma Yue. You’re Cuifen, correct? I’m calling to inform you that you have been officially dismissed. Your severance compensation will be paid at twice the contractual rate…”
Cuifen’s face turned deathly pale.
“No, Boss Ma! Isn’t Du Yu just an employee? What right does he have to—”
Cuifen still tried to argue.
“Oh, you mean Du Yu? He’s my boss. And by the way, Boss Du brought us more than two hundred pounds of goods this morning. There’s no need for you to worry about our inventory.”
Ma Yue’s voice was utterly devoid of emotion.
Cuifen collapsed to the ground.
She murmured to herself,
“Du Yu is the owner. I offended the owner.”
The crowd was stunned. Du Yu had hidden his identity so well. He was actually the true owner of the shop?
Wang Xiaowei, standing to one side, could only think: This is satisfying.
A scene like this belonged in a novel. He had never imagined that he would actually witness it himself.
The villagers’ attitudes immediately shifted once again.
“Hey, I’ve been saying all along that Du Yu is a fine young man. How could he possibly be the sort to run away with the money? Cuifen, on the other hand, really can’t say a kind word to save her life. She slandered someone without a second thought. What a terrible person!”
“Exactly! Boss Du gave you a job, and this is how you repay him?”
“Cuifen, you…”
Every villager began flattering Du Yu.
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Du Yu did not let the praise go to his head. Instead, he felt grateful to Zhao Qinqin. If she had not stirred up trouble, he might never have discovered that the shop employed such a disloyal traitor.
“Don’t get too pleased with yourself, Du Yu. You still owe money to the village chief! When are you going to pay him back?”
Zhao Qinqin was furious. Her face reddened as she felt she had once again lost face in front of Du Yu.
“Fine. Call the village chief over. I’ll pay him back.”
Du Yu spoke indifferently.
No one had expected that answer from him.
Zhao Qinqin was delighted and hurried home to fetch her father.
Before long, the village chief arrived with Zhao Qinqin.
“Qinqin, you said someone publicly humiliated you just now. Where is he?”
The village chief advanced aggressively.
“Dad, it’s that good-for-nothing who owes you money—Du Yu!”
Zhao Qinqin pointed at Du Yu, who stood nearby, growing increasingly impatient as he waited.
“Wha… What? Du Yu?”
The village chief shuddered.
Seeing that the village chief had arrived, Du Yu said nothing more. He simply took out a thick wad of cash and placed it in the man’s hands.
Everyone stared in amazement.
This boy had really made money!
The village chief did not dare accept it. He kept saying, “Du Yu… Little Yu, aren’t you making things difficult for me? How could I possibly take your money?”
His face had twisted into an expression of pure distress.
He bent so low in repeated bows that it seemed he was only a step away from kneeling and kowtowing to Du Yu.
Zhao Qinqin’s expression became even uglier. Her father had always warned her not to provoke Du Yu. Had it turned out that he himself was afraid of Du Yu?
The villagers were utterly astonished. The village chief usually looked down on everyone and could not stand to see others doing well. Why was he acting so meek and deferential in front of Du Yu?
“Looks like this kid Du Yu really has some ability. He actually scared the village chief into acting like a frightened turtle!”
The village chief looked helplessly at the villagers.
What did they know? Du Yu had met plenty of influential figures in the county town!
“Debts must be repaid. It’s only right and proper. Take it. I’ll give you the other half next month.”
Du Yu said no more. He waved his hand, then left with Wang Xiaowei and his mother.
He truly could not be bothered to waste any more words on these people.
Behind him remained the village chief, who had begun scolding Zhao Qinqin, and the villagers, who stood there in bewilderment.
At that moment, the system notification rang out as well.
“Ding! The system has successfully advanced to Level Three!”
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