"Xiaorui, you can’t give her this money," Ren Jun said in a low voice.

He didn’t know the specifics, but he knew that his newly found grand-niece was being bullied.

Zhang Guihua returned from her house with an IOU, shouting,

"You want to talk about evidence? Who saw her pay me back? This IOU for thirty thousand is written in black and white, and that’s not even counting the interest."

Lin Ruoxi opened her mouth, wanting to defend herself, but the thought that she truly had no evidence made her lower her head again. Her long, slender fingers twisted the hem of her clothes, her face drained of all color.

’How can a person be so wicked?’

The IOU was real, but when Lin Ruoxi paid back the money, she hadn’t asked for a receipt.

Now that Zhang Guihua was flatly denying it, claiming Lin Ruoxi had never paid her back, no one could refute her.

"Xixi went to work in your orchard, I saw it myself! Did you pay her?" someone shouted.

"Thirty a day? Who pays so little? Even the old ladies in the village get sixty a day!" an old man cursed.

"I already said it was for interest! Besides, my son came home for summer break a few days ago and said he’s taken a liking to her. My son is a university student! We’ll all be family soon enough, so what’s a little money between us?"

When Zhang Guihua mentioned her son, her face swelled with pride and smugness. Her son was a first-tier university student.

Xue Rui’s expression darkened. ’So she’s not just after the money, but after Lin Ruoxi herself?’

’A first-tier university? Most people who brag about being in a "first-tier" university are just from an ordinary one. Lin Ruoxi has the grades to get into Qingbei. A student from some run-of-the-mill school is hardly a match.’

"Someone as shameless as you can raise a university student? I bet your son cheated to get in!" a woman holding a child cursed.

"Who are you cursing!" Zhang Guihua rolled up her sleeves, ready for a fight, but the people around her held her back.

"Your son might have been a match for her before, but that’s not so certain anymore," a young man said sarcastically.

"Xixi’s found her family. See this? This car alone is worth over a million," the young man said, patting the hood.

"What family? Her mother was bought. Where would she get family from? Looks to me like she’s just latched onto some sugar daddy!" Zhang Guihua sneered.

"You’re full of shit!" Ren Jun roared.

"Who knows if she was really going to school or working in some unclean place. I wouldn’t want her now anyway!" Zhang Guihua spat through gritted teeth. The cheap daughter-in-law she’d had in her grasp had flown away, and she was furious.

"Watch your filthy mouth!" Ren Jun bellowed.

"What did you say, you old hag!"

...

Xue Rui hadn’t said a word from start to finish, merely watching everything unfold quietly.

He took the money from Lin Ruoxi’s hands and handed it to Zhang Guihua. "You’re right. Everything requires evidence. Here’s the money. Give me the IOU."

"Xiaorui!" Ren Jun was fuming, but he didn’t know what to do about the shrew.

Xue Rui turned his head, chuckled softly, and shot Ren Jun a look.

Ren Jun was astonished. ’What’s his plan? Even I’m stumped. What could Xue Rui possibly do to that woman?’

But Xue Rui wasn’t the type to take a loss lying down. It was impossible he was just paying to make the problem go away. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Zhang Guihua glanced at Xue Rui, took the stack of cash, and spat on her fingertips before starting to count it.

"So young and you already know how the world works. Much better than these other people." Zhang Guihua handed the IOU to Xue Rui.

After receiving the IOU, Xue Rui casually tore the paper to shreds and turned to Lin Ruoxi.

"Xixi, since you won’t be living in the village anymore, let’s just chop down that orchard. I’m thinking of opening a barbecue restaurant. Fruitwood barbecue... sounds profitable."

Lin Ruoxi slowly lifted her head. Her delicate little face was streaked with tears, her eyes filled with sorrow and despair.

Xue Rui’s heart ached for some reason. That shrew’s mouth was too filthy; Lin Ruoxi had never heard such venomous words in her life.

"Orchard? What orchard?"

Lin Ruoxi was usually away at school. She only had a small vegetable patch of her own, so where would she get an orchard?

"Where would she get an orchard?" Zhang Guihua said with disdain.

"You’re mistaken. Xixi has a five-mu orchard, and now she’s sold it all to me."

Xue Rui pulled a piece of paper from his pocket, unfolded it, and said, "See? A land lease contract. I’ve leased it for twenty years."

"That’s my family’s orchard! How did it become yours?"

Zhang Guihua’s voice was sharp, grating on Xue Rui’s ears.

He suppressed his irritation and disgust, saying with a grin,

"Aunt Zhang, you were just saying that everything requires evidence. You say it’s yours, so where’s your proof? Where’s the contract?"

"Proof? What proof do I need? Who doesn’t know that orchard is mine?" Zhang Guihua’s voice rose a few notches.

"If you can’t produce it, then the orchard is mine. In any case, I’ll be sending people tomorrow to chop down all the trees for firewood." Xue Rui cleaned his ear, a nonchalant look on his face.

Lin Ruoxi stared at Xue Rui in amazement. When facing Zhang Guihua, she had been trembling with fear, unable to argue her case even though she was in the right.

But here was Xue Rui, so calmly talking about chopping down someone else’s orchard.

"Xue Rui..." Lin Ruoxi tugged at the corner of his sleeve.

"This doesn’t concern you anymore. The land is mine." Xue Rui took a step forward, standing in front of Lin Ruoxi.

Lin Ruoxi paused. Xue Rui was right; she had already sold the land.

"Grandma, I sold our land," Lin Ruoxi said, walking to the old woman’s side.

"Mm." The old woman had never seen such a spectacle, but she wasn’t too surprised.

When one is on the verge of death, one views all things with indifference...

When the villagers heard Xue Rui’s words, their shock was beyond words.

"Young man, let’s be fair. That orchard belongs to Zhang Guihua. How can you chop it down? That’s illegal!" someone said.

"I have it here in black and white. That plot of land, and everything on it, belongs to me," Xue Rui said, perfectly self-righteous.

"I’d like to see who dares touch my orchard!"

Zhang Guihua was starting to lose her confidence. She hadn’t actually signed a contract with Lin Ruoxi. She had thought that with the IOU in hand, Lin Ruoxi would be completely at her mercy.

But she never expected that this girl, with no one to raise or support her, would now have someone to back her up.

"Stop saying ’yours’ this, ’yours’ that. What business is it of yours if I chop down *my* orchard? I’m going to call my guys right now. If you don’t like it, you can sue me."

Xue Rui, looking impatient, shouted to Ren Jun, "Uncle, find someone right now and have them clear that orchard."

They had to commit to the act. In their new roles as Lin Ruoxi’s family, the previous term of address was inappropriate, so Xue Rui had switched to ’Uncle’.

"Master Wang, the tree-cutter? Right. Bring your team over. Remember to get a big truck. I need to saw down an apple orchard for barbecue charcoal. The address is Hua Village..."

Ren Jun felt a great sense of satisfaction. As he made the call, he kept his eyes on Xue Rui.

The ruthlessness of his grand-nephew’s methods impressed him to his core.

Seeing this scene, a chill ran down the villagers’ spines.

"These city folk are too vicious. They act all pleasant and calm, not arguing or fighting, but then they open their mouths and threaten to destroy a family’s livelihood."

"Exactly. That orchard is all Guihua’s family has. Without it, is she supposed to go find work at her age?"

"She’s already fifty. No one would hire her."

"Young man, why don’t you try to talk it over? There’s no need to be so extreme," an elder advised.

Watching Ren Jun make the call, Zhang Guihua started to panic for real.

Not knowing what else to do, she subconsciously called her son. "Binbin..."

"Hello? Mom, why are you crying?"

"Mom’s being bullied! Someone is trying to chop down our family’s orchard! You’re studying law, can you think of a way to handle this? Make him go to jail!"