Actually, though the lights were out in the other households of the tenement compound, few were truly asleep.
They were all whispering under their quilts, discussing the matter.
It couldn't be helped. While their own poverty was disheartening, the sudden success and prosperity of their neighbors was even more jealousy-inducing. Everyone lived in the same tenement compound; they all knew each other's circumstances. Just yesterday, everyone was still worrying about where their next meal would come from, so how could the Su family suddenly produce a wealthy relative?
Why them?
That was the most genuine thought in everyone's mind.
Some were sour and envious, chirping about the Su family hitting a lucky streak; many more said the Su family was being scammed, that this so-called relative was just setting a trap to swindle them.
Others gnashed their teeth and said hatefully:
"Even if the Su family really stumbled upon great fortune, once people make a few inquiries and find out what kind of rotten scum they are, they'll never want anything to do with them again."
…………
In the best room of the tenement compound, Old Man Zhao, the head of the household, tossed and turned several times but couldn't sleep. He simply threw on his clothes and got up to smoke his long-stemmed pipe.
He glanced outside—the Su family's light was still on.
His lips curled even higher in a sneer.
His wife, seeing his expression, said, "What are you doing not sleeping in the middle of the night? The Su family having a rich relative has nothing to do with you."
That was indeed the fact.
Although their family was well-off, always considered the wealthiest in the compound, and because of this looked down on others a bit, they had never actually bullied the Su family—
Being careful not to get bullied by the Su family themselves was more like it.
Half-Immortal Su was slick and cunning, saying one thing to your face and another behind your back. An ordinary person dealing with him could easily get taken advantage of if they weren't careful.
And then there was Su Zhenzhu.
She had the delicate, pretty looks of a girl from a pictorial poster, and her mouth was sweet, but her heart was hard as stone.
Last time, Widow Li's son, his family struggling, the child couldn't stand the hunger and stole a two-catty piece of cured meat from the Su family to cook and eat.
Originally, no one was caught.
But Su Zhenzhu came up with a scheme. She hung another piece of cured meat conspicuously, and after it was stolen, she spread the word that it had been poisoned. She frightened Widow Li's family so much they used sticks to make themselves vomit and even drank urine and feces as an antidote.
That torment wasn't enough; she still forced Widow Li's family to compensate with double the amount of cured meat.
Just thinking about it made Mrs. Zhao feel pity.
The Li family had lost its breadwinner and was raising three or four children at home. Why push them so hard?
Truth be told, the Su family was also at fault.
Hanging cured meat to dry outside so ostentatiously...
How could children not crave it when they saw it? Even adults passing by would swallow their saliva...
And the most intimidating of all was the Su family's eldest son, Su Chen. He'd been mixing on the streets since his teens, knew all sorts of shady characters, and often bore injuries.
It was said he had even killed someone!
Just thinking about it made one shiver. So, although she also envied the Su family's stroke of luck, weighing it up, whether it was true or false, her own family couldn't gain any advantage or benefit from it. Why bother thinking about it?
"What do you mean, 'has nothing to do with me'?"
Old Man Zhao's face flickered in the red glow of his pipe bowl.
He first barked a rebuke, then, remembering something, forcibly held back, grunting noncommittally:
"The Su family is already domineering enough in this compound. Now that they have a wealthy relative, won't they become even more arrogant? How can our days be easy then?"
"This... surely not," Mrs. Zhao said, half-convinced, half-doubting. "We're all neighbors; there's some affection between us. Besides, if the Su family really prospered, why would they still live here? Don't overthink it."
The more she spoke, the more she believed it.
Who would really live in a tenement compound if they had money? It was crowded, gossipy, dirty, and smelly. If she saved enough money to move out, she wouldn't wait a second.
"What does a woman like you know?"
Hearing this reasonable argument, Old Man Zhao's heart gave a jolt.
The real reason was something he couldn't voice, pressing down on him. He could only curse incoherently:
"Pah! The Su family's ancestors for eighteen generations were no good. If Heaven had eyes, it wouldn't let them prosper. That little wench Su Zhenzhu was betrothed in a childhood marriage arrangement to the Fang family, who are so wealthy, and even they don't want her."
"That family just doesn't have the fate for it."
"I reckon this suddenly appearing relative is surely no good either. So what if they have money? Beiping's waters run deep. They might get robbed and end up dead in the streets tomorrow."
These vicious words truly frightened his wife.
They didn't have any deep-seated hatred with the Su family.
Was it worth it?
Of course it was worth it. Old Man Zhao harbored a secret he had never told anyone—decades ago, his family didn't have the surname Zhao; they were surnamed Su.
His family had been servants of the Su family.
To curry favor with their masters, they had actively requested to take this surname.
Later, when the Su family fell from grace overnight and panic spread, Old Man Zhao's ancestors seized the opportunity to abscond with some valuables, bought property, set up their own household, and changed back to their original surname.
He thought they would never have anything to do with the Su family again.
Who knew that when Old Man Zhao was young and foolish, he gambled away most of the family fortune and had no choice but to move to this tenement compound.
And he actually ran into the Su family again!
Truly, a haunting presence.
When the Su family was still prosperous, Old Man Zhao was young and hadn't been qualified to serve the masters directly. Even so, when he first saw that familiar face, he felt both guilty and annoyed.
It was like a thorn piercing his heart, something he desperately wanted to pull out immediately.
Fortunately, after living in the tenement compound for a long time, he began to savor a different kind of satisfying pleasure—
So what if they were masters? Now they weren't living any better than him.
The once lofty Young Master Su had to tell fortunes for a living.
The precious young master and young miss had also been reduced to scrambling in the dust for a bite to eat.
He had even considered having his son marry Su Zhenzhu. Having a former master become his, a former servant's, daughter-in-law would be a way to bring honor to his ancestors.
Although he was refused, he wasn't worried.
Given the Fang family's attitude, Su Zhenzhu's engagement being broken off was only a matter of time.
When that happened, the Su family would be begging him to take her.
Old Man Zhao grew angrier and angrier thinking that all these plans might be ruined by a suddenly appearing wealthy relative of the Su family. Finally, raising his pipe threateningly, he snarled:
"You dare talk back when your man is speaking? Has it been too long since you were beaten? Is your skin itching for it?"
Mrs. Zhao shrank back, not daring to say another word.
In these times, men beating their wives was all too common. No one would intervene; some were even beaten to death.
When she was young, she hadn't been spared from beatings either. It was only after her children grew up and married that Old Man Zhao gradually stopped hitting her so much.
Who would have thought she almost got beaten again today.
Pah! The Su family was truly a scourge!
And that wealthy relative of the Su family deserved to die even more.
…………
"Ding. Detected Level 3 plot character... Reward: ten thousand dollars."
When the sound rang out, Su Ning elegantly took a sip of fine Keemun black tea, not paying it much mind. She had known she wasn't wrong about the Su family.
She had only given fifty dollars, yet it had struck at how many plot characters?
The reward notifications hadn't stopped.
She glanced casually at her balance—it was nearly two hundred thousand dollars now. She withdrew her gaze and sighed with genuine feeling: life in the Republic of China with money compared to life without was like heaven and earth.
No need to worry about being unable to afford tips anymore.
The staff assigned specifically to her large suite changed the bed sheets, duvet covers, curtains, tablecloths, and other small decorations according to her requirements. The fresh flowers on the table were replaced with new ones before they even had a chance to wilt.
The accommodations were already more than good enough.
When it came to food and drink, it went without saying. With just a single word from Su Ning, the renowned restaurants and dining establishments of Beiping would deliver, offering her a different feast with every meal, all arranged by eager runners.
Bear paws, deer tendon, bird's nest, shark fin, river shellfish, sea cucumber... delicacies from all corners of the land and sea—if it existed, there was nothing she couldn't afford.
Such extravagance, such lavishness.
One who hasn't experienced it truly has no idea how intoxicating it is.
After thoroughly enjoying herself for several days, she struggled to pull herself out of that comfortable haze and regain her clarity.
From a large stack of accumulated calling cards, she carefully selected one and had the chauffeur deliver a reply, indicating she would receive the visitor.
The chauffeur's surname was Liu.
Even the most obtuse person, just by observing Su Ning's recent spending and the reactions from the outside world, would know that Liu, blessed by his ancestors, had stumbled upon immense good fortune and met a truly influential patron.
These past few days, he had been scrambling to run every errand for Su Ning, attending to her with utmost diligence. Yet, even so, upon receiving this particular card, his heart gave a jolt.
The reason was simple: the delivery address was the police station.
Seeing Liu hesitate, not leaving and wearing an expression of wanting to speak but holding back, Su Ning waved her hand, offering no explanation.
She was not short of money now.
Her persona as a wealthy heiress was also initially established within Beiping city.
Therefore, the most pressing issue to address at this stage was security. While the police station might seem like a fearsome, unwelcoming place to ordinary people, for her, it was perfect.
That is, if the original book's records were not mistaken.
The newly appointed official in charge of the Beiping Police Bureau was currently worrying himself sick over money.
