The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 158: Chapter 158: Defying the Heavens, Committing Inhuman Deeds

Han Xiaorui refilled Chen Nanyang’s bowl. ”We’re in the middle of eating. If you don’t mind, just join us. If you do, I can get you some pickles.”

’She had no desire to cook a fresh meal for Chen Nanyang right now.’

Chen Nanyang chuckled. ”I don’t mind at all. As long as you ladies don’t mind me.”

”We don’t mind. Go ahead and eat,” Chen Yishui said with a smile. ”We’ve all had physicals. We’re perfectly healthy.”

Chen Nanyang smiled. ”Then I won’t be polite.”

After wolfing down his food, Chen Nanyang exclaimed repeatedly, ”This is delicious! Sister Cai, your cooking has gotten even better. I’m so jealous of your son, getting to eat food this good every day.”

Flattered by Chen Nanyang’s praise, Granny Cai looked quite pleased. ”If you like it, eat up. Once you’re full, tell us what you found out.”

”Alright!” Chen Nanyang agreed and kept eating.

Everyone else was already full and just waiting for Chen Nanyang to finish so he could start spilling the gossip.

This was a murder case, after all!

Now that Han Xiaorui had been cleared of suspicion, everyone was incredibly curious.

Chen Nanyang took a sip of his drink and said with a sigh, ”That Zhang Fa Cai was a real piece of work. I used to think he was a decent businessman, a real magnanimous guy. You would never imagine the things he did. It’s an offense against nature!”

Han Xiaorui was taken aback. ”Wasn’t it just about him cheating, getting a mistress, and wanting a divorce? Is there more to the story?”

Chen Nanyang nodded, a mocking look in his eyes. ”Take a guess who Zhang Fa Cai’s affair was with.”

Hearing this, Han Xiaorui’s expression was a mixture of amusement and exasperation. ”How could we possibly guess? Just tell us already, don’t keep us in suspense.”

”Zhang Fa Cai’s daughter-in-law divorced his son three months ago. She’s been living in a house Zhang Fa Cai bought for her, and she’s six months pregnant.”

Han Xiaorui blinked. ”That... that doesn’t prove Zhang Fa Cai was having an affair with his former daughter-in-law, does it? Maybe it was just compensation he gave her?”

Chen Nanyang’s expression was complicated. ”They presented themselves as husband and wife to the public. And when they went to the hospital for check-ups, Zhang Fa Cai went as her husband. But that’s just the superficial stuff. Every month, he transferred profits from his restaurant into that woman’s name.”

”Your ex-father-in-law, Yang Zhigang, is a much better person than Zhang Fa Cai, but even he didn’t put all his money in your name! With actions like that, doesn’t it prove the real nature of Zhang Fa Cai and Wu Xiaoli’s relationship?”

Han Xiaorui was dumbfounded. ”A former father-in-law putting his money in his former daughter-in-law’s name... that’s definitely not normal. Even if Uncle Yang offered me money, aside from child support, I wouldn’t take anything from him.”

Chen Nanyang raised an eyebrow. ”See? There’s no mistake about it!”

Han Xiaorui added, ”The one who killed Zhang Fa Cai was his wife, Li Rong. She’s already turned herself in. She found out from an accountant that Zhang Fa Cai had been transferring all the money away—over a million yuan a month. He only gave the family a hundred yuan a month for living expenses, and half of that was for his parents’ medicine.”

”I figured Zhang Fa Cai had a lover on the side, but I never imagined it would be his former daughter-in-law. That’s just twisted.”

Just as they were discussing this, a car pulled up to Han Xiaorui’s gate.

”Is Ms. Han here?” a young man asked from the gate.

Han Xiaorui blinked. ’I don’t recognize that voice.’ ”I’ll go see who it is.”

When she opened the door, Han Xiaorui didn’t recognize him. ”Who are you? What can I do for you?”

The man offered her a business card and introduced himself. ”Hello, I’m Zhang Guangnan. Li Rong is my mother, and Zhang Fa Cai was my father. I’ve come here unannounced to ask if you would please continue to work with our restaurant.”

Hearing this, Han Xiaorui took the card. ”I’ve said before that I wouldn’t be selling seafood to your family’s restaurant. After all, I have limited energy on my own. I was planning to sell my entire catch to the wholesalers at the seafood market to save myself a lot of trouble.”

An anxious look appeared in Zhang Guangnan’s eyes. ”Please, I’m begging you. With what’s happened to my family, if we abruptly switch seafood suppliers, we won’t be able to satisfy our high-end customers.”

”I know what happened with my family has caused you trouble, and I hope you can forgive us. Ms. Han, please, sell your seafood to me. Help me get through this crisis. I’m begging you.”

Just as Han Xiaorui was about to refuse, Chen Nanyang walked over and said, ”Hold on a moment. I need to have a word with Ms. Han.”

After speaking, Chen Nanyang gave Han Xiaorui a meaningful look and went from the courtyard back into the living room.

”Lawyer Chen, do you think I should sell my seafood to Zhang Guangnan?” Han Xiaorui didn’t really want to. ’What if this Zhang Guangnan is an extremist too and comes after me with a knife?’

Chen Nanyang replied, ”If his three restaurants go bankrupt because they had to change seafood suppliers, don’t you think Zhang Guangnan will resent you?”

”Well...” Han Xiaorui hesitated. ”That’s an exaggeration, isn’t it? Zhang Fa Cai didn’t exclusively buy seafood from me before, did he?”

Chen Nanyang was dismissive. ”The seafood he got from you was a bit pricey, but the quality is incredible. It’s the signature of the Fa Cai Restaurant. Have you forgotten how frantic Zhang Fa Cai got that time you couldn’t go fishing for a few days?”

Han Xiaorui thought for a moment. It did seem to be the case. ”Lawyer Chen, what’s your brilliant idea?”

Lawyer Chen smiled. ”Let me handle the negotiations with Zhang Guangnan. From now on, the partnership will be more official, and of course, the price will be a little higher.”

”A price hike?” Han Xiaorui was a kind-hearted person. ”Zhang Fa Cai just died, and the seafood restaurant is in turmoil. Isn’t it a bit underhanded for us to raise the price now?”

Chen Nanyang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ”Honestly, they can accept a price increase. What they can’t accept is you not working with them at all. If you feel bad about it, we won’t raise the price for the first three hauls. Consider it a show of support for Zhang Guangnan.”

”By the fourth haul, which will be at least half a month or even twenty days from now, Zhang Guangnan will have stabilized things. By then, we can say we’ve done right by him.”

”You’re in related industries, and you’re from the same town. You’re bound to run into each other. It’s better to be on good terms than to make enemies. You have to be savvy when it comes to social dealings.”

Han Xiaorui thought it over for a moment and nodded, feeling that Chen Nanyang had a point. ”Alright, you handle it. By the way, you have another motive for this, don’t you?”

Chen Nanyang grinned. ”I do. As Zhang Fa Cai’s heirs, Zhang Guangnan and his sister should get their inheritance. I want to take that case.”

Han Xiaorui had a moment of realization. ”No wonder you’re so eager.”

Chen Nanyang cupped his hands and put on a pitiful expression. ”Sigh, life isn’t easy for a private law firm. Besides, I’m just delivering a bit of justice here. This kind of twisted affair must be utterly condemned.”

Since getting to know Chen Nanyang, he had helped her a lot, so Han Xiaorui didn’t pettily feel like she was being used.

”Fine, go ahead and negotiate. But if I find out you’ve harmed my interests for your own selfish gain, our cooperation is over.”

Chen Nanyang quickly reassured her, ”Don’t worry, I never do things that harm others for no benefit to myself.”

If he did, he would lose Han Xiaorui, a major client, and also offend Ye Feng.

And Ye Feng was not someone to be trifled with!

Besides, Han Xiaorui was a woman Chen Nanyang once had feelings for.

He certainly didn’t want to see a good person like Han Xiaorui struggle.

Coming out of the living room, Han Xiaorui said to Zhang Guangnan, ”This is Lawyer Chen. He will represent me in our negotiations.”

Hearing this, Zhang Guangnan let out a sigh of relief. ’As long as she’s willing to cooperate, the worst it can be is a price increase!’