Chapter 70: Reported

Chen Yang never expected that he would have to return to Qingshui City after only a few days in Xingcheng.

Early in the morning, Du Yue'e called him, saying that the Ordinary People's Daily Goods Supermarket had been publicly reported by a group of merchants, accusing Chen Yang of using his father-in-law Lin Jianguo's connections to bully the market. To prevent the impact from spreading, Lin Jianguo had already agreed over the phone to let Du Yue'e temporarily close the store.

After hanging up, Chen Yang felt something was off. Because the legal person of the Ordinary People's Daily Goods Supermarket is Du Yue'e, and he had always been operating behind the scenes, never showing up at the opening ceremony. How did these reporters find out about his existence?

Chen Yang wasn't worried that the Ordinary People's Daily Goods Supermarket would be affected. After all, all procedures for the supermarket's operation were legal, the low-price promotions were meant to ease Qingshui City's agricultural product backlog, and they had the support of Deputy Mayor Xu Li, who oversees agriculture. Lin Jianguo hadn't used any privileges in this process.

Those who reported him could drag the behind-the-scenes Chen Yang into the open, even uncovering his relationship with Lin Jianguo in detail—clearly they had some motive. Although Du Yue'e told Chen Yang not to worry, he still decided to drive back to Qingshui.

When he arrived at Twin Forest Market, Chen Yang saw that the gate of the Ordinary People's Daily Goods Supermarket was indeed closed. Outside the supermarket's door, many flyers lay scattered on the ground, bearing the slogans "officials protecting officials," "official-business collusion," and "bullying the market."

Chen Yang walked into Twin Forest Market again and saw that Du Yue'e and Lin Feng's comrades were arranging merchandise inside the shopfront. Outside, a crowd of elderly men and women gathered, speaking kindly to Du Yue'e and asking for the supermarket to reopen. Du Yue'e dared not defy Lin Jianguo's order, so she could only patiently persuade them, but the effect was not ideal.

Seeing Chen Yang return, Du Yue'e felt relieved. "Chen Yang, what should we do? Dad won't let us keep selling, and they won't leave."

Chen Yang thought and then said to her, "Sister-in-law, take out the vegetables that aren't easy to store, keep some for our staff, and give the rest away for free. Vegetables spoil if left too long; rather than let them rot in the warehouse, it's better to help those in need. We're not charging money, so even if Dad finds out, he won't say anything."

Du Yue'e said with a hint of distress, "Today the store prepared a ton of vegetables—are we really going to give them all away?"

"Give them all away!" Chen Yang thought for a moment, then added, "Each person gets only five jin, so nothing goes to waste. Open the front shop first, finish distributing, then we can clock out."

Seeing Chen Yang agree, Du Yue'e had everyone move the vegetables into the supermarket. When the elderly men and women heard they could get free vegetables, they hurried to the front to line up and collect them.

After everyone had left, Du Yue'e finally relaxed completely. "Chen Yang, you actually didn't need to come back. Your brother has already sent people to investigate; whoever is behind this will soon be exposed."

Chen Yang gave a wry smile. "The other side is clearly targeting me. If I hid outside like a turtle pulling its head in, it would only make things less clear."

Du Yue'e thought Chen Yang's made sense, but she still reminded him, "Chen Yang, Mom is coming back, and Dad-in-law will also come over tonight—you need to be mentally prepared."

The Lin family father-in-law had clearly opposed Chen Yang's marriage to Lin Wei, and Chen Yang no longer held any hope for him. Instead, he was more concerned about his mother-in-law Hu Qingwan's attitude. "Sister-in-law, how does Mom evaluate me?"

"Not great, not terrible either." Du Yue'e said, "She said you have many female friends in Xingcheng, and the relationships are rather ambiguous."

Chen Yang hadn't expected his mother-in-law to have secretly investigated him; he shouted in protest, "Sister-in-law, those are just work friends—I haven't done anything at all!"

Du Yue'e laughed, "That's not for me to decide—you should go home and come clean. Still, from the tone of Mom's voice, it seems she didn't uncover any serious issues."

Chen Yang said, "Don't talk about big problems—there aren't even any small ones."

Hearing about the free vegetables, another super-long line formed outside the supermarket, attracting traffic police and urban management officers again.

To avoid wasting public resources, Chen Yang had everyone split into three groups to handle the vegetables, quickly clearing the inventory. Afterwards, he decisively announced the store's closure.

During this period, everyone was busy to the point of dizziness. To reward the hardworking staff, Chen Yang paid out of pocket for two packs of Furong Wang cigarettes, two bottles of Wuliangye liquor, and took out three hundred yuan to let them enjoy a hearty meal at the Old Soldier Restaurant.

Du Yue'e was also speechless at Chen Yang's behavior. She told him, "Living like this, no amount of money would be enough to squander."

Chen Yang smiled, "Sister-in-law, you get returns only when you put in effort. If I treat them better, they'll work harder and the supermarket will earn more money."

Du Yue'e reminded him, "Where are we making money? We've been losing money all along!"

Chen Yang said, "Although we're losing money, we've already won customers' hearts. Haven't you noticed they can't do without us now?"

Du Yue'e thought and said, "Indeed, if you hadn't come back today, I truly wouldn't know how to handle that crowd of old men and women."

Chen Yang said, "Sister-in-law, I'm preparing to open three more stores, one in each of four districts, so each district gets a store."

Du Yue'e was a bit surprised. "Isn't that too soon? Our store hasn't even turned a profit yet!"

Chen Yang said, "I'd also like to keep a low profile, but these people won't let me stay low-key, so I have no choice but to go along with their wishes."

Du Yue'e said, "Then our current staff probably can't keep up; we'll need to hire more people."

Chen Yang said, "Go ahead and hire—four people per store, with the rest handling logistics. Also, I plan to buy four trucks to handle district deliveries and shipments between branches. Later you'll coordinate the drivers and their assistants."

Du Yue'e got a headache again—this would cost a lot of money. She curiously asked Chen Yang, "Just how much money do you have to squander?"

Chen Yang said, "Sister-in-law, a man's wallet is a secret not to be told; you'd better not pry."

Du Yue'e gave Chen Yang a look. "What a pointless secret—I know your brother's wallet inside out."

Chen Yang looked at her seriously and asked, "Are you sure?"

"Yes… yes, I'm sure!" Du Yue'e suddenly felt a bit unsure.

Chen Yang sighed. He could imagine that Lin Feng's night in bed would not be pleasant.

But what could be done? Who made his day unpleasant too? Better to share joy than to enjoy it alone.

Of course, Chen Yang didn't return to the Lin family together with Du Yue'e. He first went back to the rental apartment he shared with Lin Wei. Doing so first avoided meeting the Lin family father-in-law ahead of time, dodging the risk of being questioned alone.

Furthermore, if anything happened when returning together with Lin Wei, they could cover for each other. As the saying goes, husband and wife of one heart, their profit cuts through gold.