Chapter 71: A Reprimand from Old Master Lin

Chen Yang had not been to Lin Jian Guo's home for the first time, but today he was especially nervous; the closer he got to the gate, the tighter he gripped Lin Wei's hand.

Lin Wei sensed Chen Yang's unease and gently soothed her husband. "Don't worry, I've got you covered!"

Chen Yang relaxed a little after hearing her words, but this relaxation lasted only a short time.

After entering the Lin residence, Chen Yang instantly felt locked on by several sharp beams of light. For a moment, it was as if he had been targeted by a sniper aiming at a vital spot, and the tense him couldn't move a muscle.

On the living room sofa, Old Master Lin sat in the center, Lin Jian Guo and his wife sat to the left and right, while Lin Feng and his wife respectfully sat at the side. After Chen Yang and Lin Wei opened the door and entered, all eyes turned to Chen Yang.

Although Old Master Lin's hair was already white, his eyes were as sharp as a blade. He looked Chen Yang up and down, left and right, scrutinizing him as if he wanted to cut Chen Yang into pieces of various sizes.

Lin Jian Guo had a cigarette dangling from his mouth, his face was gloomy, and his mood didn't look good either.

Hu Qingwan also carefully sized up Chen Yang, nodding at times and shaking her head at others, making it unclear whether her first impression of the new son-in-law was positive or negative.

By comparison, Lin Feng and his wife's gazes were the friendliest. Du Yue'e even secretly gave Chen Yang a thumbs-up gesture.

Lin Wei squeezed Chen Yang's palm, signaling him to speak. Only then did Chen Yang snap out of his nervousness.

"Grandpa, Dad, Mom, hello!"

"Come over, I have a few questions for you." Old Master Lin lightly pointed his finger forward, gesturing for Chen Yang to approach.

Chen Yang didn't know what Old Master Lin wanted, and he walked up anxiously. His right hand clung to Lin Wei's hand like a last straw, pulling her to his side.

"Grandpa, Mom, Dad, what are you doing? Chen Yang hasn't done anything wrong—why does it feel like a trial?" Lin Wei sensed the off atmosphere as soon as she entered and began to protest dissatisfiedly.

"You're insolent, all thanks to your father's indulgence." Old Master Lin glared at Lin Wei and snorted coldly: "I'm just asking Chen Yang a few questions—why are you in such a hurry?"

Lin Wei pouted and said, "Just ask if you have something to say—why all the solemnity?"

Ignoring Lin Wei, Old Master Lin turned to Chen Yang and asked, "Your supermarket—are you doing any shady business under your father's name?"

"No." Chen Yang shook his head. "All the procedures are legal; even if I used some connections, it only speeds up the process."

Old Master Lin then asked, "What about Deputy Mayor Xu—are you doing anything under her name?"

Chen Yang replied, "When I went to Qingshui County to procure goods, I mentioned Deputy Mayor Xu to the Party secretary of Panlong Town—but it was Deputy Mayor Xu who asked me to go."

Lin Wei immediately said, "I can testify to that. The list of unsold agricultural products in Qingshui City was personally handed to Chen Yang by Deputy Mayor Xu. She hoped Chen Yang could help the government share some of the burden."

Old Master Lin looked at Lin Wei with suspicion and snorted, "What could a country bumpkin like him possibly do to ease Deputy Mayor Xu's burden? You girl, don't just make up excuses to protect him in front of us."

Lin Wei pulled out her phone and said to Old Master Lin, "Grandpa, I can call Deputy Mayor Xu so you can ask her yourself."

Old Master Lin waved his hand. Since Lin Wei dared to confront Deputy Mayor Xu on the phone, there should be no problem there. After a pause, he asked Chen Yang, "I heard from Yue'e that your supermarket has been losing money every day since it opened. Now a bunch of merchants are accusing you of deliberately sabotaging the market—how do you explain that?"

Chen Yang said, "Selling at low prices is a marketing tactic for a new store's opening—not just in Qingshui City, but most businesses nationwide do the same. The losses are mainly due to labor costs and cold storage fees."

"As for deliberately sabotaging the market, I don't think it exists. Although the supermarket supplies twenty tons a day, three-quarters of that is snapped up by vegetable vendors, leaving only about five tons—or ten thousand jin—sold directly to residents. Assuming five jin per person, only about two thousand people benefit from the low prices. Qingshui's urban area has hundreds of thousands of permanent residents; how could just two thousand people affect the market?"

Old Master Lin carefully analyzed Chen Yang's words and found them reasonable. If Chen Yang wasn't lying, then the so-called 'officials protecting officials,' 'official-business collusion,' and 'deliberate market sabotage' would be completely baseless—just like the investigation report Lin Feng had earlier submitted to him.

"Now for the second matter: what grudge do you have with your classmate Zhao Shunfa? Why does he keep causing trouble for you again and again?"

"Zhao Shunfa?" Chen Yang hadn't expected that this merchants' disturbance was being orchestrated behind the scenes by Zhao Shunfa, but he quickly thought of someone else.

"Grandpa, I have no conflict with Zhao Shunfa. Even if there were any grudge, it would involve someone else—a person your father should know. His name is Zhang Jun; he used to come to our house for meals when we were studying."

Old Master Lin glanced at Lin Jian Guo, who nodded and said, "Yes, there is such a person."

Old Master Lin then asked Chen Yang, "What grudge do you have with Zhang Jun?"

Chen Yang glanced at Lin Wei, smiled a little proudly, and said, "I married the woman he could never win."

Old Master Lin, Lin Jian Guo and his wife fell silent together. Tracing the problem to its root, they discovered the source of the trouble was actually in their own family.

Having come this far in the questioning, everyone now understood. This farce was Zhang Jun secretly funding Zhao Shunfa to slander Chen Yang, dragging Lin Jian Guo into the mess as well.

Old Master Lin had originally come to demand accountability, even hoping to use this incident to get Chen Yang to leave the Lin family. He never expected the truth to be so trivial. He felt that continuing to ask would be pointless.

"Qingwan, do you have anything to say?"

"Dad, I have nothing to add." Hu Qingwan shook her head. She understood Old Master Lin's implication but didn't want to get involved.

Chen Yang and Lin Wei had obtained their marriage certificate without their consent, but it was already a fact. At this point, trying to split them up would harm not only Chen Yang but also her own daughter.

Old Master Lin then turned to his son. "Jian Guo, what about you?"

Lin Jian Guo gave an irrelevant reply: "I need to go talk to Zhang Daguo about how to raise a son like this."

"Since nobody has any objections, I'm heading back." Old Master Lin didn't much care for Chen Yang; seeing that his son and daughter-in-law weren't on the same page as him, he straightened his face, stood up, and walked out.

Hu Qingwan quickly rose to block Old Master Lin. "Dad, dinner is about to start—let Jian Guo take you home after we eat!"

"I'm dieting, you guys eat!" Old Master Lin ignored Hu Qingwan's persuasion and left in a sullen mood.

"Jian Guo, aren't you going to see your dad off?" Hu Qingwan glared at Lin Jian Guo, who sighed helplessly, got up, and followed him out.

Once Old Master Lin left, the atmosphere in the room instantly lightened. Lin Wei pulled Chen Yang onto the sofa to sit, then sliced a piece of watermelon for him to calm his nerves.

Watching this, Hu Qingwan also shook her head and sighed. This daughter of hers was almost exactly like she had been in her youth.