Chapter 488 Stand Tall

Chapter 488: The Moral High Ground

As soon as the words were spoken, Jiang Longshou strode forward and kicked the man in the abdomen, sending him sprawling.

The steward flew like a kite onto the grain sacks, doubled over in agony and struggling fiercely.

Before anyone else could react, a woman rushed forward in panic and yelled at Jiang Longshou, "What are you doing?!"

"Husband! Husband!"

She turned and glared at them, screaming, "You killed him!"

"Boss, they've killed someone!"

She scrambled a few steps, trying to grab at the boss, sobbing hysterically, "They killed someone right in front of you!"

The woman's cries were piercing and frantic.

Jiang Longshou frowned and explained, "First of all, I didn’t aim to kill. Even if he did die, he *had* it coming!"

"What he just did, your boss witnessed everything."

Expecting the woman to ask for details, she instead blurted out, "All he did was look! What gives you the right to hit him?!"

"..."

Bei Jingchu and the others exchanged glances. They had thought she was an innocent wife, but it turned out she was complicit in his actions.

The others in the granary scrambled aside, afraid of being caught in the crossfire.

But Bei Jingchu’s keen ears picked up their muttering.

"Finally, someone’s handling him. That creep has been molesting the female workers for ages. Dozens quit because of him."

"Huh? Didn’t Qing girl leave because she found the work too hard?"

"Come on, working here is nothing compared to farming. Qing girl left because he harassed her. And it’s not just her—most of the girls who quit were driven away by his creepy advances."

"First, he’d touch their hands, then go further and grab their butts. What girl *would* stick around after that?"

"Why didn’t they speak up?"

"Well, the girls didn’t lose much, so they just left quietly. If they spoke up, they’d be branded. How would they ever find a husband after that?"

Someone sneered, "Ugh, women overreact. Such a small thing, and they just up and leave."

Another pitied the steward: "He just glanced a little too long. Why beat him up like that? Is there no law anymore?"

A girl retorted, "Easy for you to say—he wasn’t leering at you! Of course you don’t care."

The man leered and thrust his crotch forward. "Go ahead, leer at me. Want a look?"

The girl gagged in disgust.

Ignoring the commotion nearby, the woman was determined to seek justice for her beaten husband and continued shamelessly, "A proper woman should stay at home, tend to her husband, and raise children. If she’s out here parading around, she’s no decent girl to begin with."

"Who knows, maybe she came out just to get attention. Well, she got the attention she was after—why’s she acting all offended now?"

Before Bei Jingchu and the others could even get angry, Madam Nian's expression had already darkened.

The woman didn’t notice that her employer was already furious and continued spouting nonsense.

"Shut up!"

To say that working in public was just to seduce men—All this woman could see was men, men, men!

As if being ogled by such trash was some kind of honor.

Madam Nian couldn’t understand why having an extra body part made their lust seem like a privilege.

She fired back at the woman, "Your husband couldn’t keep his eyes to himself and even dared to harass customers. If this continues, how much business will the Nian Family lose?"

"I’ll cover the silver for his medical treatment. But from today onward, both of you are kicked out of the Nian Family’s shops!"

The woman shot back, "Why?!"

"Young Master, my husband and I have served the Nian Family since childhood. How can you be so heartless?"

"Does the master know about this?"

She said defiantly, "My husband just looked and maybe touched a little—it’s not like they lost any flesh."

"Dressing like that—isn’t it just for men to look at?"

"If they weren’t seducing my man, why would he even glance at them?"

At that, the entire granary fell pin-drop silent, even Bei Jingchu’s quick wit was speechless.

She was good at arguments, but only against reasonable people. There was no reasoning with such a hopeless case.

She even sympathetically patted Madam Nian’s shoulder. "I don’t know how you deal with this."

To have such absurd people under your command.

Madam Nian: "I don’t need your pity."

There was no need to argue further. Madam Nian directly ordered the woman’s mouth to be gagged, and both her and her husband were dragged out.

Madam Nian turned to the remaining staff and said sternly, "This kind of behavior will no longer be tolerated in the Nian Family!"

"If there’s genuine feelings between you, that’s fine."

"But if anyone uses their position improperly to harass others, regardless of rank, they will be thrown out of the Nian Family."

"And none of the Nian Family’s affiliated businesses will ever hire you again. Understood?"

Everyone nodded.

Those who had earlier sympathized with or supported the manager fell silent, shrinking back in fear.

So, what good did arguing do? It wasn’t about who was right—it was about who had enough power.

Only when you had enough power would others finally hear you.