Chapter 297: One Thing Leads to a Chain of Reactions

Chapter 297: One Incident Triggers a Chain Reaction

After the theft incident at Su He's shop, many who had considered targeting her store secretly felt relieved they’d held back and not made the first move.

At noon, when Su He went to the shop to take over for Fu Yanju, the owner of a grocery store a few doors down actually came over to greet her.

It was worth noting that ever since Su He opened her shop here and her business flourished, this shop owner had never given her a friendly look.

After all, before Su He opened her shop, his was the only one selling staples like rice and cooking oil.

But once Su He arrived, her business boomed, practically stealing nearly all his business.

In the past, his shop had been highly profitable, but now it barely scraped by.

To be honest, he had been the one to hatch the plan to mess with Su He’s shop.

While other shops had also been somewhat affected, none had suffered as much as his.

Nearly everything he sold was also available at Su He’s shop.

Fortunately, they still set up fresh vegetables and meat outside their store—items Su He didn’t sell—so they could still eke out a living.

But now, the thought that he had organized people to target Su He’s shop made him nervous. What if word got out? Would Su He come after him?

They were just ordinary folks—how could they possibly contend with someone who had connections?

Out of guilt, the shop owner took the initiative to greet Su He and asked, "Boss lady, I heard something happened at your shop last night?"

Su He was in the middle of checking out a customer when she heard him. She glanced up.

"Yeah, someone tried to steal from my shop last night. Luckily, I got tipped off in advance, or the losses would’ve been huge. By the way, you should be careful too—with the New Year approaching, thievery’s on the rise."

As she spoke, her expression was knowing, making the grocery store owner break out in a cold sweat.

She… got tipped off in advance? That all but confirmed the rumors about her having connections in high places.

Did she also know about the shops on this street secretly plotting against her?

"Haha, how did you find out in advance?" the grocery store owner managed to ask.

"Let’s just say I have my sources, but I can’t share them. Just know this—if anyone dares to cause trouble at my shop, I’ll know before they even try," Su He said with a faint smile.

The moment those words left her mouth, the grocery store owner’s face paled.

He made up an excuse and all but ran out.

Watching his retreating figure, Su He was certain he’d been up to no good.

That was why she had deliberately laid it on thick to scare him.

Ever since her shop opened, he had never given her the time of day.

If something happened to her shop, he’d probably be dancing in the aisles—why would he suddenly care about her?

Yeah right, when something smells fishy, there’s always a reason.

The moment the grocery store owner returned to his shop, he put a hand to his chest and said to his wife, "Thank goodness you talked me out of crossing that supermarket owner. She really does have connections."

His wife rolled her eyes. "I told you ages ago—how could two women on their own set up such a beautiful, large shop? And they even came up with that weird durian fruit to sell. Have you ever seen that anywhere else? They must have big shots behind them. We don’t want that kind of trouble."

The grocery store owner gaped at his wife, never expecting her to be so far-sighted.

"Honey, you're one sharp cookie. Do you think we should move our shop somewhere else?" the grocery store owner said with a bitter expression.

It wasn’t that he wanted to move, but if things continued like this, they wouldn’t even be able to make ends meet.

No one knew where the rumor started, but the word was that the doctor from Wencheng People’s Hospital who had been featured in the newspaper was actually the supermarket owner’s husband.

Everyone said that those who made it into the papers were important people, and people around them were already talking about shopping at the important person’s store from now on.

Damn, after this whole uproar, Su He’s shop was probably going to be even more popular.

When he had just visited Su He’s shop, he was green with envy.

Just look at the steady flow of customers in her store, while the owner herself hadn’t had a moment’s rest, busy ringing people up the whole time.

The grocery store owner’s wife thought for a moment and sighed. "Ah, why bother moving? Times are tough these days. Not many folks have spare cash these days, and our shop is in such a good location. Where else would you even think of opening a new store?"

"Then what should we do? We’re not making any money," the grocery store owner couldn’t help but frown in distress.

"How do you expect to make money? Sure, we’re not earning as much as before, but we’re still making enough to support our family. If we move somewhere else, you can kiss profits goodbye. Besides, I’m planning to bring in more produce to sell. Our produce sells pretty well."

Of course, Su He was clueless about the couple’s discussion.

The words she had just spoken weren’t just heard by the grocery store owner—many customers at the checkout had also caught wind of them.

And so, the rumors took on a life of their own.

A businessman who knew Captain Liu had to go ask him for confirmation.

Captain Liu only replied with a meaningful look, "You folks, it’s best not to mess with that shop."

With that, the rumor was pretty much confirmed.

Zheng Zhicheng had also been waiting for news. When he heard from a friend that Su He really did have connections in high places, he got spooked.

They were just ordinary merchants, after all, with connections built on bribing minor officials.

Who would’ve thought Su He actually had real influence?

Thinking back to the divisive tactics he had used before, he wondered if Su He had found out.

He had a lot of business dealings in Wencheng, too.

From start to finish, he had always been cautious, flying under the radar for fear of offending some powerful figure.

Who knew that in a moment of poor judgment, he had actually managed to piss off the wrong person?

"For now, I’ll let the second young master handle my business. I need to leave town and lay low for a bit," Zheng Zhicheng told his steward before hastily packing his things and leaving Wencheng.

His sons were utterly baffled by their father’s sudden actions.

Su He never expected that the random nonsense she had made up to deter future troublemakers would trigger such a massive chain reaction. It was just plain weird.