Chapter 393: All Schemes Come to Naught

Chapter 393: All Tricks Lead to Nothing

Since the sugar oranges would go on sale next week and their harvest was so abundant, it was impossible for Su He to sell them all by herself.

So, Su He began contacting suppliers to ask if they were interested in purchasing sugar oranges, hoping to set up a distributor network.

As a loyal fan of her fruits, Lu Qiming, who had already bought so many durians, naturally wanted sugar oranges as well.

This woman's marketing game was strong—she was bound to profit.

That day, Su He’s shop had a special visitor: Qi Yunyang, whom Fu Tinghua had once contacted to secure a department store supplier for her.

Later, Qi Yunyang introduced his wife’s brother, Mu Beicheng, to Su He. Since then, apart from restocking her inventory, Su He had been sourcing goods from Mu Beicheng because he offered the best deals.

During a previous purchase, Su He brought up to Mu Beicheng whether his business wanted to sell fruits, as she was about to harvest a batch of sugar oranges, which hadn’t yet appeared in Wencheng.

Mu Beicheng expressed great interest and said he’d visit her shop another day to discuss in person and check out her shop.

When the shop first opened, Mu Beicheng and Qi Jiaojiao had come to support her, but Mu Beicheng was on a business trip at the time and wasn’t there.

Hearing that Su He’s shop was doing really well, Mu Beicheng wanted to see it for himself.

As soon as Su He spotted Mu Beicheng, she quickly went to say hi.

Fortunately, Fu Yanju was still in the shop, so Su He went outside with Mu Beicheng to talk on the chairs near the store.

“Long time no see, Miss Su. Now that you’ve become your own boss, you’ve got a whole new vibe,” Mu Beicheng said with a smile.

His tone suggested he greatly admired women with guts and smarts like Su He.

During their first meeting, he and his wife had come to talk with Su He, but the conversation was mostly between Su He and Qi Jiaojiao, with Mu Beicheng hardly saying a word.

Who would’ve thought he’d be so chatty now?

Back then, Su He had assumed he was just aloof and didn’t like talking much with strangers.

Was it just an act he put on in front of his wife?

Su He smiled and replied, “Too kind. I’ve always been like this—it’s just that we weren’t familiar before.”

“True. If I’d known earlier that you were looking for durian distributors, I would’ve jumped at the chance.”

For businessmen like them, durians didn’t need regular selling.

They could simply be packaged as luxury gifts for dignitaries, potentially yielding even greater returns.

Still, there was no denying that Lu Qiming had made a fortune from those durians.

He sold them in other provinces at insane prices—three yuan per pound—and there were tons of takers.

Once word got out that durians were a delicacy only the wealthy could afford, many local tycoons couldn’t resist buying more to reinforce their status as affluent elites.

So, while Su He didn’t know how others were selling the durians they sourced from her, Mu Beicheng was well aware.

He was the type who hopped between cities, networking and securing clients.

“Back then, I never mentioned looking for distributors—they approached me,” Su He explained.

"Oh, I see. Then I can't miss out on this sugar orange deal," Mu Beicheng said with another smile.

This conversation made Su He realize with surprise that the Mu Beicheng she saw today was night-and-day different from the first time they met.

She’d wondered before how someone with Mu Beicheng’s icy demeanor could manage business dealings.

But now it was clear: he’d been putting on an act for his wife.

Su He had no interest in snooping into people’s private affairs, and Mu Beicheng had kept their discussion all business, nothing out of line.

However, just as they were finishing up their talk about the sugar orange deal, Mu Beicheng suddenly asked, "Miss Su, if I recall correctly, your husband is from Shangyao Village, isn’t he?"

Su He was caught off guard by the sudden question but nodded. "Yes, my husband is from Shangyao Village."

Mu Beicheng then smiled faintly and asked, "Then do you know someone named Liu Yi? He’s about the same age as your husband."

At his question, Su He’s mind raced.

Mu Beicheng, a top-tier figure in Wencheng—how did he know Liu Yi?

Moreover, he must care deeply about Liu Yi, otherwise, he wouldn’t have tracked her down just to ask about him.

No wonder she had felt something was fishy about Mu Beicheng earlier. He had seemed weirdly pushy about sealing the deal with her—no, not just eager, but in a hurry.

Su He had thought there was still wiggle room on some of her terms, yet Mu Beicheng had agreed to everything without hesitation.

At first, she assumed it was because he was generous and didn’t care about minor details.

But now it was clear—he had an ulterior motive.

"I do know him. Liu Yi and my husband were often compared by the villagers—who was the most handsome man in the village," Su He said tonelessly, her smile vanishing.

Mu Beicheng drifted into memory, as if reminiscing.

"Is that so?" he murmured.

Then, like he’d just remembered something, he looked up at Su He again. "I have a letter here that I’d like to pass on to Liu Yi. If you ever return to Shangyao Village, could you deliver it to him for me?"

With that, Mu Beicheng took out a letter from his coat pocket.

After their conversation, he had a read on Su He—she would never open and read someone else’s letter.

Mu Beicheng had written many letters to Liu Yi but had never received a reply. He didn’t even know if Liu Yi had received them.

People in this world were too hung up on propriety, and he couldn’t just chase after Liu Yi to his home. That would be unthinkable.

Besides, Liu Yi’s parents knew about their relationship. If word got out and reached his wife, who knew, all hell could break loose?

His wife Qi Jiaojiao’s brother, Qi Yunyang, held a very important position in the military. For now, Mu Beicheng couldn’t afford to cross the Qis, so he had to bide his time and wait until things were resolved before seeking out Liu Yi.

But with no replies to his letters, Mu Beicheng was itching to act, which was why he had come to ask Su He directly.

He believed that no matter how clever Su He was, she wouldn’t guess what they really were to each other.

He had every angle covered and laid the groundwork.

By using Su He to deliver the letter, he could ensure it would get to Liu Yi himself.

And Su He would surely only assume that he and Liu Yi were ordinary friends, with no need to reveal their real connection.

If Liu Yi read his letter and was willing to wait for him, he’d surely have Su He pass letters to him.

He had already struck a business deal with Su He, and now that they were doing business together, she would likely be willing to help with delivering letters.

That was why he had agreed to all of Su He's terms without any objection earlier, figuring it was just payment for her delivery help.

Yet, despite all his meticulous calculations, Mu Beicheng never expected Su He's next words to send him spiraling.