Chapter 276

Chapter 276 Precious Daughter

 

Su Rui never considered the Bai family as enemies. Although Bai Wangchuan had once spoken disrespectfully to him, and Bai Qinchuan had tested him, Su Rui never took it too seriously.

It was because after Su Rui defeated the heirs of the five major families, Bai Keqing stood up and spoke on Su Rui’s behalf.

At that time, Bai Keqing already held a high position, yet he didn’t avoid suspicion or fear offending the powerful forces of the five major families. If he hadn’t stood up, the scales of victory wouldn’t have tilted more toward Su Rui’s side.

Later, however, Bai Keqing gradually retreated behind the scenes due to health reasons and no longer appeared in public.

Therefore, when Su Rui now heard that the former mayor of Ninghai was actually Bai Keqing, he felt incredibly shocked!

It seemed that in his impression, Bai Keqing was absolutely not that kind of person!

Thus, the shocked expression in Su Rui’s eyes grew increasingly intense!

What was going on here? Could it be that appearances are deceiving? That you can know someone’s face but not their heart?

Su Rui shook his head again, completely unable to believe that Bai Keqing would do such a thing.

“Brother, what’s wrong?” Ye Binglan noticed Su Rui’s expression was off and asked with concern.

“Nothing, just remembered something,” Su Rui shook his head.

“Shitou, Xiao Bing, since you rarely visit, don’t leave this afternoon. Let’s go to the restaurant downstairs and have a gathering. Although I retired early, my retirement pension is still quite substantial,” the old director said happily.

Just then, a woman’s voice came from outside the door.

“Dad, even if your retirement pension is substantial, it can’t withstand such spending. Your grandson was sick recently, which cost quite a bit. Why don’t you save some money for him?”

A fashionably dressed middle-aged woman entered from outside. Her eyebrows looked somewhat similar to the old director’s, but her cheekbones were high, which usually indicated a somewhat harsh personality.

“Lijuan, why didn’t you say you were coming?” The old director introduced, “Shitou, Xiao Bing, this is my daughter Lijuan.”

Su Rui nodded slightly, while Ye Binglan said, “Hello, Sister Lijuan.”

Su Rui’s brows furrowed slightly. He looked at the expensive fashionable clothes the woman was wearing, then at the shabby furnishings of the house, and couldn’t help but sigh softly.

This woman had made it clear even before entering that she was after her father’s retirement pension. She wore luxury brands while her elderly father lived in this dilapidated building scheduled for demolition. Such behavior made Su Rui very disgusted.

“Dad, you have guests? Who are these people?” Li Lijuan looked at Su Rui and Ye Binglan with suspicious eyes.

Ye Binglan smiled and said, “Sister Lijuan, I’m Ye…”

But before she could finish introducing herself, Li Lijuan interrupted her.

The woman crossed her arms and said, “Who you are isn’t important. Dad, don’t you know that there are scammers who specifically target elderly people? An old lady downstairs in our building was scammed out of 400,000 yuan!”

Hearing Li Lijuan speak this way, a cold glint immediately flashed in Su Rui’s eyes.

Ye Binglan’s brows also furrowed deeply. This woman’s way of speaking was really unlikable.

In fact, among increasingly isolated and self-centered modern people, women as harsh as Li Lijuan were not uncommon.

“Lijuan, how can you talk like that? They grew up in my welfare institute. They were only four or five years old when I retired, and we haven’t been in contact for nearly twenty years. They are guests, no, they are family. Look at you…” The old director was almost angered to the point of fainting. His daughter was really being too disrespectful, it was embarrassing.

“Well, haven’t seen each other for nearly twenty years? And today they eagerly come over. If you say they don’t have ulterior motives, I don’t believe it!” Li Lijuan coldly smiled as she sized up Su Rui and Ye Binglan.

“Family? It would be good enough if they’re not scammers! Dad, don’t you think about it? What could they remember from when they were four or five years old? I think these two are scammers! They have bad intentions!”

Su Rui was speechless. If Li Lijuan wasn’t the old director’s daughter, he would have probably slapped her several times already. She wasn’t just unreasonable; she was extremely overbearing. Su Rui seemed to vaguely see the shadow of Yin Xiumei in her!

That annoying woman – since the conflict at the pizza restaurant, they had hardly seen each other. If she dared to cause trouble again, Su Rui wouldn’t mind being harsh.

Ye Binglan couldn’t listen anymore. She directly took out her police badge and said unhappily, “I am Ye Binglan, Deputy Captain of the Criminal Investigation Team at Xinnan Branch. Do I look like a scammer to you? The old director is our benefactor, why would I scam him?”

“Hmph, how do I know if your police badge is real or fake? Criminal Investigation Team Captain? You’re so young, how could you hold such a position? These days, scammers are becoming less and less professional!” Li Lijuan said, rolling her eyes very professionally.

Ye Binglan completely gave up trying to explain. This woman had already made up her mind and wouldn’t listen to reason.

“Li Lijuan!” The old director was truly unhappy now. “Did you come today just to cause trouble?”

“Dad, I came to visit you. How is that causing trouble?” Li Lijuan said dissatisfied. “I’m just telling you to be careful and not let bad people scam away your retirement pension! You were a deputy department-level official before retirement, how can you become more confused as you get older!”

This Li Lijuan really didn’t show any respect when speaking to her father.

The old director said coldly, “I’m afraid there are only two people in the whole world who are after my retirement pension – you and your brother! You come once every two months, and each time it’s all about money. What’s the use of raising you two? Just so you can covet my retirement pension?”

Li Lijuan had indeed come home to ask for money. Looking at her dressed in bright, fashionable clothes, and then at the old director’s worn-out clothes that had been worn for who knows how many years, Su Rui felt a lump in his throat, very uncomfortable.

They say you raise children to care for you in old age, but how sad it must be to discover your children’s lack of filial piety when you’re old.

“Dad, it’s heartbreaking when you talk like that.” Li Lijuan said, “Your retirement pension is several thousand, and you can’t spend it all by yourself. You’re my dad, if your money isn’t for us, who is it for?”

The old director sighed deeply, and sadness appeared in Ye Binglan’s eyes.

Actually, she and Su Rui wanted to dissuade Li Lijuan, but this was after all a family matter, and it wouldn’t be appropriate to interfere rashly. It might even intensify the conflict.

“You don’t know, your grandson had pneumonia a while back, and just the hospitalization cost more than 20,000 yuan, not counting nutritional supplements. My husband and I don’t have high salaries. If you don’t support us a bit, how can we get by?”

“Didn’t I already cover half of the medical expenses for my grandson’s illness?” the old director said unhappily. Although he loved his grandson dearly, the boy had barely visited this place, always complaining that it was dirty and rundown, unwilling to stay a moment longer.

For that pneumonia hospitalization, the old director had paid two months’ worth of his pension.

“That’s not enough, Dad. I just joined Bikang Group recently. Although the salary is good, over 10,000 a month, the social expenses are high. Bikang is a big company, all those colleagues wear designer brands, and I can’t lose face. Just cosmetics cost me over 3,000 a month. Think about it, if you don’t give us some support, how can we possibly manage?”

The old man was very helpless. He also knew that what his daughter said was true.

“Can’t you avoid comparing yourself with others?”

“What comparison? That’s just old-fashioned thinking from your generation. Nowadays it’s all about spending beyond your means. You don’t know, in that company, everyone…”

Li Lijuan’s behavior was too blatant. She clearly knew her father lived alone in a dilapidated building, which was quite pitiful, but she still didn’t care. Every time she came, it was only about money and nothing else. She could at least say some caring words.

“Which department are you in at Bikang Group?” Su Rui suddenly asked.

Li Lijuan rolled her eyes: “Marketing Department, why? Don’t tell me you’re my boss. Oh my, that would be terrifying.”

Li Lijuan patted her chest with a mocking expression. She had just joined the company these past few days, no wonder she hadn’t heard of Su Rui’s reputation.

Little did she know, even if Su Rui wasn’t her boss, he wasn’t far from it.

“Marketing Department?” Su Rui smiled playfully but didn’t speak.

“Dad, my good-for-nothing husband was only transferred to the Ninghai Commerce Bureau this year, and he’s just a deputy section chief. His salary is terribly low, not even a third of mine…”

Li Lijuan was about to say more when she saw the old director stand up and take out a stack of red bills from the drawer, saying, “Here’s 3,000 yuan. Take it all.”

All parents in the world love their children. Even though the old director knew his daughter came only for money each time, he still couldn’t refuse.

The disgust on Su Rui’s face was evident, and Ye Binglan didn’t want to look anymore either. Only when raising children do you understand the gratitude owed to your mother, but this Li Lijuan didn’t have the slightest intention of repaying that debt. She was practically trying to bleed her parents dry.

Su Rui was absolutely certain that if the old director were hospitalized due to illness, Li Lijuan wouldn’t spend a penny on medical expenses!

“Dad, you have a retirement pension of several thousand every month, how come there’s only 3,000 yuan?” Li Lijuan counted the money and looked somewhat dissatisfied.

“Your brother came yesterday too!” The old director was about to explode with anger! Having such a daughter was truly the tragedy of his life!

Li Lijuan finally seemed slightly satisfied. She glanced at Su Rui and Ye Binglan, and said, “Well, the money is better in my hands than being scammed by these two. Rest well, I’m leaving now.”

With that, Li Lijuan swayed her hips and left. From beginning to end, although she kept calling Su Rui and Ye Binglan scammers, that was just her excuse to swindle money from the old director. Now that she had the money, she didn’t care about scammers anymore.

The old director sighed heavily: “My daughter… sigh, I’m sorry you had to see that.”

Just as he finished speaking, Li Lijuan unexpectedly returned and said, “Oh, Dad, I almost forgot something. This place is going to be demolished soon. The demolition compensation will be split half and half between my brother and me. You can just rent a small place to live, it won’t cost much per month.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Su Rui abruptly stood up!

“Although this isn’t my family business, I guarantee that you won’t get a single cent of this demolition compensation!”