Chapter 188: The Mansion's Intrigues

**Li Xian's Situation**

Li Xian was in a peculiar state.

If you were to say he was poor, that wouldn't quite be accurate. New North Paper was currently making a profit of over 20,000 yuan a day. Hengyuan Company's sales were also doing well; last week, its market share in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen had reached 26%, and the company's account had a surplus of nearly 300,000 yuan. The liquor factory was even more profitable, raking in money daily. Last week's promotions alone had added over 200,000 yuan to Li Xian's pocket.

But if you were to say he was rich, that wouldn't be entirely accurate either. New North was expanding; in addition to the three factories it had previously acquired, it was now moving into other provinces, and had recently acquired a state-owned paper mill in Hennan with over 400 employees. Hengyuan was in the market expansion phase, with the young staff believing that the current market conditions were too good to pass up, insisting on increasing production capacity. The company was constructing new factory buildings on land provided by the Bincheng government and planning to introduce additional production lines.

With both ventures consuming most of his funds, Li Xian still hadn't managed to repay the initial loan taken out to acquire Xinlang Paper.

Although in terms of fixed assets, Li Xian was a solid millionaire, he had never had more than 50,000 yuan in cash at hand.

Doing business like this involves large upfront investments and a long return period. Forget about becoming rich overnight; reaching a break-even point is a significant milestone. Explosive wealth is impossible. Real business follows a gradual, accumulation approach.

It seems unremarkable, but most businesses, apart from those prohibited by law or those relying on fleeting opportunities or industries with massive bubbles, operate this way.

This path is steady and reliable.

But considering only the present, Li Xian might be the most financially strapped millionaire.

With New North and Hengyuan both demanding funds, Li Xian was truly at a loss for how to finance the expansion of the liquor factory. His only hope was to rely on Liu Weihong for a loan.

Now that Liu Weihong had agreed to handle the loan, Li Xian felt very relieved.

In business, using your own money to make money isn't a great skill. It's the real trick to make money using government funds.

Feeling slightly elated, Li Xian returned to the mansion and saw Old Wu and Old Zheng playing chess at the entrance.

As he approached to greet them, he noticed that the atmosphere was off.

"Checkmate!" Old Wu picked up a knight and directly captured Old Zheng's chariot.

"Are you a fool? I have a pawn behind me. Are you just giving it away?"

"Whether I give it away or not is my business. I want to eat it!"

"Humph, you're just making a pawn."

"Cannon in the center! Check!"

"Tsk, are you senile? Your cannon is on my elephant's eye!"

"Don't care, I'll check!"

"Fine! Since you want to die, I'll go along with your wishes!"

At this point, Old Wu had lost all his chariots and cannons, leaving only a single knight—one that was trapped.

In a rush to win, Old Wu didn't care about the trapped knight and directly captured Old Zheng's pawn with it.

Old Zheng was furious: "Do you even know how to play chess?"

Old Zheng, already irritated, threw his chess piece onto the board and glared: "This is how I'm moving it. Deal with it!"

Tensions were high.

Seeing things were getting worse, Li Xian quickly intervened, "What's going on with you two? Why is playing chess turning into a fight?"

Old Wu just snorted and remained silent.

Old Zheng coldly snorted, grabbed a large teacup, and stormed off to his room.

Seeing Old Zheng ignoring him, Old Wu seemed to still be boiling with anger. He stood at the door, stomping and shouting, "This is my son's house. If you don't like it, get out!"

"If you want to drive me out, let Little Li say it. If he says I should leave, I'll go immediately. Wu Shengli, let me tell you, we're all relying on our own skills. Don't think you can use luck to mess with me!" Zheng Weihong didn't even look back and left with those words.

Seeing these two old fellows behaving so unusually, Li Xian scratched his head.

"What... what is this all about?"

Inside the mansion, Wang Lin and the trembling Old Qin were both staring at the ceiling as they listened to the broadcast.

"Ladies and gentlemen, as the saying goes, travel far and wide, but how can human hearts be as enduring as flowing water? First meetings are sweet as honey, but as time passes, joy turns to sorrow. Words spoken in front and behind the courtyard, kindness turns to enmity. Just like the Peach Blossom Three Oaths, who in friendship... stays until old age!"

On the broadcast, Shan Tianfang was reciting in his coarse voice.

---

After dinner, while many people were watching TV in the main room, Li Xian quietly slipped into Su Ya's room.

After working hard for over ten days, the mansion was finally cleaned up. But Su Ya had also been busy. Taking advantage of the good weather, she had washed all the bedding and blankets. When Li Xian entered the room, Su Ya was sewing the bedding.

Seeing him come in, Su Ya straightened up and tilted her head.

Li Xian approached the bed and lowered his voice, "Um, my godfather and Uncle Zheng… are they… interested in Aunt Su?"

Su Ya's face turned red, but after thinking about the recent events in the mansion, she couldn't help but smile.

She nodded, made a gesture as if holding a big teacup, mimicked Zheng Weihong's expression, and then pointed to her mouth and head, giving a thumbs-up.

Then she mimicked Old Wu's frowning expression, thought for a moment, and laughed, lying down on the bedding.

Seeing Su Ya's reaction, Li Xian understood what was going on.

It seemed that both Lao Wu and Lao Zheng were interested in Aunt Su. Zheng Weihong, with his experience, had gotten the upper hand, while Old Wu—his godfather—was more straightforward. Li Xian had a good grasp of this.

But considering their ages, Li Xian was shocked. Zheng Weihong was 61 this year, and Wu Shengli was 60. Aunt Su was only 42!

Old men wanting younger women, how shameless!

Looking at the 19-year-old Su Ya, Li Xian felt suddenly so noble and pure.

Under Su Ya's crescent moon eyes, Li Xian cleared his throat, "What about your mother? Who does she like?"

At this point, Su Ya's smile froze.

She sighed and shook her head. Biting her lip, she took out a notebook and a pen.

"My mom… doesn't have any thoughts about anyone. She still can't get over it."

Li Xian read the note aloud and nodded.

Having secretly read Su Ya's diary, he knew that Aunt Su harbored prejudices against all men. Considering this poor woman's experiences, it wasn't surprising.

Being cruelly abandoned by a man she bore a son and daughter with, enduring suffering for years, it was unrealistic for her to not have resentment. And it seemed that Aunt Su had transferred that resentment from the scumbag to all men.

Even when Li Xian greeted her, he could feel the resistance and rejection in her eyes.

Considering this and the quarrel between Old Wu and Old Zheng, Li Xian sighed—these two old fellows had no chance. Why bother?

Reflecting on Aunt Su's indifference and recalling the conversation with Su Hui under the moonlight, Li Xian felt that the scumbag who abandoned his wife had become a shadow over the Su family.

Even if this shadow's owner had long disappeared from their lives, perhaps he had already forgotten the three of them.

Looking at Su Ya in deep thought, Li Xian advised, "Actually, your mother's situation isn't good either. It's been years, and she still clings to the past. It's bound to wear her out eventually. And…"

"I'm very worried about Su Hui." Thinking about Su Hui's unemotional declaration to "find him and kill him" under the moonlight, Li Xian still felt a shiver down his spine.

Su Ya didn't seem to register his words, falling into deep thought.

Li Xian called her several times with no response. As he considered what to do during this negative buff, Su Ya snapped out of it, slapped away the unwelcome hand, and with a red face, pushed the bold intruder out of the room.

The door slammed shut.

Seeing the intricately carved door close tightly, Li Xian shook his head—what was he doing touching her face when he should have been touching her thigh?

"Are you out of your mind?"

Li Xian patted his own head.

---

On CCTV's evening broadcast, "New Legend of Madame White Snake" was airing. Two episodes were shown each night, and everyone gathered around to watch.

When Aunt Su returned to her room, she saw Su Ya sitting with her hands covering her face, lost in thought.

On the freshly washed white bedding, two drops of blood spread like plum blossoms.

"Xiao Ya, what happened?" Aunt Su quickly approached and took Su Ya's hand.

Su Ya came to her senses, smiling and shaking her head to indicate that nothing was wrong. She thought

 for a moment and made a series of hand gestures.

Seeing the gestures, Aunt Su was stunned, then her face darkened: "Why say these things? They're impossible. Men are all scum. Those two… they're just widowers. Even if it weren't me, Zhang Ma, Li Ma, Wang Ma, Feng Ma—any widow, they would act the same way. Remember, men are all despicable! When they pursue you, they'll flatter you like the stars in the sky and pearls in the river. But once they have you, stars become stones and pearls turn to sand. After seeing and having enough, the once-brilliant stars and pearls are no better than trash."

Hearing her mother repeat these countless times, Su Ya sighed inwardly and hesitated before gesturing again.

"Xiao Hui?" Aunt Su was puzzled. "What about Xiao Hui? He's grown up now. Whether I find a man or not, what does it have to do with him?"

Su Ya turned and took out a few wooden puppets from a box, placing them in front of Aunt Su.

Looking at the lifelike puppets, Aunt Su smiled with tenderness, "This child is skilled. Let him be…"

Before she could finish, she realized something and swallowed the rest of her sentence.

When she saw the faceless male puppet and the puppet's body marked with crosswise knife wounds, Aunt Su was stunned.

Seeing her mother's silence, filled with shock and confusion, Su Ya silently leaned against her mother's lap.

Seeing the small, delicate hands place a note gently on her thigh, Aunt Su couldn't help but shed large tears.

"We can't keep this way…"

"My poor child, I know we can't keep this way, but… but I can't get over this hurdle in my heart! If it weren't for that scumbag who should be struck by lightning, who abandoned us, how would we have suffered so much for so many years?"

Listening to her mother gently stroke her head and say this, Su Ya slowly raised her head and gestured again.

This time, Aunt Su was completely torn.

"My suffering, is it because I can't get over it myself?"

"Foolish girl, you're really understanding."