What choice to make?
Such a perfect opportunity would never come again.
With Jinsha Pool launching tomorrow, Xia Xiaolan would likely agree to any demands right now.
But the Luo family couldn’t afford to gamble!
As Xia Xiaolan said, they only had one male heir. If Luo Yaozong died, all their gains would be meaningless – their family line would end, and who would their wealth go to?
“Dad, agree with her…”
Though Luo Degui often criticized his son as useless, at this crucial moment he valued his son above money.
Old Luo glared viciously at Xia Xiaolan: “If Yaozong dies, I’ll have the villagers tear down your worthless buildings, and I’ll hang myself at the compound entrance. Let’s see who’ll buy your property then, land or houses!”
Xia Xiaolan couldn’t be bothered arguing with the old man.
Did she not know the Luo family’s scheming?
They surely hadn’t given up the chance to extort her, but whatever happened, the weekend launch had to proceed normally!
Once the properties were sold, Xia Xiaolan would have the upper hand, regardless of how the Luo family acted.
Luo Degui cleared his throat and urged the villagers to leave: “Thank you all for standing up for Yaozong. The street office officials and police are here, and I don’t think Manager Xia can deceive us. Please go home… we’ll deal with everything once Yaozong is safe!”
Xia Xiaolan smirked: “Village Chief Luo, are you suggesting you’ll bring people to cause trouble after Luo Yaozong is out of danger?”
Luo Degui looked sheepish.
Earlier, thinking his son was dead, he’d said he didn’t want to be village chief anymore.
If his son was alive, why give up being village chief? That was just heat-of-the-moment talk!
The street office officials loved seeing this resolution: “Manager Xia is being very reasonable. No gathering to cause trouble. It’s late – go home and let others sleep! The police will investigate what happened!”
Old Luo raised his hand, “Everyone go home for now.”
His authority exceeded Luo Degui’s, and only then did villagers begin to move.
Xia Xiaolan signaled Ge Jian, who understood they couldn’t let these villagers return to cause trouble.
How to prevent it?
Guard the village, don’t let them out these two days.
It would be too heavy-handed for Qihang Real Estate to do this directly – they could provide manpower but couldn’t take the blame.
Fortunately, the police were present. After Ge Jian whispered to them, they looked grave: “Attempted murder?”
If Manager Xia of Qihang firmly believed Luo Yaozong wouldn’t steal steel, why did he fall? Was he pushed by an accomplice or someone hiding among the villagers?
Until things were clear, they couldn’t let the mastermind escape – this required serious attention.
This suspicion made sense. These villagers had all been relocated anyway, so staying home for two days was manageable. Anyone nervous enough to flee might be the culprit.
The police hurried the villagers back, with Ge Jian sending over ten colleagues to follow.
The Futian street office officials looked serious, “That’s right, everything can be discussed. Don’t let criminals inflame your emotions.”
Empty words.
After Xia Xiaolan thanked the officials for their concern, the Luo father and son were anxious as ants on a hot pan.
“How is Yaozong?”
“Still in emergency surgery. You should cooperate with the police investigation first. Is this arrested man from Ganquan Village?”
Luo Degui nodded after a glance, “He’s from the village.”
But not surnamed Luo.
And rarely stayed in the village before.
“Was he the one who came saying Luo Yaozong fell to his death?”
Old Luo glared at Xia Xiaolan – talk of death was unpleasant.
Luo Degui wasn’t entirely sure.
“…Probably. It was chaos, I couldn’t see clearly. A group came to our house together.”
So they’d notified others before going to the village chief’s home.
Even if the Luo family didn’t want to escalate things, they were pushed into acting by these people. This was all purposeful – even the police didn’t believe this bald man wasn’t involved, stirring up emotions in the crowd.
Luo Yaozong’s fall was just a “small matter” – the real goal was preventing Jinsha Pool’s properties from selling.
Old Luo disliked Xia Xiaolan too, resenting Qihang Real Estate for taking Luo’s family land.
But someone was using his grandson’s life as bait to sabotage Xia Xiaolan’s sales plan. Old Luo couldn’t help complaining: “If you hadn’t made enemies, how could this affect Yaozong? Women doing business just attracts trouble. How bad are Yaozong’s injuries!”
In the future, such business matters should be managed by Yaozong.
Old Luo thought this but wasn’t foolish enough to say it.
However, he also hesitated about their original plan – not from conscience, but wondering if Xia Xiaolan’s fortune was too strong. Just thinking about it brought great suffering – was she husband-killing fate?
If Xia Xiaolan knew Old Luo’s thoughts, she’d strangle him.
Even without knowing, she wasn’t polite to him:
“Though Luo Yaozong isn’t dead, he’s severely injured. He was still in surgery when I left the hospital. You’d better see him yourselves to avoid regrets. Also, Old Village Chief Luo, after decades as a village official, watches your language. Stop with the vulgar insults – village officials should show some culture, and earn merit for Luo Yaozong’s sake! I understand your emotional outburst, but that doesn’t mean you can be imperious with me… Did I endanger Luo Yaozong? Letting him work at the site was my misfortune. Even if he didn’t plan to steal steel, he revealed patrol information to others – how else would they know the weak points? Luo Yaozong brought these people in!”
Old Luo was thoroughly scolded, pointing at Xia Xiaolan stammering “You, you, you” without forming words.
Xia Xiaolan’s earlier politeness was for the villagers’ benefit. With just the Luo father and son here, on her territory, she naturally wouldn’t treat them well.
Old Luo tried to trade on his age, but Xia Xiaolan wouldn’t have it.
If Luo Yaozong hadn’t fallen from the roof at night, she should’ve been sleeping sweetly in her hotel, waiting for Jinsha Pool’s launch!
Old Luo truly worried about his grandson. After Xia Xiaolan’s words, he and Luo Degui would surely be anxious until they saw him.
Liu Yong personally escorted the Luo family to the hospital – they’d be controlled once there anyway. Dividing the crowd made things manageable; they couldn’t cause trouble tomorrow or the day after.
The construction site had seen significant disturbance, but Xia Xiaolan swiftly defused a potential mass incident without alarming elderly folks like Mao Kangshan.
“Tomorrow proceeds as if nothing happened, open for sales as planned! We’ll thoroughly investigate after things settle!”
The three people caught were still detained at the police station, and Xia Xiaolan wasn’t worried about escape.
Those people thought Luo Yaozong was surely dead, and a dead man couldn’t contradict their claims.
They hadn’t expected Wu Daonan’s extra words, with fine sand piled where Luo Yaozong fell, preventing his immediate death… If someone had died before Jinsha Pool’s launch, the news would spread and kill sales!
It was troublesome now, but fortunate within misfortune!
Who had set this trap?
Several suspects flashed through Xia Xiaolan’s mind.