After five bigwigs in Beijing's elite circle fell into their trap, I fled.

Chapter 3 Guests Arrive in the Capital

The security guards dragged the shop assistant who had mistreated Jiang Shu and her daughter towards the door. The shop assistant, her face flushed with anger and full of resentment, started making a scene!
"Dressed like that, who would know he was carrying a black card? I'm not having it! I'm going to seek justice from higher authorities!"

The store doors opened again, and a group of business people dressed in haute couture walked in. The leader had gray hair, an imposing face, and a conspicuous JS name tag pinned to his collar.

Upon seeing the words "Executive President of Eurasia Region" on the name tag, the manager approached the man with trepidation.

The fired employee's eyes suddenly lit up! She immediately started throwing a tantrum in front of the CEO, who was in charge:

"President! President, please do me justice!"

The gray-haired CEO glanced casually into the store and, seeing the crying and screaming employee, immediately sensed something was wrong: "What's going on?"

The shop assistant shouted, "President, the manager fired people without even asking what happened! I believe I did my job properly. I greeted and served those customers when they came in. They were ungrateful and deliberately misled me, even calling me a clown! I generate dozens of sales for the company every day. I've worked hard, if not achieved great success. How can they fire me like that? I don't accept this!"

The manager's attitude was also very firm: "No matter who you are, once you come to our restaurant, you are our valued guest! We at JS have always abhorred the practice of catering to individual customers based on their appearance! This is also the reason for our consistent reputation!"

The CEO of JS said coldly, "Pull up the surveillance footage."

Five minutes later, the surveillance footage was projected onto the large screen inside the store.

"It's that disheveled mother and daughter!" the saleswoman shouted. "See? I wasn't lying to you. Dressed like that, who would know they could afford to shop here! With so many VIP customers in the store, won't disturbing them affect JS's reputation?"

The CEO's gaze fell on Jiang Liuyun, his expression slightly surprised.

He leaned closer and pointed at the video: "Zoom in on this woman's face."

Under the high-definition camera, the wrinkles on Jiang Liuyun's face, with his slightly hunched figure and gray hair, could be clearly seen.

The CEO took a deep breath, then another, and patted the manager on the shoulder:

"This gentleman... is the chairman of our group."

Amidst the manager's shocked gaze, the CEO remained composed:

"Since she wished you all the best in your career... just wait for your promotion letter."

on the street.

Jiang Liuyun pointed to her canvas bag:
"With so many new clothes, you can throw away your old ones with patches. Don't wear tattered clothes at school, or you'll get bullied."

Jiang Shu raised an eyebrow: "I didn't bring any clothes with me when I left the village."

"So what's in your backpack?"

"Some gifts to give as greetings and sewing kits."

Jiang Liuyun had a bit of a headache: "It's fine if you like sewing and mending at home, but you should be more quiet outside."

"Mom, don't worry," Jiang Shu said seriously. "Your studies should be the priority!"

Jiang Liuyun paused, then said, "Also, stop picking up random things. On the way to Jiangcheng, I saw you stuff a dead sparrow into your bag..."

"Mom, you must have seen wrong!" Jiang Shu replied seriously. "That was clearly a lively little sparrow. Didn't you see how powerfully it flapped its wings when it flew away..."

Jiang Liuyun was speechless: "Even if they're alive, you can't just stuff them into your bag!"

Then she asked the question that mattered most to her: "Where did you get this credit card?"

Jiang Shu thought for a moment: "If I said that I closed several big deals and this was a gift from the other party... would you believe me?"

Jiang Liuyun looked at her daughter and sighed after a long while: "I don't care what you do outside, but... if you run into trouble, remember to come to your mother first."

imperial capital.

Private airport.

Beside a super-luxury private jet, dozens of bodyguards cleared the way. In the misty rain, a close assistant held a black umbrella steadily above another person's head. As dusk fell, the person under the umbrella had noble features, a pale complexion, and slightly lowered, exquisite phoenix eyes. His beauty was so striking that even the thin mist surrounding him seemed to glow.

From the separated crowd in the distance, gasps of amazement echoed one after another!

Some people were so captivated by the sight that they couldn't help but ask, "Who is that person?"

"Li Yubai of the Li family in the capital."

"That...that legendary richest man in China who never appears in the media and only exists in legends?" The person who asked the question was shocked!

Someone sighed softly, "It's him, isn't it?"

"How do you know? Didn't they say that major media outlets and magazines dare not publish his photos?"

"Putting aside the prominent Li family crest on the plane, just look at that face that could topple empires—besides Li Yubai, who is known as the most handsome man in the capital, who else could be worthy of him?" "Aww, my heart is pounding!" Many girls clutched their hearts!

In the distance, under the cover of bodyguards, the man boarded the plane with elegance, his phoenix eyes seemingly holding the starry sky, deep and shimmering.

"Let's go to Jiangcheng, now."

Jiangcheng.

Xinghua Lane, No. 082.

The narrow and tranquil Xinghua Ancient Alley belongs to the old city of Jiangcheng. In recent years, with the increasing reputation of Jiangcheng No. 1 Middle School, the property prices in this old city area near the school have soared, resulting in a surge in rental properties. There are a couple hundred units, all old houses recently renovated, except for No. 082—its exterior still retains the style of a wooden house from decades ago. The dilapidated courtyard has two lush apricot trees on either side, neglected for years but not withered; instead, they have grown taller and taller, completely covering the small wooden house. It has a rather picturesque feel.

Jiang Liuyun and Jiang Shu entered the cramped little house carrying large and small bags.

The simple 30-square-meter room has a separate bathroom, a small kitchen, a bed, and a wardrobe. Despite this, its location near Jiangcheng No. 1 Middle School has already raised the rent to 2,500 yuan a month.

However, poor people don't talk about money, because talking about money hurts their self-esteem.

Jiang Liuyun didn't mention the rent: "This is the village chief's old house. Decades ago, there was a famine, and he fled to our Xinghua Village and settled down there. This house has been empty ever since."

Jiang Shu looked around and said, "It's more luxurious than the dilapidated thatched huts in our village."

Jiang Liuyun nodded: "That's natural. This house has a courtyard with large apricot trees on both sides, separating it from the other tenants' houses, so there's no need to worry about any conflicts between neighbors in the future."

Jiang Shu raised an eyebrow: "I never get into conflicts with people."

Jiang Liuyun glanced at her noncommittally and changed the subject directly:

“The village chief came a few days ago. He didn’t manage the outside, but he renovated the inside. You can stay here for now. If there’s anything you don’t like, the village chief will come back and fix it all over again.”

“Okay.” Jiang Shu put down a sack of cloth. “Go back and tell the village chief that the pipe he had been searching for for a year has been hidden in the gap of the manure outlet in Grandpa Tang’s pigsty.”

Jiang Liuyun: "...Okay."

She suddenly understood why the village chief had been going through menopause every day for the past year...

"Anything else?"

"Anything else? That's all. You know I'm always very well-behaved." Jiang Shu adjusted her glasses. "Let's not even talk about something as trivial as burning a sack of training money."

Jiang Liuyun: "That sack of... training money, you burned it?"

“I stayed in the mountains for a few days. It rained heavily, and the cave was dark and damp. I don’t know who threw a sack of martial arts money into the cave and burned it to get some light.”

Jiang Liuyun unconsciously rubbed his temples: "Never mind, I won't ask anymore. You don't need to say anything else either—take a rest, and I'll take you to No. 1 Middle School to register first thing tomorrow morning."

Quanwen Town, Xinghua Village.

Several villagers lazily gathered together to play cards.

A soft 'beep' sounded.

The village chief, who was just about to pull out his trump card, touched his cufflinks and his expression stiffened slightly:
"Let's bring everyone back. There's no need to look for that sum of US dollars; our treasure burned it as firewood."

Li Erniang, with a cigar dangling from her lips, glanced at him lazily and said, "A few million US dollars is nothing to burn. We can always earn more. Why do you look so upset?"

"The pipe I bought for 300 million has been located..."

……

As dusk settles over the river city.

Jiang Liuyun deftly made the bed and tidied up her daughter's room.

Jiang Shu leaned lazily against the door, curiously observing this unfamiliar city.

Suddenly, as if sensing something, her expression shifted slightly.

"Mom," she called softly, "I need to talk to you about something."

In the bustling city of Jiangcheng, traffic control was suddenly implemented at a certain moment, and above the controlled area, a luxurious private plane was preparing to land...

Countless celebrities in Jiangcheng dropped what they were doing, their eyes filled with fervor, got into luxury cars, and flocked to the plane's landing site.

At No. 082 Xinghua Lane, a young girl gazed in the direction of the restricted area and tentatively informed her mother: "Mom, I'm planning to get a pet—the really, really cute kind."

"Remember to raise them roughly." Jiang Liuyun didn't take it seriously. "We're poor."

(End of this chapter)