Mind reading saves the whole family; I'm firmly in the role of a charlatan.

Chapter 238 What kind of saintly father?

The cousin's wife stared at Du Anrao's youthful and beautiful face. Thinking that the person in front of her was two years younger than her son, yet had easily obtained what her family had always dreamed of, she was even more furtive.

"This is impossible, absolutely impossible! The auction house has been established for more than eighteen years. How could you, at only eighteen, be the owner of this auction house? You're lying to me, you're all in cahoots to deceive me!"

"Excuse my bluntness," Du Anrao gestured to the hysterical woman's face, "What value do you have that I could possibly have to deceive? And who said I'm the behind-the-scenes owner of the auction house?"

"You...you just said..."

"I am indeed the current owner of the auction house, but the previous owner was an elder of my family."

"You fool me!"

Du Anrao: "..."

[As expected, all brain-dead oddballs share a common ailment: a love of shirking responsibility. They always believe someone else is wrong, and they can't possibly be. The Du Tianci family was like that before, and this woman is too. Oh, and she also has a bit of paranoia.]

Xi Jingyue: "..." Upon closer reflection, it seems that this is indeed the case.

"I don't care if you're the boss or your elders are the boss, you have to give me an explanation for what happened today."

"What kind of explanation do you want?" Du Anrao asked casually, but then seemed to remember something and turned to look at Manager Wen.

"What's the story behind her husband? Does her family really own shares in the company?"

When Manager Wen heard her ask this, his heart skipped a beat. In the end, he answered truthfully: "There are no shares at all. Apart from you, the auction house is full of scattered shares. My father also has a small share. He used to share a portion of his annual dividends with some of his relatives in the industry because they worked hard."

"The money was divided into several portions according to the population, and it was promised that as long as they worked honestly at the auction house for twenty years, their corresponding shares would be transferred to them, so that they would have something to rely on and be secure for the rest of their lives."

In other words, the so-called shares were never in the form of any written agreement or transferred; they were just a verbal promise, and this promise came with preconditions.

The auction house has only been established for twenty years. This woman's husband was arrested three years ago, so he definitely does not meet the requirements. Not to mention, he was arrested for falsifying accounts and embezzling the auction house's assets. It's already good enough that the auction house hasn't turned around and asked him for money. The Wen family father and son are still giving them money.

When Manager Wen brought up the rules set by Old Master Wen, the woman panicked: "You're talking nonsense! You're just bullying us, a widow and her child, because we've lost our support. Of course, we'll do whatever you say. Oh my, what about our parents-in-law in heaven? Open your eyes and see! You're not here, but look how badly we, a widow and her child, are being bullied! How are we supposed to live like this?"

"..." So this is back to the orphan and widow trope. Didn't she just say that people were cursing her husband to die by describing them like that? Now she's happily making those same calls for money.

Du Anrao hated nothing more than the "crying, making a scene, and threatening suicide" approach. He rubbed his temples in annoyance and looked at Manager Wen with a mixture of sympathy and resentment.

"What kind of saints are you and your father? Don't you know the saying 'a little kindness is appreciated, but too much kindness breeds resentment'? Look how big her mind has become, she wishes you would give her all the money in the house."

Manager Wen gave a wry smile: "It's not that my father and I are saints, it's really my second uncle, who is also my cousin's father. Back then, my dad was framed and his business failed, leaving the family with a mountain of debt. All the other relatives avoided us like the plague, but only my second uncle and aunt lent us all their savings." Du Anrao fell silent after hearing this.

[That's why it's said that favors are the hardest to repay. Offering help in times of need is a huge favor; no wonder people are still helping to support someone's wife and children even after they've been sent to jail.]

Xi Jingyue: "..." Although the logic is indeed correct, why does this sound so strange?

"A few years ago, my second uncle passed away from illness. Not long after, my second aunt fell at home and also passed away. My cousin is my second uncle's only son..."

No wonder, since the debt of gratitude wasn't repaid in the previous generation, it naturally passed on to the next.

But while we may understand each other, we must keep things separate when it comes to serious matters.

"Ma'am, what exactly are you trying to do by making such a scene? Do you think your husband is lonely inside and want to go in and keep him company?"

Manager Wen also lowered his face in agreement: "That's right, this is not a place for you to cause trouble. If you continue to cause trouble, I will call security to drag you out."

Seeing that neither Manager Wen nor Du Anrao had considered settling the matter with money after she had been shouting for so long, and now they even wanted to kick her out, the woman became anxious. She put her hands on her hips, looking like a shameless rogue who wasn't afraid of being scalded by boiling water.

"Let me tell you, don't do anything rash! I, Xiang Qiufu, am not easily intimidated. If you really push me too far, I'll smash my head against your head and die right in front of you. Since you're all going to drive my daughter and me to our deaths anyway, if I can't have a good time, then nobody else can either!"

"You!" Manager Wen was truly enraged now. "Security, security, come in and throw this woman outside. If she dares to cause trouble again, call the police to warn her for disturbing the peace."

“Wen Youen, you’ve really made something of yourself! You actually wanted to call the police to arrest your own sister-in-law! Father-in-law, if you’re watching from heaven, open your eyes and see what kind of ungrateful wretches you emptied your family’s coffers to save back then. When you were still alive, he didn’t dare to do anything, but now that you’re gone, our whole family is going to be driven to our deaths by him!”

"Wen Youen, you'll get your comeuppance sooner or later for treating your loved ones and benefactors this way! Oh, why is my life so miserable..."

Wen's cousin-in-law is also a ruthless person. As soon as she saw Manager Wen call for security, she sat down on the ground and started howling. When the bodyguards who came forward to grab her came forward, she bared her teeth and claws and went all out.

The bodyguards were terrified by her reckless and crazy behavior, and for a moment they didn't dare to do anything to her.

Even if Manager Wen was very capable, he was still somewhat powerless against such a scoundrel, especially since this person was also a relative and benefactor. He was extremely angry and frustrated, and his face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

The group of people in the chaos ahead did not notice that after hearing someone say, "I, Xiang Qiufu, am not easily intimidated," Du Anrao paused for a moment, then revealed a thoughtful and solemn expression.

Xi Jingyue noticed this and instinctively felt that there was something wrong with the woman who came to cause trouble. He frowned and asked, "What's wrong?"

Du Anrao didn't answer his question. Instead, he walked over to Manager Wen and tentatively asked in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Xiang Qiufu? Her name is Xiang Qiufu? Qiu as in autumn, Fu as in hibiscus? Does she also have a younger brother named Xiang Sida?"

(End of this chapter)