Brother! This is the adoption certificate. I don't want your sister-in-law!

On the weekend, the day she had arranged to meet Sun Yi, Su Xiao got up even earlier than usual for school.

He first called Fang Yu and asked him to bring a few of his acquaintances to wait near the Science and Technology Street. He told them not to ask why, they would find out when they arrived.

Fang Yu patted his chest on the other end of the phone and said, "Don't worry, Brother Su, I'll go get someone right away."

Su Xiao hung up the phone and went to the ceramics market again, picking out two large blue-and-white porcelain vases that were half a person tall, one hundred yuan each, which could be used as decorations at the entrance of the shop.

When paying, he slipped an extra fifty yuan to the shopkeeper, asking him to change the amount on the invoice to three thousand yuan per item.

The shopkeeper looked up at him, glanced down at the money, said nothing, and promptly issued the invoice.

When Su Xiao and the deliveryman moved the two large vases to the entrance of the store, Luo Jiang was squatting behind the repair table disassembling a Motorola, while Lao Liu and Xiao Zhou were testing the newly acquired batch of used mobile phone batteries.

Wu Mengmeng leaned halfway out from behind the counter and watched as several workers laboriously carried the two large vases, each about half a person's height, to the shop entrance and placed them there.

She tilted her head and stared at it for a while, finally unable to resist asking Su Xiao, "This is a secondhand recycling shop, not an antique shop. Why are you putting two big vases here? To attract wealth?"

"It definitely brings wealth, and a lot of wealth at that."

Su Xiao was too lazy to explain, so she pulled up a chair and sat down.

Looking out through the glass door, the roller shutter door of Zeng Ge Secondhand Recycling Shop across the street was only half-closed, and the fire brigade's seal on the door was already curled up by the wind.

The business has been suspended for rectification, and it's unclear when that will be completed.

Wu Mengmeng walked over from behind, followed his gaze and glanced at the opposite side, her face revealing undisguised schadenfreude.

"That bald jerk deserved it; who told him to loiter around the gate every day?"

After saying that, she took another half step forward, then changed the subject and spoke with some difficulty.

"Su Xiao, my hotel lease has expired. Could you move here? I'd like to stay in the warehouse at the back."

Su Xiao didn't even lift her eyelids, uttering just two words.

"cannot."

Wu Mengmeng puffed out her cheeks in anger, snorted heavily, and stomped back to the front desk, muttering curses like "cold-blooded and heartless" and "black-hearted capitalist."

Su Xiao's phone rang.

Wu Cheng called, his voice low but unable to contain his excitement.

"Uncle Lin and my mom have everything arranged. The plane tickets are booked, and we've contacted the school in Shanghai. Everything is going smoothly, and we're just waiting for the weekend after next. Brother Su, you just need to take Mengmeng to the airport, and we'll take care of the rest."

Then he paused, the excitement in his voice fading, replaced by nervousness and probing.

"Brother Su, can you handle things on your end?"

Su Xiao held the phone in silence for a moment.

He turned around, his gaze passing over the repair counter and shelves, landing on Wu Mengmeng at the front desk in the lobby.

She was wiping the counter with a rag, muttering something under her breath, her pigtails bobbing up and down with her movements.

He turned back and said four words into the phone: "Leave it to me."

On the other end of the phone, Wu Cheng's voice cracked with excitement as he repeatedly said, "Thank you, Brother Su! You're like a second parent to me. When I get to Shanghai, I'll definitely send you local specialties—crab roe buns, pan-fried buns, hairy crabs, whatever you want!"

Su Xiao laughed and scolded, "Alright, stop howling," and hung up the phone.

He put his phone back in his pocket, took a deep breath, then stood up, walked to the front desk, and tapped the counter twice with his fingers.

Wu Mengmeng looked up, still holding the rag in her hand.

"I can let you stay at the shop," Su Xiao said, putting her hands in her pockets. "But there's something I need your help with later."

Wu Mengmeng blinked her big eyes, tossed the rag aside, leaned closer, and whispered, "What is it?"

Su Xiao lowered his head and whispered a few words into her ear. Wu Mengmeng's eyes grew brighter and brighter as she listened. When he finished speaking, her mouth was already open in a small "O" shape, and her face was full of surprise.

"You know such an important person?"

Su Xiao didn't answer, only saying that if there were any unexpected situations, they should just put on a good show.

Wu Mengmeng immediately saluted, "I guarantee to complete the mission assigned to me by the organization!"

Full of energy.

Looking at her spirited demeanor, Su Xiao silently said in his heart, "I'm sorry, I have to pack you up and send you away."

The phone rang again.

This time it was Sun Yi who said the car was at the intersection but hard to find, and asked Su Xiao to come out and meet him.

Su Xiao hung up the phone, straightened her clothes, and walked out the door. She had only taken a few steps outside the store when she bumped into Zeng Ran.

Baldy looked particularly unwell today, with dark circles under his eyes, clearly indicating that he hadn't slept well for several days due to the fire department's shutdown.

Beside him was the blond thug who had appeared in the store last time, with a toothpick in his mouth.

Zeng Ran saw Su Xiao and suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He squinted, his voice sounding like it was being squeezed out between clenched teeth: "You did it."

Su Xiao said casually, "What did I do to deserve this, Boss Zeng? Your shop failed the fire safety inspection and was sealed off. What does that have to do with me?"

The blond-haired man pulled the toothpick out of his mouth, looked at Su Xiao, and then at Zeng Ran: "Boss, I've never seen anyone so arrogant in my life."

Su Xiao spread her hands.

"Now you've seen it."

Zeng Ran took a step forward, his face trembling, and said in a low voice, "Don't think I don't know who reported you. You believe I'll have your shop smashed right now!"

Su Xiao curled her lip. "Boss Zeng, you've got quite the nerve. Do you own this street? You think you can just smash whoever you want? Should we issue you a murder license so you can kill whoever you want?"

Zeng Ran's facial muscles twitched several times.

Su Xiao showed no fear whatsoever. Instead, she stepped forward and said provocatively, "If you have the guts, bring some people and smash my shop later. Anyone who doesn't is a coward!"

"Alright, kid, you've got guts!"

Zeng Ran glared at Su Xiao, gave him a fierce look, and then turned and left with the blond-haired man.

Before leaving, the blond-haired man turned back and pointed at Su Xiao, opening his mouth as if to speak, but seeing that Su Xiao didn't react, he swallowed his words back.

Su Xiao watched the two figures disappear around the street corner and then quickly walked towards the intersection.

Sun Yi stood under a tree at the intersection, wearing a dark blue jacket. He didn't carry a briefcase or wear formal attire, and looked no different from any other ordinary citizen who came to stroll around.

Su Xiao jogged over, her face showing just the right amount of apology, and said, "I'm sorry, Uncle Sun, I've kept you waiting. This street is hard to find."

Sun Yi waved his hand and said, "It's nothing."

Then he took a pen out of his pocket and handed it to Su Xiao, saying, "I thought about it and couldn't think of anything else to bring. This pen was given to me when I was named an advanced worker. It's just a small token of my appreciation. I wish you a prosperous business."

"Oh no, what should we do?" Su Xiao exclaimed in alarm.

Sun Yi chuckled and said, "It's nothing valuable, just accept it."

"Well, this... then I'll accept it."

Su Xiao accepted the pen with both hands, carefully tucking it into her inner pocket, and said, "This is more precious than any gift. If I ever sign a big contract in the future, I'll use this pen. It will definitely contribute to the economic development of Jingcheng!"

Sun Yi's lips curled up slightly at his amusement.

As they walked and talked, Su Xiao pointed to the rows of electronics and digital shops on both sides and exclaimed, "The entrepreneurial environment is so good now. It's all thanks to the Industry and Commerce Bureau for maintaining market order so that those thugs don't bully small businesses."

Sun Yi waved his hand and said, "That's thanks to the local police station comrades. Our Industry and Commerce Bureau is mainly responsible for market supervision."

But hearing his affirmation of the business environment in this area, Sun Yi was still very pleased.

Upon entering the store, Sun Yi stood at the entrance for a while, his gaze sweeping from the pink cat logo to the slogan on the wall, and then to the shelves arranged by condition.

Su Xiao noticed his gaze and took the initiative to introduce the store, saying, "This store is positioned as a transparent second-hand recycling center for students, so the decor is quite trendy."

Sun Yi nodded and walked into the store with him.

Then Su Xiao briefly explained the core idea of ​​that standardized valuation template.

The price quote is transparent, the deductions are made public, and all testing procedures are completed in front of the seller.

Sun Yi nodded repeatedly, saying that he had never seen this model in the training materials of the industrial and commercial system before, and asked him how he came up with it.

Su Xiao chuckled, touching her nose, and said, "I just saw my classmates getting ripped off when buying phones, so I wanted to give them a platform where they wouldn't have to haggle over prices."

Sun Yi looked at him and nodded in satisfaction.

Wu Mengmeng brought over two cups of tea, her smile sweet and obedient, her voice so gentle it could melt water, and said, "Please have some tea."

When Su Xiao took the teacup, she nodded slightly to Wu Mengmeng, who blinked.

Just then, a commotion erupted outside.

The sound of shattering glass was crisp and sharp, like a knife slicing through the street.

Immediately following was the dull thud of an iron bar hitting the door frame, and the two large ceramic vases by the door shattered into pieces, with shards flying everywhere and blue-and-white porcelain fragments bouncing several times on the ground.

Zeng Ran kicked open the glass door, carrying an iron rod in his hand, followed by three thugs, one of whom was the blond guy from earlier.

Zeng Ran's face flushed crimson, veins bulging on his forehead, as he roared, "Su Xiao, get out here! I'm here to take your life!"

Sun Yi paused, holding his teacup, and turned to look at the group of people at the door.

Su Xiao immediately stood up from her chair, took a step forward, and stood between Sun Yi and the doorway.

He looked at Zeng Ran, his voice not showing any panic, but rather a hint of helpless weariness.

"Why is Mr. Zeng so angry? He's just a small business owner trying to make a living. This street doesn't belong to anyone. Everyone is running a business and relying on their own abilities."

As Su Xiao spoke, she wiped her eyes, looking as if she was about to cry.

"I don't know what I did to offend you. I'm just a student trying to earn some living expenses and improve my family's living situation. Why are you so relentless in forcing me? Are you only satisfied when you've driven a student to my death?!"

Zeng Ran was stunned for a moment.

Wasn't this kid so arrogant just now? Why is he backing down now?

However, Zeng Ran was still furious and didn't think much of it. He pointed the iron rod at Su Xiao's face and said, "This street belongs to me, Zeng Ran. If you're not happy, go ask around!"

Zeng Ran spat on the ground, then waved his hand, signaling the three thugs behind him to smash it.

Huang Mao grabbed an iron rod and was about to swing it at the shelf when Wu Mengmeng screamed.

Sun Yi couldn't stand it any longer and stepped forward.

He placed the teacup on the counter, his face serious, and said, "Stop it, all of you! This is illegal. You're smashing things with weapons in broad daylight. You'll face the consequences."

Zeng Ran looked him up and down.

A middle-aged man in a dark blue jacket, utterly unremarkable, scoffed, "Break your mother's laws! I'm the boss on this street. Who do you think you are?"

Feeling humiliated like this, Sun Yi's face showed a hint of anger. "Disregard for the law! Watch out, or I'll sue you!"

"Sue me wherever you want!"

After saying that, Zeng Ran picked up an iron rod and was about to smash it on Sun Yi.

Wow, that's brave!

Su Xiao's eyelids twitched, and she reacted quickly, pulling Sun Yi behind her. The iron rod grazed Sun Yi's shoulder and missed.

Without turning around, he stared at Zeng Ran and asked Sun Yi quickly, "Uncle Sun, these people are too arrogant. If I take action now, can you testify that it was self-defense?"

Sun Yi was still in shock, but his mind worked quickly, and he nodded vigorously.

"Can."

This is exactly what Su Xiao wanted.

He took a deep breath and shouted at the top of his lungs toward the door, "Help! Someone is committing vandalism and looting in broad daylight, showing no regard for the law!"

Zeng Ran stood there, holding the iron rod, his face filled with undisguised contempt.

He laughed loudly, "Go ahead and shout, shout until you're hoarse, no one will come to save you!"

But no sooner had he finished speaking than a group of people suddenly rushed out from the street.

Fang Yu, who was 1.85 meters tall, ran at the front, holding a broom stick in his hand.

He was followed by five or six brothers, some carrying mop handles, others carrying stool legs, and the group of them charged towards them menacingly.