Shocking! A master of metaphysics has been mind-reading!

As if she had finally heard what she wanted to hear, Tan's mother plopped down on the ground, pounding the floor. "I called the police! I called the police right away! But the police told me my son died in an accident! Look, look! My son texted me the night before saying he wanted to give me a good life, that he wanted to make a lot of money! And the next day the police told me he died in an accident!"

"It's all collusion between officials and businessmen! They just bully us ordinary people! That swindler works for a big company now! The police won't investigate her properly! My poor son, he died so inexplicably! I can't even get justice! This swindler is truly heartless!"

Upon hearing the woman's words, someone indignantly exclaimed, "Auntie, which company are you talking about! Tell us so we can avoid them!"

"It's that Qiuye Group from here!" Aunt Tan said bitterly.

Upon hearing this, many people were stunned. Although Qiuye Group was a newly established company, anyone with a working family member would say that it was a good company with high benefits, good pay, and most importantly, no overtime! Even if you did work overtime, you would get overtime pay!

If you mention other companies, someone might chime in, saying something like, "What about Qiuye?"

"Auntie, are you sure you're not mistaken? The people at Qiuye are wonderful! After we've finished criticizing our own bosses, we always end up praising the leaders at Qiuye!"

"Yes, ma'am, the police wouldn't lie to you for no reason, right? There's no benefit for them!"

"Little sister, I won't say anything about other companies, but I have to tell you about Qiuye. My husband works there, and he was in a car accident on his way home. The company immediately helped him file for workers' compensation, and they even sent someone to visit him, bringing him supplements and medical funds!"

Startled by the chatter around her, Aunt Tan quickly tried to cover for her, saying, "That swindler was someone close to the president of Qiuye Group. The president of Qiuye Group would definitely protect her! Who knows what methods she used to climb up this big tree? Even the police can't arrest her! Oh, my poor child! He died before he was even in his twenties and hadn't even gotten married!"

"By the way, isn't Old Zhang's eldest son the one who works as the CEO's driver?"

"Oh my, you know what, it seems to be true. His daughter works there too, and she earns a really high salary. She also comes home early every day! She's just like we were when we were working in the factory, always full of energy!"

"Isn't that the old woman who was watching the commotion downstairs at Old Zhang's house today?"

As the older women chattered amongst themselves, Tan's mother's identity was instantly revealed. One of the more outspoken women immediately exclaimed, "Oh my, who do we have here! It's you, you old toad! Unable to extort anyone's daughter, you've come here to extort the master! Let me tell you, that little Song from the Zhang family patted her chest and told me this master is incredibly effective. Everyone in the neighborhood saw how her daughter was being bullied all the time, right? That's that little toad from the old toad's family! And it was this master who personally severed their ill-fated relationship!"

"The day her daughter regained consciousness, Xiao Song was crying so hard downstairs! She said her daughter had been cursed! Can you believe how cruel that toad is?! I originally thought curses were just superstition, but I never expected her son to actually die after the breakup! Oh my! I have to believe it now! Don't you think it's a case of being cursed back?!"

Immediately, everyone started talking at once. The neighbors had all lived here for decades, and many of Zhang Yue's relatives also lived nearby. At first, no one could quite place them, but after someone pointed it out, everyone immediately remembered.

"It's about the Zhang family's youngest daughter! Oh my, who could it be! The Zhang family's daughter-in-law used to have swollen eyes from going grocery shopping every day! But these past few days she's been all smiles, saying there's a particularly effective master around here!"

"It's the Zhang family. I saw that old woman and her relatives causing trouble today. Look at all those people behind her! Tsk tsk tsk, she's an old toad. The little toad can't get the swan meat, so the old toad's trying to extort money!"

Hearing others constantly calling him a toad, Tan's mother immediately lost her temper. She jumped up and roared, "You're the toad! Everyone in your family is a toad! My son is the only son in three generations! He's an only child! How is he not good enough for that little bitch surnamed Zhang? She doesn't even know how much she liked my son before!"

"Oh, so you're just a toad growing next to a cesspool! Trying to drag people into this. I knew it! Why would the police target you for no reason?"

Tan's mother jumped up, ready to fight the sharp-tongued old woman, but her relatives behind her stopped her.

Once the onlookers realized that this guy was crazy, they stopped watching the spectacle and most of them left.

When a new group of people arrived, Tan's mother started making a fuss again.

Xia Wange finally understood. Tan's mother wanted to create a stir, forcing her to show up and pay money to settle the matter by damaging her reputation. Or she could incite some people to side with Tan's mother, smash her shop, and use public criticism to force her to pay compensation.

Xia Wange changed her posture and continued watching the spectacle. She felt that her description was too sophisticated; this was a typical money-extortion tactic.

Unfortunately, this wasn't their village, and she didn't have any local support here. She couldn't cause a big scene, and she couldn't gather people to follow her. The older folks, being well-informed, knew this was a money-extortion tactic that required a crowd to watch; without one, they couldn't operate effectively. So they didn't look any further and went straight home.

As night deepened, only young people passed by. They saw the other person throwing a tantrum and found it strange. They took a video and left, fearing that the mentally ill person might suddenly go crazy and hurt someone.

After several rounds of commotion, Tan's mother failed to achieve the desired effect and even lost her voice.

"Second Aunt, what should we do? It's hard to do this without someone to back us up. We won't ruin our reputation or threaten her. Our goal isn't to block the shop, it's to force her to pay us back," said a burly man with a scar on his head. "How about we come back tomorrow during the day? We can't get through to the higher-ups, and it's not good to curse them out. Second Aunt knows you're in a hurry for money, but we can't just be begging like this, making a fool of ourselves."

"Disgraceful? What do you mean disgraceful? That bitch killed my son, what's disgraceful about me demanding compensation from her?!" The disheveled and grime-covered Mrs. Tan scrambled to her feet, pointing fiercely at the few remaining onlookers. "Nobody's watching? Of course nobody's watching! Aren't they human? Today I'm going to act on behalf of heaven, smash up this swindler's shop, and use the stolen money to pay tribute to my son!"

As she spoke, Tan's mother picked up a brick from the ground and prepared to smash it against the glass door.

Just as the brick was about to hit the glass door, a slender hand reached out and caught it steadily. Under the shocked gazes of the group, Xia Wange tucked a stray strand of hair from her forehead with one hand, weighed the brick in her other hand, and said with a smirk, "You guys have quite the guts to smash my shop."