After the divorce, he took care of his child and sold fried rice; his ex-wife was filled with regret

Su Qing tilted her head slightly, looking at the buildings slowly receding outside the window.

Steam rose from the roadside breakfast stalls, and students in school uniforms and office workers carrying briefcases crowded in front of the bus stop.

She looked away and turned to open the tablet on her lap. The screen displayed documents that Attorney Zhang had compiled overnight, along with several blurry photos.

The photo was taken secretly from across the street. It shows a shop on Phoenix Golden Street that doesn't have a signboard, with a long queue in front of it.

In the photo, Lin Fan is wearing a chef's uniform and is busy in front of a large pot. Next to him is a small figure, Tuantuan.

Su Qing zoomed in on the photo, looking at the image of Tuan Tuan sitting on a small stool, holding a bowl and eating.

This is the kind of life Lin Fan can provide for his daughter. Eating cheap food on the smoky streets, mingling with a group of netizens who come to join the fun and take photos.

Su Qing didn't want to watch anymore, so she threw the tablet onto the seat next to her.

Just then, my phone vibrated. I opened it and saw a WeChat voice message from Zhang Cuihua, who was sitting in the car behind.

Su Qing tapped the button and brought the receiver to her ear.

"Qingqing, your dad and I have discussed it. Don't rush to take out that two million check."

"That kid's just a small business owner now. If he sees this kind of force, his legs might go weak. Let the lawyer put pressure on him with the custody change agreement. If he doesn't sign, then use that two million to scare him. Every little bit helps. His pride isn't worth much."

Hearing her mother's shrewd and calculating tone, Su Qing replied with a text message: "Mom, I have my own pace. You can wait in the car, no need to get out."

After sending the message, Su Qing said to the driver in front, "Drive faster."

"Mr. Su, there's a bit of traffic ahead. We should reach Phoenix Golden Street in about forty minutes," the driver reported, glancing at the navigation system.

Su Qing didn't say anything more, closed her eyes and leaned back in her seat.

This farce should be over in forty minutes.

Inside the minivan.

Zhang Cuihua sighed, "Old Su, don't you think Qingqing was too hasty? Two million, just given away to that good-for-nothing like that?"

Su Ming looked at the stock quotes on his phone.

"What do you know? The Su Group is about to go public in the US, and the SEC is scrutinizing it closely. If the media were to expose Qingqing's daughter arguing with the kitchen staff at a roadside stall, what would that look like? Two million is for the Su Group's reputation."

Zhang Cuihua still felt sorry for him. "We can't let him get away with this. Once he signs the papers, I'm going to give him a good scolding. He's been eating and drinking for free in our house for five years, and now he's trying to extort money from us when he leaves."

Su Ming put away his phone and turned off the screen. "When we get off the bus, keep quiet. Let Qingqing and Attorney Zhang handle it. We're his elders; don't argue with him in public."

Zhang Cuihua pouted, "I know. I just can't stand him taking our family's money."

……

Soon, the convoy stopped two intersections away from Phoenix Golden Street.

The road ahead is blocked.

The driver honked the horn twice, but the long line of cars in front of him didn't budge.

He shifted the car into neutral, pulled the handbrake, and turned to Su Qing in the back seat, saying, "Mr. Su, we can't go any further. It seems the road ahead is blocked; there are cars everywhere."

Su Qing frowned, lowered the car window, and looked out.

It's not a road closure.

The four-lane road was lined with parked cars on both sides.

Moreover, the vast majority of these vehicles are not ordinary private cars.

Maybach, Rolls-Royce Phantom, Bentley Bentayga, and even a few Hongqi L5s with Beijing license plates.

A black Mercedes-Benz G-Class with its hazard lights flashing was squeezed onto the shoulder of the road. Several bodyguards in black suits were standing by the car, smoking and looking around warily.

"What's going on? Is some important figure coming to inspect Jin Street today?"

Lawyer Zhang, sitting in the passenger seat, also peeked out and his professional instincts immediately alerted him to something amiss.

There are many prominent figures in Jiangcheng, but it's rare to see so many top-of-the-line luxury cars parked like cabbages on the roadside.

Su Qing raised her wrist and looked at her watch; it was 8:40.

"I'm not waiting any longer." Su Qing pushed open the car door, and the cold wind mixed with the chill of autumn blew on her face, making her more awake.

"Go in, it's not far."

Attorney Zhang quickly grabbed his briefcase and got out of the car, following behind Su Qing.

In the van behind, Su Ming and Zhang Cuihua also hurriedly got out.

Zhang Cuihua, wearing a pair of mid-heeled leather shoes, gripped Su Ming's arm tightly and complained:

"What a lousy place! The roads are so narrow that cars can't even drive in."

Su Ming ignored her, his gaze fixed on the Hongqi L5 parked by the roadside, his expression somewhat surprised and uncertain.

He was a businessman, and although the Su family was only a second-rate family in Jiangcheng, he knew what this license plate meant.

The group walked along the blue brick sidewalk toward Phoenix Golden Street.

"President Su, when you meet the person, please try to speak as little as possible and leave it to me to handle."

As Attorney Zhang walked, he quickly explained the negotiation strategy: "The self-esteem of men from the lower class is usually very fragile. We shouldn't try to bribe them with money right away. Instead, we should use our absolute legal disadvantage to break down their psychological defenses."

"Tell him that if he goes to court, he will not only lose custody but also have to bear exorbitant legal costs. Once he panics, we'll offer him a two million dollar compensation deal, at which point he'll cling to it like a lifeline."

Su Qing nodded expressionlessly. "As long as you can get him to sign today, you can use any means necessary."

A few minutes later, they turned into the main street of Phoenix Golden Street.

The sight before her made Su Qing stop in her tracks.

There were no dirty and messy roadside stalls as I had imagined, nor were there white plastic boxes and disposable chopsticks scattered all over the ground.

At the street corner stands a three-story Chinese-style antique building covering several hundred square meters. It features bluestone steps, carved wooden doors and windows, and a large black sign with gold lettering that reads: Lin Family Shop.

There was no smell of cooking oil; instead, the air was filled with a very elegant and subtle fragrance, like some kind of aged tea, mixed with a rich, meaty aroma.

Just smelling this aroma is enough to clear your mind and even alleviate the fatigue you feel when you wake up in the morning.

Outside the gate, there was a line of more than a hundred people.

The line was quiet; no one made a loud noise or cut in line.

Most of the people in the group were dressed smartly, some even in bespoke suits, holding folding fans or thermos cups, and chatting quietly in twos and threes.

Su Qing's gaze swept over the queue, and her pupils suddenly contracted sharply.

She saw someone she knew.

At the very end of the line stood a middle-aged man with a large belly, looking down at his phone.

She walked over.