The sickly son died young? After the marriage exchange, I will bring prosperity to his entire clan f

Chapter 693 Failed again

When the two hit it off, they started seeing each other in private, and then they secretly consummated their relationship. Before she married the second son, she was already pregnant with her cousin's child.

They designed all of this.

The second brother rushed in on the spot, and without caring whether the two were naked or not, he brutally attacked his cousin. He no longer felt any affection for the woman he used to like.

All that's left is disgust.

My cousin is the eldest grandson, and the family favors him. When the others arrived, he accused the two of having an affair long ago, but no one believed him.

The woman even said that the second son had bullied her and that she was already pregnant with his child.

The second son was always out and about, rarely home, and wasn't a well-liked child in the village.

Prejudice in people's hearts is a mountain. So the second son did nothing, but in the end he was still accused of bullying others. No one believed him, including his parents.

The woman suggested having an abortion, leaving her husband's family home and returning to her parents' home, unable to accept the fact that her second son and the old widow were having sex in the wild.

The family unanimously agreed that the cousin should be with her, and that their children would belong to the first wife's family. However, the second wife's family was to help out a little. That was the deal. No one believed the second son, nor did anyone stand on his side.

Finally, when his family pressured him to marry the old widow, the second son secretly left home and never returned. So now he has no ties and selling himself into slavery is not a bad thing.

Each of them had their own difficulties, and after discussing it, they all agreed to sell themselves into slavery, even hoping that Xia Yu would investigate thoroughly when she did.

The next day, Du Mingxian received news from Xia Yucha. After hearing about the situation of several people, she felt some sympathy.

“Alright, let them sign indentures. As for Lao Liu’s sister… we can take her in as long as they’re willing. We can buy a little girl and raise her, as long as Lao Liu works hard and they can’t betray us.”

"Yes."

Xia Yu handled this matter very quickly, completing everything on the same day and handing the indenture to Du Mingxian.

Du Mingxian was very satisfied. "Since they are thugs, then arrange for them to go to the Xu family. When you have free time, go and let them practice their martial arts. Have Wang Fu practice with them. As for Lao Liu's sister... bring her back and support her in the family."

"Yes."

Xia Yu went to the county to make arrangements for the people, and the next day she brought the sixth sister back to the Ling family. She was a thin and small girl, said to be... ten years old, but she looked very young, like she was only seven years old.

The little girl looked at her timidly and called out softly, "Madam."

Du Mingxian saw her own childhood self in the little girl. She and her mother did the most work but ate the least, and she was always thin and small.

It wasn't until she got a little older that she started to secretly eat the good things she found in the mountains, and that's when she gained a little weight.

He's also grown taller.

"Sit here." Du Mingxian pointed to the stool. The little girl looked confused, but she still obediently sat down.

Ling Silang sat to the side, watching the little girl sit at the table. He got up, walked over, and sat down, placing a hand pillow on the table. "Put your arm up here."

The little girl didn't quite understand, but she still put it on.

After taking his pulse, Ling Silang withdrew his hand. "From now on, you will follow the mute woman. Whatever your name was before, you will be called from now on."

“I… I used to be called Xiaobao. After my parents passed away, my brother said he was the sixth child, so I became the seventh.”

Du Mingxian was speechless at the sixth son's question, "Did your parents name you before?"

"No."

Although there was no intention to have the little girl do anything, the number of servants in the household would increase in the future, and it would be impossible to call this little girl Xiaobao, let alone the seventh child, since the family's children were ranked by numbers.

"Then you can be called Xiaoqiao from now on."

"Thank you ma'am."

"Alright, go find the mute woman."

After Xiaoqiao left, Du Mingxian asked, "How is it? Can the little girl's illness be cured?"

"Like me, she was born with a deficiency. I was born prematurely, while she was born without much nutrition from her mother."

"After being born, he didn't receive good care and was mostly hungry. After coming to our home, he ate well and gradually recovered. It can only prolong his lifespan and allow him to live a normal life. However, he cannot engage in strenuous exercise or martial arts."

Du Mingxian felt a little relieved. "That's good. The family can afford to have another child practice martial arts."

"Oh, that's alright."

Du Mingxian was quite happy to have a few more people, but... while she was happy, the owner of the restaurant across the street wasn't so happy.

He even made inquiries from various sources before discovering that all the people he had approached had been coerced by Du Mingxian into signing indentures. Overwhelmed with grief, he immediately went to the county magistrate's residence for help.

Meanwhile, the Wang family, who had previously taken over Xiao Zhou's sauce business, has also been making moves lately.

The Wang family's business is quite large compared to other cities in the surrounding area, and they mainly deal in sauces and grains, with their focus being on pickled vegetables.

Later, after Xiao Zhou's sauce came along, business wasn't very good.

Someone suggested that the Wang family spend money to have a chef make a similar sauce, which was cheaper and sold very well.

The Wang family, unwilling to let Xiao Zhou's family continue selling their sauce, resorted to some tactics, and immediately no one bought Xiao Zhou's sauce, ultimately leading to their failure.

From then on, they were the only ones selling sauce on the market.

The Wang family was overjoyed, but they didn't forget to keep an eye on the Ling family. They knew about the Ling family's affairs and that the Ling family also had a good relationship with another Wang family.

They were all afraid that Wang Qi's family would come and cause trouble for them, but in the end they didn't, which made them very happy.

After observing for a period of time and realizing that the Ling family was no longer able to recover, I stopped paying attention to them.

They missed the series of events that followed Ling Silang and the others' return.

It wasn't until the Ling family's shop was transformed into a restaurant and became a booming business that the Wang family realized that the Ling family had truly come back from the dead; even in such dire straits, they could still do business.

The Wang family was furious, but their leader was cautious. Seeing the Ling family in this state, he didn't immediately try to frame them. Instead, he found someone to stir up trouble, namely the restaurant across the street from the Ling family.

That's why they started the arson first and then caused trouble.

The restaurant across the street hadn't accomplished anything, which infuriated the Wang family, who cursed the other party as useless.

The head of the Wang family was a ruthless man. In his forties, after listening to the servants report these matters, he pondered for a long time without saying a word.

His eldest son, Wang Zhaocai, was an impatient man. "Dad, what do we do now? Should we find someone to deal with them ourselves?"

Chapter 694 The Wang Family's Plan

"No way," the Wang family head refused outright. "Didn't you hear the report from your subordinates? The owner of the restaurant across the street hired someone, but the Ling family managed to break their scheme. Do you think they're so easy to deal with now?"

"It's not that simple. Before, we took away their business, and they had nothing to do." Wang Zhaocai said dismissively.

The head of the Wang family was having a headache. He had built his fortune from scratch all his life, and he didn't know why he was destined to have no sons. He had many women in his harem, but out of all those women, only his legal wife had given birth to this one son.

It's truly my lifeline.

He has no shrewdness whatsoever; what will become of the Wang family's legacy in the future?

"The Ling family also has a fourth son, who is a scholar. Moreover, I heard that the Ling family's businesses were started by the fourth son and his wife when they were still alive."

"We were able to take over the business after they were gone. After the Ling family had their accident, they had no heart for business."

“Now that Ling Silang and his wife, who were away from home, have returned, they quickly resolved the Ling family's affairs. Do you think they are easy to bully? Zhaocai, you really need to learn from them. Ling Silang and his wife are not simple.”

"You know, the restaurant owner pays a lot to the county magistrate every year. He sent people there twice, but they failed. The county magistrate doesn't care anymore. Do you think the Ling family has no one to back them up?"

"I'm afraid that even the county magistrate is afraid of the people who are backing the Ling family, which is why they don't dare to interfere with the restaurant owner's affairs."

Wang Zhaocai disagreed, "Dad, it's just a restaurant. We just need to put something in their food, who will notice? When the customers have problems, that's when we should step in."

"If they expand the business of the sauce we make, the first family they'll likely target will be the Wang family."

The Wang family head naturally knew this, but the Ling family's current situation was too complex, and he didn't want to get involved; it was too dangerous.

But what my son said is right.

Now he's in a bit of a bind; whatever he does seems wrong.

They can't let the other party develop unchecked, or they might retaliate and cause trouble. But controlling the other party's development is difficult; he can't do it yet.

"Dad, I think you should leave this to me for now. I'll handle it. Let their customers get into trouble first, and then the owner of the restaurant across the street will definitely seize the opportunity."

"We don't need to worry about what happens next; we can just sit back and watch the show."

The head of the Wang family was still somewhat worried. "But I heard that they didn't hire a single person. All of them were bought servants. Even if we try to bribe them, it will probably be difficult."

"What's the big deal? We can just eat our own food and poison their well. It's that simple."

The head of the Wang family remained silent, but Wang Zhaocai grew anxious. "Father, let's just leave it at that. Their business is getting better and better. If we don't stop them now, it will be difficult to stop them later."

"Alright, I'll assign this task..."

"Dad, let me go. What's the point of you sending someone? I'll take a bunch of my buddies out to eat, and then I'll find an opportunity to strike. Nobody will be able to trace it back to me."

Seeing that his son had this idea, the head of the Wang family also wanted to give his son some training. "Alright, then you must be careful and never act rashly. If you fail to poison him the first time, come back quickly and don't let anyone find out."

"Father, don't worry, leave it to your son."

The head of the Wang family felt his eyelids twitching; he was somewhat uneasy about entrusting the matter to his son.

The next day, Wang Zhaocai took a group of his brothers out to eat, and they directly requested a private room in the backyard.

Du Mingxian and Ling Silang happened to come over today. The two planned to go to the pharmacy. They had been worried about Ling Xiaomei's trip, but they hadn't had a chance to visit her because of the many things going on at home.

With things less going on at home these past few days and everything back on track, they finally had the chance to think about going to the pharmacy.

When you come to the county, you should first visit your own restaurant before you plan to go to the pharmacy.

As soon as he went in and said a couple of words, several young men walked in through the door, and Ling Erlang's expression immediately changed.

Since taking over the restaurant business, Ling Erlang has become much more worldly and always has a smile on his face, rarely showing such strong emotional fluctuations.

Du Mingxian and Ling Silang both noticed that when they looked towards the door, there were several elegantly dressed young men who didn't seem to be there to cause trouble, but why did their second brother have that expression?

Among this group were people my second brother knew.

Neither of them spoke, and they just stood there quietly. Ling Erlang did not go to greet them, but a waiter immediately came forward. After the young masters came in, they directly asked for a private room in the backyard.

The private rooms are also divided into different levels. The private rooms in the back are better decorated, so there is a room fee. Each private room is also equipped with a waiter, and the service is very attentive.

However, there is no room fee for the private rooms on the second floor of the restaurant.

Most people would choose the second floor, but some people who prioritize comfort and have money to burn might choose the backyard.

When the waiter heard that they wanted to talk about the private rooms in the back, he specially explained, "Gentlemen, the private rooms in the back require an additional service fee."

"What nonsense are you spouting? Do I look like someone without money?"

"No, no, gentlemen, you are all so distinguished. I was just reminding you that this is the restaurant's rule."

"Alright, let's hurry up and go. I can't wait to eat," a chubby young man urged.

The waiter immediately led the group to the back.

After everyone left, Du Mingxian felt that Ling Erlang's condition had not recovered and he was still very depressed. She looked at Ling Silang and gave him a look.

"Second brother, what's wrong? Do you know those people from earlier?" Ling Silang himself sensed it, and he would ask even without Du Mingxian giving him a look.

Ling Erlang sighed, "That's the young master of the Wang family, and a few others, all of whom are on good terms with the Wang family. Our family's sauce business... was taken over by them."

Du Mingxian understood; this was the Wang family that Xiao Zhou had been talking about with fear.

So, were the Wang family afraid that their business would be too good and they would come to cause trouble, or were they genuinely just there to eat because the restaurant was delicious?

Du Mingxian wanted to send someone to keep an eye on them, but... all the people around her were sent out, and now only Chen Ming is with them wherever they go.

These past two days, Xia Yu has been teaching martial arts at the Xu family during the day and only comes to the restaurant to keep watch at night. He hasn't been by Du Mingxian's side for a long time.

Chen Ming was quick-witted and realized that Du Mingxian had something to arrange. "Madam, I can also handle things."

Seeing his reaction, Du Mingxian didn't hesitate and whispered to Chen Ming, "Go and keep an eye on those people who just went in, especially when they go to the outhouse."

"Okay." Chen Ming quickly ran to the backyard.

Ling Silang reassured him from the side, "Second brother, don't worry, the same thing won't happen twice."