Chapter 542: Chapter 279: Preventing Problems Before They Arise_1
Second watch, seeking pink upvotes.
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Lian Manman finished her sentence and looked at Lian Shouren without mincing her words; her implication was clear.
Since they had split from the family, they had made several sums of money, from selling the recipe for garlic peanuts to starting the Pickled Vegetable Workshop, selling bean sprouts, and now opening a breakfast shop and a laundry service, even building a two-story building. In the beginning, when their business was small and unremarkable, it wasn’t so obvious. But now that their business had grown and thrived—although it had made many good connections and accumulated goodwill—it had also attracted envy.
While no one had taken any significant action yet, Lian Manman wasn’t naive enough to believe there was no threat. In her view, due to their ties with the Wang Family and the emergence of Shen Liu, those people hesitated because they couldn’t figure out their exact situation. However, wealth stirs people’s hearts; there had always been no shortage of those willing to risk everything for profit, or "boldly try" something or "take a gamble".
Just to deal with outsiders required tremendous attention and effort. And if someone from the Lian Family turned traitor and colluded with outsiders, they would be severely disadvantaged.
The saying goes, "better safe than sorry." Even if Lian Shouren didn’t start trouble today, Lian Manman planned to find an opportunity to talk to Old Master Lian and prepare him preemptively.
The strong hint of envy in Lian Shouren’s words further confirmed that Lian Manman’s concerns were correct. Today, Lian Shouren openly criticized them, but if they refused to submit and fail to fulfil the desires of people like Lian Shouren, tomorrow, there was no guarantee others wouldn’t secretly harm them.
She needed to use Old Master Lian’s influence to nip such tendencies in the bud.
"Grandfather, my father doesn’t keep anything from you. You know, starting this business wasn’t easy for us; it’s exhausting and tireless work. People outside just see us making money and become jealous. They don’t understand that we get up at dawn and work harder than others by several times," Lian Manman said in a softer tone to Old Master Lian. "Grandfather, many are envious and plotting to snatch our shop away. Did you know that?"
Old Master Lian paused his meal and set aside his pipe, raising his head to look at Lian Shouxin.
"Old Fourth, what’s happening now?" Old Master Lian asked Lian Shouxin.
Lian Shouxin had already told about people being envious of their breakfast shop’s profits to Old Master Lian.
"It’s the same few people," Lian Shouxin nodded and said, "Their intentions have never rested, and these last few days, they’ve been more active... I heard someone wants to use Scholar Wang’s influence..."
"They are not honest folks," Old Master Lian frowned slightly, somewhat worried for Lian Shouxin. "Thankfully, there’s Young Doctor Wang from the town to support you, and there’s also the Shen Family’s connections."
"Grandfather, there’s that saying, isn’t there? It’s not the theft we fear, but the thief’s fixation. And as my brother says, ’it’s easy to dodge an open spear but hard to guard against a hidden arrow.’ There are those who steal all the time, but no one can guard against thieves forever," Lian Manman remarked, "No matter how tightly we guard, it’s always against outsiders. We fear their dirty tricks, especially using one of our own against us; that, we can’t defend against. If our own are united, then fine, but if anyone harbors a grudge..."
As she spoke these words, Lian Manman deliberately glanced at Lian Shouren again.
"Then it’s not like they’ll fall for what others say and create a mess. If we suffer losses in the end, it will only serve as a joke for outsiders to laugh at."
Just as she had not held back in rebuking Lian Shouren, Lian Manman had successfully suppressed his arrogance and made her position clear: no one, for whatever seemingly rightful "reason," should expect to gain from them without effort. Seeing Lian Shouren’s defeated demeanor, Lian Manman was convinced that after this incident, he would not dare to criticize them for a long time to come.
However, to truly solve the problem, one couldn’t rely solely on being tough. For instance, the sentence Lian Manman had just used was more polite. She didn’t say she feared someone from the Lian Family would betray them out of jealousy and conspire with outsiders. She only expressed concern that someone from their family could be exploited by outsiders.
Clearly, this kind of talk was more pleasant to Old Master Lian’s ears.
"Father, you’ve seen so much during your time outside. We must be vigilant about this matter," Lian Shouxin added.
"This cannot be allowed to happen," Old Master Lian stated decisively, "I am still here. We don’t have anyone that foolhardy in our family... Old Fourth, don’t worry about it, this must not occur."
By saying this, Old Master Lian gave Lian Shouxin a promise. He didn’t continue to speak because he needed to save some face for Lian Shouren in his presence. However, in his mind, he was already planning, not just to reprimand Lian Shouren but also Lian Shouyi.
