Chapter 70: I'm Done

At this moment, Manager Zhang, wholly unaware, was still conspiring with his cousin Zhang Shuilong about how to deal with Lu Hao. He never expected that, in the next instant, a call would come from his boss behind his back.

“Zhang Shuifeng, you are now fired. The Neijiang Restaurant has been sold to someone else; I’m done with it too. Come collect your final paycheck from me tomorrow. The ownership has changed hands, and you all need to prepare for the handover immediately.”

Manager Zhang Shuifeng was completely stunned when he heard this. What was going on? He thought he must have misheard.

“But, boss, our restaurant is doing well, business is booming. Why are you suddenly quitting?” Manager Zhang grew anxious.

He had been drifting through life since his teenage years, hustling for over a decade before finally landing a position where he could wield some authority and flaunt his power. Now they were telling him to give it all up, just like that? How could he accept it?

“Zhang Shuifeng! Do you still want last month’s wages or not? I sold the Neijiang Restaurant, that’s that! If you’re not happy, come see me,” came the furious roar from the other end of the line.

The call was abruptly cut off, leaving Zhang Shuifeng staring blankly at the many waiters in the restaurant.

“I have an announcement. Our restaurant has been acquired and the owner has changed. Prepare for the handover,” Zhang Shuilong said calmly.

However, deep down, he had already resolved not to relinquish his manager’s position so easily. It was too important to him. He decided that, when the new owner arrived, he would do his utmost to ingratiate himself and convince them to keep the old staff.

...

At this time, Lu Hao had already brought his mother and younger sister back home. Liu Xiulan and Lu Han repeatedly asked him if he was really all right.

Lu Hao reassured them again and again that there was absolutely nothing to worry about—they should just live their lives in peace. Those people wouldn’t dare provoke him anymore.

Now, Liu Xiulan also realized that her son had changed.

“Well, fine. You’ve grown up, and I can’t control everything now,” she said earnestly. “But you haven’t come home for dinner in days. Why don’t you stay and eat with us tonight before heading to your clinic?”

Lu Hao nodded. “All right, Mom. I’ll stay home and enjoy your cooking tonight.”

“Wait, where’s your father? I haven’t seen him around the house,” Liu Xiulan suddenly wondered aloud.

At her words, Lu Hao immediately sensed something was wrong.

“When I got home earlier, wasn’t Dad still lying in bed, recuperating?” Lu Hao sprang to his feet, his nerves taut.

“There’s a fruit orchard in the backyard your father’s been tending to. I told him to rest and not work while he’s recovering, but he’s too stubborn. He insisted on going to the orchard. Maybe you should go check on him?” Liu Xiulan suggested.

Lu Hao nodded, “All right, Mom. I’ll be right back.”

He hurried to the backyard orchard and soon spotted his father collapsed not far away.

Lu Hao’s face filled with alarm. “Dad!” He dashed to his father’s side.

“Dad, what happened?” Lu Hao helped his father, Lu Weiguo, to his feet.

“It’s nothing, just a little fall. I’m fine, don’t worry. Go check the irrigation channel—how’s the water?” Lu Weiguo struggled to stand with Lu Hao’s support.

But Lu Hao had no interest in the irrigation channel at that moment.

“What really happened?” he asked, his voice rising in anger.

“It’s nothing, just go see for yourself, see how the water is,” Lu Weiguo insisted.

Yet, spotting the bruises on his father’s forehead, back, and neck, Lu Hao knew things were far from simple.

“Go, now!” His father’s sudden sternness and red-rimmed eyes left Lu Hao silent. He followed instructions and walked to the irrigation channel, inspecting it carefully.

As expected, he discovered that their already shallow and crude canal had been deliberately filled with earth. The water flow was now just a trickle, as if someone upstream had cut off their supply.

“Someone’s causing trouble?” Lu Hao’s expression darkened.

“How is it?” Lu Weiguo asked, lifting his head with difficulty.

“It’s fine, Dad. The channel’s blocked, but I’ll fix it. Let me help you back to rest first,” Lu Hao replied seriously.

“It’s not that simple,” Lu Weiguo shook his head and, unsteady, walked over. “You young folks haven’t worked the fields much, so you don’t realize how critical this is. Let me handle it,” he said, picking up a shovel to dig out the channel.

It was clear he knew something Lu Hao didn’t.

“Dad, there’s no need. Even if you know more than I do, you’re not fit for such work in your condition,” Lu Hao stopped him.

Looking more closely at his father’s weary, bloodshot eyes, Lu Hao realized the canal couldn’t have been blocked by accident. Someone had deliberately sabotaged it.

He glanced at the peach and plum trees in the yard and saw that all the good fruit had been picked—nothing left but unripe or rotten ones.

This proved that someone had been bullying their family, especially while he was away. His father, not wanting to burden him, had kept silent.

Damn it, Lu Hao thought. He’d already dealt with the village chief’s son Zhou Run, the wealthy local heir Sun Wenguo, and Taohua Village’s notorious thug Erhu—all three had been taken care of in turn. Yet there were still people bold enough to pull the tiger’s whiskers right under his nose.

They truly had no regard for him.

“Dad, just tell me—who did this?” Lu Hao asked, frowning.

His father’s lips moved, but he hesitated. He’d always been a tough, stoic man; even if bullied, he’d never complain or seek help from his son.

He simply smiled and said, “I just fell, don’t worry. No one came here.”

Lu Hao understood his father’s temperament—unyielding, stubborn, forever the good man who’d never utter a word of complaint or seek anyone’s aid, always clinging to his pride.

With this in mind, Lu Hao decided to go back and ask his mother if they’d offended any neighbors recently.