Su Li made a few inquiries at the dock and learned about what had happened that day when her brother was beaten.

At that moment, an older man standing nearby couldn't stand it anymore and stepped forward to reprimand them. The two assailants, fearing that things would escalate and they would be implicated if someone was seriously injured, stopped.

After closing up shop, Su Li cut two pounds of cooked beef, picked up two jars of wine, and went to find the older man to express her gratitude.

"Brother Qin, thank you so much this time. If you hadn't stopped it, I don't know how badly my brother would have been hurt. This wine is a small token of my appreciation, please accept it."

Brother Qin waved his hand with a smile: "Miss, don't be so polite. Those two have been around this dock for so long, their reputation is already ruined! Everyone hates them, even dogs would avoid them. I just can't stand them bullying the weak with their numbers."

Su Li's eyes flickered slightly. It seemed that this Brother Qin was quite familiar with those two.

She calmly put the things down, opened the wine jar, poured a bowl of wine for Brother Qin, and looked gloomy.

"Brother Qin, to be honest, I'm really angry and worried that my brother will be bullied by them again. You're very knowledgeable about the docks, so I'd like to ask you about those two people..."

Brother Qin frowned, sighed, and said:

“Girl, those two who beat people are named Zhao Ji and Sun Mao. Zhao Ji is actually a filial son. He works at the dock to earn money for his mother's medical treatment.”

“But Sun Mao insisted on taking people to the casino, and Zhao Ji lost all the hard-earned money he made carrying the bags every day! His mother is old and frail, and she really can’t stop taking that medicine, so she took the money to teach your brother a lesson.”

"In the end, Zhao Ji isn't completely evil; it's Sun Mao who's probably black to the core!"

The more Su Li listened, the more she felt something was wrong.

Taking money to discipline his brother?

So, it seems that those two were acting under someone's orders when they attacked my brother!

"Thank you so much, Brother Qin, for speaking so frankly to me. However, I have one more question... Do you know who those two people were paid by?"

Brother Qin shook his head, picked up his wine bowl, and drank it all in one gulp. A hint of inquiry and worry crept into his eyes as he looked at Su Li.

"I don't know about that. The matter of taking money to teach your brother a lesson was accidentally let slip by Sun Mao when he was drunk. Judging from his smug look, he probably took a lot of money from them, otherwise he wouldn't have gotten so drunk."

"Young ladies, you must have offended someone, right? You should be more careful in the future!"

Su Li nodded solemnly, thanked Brother Qin profusely, and then left with a heavy heart.

After much thought, I decided that I should start with Zhao Ji.

Su Li went to the market, bought two pieces of soft cotton cloth, some pastries, and some nourishing medicine from Jishetang before heading to Zhao Ji's house with her purchases.

Brother Qin is right. Zhao Ji is not a bad person by nature, or rather, he still has some conscience.

To deal with such a person, you have to start with what they care about most.

The Zhao family lived in a shantytown near the dock. The narrow alley was lined with houses made of broken bricks, tiles and wood, which looked even dirtier and messier than the Su family's woodshed.

Su Li asked for directions as she walked, and after circling around several times, she finally arrived at the Zhao family's gate.

The anger that had been building up inside has now mostly dissipated.

She took a deep breath and gently knocked on the door.

A short while later, a dragging sound came from behind the door.

"Tap-tap-tap-" The sound was slow and heavy, each step as if it had used up all the strength in the body.

"Ahem, Aji, why are you off work so early today? Let me open the door for you..."

But as soon as the door opened, the old man was completely stunned. The person in front of him was not his son, but a pretty young woman.

"Hey, miss, did you knock on the wrong door?"

Su Li quickly smiled and said, "Grandma, hello. I am a friend that Brother Zhao met at the dock. I heard that you are not feeling well, so I came to visit you."

As she spoke, she handed over what she was holding and began to explain in a soft voice:

"Look how soft this cotton fabric is! It's perfect for making undergarments. And these snacks, would you like to try some?"

Seeing this, Zhao's mother's eyes were filled with gratitude, and she leaned on her cane, trembling, to step aside.

"Oh, young lady, you're too kind. Please come in and sit down. Let me pour you a glass of water. Ah Ji, really, why has he never mentioned this to me before..."

Su Li walked into the house and saw the mess. She picked up a broom from the wall and started cleaning.

"Young lady, how can you let the guests do the work? Put the broom down, put it down now!"

Zhao's mother rushed forward, trying to take the broom from Su Li's hand, but after only a few steps, she could no longer support herself and could only sit down slowly against the wall, panting heavily.

But her eyes were full of shame, her lips trembled and she couldn't speak, her eyes were already brimming with tears.

Seeing the dilapidated state of her home, most people would probably avoid it like the plague, but this girl...

“Grandma, you’re not well, please sit down and rest. Brother Zhao helped me a lot at the dock, I’m just helping out by sweeping the floor, it’s nothing.”

Remembering that Zhao's mother was frail and had to take medicine all year round, Su Li patiently explained the effects and uses of these medicinal herbs to her. Zhao's mother listened attentively and nodded repeatedly, growing to like and trust Su Li more and more.

"No matter what, guests are guests, and Aji should be back soon. You must stay for dinner before you leave..."

Speaking of Cao Cao, Cao Cao will arrive.

Just then, Zhao Ji returned home.

Upon opening the door and seeing a stranger inside, he was initially taken aback. But after recognizing the person's face, a wave of panic washed over him.

He recognized the woman; she was the boy's sister, who also sold food at the dock!

He rushed forward, standing in front of his mother, and looked at Su Li warily: "What are you doing here?"

Su Li smiled and stood up, saying:

“Brother Zhao, don’t be nervous. I just came to see my mother-in-law and meant no harm. I know you did those things because of your mother’s medical expenses. I understand your difficulties and want to help you.”

Zhao Ji frowned, his eyes full of doubt: "Get out of my house right now! My family's affairs are none of your business!"

"Oh dear, Ah Ji, Miss Su is such a kind person, how can you be so rude to her?"

Zhao's mother, leaning on her cane, looked at her son with a reproachful expression.

“Miss Su said you helped her a lot at the dock. She was so polite that she specially bought these things and came to my door. She also helped me with chores and brewed medicine for me. How could you treat her like this? Have you forgotten everything I taught you?”

Zhao Ji kept his lips tightly pressed together and remained silent, his eyes still fixed on Su Li, as if afraid that Su Li might do something harmful to his mother at any moment.

And he even said he helped her?

If there's some deep-seated hatred between her and her brother, then I've truly helped her; otherwise, this person is just blatantly lying.

You can fool your mother, but don't even think about fooling yourself!

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like