Chapter 662: Quickly Apologize

Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Aunt Zhou’s eyes drooped, shimmering with unshed tears, as if she had been wronged to the core. She moved towards her cousin’s husband, the town mayor, her chin defiantly raised, accentuating her obstinate and unreasonable demeanor.

However, just as she was about to reach the mayor, he coldly sidestepped her, avoiding her approach. He continued towards the interior of the room, heading towards the spot where Li Hua and her companions were seated.

Aunt Zhou was taken aback, her eyes narrowing in anger as she turned to her two lackeys. She pulled one aside and whispered, “What happened? Didn’t you do as I instructed and complain to him?”

The lackey, a woman, was equally bewildered. She replied helplessly, “Aunt Zhou, it’s not our fault. We had barely reached his office when we ran into the mayor. We didn’t even get a chance to speak before we saw him hurrying ahead. We followed him here and realized he was also coming to this shop. I thought, since we’re all here, it would be convenient…”

Aunt Zhou shot the woman a disdainful glance, pushing her aside and striding forward. “You’re useless,” she declared haughtily. “I’ll handle this myself.”

What she didn’t know was that the first thing the mayor had done upon seeing Li Hua was to apologize. His tone was serious as he said, “Miss Li, I heard that some ruffians in town have been causing trouble for your family. I rushed over as soon as I could. Just tell me who’s responsible, and I’ll handle it. I won’t tolerate such behavior!”

Li Hua was somewhat taken aback by the mayor’s courtesy, but she maintained her composure. After all, she was a business owner and needed to maintain a professional demeanor.

She responded evenly, “Mayor, your visit alone shows your sincerity. As long as you don’t drive us away or force us to close our shop, that would be a great help.”

Upon hearing this, the mayor’s eyebrows shot up. He scanned the room, his gaze finally landing on Aunt Zhou, who was approaching him, seemingly with something to say.

However, the mayor beat her to it, his voice stern, “Who dares to force our town’s beloved Li Hua Gourmet Shop to close? Aunt Zhou, it must be you again!”

Aunt Zhou was caught off guard and stood frozen in place, unable to comprehend what was happening.

But it was not surprising that she was confused. She was used to throwing her weight around in town, bullying both men and women. However, due to her lack of education, she struggled with anything that required a modicum of cultural knowledge.

Li Hua’s restaurant had become a driving force for the town’s development. It was no longer a matter of the restaurant seeking a place in town, but rather the townsfolk and officials doing everything they could to keep the restaurant in town.

Given Aunt Zhou’s limited understanding, it was normal for her to need time to comprehend and digest these facts. However, what the mayor hadn’t expected was that this woman would be foolish enough to cause a scene in the restaurant. The mayor felt as if his head was about to explode from frustration.

He couldn’t help but recall a previous town meeting where they had decided to invite the restaurant’s co-owner, Gu Zi, to serve in the town government to further stimulate the town’s development. However, Gu Zi had politely declined. Now, it seemed clear why Gu Zi had refused. Allowing someone like Aunt Zhou to run rampant was simply unacceptable.

Aunt Zhou stuttered, trying to defend herself, but the mayor clearly wasn’t going to give her the opportunity or time. He issued a stern command to Aunt Zhou, “Aunt Zhou, apologize to Miss Li and her family immediately. Otherwise, don’t blame me for not considering familial ties and driving you out of our town.

“Don’t forget, the house you’re living in is under my wife’s name. I can take it back at any time. Apologize now!”

Aunt Zhou was incredulous. She hadn’t even said anything yet, and her cousin’s husband, the mayor, was already demanding an apology. What was going on?

He used to consider familial ties! Aunt Zhou was utterly confused. Meanwhile, the surrounding crowd was buzzing with whispers, casting disdainful glances at Aunt Zhou. Even her two lackeys had distanced themselves from her.

“So, Aunt Zhou is living in her cousin’s old house. She’s just borrowing it. I remember Aunt Zhou bragging about buying that house from the mayor at a low price. She really knows how to spin a tale!”

“We all knew about this, but it’s not just her tall tales that are outrageous. Everything she does is more outrageous than her lies. Take the braised meat shop incident, for example. She not only refused to buy from Li Hua’s shop herself but also tried to persuade us not to buy from there. Thankfully, we didn’t listen to her.”

“You shouldn’t speak so loudly. Aunt Zhou is a pitiful person. Her husband died when she was in her forties, and less than a year later, her daughter, a teacher at the local school, committed suicide due to certain reasons. She couldn’t bear the psychological burden and jumped into the river…”