Rebirth of the Cannon Fodder in the Entertainment Circle
Chapter 495 - 494: There’s a Problem

Chapter 495: Chapter 494: There’s a Problem

The elderly woman first glanced at the gifts on the table as she entered, then a smile appeared on her face.

"Are you Xi Shu’s colleagues?"

She had originally been chatting in the village when she heard that Xi Shu’s colleagues had brought quite a few gifts and hurried back.

Seeing these three people, dressed unremarkably but indeed good-looking,

She guessed they were just ordinary colleagues, but they did bring gifts, which showed they had some consideration.

Luo Ning nodded, "Yes, we are colleagues from Xi Shu’s company."

"Granny, are you Xi Shu’s Grandma?"

The old woman replied with a smile, "Yes, I am her Grandma."

"It’s just that your visit is rather untimely; she went to visit her aunt a few days ago and hasn’t returned yet."

Luo Ning inquired, "When will she be back then?"

The old woman responded, "That’s hard to say; her aunt’s family has a celebration, so she will probably stay a few more days."

"I’ll let her know you were here when she comes back, don’t worry."

Luo Ning felt that the old woman did not want them to see Xi Shu.

With a troubled expression, she said, "We came here for two reasons: first, to visit Uncle because we heard he was sick,"

"And secondly, because Xi Shu has an important work matter. She has a contract that our company is eager to sign."

"We haven’t been able to contact her in the past few days, and the contract is urgent, so we had to come personally to find her and handle the handover."

She added, "So can you please call her back?"

Upon hearing this, Mr. Xi Shu showed a hint of joy.

He said to the old lady, "Mom, if it’s such an emergency matter for Shu Shu’s colleagues, why not call her back first?"

Old Mrs. Xiang frowned deeply and glared at Xi Shu’s father, "Call her, how? There’s no phone signal over there, and it’s not a short trip; how should we contact her?"

Xi Shu’s father immediately looked troubled at her glare.

Only then did Old Mrs. Xiang say to Luo Ning, "I’m truly sorry, we can’t get in touch with them either. She should be back in a couple of days, and when she is, I’ll have her reach out to you."

Luo Ning showed her displeasure, "In a couple of days, it’ll be too late to sign the contract. If we delay, we may have to pay a penalty fee for breach of contract."

She emphasized, "If Xi Shu doesn’t handle this properly, the company will expect her to pay the penalty."

Old Mrs. Xiang raised her eyebrows, "How much would it be?"

Luo Ning replied, "Four or five hundred thousand, I suppose."

Old Mrs. Xiang let out a cold snort, "What? Four or five hundred thousand? Why don’t you just rob us?"

"We don’t know anything about penalty fees. She’s on leave, and since we can’t contact her, you can’t blame her for this."

Luo Ning realized then that the old lady simply didn’t want them to see Xi Shu; something was off.

She said to the old lady, "Then tell me the address of her aunt’s house, and we’ll go find her to settle the contract matter."

Old Mrs. Xiang’s expression shifted slightly but soon returned to normal, "Her aunt’s house is deep in the mountains, very remote; you won’t be able to find it."

She said sternly, "There’s nothing we can do. She might return tomorrow. You should go back and wait."

Then she cast a stern look at her son, "Aren’t you going to see the guests out?"

The honest-looking man appeared rather uneasy as he faced Luo Ning and her companions, "I’m really sorry, we’ll try our best to contact Xi Shu and have her deal with the contract matter you mentioned."

Luo Ning’s expression was equally unhappy, "Alright, we’ll leave then."

"If it comes to paying a penalty fee, you’ll have to take care of it. If Xi Shu can’t pay, the court will certainly come for enforcement."

Luo Ning eyed the newer brick-and-tile house of Xi Shu’s family, "This house can probably be worth a hundred and twenty thousand."

From entering the village to reaching Xi Shu’s house, Luo Ning observed everything along the way.

The area was indeed poor, with very few households having brick houses; most of them were made of mud, and there were even some that had thatched roofs.

Xi Shu’s house, however, was a relatively new brick house that seemed to have been built not long ago.

There were two buildings, both the front and left side were brick houses, and judging from the decor of this main hall, it was not too shabby.

The mud house on the right side of the courtyard, on the other hand, seemed somewhat out of place.

Old Mrs. Xiang became even more displeased upon hearing this. "What nonsense are you talking about? This house belongs to Xi Shu’s uncles, and it has nothing to do with her."

"If there’s any penalty for breach of contract, that’s her own problem. Don’t bring her uncles into it. Our family has been divided for a long time."

Old Mrs. Xiang was not intimidated, but rather indignant.

She believed that since the family had divided, no one should use the uncles’ property to pay off their niece’s debts.

Luo Ning raised an eyebrow, "Since the family is divided, why are you still living together?"

"And we’ve often heard that Xi Shu would send money home every month. She contributed quite a bit to the construction costs of this house."

Xi Shu never mentioned this, but Luo Ning guessed that the money for the house was definitely mostly Xi Shu’s.

Sure enough, Old Mrs. Xiang bristled at this.

"This house has nothing to do with her. The money she sent back was for her father’s medical treatment; we haven’t taken any advantage of it."

She rushed them out directly, "We need to go out and work now, and so should you."

It was clear she felt guilty.

Luo Ning also stood up and said to Huo Rui and Huo Ye, "Let’s go."

The brothers Huo Rui immediately stood up and followed Luo Ning out.

Xi Shu’s father hobbled over, apologizing with a grin, "I’m really sorry, my mother has a bit of a temper, please forgive us."

Luo Ning didn’t give him a friendly look, "We’ve experienced your family’s hospitality."

As they reached the entrance of the courtyard, Luo Ning pointed to the only mud house inside, "That’s where your branch of the family lives, isn’t it?"

The honest man looked embarrassed, "Yes."

Luo Ning glanced at him, "The disparity between the rich and the poor is really big in your family."

The honest man didn’t speak.

Luo Ning looked at him and asked, "Where does Xi Shu’s aunt’s family live?"

The honest man showed a struggle in his eyes, and just as he was about to open his mouth, the sound of cold snorts and slamming coming from the courtyard scared him into shaking his head.

Luo Ning scoffed, "Xi Shu is really unlucky to have a father like you."

After saying that, she didn’t wait for the honest man to say anything else and called Huo Rui and the others to leave.

After leaving the Xi family home, Luo Ning whispered to Huo Rui and his brother for a few moments.

The three of them split up and took a walk through the village.

After more than half an hour, they returned to the car one by one.

Huo Rui asked Luo Ning, "Did you find out where her aunt’s family lives?"

Luo Ning shook her head, "No, the villagers all say her aunt married far away, and they don’t know the specifics."

"What about you guys?"

Huo Rui and Huo Ye shook their heads, "We didn’t find out either."

Luo Ning narrowed her eyes, "If we can’t ask, then forget it. I’ll find another way."

She took out a coat that she had brought from the Imperial Capital, which Xi Shu had left in the studio before.

Then, she used Xi Shu’s scent on the coat to draw a Tracking Talisman, and performed a Divination.

She quickly set the talisman on fire and threw it out the window. The talisman flew toward one direction, leaving a trail of white smoke visible to the naked eye.

She said to the driver, "Follow it."