The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 710 - 709: The Villa Is Gone Too

Chapter 710: Chapter 709: The Villa Is Gone Too

By the time the father and son hurried back to the villa in Ruifeng Garden, they saw their clothes and bedding piled up outside the grand entrance, with Liu Cuihua standing beside a pile of belongings, dragging a weeping Shen Wenwu, both looking utterly helpless.

"Hubby, you’re finally back! Those people threw all our things out and are trying to drive us away, what do we do now?"

As soon as Liu Cuihua spotted Shen Dashan and his son, she rushed toward them like they were her saviors, and Shen Wenwu also cried out and threw himself into Tian Wenfang’s arms.

"What right do they have to drive us out? This house belongs to Baolan!" Shen Hao exclaimed indignantly.

"They said Baolan sold the house to them, that it’s theirs now, wuu wuu wuu..."

Shen Hao’s eyes bulged wider than brass bells, "That’s bullshit! They’re taking advantage of the situation, thinking they can take our house just because Baolan isn’t here, they’re dreaming!"

With that, he was about to rush in.

Liu Cuihua, frightened, quickly grabbed him, "Haozi, don’t go. We can’t afford to mess with them. If anything happens to you, what will your father and I do..."

"Mom, don’t hold me back. They’re bullying us too much. I’m going to fight them today!"

While they were struggling, Cao Haigang came out of the villa, swaggering, followed by five or six arrogant henchmen.

Liu Cuihua shielded her son with her body, fearing her son would displease Cao Haigang.

Tian Wenfang did likewise, placing her hand over her son’s mouth to keep him from crying out loud.

This clearly showed their fear of Cao Haigang and his group.

"It’s you again! Taking over the store wasn’t enough, now you want to seize the house. Don’t push us too far!"

Upon seeing Cao Haigang, old and new resentments flooded Shen Hao’s heart, and if it weren’t for Liu Cuihua desperately holding him back, he probably would have charged forward to fight.

Cao Haigang smirked sleazily, "Just by hearing you, I can tell you’re uneducated. It’s a society governed by law now, and everything I do is both reasonable and legal, get it?"

The words were correct, but coming from Cao Haigang’s mouth, they seemed laughably absurd.

"The house was sold to me willingly by your daughter, for 188,000 yuan. I didn’t short her a single cent, it’s all transferred to her account. If you don’t believe it, you can check with the bank."

"I’m in a good mood today, so I won’t charge you this month’s rent. Pack up your stuff and scram. If I come back from lunch and you’re still here, don’t blame me for not being nice."

Having said that, Cao Haigang disdainfully spat at them and left.

After he left, Liu Cuihua burst into tears, and Shen Wenwu joined her crying. The faces of the Shen men were shrouded in gloom, creating a scene of utter despair.

"Dad, Mom, could it be that the apartment in the staff housing complex has been sold as well?"

Hearing Tian Wenfang’s words, the Shen family remembered they still had an old house in the staff housing complex.

They immediately packed up their belongings, carrying their bags big and small to the staff housing complex.

The good news was, the house hadn’t been sold.

The bad news, the house had been rented out, with a lease term of twenty years. The tenant had the lease agreement and payment receipt, all signed by Shen Baolan herself.

The old house, already several decades old, might not last the twenty-year lease and become a dangerous building.

After such turmoil, it was nearly evening, and the family, cold and hungry, could only look for a hotel to stay in.

...

"So, that’s the situation, just so you know," Shen Dequan said, looking at the twilight outside and standing up, "It’s getting late; I’m not sure if I can still catch the last bus."

Shen Mingzhu hurriedly said, "Uncle Dequan, have dinner before you go. I’ll have Pei Yang drive you back."

Shen Dequan waved his hands repeatedly, "No, my wife will worry if I’m late. I’m just giving you a heads-up in case Dashan comes bothering you. Who would have thought he’d dare to mess with such people. How can he expect anything good in the future?"

Shen Mingzhu nodded understandingly and drove Shen Dequan to the bus station.

On the way back, she phoned She Zheming and briefly explained the situation with Liu Cuihua’s family.

After She Zheming heard her out, he replied, "Alright, I got it. I’ll handle this."

Shen Mingzhu meant exactly that, but she still had to be polite, "Will it cause any trouble for your work?"

"Public servants serve the people; that’s our job. If we minded the trouble, we might as well not do it at all."

"Alright, then thank you very much, Officer Shen."

"Don’t mention it."

...

After discussing it the whole night, Shen Dashan decided to still go find Shen Mingzhu to get a sense of her stance, while Liu Cuihua and Tian Wenfang took the grandson back to Shenjiagou, after all, city life was expensive.

Just as the family was about to go their separate ways, She Zheming showed up at their door.

"I heard that your house and shop have both been sold. Tell me exactly what happened."

Seeing that She Zheming was there to help, the whole family was moved to tears of gratitude.

Liu Cuihua even knelt down, sobbing, "Officer Shen, you are the sky’s great lord, you must seek justice for us..."

She Zheming hadn’t come alone; he had also brought a legal aid lawyer.

After understanding the situation, the lawyer told the Shen family, "To reclaim the villa and the storefront, the only way is for the person involved, that is, Shen Baolan, to come forward and allege that she signed the transactions under coercion or deception."

"What does that mean?"

Officer Shen explained, "It’s simple, to get back the shop and the villa, you need to find Shen Baolan first. Legally speaking, the shop and villa now belong to someone else. If you go and cause trouble again, that’s considered creating a disturbance, which is illegal."

This blunt statement completely dazed the Shen family.

Their property had been taken, and now they had nowhere to turn for reason?

"For no good reason, Baolan would never sell the shop and the house. Maybe that Cao teamed up with Gao Hualiang to harm Baolan. Officer Shen, aren’t you the one who catches the bad guys? Arrest them and give them a taste of harsh interrogation, and they’ll surely confess!" Shen Hao said, his eyes red with anger.

Shen Zheming was patient, "The law requires evidence, not guesses, and we definitely cannot force a confession through torture. Otherwise, they might not end up inside, but I might."

"So, there’s no other way to deal with them? Just watch them continue to get off scot-free?"

Officer Shen sighed, "I understand how you feel, and I ask you to believe that we will do everything in our power to solve the case and find your daughter as soon as possible."

Realizing there was no hope of getting the shop and the house back, Shen Dashan had to abandon the idea of seeking help from Shen Mingzhu and took his family back to Shenjiagou.

...

This winter was particularly tough for Liu Cuihua’s family.

In just over a month, they had gone from poor to rich, and then back to poor again, experiencing great joy followed by great sorrow, as if it had all been a dream.

Now that the dream had ended, everything was empty.

A month ago, their home was bustling with visitors; now no one came to call.

It was eerily quiet and lifeless.

Even Shen Wenwu, who loved to play and have fun, stopped going out, as doing so would mean facing mockery and ostracism from his peers.

The young boy couldn’t understand why everything had suddenly changed.

Just a month ago, everyone had welcomed him, scrambling to come and play at his house.

If he went out with pastries and candies, they would definitely continue to play with him, right?

He rummaged through every room, turning out every drawer and cupboard, but found nothing.

No matter, once his aunt returned, she would buy him lots of tasty treats and fun things.

But they said his aunt had been deceived by bad people and would never come back.

He would never have nice things or fun again.

Shen Wenwu rested his cheeks in his hands, his young heart filled with a deep gloom.

...

"Stop! Don’t run!"

"Catch her!"

On the rugged, winding mountain path, Shen Baolan was running desperately forward, with a group of people fifty meters behind her in hot pursuit, their determination fierce.

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