Chapter 39: If the Straight Path Fails, Try the Crooked One

Returning to his rented apartment, Mo Ran immediately loaded the marinated lamb onto his cart. The quantity wasn’t large—he’d only prepared about ten pounds, enough for one person to sell skewers. That had always been his routine, after all. But now, having taken on Old Wang’s business next door, he needed to find a way to marinate much more meat within the agreed timeframe.

Such a volume couldn’t possibly be handled by hand alone; this was when machines became necessary. Once he’d made up his mind, Mo Ran, never one to procrastinate, acted swiftly.

After delivering the marinated lamb to Mr. Wang and pocketing the nine hundred yuan payment, combined with his earnings from the past few days, Mo Ran headed straight to the largest appliance market in Shanghai. Every kind of device was available there, whether household or industrial.

Not knowing the market, Mo Ran wandered through the stalls twice, unable to decide which machine to buy. Domestic brands, imported ones, all sorts of models, and naturally, a wide range of prices. After asking around, Mo Ran finally gritted his teeth and bought a high-powered imported meat slicer costing over five thousand yuan. He also remembered to buy two large metal bowls for holding the lamb, making marinating more convenient.

Having finished his errands, Mo Ran returned home with his purchases and posted a status on his social media, letting everyone know he wouldn’t be setting up his stall today.

Meanwhile, back home, Su Qingcheng looked at her younger sister with a heart full of conflicting emotions. On one hand, she felt deeply guilty for what she’d done—she’d used her own sister for the sake of her CEO position, and nearly let something terrible happen to her. Thankfully, everything had turned out all right in the end.

Yet, on the other hand, Su Qingcheng felt a sly pride in her actions. Through her indirect probing with Su Qingxue earlier, she’d discovered a flaw in Mo Ran’s character: he was sentimental. With this realization, Su Qingcheng believed she’d found a way to persuade Mo Ran to help her. If a direct approach wouldn’t work, then she’d try a roundabout one—find the soft spot she could use to sway him.

After pondering for a long time in her room, inspiration struck Su Qingcheng. She’d found the angle: the orphanage. Mo Ran had willingly become the Su family’s son-in-law for three years just for the one million yuan needed for repairs.

With her plan clear, Su Qingcheng wasted no time. She pulled out her phone and called her grandfather, Su Dashan, laying out her idea. She received immediate and enthusiastic support.

The two quickly formulated a plan.

As for Mo Ran, he was having a rough time. His social media post triggered a wave of messages on his phone. The college students who’d added him on WeChat were merciless, flooding him with complaints. He was baffled—he’d only skipped selling lamb skewers for a day. Why were some demanding his address, threatening to send him razor blades?

Mo Ran knew this ancient internet joke well. He wasn’t some online novelist writing stories that upset readers or leaving stories unfinished. He was just a lamb skewer vendor—why would anyone send him razor blades?

He pondered for a moment and posted another status, explaining that he was simply exhausted and needed a day off. That finally calmed the fury of his regular student customers, saving him from a bombardment of endless messages.

Later that night, after his bath, Mo Ran sat on the bed, quietly eating a few steamed buns he’d bought that morning. Suddenly, he received a call from the orphanage director.

“Is there something you need so late, Mama Mo?” Mo Ran’s tone was tense, cautious, with a hint of worry, as if he feared hearing bad news.

Sure enough, Mama Mo’s next words made Mo Ran’s heart sink. A heavy sense of helplessness surged within him.

It turned out Mama Mo had been notified by the landlord of the orphanage building: when the lease expired this year, she would have to accept a fifty percent rent increase or move out immediately.

As the director, Mama Mo tried to negotiate, but the landlord was firm—these were the only two options, and hung up right after. The rapid economic growth in Shanghai had driven rents up, and the only reason the rent hadn’t increased much for twenty years was due to an agreement with the landlord’s father. Now the agreement was expiring, and the father had passed away; everything had to start anew.

After hearing the details, Mo Ran offered some symbolic words of comfort and hung up. A fifty percent rent hike meant the fee would jump from two hundred thousand to three hundred thousand yuan. Where would he find that money? The landlord was clearly holding the orphanage hostage, but legally and logically, it was entirely reasonable—it was his property, and rent was his right to set.

As for government subsidies, Mo Ran never counted on them. Such gestures were only made for the right occasions, and a privately run orphanage did not qualify.

He thought it over until sunset and finally lay on his bed in utter dejection. The joy from his recent earnings selling lamb skewers had evaporated, replaced by the bitter reality of poverty.

What should he do? Walk away and ignore it? Mo Ran knew he couldn’t. Mama Mo had raised him, not given birth to him, but cared for him as her own. He owed her a debt he could never repay; otherwise, he wouldn’t have agreed to become the Su family’s son-in-law. His sense of duty only meant not taking initiative to help anymore, but this was different—this was a major crisis.

Ask Xiao Xiao for help? The thought was immediately dismissed. He knew Xiao Xiao had the ability to solve this problem with a single phone call, but Mo Ran was certain he couldn’t let her intervene. When things are fair and legal, asking for special favors would break the rules.

Neither option would work, and Mo Ran felt a splitting headache. He was just an ordinary man, wanting to live honestly through his own labor—why was it so hard?

Meanwhile, in the villa, Su Qingcheng had just finished her call with Su Dashan. He told her everything was arranged and praised her method, calling it a masterstroke.

Now, all the Su family had to do was wait. Occasionally, they’d have the landlord raise the stakes again, applying more pressure, until the conflict between the landlord and the orphanage became unbearable, forcing Mo Ran to intervene. Then, Su Qingcheng would step in, resolve it with money, and thus Mo Ran would owe her a favor.

“CEO of the Su Corporation—it’s mine. Who else could possibly be worthy? And you, Su Dashan, I call you ‘Grandfather’ out of courtesy. Without that, I’d bury you myself.” Staring at her call log, Su Qingcheng’s face twisted into a vicious expression, clearly still resentful over losing her CEO position and having her authority revoked.