Chapter 918: The Ruthless Qin Yanrou!

Nianzi Mountain Village. The Li Family!

After seeing Li Gang and Liang Yukuai off, Li Yi fell deep into thought.

Once he confirmed that this “Qin Xiaorou” was the woman he knew, his heart skipped a beat.

His first instinct was to quickly recall whether he’d said anything offensive during his negotiations with her that morning—whether he might have inadvertently offended her.

When they met that morning, Li Yi had felt that the woman looked somewhat familiar, but he just couldn’t place where he’d seen her before.

But after hearing what Li Gang had just said—especially the nickname “Poisonous Widow”—the image of that fearsome “Poisonous Widow” from his memories began to merge with the appearance of Director Qin!

That’s right—Qin Xiaorou was none other than the “Poisonous Widow” he knew from his past life: Qin Yanrou.

In his previous life, Qing Shan County was home to three wealthy tycoons notorious for their ruthlessness: “Lone Wolf” Li Yi, “Queen Bee” An Hong, and “Poisonous Widow” Qin Yanrou.

In his previous life, Li Yi had no children and had never married; he was completely alone. Coupled with his decisive and ruthless nature, once he set his sights on someone, even globally renowned business tycoons would have to suffer a severe blow at his hands. For this reason, the business world bestowed upon him the nickname “Lone Wolf.”

An Hong is similar to Li Yi, but she is more skilled at employing strategies; she frequently uses various business tactics that often drive her competitors into bankruptcy.

Consequently, a saying has spread throughout the northern business community: “The mouth of a green bamboo snake, the stinger at the tail of a yellow wasp—neither is truly venomous, but Lady Wang is the most venomous of all.” Lady Wang, An Hong, is also known as the “Queen Bee.”

But whether it’s Li Yi or An Hong, neither comes close to the infamous reputation of “Poisonous Widow” Qin Yanrou.

On one hand, Qin Yanrou’s business empire was vast enough; she was involved in real estate, hotels, energy, mining, transportation, civil aviation, finance, and education, with assets exceeding 150 billion at her peak—a figure that even Li Yi and An Hong combined could not match.

On the other hand, the ruthlessness of Qin Yanrou’s methods is something neither Li Yi nor An Hong can match.

Li Yi and An Hong were ruthless only toward their opponents, whereas Qin Yanrou was ruthless not only toward her enemies but also toward her own family—and even toward herself.

She single-handedly sent her scumbag father—a provincial standing committee member—to prison and destroyed the lives of all six of her half-siblings, leaving their families in ruins. Her ruthless methods struck fear into the hearts of everyone.

While others end up isolated after being ambushed or retaliated against by their rivals, this woman was different. Her sole motivation for climbing the social ladder was to avenge her mother’s death at the hands of her scumbag father—and she did so by willingly isolating herself from everyone. Now, tell me, isn’t that ruthless?

Most astonishingly, at the age of 60, she donated her entire fortune to the state and charitable organizations, then took monastic vows, spending the rest of her life in the company of ancient Buddhas and the dim light of a oil lamp.

She knew how to both seize opportunities and let go—her defining trait was sheer ruthlessness!

In a past life, Li Yi and Qin Yanrou had met twice, but both encounters occurred after she was in her fifties.

By then, she had undergone disfigurement and plastic surgery, and her appearance bore no resemblance to what it was now, which is why Li Yi didn’t recognize her at first glance.

Now that he knew his business partner was this “tough woman,” Li Yi had to be cautious; he certainly didn’t want to bring disaster upon himself or the entire village of Nianzishan.

Li Yi had heard stories about Qin Yanrou and knew she wasn’t a bad person. Rumors circulating—such as that she’d killed her simple-minded husband or was sleeping with a city official—were all false.

But there was no denying that this woman was indeed ruthless and reckless.

When it came to her enemies or rivals, she wasn’t afraid to use any means necessary to take them down, and she was in the habit of eliminating them completely. Her ruthlessness was so extreme that even Li Yi felt he couldn’t hold a candle to her—it even sent a chill down his spine.

So, whether in his past life or this one, Li Yi was reluctant to have much to do with her—she was simply too brutal!

In his previous life, Li Yi left Qing Shan County early on and didn’t return until more than a decade later. Moreover, his business empire in that life was centered in the capital and the northwest, so he had virtually no overlap with Qin Yanrou, who was developing her career in the Central Plains.

They had only met twice at business gatherings and had no personal relationship whatsoever.

But he never expected to encounter her so early in this life—and to end up collaborating with her, of all things.

Judging by their conversation this morning, however, she hadn’t yet broken out of the small pond that was Qing Shan County and was still striving to climb the ranks.

Although her reputation was a bit tarnished, she wasn’t yet the ruthless, reckless “Poison Widow” she would later become.

So, after some deliberation, Li Yi decided to continue the partnership with the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, but he was determined to keep his distance from this woman.

In his mind, Qin Yanrou was a complete nutcase—someone he couldn’t afford to cross…

Just as Li Yi was deep in thought, Jiang Xue walked in, holding Yun Jin in her arms.

The moment she entered, the little girl spotted Li Yi and immediately reached out, babbling, “Daddy… hold… hold me…”

Seeing this, Li Yi immediately took the little girl from Jiang Xue’s arms and gave her a gentle kiss on her little face, which made her giggle.

“Where’s our son? Why didn’t you bring him over too?”

Jiang Xue replied immediately, “Yunrui and Ruirui are having so much fun playing together; my older sister won’t let us take him away!”

“Big Sister is pregnant right now. Can she really watch both kids by herself?” Li Yi asked.

“Mom’s here too!”

Then Jiang Xue asked again, “Why did Captain Li and Factory Director Liang leave? Why didn’t you ask them to stay for dinner?” banbanhaobang

Li Yi wiped the drool from the little girl’s mouth as he said, “I did ask them to stay, but they all had things to do, so they couldn’t make it!”

“Oh, right, what are we having for lunch?”

Li Yi thought for a moment and said, “I see we have some cured pork at home. How about we have stewed cured pork with pickled cabbage for lunch?”

“Then you’ll have to cook it. I can’t handle a big dish like that—I only know how to make simple stir-fries!” Jiang Xue said with a laugh.

“Alright, I’ll cook!”

Then Li Yi added, “Oh, and could you go get Mom for me? I need to talk to her about something.”

“Sure thing!”

Soon, Jiang Xue walked in with her mother, Zhang Yuehong.

“Xiao Yi, did you need your mom?”

As she spoke, the mother reached out to take Yunjin from Li Yi’s arms.

However, the little girl, completely ignoring her, turned her head away, clutching Li Yi’s clothes tightly with both little hands, looking thoroughly reluctant.

“If Yunjin wants me to hold her, then I’ll hold her!”

Then Li Yi added, “Mom, I’d like you to go see Matchmaker Zhang this afternoon!”

“What for?”

“Little Doggie is getting ready to marry a wife, and there aren’t any adults in his family, so I plan to help him out. The betrothal gifts and wedding items are all ready; now we’re just waiting to go to the bride’s family to ask for her hand!” Li Yi said.

“That’s wonderful news. I’ll go see Matchmaker Zhang later, and then I’ll have your Seventh Grandfather draw up a marriage contract!”

Then his mother asked again, “By the way, what do the parents on the bride’s side think? Have you asked them yet?”

“I’ve asked. Uncle Cui has no objections. This visit is just a formality—we’re just going through the motions to make the relationship official!” Li Yi said.

“That’s good…”

At that moment, Jiang Xue asked curiously, “You’ve met the girl—what’s she like?”

“She’s quite nice. Though she isn’t exactly stunning, she has a gentle disposition and is very kind to Little Doggie. I think she’d make a good match!” Li Yi said.

“That’s good. Little Gouwa’s family needs a gentle woman like that—someone too domineering just won’t do!” Jiang Xue said.

Mother smiled and picked up the thread of the conversation: “Little Gouwa’s future wife is the daughter of Veterinarian Cui. She’s known throughout the surrounding villages as a fine young woman, and it’s not just this fourth daughter—her three older sisters are also renowned for their virtue!”

Jiang Xue smiled and said, “If that’s the case, we’d better hurry up and propose, and bring her into the family as soon as possible!”

Li Yi smiled and said, “I was just thinking the same thing…”

Just then, a commotion came from outside the front gate. Immediately afterward, Feng Kai and Zhang Tongfu walked in, accompanied by several middle-aged men dressed like officials.

Seeing this, Li Yi immediately scooped up his daughter and went out to greet them…

………..