My Mother-in-Law is Reborn [Seventies]

Guangzhou.

Zheng Huifang was busy working when she heard someone call out, "Zheng Huifang, there's a letter and a money order for you."

Zheng Huifang immediately responded with a quick "Ah!" Although it had only been a short time, she had already grown accustomed to the tasks in the workshop. She wasn’t yet highly skilled, but after a few days, she could handle some of the simpler tasks.

Zheng Huifang had a strong ability to adapt, but the differences in climate and customs between the north and south had taken a toll on her. Being suddenly alone in a new place, she had recently developed a throat infection and couldn’t speak. She gestured a "thank you" instead.

The old man from the mailroom said, "You need to sign your name here."

Normally, signing wasn’t required for receiving letters, but it was different when money orders were involved. Anything related to money required extra caution. And this was no small amount—it was a significant sum.

The mailroom man glanced at Zheng Huifang and asked, "Why did someone send you so much money?"

Zheng Huifang gestured for a while, and after some time, the man understood. "Oh, so this isn’t your money? Someone asked you to help them buy goods from the factory?"

Zheng Huifang breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, smiling.

The old man praised her, "You’re a good one, helping bring customers to the factory."

Zheng Huifang smiled again. She didn’t dare delay and quickly opened the letter after bidding farewell to the mailroom man. The letter was from He Lan—Wang Zizhen couldn’t write, after all. It was clear how much of a disadvantage it was not to have had an education.

He Lan’s letter was quite long. It talked about Zheng Huimin’s situation and also mentioned an order for goods. This time, they were ordering 9,000 yuan worth of underwear and socks, following the same patterns as before.

Additionally, there were 300 yuan included. Two hundred of that was money Zheng Huimin had scraped together herself, asking Zheng Huifang to order some hair accessories. Zheng Huimin planned to start a business selling hair accessories, but the styles in Beijing were limited, so she hoped Zheng Huifang could order some from Guangzhou.

Apart from the 200 yuan, there was an extra 100 yuan for Zheng Huifang’s effort and shipping costs.

At first, Zheng Huifang didn’t want to take the money, but the letter made it clear that if she refused, they would feel too awkward to ask for her help in the future. After all, no one should work for free.

Zheng Huifang understood that they weren’t joking and that they were also looking out for her. After some hesitation, she accepted the money.

Of course, it wasn’t as if they were giving her 100 yuan for every order. This 100 yuan also covered the shipping costs. For the 9,000 yuan order, shipping would cost around 40 to 50 yuan. Zheng Huifang was left with about half of the 100 yuan, which was the agreed-upon 0.5% handling fee.

Everything added up just right.

Zheng Huifang was a capable girl. Since the factory had the goods in stock, she quickly paid and prepared the shipment. She also went to a nearby factory to pick out 200 yuan worth of hair accessories and clips, which she sent back along with the other items.

She worked efficiently and got everything done in a single day without any delays.

In the evening, when Zheng Huifang returned to the dormitory, all the girls in the room looked up at her. Ah Zhen, the girl who slept on the bunk below her, quickly called out, "Huifang, come here!"

Zheng Huifang sat down and gestured to her throat.

Ah Zhen asked curiously, "Who were you helping with the order today?"

The others also looked at her with interest. Zheng Huifang couldn’t explain clearly with gestures, so she took out a pen and paper and wrote: "Neighbors."

"Are they well-off?"

Zheng Huifang shook her head and wrote: "I don’t know. It’s not one person. Several people pooled their money together to place the order."

"Ah, several people? I thought it was just one person ordering so much."

The girls’ curiosity was satisfied, and they stopped asking. At first, they thought someone ordering such a large amount must be well-off, and they wanted Zheng Huifang to introduce them. But since it wasn’t just one person, they lost interest.

After all, there were plenty of wealthy people around here.

"Oh, right! Was it those people who came with you before?"

Five or six people, including a few older women.

Zheng Huifang nodded. Although she hadn’t been working here at the time, she had come to pick up goods before. It was natural that someone recognized them.

Now the girls were even less interested.

They didn’t look like wealthy people at all.

And they weren’t young men either.

Yinlai, among the group of women, was completely overlooked.

Most of these girls working in the factory sent their earnings back home and dreamed of finding a wealthy man to change their lives. While this kind of thinking wasn’t as prevalent in places like Beijing, here, where there were many businesspeople coming and going, even factory girls felt the influence.

Many were eager to change their lives through marriage to a rich man, but how could they possibly meet such people? Seeing Zheng Huifang receive such a large money order naturally made them envious.

The factory might be isolated, but there were no secrets.

Ah Zhen was a bit disappointed and muttered, "You’re just helping them for free?"

Zheng Huifang gestured again, and Ah Zhen said, "Oh, I get it. They helped you before, so you’re helping them now."

Zheng Huifang nodded seriously.

Actually, she wasn’t working for free!

After shipping the goods, she still had 51.5 yuan left.

But Zheng Huifang didn’t mention it. She had learned from a young age not to flaunt her wealth.

Ah Zhen sighed, "When will I find a rich man?"

Ah Zhen shouted to the heavens, and Ah Xu, sitting on the other side, teased, "Have you even looked in the mirror? Stop daydreaming. I think the one in our dorm most likely to marry well is Huifang."

Sure enough, a few jealous glances were directed at Zheng Huifang.

Zheng Huifang gestured seriously, her hands moving quickly. Ah Xu asked, "What does that mean?"

Ah Zhen, who shared a bunk with Zheng Huifang and understood her better, laughed and said, "Huifang says she doesn’t want to rely on a man. She wants to become wealthy on her own."

"Pfft!"

Everyone burst into laughter as if they had just heard the funniest joke.

At the time, no one could have imagined that ten or twenty years later, Zheng Huifang would become someone far beyond their reach. Many years later, when they looked back on this moment of casual chatter, they realized that their dreams of marrying a rich man were just that—dreams. But Zheng Huifang’s determination to become wealthy on her own was no joke.

The girls laughed so hard that some even had tears in their eyes, unable to believe that Zheng Huifang could have such a dream.

But Zheng Huifang herself wasn’t bothered. She smiled along with everyone else, but her eyes were filled with determination.

How would she know if she didn’t try?

She had never thought of relying on a man or marriage to change her life. If she ended up with someone like her father, who was so good at hiding his true nature, she might not even know how she died. If even her own father couldn’t be trusted, how could she trust an outsider?

Besides, what could compare to the satisfaction of earning money?

Looking at the laughing and chatting girls, Zheng Huifang quickly wrote something on a piece of paper and handed it to Ah Zhen.

Ah Zhen looked down and saw that it said: "I want to sell things during the holiday. Are you all coming?"

Ah Zhen laughed even harder and shook her head. "I’m not going. We only get three days off a month, and I want to rest. Oh, by the way, I heard a new dance hall opened in Changli. It’s so trendy!"

"Really? I heard about that too. Ah Zhen, are you going?"

Ah Zhen said, "I want to, but… I don’t know if it’s expensive."

Ah Xu chimed in, "I heard the entrance fee is two yuan."

The girls gasped in unison.

Ah Xu added, "But if you want to go, it’s not impossible. I have a godbrother who works there managing the place. He said if I go, he’ll let me in for free, and I can bring people too. Do you all want to check it out?"

"Yes, I’m in!"

"Me too, that’s amazing! Ah Xu, you’re so well-connected."

"Me, ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‍me, me!"

Ah Xu rolled her eyes. "You’re too ugly. Don’t come. You might scare people."

The girl who was insulted looked dejected.

Ah Xu then turned directly to Zheng Huifang and said, "Huifang, let’s go together, okay?"

She wasn’t close to Zheng Huifang at all, but Zheng Huifang was pretty. Her godbrother wanted more attractive girls at the dance hall to liven up the atmosphere. Ugly girls wouldn’t do, but Zheng Huifang was beautiful. Ever since Zheng Huifang joined the factory, Ah Xu had been jealous of her.

Zheng Huifang shook her head decisively upon hearing this. She was a cautious person and hadn’t missed the jealous look in Ah Xu’s eyes. Besides, why should only the good-looking ones be allowed to go? Wasn’t there something fishy about this whole situation?

Zheng Huifang stood firm: “The team leader promised to lend me her child’s Chinese textbook. I need to study.”

Her throat was inflamed, so she could only write her response in her notebook.

She had only attended elementary school for three years before her family stopped letting her go. But Zheng Huifang knew that education was important. She needed to study both Chinese and math; otherwise, she might not even be able to calculate accounts properly when buying supplies. So, she made the most of her spare time to improve herself.

Perhaps because she had secured a 9,000-yuan order for the factory, the team leader had even spoken to her today. She took the opportunity to ask where she could buy textbooks, which surprised the team leader.

After all, most of the young factory girls didn’t think about such things. In their free time, they either rested, went out to have fun, or were eager to find a boyfriend. But Zheng Huifang wanted to study, which made her stand out.

Any reasonable person would admire such a diligent young girl.

When the team leader heard Zheng Huifang wanted to buy books, she immediately said, “My child is in middle school now, so the elementary school textbooks are still at home. I’ll find them for you. No need to spend money. But you must take good care of them because my child values them.”

Zheng Huifang was overjoyed and thanked her repeatedly.

She was still happy about this when she returned, but her declaration of wanting to study drew mocking laughter from the others. She didn’t understand what was so funny.

Ah Xu exaggeratedly said, “What, are you planning to go to university? Hahaha.”

Zheng Huifang shook her head and wrote, “It’s never wrong to learn more.”

After jotting this down, she grabbed her towel and went to the washroom to freshen up. Ah Zhen sighed, “She’s so young, yet so serious.”

Ah Xu sneered, “Such a fake prude. Who’s coming to the dance hall with me? It’s her loss if she doesn’t go.”

In truth, everyone wanted to go.

However, Ah Xu didn’t invite the less attractive ones.

Zheng Huifang wasn’t aware of their plans. After washing up, she quietly wrote a letter to her older sister, Zheng Huimin, and sent her 100 yuan to repay Guan Hong. She didn’t want her sister to cover this debt for her!

Though young, Zheng Huifang was quite thoughtful. She was afraid her sister might misunderstand her situation, so she clearly explained the source of the 100 yuan.

When she left home, she had taken 100 yuan with her, but she still had a little over 7 yuan in small change. This was enough to buy a train ticket. Since she managed to get free meals on the train and stayed with Zhao Guihua and her family after arriving in Guangzhou, she didn’t spend much. Soon after, she started working at the factory, which provided accommodation and cheap meals. So, her money was largely untouched.

This time, after helping with the goods, she earned another 50 yuan, making the original 100 yuan unnecessary.

As for the 100 yuan Zhao Guihua secretly gave her and the 20 yuan Wang Zizhen slipped her, she didn’t mention these. She wasn’t sure about their situations and didn’t want to cause trouble by bringing it up.

Zheng Huifang spent very little on food, only buying a toothbrush, basin, and towel for her personal hygiene.

So, she now had over 150 yuan left.

She kept the money in her underwear pocket, carrying it securely with her at all times.

No matter what others did, she was determined to study hard. When she heard everyone was going to the dance hall, she gestured her concern. Ah Zhen impatiently said, “What’s there to worry about? It’s fine.”

Ah Xu snapped, “If you don’t want to go, don’t stop others. Stop meddling.”

“Exactly.”

Zheng Huifang was criticized but chose not to respond.

As everyone chattered excitedly, Zheng Huifang didn’t feel left out. She continued with her own tasks. After all, Zhao Guihua and the others, who were nearly sixty, were still busy earning money. She was young—what right did she have to slack off?

One must work hard in life.

Back in the capital, no one knew about Zheng Huifang’s situation. The mail service between them had been disrupted. The first batch of goods they sold had done very well. For example, He Lan from Bai Fendou’s family had purchased 2,000 yuan worth of goods and sold them all, making a net profit of 2,800 yuan. Unfortunately, when they restocked, she could only afford to buy 1,000 yuan worth of goods, making her second purchase relatively small.

Similarly, Yinlai also restocked with 1,000 yuan. His initial investment and earnings were about the same as He Lan’s. Among them, only Wang Zizhen earned a bit less, but she still made 1,400 yuan.

However, she made a larger second purchase, spending 3,000 yuan.

They had sold out all their goods, and with the new batch yet to arrive, they could take a short break. Among them, Yinlai was the slowest seller, not because he was bad at it, but because he had a job and less time. Still, he eventually sold out.

Only Zhao Guihua’s family hadn’t sold all their goods, but this was understandable. They had 5,000 T-shirts, not 5,000 pairs of socks. However, they figured that once they sold out the socks and underwear, the local market would likely be saturated.

After all, people weren’t octopuses.

Even the best-selling socks would eventually reach their limit.

While everyone in the courtyard was busy making money, Zhuang Zhixi still found time to investigate Guan Guiling and her husband. He couldn’t shake the feeling that Fan Debiao’s provocation and subsequent detention were part of a scheme orchestrated by Guan Guiling and her husband.

Since they were plotting against them, he needed to figure out what was going on. Otherwise, they might be caught off guard. Zhuang Zhixi quickly gathered some information, and indeed, he discovered something.

Perhaps because Fan Debiao was detained, Zheng Yufeng felt there was no longer any risk and became less cautious. Zhuang Zhixi learned that Guan Guiling had mortgaged their house.

Although it was Guan Guiling who did it, Zhuang Zhixi didn’t believe it was her idea. He was certain it was Zheng Yufeng’s doing.

This kind of business wasn’t common on the streets. Most people wouldn’t even know where to look.

It seemed Zheng Yufeng had been planning this for a while.

However, their actions were still somewhat puzzling. If Zhuang Zhixi had to guess, he thought they were planning to… flee.

Yes, flee.

Individually, their actions didn’t make sense, but when pieced together, a pattern emerged. Guan Guiling had mortgaged their house to borrow 150 yuan. Rumor had it she tried to borrow from a second source, but those in this line of business were connected. Her attempt failed, and she was even slapped by the first lender.

Not just anyone could scheme like this.

Despite this, Zheng Yufeng was now trying to sell the house. He had shown it to several buyers, asking for 350 yuan. Though he tried to keep it quiet, it was hard to hide such activity.

Whether Guan Guiling knew about this was unclear.

But Zhuang Zhixi knew.

Moreover, he discovered that after Fan Debiao was detained, Guan Guiling had repeatedly visited Fan’s house, likely clearing it out.

Zhuang Zhixi: “…”

He pieced together the information from both sides and concluded the following:

Zheng Yufeng had deliberately let slip Zheng Huimin’s current address to Fan Debiao. Given Fan Debiao’s volatile temper, he was bound to cause trouble. Zheng Yufeng and Guan Guiling knew what kind of people lived in the No. 44 Xinghua Lane courtyard.

After all, their reputation preceded them. Others might not recognize them, but the couple certainly could.

Moreover, Guan Guiling knew that Ming Mei had been transferred to the Public Security University as a teacher. So, if Fan Debiao and his gang really went to the institute to cause trouble, they would definitely face resistance. At the very least, Ming Mei could handle them, as her reputation for bravery had been celebrated at the bus station for many years.

What they wanted was for Fan Debiao to get arrested.

This way, Fan Debiao wouldn’t be able to interfere with their plans, and they could also loot his house.

For a troublemaker like Fan Debiao, he would at least be locked up for ten to fifteen days. And once he was in, they could start moving. They could mortgage the house for loans, sell the house and jobs, and even ransack Fan Debiao’s home.

All of this clearly indicated that they were planning to flee.

Zhuang Zhixi had pieced everything together, and honestly, he was a bit dumbfounded. They were living a decent life, even if their family wasn’t particularly well-liked. Why would they want to run away? They were legitimate residents of the capital, with a house and stable jobs. No matter how bad things got, they still had security.

Yet this family was planning to take the money and run.

This was hard to comprehend. What kind of logic was that?

Zhuang Zhixi felt that Zheng Yufeng was overly shrewd, but he didn’t use his intelligence in the right way, which made his thought process completely different from normal people. How much smoke had to be in his brain to come up with such an outrageous plan?

Because of this, Zhuang Zhixi thought that Zheng Huimin’s usual eccentric behavior was actually quite normal. After all, her parents weren’t exactly rational, and genetically speaking, the odds of her being sharp weren’t high.

Zhuang Zhixi didn’t speak directly to Zheng Huimin.

This person—no, this female comrade—was quite peculiar. He was afraid that if he said even one more word, Zheng Huimin might misunderstand and think he had a crush on her. That would be disgusting, so he didn’t initiate any conversation with her. Instead, he chatted with his mother at her doorstep.

“Mom, do you know something? I’ve discovered a big secret.”

Zhuang Zhixi knew Zheng Huimin was at home.

Zhao Guihua, seeing her son acting mysteriously, asked, “A big secret? What is it?”

If it was such a big secret, why not come inside to talk?

She had no idea who her son was trying to deliberately inform.

But she played along, as this was the tacit understanding between mother and son that had developed over the years.

She asked, “What’s going on? Tell me.”

Zhuang Zhixi: “Zheng Huimin’s parents are planning to run away.”

Zhao Guihua was stunned—this wasn’t an act, she was genuinely shocked.

She asked in confusion, “Why would they run away? They’re well-off residents of the capital. Where would they even go? They have a home and jobs; they’re not drifters. Why would they run?”

Zhuang Zhixi: “You think it’s bizarre too, right? I didn’t expect it either. I heard they’ve mortgaged their house to borrow money. Oh, and even though they’ve already mortgaged the house, they’re still trying to sell it secretly. They’re even planning to sell Guan Guiling’s job. Isn’t that a clear sign they’re trying to flee? Also, I heard they’re planning to empty Fan Debiao’s house. The neighbors tried to stop them, but Guan Guiling said they were her future in-laws. Isn’t that ridiculous?”

Zhao Guihua had never seen such behavior before, but she was deeply shocked.

After all, having a household registration in the capital was extremely important. To have a stable job and a house in the capital was something many people could only dream of. Yet this family was planning to scam some money and run away?

Would they regret this decision ten years later?

What a loss!

She stammered, “Then, then, then… when Fan Debiao gets out, won’t he come after them for revenge?”

This wasn’t part of the act; the old lady was genuinely shaken.

Zhuang Zhixi: “By then, they’ll be long gone! But I bet they’ll come after Zheng Huimin.”

By this point, Zheng Huimin had been eavesdropping at the door for a while. Her face turned pale as she realized her parents were actually capable of such a thing. They hadn’t considered the rest of the family at all.

“There’s going to be a huge mess to clean up. Think about it—once the house is sold, there will be buyers. The person who lent them money against the house won’t get the property, so they’ll definitely come after the family for answers. If Zheng Yufeng and his wife run away, they’ll have to go after their relatives. Oh, and I suspect they deliberately provoked Fan Debiao to cause trouble so he’d get arrested and wouldn’t interfere with their plans. Poor Zheng Huimin. She’s going to be left with this mess… tsk tsk.”

Zheng Huimin had been busy with her crafts in her room, but she accidentally overheard the conversation at the door. Out of curiosity, she moved closer, only to realize the gossip was about her own family.

The more she thought about it, the more she trembled in fear.

It was true—if her parents really ran away, the fallout would definitely land on her!

She knew that if her parents left, they would take her brothers with them, while Zheng Huifang had already gone to Guangzhou. That would leave her alone in the capital… Zheng Huimin shivered at the thought. Whether it was the debt collectors or Fan Debiao, neither would let her off the hook.

Zheng Huimin suddenly yanked the door open and collapsed to the floor, asking, “Is what you said true?”

Zhuang Zhixi: “You can go find out for yourself.”

Zheng Huimin clenched her fists, trembling, and said, “How could they… how could they do this…”

Zhuang Zhixi: “I don’t know how much of this is true, but it probably is. What did your parents do to make them want to run away?”

Zheng Huimin shook her head vigorously, “I don’t know what they’ve been up to. They never told me anything. But… but why would they want to run?”

Who could say?

Probably no one could really explain it.

Zheng Huimin struggled to her feet, muttering, “What should I do? What should I do?”

Zhuang Zhixi blinked but didn’t say anything.

Zheng Huimin was completely lost. At this point, she had no one to rely on and could only grasp at straws. “Please help me. Help me figure out what to do. I really don’t know what to do. What should I do?”

She paced in circles, already overwhelmed and unsure of what to do next.

Though not particularly bright, she knew Zhao Guihua was a capable woman. She clung to Zhao Guihua, refusing to let go, and pleaded, “Auntie Zhao, please help me…”

Zhao Guihua: “Alright, alright, stop pulling on me. You’re going to hurt me.”

Zheng Huimin: “What am I supposed to do?”

She looked utterly miserable, feeling like a poor, pitiful little cabbage.

Zhao Guihua looked at her, then glanced at Zhuang Zhixi and asked, “What do you think?”

Zhuang Zhixi knew this matter would eventually fall into his hands. After a moment of thought, he said, “Why don’t you cause a scene?”

Zheng Huimin: “What?”

She stared at Zhuang Zhixi, completely baffled.

Zhuang Zhixi said meaningfully, “Go make a scene. If they can cause trouble for you, why can’t you cause trouble for them?”

Zhao Guihua understood: “…”

Wasn’t this using their own tactics against them?

She thought about it and realized that while her son’s idea was quite devious, it was also rather ingenious and might actually work.

Zheng Huimin still didn’t get it and looked at Zhao Guihua and her son with wide eyes.

Zhao Guihua sighed, lamenting that while people often said the younger generation would surpass the older one, these young people nowadays seemed to be getting dumber and dumber.

Of course, she wouldn’t reflect on the fact that her own son was exceptionally cunning.

She beckoned Zheng Huimin closer and whispered a few words into her ear. Zheng Huimin’s eyes widened in shock, “You can do that?”

Zhao Guihua: “Why not? If you don’t want to do it, that’s fine. This has nothing to do with us. If you hadn’t come to me, I wouldn’t have even brought it up. After all, it’s not us who’ll suffer the consequences.”

Upon hearing this, Zheng Huimin said firmly, “You’re right. I need to act fast, or else if they really leave, I’ll be in endless trouble.”

Zhao Guihua: “Don’t go alone. Bring some people with you.”

Zheng Huimin nodded, “Okay.”

Although the plan sounded outrageous, the more she thought about it, the more it seemed like it might actually work.

She took a deep breath and said, “I’ll go find some people right now.”

Without even closing the door, Zheng Huimin rushed out in a hurry.

Zhao Guihua: “You just want to see Guan Guiling and the others make fools of themselves, don’t you?”

Zhuang Zhixi neither admitted nor denied it, saying, “She’s certainly tried to scheme against us before.”

He smiled and shrugged.

He volunteered, “Mom, I don’t feel like going out to sell stuff today.”

Zhao Guihua: “Why?”

Zhuang Zhixi: “If I miss out on this drama, I’ll feel like I’ve been cheated.”

Zhao Guihua: "..."

She said, "You, you're not a good person."

Zhuang Zhixi was innocent, truly a great injustice.

Zhao Guihua and the others had been selling T-shirts for a while now, and only a small portion was left, so it didn’t matter much if they waited a few more days.

Zhao Guihua: "We've been selling pretty well these days, but I’m guessing that copycats will start popping up soon."

Zhuang Zhixi: "What do you think we should do?"

Zhao Guihua: "As long as I move fast, the copycats won’t be able to catch up with me."

Zhuang Zhixi: "..."

Now it was his turn to be speechless.

Zhao Guihua was blunt: "This kind of thing is highly replaceable. It's already a good deal if we can make a decent profit from it."

It’s not that people who are reborn are necessarily smarter, but they have more life experience and have seen a lot, which makes them more capable.

Zhao Guihua: "I’m not planning to sell T-shirts next time."

"Then what are you..."

Zhao Guihua: "It’s getting hot, so I’m thinking of stocking up on dresses."

Although this was the plan for now, there was no rush. They’d finish selling the current batch first.

Zhuang Zhixi: "Alright."

Zhuang Zhixi: "Oh, I’ve got to go. I need to take my wife to see something interesting."

Zhao Guihua: "You’re something else."

Zhao Guihua was speechless but also found it amusing.

At this time, Zheng Huimin had already called Guan Hong out from the machinery factory. She didn’t have many friends, and since she lived with Guan Hong, even though they often seemed at odds, they had been through tough times together, so she still turned to Guan Hong when something came up.

After discussing with Zheng Huimin, Guan Hong suggested they invite a few more people to join them.

Zheng Huimin hesitated for a moment and said, "Should we invite the young people from the compound?"

Guan Hong: "Better not. Yinlai’s health isn’t great, and we don’t want anything to happen to him. Tonglai and Hutou have school, and Brother Li is working until tomorrow morning. The only ones we could invite are Jinlai and Li Weiwei, but... forget it. Jinlai’s unreliable, and Li Weiwei... we don’t get along well."

Zheng Huimin nodded: "That’s true."

Although they used to admire Su Jinlai, back then he was like the moon in the sky, the brightest star in the night, the most dazzling presence in the crowd. But now that they didn’t like him anymore, he was nothing but trash!

The more they had loved him before, the more they despised him now.

Such an unreliable, cowardly man didn’t deserve to be called a man.

Both of them thought of Su Jinlai and curled their lips in disdain, saying, "If we brought someone like him along, he’d just hold us back."

"Exactly."

"I don’t know what I was thinking back then, how I could have liked him."

"Same here. He’s just a pretty face, a total idiot, a big idiot. He’d probably set himself on fire walking outside in this heat."

"Ha ha ha ha..."

Sometimes, friendships are built on talking bad about a third person.

Both of them were thoroughly fed up with Su Jinlai.

Meanwhile, Su Jinlai was at home sneezing nonstop. He was in a melancholy mood, nursing his wounds. Although his injuries had healed, he was still too embarrassed to go out. The incident from that day was still fresh in his mind. After being exposed for his lack of integrity, Su Jinlai had been avoiding going out, fearing the scornful looks from everyone.

He, a man of honor, couldn’t bear such looks.

Actually, Su Jinlai was overthinking it.

He thought everyone was watching him, paying attention to him, but in reality, no one cared!

Everyone was too busy making money. Could he possibly be more appealing than money? Recently, the compound had been filled with the sweet scent of cash. The whole compound was in high spirits after making some money.

Although people nowadays didn’t think much of small business owners, since everyone was doing it, it had become quite normal. Recently, not just their compound, but even the surrounding compounds had been bustling with activity.

Everyone was too busy making money to bother with a spineless guy like Su Jinlai.

But Su Jinlai didn’t know that. He stayed at home, feeling miserable.

What made it worse was that although Tonglai had returned the two thousand yuan to him, his mother had forcibly taken it. It was so unfair—that was his "hard-earned money." How could his mother just take it?

But Wang Xiangxiu didn’t care about Jinlai’s protests. She was firm in her decision.

She wasn’t trying to take money from her eldest son to support her younger sons. She was genuinely afraid that this fool would squander all his money. He didn’t earn it easily—he had been squeezed dry for that money. If he kept it himself, he’d just spend it recklessly.

And what would happen when the money ran out?

What if he couldn’t earn money in the future?

What would he do then?

So Wang Xiangxiu was determined to manage his money for him, at least to ensure he had some security in the future.

Wang Xiangxiu had good intentions, but Jinlai didn’t understand. He felt like his life was utterly bleak. He stayed at home, crying and refusing to go out.

Life was like that sometimes—good things came one after another, but so did bad things.

He had been beaten, lost his reputation, and now his money was gone. That was already bad enough.

To make matters worse, his two admirers had fallen for someone else. Now, whenever they saw him, they didn’t act like before but occasionally even spat at him. It was a huge blow to his ego. Life was at its lowest point—nothing was going right.

"Achoo! Achoo!"

He sneezed several times in a row, rubbing his nose and muttering, "This is so annoying. Am I catching a cold again?"

That would really be adding insult to injury.

If he got sick now, it would be the ultimate misfortune.

He sighed deeply, feeling utterly dejected. Just then...

Knock, knock, knock.

There was a knock at the door. Jinlai, half-dead, called out, "Who is it?"

"It’s me, Auntie."

Jinlai jumped up immediately and said, "Auntie? What brings you here?"

He hurried to the door to greet her. Hu Huihui: "What’s wrong with you? A big guy like you, why do you look so lifeless?" She looked like she’d been drained of energy.

Jinlai: "I’ve been recovering from my injuries at home. Auntie, why are you here this time...?"

Hu Huihui: "I have a friend who came over from Hong Kong. They’re a couple looking for a young man to accompany them on their trip, and I immediately thought of you."

Jinlai perked up: "I can do it, I can do it."

He suddenly felt energized. He was short on cash, and now here was a new opportunity to make money. This time, he definitely wouldn’t let his mother take it from him. No way. He quickly said, "I’m great at being a travel companion. Just tell me, how much are they offering?"

Hu Huihui hesitated for a moment, then confirmed again, "Are you sure you’re up for it? Do you understand what I mean? They’re a couple—a couple!"

Su Jinlai nodded: "Of course I understand. What’s there not to understand?"

Although he wasn’t well-educated, he knew what being a travel companion meant—just accompanying them on their trip. He could do that!

There was no problem with that.

He patted his chest confidently: "Auntie, don’t worry. I’m good at this. I’ve dealt with middle-aged women before—it’s not my first time. If you didn’t think I was good, you wouldn’t have come to me again, right? My reputation isn’t just for show—I’ve got real skills."

Hu Huihui: "Alright, since you understand, I’m relieved. This time is a bit special, so I’ve negotiated a high price for you—two thousand yuan!"

Su Jinlai nearly fell off his chair, stammering, "H-how much?!"

Hu Huihui held up two fingers: "Two thousand yuan. Don’t worry, no business in the entire city offers this kind of money. I fought hard to get this for you. You’ll be accompanying them for about ten days, which means you’ll earn in a day what most people make in a month. It might be a bit humiliating, but it’s worth it for the money. Think about it—even if it’s a bit embarrassing, it’s not shameful to make money."

Su Jinlai looked at his aunt Hu Huihui, puzzled as to why she was being so talkative this time.

Wasn’t it just some middle-aged woman?

It wasn’t his first time.

Why was she going on and on about it? She was being more detailed than the first time. It really wasn’t necessary, not at all.

"Don't worry, I definitely won’t embarrass you."

Hu Huihui nodded: "Good! I’ll give you half of the deposit first. Make sure you dress up nicely. Come find me tomorrow."

"Alright."

Su Jinlai took the money, happily kissed it, and thought that money smelled the best.

He chuckled to himself, feeling that his luck was finally turning around. Just recently, he had been in a pitiful state, but now, as soon as Hu Huihui showed up, money came his way. He said cheerfully, "Auntie, you’re really my lucky star."

Hu Huihui hesitated for a moment and asked tentatively, "Are you really okay with this? No guilt at all?"

Su Jinlai rolled his eyes and said, "What’s there to feel guilty about? Sure, it’s a bit of hard work, and yeah, it’s a bit of a blow to my pride, but for this amount of money, I’m more than willing. This is two thousand yuan! How many people work themselves to the bone for a month just to earn what I’m making in a day? Why wouldn’t I be happy about it?"

Hu Huihui: "...I guess you’re right."

Even so, it was Hu Huihui who had come to broker this deal, but as she left, she was still in a daze. She never expected Su Jinlai to accept it so quickly! It was just... baffling.

She left quietly.

This time, her demeanor was noticeably different from before, but Su Jinlai was in high spirits. He spun around happily, saying, "Having a reputation out there really pays off. My luck is finally turning around!"

He was so excited that he started shouting at home, just as everyone was getting off work. The neighbors stared at his house in confusion, wondering what nonsense Su Jinlai was up to now.

But then again, it was normal for him to act out. If he wasn’t causing a scene, that would be the real surprise.

Zhuang Zhixi hadn’t gone to work that afternoon, so he knew it had something to do with Hu Huihui. He gossiped with his mother, saying, "I wonder who Hu Huihui found for him this time. He’s so happy about it."

Zhao Guihua: "..."

Where did Hu Huihui even find so many clients?

Who could have imagined that one day she’d be playing the role of a madam!

Zhao Guihua shook her head repeatedly, completely baffled.

She didn’t understand, but then again, she didn’t need to. Strange things happened all the time.

She said, "Aren’t you going to the Zheng family to watch the drama?"

Zhuang Zhixi: "Yeah, I’m waiting for my wife."

Ming Mei didn’t disappoint him. She came home right after work, and the two of them immediately headed to the Zheng family.

When it came to watching drama, they never missed out.

Recently, Zheng Yufeng had been riding high. He hadn’t expected Fan Debiao to be such a tough nut to crack, making it hard to deceive him. In the end, he had no choice but to resort to the simplest and most brutal strategy—getting him locked up.

He had schemed against quite a few people, but fortunately, everything had gone according to plan.

Fan Debiao was indeed locked up, and although it was only for a short time, it was enough. This period gave Zheng Yufeng the opportunity to make his moves.

The dumbest one in his family was Guan Guiling. He had lied to her, saying that a relative from Hong Kong had come to take them there to live. Guan Guiling had believed it without question. She didn’t even stop to think—if such a relative existed, why hadn’t they shown up earlier?

But this lie was enough to fool Guan Guiling.

She immediately started following his instructions and making plans.

Zheng Yufeng didn’t take the lead himself. If he did, he would be held accountable later. But if everything was done by Guan Guiling, it was a different story. This had nothing to do with him.

He had also thought it through—he would take Wang Ju and their two sons with him when they left. As for Guan Guiling, he had never intended to bring along such a sickly burden. Leaving her behind had its advantages too—she could take the heat for everything.

This would save him a lot of trouble.

Now that everything was going smoothly, Fan Debiao couldn’t interfere anymore.

He had Guan Guiling frequently go in and out of Fan Debiao’s house, and she had already found over two thousand yuan, nearly twenty-five hundred. He had expected Fan Debiao to have more, so they were still searching.

Guan Guiling was useless—she still hadn’t found more.

Fan Debiao had been doing this for a long time; it was impossible for him to only have two thousand yuan.

However, Zheng Yufeng had already started selling Fan Debiao’s belongings bit by bit. Combined with borrowing some money, he now had three thousand yuan in hand. The only things that hadn’t gone smoothly were selling the job position and the house.

Since the asking price was high, no one had taken them yet.

He had already decided that if no one bought them by tomorrow, he would lower the price.

Otherwise, once Fan Debiao got out, it would be harder for him to leave.

Fan Debiao coveted his daughter, while he coveted all of Fan Debiao’s money.

As for Huimin and Huifang, they didn’t matter at all!

Zheng Yufeng was feeling great, a slight smile on his lips. He had started out as a street urchin, and he knew better than anyone that if you didn’t look out for yourself, you’d be doomed. He only cared about himself; everyone else could go to hell. Whether it was his children or his wife, they were all just tools to be used.

To be honest, he didn’t particularly like his two sons either, but since they could support him in his old age, they were worth paying some attention to.

He was in a good mood and planned to sneak into Fan Debiao’s house again tonight to look for more money. Relying solely on Guan Guiling wasn’t going to cut it. But he wouldn’t go in openly—that was something only Guan Guiling could do.

He chuckled to himself and hummed a tune.

It was a song celebrating his own cleverness!

"Brother Yufeng, I ran into the pork seller today and bought half a pound of meat. I’ll stir-fry it for you later," Guan Guiling said. She hadn’t found a buyer for the job yet, so she was still working as usual. With the family’s finances improving recently, she had started splurging on meat.

Zheng Yufeng: "Add some chili peppers to it."

"Alright."

Guan Guiling: "Brother Yufeng..."

"Mom! Dad! Come out! Come out right now!"

Suddenly, a clear voice rang out. Both Guan Guiling and Zheng Yufeng were startled, quickly realizing it was their eldest daughter, Zheng Huimin, who had returned. Guan Guiling immediately flew into a rage and stormed out, shouting, "You little tramp! You finally remember to come home? Do you know how much trouble you’ve caused this family? You little slut, did you only come back after getting your fill of being slept with?"

Zheng Huimin’s shouting had drawn a crowd, but no one expected to hear Guan Guiling curse her own daughter like this. The neighbors were used to Guan Guiling’s vulgar language, but outsiders were hearing it for the first time and stared in disbelief.

To those who didn’t know better, it sounded like Guan Guiling was cursing her rival, not her own daughter.

Who cursed their own child like that?

"You damn slut, why are you coming back now? I should’ve drowned you when you were born! You’ve caused us so much trouble. Do you even know how much you’ve burdened this family?"

She stormed out, only to see that Zheng Huimin had brought six or seven people with her.

Zheng Huimin shrank back after being cursed at, but Guan Hong grabbed her arm and gave her a hard pinch. Zheng Huimin took a deep breath and said, "Mom, where’s Dad? Both of you, come out. I have something to ask you."

Her voice was loud.

Zheng Yufeng came out and looked at the scene before him, frowning. "Huimin, what’s this about? Why are you bringing all these troublemakers here? This is your family home, not your enemy’s. Is this how you behave? You’ve really disappointed me."@@novelbin@@

Zheng Huimin stared at her father, unable to believe his words.

She shouted, "These people aren’t troublemakers! They’re all from the machinery factory. They heard about my situation and came to support me!"

She took a deep breath and shouted, "Dad, tell me the truth—are you planning to run away?"

For a moment, Zheng Yufeng looked uneasy, but he quickly replied, "What nonsense are you spouting?"

Zheng Huimin: "I’m not spouting nonsense! Are you planning to run away? If you’re not, then why did you mortgage the house to loan sharks? Don’t try to lie to me—you’ve already put the house up as collateral, so why are you still trying to sell it? Are you scamming people? What you’re doing is illegal! Why are you doing this?"

Zheng Huimin’s words shocked both Zheng Yufeng and Guan Guiling.

They had been careful to guard against Fan Debiao, but they hadn’t expected their own daughter to catch on.

Zheng Yufeng, being a schemer, managed to keep his composure, but Guan Guiling’s face immediately changed. The onlookers, seeing this, quickly realized that Zheng Huimin’s accusations were probably true.

“What? Their family borrowed from loan sharks? Why would they do that? What’s the point of this when everything was fine?”

“Zheng Yufeng, your family is going too far. You’ve already mortgaged your house to those people, so why are you still asking me to spread the word about selling it? If someone actually buys it, won’t that just bring trouble? What’s going on with your family? How can you do something like this? You need to explain this to me. You’re really screwing me over here!”

“Exactly! Your house is already mortgaged, so why are you still trying to sell it? Guan Guiling, we’re neighbors. How can you treat people like this? My sister-in-law wants to buy a house, and you didn’t say a word about it! Instead, you kept encouraging her to buy. How could you do that?”

“Explain it, yes, explain it!”

The voices grew louder and louder, and a crowd had gathered at the entrance to watch the commotion. Zhuang Zhixi pulled Ming Mei over to join the crowd, and the two of them squeezed in among the onlookers. Zheng Yufeng, calm and composed, said, “Everyone’s misunderstood. I think my daughter is just resentful of us and making things up. She…”

Before he could finish, Zheng Huimin suddenly let out a piercing scream, “Dad, you’re my real father! How can you say that about me? How can you throw dirt on me like this? Have you thought about what will happen to me after you run off after borrowing all this money?”

Tears streamed down her face. “When you sell the house, won’t the loan sharks come after me? And Fan Debiao—you emptied his family’s house. When he gets out, won’t he come after me? You’ll just run away, leaving all the mess behind. What about me? Can I even survive? Is this how you treat your daughter? Since we were kids, my sister and I have worked the hardest and eaten the least, but that’s fine. But why? Why are you selling us out? Why are you ruining us? I’m your daughter, not your enemy! You’ve sold your jobs, sold the house, borrowed from loan sharks, and screwed over Fan Debiao! Have you even thought about what will happen to me? What kind of future will I have? Have you even considered that? Or do you just not care?”

Zheng Huimin’s anguished cries echoed through the crowd. Although Zhao Guihua had coached her on what to say, the pain she felt was real.

She looked around frantically, spotted a carrying pole in the yard, and hurled it at the window of her own house. “If you don’t want me to have a good life, then none of us will! Let’s all just die! How could you do this? You’ve already driven my sister away, and now you’re trying to ruin me too! Why? Don’t think I don’t know—you deliberately set Fan Debiao up to come after me. You knew if he caused trouble, he’d be arrested. You planned it all. You don’t care about the consequences of your actions. Why? Why would you do this?”

Zheng Huimin’s heart-wrenching screams moved everyone who heard them. It was clear that this young woman had suffered greatly.

Although Zheng Yufeng had always been a good actor and Guan Guiling had always played the weak victim, Zheng Huimin’s breakdown was too raw, too real. Anyone could see her pain, and the crowd sighed, unsure of what to say to comfort her.

Zheng Huimin continued to cry out, “I just don’t understand! You’re from the capital, from Beijing. Why are you running away? Why? You’ve borrowed money, made enemies, and now you’re just going to leave? What about me?”

Guan Hong chimed in, “They even talked about borrowing from more people, mortgaging the house to multiple lenders to squeeze out more money.”

Guan Hong remembered overhearing the couple’s late-night conversations, where they had indeed discussed this.

Zheng Huimin nodded furiously. “Yes, they did! I just don’t understand—am I not your real child? Why are you scheming against me like this? Why?”

She smashed every window in the house, the sound of shattering glass filling the air.

Guan Guiling, watching her beloved windows being destroyed, screamed, “You little wretch! What can a girl like you even do? You should be willing to sacrifice for the family! We gave you life—we can take it away if we want! How dare you rebel?”

“What kind of talk is that?”

“This is the new society! If this were a few years ago, we’d report you for saying something like that!”

“You’re really something, aren’t you? This is your daughter. There’s a limit to favoritism!”

“Exactly!”

Guan Guiling, furious, shouted, “This is my family’s business! It’s none of your concern! I’ll do what I want! Selling the house is my decision, selling my job is my decision. You have no right to interfere!”

She was leaving anyway, so why should she care about these people? These poor folks weren’t worth her time. They’d looked down on her for years, but now she was the one on top.

She declared, “We’re leaving! We’re going to Hong Kong! What do you think of that, you country bumpkins? Zheng Huimin, I raised you, and you’ve done nothing for us. You should be willing to sacrifice for us!”

She spoke with such satisfaction, but Zheng Yufeng was livid.

Finally fed up with his foolish wife, he couldn’t hold back anymore. He slapped Guan Guiling across the face. “Shut up! What are you saying? There’s no truth to any of this! You can’t just say whatever you want to vent your anger. You’re making people misunderstand us!”

But even as he said this, he turned to see the crowd looking at them with disdain.

Zheng Huimin was utterly despairing. It was true—all of it. They really were going to run away and leave her to deal with the mess. Her eyes red with rage, she suddenly lunged forward. “I don’t want to live anymore…”

She ran straight toward the wall, intending to crash into it!

“Oh my God!”

“Quick, grab her!”

“Hurry, hurry!”

“Ah!”

“Heavens…”

Some of the more timid onlookers covered their eyes, while others rushed forward to stop her.

Guan Hong was the first to grab Zheng Huimin. “What are you doing? I know you’re hurting, but you can’t just die! You still have friends like us!”

Zheng Huimin covered her face and sobbed uncontrollably.

Zheng Yufeng said, “Huimin, seeing you like this breaks your father’s heart…”

Zheng Huimin flailed her arms wildly. “Don’t call me that! You’re not my parents! You’re monsters! Everything you say is a lie. You pretend to care, but behind my back, you’re plotting to ruin me! I know! I’ve heard it all!”

She pulled out a box of matches and screamed, “Let’s all die together!!!”

“Holy crap!”

“Girl, put those down! Don’t do something crazy! Parents like this aren’t worth ruining your life over!”

“That’s right! You’re such a lovely girl. Why would you do this to yourself?”

Guan Hong pleaded with her, “What are you doing? We all see how much you’ve suffered, but no matter how bad it is, you can’t hurt yourself. Life is hard enough as it is! If they don’t treat you well, that’s their problem. But you can’t destroy yourself over it…”

She took advantage of Zheng Huimin’s momentary distraction to snatch the matches away. “Oh my God, don’t scare me like that!”

Zheng Huimin cried out, “My mom told me to die… she said she’d drown me…”

Guan Guiling spat, “Pah! Who are you trying to scare?”

The crowd glared at Guan Guiling, unable to hold back their anger. “Just shut up already!”