Chapter 330: What Is the Relationship Between Minister Xu and Alice?
Su Tao explained briefly:
“At the moment, Taoyang only accepts residency applications from Dongyang. Our staff probably filtered you out when they saw you were from another region.”
Xiao Wenyu didn’t mind at all and cheerfully said, “I understand. I’m already satisfied that I could buy the land.”
At that moment, Su Tao’s communicator suddenly rang—it was Zhuang Wan calling:
“Boss, I’ve sent you the drawing Alice made. It almost killed me to get it. I had to coax and trick her into drawing it. At one point, she suddenly went crazy, clutching her head and screaming. She scared us to death.”
Su Tao immediately asked, “Is she okay now?”
Zhuang Wan shook her head. “She’s fine now. After her episode, she fell asleep. I asked Tang Huan, who takes care of her at the small ranch, and she said Alice has these episodes every few days. When it gets serious, even the objects around her enlarge along with her fits.”
Su Tao was shocked. “Enlarge?”
“Yes, it seems like she loses control of her ability during her episodes. Anything or anyone close to her will swell up like they’re being inflated. Things only return to normal once she calms down.”
“At first, she enlarged the chickens and ducks on the ranch until they were the size of elephants—Tang Huan was almost scared to death.”
Understanding the situation, Su Tao ended the call and immediately checked the message Zhuang Wan had sent.
It was a rough drawing of a red hat with childish, scribbled strokes.
Alice’s drawing style was very distinctive, composed of circles and lines filled with patterns.
And the hat on Minister Xu’s screen saver was drawn with the same distinctive strokes.
This almost confirmed that the drawing on Minister Xu’s screen was made by Alice herself.
She had a connection to Minister Xu!
And not just any connection—this crude, childish drawing was something Minister Xu looked at every day as his screen saver.
To him, Alice must be someone extremely important.
Considering Minister Xu’s age…
Su Tao suddenly looked up and asked Xiao Wenyu, “Do you know Minister Xu?”
“Minister Xu Chang from Changjing?”
“Yes, that’s him.”
Xiao Wenyu replied, “I only know of him. My dad says he’s the ‘eyes’ of the President. He made sure we younger family members memorized his photos and videos early on to avoid offending him.”
Su Tao felt a twinge of guilt—she realized she had been far too detached from current affairs. Only now did she grasp how powerful Minister Xu’s position was within the Federation.
No wonder the leadership in Xindu was so afraid of him.
After a moment of thought, Su Tao carefully asked, “Does Minister Xu have a daughter? Or a younger sister? Any female family member he deeply cares about?”
Xiao Wenyu hesitated for a while before answering:
“I heard he has a daughter who’s… well, not mentally sound. I might not be saying it nicely, but people say she’s intellectually disabled—some kind of congenital issue. But Minister Xu keeps the information tightly under wraps, so no one has ever seen her.”
When Su Tao heard the words “mentally unsound,” her heart skipped a beat.
Alice’s condition… it was almost certain—she was Minister Xu’s daughter.
What kind of luck was this?
At the time, she had simply taken over caring for the mutants left by the old station master. Seeing Alice was a pretty, harmless “silly girl,” she had been willing to provide for her, even if Alice couldn’t contribute.
She never expected any reward or benefit.
But either way, she felt genuinely happy for Minister Xu—his precious daughter had been found.
And now, she also had a legitimate reason to invite Minister Xu to Taoyang.
A smile spread across Su Tao’s face, and seeing her joy, Xiao Wenyu also began to laugh.
Xiao Wenyu’s laughter was hearty and infectious, making it impossible for Su Tao not to join in.
“What are you laughing at?” Su Tao asked, chuckling.
“I’m just happy! I’m about to move to Taoyang, and thinking about it makes me excited. Alright, I’ll get going now—once I’ve packed up, I’ll meet you guys! The sooner we start work, the sooner I can move in!”
With a wave, Xiao Wenyu cheerfully left the hospital.
However, her good mood didn’t last long—a call from her second sister immediately dampened her spirits.
“Third Sister, did you really spend over 65 million on a piece of useless land at the auction?!”
Xiao Wenyu scratched her ear. “News travels fast—did Big Brother tell you?”
“Doesn’t matter who told me! 65 million for a worthless piece of land—did someone scam you? Who’s bold enough to swindle money from the Xiao family’s third miss?”
Annoyed, Xiao Wenyu replied, “Second Sister, please don’t make baseless assumptions. I spent that much money because I have my own plans—you don’t need to worry about it.”
Her second sister, growing more frustrated, snapped back:
“I’m just looking out for you! Dad already heard about this, and you wouldn’t believe the way those stepmothers and half-siblings are mocking you—saying you bought yourself a burial plot!”
Xiao Wenyu snickered, “Well, they’re not wrong—I am planning to retire and be buried there. Even my future gravesite will be in a better place than where they live.”
“You—”
“Alright, I’m hanging up. You wouldn’t understand anyway. Just wait and see—someday, they won’t be able to buy land there, no matter how much they want to.”
“Wait—one more thing. Fourth Brother, Fifth Brother, and Seventh Sister pooled their money to buy Dad a house in Changjing’s inner ring—it probably cost ten times what you spent on that empty land.”
Xiao Wenyu rolled her eyes.
Spending ten times the price just to buy a cramped little courtyard in Changjing—how pitiful.
She had visited Changjing before. Although it was prosperous, the houses were packed tightly together. Even independent courtyards were built so close that neighbors practically shared walls.
Moreover, the city had strict regulations. To maximize land use, private residences couldn’t exceed 200 square meters, and construction had to follow a uniform style.
She didn’t like it at all.
Her second sister added, “Compared to your so-called burial plot, Dad will probably love their gift.”
Xiao Wenyu scoffed, “What comparison? That land is for me—you all thought I was buying it as a wedding gift for Dad?”
Her second sister was stunned. “Not for Dad? Then why spend so much—”
“I told you—I’m buying myself a burial site. I’m not competing for the family inheritance, so why waste money trying to impress Dad? When I get to Taoyang, I’ll pick up some random souvenir for him—that’ll do.”
Her second sister fell silent.
For years, Xiao Wenyu had claimed she wouldn’t compete for the Xiao family’s fortune—but no one believed her.
The Xiao family’s empire was too massive to resist.
But now, for the first time, her second sister wondered—maybe she really didn’t want any part of it.
“Fine. But seriously, what are you planning to do with that ‘burial plot’?”
