Chapter 69: Dividing the Spoils on the Spot!
“Oh my, what are you doing?”
“Can’t we just sit down and talk things through properly?”
Zhang Aimin panicked the moment he saw her do this. He didn’t dare touch a female comrade, so he could only pace around the room in circles out of sheer anxiety.
Huang Guixiang sent him packing. “Take Hongqiang to the state-owned restaurant to buy a few dishes. Don’t just stand here and get in the way!”
Zhang Aimin looked back every three steps, continuously nagging, “Talk things through properly, alright!” He was worried the mother-and-daughter pair would suffer a loss. But he had no choice but to listen to Huang Guixiang’s words. In the end, he was impatiently driven out by her.
“Stop banging your head. If kowtowing actually worked, there wouldn’t be any labor reform convicts in prisons, labor camps, or mine farms!” Lin Wan didn’t dodge either. She got straight to the point.
“The kowtows you’re giving aren’t worth a single cent.”
“Let’s talk about something practical!” Lin Wan lifted her wrist to check the time. “In half an hour, I’m heading down to the station. How many charges are pressed against Xu Jinbao depends entirely on your sincerity!”
With that, she paused, casting a deeply meaningful glance at Director Xu, before continuing slowly, “You should know perfectly well that your brother came here with the intention of ruining my family while simultaneously destroying yours. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have kept flaunting his brother-in-law’s title at every turn!”
“He did this because he was terrified he wouldn’t drag Director Xu down to his grave or ruin your family completely.”
“Oh, of course, that’s assuming you treat yourself as a member of the Xu family rather than the Wang family!”
Lin Wan smoothly drove a wedge between them. Sure enough, Director Xu’s expression turned exceptionally hideous.
Wang Sufen also recognized the severity of this matter. She stood up, brushed the dust off her clothes, recovered her demeanor as a cadre, and lifted her chin coldly. “Eight hundred.”
“Go explain clearly to the subdistrict office and the station that this entire thing was a misunderstanding.”
Lin Wan stood up.
Huang Guixiang immediately followed suit, rolling her eyes. “Eight hundred? Are you treating us like beggars?”
Wang Sufen bit her teeth hard, the hatred in her eyes so dense it practically solidified. Because of Xu Hui’s matter earlier, she had not only lost this courtyard house but also paid out eight hundred yuan along with some critical coupons.
“Two thousand.”
“I can only produce two thousand.” She ground her teeth.
Lin Wan sat back down.
Wang Sufen said, “But you have to give me some time. I can’t gather two thousand yuan all at once.”
Lin Wan shrugged. “It’s fine. I can wait ten or eight years, but I’m afraid your brother can’t.”
Wang Sufen ran out of options. She could only head home in a raging fit to fetch the money.
Two thousand yuan was the absolute bottom of her savings chest. Once she handed it over, she would truly be left without a single cent of private funds.
Director Xu apologized to Lin Wan and Huang Guixiang once more with deep regret. As he left, he turned it over in his mind: Is there genuinely any point in continuing to maintain this marriage?
Forget it. He would see after a while. He couldn’t push a person to an absolute dead end, otherwise who knew what kind of desperate stunt she might pull. But Wang Jinbao absolutely could not be let off.
He took a trip to the subdistrict office to find Director Gu. Heaven knew what he said to Director Gu, but by the time Lin Wan collected the cash and accompanied Wang Sufen to the subdistrict office and the police station to clarify the situation, Wang Jinbao still couldn’t be released.
Wang Sufen panicked instantly. “Comrade, Comrade Lin Wan has already come to explain that today’s matter was a total misunderstanding. Why won’t you release my brother?”
The investigating comrade replied, “He and his accomplices confessed to some other matters during the interrogation. They are involved in gang theft…”
Wang Sufen felt entirely out of sorts upon hearing this. She deeply regretted giving Lin Wan the two thousand yuan.
Lin Wan kindly whispered right into her ear, “If I had resolutely insisted on pressing charges, the concurrent penalties for multiple crimes would have gotten him sent to the riverbank to face the firing squad!”
The fury inside Wang Sufen’s chest flared up fiercely. Her vision turned black, and she collapsed flat onto the ground.
Well, this had absolutely nothing to do with Lin Wan!
She hurriedly returned home with Huang Guixiang.
Dividing the spoils! Two thousand yuan! One thousand each!
This was far more lucrative than engaging in black market speculation with trembling hearts! Lin Wan was starting to feel a bit addicted. If only a gullible victim delivered themselves straight to her door every few days! That way she could just slack off and drop the system tasks entirely!
Her dangerous thought very nearly scared the little system figure into a blurry afterimage.
The little system figure hurriedly dangled a massive carrot: [When the system upgrades to Level 5, it will unlock the function to exchange points for rewards, including but not limited to real estate, cash, antiques…]
With this carrot dangled, Lin Wan was instantly re-energized. Real estate… She quickly questioned the system: [Is a traditional courtyard house in Beijing possible?]
The little system figure: [Possible… Host, keep it up! Let’s get moving! Earn those points with absolute vigor!]
Lin Wan: … If that was the case, she would stop acting like a lazy fish!
Huang Guixiang was thoroughly filled with bliss!
“Time to eat!” Zhang Aimin called out to the mother and daughter who were hiding in the bedroom enjoying their secret joy.
He and Zhang Hongqiang had bought a portion of stir-fried liver and pork kidney and a portion of twice-cooked pork from the state-owned restaurant. Upon returning, he whipped up a spinach and egg soup. Today was their housewarming, and Guixiang had specified they must eat well.
Huang Guixiang opened a bottle of Moutai for him and poured a cup. Zhang Aimin felt completely overwhelmed by the favor. Lin Wan brought out orange soda, making Zhang Hongqiang bound up and down on the spot with pure joy.
Earlier, he had felt rather melancholic about leaving the machinery factory family compound, thinking he wouldn’t be able to play with his buddies regularly in the future. Now he didn’t feel a single trace of melancholy! Moving out to live independently was far better. There was meat to eat and soda to drink! He was practically flying with absolute happiness.
“Let me propose a toast!” Huang Guixiang stood up and raised the filled liquor cup in front of her. “For so many years, I’ve wanted our family to live peacefully on our own. Now, thanks to my daughter’s blessing, it has finally come true!”
“From now on, may our family be harmonious, smooth-sailing, and healthy!”
“May our work and lives turn better and better!”
“May my daughter and son-in-law possess a boundless future!”
She was genuinely ecstatic! With a courtyard house this magnificent, a massive family no longer had to squeeze together to live! She didn’t have to look at several hypocritical, detestable faces the moment she woke up every day. She didn’t have to play the fake role of a virtuous wife and mother. The ones surrounding her were all her closest and most beloved people.
Zhang Aimin’s eyes turned red with tears. The first three children had broken his heart one by one. He would just treat it as if he had never fathered them. From now on, his only children were Hongqiang and Wanwan!
“We will all get better and better!” Lin Wan clinked her soda bottle against everyone’s cups.
This meal was eaten with absolute satisfaction.
After finishing dinner, Zhang Hongqiang proactively went to heat water and wash the dishes. Lin Wan, Zhang Aimin, and Huang Guixiang strolled around the courtyard together, wondering if they should plant some green onions along the base of the wall. Planting just a tiny bit wouldn’t get snipped off as a remnant of capitalist tail.
Strolling over to the low, small utility room, Lin Wan pointed at the wall and said, “Uncle Zhang, see if you can build a few wooden shelves. With shelves, not only can we store more items, but it will also look much neater.”
Zhang Aimin nodded. “Sure. I’ll head to the scrap collection station later to scrounge some waste wood, borrow some tools, and come back to build them.”
Lin Wan: “Uncle Zhang, you have to go to work, and I have a few days of rest, so I’ll go check it out! While I’m at it, I’ll see if there are any writing desks. Hongqiang’s room needs one, my room needs one, and your room absolutely needs one too! Otherwise, the rooms look far too empty.”
Zhang Hongqiang cackled, “My sister is getting too big for her boots!” Before he could finish cackling, he joyfully received Comrade Huang Guixiang’s iron-palm slap. He went back to running around the courtyard while howling dramatically.
Since it wasn’t dark yet, Lin Wan simply handed him a few candies and told him to go look for the neighborhood kids to play, so he could get to know some new friends.
“Uncle Zhang, can this room be converted into a washroom? If we convert it, we can raise the floor slightly, leave a slot for the drain, and dig a wastewater ditch outside the door…” Of course, the place she lived in had to be as comfortable as possible.
“Also, we need to nail two rows of bamboo poles and two rows of wooden boards to the wall for hanging towels and placing toiletries… Uncle Zhang, what do you think about building a washing vanity against this wall here?”
Lin Wan pointed and gestured around the small room next to the utility room. Zhang Aimin specifically ran to fetch a small notebook to sketch and draw, seriously jotting down all of Lin Wan’s suggestions.
Following that, Lin Wan ran over to the kitchen to offer another round of pointing and gesturing. The layout of modern cabinets could definitely be referenced!
Ah, her sleep this night was remarkably sweet and fragrant.
The next day, she slept straight until she woke up naturally. She retrieved a microwave from her space and popped a portion of chili braised chicken inside to heat it up.
Boom…
A sudden mutation erupted. A massive explosion blasted apart, bringing a flurry of lightning and sparks.
