Chapter 38: A Massive Fortune
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After putting everything away, Shen Qingyao lay down on the bed.
The bed in the Shen family home was terribly hard, and it was not long before her lower back began to ache.
Before much time had passed, Shen Mengyi quietly pushed open the door and slipped inside.
She moved with great care, as though afraid of making the slightest sound.
Shen Qingyao turned over and watched her every move.
A curtain separated their two beds, but with the light shining through, Shen Qingyao could still make out Shen Mengyi’s actions.
Seeing that Shen Qingyao had made no sound, Shen Mengyi began rummaging through the cabinet in the room.
Though it was not her cabinet, Shen Qingyao could not help asking out of curiosity.
“What are you doing?”
With that, she turned over and got out of bed.
Shen Qingyao pulled open the curtain. Shen Mengyi was hurriedly hiding something behind her back.
“What are you looking for? And what are you hiding?”
“It has nothing to do with you!”
Shen Qingyao let out a cold laugh. “We’re sharing a room. Do you really think it has nothing to do with me?”
Shen Mengyi shot her an angry glare. Shen Qingyao nimbly sidestepped her and, taking advantage of her distraction, snatched the object away.
Her first reaction was surprise at how thick the stack of papers was.
When she held it beneath the light, her eyes nearly widened out of their sockets.
“What is this? What were you looking for?”
Shen Qingyao sucked in a breath. “Where did all this money and these ration coupons come from?”
Wang Guihua and Shen Dongsheng were merely ordinary workers, yet there were three or four hundred yuan in cash here, not to mention the various coupons.
“Last time, Wang Guihua said the family had no money to pay for Lu Shaojun’s medical treatment. So tell me—where did this come from?”
Shen Mengyi was frantic, desperate only to snatch the things back from Shen Qingyao.
She offered no explanation and merely kept struggling anxiously.
“Shen Mengyi, did you steal this? Or rob someone!?”
Shen Qingyao raised the items high above her head and, at the same time, shut the bedroom door.
The words seemed to be forced out between her clenched teeth.
“Don’t open your mouth and let that foul stench out! What do you mean, steal or rob? This money is mine!”
“Where did you get it? You hand all your wages over to Wang Guihua. Don’t you think it’s absurd that you suddenly have this much money?”
Shen Mengyi shouted at her, “Mind your own business!”
In an instant, Shen Mengyi seemed to become an entirely different person. As she spoke, she attacked without warning.
Her fingernails were sharp, and they raked across Shen Qingyao’s arm, drawing blood.
Shen Qingyao tried to evade her, but Shen Mengyi shoved her against the door. One hand pinned down Shen Qingyao’s free arm, while one leg pressed against her stomach, completely restraining her.
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“Give it back to me!”
She continued to snarl in a low voice.
After trying two or three times, Shen Qingyao realized that she could not move at all and could only let Shen Mengyi wrest the items away.
“Shen Qingyao, don’t think you can take everything away from me. You can’t take a thing.”
“What’s mine is mine. It isn’t yours. No matter how much you covet it, it won’t do you any good!”
“Once I go to Beijing, I’ll still think of you.”
Shen Mengyi wore a grotesque smile, looking exactly like someone who had lost her mind.
Every hair on Shen Qingyao’s body seemed to stand on end.
Just as Shen Mengyi was preparing to leave, Shen Qingyao instinctively caught hold of her.
“How are you going to Beijing? Lu Shaojun was only just transferred back with his unit. His transfer orders won’t be changed.”
Shen Mengyi shook off Shen Qingyao’s hand, looking impatient.
“That’s you, not me. I’m not a useless person like you, Shen Qingyao.”
She slammed the door behind her and left. Shen Qingyao stood there in a daze.
First, where had that money come from?
Second, what means did Shen Mengyi have of securing a transfer to Beijing?
She was merely an ordinary textile-factory worker. These days, workers were being encouraged to remain where they were, so it was practically impossible for Shen Mengyi to be transferred elsewhere as a worker.
The more Shen Qingyao thought about it, the more suspicious everything seemed.
Shen Mengyi had practically brought out all her worldly possessions. Perhaps it was even the entire Shen family’s fortune.
Wang Guihua was stingy, but she truly knew how to manage a household.
With that thought, Shen Qingyao did not hesitate. She followed Shen Mengyi at once.
By the time she caught up, Shen Mengyi had climbed into a car.
The car was parked in a place hidden from the residential compound, on a small road where hardly anyone passed by.
Shen Qingyao could not see who was driving, but she memorized the license plate.
Although it was difficult to make out clearly from a distance, she felt that it would be enough to identify the car in the village.
Qingtan Village had a large population and many people coming and going, but there were not many vehicles.
Most of them belonged to the military district. A car with such distinctive features would naturally leave a deeper impression.
Shen Qingyao did not follow any farther. She simply returned to the Shen family home in silence.
This was the first time Shen Qingyao had ever felt reluctant to continue living in that room.
For a moment, she felt a chill run through her.
Fortunately, she slept peacefully that night.
Early the next morning, Shen Qingyao moved her belongings to Qiao Yufen’s home.
Shen Dongsheng and Shen Mengyi were both preparing to go to work. When they saw Shen Qingyao carrying her things away, they simply acted as though they had seen nothing.
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Neither of them left. Instead, they continued pacing back and forth inside the house.
Several times, Shen Dongsheng watched Shen Qingyao carry things in and out. Even after their eyes met, silence still hung between them.
Unable to bear the awkwardness, Shen Qingyao gathered her belongings and left.
Chen Zheng happened to be driving past when he saw Shen Qingyao standing at the entrance to the compound.
He deliberately drove around the block and came back to greet her.
“Sister-in-law, where are you going? And why are you carrying so many boxes?”
When Shen Qingyao saw Chen Zheng, she felt as though help had arrived.
She did not have much, but if she had to carry everything all the way to Qiao Yufen’s place by herself, her arms would surely have fallen off.
With a smile, Shen Qingyao asked, “Could I trouble you to give me a lift?”
“Of course. Brother Jiang has something to take care of today. Otherwise, I would have called him over.”
“No need. Shen Dongsheng told me to get out yesterday, so I’m doing exactly that today.”
Chen Zheng had just finished loading her things into the car. Upon hearing this, he looked as though he had suddenly learned something astonishing.
“What?!”
“Then should I go speak to Brother Jiang and have him come—”
Shen Qingyao gave him a mysterious smile. “Just drive. You’ll already be doing me a huge favor.”
“All right.”
Chen Zheng readily agreed and drove Shen Qingyao to Qiao Yufen’s home.
Hearing the sound of the car, Qiao Yufen poked her head out to look.
She spotted the military vehicle at once, and then she saw Shen Qingyao.
“Oh, has my granddaughter’s husband come to visit...?”
Qiao Yufen was grinning so broadly that she could hardly close her mouth.
Then she saw Chen Zheng’s face.
Qiao Yufen did not recognize him. She stared at Shen Qingyao and blinked repeatedly.
Chen Zheng saw Qiao Yufen as well and bent down to greet her.
“Hello, Grandma. My name is Chen Zheng.”
Qiao Yufen pulled Shen Qingyao aside. “Yao-Yao, where is my granddaughter’s husband?”
Shen Qingyao answered with complete sincerity, “Your granddaughter’s husband is at work.”
At that moment, Chen Zheng suddenly asked Shen Qingyao where he should put her belongings.
Shen Qingyao pointed toward the house and told him to leave them by the door.
“I thought my granddaughter’s husband had come. Why did you bring another man home?”