Lin Ruyuan’s eyes flickered with determination. She had already transferred from the Finance Department to the Agriculture Department, though she hadn’t had the chance to tell her family yet. But she knew one thing—no matter what decision she made, her parents would support her.
“Someone studying finance also knows a foreign language?” Feng Xiaolong challenged again.
Lin Ruyuan looked at him, speechless. “Did you even go to college? Who said you can only choose one major? I like foreign languages—what’s wrong with that?!”
Feng Xiaolong had intended to mock her, but instead he ended up being the one ridiculed. He flushed with embarrassment, feeling as if he’d just kicked a rock and hit his own foot.
“Lin, you’re right! How did you even graduate with this level of translation skill? I’ll make sure to check up on you later!” Chen Zhigang shouted angrily.
Seeing this, Feng Xiaolong, realizing he was at a disadvantage, spat out a final threat. “Chen Zhigang! If I ever work as your translator again, I won’t even be surnamed Feng!” And with that, he hurriedly left.
Chen Zhigang didn’t care what he was called. With a thought, he gestured for Lin Baoguo and Lin Ruyuan to follow him to the office.
Huang Qi stayed behind to arrange for the workers to close up the factory.
Once the office door was closed, Chen Zhigang pulled out a stack of hundred-yuan bills from his drawer and counted out 2,000 yuan for Lin Ruyuan.
“Here, take this. It’s your hard work reward for tonight.”
Lin Baoguo’s eyes widened in disbelief.
This wasn’t two yuan! Not even twenty! This was a full 2,000 yuan!
To put it in perspective, his daily wage for hard labor was only two yuan. His daughter had just earned 2,000 yuan in one night—equal to ten years of his earnings!
Lin Ruyuan refused to pocket it. “Director Chen, I only pointed out the problems so far. The real issues haven’t been solved yet.” Extra money was nice, but what mattered was long-term cooperation.
Chen Zhigang smiled. “If someone as useless as Feng Xiaolong is worth 2,000 yuan, you’re definitely worth more!” He insisted she accept it.
He called them into the office not just to hand over the money, but also because he wanted to recognize Lin Ruyuan’s talent.
Though she hadn’t graduated from a professional foreign language university, she was clearly capable.
“Since the contract had problems, that’s already clear. Even if it’s my misfortune and the factory suffers a loss, I’ll take it as paying for friendship,” Chen Zhigang said, resigned.
He smirked. “Lin, next time a foreign party comes to the factory, how about I share part of the profits from the contract with you?” Essentially, the bigger the deal she helped close, the higher her pay would be.
“Of course. And if no deal goes through, you won’t be working for nothing—I’ll guarantee a base payment according to market rates.”
Lin Ruyuan nodded without hesitation. “Okay, Director Chen. You can contact me anytime.”
“Good. If there’s nothing else, you two should head home and rest!” Chen Zhigang said. He’d been tense all day and was exhausted.
On the way out, Lin Ruyuan noticed that her father seemed unusually alert.
Lin Baoguo scanned the surroundings carefully, gripping a wooden stick just in case.
“Dad?”
“Hm? What is it?” Lin Baoguo immediately snapped to attention.
“The more careful you are, the less likely anyone will notice something’s off,” Lin Ruyuan said, smiling slightly, linking her arm with his. “Dad, tomorrow let’s deposit the money!”
“Shh!” Lin Baoguo’s expression turned serious. “Don’t mention this outside!”
So, they stayed on guard all the way home. Lin Baoguo even added an extra lock to the door that night.
Zhao Guixiang frowned as she watched them, puzzled by their secretive behavior.
“Mom, this is the money we earned tonight.” Lin Ruyuan handed over the 2,000 yuan.
Zhao Guixiang froze. “This… where did this money come from? Did you pick it up from the road? No, no, this is ill-gotten money! You must take it to the police! We can’t keep it—it might bring trouble!”
There’s no such thing as a free lunch. Some money is meant to be earned honestly.
“Where did that thought come from? This money was earned by our daughter’s skill!” Lin Baoguo explained everything to his wife, emphasizing how impressive their daughter was.
Who said girls aren’t as capable as boys? Their daughter was stronger than any man.
Zhao Guixiang finally understood—this was the truth behind the saying that knowledge changes destiny. Hard work and learning could truly lift a family from poverty.
“Mom, we’ll save this money as your dowry,” she began.
“Mom, I want to focus on my studies for now. I have no plans to marry!” Lin Ruyuan added, pausing briefly. “Besides, I’ve already transferred from the Finance Department to Agriculture. Unless something unexpected happens, my graduation will likely be delayed.”
“Agriculture?” Lin Baoguo and Zhao Guixiang were confused. “You mean… farming?”
“I want to do agricultural research,” Lin Ruyuan explained. “Business isn’t really my path. And this time, I won’t have the Fang family as capital. Starting from scratch is harder, but there’s success to be made in every field. Business can make money, research can too!”
“We don’t really understand, but if this is your decision after careful thought, then you should decide for yourself,” Lin Baoguo said seriously.
“Dad, Mom, don’t save this as a dowry for me. Use it for the family’s daily expenses. If it isn’t needed immediately, save it. Saving more is never a bad thing,” Lin Ruyuan said thoughtfully.
“Alright, alright. We’ll follow your lead,” they agreed. Tomorrow, the money would go straight into the bank.
After returning to her room, Lin Baoguo couldn’t sleep, his mind still excited by his daughter’s performance that night.
“If I had studied properly when I was young, you wouldn’t have had to suffer along with me!”
“Why bring that up now?” Zhao Guixiang laughed helplessly. “Our grades back then weren’t as good as Ruyuan’s anyway.”
“Good study really does make money,” Lin Baoguo sighed. Their daughter had a bright future. The 2,000 yuan she earned tonight would definitely not be the last.
Since her rebirth, Lin Ruyuan had been plagued by nightmares for several nights. Tonight, she slept more soundly than ever.
The next morning, she discovered her parents weren’t home.
After washing her face, they returned—having gone early in the morning to deposit the money!