According to Aunt Liu, Liu Xiuqing was also attending university and was about to graduate.
Liu Xiuxiu was in her third year of college. The siblings had chosen different majors—one studied civil engineering, while the other studied accounting and finance.
If nothing unexpected happened, both children would go to work in large coastal cities after graduation and would not stay in the small county town.
Because of this, Aunt Liu was also eager to deal with the farmland and house back in her hometown, hoping to sell them and save up money for the siblings’ living expenses.
Since it was a buyout price, she was selling one mu of land for two hundred yuan.
Eighteen mu of land came to three thousand six hundred yuan.
Out of gratitude for Jiang Mingyu saving Xiuxiu’s life, Aunt Liu even waived two hundred yuan, bringing the total for eighteen mu down to three thousand yuan.
Even so, it was still a considerable sum.
After hearing the price, Jiang Mingyu immediately came up with two ways to raise money.
First, she could apply for a bank loan, but her credit wasn’t sufficient, so that was not possible.
Second, she could quickly sell off a batch of supplies and exchange them for three thousand yuan.
But although she had goods, finding buyers was the problem.
Jiang Mingyu said, “In that case, I’ll leave a fifty-yuan deposit here. Please give me five days. I will definitely bring the money back to you in five days.”
“Sigh, I’ve been listing this land for a long time. Two hundred yuan is already a low price, but still no one is willing to buy it. You’re not even bargaining, I’m already very grateful. Five days—I can wait.”
Aunt Liu was very fond of Jiang Mingyu’s straightforward personality and agreed immediately.
After the agreement, Jiang Mingyu took the children and said goodbye. They hired a tricycle outside and headed back to the town.
On the way, Jiang Mingyu seemed to hear someone calling her from behind.
But when she turned around, she saw no familiar faces in the crowd.
So she didn’t take the voice to heart.
At the entrance of People’s Avenue,
“Jiang Mingyu! Jiang Mingyu! Stop right there!”
Qian Youde chased a few steps but still couldn’t stop the person on the tricycle, making him so angry that he stomped his foot.
Su Hongmei pulled him from behind.
“See? I told you Jiang Mingyu is becoming more and more arrogant after leaving you! How could it be such a coincidence that she brought so many people to catch you in the act early in the morning? Logically speaking, my plan was flawless—the one who should have been caught cheating was her!”
As she spoke, she glanced sarcastically at the tricycle that had already gone far away and said to Qian Youde, “I think she must have been involved with Huo Mingfeng long before you abandoned her. Maybe those three kids are all his!”
“That despicable woman… she actually cheated on me…”
Qian Youde had once felt a trace of guilt and unease toward Jiang Mingyu at the civil affairs bureau.
But now, everything was different. It turned out he owed her nothing—instead, she was the one who had wronged him!
Dividing assets? He wouldn’t give her a single cent!
He turned and held Su Hongmei’s hand gently, his voice suddenly soft.
“Hongmei, I knew you were the best. You’re educated, unlike that illiterate shameless woman!”
“Hmph, speaking of which, didn’t we agree to have dinner with your parents at Jufulou this morning? We’re getting married in a few days—why were you late? You left me alone to lose face in front of Jiang Mingyu, even those three little brats dared to bully me!”
Su Hongmei complained aggrievedly.
Hearing this, Qian Youde smiled proudly.
“Don’t worry, I wasn’t out playing this morning—I was handling serious business. The rival factory of our Yuanfeng Steel Plant, Hongfeng Steel Plant, has a delivery truck driver who was my high school classmate. I treated him to a meal and got him to agree to take our factory’s orders. As long as your father approves, Huo Mingfeng will be completely useless!”
A malicious glint flashed in his eyes.
“I want to see how Jiang Mingyu survives after leaving me!”
Without a job, Huo Mingfeng would be nothing more than a useless man.
As long as he remained the security chief of Yuanfeng Steel Plant, he would never allow that couple to live comfortably under his watch!
He would repay the humiliation from the morning’s confrontation over the cheating accusation.
“Darling, you’re amazing!”
Su Hongmei finally relaxed and hugged him happily.
“You should’ve told me earlier that you knew a truck driver! My father definitely won’t let Huo Mingfeng stay at the factory anymore!”
If Huo Mingfeng hadn’t known how to drive and wasn’t familiar with the routes, Su’s father wouldn’t have allowed him to stay at Yuanfeng Steel Plant for so long.
And he had even been given special treatment.
Now, finally, he could be kicked out!
She wanted to see how Jiang Mingyu would survive without Huo Mingfeng!
“Alright, alright, don’t be angry. I’ve already seen Jiang Mingyu for what she is today. Let’s go home and prepare for the wedding. From now on, we won’t bother with her anymore.”
After Qian Youde coaxed her, Su Hongmei obediently leaned into his arms.
“Mm, I know a photographer friend. I want to take some nice photos while my baby bump isn’t too big yet.”
“Hehe, alright. I also hope our child will be born safely.”
That way, he could secure his position as the son-in-law of the Yuanfeng Steel Plant boss sooner.
Whether it was a boy or a girl, even if he wasn’t the successor, his child would be.
Qian Youde was calculating everything perfectly, but Su Hongmei was unaware, thinking he truly loved her.
As for their upcoming marriage, Jiang Mingyu was completely unaware.
After returning to the town, she brought the children back into the house.
All three kids were still shaken from encountering those thugs, but Da Wa and Er Wa were more excited after recovering. They kept pestering Jiang Mingyu.
“Mom, what was that move you used to throw those people? It was so cool! Teach us!”
“Yes, yes! And that spinning kick too! So awesome! I’ve only seen it in picture books!”
“The first move is a shoulder throw, and the kicking sequence afterward is part of taekwondo. If you two want to learn it, it will be very hard work.”
Jiang Mingyu was quick to learn. She had studied taekwondo as a child to protect herself from bullying.
Her parents had passed away early, but they had arranged for a housekeeper to raise her.
That old housekeeper had wanted to train her into a refined young lady who would inherit the family business and never allowed her to learn self-defense, fearing she would become “rough.”
To learn taekwondo, she had fallen countless times and taken many hits.
It was not something ordinary children could persist through.
But Da Wa and Er Wa were already captivated by her skills and clung to her sleeves, determined to learn no matter what she said.
Seeing their determination, Jiang Mingyu smiled and nodded.
“Alright. I’ll teach you after winter comes. It’s good for strengthening your body. But once you learn it, you must never use it to bully others, understand?”
“We understand, Mom! We promise!”
Da Wa and Er Wa happily ran back into the house.
Seeing that San Ya was still frightened, Jiang Mingyu gently held her and comforted her for a while.
“Why is San Ya still scared?”
“It was dangerous… Mommy…”
She cried softly, pouting.
“I also want to protect Mommy, but I’m not as strong as my big brothers.”
Hearing her childish declaration of wanting to protect her, Jiang Mingyu felt her heart melt.
Then an idea suddenly flashed in her mind. She smiled mysteriously.
“Who says you can’t protect Mommy? Mommy just happens to have something very suitable for you to learn~”