After Tong Aihua was robbed and went missing, the factory refused to issue death benefits, arguing that without seeing a body, they couldn't confirm whether he was truly dead.
If Tong Aihua were still alive but never reappeared, there would be suspicion that he had absconded with the funds.
Under such circumstances, if the factory were to pay death benefits, wouldn't that make them the ultimate fools?
When Li Mei first heard the news of Tong Aihua being robbed and falling into the water before disappearing, she fainted outright. Upon hearing these gossipy remarks afterward, she nearly collapsed completely.
She felt utterly anchorless, completely at a loss about what to do.
If she ignored these rumors, not only would they lose the death benefits, but she and her three daughters might be torn apart by the factory community!
These funds were the factory's lifeline money.
Li Mei couldn't rely on her maiden family. They had fallen out long ago over work matters and only bothered with her when they wanted money.
The Tong family initially reacted enthusiastically to the incident, bustling about and devising various schemes to extract money from the factory.
But upon hearing these rumors, they immediately vanished, abandoning Li Mei to face the situation alone with her children.
With nowhere left to turn, Li Mei immediately thought of Su Ying and hurriedly called her to explain the situation.
Su Ying directly advised Li Mei on what to do.
Knowing Li Mei was indecisive and incapable of handling such matters, Su Ying called Zhang Laoyezi, the male lead's grandfather Zhang Guohui, to request his assistance.
Back when Zhang Guohui was sent down to Su Ruyi's village, Su Ying neither gave him special treatment nor deliberately made things difficult—everything was handled by the book.
However, one year, when Su Ruyi was still a little toddler, she accidentally wandered over to the cowshed while playing and discovered Zhang Guohui unconscious with a high fever. She ran home and told Su Ying.
Su Ying stepped in and saved Zhang Guohui. Given the special circumstances of that era, Su Ying took considerable risks, for which Zhang Guohui remained deeply grateful.
This incident became the starting point for their interactions. When Su Ying couldn't appear in person, Su Ruyi would toddle over on her short little legs to play.
Zhang Guohui grew very fond of Su Ruyi and once jokingly suggested that Su Ying should marry her to his grandson, so they could become family.
When Zhang Guohui was rehabilitated and left the village, he gave Su Ruyi a fountain pen as a keepsake and brought up the matter again, calling it a token of promise.
Su Ruyi's memory of this period had grown somewhat hazy; she only recalled a very kind grandfather.
Su Ying later told her that when Zhang Guohui first arrived, he was deeply despondent, remaining silent all day and burying himself in work. But Su Ruyi, with her chattering little mouth, somehow managed to coax him into speaking.
Another reason Su Ying had helped Zhang Guohui was that he and Tong Aihua were from the same hometown, which made her feel a certain kinship.
After his rehabilitation, Zhang Guohui returned to Qing Province, which was why Su Ying called him for help to ensure fair treatment.
Su Ying understood her ex-husband well—if he were alive and conscious, he would never have absconded with the funds.
Even if she had misjudged him, there needed to be solid evidence rather than baseless speculation that not only damaged Tong Aihua's reputation but also harmed his family.
With Zhang Laoyezi's extensive connections, the matter was quickly resolved.
There was never any truth to those rumors in the first place—they were just bullying an orphan and a widow. If things had remained muddled, the compensation and pension would have certainly been out of reach.
Now, the furniture factory had promptly issued the pension, and all the gossip seemed to have vanished into thin air, all thanks to Zhang Laoyezi stepping in.
Otherwise, if Tong Aihua had been officially implicated by the rumors, it would have dragged down Su Ruyi in the future.
If she ever wanted to enter the civil service system, having a father accused of embezzling public funds would mean she couldn’t pass the political background check.
Zhang Laoyezi had helped so much, so out of both gratitude and propriety, Su Ruyi had to visit him in Qing Province to thank him for his assistance.
This also meant that Su Ruyi’s encounter with the male lead was unavoidable.
But as long as Su Ruyi didn’t cling to the male lead, there wouldn’t be any future complications.
That childhood betrothal had been nothing more than a joke, and besides, Zhang Laoyezi had more than one grandson—it was never specified which one she was supposed to marry.
As long as she wasn’t interested, Zhang Laoyezi wouldn’t force her to marry the male lead. That wouldn’t be forming a family alliance but creating enmity.
Thinking this, Su Ruyi temporarily set the matter aside and focused on figuring out how to make money.
She now had two thousand yuan on hand, all money her father had sent her over the years. Her mother had saved every bit of it, not spending a single cent. However, because prices in the early years were different and Tong Aihua’s salary back then was low, the amounts sent were small, so after ten years, only two thousand had been saved.
This was the family’s entire savings.
Although Su Ying was capable—earning a salary, managing farm work, raising chickens, ducks, fish, and pigs, growing plenty of fruit, and even receiving rewards and bonuses for acts of bravery—her annual income was quite decent, making her one of the wealthier households in the village.
But the family also spent lavishly. Su Ruyi had never gone without good food since she was young, eating meat almost every day—a standard that even urban families would have found respectable a few years earlier.
Just look at the sleeper ticket Su Ying bought for her trip to Qing Province—it showed what kind of person she was.
In those days, a sleeper ticket was a luxury; ordinary folks couldn’t bring themselves to spend the money on one.
Yet Su Ying didn’t hesitate for a second to arrange a sleeper for Su Ruyi, without a hint of reluctance. Though she herself was no stranger to hardship, she never expected her daughter to endure the same.
So, despite her capabilities, Su Ying hadn’t managed to save much.
These two thousand yuan were Su Ruyi’s trump card, and she had to use them carefully.
It’s often said that opportunities abound and even pigs can fly when the wind is right, but in reality, many people still fail.
Take that notorious human trafficker Yu Huaying, for example. It was during this era that she and her lover tried various business ventures, failed, and then, when selling her own child, discovered that trafficking children was a “profitable business,” leading her down the path of crime.
If she lost these two thousand yuan, it wouldn’t be easy to gather that much capital again.
As Su Ruyi pondered how to make money, the Tong family on the other end kept cursing her. Usually an early-to-bed household, they were so worked up over her that they stayed awake late into the night, buzzing with agitation.
“You have no idea—Guangyao and I almost didn’t make it back! That wretched dead girl, that country bumpkin sow from the hills—I’ve never seen anyone so vile…”
Zhang Cuihua kept repeating her insults, cursing Su Ruyi inside and out.
After cursing for a while, she didn’t forget to drag Li Mei into it, convinced that Li Mei was behind it all. "She did it on purpose! I always said she was cunning, and now look—she’s the most vicious one! If it weren’t for her, Aihua wouldn’t be gone. It was her stirring up trouble that made Aihua turn against us!"
Old Man Tong tapped his pipe on the table. "Enough, stop shouting in the middle of the night."
Zhang Cuihua snorted and fell silent, though she continued to mutter under her breath now and then.
The eldest son in the family, Tong Aiguo, frowned. "She’s utterly uncivilized. How could she lay hands on her grandmother and younger brother? She needs to be taught a proper lesson."
Wu Jinfeng, Tong Aiguo’s wife, rolled her eyes and said, "I’ve long heard that the second brother’s first wife was no good, and the daughter she raised is a wild child with no manners. No wonder Li Mei is trying to cozy up to her—she’s not afraid of getting bitten in the end. That girl is so unruly, Li Mei won’t get any advantage from her."
Hearing this, Zhang Cuihua straightened up. "What if that girl ends up snatching the money? That wretched girl is as strong as an ox and reckless enough to do anything."
Zhang Cuihua was confident she could get the money out of Li Mei, who was weak-willed—it would just take a few more scenes.
But if Su Ruyi got her hands on the money and ran off, where would they go to demand it back?
Everyone present realized this, and their expressions darkened.
Tong Guangzong, Tong Aiguo’s eldest son, spoke up, "That’s perfect. If she manages to get the money, I’ll just round up a few buddies. No way the money won’t end up with us."
Old Man Tong shot him a look. "Don’t cause trouble. She’s your cousin."
"I’m not going to do anything—just make her return our family’s money," Tong Guangzong replied carelessly with a laugh. "If you ask me, our family is too soft-hearted. If I’d gotten my buddies involved earlier, we’d have the money by now, and I’d already have a job."
Even though the furniture factory wasn’t doing well these days, having a job was still better than nothing. At worst, he could keep the title and do his own thing—it wouldn’t be a loss.
Wu Jinfeng said, "Li Mei is no pushover. She even managed to force two daughters who have nothing to do with the second brother into the picture to get a share of the money. How could a country bumpkin like that outsmart her? I doubt she’ll even get her own share, let alone fight for anything else."
Zhang Cuihua spat fiercely. "Bah! What do you mean, her own share? That wretched girl has no right to my son’s life compensation money. I hope she gets run over by a car! The money, the house, and everything else belong to our Guangyao! No one else has any right to take them!"
Tong Guangzong remained calm upon hearing this. After all, Tong Guangyao was still young and wouldn’t get the money yet.
By the time he got married, his grandparents would surely help him out, and that job would be his too. That’s why he was so eager about getting the money.
Old Man Tong refilled his pipe with tobacco and lit it. "Let’s keep an eye on things for now and wait until they start fighting among themselves."
"So Guangyao and I just let that girl bully us for nothing? I’m her grandmother! If I don’t teach her a lesson after how she treated me, she’ll walk all over our entire family!"
Zhang Cuihua was immediately displeased. Today, she had been utterly humiliated and had slunk back in disgrace.
Old Man Tong’s face darkened, his expression grim.
Tong Guangzong: "Grandma, don't worry. I've been keeping track of this debt for you. Later, I'll definitely make that girl pay and teach her the importance of respecting elders and caring for the young."
Old Man Tong: "No matter what, she's still part of our Tong family…"
"Dad, have you forgotten? She doesn't share our Tong surname," Tong Aiguo reminded.
Old Man Tong paused, his expression darkening further:
"This second child is so unreliable! We must make her change her surname back. This is utterly unacceptable! If people find out, they'll laugh our family to scorn."
Zhang Cuihua rolled her eyes: "What's so special about a worthless girl…"
Old Man Tong shot her a fierce glare, and Zhang Cuihua immediately fell silent.
A girl wasn't really important, but this concerned the Tong family's reputation. If the child took the mother's surname, wouldn't it mean their family had produced a live-in son-in-law? That would be too shameful if it got out.
When they were in the countryside where nobody knew, it was one thing, but now that they've moved here, it's different.
Old Man Tong added: "After this matter is settled, have her come home once. Consider it giving her some dignity. Since we're magnanimously letting bygones be bygones and allowing her to return to her ancestral roots, she should know what to do."
Author's note: