After Lin Zhe and his sister left Sucheng No. 2 Middle School, they first took a taxi to a law firm in the city center to meet up with Aunt He and Uncle Yan, where they met Su Muying, a civil litigation lawyer with quite a reputation in the city.
Su Muying was a shrewd middle-aged woman. After learning the details of the Lin siblings’ situation, she voluntarily lowered her fees, but also offered her own opinion.
“Your case isn’t complicated, but it will take some time to fight, and enforcement could also be troublesome. My advice is to apply as much pressure as possible and aim for an out-of-court settlement.”
But Lin Zhe shook his head. “Lawyer Su, we absolutely will not settle. In fact, I’m willing to pay extra in legal fees—I just want to make this as big as possible. The bigger, the better.”
“Make it bigger?”
“That’s right. I don’t care about profit—I just want everyone to know about it. First trial, second trial, third trial—let’s fight it all the way to the High Court!”
“Oh”
Su Muying seemed to understand something, and her gaze toward Lin Zhe turned somewhat amused.
Hurting others without benefiting yourself! That’s exactly the kind of thing kids love to do.
But it would certainly be satisfying, wouldn’t it?
…………
Aunt He first advanced the five-thousand-yuan retainer for the legal fees, then had Uncle Yan drive the group to the provincial capital, Linjiang, to claim the prize.
The journey was less than two hundred kilometers—just over an hour’s drive—but traffic slowed considerably once they entered Linjiang’s city center, and by the time they arrived at the Provincial Welfare Lottery Center, it was nearly the noon closing time.
However, when the staff at the Welfare Lottery Center saw Lin Zhe in his wheelchair, they remarkably didn’t get angry. Not only did they quickly process his prize claim, they even skipped the usual donation pitch at the .
Lin Zhe had won two second-prize tickets and five third-prize tickets, totaling over six hundred thousand yuan. After deducting personal income tax, he received nearly five hundred thousand—quite a “fortune” for the siblings these days.
But after receiving this “fortune,” Lin Zhe showed no trace of excitement. Instead, his eyes were vacant and he remained silent.
In the eyes of the female staff at the Welfare Lottery Center, this only made him all the more pitiable.
The female director sighed. “Such a handsome young man—what a tragedy!”
After leaving the Welfare Lottery Center, Lin Xi firmly refused Uncle Yan’s offer to drive them straight to Mocheng. Instead, she took out two hundred and thirty thousand yuan and handed it to Aunt He.
“Aunt He, thirty thousand of this is the money we borrowed from you. I won’t charge you interest, but you must accept it.”
“As for the other two hundred thousand, besides paying the legal fees, you’ll need to find some subcontracting orders to get the garment factory running. At the very least, you need to keep the factory’s skilled workers on. Otherwise, even if I bring in orders later, we won’t be able to produce anything.”
Aunt He immediately objected. “Xi, what kind of talk is that? Don’t you know what kind of relationship I have with your Lin family? I’ll take this money, but that thirty thousand—never mention it again.”
The honest, simple Uncle Yan also chimed in from the side. “I’ve watched you two grow up since you were little. Zhe is like my own nephew. Sping thirty thousand when our own nephew gets sick is only right. Saying things like that is a slap in our faces.”
“But this…”
Lin Xi felt quite guilty about it, but Lin Zhe chimed in: “Aunt He, Uncle Yan are right. We won’t mention that money again—just consider it your stake in the business. From now on, you’ll have a share of the garment factory. After all, the whole factory depends on Aunt He to run it! It’s only right for a professional manager to hold shares.”
Aunt He still wanted to refuse, but it was Lin Zhe’s concept of a “professional manager” that finally got her to agree.
Of course, she probably just took it as a joke. After all, the Lin family’s garment factory was a small operation with only a hundred or so workers, making at most a few hundred thousand in profit a year—a million at the very top.
But she could never have imagined that in Lin Zhe’s plans, the future scale of this garment factory would not be measured in mere “tens of thousands.”
…………
Sitting on the train from Linjiang to Mocheng, watching the fields slowly glide past, Lin Zhe’s thoughts drifted far and wide.
Mocheng was the city Lin Zhe had lived in longest in his previous life. It held too many memories and longings, as well as countless joys and regrets.
“I’ll arrive at the station at 4:10… Okay, okay…”
Lin Xi answered a phone call in a low voice. Lin Zhe caught the faint sound, and a deeply loathsome figure instantly flashed through his mind.
He asked his sister casually, “What’s up, sis? Did you ask someone to meet us at the station?”
Lin Xi smiled, looking a bit embarrassed. “I didn’t ask him—he just happened to call me, so I told him our arrival time. The Mocheng station is really crowded, so it’s good he can help…”
“Him? Who is he? Some big fat pig trying to get his hooves on our family’s cabbage?”
Lin Xi was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing. People from Daweichao had little resistance to some of the jokes from the other world.
“Zhe, don’t go saying silly things in front of others. He’s a Mocheng local a colleague introduced to me. He seems decent. You’d better be polite later…”
“Of course. Is your little brother an impolite person?”
Lin Zhe smiled happily, but his narrowed eyes were full of sinister malice.
The train arrived at the station. Lin Xi pushed Lin Zhe through the crowd and out of the exit, where they spotted the person waiting for them.
It was a mother and son. The slightly plump mother wore a wool coat, with a bright silk scarf twisted into a big flower around her neck—rather the type to try recapturing her youth in old age.
Standing beside her was a tall man with gold-rimmed glasses and slicked-back hair, fair-skinned with shrewd eyes—the classic Mocheng pretty boy at a glance.
Seeing the mother and son, the disgust in Lin Zhe’s heart doubled—X2.
“I didn’t expect to meet Liang Xu’s mother ahead of schedule. Heh, interesting.”
In his previous life, when Lin Xi brought Lin Zhe to Mocheng, they had only met the tall man, Liang Xu—never his mother.
Lin Xi also saw the mother and son standing motionless in the distance. After a slight hesitation, she pushed Lin Zhe over anyway.
The tall man came forward smiling, reached out to take Lin Zhe’s wheelchair, and pushed it outward as he said, “Xi, really—you’re bringing your brother here and didn’t even tell me. I could’ve bought a platform ticket and come inside to meet you!”
“Oh, I actually didn’t want to trouble you… Is that your mom? Why is she here?”
“We’ve known each other for several months now, and my mom wanted to meet you…”
Liang Xu pushed Lin Zhe over to his mother, and Lin Zhe realized that the Liang mother and son had no idea he had come to Mocheng—a detail that differed from his previous life.
When Lin Xi saw Mother Liang, she greeted her politely: “Hello, Auntie. Sorry to trouble you.”
Mother Liang’s eyes swept over Lin Xi and Lin Zhe several times before she said flatly, “No trouble at all. We have a car. It’s inconvenient for out-of-towners to get around Mocheng. Liang Xu is friends with you, so helping out is only right.”
Lin Zhe had been planning to offer a half-hearted greeting, but after hearing Mother Liang’s words, he simply changed tack and said to Lin Xi, “Sis, I’m hungry! Let’s find somewhere to eat!”
Most Mocheng locals don’t look down on out-of-towners, but that one annoying little minority was enough to ruin the reputation of this international metropolis. Lin Zhe couldn’t be bothered to deal with people like that.
“You’re hungry? Okay, let’s eat.”
Lin Xi had no idea what Lin Zhe was thinking. She craned her neck to look around, planning to find a suitable restaurant.
But Lin Zhe said, “Sis, the restaurants around the train station are all pretty expensive. Let’s eat near your school instead.”
Lin Xi was currently a fourth-year intern, and she usually lived in the Donghai Daxue dormitories, so there were bound to be some cheap little eateries nearby.
Lin Xi said, “That works too. Zhe, bear with it a little longer—I’ll take you to eat authentic Mocheng cuisine.”
But Mother Liang beside them laughed and said, “Authentic Mocheng cuisine? That’s not something ordinary people can get, and ordinary people certainly can’t afford it.”
Lin Xi froze for a moment, then took the wheelchair from Liang Xu and pushed Lin Zhe away. Clever as she was, she had sensed Mother Liang’s contempt and was naturally a bit annoyed.
Mother Liang’s expression darkened, but in the she held back and said coldly, “Go get the car. Later, just watch me and don’t say anything. Don’t embarrass us.”
Liang Xu’s car was an ’05-’06 Santana, boxy and neither new nor old, though it had been wiped quite clean.
Lin Xi and Liang Xu got Lin Zhe into the car. The mother and son sat in the front, while the Lin siblings sat in the back. The four of them barely spoke the whole way, and the atmosphere was rather awkward.
When they arrived near Lin Xi’s school, the four of them chose a mid-priced restaurant. Liang Xu stingily ordered a few dishes, and while they waited for the food, Mother Liang suddenly started chatting with Lin Xi about Mocheng’s housing prices.
“Mocheng is a big city, and housing prices are rising fast. Homes inside the inner ring were six or seven thousand per square meter last year, and this year they’ve gone up to eight or nine thousand. You and Liang Xu have been dating for a few months now. If you plan to settle down in Mocheng in the future, you should start thinking about it now!”
Lin Xi looked at Liang Xu in some surprise, not understanding why they would discuss such things at her first meeting with Mother Liang?
Liang Xu said with a smile, “Well, it’s like this—my mom has been taking our relationship very seriously. She’s looked at a few properties these past few days and wanted to discuss with you about buying one as our marital home…”
“Marital home? We weren’t planning to get married…”
Lin Xi was somewhat speechless, but not knowing what to say, she deflected: “Housing prices are so high right now, you really don’t need to rush into buying. Maybe they’ll come down again next year?”
But Lin Zhe suddenly said, “Sis, housing prices are actually low right now. In a few years, they might more than multiply several times over.”
Lin Zhe knew very well that the real estate market in Daweichao was currently at the same stage as Lanxing’s in the early 2000s—a time of rapid, soaring prices. If you couldn’t afford to buy this year, you’d afford even less next year, and the year after… Never mind. He’d regret it to death.
Mother Liang narrowed her eyes and smiled. “I never expected Zhe to have such good judgment. That’s why you have to act fast…”
“Sorry, Auntie, but what does your family buying a house have to do with us?” Lin Zhe interrupted. “You’re not thinking of making my sister pay for it, are you?”
“……”
Lin Zhe’s words left Lin Xi and the Liang mother and son somewhat stunned. Lin Xi in particular looked at Liang Xu with eyes full of confusion.
“Ahem, well, it’s like this,” Liang Xu said, gathering his thoughts. “I plan to take out a loan with your sister to buy a hundred-square-meter apartment, with both our names on it, and we’ll pay off the mortgage together…”
Lin Zhe said coldly, “So what you mean is my sister pays the down payment?”
Mother Liang’s expression turned ugly. “We’ll certainly contribute something too. Your sister and our Xu will be family in the future—shared effort, shared ownership…”
“But my sister has no money!”
“No money?”
Liang Xu looked at Lin Xi in surprise. “Didn’t you say you won two second prizes in the lottery? That’s got to be four or five hundred thousand at least…”
Lin Zhe understood now. So Liang Xu knew about the lottery win in their family—that was why Mother Liang had come with him to pick them up at the station today.
Picking them up was the pretext; buying a house was the real aga.
Daweichao’s marriage customs weren’t much different from those of Zhonghuajia on Lanxing—generally, the man’s side provided the house. Now the Liang family was playing their cards shrewdly, which indeed matched Lin Zhe’s impression of them from his previous life.
Have Lin Xi pay the down payment, put both names on the deed, and no matter who paid the mortgage later, the Liang family would own half the apartment.
For a woman to do this would be shameless enough, but for a man to do it—that was shamelessness taken to the absolute extreme.
Lin Zhe smiled knowingly and said calmly, “You’ve got it wrong. The one who won the lottery is me. And besides, I’m going to be living with my sister from now on. You’d better think this through carefully!”