“No, five hundred is too much. I’ll give you fifty. That’s more than enough to buy clothes and shoes,” Shen Jianguo said.
“Oh? Is five hundred yuan a lot, Stepmother?”
Su Jiaojiao turned to Liu Dongmei with a half-smile on her face.
“In that case, I’ll go find Sister Qingyu right now. I’ll go shopping with her and have her pay for whatever I want to buy.”
After all, if Liu Dongmei wanted her assets, she had to coax her first.
But it seemed they were so used to being stingy with her that they refused her the one time she asked for a large sum.
Heh… In that case, she couldn’t be blamed for being impolite.
“No,” Liu Dongmei refused without a second thought.
Su Jiaojiao asked amusedly, “Why not? Sister Qingyu and I are as close as can be. Isn’t it perfectly normal for me to go shopping with her and have her pay for things?
“Besides, I remember that for Shen Qingyu’s eighteenth birthday three months ago, not only did you buy her clothes, shoes, and jewelry, Stepmother, but you also secretly gave her six hundred yuan.
“What’s this? It was fine for Shen Qingyu to ask for six hundred, but I can’t even ask for five hundred before I’ve even bought anything?”
Liu Dongmei’s heart leaped in shock as she listened.
How did this idiot know she had given Yu’er six hundred yuan?
Su Jiaojiao glanced at Liu Dongmei before her gaze returned to Shen Jianguo. “Actually, Dad, ever since my mother passed away, the state has been giving me a living allowance. For the first three years, it was twenty yuan a month, which comes to 720 yuan.
“For the next three years, it was thirty yuan a month, totaling 1,080 yuan.
“Now we’re in the third three-year period, and my living allowance has increased to forty yuan a month. It’s been a year and a half—no, a year and seven months to be exact. That totals, hmm, 760 yuan. Adding up the living expenses for these eight years, the grand total is 2,560 yuan.
“Let’s subtract my living expenses for the past eight years, say 1,000 yuan. That still leaves 1,560 yuan. Dad, I’m an adult now. Shouldn’t the remaining money be returned to me?”
Liu Dongmei’s expression changed. She forced a smile and said, “Jiaojiao, we’re all family. Why do you need to calculate things so clearly?”
Su Jiaojiao said sharply, “Stepmother, it’s not that I want to calculate things clearly. It’s that I’ve grown up, I’m an adult, and I should have the right to manage my own money, shouldn’t I? Just like Shen Qingyu. Whatever she gets, I should get too, right?”
“Hehe,” Liu Dongmei laughed, a little guiltily. “You’re right. Jiaojiao is a big girl now. She should indeed have some money in her hands to feel secure.”
Shen Jianguo was about to object when Liu Dongmei quickly tugged on his sleeve and shot him a look.
*Let’s placate this girl first. We can’t let her turn against us at this critical moment.*
*She just wants five hundred yuan. We’ll give it to her for now and get it back later.*
*Anyway, she’s a fool who doesn’t know how to spend money. I’ve arranged all her food and clothing since she was little.*
With the tacit understanding of a married couple, Shen Jianguo immediately understood her meaning.
“Ahem…” Shen Jianguo said sternly. “Now that you have this money, you must spend it sparingly.”
Liu Dongmei smiled. “Our Jiaojiao is so sensible, she definitely won’t spend money recklessly. Jiaojiao, you wait here. I’ll go get the money for you right now.”
“Wait, Stepmother,” Su Jiaojiao immediately stopped Liu Dongmei. “I remember my mother left me a Mutton Fat Jade Pendant. Back then, you said I was too young and that you would keep it for me. I’ll be an adult tomorrow, so you should return the Jade Pendant to me now.”
That Mutton Fat Jade Pendant was a spatial artifact. It had belonged to the Su Family in the first place, so of course, it should be returned to her.
“What?” Liu Dongmei’s expression faltered again. Her eyes darted around before she said, looking slightly apologetic, “Jiaojiao, I’m sorry. I accidentally lost that Jade Pendant.”
Su Jiaojiao immediately smiled at Liu Dongmei.
“Stepmother, you really love to joke with me. Just last night, I saw you take the Jade Pendant out from your bedside table and wear it to sleep. And now you’re telling me it’s lost. Stepmother, that’s a memento from my own mother.”
The implication was: *Aren’t you scared wearing it to sleep at night?*
Liu Dongmei’s face changed again. She smiled guiltily and said, “Jiaojiao, Mom was just joking with you. I’ll go get the Jade Pendant and return it to you right now.” When she said “return it to you,” she practically spat the words through gritted teeth.
This top-grade Mutton Fat Jade Pendant was white, lustrous, and translucent. She was very fond of it.
Back then, she had used the excuse that Su Jiaojiao was still young to seize it for herself.
She had thought that since Su Jiaojiao was young at the time, she wouldn’t remember the Jade Pendant. Her plan was to trick Su Jiaojiao out of all her assets after she turned eighteen, then disappear with all the Su Family’s wealth.
Who would have thought that this idiot, Su Jiaojiao, would actually remember this Jade Pendant, that she would be discovered wearing it at night, and that she would demand it back right now?
For the sake of the huge sum of money behind Su Jiaojiao, Liu Dongmei could only compromise for now.
Liu Dongmei went back to her room and retrieved five hundred yuan and the Jade Pendant. When she handed them to Su Jiaojiao, she was so reluctant to let go that Su Jiaojiao had to forcefully snatch them away, saying with a grin,
“Thank you so much, Stepmother. I’ll go back to my room now, change my clothes, and head out.”
Watching Su Jiaojiao’s retreating back, Liu Dongmei’s brow furrowed slightly. She then looked at Shen Jianguo and whispered, “Jianguo, why do I feel like Jiaojiao is different from before?”
Shen Jianguo frowned and said in confusion, “Different? I didn’t notice.”
Liu Dongmei said, “Think about it. She used to call me ‘Mom,’ but now she calls me ‘Stepmother.’ And don’t you think her tone of voice is a bit aggressive?
“She opened her mouth and asked for five hundred yuan. She’s never done that before. At most, she’d ask for five yuan to buy a small gift for someone.”
Shen Jianguo thought for a moment and said, “She’s probably just grown up and has some of her own ideas now. Look at Yu’er, doesn’t she usually talk to you like that?”
“Is… is that it?” Liu Dongmei said, still uneasy. “Jianguo, she turns eighteen tomorrow. According to her mother’s will, she’ll be able to access and manage the annual dividends from the Textile Factory.
“We were planning to coax her into handing that money and all future dividends over to you to manage. Could there be any complications with that?”
Hearing this, Shen Jianguo snorted coldly. “Hmph, that fool has been so easily tricked by a few words from you and Yu’er since she was a child that she can’t tell north from south. What complications could there be now? Don’t worry.”
“Oh, wait, weren’t we going to bring this up with her just now?” Liu Dongmei suddenly remembered. “But we got sidetracked by her asking for five hundred yuan and forgot to mention it.”
Shen Jianguo waved his hand dismissively, not taking it to heart. “It’s fine. We can bring it up tonight or tomorrow. It’s all the same. As long as we get her to hand those things over before the Lantern Festival, we’ll be fine. Dongmei, don’t worry.”
Hearing Shen Jianguo’s words, Liu Dongmei nodded in agreement. “Okay.”
They had already found a way to escape to Hong Kong City; they just needed the money to pay for it.
But the deadline the contact had given them was before the Lantern Festival.
There were still about ten days until the Lantern Festival.