Wang Guihua couldn’t read a single word.
“Impossible… That’s impossible…” she muttered.
Suddenly, she lunged at Zhou Yun like a woman possessed.
“You liar! You’re working with Lin Wanqiu! The two of you are conspiring to deceive me!”
Zhou Yun quickly stepped backward, and the security guards immediately rushed forward to restrain Wang Guihua.
“Comrade Wang Guihua, please calm down!” Zhou Yun said sternly, her expression darkening. “Lin Wanqiu is an adult. She has every right to decide where she works and what she does with her life. Whatever disputes exist within your family are your own responsibility. Please resolve them yourselves instead of causing trouble here!”
“That job belongs to my son! It’s my son’s job!” Wang Guihua screamed through her tears. “That ungrateful wretch! That heartless daughter! I raised her all these years for nothing!”
Lin Baogen immediately joined the commotion.
“Exactly! My sister promised to give me her job! Your factory can’t just go back on its word!”
Zhao Jianguo tried to intervene.
“Guihua, Baogen, that’s enough. Stop making a scene…”
“I don’t care!”
Wang Guihua dropped onto the floor and began throwing a tantrum, kicking her legs and wailing at the top of her lungs.
“I’m not leaving until you give my son that job! I refuse to believe a factory this big can bully ordinary people and get away with it!”
Zhou Yun watched the ridiculous spectacle unfold before her.
She let out a weary sigh and turned toward the security guards.
“Please escort them out.”
Two guards immediately stepped forward, each taking one of Wang Guihua’s arms and hauling her to her feet.
Lin Baogen attempted to interfere, but he was quickly restrained as well.
“How dare you! How dare you lay your hands on me!” Wang Guihua shrieked.
She twisted and struggled against the guards, her face flushed with rage.
“Secretary Zhao! You saw that, didn’t you? They’re bullying us! You have to stand up for us!”
Zhao Jianguo felt his face burn with embarrassment.
As the village Party secretary, he had accompanied the family to help resolve their problem. Instead, they had turned the visit into a public spectacle.
He glanced at Zhou Yun’s icy expression and knew that allowing the situation to escalate would only make matters worse.
“Wang Guihua, that’s enough. Let’s go. We can discuss this when we get back.”
Wang Guihua was dragged out of the office building, cursing and shouting the entire way.
The commotion had already attracted the attention of the factory workers.
People poked their heads out of offices and workshops, whispering among themselves as they watched the guards escort her away.
“Isn’t that Lin Wanqiu’s mother?”
“I heard she treated her daughter like a work animal. Took every cent of her wages, too.”
“That’s not even the worst of it. Apparently, she was planning to take the girl’s job and give it to her son.”
“Serves her right! Now she’s lost the job and the money!”
“Exactly! She tried to grab everything and ended up with nothing!”
Every word pierced Wang Guihua’s ears like a needle.
Her face alternated between red and white.
She was so humiliated and furious that she nearly fainted.
Yet even after leaving the factory, she refused to stop complaining.
Throughout the journey back to the village, her curses never ceased.
She cursed Lin Wanqiu for being heartless and ungrateful.
She cursed Zhou Yun for protecting her.
She cursed the textile factory for bullying ordinary people.
She even cursed the heavens for being blind to her suffering.
Zhao Jianguo silently guided the ox cart along the uneven road.
He had long since given up trying to reason with her.
Instead, his thoughts returned to the bizarre incident at the Lin family home.
Something about the whole affair was deeply unsettling.
An entire house, including its walls and roof, had vanished overnight.
No ordinary human effort could have accomplished such a thing.
The villagers were already whispering that the Lin family had incurred heaven’s wrath.
Zhao Jianguo wasn’t a superstitious man, and he certainly didn’t believe in divine punishment.
But no matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn’t come up with a reasonable explanation.
As for Lin Wanqiu…
He had known that girl since she was little.
She had always been honest, hardworking, and obedient.
Even when her family mistreated her, she rarely complained.
She simply lowered her head and endured it.
For someone like her to finally make the decision to resign from her job and leave her hometown, she must have been pushed beyond her limits.
Her heart must have been thoroughly broken.
As the ox cart approached the village entrance, Zhao Jianguo finally spoke.
“Guihua, there’s something I want to ask you.”
Wang Guihua was still muttering curses under her breath.
“What?”
“That girl Wanqiu… Don’t you think you’ve treated her a little too harshly over the years?”
Wang Guihua froze.
Then her voice rose sharply.
“Harshly? How have I ever treated her harshly?”
She glared at him.
“I fed her! I clothed her! I raised her from a tiny baby into a grown woman! Shouldn’t she repay me for all that?”
Her indignation only grew as she continued.
“Her younger brother hasn’t even gotten married yet! What’s wrong with asking her to give him her job? Isn’t that what an older sister should do?”
She threw up her hands.
“I’ve done everything for that girl, and now everyone wants to blame me!”
Zhao Jianguo shook his head.
He said nothing more.
There were some people who would never admit they were wrong, no matter how plainly the truth was laid before them.
When they finally returned to the village, Wang Guihua took one look at the empty plot where her house had once stood and immediately burst into tears again.
“Where are we supposed to live now?”
She wailed toward the sky.
“That wretched Lin Wanqiu! Look what she’s done to us! She’s ruined our entire family!”
Zhao Jianguo thought for a moment before offering a suggestion.
“The weather isn’t too cold yet. You’ll have to make do for the time being.”
He glanced toward the neighboring houses.
“The Li family has a few old rooms sitting empty. I’ll ask whether they’d be willing to let you stay there for a few days.”
“Stay with the Li family?”
Wang Guihua’s eyes widened.
She had never gotten along particularly well with that family.
There was no way those people would willingly take her in.
She might as well hope for a miracle.
“What about our own house?” she demanded. “When are we supposed to rebuild it?”
“Building a house requires money, materials, and labor,” Zhao Jianguo replied patiently. “Right now, you don’t have any of those things. How exactly do you expect to rebuild?”
Wang Guihua opened her mouth.
No words came out.
Zhao Jianguo continued, “Lin Zhaodi and Lin Baogen are both young and healthy. They have hands and feet. Surely they can find some work to do.”
He looked at the two siblings.
“Let them earn some money first. Once you’ve saved enough, you can start thinking about rebuilding. For now, you need to focus on getting through this difficult period.”
His advice was perfectly reasonable.
Unfortunately, Wang Guihua didn’t want to hear it.
Her precious son, Baogen, doing farm work?
Absolutely not!
How could she possibly allow her beloved boy to toil in the fields under the blazing sun?
And Zhaodi?
That girl had barely done any cooking since she was little.
How could she be expected to perform heavy labor?
If anyone should be working, it ought to be Lin Wanqiu!
The moment that name crossed her mind, Wang Guihua began grinding her teeth again.
Zhao Jianguo saw the expression on her face and decided he had said enough.
He turned and left.
He truly wanted nothing more to do with this family.
After all, everyone in the village knew what the Lin household was like.
They were lazy, selfish people who had spent years living off Lin Wanqiu’s hard-earned wages.
Yet despite depending on her income, they had mistreated the poor girl since childhood.
They had taken her sacrifices for granted and treated her as though she existed solely to serve them.
As far as Zhao Jianguo was concerned, it was impossible for Lin Wanqiu to have stolen an entire house.
But even if she had somehow managed to take their belongings, he couldn’t help thinking that the family had brought this disaster upon themselves.
Once Zhao Jianguo was gone, the Lin family’s empty courtyard descended into chaos again.
The four of them cried, cursed, and blamed one another.
Lin Daqiang was the first to turn on his wife.
“This is all your fault!”
He pointed angrily at Wang Guihua.
“You just had to force Wanqiu into marriage! You just had to take her job and give it to Baogen!”
His voice shook with frustration.
“Well, look at us now! We’ve lost everything! The money, the job, the house! Everything!”
Wang Guihua immediately fired back.
“My fault? You’re blaming me?”
She planted her hands on her hips.
“And what about you? Are you saying you had nothing to do with any of this?”
Her eyes flashed.
“Every time Wanqiu brought home her wages, who was the first to reach out and take the money? Wasn’t it you?”
She sneered.
“Now that everything’s gone, you suddenly want to pretend you’re some kind of good father?”
Lin Daqiang’s face darkened.
Before he could respond, Lin Baogen began complaining.
“What about me?”
He looked from one parent to the other, his expression full of resentment.
“I’m not even married yet! Now the factory job is gone, and so is all the money!”
His voice grew increasingly shrill.
“What am I supposed to do now? How am I ever going to find a wife?”
Nearby, Lin Zhaodi was sniffling miserably.
“I don’t even have a decent outfit to wear anymore…”
She looked down at the borrowed clothes hanging awkwardly from her body.
“How am I supposed to go out and face people like this?”
The family continued arguing, each one more concerned about their own losses than the others’ suffering.
Just as their quarrel was reaching its peak, an unexpected visitor arrived.
It was Old Madam Sun.
She came walking slowly along the village path, carrying a basket of eggs over one arm.
When she reached the Lin family’s property and saw the devastation, she stopped in surprise.
“Oh my goodness!”
She hurried toward them.
“Guihua, my dear! What on earth happened here?”
Her eyes swept across the empty plot.
“Where’s your house? And your courtyard walls? What on earth happened to your family?”
The moment Wang Guihua saw her, she reacted as though she had found someone who might finally understand her suffering.
She rushed forward and grabbed Old Madam Sun’s hand.
Then she launched into another tearful account of everything that had happened.
Naturally, she didn’t forget to curse Lin Wanqiu repeatedly throughout the story.
Old Madam Sun listened patiently, occasionally patting her hand in sympathy.
“Oh, you poor thing. What a terrible misfortune!”
She sighed.
“But Guihua, what’s done is done. You have to think about what comes next. Crying won’t bring your house back, will it?”
Wang Guihua wiped her eyes.
“You’re the only one with a heart, Sister Sun.”
Although she spoke gratefully, her gaze had already drifted toward the basket of eggs hanging from Old Madam Sun’s arm.
“Our family has suffered such a terrible disaster, and you’re the only one who thought to bring us something.”
“We’ve lived in the same village for so many years. There’s no need to stand on ceremony.”
Old Madam Sun smiled and handed her the basket.
“Here, take these eggs. You need to keep your strength up.”
Wang Guihua immediately accepted them.
Old Madam Sun continued, “But the most important thing right now is getting your house rebuilt while the weather is still warm.”
She looked toward the sky.
“Once autumn arrives and the temperatures start dropping, what will you do without a roof over your heads?”
Her words struck directly at Wang Guihua’s greatest worry.
“You’re absolutely right, Sister Sun.”
Wang Guihua sighed heavily.
“But what can we do? We don’t have a single cent left. Every bit of our money was stolen.”
Old Madam Sun’s eyes flickered.
She glanced around, then leaned closer and lowered her voice.
“Actually, Guihua, there’s another reason I came to see you today…”
Wang Guihua looked at her curiously.
“What is it?”
“Well, you know my Tiezhu is getting older.”
Old Madam Sun spoke carefully, watching Wang Guihua’s expression.
“He’s reached the age where he really ought to settle down and start a family.”
She paused.
“And I heard your Zhaodi hasn’t been promised to anyone yet…”
Wang Guihua immediately understood what the old woman was suggesting.
Her expression stiffened.
Inside, she was already cursing.
That shameless old hag!
How dare she even think about marrying her foolish son to my daughter?
Everyone in the village knew about Zhang Tiezhu.
He was already thirty years old, yet his mind had never fully developed.
All he seemed capable of doing was wandering around with a silly grin on his face.
Marry her daughter to a man like that?
In the past, Wang Guihua wouldn’t even have considered the possibility.
She would have chased Old Madam Sun away before the woman could finish speaking.
But now…
Her gaze fell on the basket of eggs in her hands.
Then she looked at the empty courtyard.
There was no house.
No furniture.
No grain.
Not even enough money to buy a proper meal.
For the first time, she hesitated.
“Sister Sun, your Tiezhu…”
She trailed off, uncertain how to continue.
Old Madam Sun hurriedly seized the opportunity.
“I know, I know. Tiezhu is a little… slow.”
She forced an encouraging smile.
“But he’s strong! He’s healthy, and he has plenty of strength for work!”
Her voice grew more enthusiastic.
“And I promise you, if Zhaodi marries into our family, I’ll treat her just like my own daughter!”
She leaned closer.
“She won’t suffer any hardships under my roof. I’ll make sure she’s well cared for.”
Then she paused deliberately.
A calculating gleam appeared in her eyes.
Slowly, Old Madam Sun raised four fingers.
“As for the bride price…”
She smiled.
“I’m willing to offer you this much.”