Zhou Wangzheng was rendered speechless by Luo Keke’s words. Although he was unwilling in every possible way, he simply could not find a reason to refute her.
His face alternated between pale and flushed as his gaze shifted between Luo Keke and Shen Biyun, clearly hoping to get some support from Shen Biyun.
Shen Biyun was distressed over giving up so many ration coupons and could not help speaking up. “Luo Keke, don’t push your luck! Two thousand ration coupons is no small amount. How could you possibly use that many by yourself in the countryside? You’re obviously taking advantage of this opportunity to extort us!”
Luo Keke raised her head, her eyes filled with innocence.
“Mom, how am I extorting you? I’m doing this so I can survive in the countryside. Think about it. Without ration coupons, even if I have money, I can’t buy food. Am I supposed to starve to death in the countryside?
“And besides, once I cut ties with you, even if the authorities tighten their scrutiny later and want to cause trouble for you, they won’t have any reason to do so. Isn’t that a good thing for you?”
Ye Shiyao also chimed in, “Dad, Mom, don’t listen to her! My sister just wants to take advantage of you and get more benefits for herself…”
Luo Keke glanced at Ye Shiyao and sneered.
“Sister, you’re not even willing to give up these few ration coupons. Don’t tell me you don’t want the job anymore?”
“You… you…” Ye Shiyao pointed at her, completely speechless.
Why did she feel as though Luo Keke had suddenly become a completely different person?
Seeing Ye Shiyao like this, Luo Keke stopped pretending to be pitiful. She smiled faintly and said, “My dear sister, don’t worry. As long as Dad gives me the ration coupons and the marriage certificate, we can talk about the job. Otherwise, I can’t guarantee what I might do.”
Zhou Wangzheng understood that Luo Keke now had the upper hand. If he refused her demands, things might very well spiral out of control.
Moreover, he genuinely feared the people from the Luo family. If they ever learned about what had happened to Luo Keke in the Zhou household, he would have a hard time dealing with the consequences.
After weighing his options repeatedly, he gritted his teeth and said, “Fine. I’ll give you two thousand ration coupons. But you must immediately transfer the job to Shiyao, and you’ll sign the severance agreement right now!”
After saying this, Zhou Wangzheng instructed Shen Biyun to fetch the ration coupons.
Although Shen Biyun was extremely reluctant, she could only turn around angrily and go to the bedroom to retrieve them under Zhou Wangzheng’s orders.
A short while later, she returned with a stack of ration coupons and reluctantly handed them to Luo Keke, her eyes filled with resentment.
Luo Keke accepted the coupons and opened them to take a look.
They were actually quite good. There were grain coupons, cloth coupons, meat coupons, cooking-oil coupons, sugar coupons, and various industrial coupons that could be used nationwide.
Among the many coupons, one bicycle coupon was particularly eye-catching.
In this era, bicycles were highly coveted items. Having one would make traveling around much more convenient.
Luo Keke carefully counted all the different coupons and silently added up their values.
Not a single coupon was missing. The total was exactly two thousand.
She nodded slightly, thinking to herself that with these two thousand coupons, even if she took supplies out of her space in the future, others would simply assume that she had exchanged these coupons for them. Surely no one would have any reason to suspect her without cause.
That would give her a reliable cover for many of the things she planned to do after going to the countryside.
A satisfied smile appeared on Luo Keke’s face as she carefully put the coupons away.
She then looked at Zhou Wangzheng and said, “Dad, since you’re being so straightforward, then let’s sign the severance agreement right now, as you suggested. And since you want me to go to the countryside, you’ll have to give me the Xiao family’s marriage certificate too, won’t you?”
Upon hearing this, Zhou Wangzheng stood up and personally went to the bedroom. He took a yellowed piece of paper from a drawer and tossed it to Luo Keke.
“Take it! This is the marriage certificate your mother wrote for you. I disagreed with it back then, but she insisted on arranging it for you. So if you have anyone to blame, blame your mother for not knowing her place. Don’t blame me…”
Luo Keke caught the marriage certificate and carefully unfolded it to examine it.
Although the paper had already yellowed with age, it was still relatively well preserved. Her mother’s signature was indeed on it.
Although Luo Keke did not understand why the original owner’s mother had arranged such a prestigious marriage for her, she believed that there must have been a reason behind her mother’s decision.
Luo Keke carefully put away the marriage certificate, then raised her head and looked directly at Zhou Wangzheng without the slightest trace of fear.
“Dad, now that I have the marriage certificate, where’s the severance agreement? Let’s sign it as soon as possible so there won’t be any trouble later.”
With a grim expression, Zhou Wangzheng actually took out a severance agreement that had already been prepared from the cabinet beside the dining table.
With a loud slap, he placed it on the table and said coldly, “Sign it! Once you do, you will no longer be my daughter, Zhou Wangzheng’s daughter. From now on, whether you live or die, whether you prosper or suffer, none of it will have anything to do with us!”
Luo Keke had already intended to sever her relationship with Zhou Wangzheng, so for her, this was not a difficult decision to make.
However, when she saw that Zhou Wangzheng had actually prepared the severance agreement long ago, she still could not help feeling a surge of emotion.
The prewritten document seemed like a blunt declaration of Zhou Wangzheng’s hatred toward her. Every word revealed how deeply he despised this daughter of his, as though he could not wait to erase her completely from his world.
She could not help feeling sorry for the original owner for having such a father.
Luo Keke stepped forward and glanced over the words on the severance agreement, her heart turning cold.
Without hesitation, she picked up the pen and signed her name at the bottom. Her movements were crisp and decisive, without the slightest trace of hesitation.
After signing, she pushed the agreement toward Zhou Wangzheng and said in a calm yet resolute voice, “Dad, the severance agreement has been signed. From today onward, all ties between us are completely severed. As for the job transfer, I’ll handle it with Sister at the hospital. You don’t need to worry about it.”
Zhou Wangzheng picked up the agreement and confirmed that Luo Keke’s signature was correct. He snorted coldly before putting it away in the drawer.
Ye Shiyao watched from the side. She was both jealous that Luo Keke had managed to obtain so many ration coupons and the marriage certificate, and worried that Luo Keke might play tricks during the job transfer.
Unable to hold back, she said, “Luo Keke, you’d better honestly explain everything and complete the job transfer properly. Don’t even think about deliberately making things difficult for me!”
Luo Keke looked at Ye Shiyao, a mocking smile curling at the corners of her lips.
“Don’t worry, Sister. Since I agreed to it, I’ll naturally do it. However, this job is quite valuable, so the transfer process might be a little troublesome. I hope you won’t mind waiting too long when the time comes.”
Ye Shiyao’s face flushed red with anger at Luo Keke’s tone, and she was just about to explode when Zhou Wangzheng spoke.
“That’s enough, Shiyao. Stop wasting time here. The two of you finish your breakfast quickly and go to the hospital to get everything settled. We still have to pack our things and hurry to Suzhou.”
Ye Shiyao shot Luo Keke a vicious glare and forcibly suppressed her anger before sitting back down at the table and hurriedly eating a few bites of breakfast.
Luo Keke also sat down leisurely and calmly finished her portion, completely ignoring Ye Shiyao’s hostile gaze throughout the entire meal.
After they finished eating, the two of them left the house together and headed to the hospital.
Along the way, Ye Shiyao kept calculating how she could quickly take over the job from Luo Keke while remaining secretly vigilant, afraid that Luo Keke might be plotting something behind her back.
As for Luo Keke, she remained completely composed. She appeared to be admiring the scenery along the way, but in reality, her mind was already working out how she could convince Ye Shiyao that the job had been properly transferred while making sure Ye Shiyao never actually got the job.