Qiao Zhenzhu supported her lower back with one hand while gently stroking her belly with the other, her face filled with sorrow.
“Dad, even if you gave everything in this family to Sinian as her dowry, I wouldn’t say a word about it. But why do you insist on throwing dirty water on me?
“I only got off the train this morning. I didn’t even step through the front door before following all of you to the hotel, and then to Director Xu’s office. How could I possibly have moved everything out of the house by myself?”
Director Xu, who had just walked out, heard this and looked at Wang Anquan with even greater contempt.
That entire Western-style villa had been filled with expensive furniture and valuables. Forget one person—even dozens of people couldn’t have emptied it in such a short amount of time.
To shirk responsibility, Wang Anquan actually wanted to pin it all on Qiao Zhenzhu. Did he think everyone else was an idiot?
Director Xu stepped forward with a smile.
“Wang Anquan, I already told you earlier—even if you gave everything away as your younger daughter’s dowry, it wouldn’t matter. There’s no need to push the blame onto someone else. Your family hasn’t been investigated yet. These things still belong to your household, and you’re free to dispose of them however you want.”
“Director Xu, it really wasn’t me—”
Wang Anquan tried to explain, but Director Xu had already turned away.
“Comrade Qiao Zhenzhu!” Director Xu’s smile grew noticeably more sincere. “Why did you suddenly return to Shanghai? And why did you suddenly decide to hand over your family home and businesses?”
Qiao Zhenzhu immediately straightened her expression.
“Director Xu, you know I’m married. My husband is a soldier—a defender of the people. I’ve been married to him for more than eight months, and being by his side has changed me completely.
“The me now is no longer the person I used to be!
“All I want now is to contribute to the country and to the people. But I’m just one person—and a pregnant woman at that. What could I possibly do? Then I remembered that I still had houses and the businesses my mother left behind, so I came back despite my pregnancy.
“I wanted to accomplish this before my child is born—to set an example for my future child! And to show my husband that women can hold up half the sky too!”
Her impassioned speech moved everyone present, including Director Xu and the people behind him.
“Excellent!” Director Xu praised loudly. “Very well said! If everyone had your level of awareness and was willing to contribute their own strength to the nation, how could our country fail to prosper? It’s just a pity that some people…”
He didn’t finish the sentence, but his glance toward Wang Anquan and Chen Wan said everything.
Ignoring whatever expressions the two wore, Director Xu quickly continued.
“Comrade Qiao Zhenzhu, in recognition of your outstanding character and selfless contribution, I will submit a request for official commendation and recognition!”
The huge weight in Qiao Zhenzhu’s heart finally lifted. Her smile turned bright and grateful.
“Thank you, Director Xu! This is simply what I should do!”
Although she was already married and her household registration had been transferred away, she was still born into this family. That made her an easy target for criticism—and even more vulnerable to political trouble.
But once she received official praise and commendation, no one would be able to use her background against her again.
Besides the things she had just collected from the house, she also possessed countless supplies gathered during the apocalypse.
With those resources, once economic reforms began in the future, she would have more than enough ways to rebuild her fortune.
Making money would be easy.
The difficult part was surviving the next decade or so safely and peacefully.
Compared to her own safety and her child’s future, those garden villas and Shanghai businesses meant absolutely nothing.
Director Xu brought people with him and had all the locks inside and outside the house replaced immediately.
Once the locks were secured, he left happily with his men.
Qiao Zhenzhu had donated too many things, and there was still a mountain of work waiting for him.
While Director Xu had been present, Wang Anquan had behaved obediently like a grandson.
But the moment Director Xu left, he instantly straightened his back and puffed himself up again.
“Qiao Zhenzhu, I’m your father! I’m the head of this household! You donated all of the family properties and businesses without even asking for my opinion? Are you trying to rebel against heaven itself? Now that everything’s gone, where are your Aunt Chen and I supposed to live?”
Chen Wan also wiped away tears as she spoke.
“That’s right, Zhenzhu. Even if you have some grievance against me and want to target me on purpose, you can’t ignore your father!”
One played the villain, the other played the victim—their coordination was flawless.
For years, the original owner of this body had been manipulated by exactly this kind of double act.
But that had been the original owner.
She was not the same person.
Qiao Zhenzhu raised her voice.
“Sacrificing the small family for the greater good—what’s wrong with what I did? If you insist I’m wrong, Director Xu and the others haven’t gone far yet. Let’s go ask him directly and see whether I was wrong or not!”
“You—!” Wang Anquan glared at her viciously. “Don’t think that just because Director Xu backed you up, I won’t dare deal with you!”
“Then hit me.”
Qiao Zhenzhu actually stepped forward as she spoke.
“You’d better hit hard. But as long as you don’t beat me to death, then the one who dies will be you! The moment you lay a hand on me, it means you’re dissatisfied with government policy and dissatisfied with the country itself. Are you trying to become a counterrevolutionary?”
With every sentence she spoke, Wang Anquan’s expression turned uglier.
If those words reached Director Xu’s ears, he would absolutely be finished.
Seeing that Wang Anquan neither moved nor spoke, the contempt in Qiao Zhenzhu’s eyes deepened further.
“And stop pretending to be poor. You already gave all the valuables in the house to Wang Sinian as her dowry. Since you have nowhere to live now, perfect—go stay with the Xie family and Wang Sinian.
“You’ve devoted yourselves heart and soul to her for so many years. It’s about time she repaid you. Otherwise, wouldn’t raising that daughter have been pointless?”
Before Wang Anquan could say anything, Chen Wan objected first.
“How could that work? Sinian just married into the Xie family. If we move in right away, what will the Xie family think of her…?”
Qiao Zhenzhu nodded in sudden realization.
“So in your heart, Wang Sinian really is the most important one. For your daughter’s happiness, your husband can sleep on the streets instead?
“But I suppose that makes sense. If a husband’s gone, you can always find another one. But if you lose your daughter… at your age, it probably wouldn’t be easy to have another child.”
Her words infuriated both Wang Anquan and Chen Wan to the point they nearly exploded.
Wang Anquan turned toward Chen Wan with a dark expression.
“You want me sleeping on the streets?”
Chen Wan hurriedly shook her head.
“N-No! Of course I don’t mean that!”
“Then let’s go. We’ll head to the Xie family first.”
After saying that, Wang Anquan turned and walked away.
He had already gotten up early today to deal with Wang Sinian’s wedding.
After running around the entire day and then suffering blow after blow upon returning home, he was utterly exhausted.
He planned to rest at the Xie family’s place first, then carefully think about what to do next.
Chen Wan wanted to stop him, but after meeting Wang Anquan’s icy gaze, she swallowed her words and followed him into the car instead.
Sitting in the car, both Wang Anquan and Chen Wan glared fiercely at Qiao Zhenzhu.
Wang Anquan slammed the gear into place and stomped hard on the accelerator.
In the very next moment, both front tires blew out simultaneously.
The car had already been moving fast, and after the blowout, it immediately spun out of control. Finally, it smashed through the guardrail and plunged straight into the river.
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