Raising her voice so everyone could hear, Liu Ermao’s wife shouted, “Well, would you look at that! The Jiang family—those people with no son to carry on the family line—have finally landed themselves in big trouble!”
People from the courtyard gradually gathered around, craning their necks toward the Jiang residence.
“Hey, Ermao’s wife, what’s going on?” they asked.
She became even more animated, practically spraying saliva as she spoke.
“They’ve finally been caught with their capitalist tail showing! Someone reported them, and now there’s an investigation team at their house! I always said the way they ate and dressed wasn’t normal.”
Her face was filled with contempt.
Normally, she spoke of the Jiang family out of jealousy. But today she felt nothing but satisfaction.
Serves them right! They’re finally being investigated!
Several women who were close to her immediately chimed in with mocking laughter.
“Exactly! People shouldn’t show off too much. Karma always catches up with them.”
Both of Jiang Xiaoci’s parents worked at the garment factory, one of the best workplaces around. Naturally, many people in the residential compound envied them.
Most of the neighbors, however, were decent people and got along well with the Jiang family. They merely frowned at the malicious gossip and ignored the spiteful women.
Liu Ermao’s wife clapped her hands and continued smugly,
“Isn’t that the truth? They acted like they were so amazing every day. They only had a daughter, yet they treated that little girl like some priceless treasure. Bah! Even my sons don’t get pampered like that.”
One of her friends sneered.
“Let’s see how smug they are now. They’ve got hard times ahead of them!”
Everyone in the compound struggled to get by.
Why should the Jiang family be the only ones living such a comfortable life?
Liu Ermao’s wife had disliked them for years.
She herself had given birth to a daughter first, followed by two sons. Having two boys had earned her plenty of admiration in the compound.
Yet despite having two sons, her life was still worse than that of the Jiang family—a household with only a single daughter.
She remembered it vividly.
When she gave birth to her sons, she couldn’t bear to eat eggs at every meal during her postpartum recovery.
But when Mrs. Jiang gave birth to a mere daughter, she had meat on the table every single meal.
How could she not resent that?
She had held onto that bitterness for years, even arguing countless times with her husband over it.
As a result, the Liu family and the Jiang family had never gotten along.
She had watched from across the courtyard as Jiang Decai and his wife doted on each other, showering their only daughter with endless love.
Then she looked at her own three children.
Even her precious sons lived worse than Jiang Xiaoci did.
The jealousy nearly consumed her.
Now that she finally had a chance to vent, she wasn’t about to let it pass.
The commotion at the Jiang house was impossible to ignore.
Naturally, it also caught Lu Yaozu’s attention.
After being turned away by Jiang Xiaoci and her mother earlier, he had been secretly keeping an eye on the Jiang household.
He calculated that several days had already passed since he submitted the anonymous report.
The investigation team should be arriving any time now.
Unable to get inside earlier to test the waters, he’d grown increasingly uneasy and had wandered around nearby.
To his delight, he had actually seen the investigation vehicle pull up.
So he hurried over to watch the show.
As he approached, his eyes stayed fixed on the Jiang residence.
On the surface, he merely looked curious and surprised.
Inside, however, he was overjoyed.
Everything was unfolding exactly as he’d planned.
The Jiang family had slammed the door in his face earlier.
Now their house was about to be searched.
What could possibly feel more satisfying than that?
He smugly calculated in his heart,
“Once the Jiang family has their property confiscated, Jiang Xiaoci will definitely panic and fall apart.”
“Then I’ll appear at just the right moment, confess my feelings, comfort her while she’s vulnerable, and win her over.”
“Once she’s frightened and grateful, maybe she’ll even throw herself into my arms. Then everything will go exactly as I want. She’ll obediently marry me… and bring the Jiang family’s fortune with her.”
The more he thought about it, the wider the smile at the corners of his mouth became.
Unfortunately for him…
By the time he reached the Jiang residence, the search was already over.
Many neighbors crowded outside the courtyard, stretching their necks to look inside.
The gossip had quieted.
Because the noises from inside the house had stopped.
Instead, they heard investigators reporting one after another.
“Report! No unidentified valuables found inside the house.”
“Report! No suspicious property found in the kitchen.”
“Report! The storage room and living room have been thoroughly searched. No unidentified valuables discovered.”
…
Seven or eight investigators had conducted a meticulous, inch-by-inch search.
They had practically turned the entire house upside down.
Forget hidden riches—
They hadn’t even found a single valuable coin.
Team Leader Xu looked around at the Jiang home.
The rooms were now a complete mess from the search.
The furniture was old and worn.
Some of the porcelain bowls were chipped but still being used.
His conclusion was obvious.
There wasn’t any hidden fortune here.
At the very least, it was nothing like what the anonymous report had claimed—that the Jiang family lived extravagantly while secretly hoarding enormous wealth.
If they truly possessed a fortune…
Then why was the pretty young woman of the house dressed so plainly?
Why was all their furniture old and secondhand?
Compared to ordinary families, they weren’t living any better.
Standing right at the entrance, Lu Yaozu heard every word clearly.
He was stunned.
“They didn’t find any hidden wealth? How is that possible?”
Growing anxious—and wanting to salvage his image in front of Jiang Xiaoci—he immediately put on a concerned expression and walked into the courtyard.
Jiang Xiaoci was standing calmly near the doorway, quietly listening to the investigation team’s report.
He hurried over and asked with fake concern,
“Xiaoci… what happened?”
She glanced at him.
Her sharp, piercing gaze startled him.
Could she know something?
But after another thought, he dismissed the idea.
Impossible.
The report had been anonymous.
Aside from himself and Miaomiao, no one knew about it.
And Miaomiao would never betray him.
Sure enough, Jiang Xiaoci quickly looked away.
Surveying the house that had been turned upside down, she smiled faintly.
“I have no idea which lunatic had nothing better to do than report our family as capitalist sympathizers. Did they even look at the condition of our house? Where would we get the money to become capitalists?”
Lu Yaozu’s expression stiffened.
Still pretending everything was normal, he forced a smile.
“I-Is that so? Then… do you know who reported you?”
Jiang Xiaoci shook her head.
Seeing that, Lu Yaozu finally relaxed completely.
Then he heard her let out a cold laugh.
“It was probably someone with a screw loose. Someone that vicious deserves retribution.”
“If it’s a man, I hope he ends up impotent and useless for the rest of his life.”
“If it’s a woman, I hope she spends her entire life giving birth until her body breaks down.”
“That would be karma.”