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Chapter 30: The Gathering
After the fourth day of the New Year, Chen Jin tidied up her things at home and prepared to drag her suitcase back to the small western-style house.
Although Hanlin Garden was more bustling and lively, with a view overlooking half of Rong City’s lights from the floor-to-ceiling windows at night and easy access to the Rose Garden for entertainment, she still felt more comfortable living in the small house. After the New Year, she was going to attend a makeup training class, and it was closer to the small house.
On the third day of the New Year, everyone went to her eldest uncle’s house for a meal, and the aunt’s family, who hadn’t shown up for a long time, finally arrived.
Chen Jin’s idea of traveling to Beijing received her aunt’s approval. In fact, her aunt even arranged a trip to Shanghai, estimating that the round trip would take about ten days, meaning she wouldn’t be back in time for the city library on March 1st.
Her second uncle waved his hand dismissively, “It’s fine, you can go enjoy yourself. You can go to work later. As for that job, I’ll inquire more for you. If it doesn’t work out, we won’t bother with the internship; it would be a waste of time. If it does work out, just a few days of internship will help you adapt early.”
Whether it would work out or not was hard to say. Nowadays, every organization was hiring, and while they said they would assign positions, many of them were just organizations picking people; who knew if someone had already been chosen?
Chen Jin replied, “Alright, Uncle, you don’t need to worry too much. If I don’t get a job, I’ll just open a small supermarket with Miao Miao.”
Speaking of Tian Miao, she had gone back to her dad’s place to celebrate the New Year on New Year’s Eve. Her dad lived in a small town at the bottom of Rong City and would only be back for a few days. This year, her third cousin had a car and said he would come to pick her up after the fourth day of the New Year.
The third uncle and third aunt mentioned that they wanted to divide one of the houses in beautiful Community between the younger aunt and Tian Miao, but neither of them agreed. Miao Miao was worried that if the house was in her name, her dad would have his eyes on it, saying she would wait until she saved enough money to buy a smaller one. The younger aunt was afraid that if she owned a house, it would benefit Zhang Leye’s two children.
Her eldest uncle glared at her, “That’s not acceptable. It’s not easy to graduate from NTU; if you don’t get a good job, that’s a problem.” He turned to the second uncle and said, “You and your wife need to pay more attention. Getting a good position is important; it’ll change the people you know in the future.”
He didn’t say that it would also be easier to find a good partner later on. Even if they weren’t in a hurry to find someone now, what if they wanted to find someone in the future? They needed to find someone good!
Besides, being young and staying at home all day would make anyone dull. It was better to get out and see the world.
Chen Jin stuck out her tongue, not daring to argue with her eldest uncle. She smiled and joined the others playing cards.
Since the second day of the New Year, Chen Ting hadn’t approached her again and didn’t bring up her senior in front of everyone anymore. She wondered what kind of trouble would arise when Chen Ting returned to work.
Second cousin Chen Yongxin said, “Last night, Mom and Dad made it clear to her that the house and money are in her name, and how she wants to deal with it is her business. But if she gets cheated out of it later, she shouldn’t come crying back home. Besides the dividends she gets from the company every year, there won’t be any other support.”
Chen Jin leaned over and whispered to her cousin, “For someone as stubborn as our cousin, you should just say something harsh to make her rethink.”
“Chen Jin, are you talking bad about me?” Chen Ting suddenly opened the door, her face sour as she sat down across from them, staring at her and her cousin.
“I’m not talking bad about you; I said you should rethink a bit.” Chen Jin honestly replied, quickly adding before Chen Ting could get angry, “Didn’t you ask me where I bought my clothes last time? It’s from the women’s clothing store on the second floor of the old department store in Dongcheng District. You should check it out; they’re releasing new spring styles the day after tomorrow.”
“You know they’re releasing new styles the day after tomorrow?” Chen Ting’s train of thought was derailed, and she started focusing on the clothing issue.
She really liked the clothes Chen Jin bought. They were simple styles that could be found in many places, but the ones Chen Jin got were of better fit and quality, which was why she couldn’t help but ask yesterday. But yesterday, Chen Jin ignored her after she mentioned her senior brother.
“I bought a lot last time, and the owner asked for my phone number.” They said they would call to notify her when new styles came in, and they really did.
“Oh.” Chen Ting felt a pang of jealousy; Chen Jin was living too freely, and she considered whether she should quit her job and just stay home since she made decent rent money every month.
But this thought barely surfaced before she suppressed it. Being a nurse was exhausting, but she had worked hard to get here. If she gave up now, it would be too painful for her.
“Why did you think about going to Beijing?” Chen Ting asked.
“Since I have some free time now, I thought I’d go see. My aunt wants to go too; she wants to check out those high-end clothing stores in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai.”
At that time, not only would her aunt go, but also her third uncle, third aunt, Chen Jia, and their cousin Chen Yongfei. Chen Yong’an wanted to go, but he had to stay behind for tutoring. The others couldn’t spare the time to go.
Her cousin Chen Yongxin sighed. After the holiday, he had to go back to work and start preparing for the large plot of land they had acquired. He envied Chen Yongfei, who could ask for leave to go play; he couldn’t because his own company needed him. Moreover, his father had made it clear that even though the three siblings only received a one percent dividend now, the family construction company would eventually be passed down to him.
Chen Jin asked her cousin Gu Minmin if she wanted to go to Beijing with them. She was an elementary school teacher and had no other work during the winter and summer vacations, so she had time to go.
“I’m not going. I have an appointment with my colleagues.”
“Oh, okay.” Chen Jin asked and then let it go.
Seeing Chen Jin able to go out and play whenever, Gu Minmin recalled what her mother, Chen Yun, had been nagging about at home. Her mother said the three uncles, little aunt, and Chen Jin had all become rich due to demolition projects and were living far better than her family, without thinking of giving her any share.
Gu Minmin wasn’t unreasonable; she understood her mother was just saying that out of frustration. Why should they give her family any money from their earnings?
She didn’t feel jealous either; she was the only child in her family, and wasn’t everything her parents owned eventually going to be hers? There was quite a lot of it.
They decided to set off for Beijing on the 22nd, which was perfect since Chen Jin’s makeup training course ended on the 21st.
Her little aunt arrived late today, bringing a lot of nutritional supplements. “These are gifts bought during the New Year for relatives, and I brought some over.”
Since she wasn’t taking them, they were just going to be taken by two other sisters-in-law to their own families, so she figured she might as well bring them.
“Do you know there was a car accident in the suburban area of Nancheng on New Year’s Eve? Our village people were rushing back to light incense, and the person who caused the accident was the son of our village accountant. He drove without a license and crashed while arguing with his wife. Fortunately, no one was injured, but the family of the other party is demanding five hundred thousand in compensation, or they will sue him for several years in prison.”
“Our village accountant is quite cunning. He says he doesn’t have that much money and is now borrowing from the big households involved in the village demolition. He approached my father-in-law yesterday, but there hasn’t been any result yet. From what I hear, they’re going to borrow, but only about ten to twenty thousand at most.”
After going around, it was still a story from their village.
At that moment, Chen Jin felt that her third uncle and third aunt were strict with her third cousin and cousin, not easily giving them money because they probably worried they’d go astray if they had too much cash.
Her third uncle then asked her little aunt, “Last time we had dinner, your father-in-law said he would buy you a shop. What happened with that?”
Her little aunt snorted coldly. “He said it was for me, but later it turned into the shop being registered under Zhang Leye’s name. My sister-in-law and younger siblings argued that they should get one too, so I just said I didn’t want it. My father-in-law wants to learn from the older brother and buy a piece of land to build houses. He doesn’t have that much cash flow now. I guess he regrets buying four sets of apartments in Hanlin Garden now.”
“Fine if you don’t want to buy it,” her third uncle said, not disappointed. He specifically reminded her, “You’re still living over there; don’t oppose Zhang Leye too much. It’s best to leave his issues with his two kids alone.”
“I’m not involved. Zhang Bai and Zhang Xue’s grandparents are keeping a close eye on them, trying to get my father-in-law’s things transferred to them. But they don’t have much influence with my in-laws; they can’t compare to the bigger or the smaller.”
“Hmm, after returning from Beijing, you should come over and help us with the store. It’s good to find something for yourself to do,” her third uncle suggested again, asking her little aunt if she wanted to join them in Beijing. She readily agreed.
But if they went to Beijing, the opening times for the two stores would have to be pushed back a bit.
Today, her older aunt was especially quiet. In previous times, she had found various excuses not to join everyone for meals, but this time she came. No one said much, but the attitudes of her older uncle and second uncle toward her had cooled.
In a family, when there are minor conflicts, they usually just resolve them after a talk. Her older uncle had extended a few olive branches, but her older aunt still held onto her pride, which wasn’t going to make them happy, was it?
Not to mention Chen Jin and her third uncle hosting a housewarming meal for the family, even when Zhang’s family invited everyone out for a meal to support her little aunt, she still didn’t come. Everyone wasn’t oblivious; the wholesale business in the stall couldn’t turn around without her for half a day.
Anyway, Chen noticed it because last time, when her aunt didn’t come to support her, her uncle was very angry.
After dinner, everyone went back to their homes. Chen Jia and Chen Yongan didn’t follow Chen Jin to her house; they had their own relatives to visit on the fourth day of the New Year.
Her grandfather called her, asking when she would come back for a visit. Chen Jin made excuses, saying she was busy and refused to meet the Liu family from Qiaoxi Village, to avoid seeing her father’s side of the family.
Sigh, she was doing it for their own good. If she lived well and kept showing up in front of them, wouldn’t that just make them feel worse? She was being considerate by not going to the old Liu family to join the fun; they should be grateful to her.
Although she didn’t want to deal with the old Liu family, she contacted Lan Meiying and had a phone call with her.
She originally wanted to say that she could lend money to Lan Meiying to start a clothing stall, but Lan Meiying brought it up first, saying she would save for three more months and then quit her job to set up a stall near the university, completely avoiding the topic of money with Chen Jin.
Chen Jin said that if she needed help, she could contact her, and Lan Meiying replied that she didn’t need it for now, so Chen Jin dropped the subject.
On the fourth day of the New Year, she went to Wanmin Square to watch a movie and ran into her high school classmate Du Xiaoyu when she came out.
“It’s you, Chen Jin! I almost didn’t recognize you,” Du Xiaoyu greeted her warmly. “By the way, the class monitor said there’s a gathering on the sixth. Everyone is invited, and over twenty people have already signed up. Did you get the news?”
Chen Jin raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t get the news, and I don’t plan to go.”
She couldn’t even remember the last name of their class monitor, just that he was a tall and strong boy who always spouted grand ideas. His grades weren’t great, but the teachers liked him.
Only Du Xiaoyu, having been her deskmate for three years, could recognize her. If it were anyone else, she really might not have recognized them.
Besides, what was the point of attending a class gathering? She had a mediocre relationship with her classmates, and a few of them had even cried after she scolded them. She didn’t have any fondness for her high school classmates.
In college, she didn’t make many friends, mainly because Chen Jin was too busy studying and earning scholarships, although she got along well with Lin Xinran.
In fact, she had a decent friend in high school from the neighboring class. They had become closer over time by frequently receiving awards together, sharing notes, and discussing study methods. However, that friend was specially recruited into the military academy, a smart and athletic beauty.
Since graduating high school, she hadn’t seen that friend at all. Sigh, suddenly remembering her made Chen Jin feel a bit nostalgic.
Du Xiaoyu secretly examined Chen Jin’s outfit and continued to persuade her, “You should go. We’re all preparing for job assignments after graduation; having more friends means more opportunities.”
Chen Jin still refused, “No, no, I have other things to do.”
Without mutual benefits, how could others provide more opportunities? She was worried they might block her path instead.
“Are you not going because of Li Xingyi?” Du Xiaoyu suddenly remembered this detail.
She almost forgot that after graduating high school, Chen Jin had dated Li Xingyi. When news spread, everyone was surprised that they actually got together. But Du Xiaoyu wasn’t particularly surprised; she had noticed that Li Xingyi treated Chen Jin differently back in high school.
Who would have thought that Li Xingyi and Chen Jin broke up? She heard about it from classmates studying at NTU.
If Chen Jin was bothered that Li Xingyi would be there, it would make sense. Moreover, Li Xingyi said he would bring his girlfriend along; they were already engaged and planning to marry. It would be awkward for Chen Jin to show up now.
“That crazy guy is going too? Then I definitely can’t go,” Chen Jin complained.
The other crazy girl would probably go as well.
“You guys have your gathering,” Chen Jin kindly reminded her, “It’s best to have less contact with people who aren’t all there.”
Du Xiaoyu smiled awkwardly and stopped trying to convince Chen Jin. After three and a half years since graduation, she had forgotten how fierce Chen Jin could be when scolding people in class. Thinking about it, it was better for Chen Jin not to go, to avoid ruining a nice gathering.
“You’re leaving? Let’s go together.”
Chen Jin replied, “Oh, I’m heading to the parking lot. Did you drive here too?”
“Huh? No…”
“Then we’re not on the same route. See you!” Chen Jin said, walking away. She and this deskmate weren’t close enough to give her a ride. Although this deskmate hadn’t joined others in ostracizing her, she hadn’t helped her either, so she considered her just a stranger.
As Chen Jin drove out, she saw Du Xiaoyu waiting at the bus stop. Although their eyes met, Chen Jin pretended not to see her and drove past.
Du Xiaoyu was left puzzled: Has Chen Jin’s family done well over the years?
After the fourth day of the New Year, Chen Jin packed up her things at home, folded her quilt, put it in the wardrobe, and packed up the leftover food in the fridge to take to the small western-style building, then pulled the main circuit breaker at home, feeling much more at ease.
When Chen Jin returned to the small western-style building, Professor Song and his family next door hadn’t come back. She wondered if they had gone visiting relatives with their son. The neighbors next door were also not home; she deduced this because there were no cars parked in front of their yard.
After coming back, she first took down the lantern hanging at the front door, then organized her things and checked what food was left in the fridge. Next, she went upstairs to change the sheets and duvet in the master bedroom, tossing the used ones into the washing machine.
There wasn’t much to do; going up and down made her seem very busy, but she particularly enjoyed this kind of trivial busyness. It felt like the little house she had imagined while playing house as a child had become a reality, and she was gradually accumulating the things she loved.
In the afternoon, she drove out to buy some food. On her way, she drove to the old department store in the eastern district and stopped by to buy quite a few pieces of spring clothing.
She really loved the clothing style of this store; the designs were simple and versatile, and the fit suited her perfectly. The key was that the quality was also good. According to the store owner, this shop was a direct retail outlet of the Rong City Baiyou Clothing Factory.
Baiyou Clothing had been popular for over a decade, reaching its peak from the 1970s to the mid-1980s. She remembered going shopping with her mother in junior high, specifically looking for clothes made by Baiyou. Gradually, Baiyou faded from public view and had been virtually unheard of for the past two or three years. She didn’t expect to hear the name Baiyou Clothing Factory again at this moment.
There weren’t many customers in the store, so since she was considered a “big client,” the store owner chatted with her a bit more.
“The factory was about to go bankrupt six months ago because they couldn’t pay salaries. Then a new factory manager took over and specifically hired professional designers to design clothes, which finally brought in some orders and allowed us to pay the workers, but it’s still far from enough.”
Chen Jin had few relatives working in state-owned enterprises, so she couldn’t feel the rapid decline or disappearance of many domestic brands while the economy was developing quickly. It might be a milk brand or a clothing brand. Even when she suddenly didn’t see the shampoo she usually bought in the convenience store or supermarket one day, she would just think that perhaps the owner forgot to restock, and then she would pick up another brand of shampoo that stood out on the shelf.
Because this once-familiar clothing brand reminded her of the days spent shopping with her mother in the clothing section of the department store, she started to hope that the Baiyou brand could continue to thrive for a long time.
Chen Jin looked around the store’s bright and simple decor and smiled, “Baiyou used to be glorious; it will surely stand up again in the future. When I go back, I’ll help promote you to my classmates and friends. By the way, is this your only direct retail store now?”
The store manager was pleasantly surprised and repeatedly thanked her, saying, “We’re still selecting locations for stores in the western district and university town. The latest by the end of the year, we should be able to open.”
When Chen Jin left with several bags of clothes, she also took away a lot of promotional flyers.
Her home wardrobe gradually filled with new clothes; it finally wasn’t empty anymore.
On the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, she cooked a bowl of noodles at home, then drove out to Sister Jiang’s makeup store.
Sister Jiang’s makeup store was flanked by her hair salon and wedding dress shop, mastering the makeup and styling business. On the first floor of the makeup store, half was dedicated to selling cosmetics, while the other half was the makeup area. The second floor had a VIP room specifically for members and training classes.
After Chen Jin arrived, she was taken to the second floor to learn makeup techniques with a few older ladies.
Indeed, they were older ladies, and one was even older than her mother.
Sister Jiang was very good at doing business with wealthy women; the training classes had a maximum of six people, with training fees of only a few hundred yuan per person. However, Sister Jiang valued not just the training fees but the future spending of these participants in her hair salon and cosmetics shop, as well as the word-of-mouth spreading from these individuals, helping her shop stand out from many other makeup and hair salons and become a top choice for wealthy women.
Of course, those who didn’t spend thousands at her hair salon or cosmetics shop wouldn’t even be allowed into her training class. Chen Jin had entered through a backdoor thanks to Aunt Kexin.
“The young lady is so young; your skin looks great with any makeup! By the way, what business is your family in?”
Chen Jin replied, “My family is preparing to open a small supermarket; it’s not much of a business.”
She figured out the situation on her first day of class; the older ladies there didn’t all genuinely want to learn. They were all from the same circle, bringing each other along to find an excuse to get together, get to know each other, and perhaps collaborate on business in the future.
Chen Jin didn’t want to tell them she came in because of her connections to avoid making them feel that the quality was lowered and affecting Sister Jiang’s business.
That’s what Chen Jin thought, but the older ladies all laughed and said opening a supermarket was good. Noticing Chen Jin didn’t want to continue the conversation, they didn’t press her further. They all looked like they were dressed to the nines, but interacting with them felt like a breath of fresh air.
“Xiao Jin, how about going for afternoon tea with the older sisters?”
“Ah, no, no, I…”
“Oh come on, aren’t you on vacation now? Let’s go, it’s just across the street at the restaurant run by Sister Zhao.”
Chen Jin: “……”
She really couldn’t refuse the enthusiastic older ladies.
At the same time, she felt guilty. These older ladies wouldn’t think she was some rich second-generation heir, would they…?
However, they didn’t mention any business or work-related matters afterward; they talked about which clothing store had opened or where there was an exhibition…
Chen Jin envied them: the lives of rich women were so exciting and fulfilling; did they really have to spend so much money every day for work?
By the time Chen Jin got home, she felt a bit dazed. She had gone to learn makeup but felt like she had participated in a gathering of wealthy ladies.
Ah! She was really the number one freeloader!
In a private room at a restaurant in the eastern district.
Li Xingyi brought Bai Ling to attend a high school reunion. Before coming, he specifically called the class monitor to ask if Chen Jin would attend. Only after learning that she wouldn’t be there did he feel at ease to come.
Last time when he went to buy New Year’s goods, he ran into Chen Jin, and Bai Ling was mad at him for several days. Yesterday, their families got together, which gave him a chance to appease her, so he definitely couldn’t run into Chen Jin again.
Also attending the reunion, Li Xingyi finally understood why Chen Jin had suddenly become wealthy.
It started when someone joked or perhaps said it on purpose, claiming that Chen Jin was just average, with nothing but good grades to her name.
However, Chen Jin’s deskmate, Du Xiaoyu, said, “I ran into Chen Jin at Wanmin Square a few days ago; she’s really pretty now, and she even drives a Santana. Her family must have done well now.”
“No way? Did you really see her driving? A Santana? Are you sure you didn’t mistake her for someone else?” some classmates doubted. “Chen Jin’s family is from a village under Nancheng; I remember her family is from either Qiaodong Village or Qiaoxi Village, anyway, it’s not close to the suburbs. How could they get rich farming? They must have won the lottery, haha.”
“Exactly, Chen Jin is just a country girl; she’s nothing but a bookworm.”
“By the way, has she secured a job placement? She probably won’t land a good city job, right? They don’t only look at grades…”
The group laughed, all of whom had bullied Chen Jin in high school and then had been dealt with by her.
Bai Ling secretly rejoiced and said to him, “So Chen Jin used to be so disliked in your class?” After saying that, he felt it was normal. “With her personality, she really isn’t likable.”
Li Xingyi responded perfunctorily.
Does this mean he was blind to have dated Chen Jin in the first place?
“Ha, what a lucky lottery win! Chen Jin’s family is from Qiaodong Village; their house was demolished.” The only male classmate in the room who seemed carefree scanned the crowd and found them amusing, pretending to be impressive while secretly being like this.
He had kept quiet earlier to let them laugh first, but now he dropped a bombshell:
“Chen Jin’s family has two buildings, several hundred square meters of land, and a large orchard. She’s the only one in her family; the demolition compensation is enough for her to buy dozens of Santanas.”
“You’re all laughing at someone who has nothing, while she bought a small villa near NTU and a flat in Hanlin Garden, all worth over a million. She even bought dozens of properties, and her rental income is higher than your monthly salary.”
The room fell silent, and everyone’s breathing became particularly noticeable.
“Tang, Tang Zuming, is what you said true? How do you know?”
Tang Zuming sneered at the doubts from everyone, “My relatives are from Qiaodong Village, and they’re from the same village as Chen Jin. The compensation Chen Jin received is definitely among the top in their village. You all are really worrying about nothing, thinking about her job allocation when she can lie at home and earn more than you all.”
For some reason, even though it was Chen Jin who got rich from the demolition, he felt the thrill of wealth himself, fiercely slapping those with dog eyes that look down on others!
Some felt hot and embarrassed, while others couldn’t stand Tang Zuming’s sarcastic tone and directly pointed out his sore spot, “Now that Chen Jin is so rich, she’s even less likely to look down on you. I don’t know what you’re so proud of; it’s not like your family got demolished.”
Tang Zuming got angry, standing up and slapping the table, “Damn it! How many times do I have to explain it? I don’t have feelings for Chen Jin!”
Someone didn’t believe him, “No feelings for Chen Jin? Didn’t you send her love letters in high school?”
“Damn it! Who spread that rumor about me? When did I ever send Chen Jin a love letter?” He clearly asked Chen Jin to pass on a love letter for him, but she just threw it in the trash!
After all, Chen Jin was that person’s friend. Since she wasn’t in Rong City, he was just being kind to say a few words for her friend.
But if anyone said he had feelings for Chen Jin, he would really explode!
Tang Zuming’s anger seemed justified, and everyone felt uncertain. Could it be that there really was some random gossip back then?
However, the focus now wasn’t on Tang Zuming and Chen Jin; it was that Chen Jin’s family had actually been demolished! She received a lot of compensation!
Li Xingyi’s long-standing confusion was answered, but he felt even more uncomfortable:
Chen Jin was so rich! She owned a small villa and a flat in Hanlin Garden?!!
When his family said they would buy him a house in the city center, Hanlin Garden was too expensive, so they chose Rose Garden instead. Yet, Chen Jin already owned one! And she had dozens of rental properties?
He felt uneasy.
He had previously been smug, thinking that Chen Jin didn’t match his family’s conditions, but in reality, his family’s resources were tilted toward his older brother, and he didn’t even know how much more wealth Chen Jin had than him!
He couldn’t tell if he regretted it, but he now felt very embarrassed. Back during the summer vacation, when he and Bai Ling drove past, he specifically went to say those things to Chen Jin. Did she think he and Bai Ling were ridiculous back then?
In Chen Jin’s words, they were like “crazy men and women”…
He felt as if his face was being ground into the ground, wanting nothing more than to find a hole to crawl into.
Beside him, Bai Ling also had an ugly expression. She didn’t expect Chen Jin’s family to be demolished! No wonder she could afford to buy a small villa next to NTU!
Bai Ling was fuming, and when she saw Li Xingyi lowering his head, not knowing what he was thinking, her anger grew even more. Why was it Chen Jin’s family that got demolished? She was really going to explode!
While angry, she also became wary. She previously thought Li Xingyi wouldn’t give her up for Chen Jin, but what about Chen Jin now? Even if Li Xingyi didn’t dare to do anything to her for the sake of their families’ cooperation…
Chen Jin didn’t attend the class reunion, but this gathering still made everyone feel uncomfortable because of her. Imagine that the person they could only belittle based on “family background” has now become a millionaire or even possibly a billionaire, while they laughed at her behind her back…
Why did it have to be Chen Jin’s family that got demolished?!
This damn fate! So unfair!
Everyone lost interest in discussing future job placements. Regardless of how good a job was, the benefits couldn’t compare to Chen Jin’s rental income. The reunion quickly broke up.
Du Xiaoyu left with friends she was close to, and once they were far away, several friends chased after her to ask about Chen Jin’s current situation.
Du Xiaoyu shrugged, “How would I know? I just bumped into her a couple of days ago after a movie at Wanmin Square, and we barely talked.”
Thinking of Chen Jin’s tone and expression at the time, she couldn’t help but say, “Now she wouldn’t even look at us old classmates.”
Besides, she only found out about Chen Jin’s family being demolished today when she came to the reunion.
What a surprise…
After this class reunion, some people used their connections to find out her recent news, and others confirmed through relatives of relatives that Chen Jin’s family in Qiaodong Village was demolished last summer. It was uncertain how much compensation Chen Jin specifically received, but it was said that her family had many buildings, land, orchards, and shops, so she could have received at least six to seven million!
Chen Jin, who was being talked about, sneezed several times in a row, then stood in her backyard with her hands on her hips, sighing: Having a big backyard is convenient for drying blankets.
Just back in the living room and turning on the TV, she heard noises outside. She quickly walked a few steps out, smiling as she was about to call Professor Song, only to find a group of strangers, among them the male neighbor.
Someone whistled at her, elbowing the man who was opening the door, “Baichuan, is that your neighbor?”
“Wow, your neighbor just rolled her eyes at me.” Not only did she roll her eyes, but she also turned and walked away, then slammed the door shut, clearly someone with a temper.
Shen Baichuan glanced at him lightly without replying, inexplicably reminded of what he had heard her say a few days ago in the French restaurant at Wanmin Square:
“Men can be found everywhere…”
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ohhh is this the ML?
his friend is a weirdo though 🤨