Chapter 65: What a Coincedence

The people from the old Liu family are just troublesome; they won’t calm down until they get scolded a few times. As long as she stands firm, they won’t dare to act recklessly. With the will notarized, these people can’t take advantage of her; they can only hope for her goodwill.

Chen Jin came over but didn’t see her cousin Meng Chong. He had brought his father, her uncle, to Jinxiu (Splendid) Community to check out some shops since they wanted to open a congee and noodle restaurant there.

The occupancy rate in Jinxiu (Splendid) Community was steadily rising, so opening a store now was a good idea. If Qiaoxi Village were to be demolished, they wouldn’t have to worry about Meng Chong losing his job again.

“Third Sister, aren’t you going to stay and eat before you leave?” her aunt thought it was hard for her to come all this way and wanted to keep her for a meal.

“I won’t eat; I have other things to do.”

As Chen Jin drove out, she was stopped by her grandfather. “What’s going on? I already said I’m not going to your house for dinner.”

After glancing at Liu Shisheng and Jiang Zijun behind her grandfather, Chen Jin suddenly leaned out and asked, “What do I look like to you?”

The Old man Liu was confused by her question. “What do you mean?”

“Do you think I look like a foolish rich person?”

The Old man Liu: “……”

Well, she might be a bit eccentric, but he couldn’t honestly say Chen Jin was a foolish rich person; she was clearly sharp and wealthy.

Chen Jin said earnestly, “You all should just earn your money honestly and diligently instead of trying to scheme all the time. You don’t seem like cultured people at all. All day long thinking about the ex-daughter-in-law’s things—aren’t you ashamed? If you don’t have money, don’t pretend to be like others and go abroad to study; after all, going abroad doesn’t necessarily lead to great success. In the end, you’ll waste money training low-cost labor for another country—how pointless.”

“Hey, I’m not talking about you; I’m talking about my grandpa. He’s old; he should retire and stop worrying about nonsense! Even if he wants to care, isn’t there enough in the Liu family to worry about?” Chen Jin waved her hand. “I’ll come back to sign the papers officially another day.”

Liu Shisheng and Jiang Zijun were at a loss for words, only inhaling the exhaust fumes and dust kicked up by the car.

The Old man Liu had already walked away. As a grandfather, he had many grandchildren below; he couldn’t keep seeking scolding from Chen Jin just because of the twins from his younger son’s family. Chen Jin was truly someone who wouldn’t budge or listen; they couldn’t count on her at all.

Seeing Liu Shisheng’s sullen face and her father-in-law walking away in silence, Jiang Zijun anxiously nudged Liu Shisheng and whispered, “There’s nothing we can do about Chen Jin now. We need to negotiate with Mom and Dad; otherwise, with just the money we have, selling the house wouldn’t even be enough for Yinan’s study abroad.”

But she quickly got a glare from Liu Shisheng. “Since you know the family doesn’t have much money, why did you lend your brother money to buy a house? The money your two brothers borrowed over the years has turned into bad debt. When will they pay it back? I see that in your heart, the house purchases for your older and second brothers are more important than Yinan and Yi Bei studying abroad. If that’s the case, why think about studying abroad? Just continue your education domestically!”

Jiang Zijun almost jumped up. “How can that be?! Is the technical level here the same as abroad? Yinan can find a good job after studying abroad because of his student status. Look at Tong Tong from Mr. Wei’s family; he’s doing well now…”

“All you know is how well others are doing now. Why don’t you mention how Teacher Wei scrimped and saved to support his child?”

“But my older brother’s family is in trouble now, and besides, Yinan won’t graduate for another two years. I promised my older brother I’d pay it back within two years.”

“Every time you say you’ll pay it back, but I haven’t seen a single cent over the years! I used to be too lazy to keep track of it, but you should look at our family’s current situation; you still want to lend out money…”

Hearing the couple’s argument getting louder behind him, the Old man Liu felt even more embarrassed and angrily said, “If you’re going to argue, do it at home! What kind of appearance is this out here?”

He called the couple away.

The neighbors watching the scene laughed and said, “Old Liu is quite interesting; he doesn’t feel embarrassed even when his granddaughter scolds him in public, but he gets embarrassed when his son and daughter-in-law argue out here.”

“Hey, I think he’s used to it. Chen Jin has never given anyone face; she’s really something. Look, Liu Shisheng and his wife haven’t gained an ounce of advantage from her.”

“Pah! Would you let a deadbeat father who abandoned his wife and daughter take advantage of you?”

“That’s true. You reap what you sow; Chen Jin isn’t wrong. Liu Shisheng and his wife are quite shameless.”

The middle-aged women in the village didn’t like Chen Jin, but when it came to the relationship between Chen Jin and Liu Shisheng, they felt Chen Jin hadn’t done anything wrong. Liu Shisheng was like a modern-day Chen Shimei; which married woman could feel positively about someone like that? If they were to put themselves in her shoes, being marginalized by their in-laws and forced to divorce while taking their child back to their parental home… not slicing Liu Shisheng to bits would be showing great patience.

Chen Jin drove directly to Dongcheng District, found a small restaurant near Sister Jiang’s beauty salon to eat, and then went to the beauty salon for skincare and a nap.

Perhaps because she had a good nap, after finishing her skincare, when Chen Jin looked in the mirror, she felt her skin looked much better.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you. Are you starting work now?” Sister Jiang, Jiang Ke’an, was also very busy, working on producing beauty products and only occasionally coming to check on the store.

The speed at which Jiang Ke’an’s business empire is expanding is astonishing, even making Chen Jin gasp. Last year when she visited Jiang Ke’an’s hair salon, Jiang was still working as a hairstylist herself, but now she has completely stepped back to take on the role of a manager.

“Yeah, now that school has started, I have to get back to work too. I won’t have as much free time in the future,” Chen Jin said as she followed Jiang Ke’an to the nearby rest area. A waiter soon brought over a cup of beauty tea.

It seems she is expanding her business again.

However, it smelled quite fragrant.

“By the way, is Aunt Kexin planning to live in Shanghai for good?” Chen Jin had heard that Aunt Kexin had mortgaged her apartment in the Xiuli (beautiful) community to get a loan and then went to Shanghai to buy a house.

Chen Jin had actually considered selling her apartment in Hanlin Garden to buy a place in Shenzhen. Compared to Beijing and Shanghai, she had more confidence in Shenzhen, but she still hadn’t made up her mind.

Hearing about Aunt Kexin’s actions made her think about whether she could mortgage her properties to get a loan…

“In Shanghai and Rong City, it’s the same; the distance isn’t far, just a little over an hour by plane,” Jiang Ke’an said. “Since the property prices in Xiuli (beautiful) community have been rising sharply, she thinks that houses in big cities will appreciate even more in the future. Now she’s in Shanghai trying to purchase some real estate. She isn’t business-savvy, just thinking about living off the rental income, which is also not a bad idea.”

Chen Jin replied, “Me too. Doing business is too difficult; I’m just hoping to live off the rent.”

Jiang Ke’an chuckled, took a sip of her beauty tea, and said, “You still say you can’t do business? You’re being too modest.”

Such words could be taken lightly. If she couldn’t do business, how could Chen Jin possibly own so many properties and shares? She had heard that Chen Jin had invested a considerable amount in her uncle’s project and was also in business with her cousin. She didn’t run a formal company, but she didn’t miss out on any opportunities to make money.

To say that Chen Jin’s job prospects were average? That would be foolish. The college counselor interacted with many college students and professors; weren’t they all her connections for the future?

“I just have a bit of wit; I can’t compare to Aunt Ke’an’s great wisdom.” It seemed that a large part of the business from wealthy women in Rong City would flow toward her.

“Having great wisdom also requires friends to help,” Jiang Ke’an noted, having come over specifically to meet Chen Jin after receiving a call from the shop manager. Perhaps Chen Jin didn’t realize the situation, but bringing a friend like Yang Qian had elevated the business of her hair salon, beauty shop, wedding planning business, and beauty clinic to a new level.

Her positioning was originally aimed at wealthy clients; her business was decent before, but since the beginning of this month, the store’s business had taken off, with over a hundred new premium members. Upon inquiry, it turned out that it was Chen Jin’s friends who brought in clients, as organizing a wedding indirectly advertised their services.

Jiang Ke’an specifically thanked Chen Jin for this.

“There’s such a thing?” Chen Jin could only say that she had inadvertently achieved something remarkable.

However, when Jiang Ke’an asked her about Yang Qian’s family background, Chen Jin shrugged, “To be honest, I’m not really sure. I just know that both she and her husband come from good families. We were in the same class at university, and we only got close in the past few months. I haven’t dug too deep into her family background.”

Mainly, digging deeper didn’t matter; she had no intention of trying to climb up the social ladder, and knowing too much would hinder their friendship.

Jiang Ke’an had to give up on inquiring further from Chen Jin, thinking to herself: no wonder Kexin could chat with Chen Jin; she really didn’t choose her friends based on their backgrounds.

After reflecting, Jiang Ke’an sighed aloud.

But Chen Jin rebutted seriously, “I’m not that noble; if the background is right, I would also be friends with them.”

“How do you determine if a background is suitable?”

“That’s hard to say,” Chen Jin said with a laugh, deflecting the question.

On her way back, Chen Jin first bought an oven and a juicer recommended by Shen Baichuan. To befriend the “suitably connected” person, she specifically went to Guxi Road to buy a cake.

“Boss, I need two of each of these three items.”

The bakery owner recognized her and had some recollection of the girl who had eaten cake with Mr. Shen in the store last time. It was quite interesting that both she and Mr. Shen came to his store today, ordering the same three items, and both wanted two of each.

The owner kindly reminded her, “Buying too much will make it go stale. It’s best to buy in moderation. Don’t let your family come over later, and you’ve bought too much…”

Chen Jin rubbed her arms and said, “Don’t scare me, boss. I live alone.”

“…Oh, I must have mistaken you for someone else.” The bakery owner dropped the topic, packaged up the three small cakes, and handed them over. “Come again next time.”

When Chen Jin returned home, she hesitated about whether to knock on the neighbor’s gate but suddenly glanced at her backyard and decided to take a cake outside.

Hey! Shen Baichuan was indeed in his backyard!

“You’re back.” As soon as the door to the neighboring yard opened, Shen Baichuan noticed her and looked up to see Chen Jin.

“Just got back. I brought a cake for Teacher Shen.” Chen Jin raised the bag in her hand to show him, then directly passed it over the fence. “I went to Dongcheng this afternoon and stopped by Guxi Road.”

Shen Baichuan smiled, “Wait a moment.”

Under Chen Jin’s puzzled gaze, he went back inside and came out with an identical bag, which he also handed over the fence. “I happened to have business in Dongcheng this afternoon, and I stopped by Guxi Road as well.”

“…What a coincidence.”

When Chen Jin went back inside and saw the two identical cakes, she couldn’t help but laugh.

Alright, she would eat one today and take the other to school to share with her fellow counselors tomorrow.

However, the cake she brought to school to share with the other counselors didn’t make it to the office. A graduate student came to meet with the professors, and when Yang Qian saw her with the cake, she opened it up and saw three pieces, immediately claiming one for herself, saying it was just right to share with Lin Xinran and Chen Lu.

“How does it feel to be a counselor?”

“It’s fine; the students are all normal for now.” Chen Jin casually asked, “Is there a big difference between being married and not being married?”

Chen Jin swore she was just asking casually and had no other intentions, but Yang Qian smiled at her meaningfully. “You could try finding a man.”

Ah! She felt like her ears were dirty!

What was wrong with Yang Qian? Although she had discovered after becoming friends that Yang Qian was not as aloof and proud as she thought, she never imagined that Yang Qian would actually discuss this topic with her one day!

It felt like, my goddess, her image was collapsing into ruins.

While Chen Jin was overwhelmed with these thoughts, Yang Qian started counting off on her fingers. “Having someone in the study at home means Auntie has to cook for two tastes. From time to time, someone asks where you’re going or where you want to go. Waking up in the middle of the night and suddenly realizing there’s someone next to you can be terrifying…”

“Hey, stop!” Chen Jin knew she had misinterpreted the situation after hearing the first two points. “Don’t say any more; I don’t want to hear about your little couple’s daily life. Isn’t graduate school supposed to be pretty easy?”

Yang Qian replied flatly, “That comment has ruined my good mood for the day. I’m off to a meeting.”

“Hey, let’s have lunch together. I have faculty meal vouchers.”

The meals that could be obtained with faculty vouchers are different and tastier than those for students. Just for that, she had been running to the third cafeteria for meals lately.

At noon, Chen Jin finished work and went to meet up with Yang Qian, Lin Xinran, and Chen Lu. She got her meal and found a place to sit down; the four of them just fit around a small dining table.

When Shen Baichuan finished class and headed to the third cafeteria with a beaming face, he happened to see Chen Jin sitting with her three friends, and there was no extra space beside them.

In the end, he could only go find a seat elsewhere.

Yang Qian waved her hand in front of Chen Jin. “I just saw your neighbor.”

Without looking up, Chen Jin replied, “He’s a teacher. Isn’t it normal for him to come to the third cafeteria for lunch?”

“I thought he seemed like he wanted to come over here just now.”

“Oh, I’ve been having lunch with him these past few days. I came early to save a spot.”

Yang Qian and Lin Xinran exchanged a glance and silently put down their chopsticks, preparing to interrogate her.