Chapter 31

Kang Guixiang used the excuse of taking care of Grandma Xu to refuse to leave the Jiang family home. Jiang Guozhu, with a darkened face, asked, “My father is about to be driven to death by you. Are you going to leave or not?”

“I won’t leave. Our mother is so pitiful; if I go, who will take care of her? Is it the second wife or the third wife?” Kang Guixiang insisted on staying. “Unless you, Jiang Guozhu, quit your job to take care of her yourself?”

Jiang Guozhu found himself at a loss. “How can I take care of her? What will our children eat and drink if I don’t go to work?” He knew Kang Guixiang wouldn’t find another job; he couldn’t just abandon his children.

Zhong Huihui was filled with resentment toward her. How could she possibly stay and take care of her mother-in-law? Her husband was still at the police station, and the four children at home were frightened and helpless after seeing their father get arrested. Zhong Huihui spat in disdain and walked away.

Jiang Laoshan feared that his father would be driven to death by Kang Guixiang’s antics, so he took him back to his own home. The Jiang family mansion was left with only Kang Guixiang and Grandma Xu, who lay in bed, breathing heavily.

Once everyone had left the mansion, Kang Guixiang wiped away her tears and took out a few of the pills prescribed to Grandma Xu. She measured out a few and placed them in a small porcelain bowl, using a pestle to grind them slowly.

As she crushed the pills into powder, she spoke to Grandma Xu, “Mom, I have something to tell you. Hongyu was discovered to be terminally ill with cancer while serving her sentence; she probably won’t live much longer. Well, I wonder which of you will die first.”

Grandma Xu’s eyes widened in horror, wishing she could strangle Kang Guixiang.

Kang Guixiang smiled lightly. “Your son and daughter-in-law are too scared to tell you this news, afraid you’ll collapse from shock. But I’m not afraid. You’d better die now.”

The pills had been ground into powder, and she continued to mash them. Grandma Xu felt a deeper pain in her heart with every stroke of the pestle. A month ago, Kang Guixiang had secretly replaced her medication with regular cold medicine. Two weeks prior, when Grandma Xu could no longer speak, Kang Guixiang had begun grinding the powder in front of her, tormenting her.

Unable to move in bed, Grandma Xu was filled with regret, wondering how she could have trusted such a woman.

“Mom, do you still remember the time you slapped me? At that moment, I vowed to repay you tenfold and a hundredfold in the future,” Kang Guixiang said. “Look at your eldest son; he’s useless and still has to help others raise their children, working like a dog every day. Your second son is going to jail. Ah, forget it. I’ve taken out all your pension money—one thousand 800 yuan. Plus, I’ve got Jiang Guozhu’s wages from the past ten years all in my hands. I’ve saved over 2000 yuan. It’s laughable that Jiang Guozhu doesn’t even know. He thought there wasthe house has no money, so he went to the factory to advance a year’s salary to pay my fine. I wonder how he plans to live this year.”

“Ah, but I can’t see it either. I will leave here tonight. Before I go, I will borrow from all of Jiang Guozhu’s colleagues and all of Old Jiang’s relatives. The excuse will be that Second Son Jiang is in trouble and needs money. You people from Qin Province are honest and simple. I think at least half of you will lend me some. From now on, the descendants of the Old Jiang family will just have to wait and slowly pay off the debt.”

Grandma Xu lost her breath and fainted.

Kang Guixiang poured out the medicine powder, cleaned the bowl, and turned to leave.

As soon as Kang Guixiang stepped out, Gu Qingchuan followed her. His ability to keep an eye on people was top-notch. Even Jiang Ci hadn’t discovered him, so naturally, Kang Guixiang wouldn’t notice. Soon, she found the leader of Jiang Guozhu, Director Wu, to borrow money, starting from the richest family.

Gu Qingchuan climbed over the courtyard wall, startling Director Wu’s wife. She recognized this young man as Cui Pingzhou’s son-in-law and had heard that he assisted the police in cracking a cultural relic smuggling case, earning great credit. Director Wu’s wife would have already called for help if it had been someone else.

“Hey, how did you get in here?” Chang Qin asked.

Gu Qingchuan whispered, “Shh! Auntie Chang, we are investigating Kang Guixiang. She’s right outside now. You should pretend to be in a dilemma when she comes to you with anything. Then please agree to help stabilize Kang Guixiang. Thank you.”

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a knock at the door. Chang Qin thought to herself that it really was Kang Guixiang. She had heard from her husband that this woman had been caught stealing and claimed that Second Son Jiang had instructed her. Everyone in Old Qin Province knew Second Son Jiang’s character; it was very likely that this woman had framed her.

Chang Qin initially didn’t want to deal with Kang Guixiang, but thinking of Gu Qingchuan’s father-in-law, she realized they were certainly up to something significant, and it was reasonable to cooperate.

She said, “Big brother, you should go hide inside. I’ll open the door and see what she wants.” Her two children were clever little things, pulling Gu Qingchuan into the house and then coming out as if nothing had happened to do their homework.

Chang Qin opened the door, and Kang Guixiang entered with tears streaming down her face.

“What happened?” Chang Qin asked indifferently.

Kang Guixiang knew these people looked down on her, but it didn’t matter. She would soon leave here. Just endure for a while longer. “Sister-in-law, you must help our family. Lao Er needs to pay a fine of five thousand. Our family is going out to borrow money, and Guozhu sent me to your house. Sister-in-law, please help our Old Jiang family this time.”

She cried with genuine emotion. Chang Qin thought this woman was really good at acting. If Gu Qingchuan hadn’t warned her in advance, she might have felt sympathy for her. No wonder Jiang Guozhu had been deceived by this woman for over ten years.

“Our family isn’t wealthy either,” she said.

“Sister-in-law, do you not trust the character of my father-in-law? Our Old Jiang family will definitely pay you back,” Kang Guixiang said.

Chang Qin looked at Kang Guixiang’s worried expression. This woman was not simple. She knew that everyone in the Jiang family was out borrowing money right now, and their relatives and friends were already aware that Second Son Jiang was in the police station. No one would suspect anything; those who had a good relationship with the Jiang family would lend her money without hesitation.

She said, “Then, how much do you need?”

“Five hundred.” Kang Guixiang suppressed her inner joy, knowing that Director Wu’s family was wealthy and would definitely have 500 yuan.

Chang Qin was so angry that she nearly shouted but held herself back. How dare she just ask to borrow five hundred? In this day and age, whose family would lend out all their savings? Remembering Gu Qingchuan’s words, she suppressed her anger. “Wait a moment.”

In a very low voice, she ran into the house and asked Gu Qingchuan, “Big brother, I don’t know what Kang Guixiang has done, but five hundred is too much. Are we really going to lend it to her?”

“Lend it to her. Auntie Chang, have Kang Guixiang write the IOU in her own name. It can’t be under the Old Jiang family’s name,” Gu Qingchuan whispered. “Don’t worry, I’ll deliver the money to you in a few days. Both the Jiang family and I will remember this favor.”

With Gu Qingchuan’s assurance, Chang Qin felt relieved. The money would not disappear, and she could also repay a favor. She was quite willing to help Gu Qingchuan.

Chang Qin took the family savings book and came out, saying to Kang Guixiang, “You need to write an IOU, and it has to be in your own name. Once it’s done, I’ll get you the money.”

Kang Guixiang was unwilling to write an IOU. “Sister-in-law, do you still not trust the Old Jiang family? We won’t default on our debts.”

“That’s two different things. If you borrow money, you must write an IOU.” Chang Qin was firm. “If you don’t write the IOU, I will not lend you any money.”

Kang Guixiang thought this foolish woman was indeed willing to lend five hundred. She decided to write the IOU for her. After all, she had already planned to leave Qin Province, and no one would be able to find her later. What was there to fear?

She wrote the IOU. “Can we go get the money now?”

“Sure.”

As soon as they left, Gu Qingchuan came out, too. Was Kang Guixiang planning to run away? Was she going to pocket some more money before she left? Would she go by herself or take the kids with her?

He contemplated where Kang Guixiang might go to borrow money, mentally ticking off the families she would likely visit. After greeting each household, he made his way to Jiang Laoshan’s house.

Grandpa Jiang was coughing uncontrollably, and Jiang Ci mixed a cup of wild honey water with a drop of spring water. After Grandpa Jiang drank the honey water, it took a while for his coughing to subside. They were at the Teacher’s New Village, in the house Shen Meimei’s workplace provided.

“Brother Chuan, why are you here?” Jiang Ci asked as he opened the door.

Gu Qingchuan stepped inside. “I came to see Grandpa.”

“Brother Chuan is here!” Grandpa Jiang suddenly seemed to age several years, appearing quite dispirited.

Gu Qingchuan told him about Kang Guixiang secretly borrowing money. Upon hearing this, Grandpa Jiang became anxious. “Then hurry up and stop her! She’s already taken away one thousand eight hundred from our family. We can’t let her trick anyone else. She’s planning to take the money and run.”

“Grandpa, don’t worry.” Jiang Ci quickly patted Grandpa Jiang’s back, helping him catch his breath. “Brother Chuan won’t let Kang Guixiang take the money and run. If she dares to escape, it’ll be fraud, and she can be caught on the way.”

“Don’t worry, Grandpa. I’ve already made arrangements.” Gu Qingchuan had originally planned to set a trap to drive Kang Guixiang out of the Jiang family, but he didn’t expect this woman to want to run away by herself. If she was going to run, fine, but she had also swindled many relatives; she had to bear the consequences of her own actions.

…

After making the rounds, Kang Guixiang borrowed three thousand yuan. Adding to the money she already had, she now had over seven thousand yuan. She rushed back to the house rented by Jiang Guozhu, where all four kids were waiting at home.

The eldest and second child saw her packing and quickly asked, “Mom, why are you packing your clothes? Where are you going?”

“Where else could I go? I’m going to the Jiang family mansion to take care of your grandma,” Kang Guixiang said, gently ruffling her son’s hair. Despite their hatred for her, she knew the Old Jiang family would never neglect these children. Jiang Guozhu could just continue raising them for her.

At most, when she made some money from her business in a few years, she could prepare a set of wedding houses for each of the four kids. That would be enough to show her care for them.

Under the cover of the night, Kang Guixiang left home without hesitation and headed straight for the train station. She leaned over to the ticket counter and asked, “I’d like to buy a sleeper ticket to Shen City.” Now that she had money, she wanted to travel in comfort.

A young man nearby glanced over. “Sister, you’ve got money, huh? Willing to splurge on a sleeper to Shen City.”

Kang Guixiang took her ticket and changed, noticing his ragged clothing and responding sharply, “What’s it to you? Someone like you can’t afford a sleeper.”

The man smiled but didn’t say anything. After Kang Guixiang walked away, he spoke to the ticket seller. “Comrade, I’d like to buy a sleeper ticket to Shen City, and I want to be in the same sleeper car as that lady from just now. Can you arrange that?”

After taking his ticket, he went out to the square and met up with another well-dressed companion. “Kang Guixiang has seen my face. You can board the train now. I checked earlier; that woman has sewn the money into her waistband. Once we get the money, we can just get off the train and return to Qin Province to hand it over to Brother Chuan.”

“Got it. Since it’s nighttime, that woman will need to sleep once she boards. I can handle this tonight. But is it really worth all this effort for a woman like her? Why not just have the police in Shen City arrest her?”

“Why are you asking so many questions?” The young man who bought the ticket kicked him lightly. “When Brother Chuan tells us to do something. We just do it.”