Originally, the Fan family had decided to drive Lin Yong back to his family, but upon discovering the 1,400 yuan in his possession, they changed their minds. They resolved to use legitimate means to keep the money in their household.

Fan’s mother bought a high-priced hen and made a pot of golden chicken soup, which she delivered to the hospital.

Lin Yong, feeling unexpectedly pampered, was taken aback. Such good treatment after so long—what was going on?

After he finished the soup, Fan’s father closed the hospital room door, pulled out the passbook, and placed it in front of Lin Yong. “Lin Yong, such a valuable thing—how could you not keep it safe?”

Lin Yong’s eyes widened when he saw the passbook—it was his!

Panicking, he reached into the pocket of his underwear but found nothing there. Hurriedly, he clutched the passbook tightly in his hands.

Fan’s father, noticing his nervous reaction, smiled slightly. “Lin Yong, a few days ago when we asked you to contribute to the household expenses, it wasn’t to make things difficult for you. The truth is, you eat too much. You alone eat as much as the two of us combined. If this continues, we’ll all go hungry!”

Fan Xiaoe chimed in, “That’s right, Lin Yong. I’ve heard that married couples are expected to contribute to the household expenses. Besides, it’s not like you don’t have money. How about this: I’ll pay my share, and you pay yours. What do you think?”

At this point, refusing to pay would make Lin Yong look less than manly. Reluctantly, he nodded in agreement.

Fan’s father added, “Lin Yong, I know you’re eager to buy a house. But you earn only 30 yuan a month. It would take years to save enough. I have a way for you to make money quickly. Do you want to hear it?”

Lin Yong’s desire to buy a house was stronger than ever. After staying with the Fan family for a few days, he realized that living in someone else’s home would never bring him freedom or comfort. Owning his own house was the only solution.

“What’s the way to make money?”

“I have a friend who frequently goes to the south to purchase goods in bulk and sells them here. He’s made quite a bit of money. You could either go with him to buy goods or ask him to bring some back for you to sell yourself. Just flipping the goods could earn you a lot.”

“Selling them myself? I don’t have any experience in selling goods.”

“You’ll do fine. Look at your sister Lin Ning—she’s buying bath scrubbers from a clothing factory and selling them, isn’t she? You’re her brother; you’ll be just as capable.”

Lin Yong was tempted. With the government encouraging economic reforms, small businesses were on the rise. People were even resigning from their jobs to start businesses, a phenomenon called going out to sea.

He nodded. “Alright, I’ll give it a try.”

Fan’s father patted his shoulder. “Good! That’s the spirit! Once you’re discharged, I’ll introduce you to my friend.”

Lin Yong smiled, and with surprising generosity, pulled 10 yuan from his pocket. “Mom, here’s my share of the household expenses for this month.”

The Fan family exchanged glances, smiling in satisfaction. They had finally managed to get something out of him—no easy feat.

Meanwhile, three days later, Lin Ning withdrew 2,700 yuan from her spatial storage and purchased the courtyard where she had been living. She and Grandpa Han went to the Land Resources Bureau to obtain a land-use certificate. With this certificate, the plot officially belonged to Lin Ning, allowing her to renovate the house.

Holding the certificate, Lin Ning was thrilled. Finally, she had a piece of land to call her own. Now she could start building her house!

However, seeing the significant dent in her savings, Lin Ning grew anxious. She needed to start saving money again.

When the day came for her commission payout, Lin Ning went to the clothing factory, only to find that Director Cao had been replaced by a new director, Ma.

Director Ma greeted her warmly, saying, “You must be Lin Ning. Director Cao has been transferred to the Yongzhou Clothing Factory, and I’ve taken over his role here.”

“Hello, Director Ma.”

“Hello, hello,” he said with a smile.

Director Ma, a man in his forties with a pale, clean-shaven face and small, beady eyes, sat behind his desk, chatting casually with Lin Ning. He asked her all sorts of questions, keeping her standing so long that her legs started to go numb. Yet, he didn’t mention anything about her commission.

Unable to wait any longer, Lin Ning directly asked, “Director Ma, I have other things to attend to later. Could you…”

“Oh, right! My memory is terrible. Let me take you to the accounting office.”

At the accounting office, Lin Ning discovered that Accountant Zhao had also been replaced—by Accountant Li.

Accountant Li said, “Director, Lin Ning is owed a commission of 2,700 yuan, but we don’t have that much money in the account.”

“What? Where did the money go?”

“We recently purchased a large batch of sewing machines, hired new workers, and bought a significant amount of raw materials. We’re struggling to even pay the workers’ wages—there’s no money left for Lin Ning’s commission.”

Director Ma nodded and said apologetically, “Lin Ning, the factory is facing some difficulties right now. Can you understand? Don’t worry—the organization will remember your contributions!”

He presented himself humbly, implying that if Lin Ning didn’t agree, she would be unreasonable and uncooperative.

Lin Ning nodded. “Alright. I’ll come back next week.”

“Ah, Lin Ning, once a week is too frequent. It’s not good for you to keep running back and forth. How about coming once a month instead?”

Lin Ning smiled. “Director Ma, if you don’t have enough money for a weekly payout, how will you have enough for a monthly one? I’ll stick to coming once a week.”

After she left, Director Ma scoffed, “She just got lucky discovering a use for twisted nylon fabric and making a bath scrub towel out of it. Does that really warrant such a high payout?

“She earns two to three thousand yuan a week—over ten thousand a month. She’s making as much as a ten-thousand-yuan household! And for what? Sitting around while our workers toil away in the factory and our sales team runs around the country? She’s profiting far too much!”

He turned to Accountant Li. “From now on, don’t give her a cent, no matter what excuse she comes up with!”

“Yes, Director.”

“Director Cao was a fool. It would’ve been fine to pay her a couple of thousand as a one-time deal for the scrub towel design. But to keep paying her every week? Ridiculous! If it were up to me, I’d offer a one-time cash reward of 100 to 1,000 yuan and call it a day.”

When Lin Ning left the factory, she realized her commissions would be hard to collect in the future. Director Ma’s attitude made it clear—she would be lucky if she wasn’t forced to return the money she had already received.

Sure enough, when she returned the following week, Director Ma was nowhere to be found. At the accounting office, Accountant Li flatly told her there was no money to give, as even the workers’ wages were overdue.

Lin Ning produced her contract, but Accountant Li dismissed her, saying, “Take it up with Director Cao. You signed the contract with him, not us. Things have changed under new management.”

When Lin Ning requested 300 bath scrub towels for wholesale, her request was denied. She was told the factory’s sales team didn’t have enough stock to spare for outsiders.

With that, Lin Ning was sent away. The following week, she wasn’t even allowed through the factory gates—the security guard turned her away.

What now? Lin Ning had always known this source of income wouldn’t last forever. But she hadn’t expected it to end so abruptly after just two payouts. It was far too short-lived.