Chapter 52: Finally Catching Ye Bingyu

Auntie Zhang chuckled. “Running a business alone must be tough, right? No one to help you out. My third daughter is hardworking and quick-witted. I was thinking, if I go back to Haishi to do business again, could you take my daughter along? You don’t need to pay her, just give her food to eat.”

Not paying wages was, of course, out of the question—this was just a polite way of speaking.

Zhou Shufen forced a smile. Now she understood why Auntie Zhang had been so helpful, letting her stay at their house and even inviting her to meals—it was all for a reason.

She figured Zhou Shufen had made money doing business outside and wanted her to take her youngest daughter along.

As they spoke, the girl returned home.

“Mom, oh, Sister-in-law, you’re here too.”

Auntie Zhang’s smile faded. “Where have you been all day? If you’re not going to study, you should hurry up and find work. This family doesn’t support freeloaders.”

The girl was only fifteen or sixteen, having just graduated from junior high last year. For the past six months, she had been staying at home, occasionally helping out, but mostly hanging out with friends.

Auntie Zhang’s husband had passed away early, leaving her to raise the children alone. She had absolute control over them.

Hearing her mother scold her, Xiaoqin fell silent.

“I’ll help Sister-in-law with work tomorrow.”

“That little bit of work? She has more than enough time to do it herself. No need for your help. I’m telling you, stop messing around with your friends. From tomorrow on, stay home and learn from your Sister-in-law Shufen. In the future, you’ll follow her to the big city and do business.”

“Huh?” Xiaoqin wasn’t too pleased—she wasn’t even that close with Zhou Shufen.

“What’s with that face?” Auntie Zhang snapped. “It’s your good fortune to learn from your Sister-in-law Shufen! She’s seen the world outside and made real money. If you follow her, you’ll have a future. Do you hear me?”

“But…” Xiaoqin hesitated. “But I already agreed to work at the noodle factory with my classmates.”

Auntie Zhang froze. “You got a job at the noodle factory?”

She thought about it—having a job at a factory wasn’t bad. Factory workers had stable jobs, and since girls couldn’t marry until twenty, she could keep her daughter working for another two years. If she worked until twenty-two or twenty-three, that would mean seven or eight years of income for the family.

She had heard that factory workers earned about thirty yuan a month, and skilled workers could make fifty. Plus, they got gifts like noodles during holidays. It didn’t sound bad.

Xiaoqin said, “My classmate said I could try it out, but I need to pay a hundred yuan as an introduction fee.”

At the mention of money, Auntie Zhang’s expression changed.

“What nonsense is this? You have to pay to work for someone else? Sounds like a scam!”

“No way! My classmate told me about it.”

“So what? Your classmate could be a scammer too.”

“They’re not! The introduction fee is for the middleman, not the factory or my classmate.”

“Enough! I don’t think that factory is any good. I’ve never heard of a place that makes you pay to work. Thirty or fifty yuan a month is nothing—it’s not even worth one of your Sister-in-law Shufen’s dresses. Listen to me, don’t mess around with your classmates anymore. Just follow your Sister-in-law Shufen and let her take you to the big city to make real money.”

Zhang Xiaojing turned to Zhou Shufen.

Zhou Shufen felt awkward.

But since she was staying at Auntie Zhang’s house, she couldn’t outright refuse. She could only say, “Auntie Zhang, I still want to try bringing Jianguo out first. I don’t plan to return to the big city just yet. If that doesn’t work, then I’ll leave.”

Auntie Zhang patted her hand with a smile. “I understand, I understand. We’re both mothers—I get it. Making money can wait. Focus on dealing with Li Yurong and the others first.”

“Alright. I really appreciate your help, Auntie Zhang.”

“It’s no trouble. Just make yourself at home.”

This way, Zhou Shufen saved money on lodging.

Being savvy, she took the money she saved from not staying at an inn and bought some rice instead—carrying a twenty-kilogram sack to Auntie Zhang’s house.

Auntie Zhang was overjoyed. People who had seen the world were indeed different—so generous!

Just a few meals, and she gifted such a big bag of rice.

Zhou Shufen even said, “Auntie Zhang, I originally wanted to buy a fifty-kilogram sack, but I couldn’t carry it.”

Hearing this, Auntie Zhang was even happier and laughed. “You’re too polite! You barely eat anything, yet you still bought rice for us. Now I feel bad!”

The twenty-kilogram bag of rice cost just a few yuan, but it was enough to win Auntie Zhang over.

Now, Zhou Shufen could stay at her house and eat with them without worry, preparing for a long standoff with Li Yurong’s family.

Li Yurong, however, was too busy to bother with her. She had found someone to track Ye Bingyu and finally discovered where she was staying.

“Shimu, my uncle said the person you’re looking for is staying at the State-run Grand Hotel. But they don’t allow outsiders in, so we don’t know which exact room.”

Li Yurong was delighted. “As long as we know where she is, that’s enough. Thank your uncle for me—I’ll invite him over for a meal soon.”

“Shimu, you’re too kind. I’m just happy to help.”

Li Yurong quickly relayed the location to Lin Bingwei, along with some other information she had gathered from Sister Suyen.

“I heard they even sold their ducks. They didn’t even keep the ones still laying eggs. Your Aunt Zhang even bought one. Now they’re handling their farmland, planning to rent it out to their older brothers. They even had the village chief witness the deal. Looks like they really don’t plan on coming back.”

Lin Bingwei thought to herself, These two are really greedy.

If they had just slipped away quietly, no one would have noticed.

But they couldn’t bear to leave behind their land, livestock, and household items. They wanted to squeeze every last penny out of them.

Did they really think the people around them were fools? The moment they started selling things off, wouldn’t people get suspicious?

Of course, Lin Wangsheng and his wife claimed they were taking their son away to do business. But not everyone was gullible—very few people actually believed that.

“Weiwei, we need to move fast. Once they finish dealing with the land and household items, they’ll be gone in a few days.”

“Alright, I’ll go to the State-run Grand Hotel tomorrow and wait.”

Li Yurong was worried. “I should go with you.”

“You stay home and take care of Jianguo.”

“It’s fine. Let Jianguo stay with his grandpa for two days.”

Lin Bingwei thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

The next day, Zhang Jianguo left with Zhang Yuanxiu while Lin Bingwei and Li Yurong rode their bicycles to the city and headed straight for the State-run Grand Hotel.

They covered their heads with scarves and staked out near the hotel.

Lin Yaozu had already stopped going to school, saying he had transferred.

They waited the whole day, taking turns for lunch.

By mid-afternoon, they finally saw a Santana with an out-of-town license plate pull in.

A stylishly dressed young woman got out first, followed by Lin Wangsheng and his wife.