Chapter 24 : In a Couple of Days, When She Has Time, She’ll Pay Them Another Visit

“This matter is settled. You all can go back now.”
The officer turned and left after speaking.
The other officers looked at Gu Dakai’s family.
“Gu Wanrou’s case is over, but what about the matter of you occupying the property left by Comrade Gu Siqing’s parents?”
“Are you planning to buy that house outright?”
“No, no!” Gu Dakai’s legs felt weak. He quickly pulled Bai Cuiyan away and said, “We’ll move out of that house as soon as possible.”
Then they left the police station in a hurry.

Gu Siqing was quite satisfied with how efficiently and professionally the police had handled everything and returned to her hotel.

At home, Bai Cuiyan and the others stared at the now-empty house, feeling dizzy with despair.

“Mom, Dad, what are we supposed to do now?” Gu Ruizhuo had already been fuming at the police station but didn’t dare speak, afraid of being scolded. Now back home, he couldn’t hold back anymore.

“This is all Gu Wanrou’s mess! Why should we be the ones to clean it up?”
At the mention of Gu Wanrou, the whole family grew furious.

Bai Cuiyan slumped into a corner, leaning exhaustedly against the wall.
“What else can we do? If we don’t pay that 1000 yuan compensation, it’ll escalate to the factory. Then we might lose our jobs entirely. How will we survive?”

The police had already considered this from Gu Siqing’s perspective. Even if they wanted to delay, they couldn’t afford to.

Gu Dakai stood by the window. He wanted a cigarette badly but didn’t even have money for that.
How did it all come to this?

Just a week ago, the family had been overjoyed about receiving 1888 yuan as a bride price. They thought life was finally improving—maybe even meat at every meal.
But now? In less than a week, the house was emptied, Gu Wanrou had been sentenced, and they were about to be evicted. On top of that, they had to pay a large compensation.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

The elderly couple silently sat nearby. The old man pulled out some coins.
“I never liked hiding money at home, but I always carried a little with me. This is all I have.”

He had been saving it for retirement, but with things this bad, what else could he do?

The small bundle of money only added up to just over 50 yuan—not insignificant for daily needs but still far from the 1000 yuan required.

“Then just sell your job!”
Gu Dakai had been standing in the cold wind for a while. The scent of meals cooking wafted up from below—it was dinnertime.

Hearing the suggestion, Bai Cuiyan shot up.
“I don’t agree! That job is important to me!”

“Then tell me, how else are we going to get 1000 yuan?” Gu Dakai snapped.
“I don’t want you to sell the job either, but do we have a choice? We need to move out—what, should we go live under a bridge?”

He erupted in anger, and the old woman added,
“She’s right. Just sell the job. Dakai still has his, right? People are desperate for work these days. We sell your job, pay the compensation, find a place to stay, and start over. Isn’t that better than this?”

Bai Cuiyan pressed her lips together, saying nothing.

Their previous status came from both of them having formal factory jobs, plus Gu Wanrou attending university. Life had been good.

Now? It felt like they had fallen straight from heaven to hell.

“Alright then, sell the job.”
After sitting in silence, Bai Cuiyan finally got up, her body cold.
“I’m going out to buy some food. We can’t all starve, right? I’ll spread the word about selling the job tomorrow.”

No one said anything. Gu Dakai was too frustrated to speak. The whole family was buried in a cloud of despair—as if a great storm had just passed.

The next day, with the compensation deadline looming, Bai Cuiyan spread the news that she was selling her job.
Though the job market had opened up, a stable factory job was still in high demand.

Before long, a few buyers showed up.
One offered 2000 yuan. She was tempted, but Gu Dakai signaled her to wait—maybe the price could go higher.

She saw off the buyers and asked,
“What if we don’t get another offer that high? What do we do then?”

2000 yuan was already a lot. Even after paying the compensation, the rest could get them a decent place and a fresh start.

But Gu Dakai shook his head.
“Let’s wait. If no better offer comes, we’ll sell to the one who offered 2000. You two are close, right?”

The next day, one of the previous buyers came back and raised the offer to 2500 yuan.

Then a new woman rushed in.
“I’ll give you 2600 yuan! I already know all about the job. I can pay right now. Deal?”

The earlier buyers couldn’t match the price and stormed off angrily.

2600 was already very high. Even Gu Dakai agreed it was time to sell.
The woman handed over the money, and Bai Cuiyan, after confirming the amount, took her to the factory to complete the handover.

By the afternoon, everything was done.

Even though she was furious, Bai Cuiyan took the 1000 yuan to the police station to hand it over. She refused to see Gu Siqing—just the sight of her made her blood boil.

In her eyes, their family’s misfortune was entirely Gu Siqing’s fault.

Gu Siqing soon picked up the money.
The police officer kindly informed her,
“She was told to vacate within two days. You can go inspect the property soon.”

“Thank you,” Gu Siqing replied politely and returned to the hotel.

Qi Yuan had taken the children out. When they returned and saw Gu Siqing sitting calmly, she asked casually.

Upon hearing they had received the compensation and the house could be reclaimed, Qi Yuan smiled and patted the children’s heads.
“Life will only get better. Don’t worry.”

Gu Siqing nodded.
She wasn’t the same naive girl from before. Her children had found their real father. Shen Qingyan’s legs were recovering. She had her parents’ house back.

Everything was on track—of course life would get better.

“Once they move out, I’ll get an agent to list the house. I plan to sell it,” she said.

Qi Yuan was surprised and almost tried to talk her out of it—it was her parents’ legacy, after all.

But Gu Siqing anticipated her concerns and smiled as she handed over a glass of water.
“I’ll be living with Qingyan anyway. I won’t be back much. My parents left the house to make my life better—and this is part of that.”

Seeing her so at peace, Qi Yuan finally relaxed.

Yes, maybe it was time to say goodbye to this place for good.

Bai Cuiyan returned home with the remaining money. The family quickly packed up what little they had.
Just a few personal belongings.

“We found a new place. The furniture is ready. Let’s move.”
Gu Dakai spat at the old doorstep before leaving—it had brought nothing but bad luck lately.

Sure, they’d lost a job, but they had a new home and less baggage now that Gu Wanrou was gone.
They were optimistic—so long as they never saw Gu Siqing again.

As they left, Bai Cuiyan cursed,
“We’d die before buying anything from that girl!”
“That ungrateful brat! We raised her for years and this is what she did to us? She’ll get her karma!”
The elderly couple echoed the sentiment. Gu Ruizhuo, full of hatred, ranted even more.

They ran into old neighbors, who scoffed at their complaints.
“Siqing’s just reclaiming what her parents left her. What are you yelling about?”
“Move out already! Stop ruining the neighborhood’s luck!”

Bai Cuiyan tried to yell back, but Gu Dakai dragged her away.
“Do you want to embarrass yourself even more?”

No matter where they moved, it wouldn’t do to make enemies here.

Grumbling all the way, they finally relocated with their meager belongings.

Gu Siqing knew they were moving and waited outside the yard.

When she saw the family heading toward their new place, she quietly followed.

Before leaving, she asked the real estate agent to inspect the house for damage and get it ready for listing.

She followed them for about 20 minutes to another residential compound.

Gu Dakai led the way upstairs, plopped onto the couch, and sighed.
“I’m exhausted!”

Gu Ruizhuo ignored the elderly and yelled,
“Get me some water! Let’s celebrate our new home!”

Bai Cuiyan quickly went to the kitchen.
They had rented this new place for 1600 yuan.
It was close to Gu Dakai’s factory. Bai Cuiyan planned to find a new job too.
They thought about getting Ruizhuo to work as well, but he refused—and they didn’t force him.

They bought basic furniture for 300 yuan—no fridge or TV.
They just wanted to start fresh.

“I’ll get us 2 yuan of pork this afternoon so we can have a good meal,” Bai Cuiyan said with a rare smile.

Ruizhuo happily ordered two more dishes. Even Gu Dakai nodded.
“Sure, buy more. Once today’s over, we’re done with Gu Siqing for good.”

Everything seemed resolved. They were even a little happy.

Gu Siqing listened from outside with a small smile.

Let them enjoy a couple days of peace.
When I have time, she thought,
I’ll come by and pay them another visit.