Chapter 19: Departure

The day after the new ancestral hall was moved, all the tenants in Chen Jin’s home moved out. On the morning of the first day, she took a stack of rental contracts to Xiuli (beautiful) Community to sign contracts with the new tenants. She also left her contact information in each rental unit.

After Bai Xinping rented a room, he went back to the company to promote her aggressively. In the past few days, he helped her find quite a few tenants who all came today to sign contracts. As a result, out of Chen Jin’s 20 units, only 5 one-bedroom apartments remained unoccupied; the rest were all rented out. From now on, she would earn 4,150 each month. If all the units were rented out, that would be 5,000!

Chen Jin felt that buying property was the right decision. She spent two million on these houses, and putting that money in the bank to earn interest wouldn’t yield as much as rent!

Bai Xinping introduced her to a lot of people, and in return, Chen Jin waived one month’s rent for him as a referral fee.

Chen Jin also opened an account at a Bank of China branch, putting all the collected rent into that account to use for her daily living expenses. The biggest expense coming up was buying a car.

On the second day, she called the moving truck driver to move the items she still needed to the apartment in Hanlin Garden. Chen Jia and a few others, having nothing to do, said they wanted to see what a million-yuan apartment looked like. Chen Jin brought them along and even grabbed a few extra cleaning cloths while preparing.

“Wow, it’s so high! The 21st floor!” Chen Yongan stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window with his hands on his hips, taking in half of Rong City. Excitedly, he turned to Chen Jin and said, “Third sister, I really love your place! It’s even better than a small villa!”

The small villa needed to be renovated and furnished before they could move in. Initially, Chen Jin planned to hire the renovation team under her uncle’s construction company, but her uncle recommended another company, saying they specialized in high-end renovations.

Chen Jia’s favorite room was the study, which had a whole wall of windows. She suggested to Chen Jin that she should definitely buy a long desk to place against that wall. The study was spacious enough to fit a sofa as well.

Since the furniture from Chen Jin’s home didn’t quite match the style of this apartment, Chen Jia advised her to buy new furniture. However, Chen Jin replied, “This is fine too. If the sofa color doesn’t match, I can just get a new cover for it.”

Now, she wanted to preserve some traces of living with her mother. Perhaps one day she would change her mind, but for now, the longer she could hold on to those memories, the better.

Chen Jia and Tian Miao envied Chen Jin for owning so many properties and having savings, but they didn’t feel jealous.

Chen Jia was the only child of her second uncle and aunt, and her parents poured all their love into her. While their financial situation couldn’t compare to Chen Jin’s newfound wealth, they were still considered a well-off family compared to many of their friends.

The two three-bedroom apartments in beautiful Community had also been rented out, and the monthly rent could offset most of the mortgage payments. Their family’s living standard hadn’t dropped due to buying the two apartments. That was already very good. Plus, they had one resettlement house as well.

Tian Miao felt that the gap between them was too significant, so there was no need to be jealous of Chen Jin. Besides, she was looking forward to Chen Jin opening the small shop, where she could continue working as a cashier.

After finishing cleaning the 200-square-meter apartment, Chen Yongan complained, “I’m so tired; I can’t move anymore.” After saying that, he glanced at his third sister.

Chen Jin’s family didn’t originally have a refrigerator because they had a freezer at their small shop. Her mother thought that since it was just the two of them, there was no need to buy a fridge. Now, however, there was no food in the house.

After washing her face in the bathroom, Chen Jin waved her hand, saying, “Let’s go, I’m treating today.”

The four of them discussed it and finally decided to go to KFC.

Chen Jin took a big bite of her burger, and half of it disappeared. “This burger is better than the last one I had.”

Chen Yongan, dissatisfied, said, “When did you come last time? Why didn’t you take me with you?”

“……” Chen Jin stuffed some fries into his mouth. “Just eat and don’t talk.”

What’s it like to have a wealthy sister?

Chen Jia was overjoyed, holding a big bag of cosmetics in one hand and a big bag of new clothes in the other. “Sister, you’re my real sister!”

Tian Miao was the same, carrying a big bag in each hand. Although she didn’t know how to apply makeup, Chen Jin treated both of her younger sisters equally and bought gifts for them.

Only Chen Yongan pouted, looking wronged, and muttered, “I want a game console, a game console…”

But it was no use; the three sisters ignored his wish. They collectively decided to get him two sets of sportswear and two pairs of brand-name sneakers.

The four of them happily left and returned with their purchases. They bought so much that Chen Jin was lectured by her three uncles and three aunts for over half an hour. Chen Jia and Chen Yongan were also scolded by their parents for not pestering Chen Jin for more things.

“It’s not that they bugged me to buy anything; I asked them to help clean, and I insisted on buying them something.”

At that moment, Chen Jin appeared to Chen Jia, Chen Yongan, and Tian Miao as if she were radiating golden light, like a big, rich benefactor.

Because they were going to relocate the ancestral grave the next day, everyone returned to the village a day early, including Chen Ting, who rushed back after work.

“Here’s yours.” Chen Jin handed over a paper bag with a logo from a certain brand. Although Chen Ting and Gu Minmin hadn’t helped, she didn’t want her other sisters to receive gifts while leaving the two of them out, so she picked two gifts for them as well.

Just now, when Chen Ting saw that Chen Jia and Tian Miao had bought so many cosmetics, she felt a pang of jealousy in her heart. She didn’t expect that Chen Jin had also picked out a gift for her—a designer bag. She was so happy that she couldn’t suppress the corners of her mouth from turning up and pretended to be nonchalant, saying, “This gift you chose is okay, right?”

Chen Jin didn’t care whether she thought it was okay or not. This bag cost over three thousand yuan, and if she dared to say it didn’t meet her expectations, Chen Jin would immediately take it back and return it on another day; she still had the receipt in her hand.

On the third day, as soon as it was light out, the men and women, young and old, in the village got busy. They had invited people to perform rituals and help with the grave relocation. They worked hard for most of the day, and it wasn’t until three in the afternoon that they finally wrapped things up. Then, it was time to offer incense.

Chen Jin’s mother and grandparents were buried fifty meters away from the peach orchard. Originally, they planned to bury them under the peach trees, but at that time, no one thought too much about it. Someone mentioned, “No red peach blossoms in front of the grave,” and they consulted a reputed feng shui master, who suggested relocating the graves. They planted pine trees next to them.

Standing in front of her mother’s grave, Chen Jin silently vowed: I won’t be back often from now on, but don’t worry; I’ll be doing well.

The villagers gathered again for a meal, and the village head stood up with a cup of wine. “The houses in the village will start being demolished tomorrow; the Paoqiao esat village is a thing of the past. It will be hard for the Chen family to gather together for meals in the future. There’s nothing much to say. Just go out, be a person of integrity, and work hard. I look forward to seeing you all achieve success outside and adding more entries to the family genealogy!”

The village head downed a cup in one gulp.

“Cheers!” Everyone raised their cups and drank.

Regardless of any previous conflicts, it was now time to part ways, and as the village head said, it would be difficult to gather together in the future.

While the adults chatted in the new ancestral hall, Chen Jin and a few others wandered around the village, trying to imprint every blade of grass and tree in their minds. She heard that Chen Jiaxin from Uncle Chen’s family had taken many photos of the village with her camera. Chen Jin went to find her and asked her to print a copy for her when she developed them.

“Sure!” Chen Jiaxin readily agreed, and since it was still bright outside, she picked up her camera. “Let me take a picture of you guys.”

Thus, Chen Jin got her last photo with her family home: wearing a floral shirt and beach shorts with yellow slippers, she stood on the site of the demolished small shop, grinning widely and making a peace sign for the camera.

Taxis to the Paoqiao esat village came one after another, and small trucks arrived to haul away the last remaining items. The demolition office personnel went from house to house to confirm whether people had moved out, writing large characters for “demolition” on the walls.

Chen Wenkang had all the luggage organized, letting Tian Miao and her two sons sit in the front car. Wei Xiuhua was already in the back seat of the second car. As he opened the passenger door, he noticed Chen Jin standing there blankly, staring in the direction of her home.

After waiting a moment for the driver, he called out to her, “Third sister, it’s time to go.”

“Coming,” Chen Jin wiped her face and got into the car.

The driver saw Chen Jin’s red-rimmed eyes in the rearview mirror and smiled, “You’re off to a good life now; you should be happy!”

“Right!” Chen Jin smiled back, excited about her new life ahead!

“Driver, could you please stop at the west bridge village later?” third Uncle instructed and then turned back to Chen Jin, saying, “Go to your grandfather’s house. If you’re not happy there, just leave. About what you mentioned, if it can be done, then do it. If not, that’s fine; it’s not a big deal now.”

Chen Jin nodded in agreement.

This time, she also brought two boxes of nutritional supplements, which third Uncle had insisted she take, saying she shouldn’t go empty-handed. Chen Jin couldn’t “fake” it this time, so she accepted them honestly.

As soon as they got out of the car, she saw Lui Erbo waiting at the village entrance, apparently having been there for a while. Chen Jin waved goodbye to third Uncle and Aunt San, and before she even crossed the street, Uncle Liu jogged over, took the things from her hands, and said with a smile, “As long as you’re here, no need to bring anything next time.”

He thought to himself that Chen Jin still knew to bring something this time; it seemed she cared about her relatives.

Chen Jin felt the warmth and hospitality of the west bridge village for the first time. It seemed like everyone in the village knew she was coming today, and they greeted her with smiles.

“Finally here! I was going to ask your dad to come pick you up from the Paoqiao esat village.” As soon as she reached the door, her grandmother fanned her with a big palm fan. “Want some cola? There are a few bottles in the fridge that I bought for you last night.”

So, Chen Jin was pushed onto the sofa, with a plate of cut watermelon placed in front of her and a cold bottle of cola shoved into her hand. All the relatives were there, just like the last time she came in July, but it felt different.

Lan Meiying sat in a corner, and when Chen Jin smiled at her, she secretly smiled back. Although her grandfather’s family didn’t get to share in the benefits of the demolition, she secretly felt pleased seeing how her relatives treated Chen Jin with flattery now: Let them see how it feels to look down on her before!

Old Man Liu had lost the authority he used to have as the patriarch in front of Chen Jin; it was as if they were just two close relatives, chatting about the new ancestral hall and the grave relocation in the Paoqiao esat village.

No matter what he and her grandmother talked about, Chen Jin listened with a smile, not expressing any opinions.

But someone couldn’t hold back. Uncle Liu directly asked, “You received so much money; what are your plans?”

Chen Jin glanced at him, “I’ve almost spent all the money on buying a house. I’ve rented out all my properties, and the rent I get each month is enough for my living expenses.”

“You bought a house?” The older relatives in the room frowned disapprovingly.

“Yes, I also plan to buy a car,” Chen Jin said calmly. “It’s my own money; I can spend it however I want.”

Aunt Liu glanced at Chen Jin, then at Liu Shisheng’s family of four, and smiled, “That’s right; how you arrange your own money is your business. However, your dad wants a bigger house, and your younger siblings are getting older.”

Chen Jin looked in the direction of Liu Shisheng’s family, meeting the expectant yet disdainful gazes of her two younger siblings. She scoffed lightly, “Whoever gives birth to them should take care of them; they aren’t my mom’s children, so why should I be responsible?”

He glanced again at Liu Shisheng, whose expression had suddenly turned gloomy. “Everything here was left to me by my mom. If you want money, go talk to her. If she agrees, I won’t say a word.”

“……”

The room fell silent for more than ten seconds. Old Man Liu skipped this topic and asked Chen Jin if he was hungry, suggesting they could have lunch early today.

Chen Jin replied that he wasn’t hungry but instead asked if there were still any residential plots available for sale in the village.