Chapter 32: The Rich Woman

Her uncle had mentioned the investment in housing construction once before, but at that time, he was just asking casually and jokingly suggested that if she didn’t know how to spend the money sitting in the bank, she could consider investing it in his land in the suburbs of West District. He said he would share the profits with her proportionately.

At that time, Chen Jin didn’t think much of it. When her uncle mentioned it, she just went along with it and even asked if the company needed money, offering to lend him some. But her uncle said they could talk about it when the time came.

Now, her uncle was calling again to invite her to the company to discuss things more formally and finalize the plans.

Just after leaving the school, Chen Jin received a call from Lin Xinran. “Chen Jin, you’ve registered now, right? Want to grab a meal together later?”

Chen Jin replied, “I just left school and am almost home now. I won’t be going out this afternoon; let’s get together another day.”

“Okay. But you really shouldn’t go back to the dorm. Qin Xuemei has been asking everyone if they’ve seen you. I wanted to go back to the dorm just now, but my roommate said she wanted to ask me about your family’s house demolition. This person is really something; what does your family’s demolition have to do with her? I think she’s acting a bit crazy lately. I don’t know if it’s work-related stress, but you’d better not go back to the dorm.”

Chen Jin hadn’t planned on going back to the school dormitory anyway, and hearing this made it even less likely. “Yeah, I won’t go back.”

Once she got home, she first placed the borrowed books in her study, then drove out to the bank to inquire about what procedures she would need to follow to withdraw her fixed deposit money early.

The same bank manager who had assisted her when she opened her account attended to her. As soon as he heard she wanted to withdraw money, he eagerly asked if she was planning to use it for another investment. Chen Jin replied that she hadn’t made any decisions yet and was just there to gather information.

Chen Jin had three million in a fixed deposit, which was no small amount for the bank. The bank president wanted to persuade her to keep the money, as the interest earned each month would also be substantial, but Chen Jin always smiled and said she would think it over carefully. The president had no choice but to explain the situation to her.

Now, if Chen Jin wanted to withdraw her money early, she just needed to contact the bank three days in advance, bring her ID, and sign an agreement.

After a trip to the bank, she also delivered gifts for her aunt and cousin Gu Minmin to her aunt’s house. While there, she encountered her aunt’s in-laws, with whom she was not familiar, so she quickly handed over the gifts and left.

She then went out for dinner, and when the time was right, headed to beautiful Community to collect this month’s rent.

She knew that Aunt Zhou had bought a house in beautiful Community but was unaware that Aunt Zhou’s house was in the same building as hers. When she finished collecting the rent and went downstairs, she ran into Aunt Zhou and Chen Wenming in the elevator.

“After moving out, it’s really not easy for us to meet,” Aunt Zhou remarked. When she learned that Chen Jin was there to collect rent and had to rush home, she didn’t hold her back for a long chat, mentioning that her fruit shop was now open and inviting her to come by next time to enjoy some fruit.

If it weren’t for the need to return to the small western-style building, Chen Jin had planned to stay a little longer to chat with Aunt Zhou. Recently, her life had been excessively mundane; without the lively events in Qiaodong Village, it felt like life was lacking some flavor.

However, once her third uncle, third aunt, and little aunt opened their shops in beautiful Community, she would definitely come by to bond with Aunt Zhou!

When she returned to the small western-style building that evening, she unconsciously took another look at Shen Baichuan’s car and clicked her tongue: He’s gotten a new car again!

Every day, there were indeed a lot of things going on in her life.

In the morning, she had an appointment with her eldest uncle to meet at his company at nine. Chen Jin arrived at eight-thirty. As soon as she entered the company gate, she saw her second cousin, Chen Yongfei, chatting and laughing with a girl. Not wanting to disturb them, she quietly went to sit on a small sofa nearby.

It was the girl who was joking with her second cousin that noticed her first and asked what she was doing there.

Chen Yongxin glanced over and then took another look.

No wonder she looked familiar!

“This is my third sister, here to see my dad,” Chen Yongxin said, walking over and giving her a playful pat on the head. “You come over and don’t even call me. I was wondering where this beauty came from in our little company.”

“Hey, you’ve messed up my hair,” Chen Jin said, glancing at the girl who kept stealing glances at them. She nudged him and asked, “Second Brother, who is she?”

“Don’t think too much. She’s the daughter of my dad’s friend, working in administration at the company.”

“Oh.”

“Your ‘oh’ sounds a bit disappointed.”

“…… Not really.” It’s just that I’ve been too bored and wanted to find some excitement.

“Oh right, so are you still living in beautiful Community, Second Brother?” Chen Jin knew that her second cousin had moved out from home for a while and later cleaned up a unit under his name in beautiful Community to live in.

Chen Yongxin nodded, “I was used to living at home. After moving out, I realized it’s actually more comfortable to live alone.”

“That makes sense.” Chen Jin smiled in agreement. But whether that was her second cousin’s true feelings was hard to say.

Even though her eldest uncle had already divided the houses and money among the three siblings, he still held onto the majority of the funds. Her eldest cousin, Meng Lin, frequently visited her uncle and aunt’s house. Her second cousin moving out might also be to avoid family matters.

Most of the money her uncle had invested in the Chengxin Construction Company, and he had clearly stated that the company would eventually be handed over to her second cousin. She only knew the final outcome; she had no idea how chaotic things got at home when her uncle made that decision. But it wasn’t likely to have been pleasant. She hadn’t seen her eldest cousin and eldest cousin-in-law for a while. Recently, when they went on a trip, her aunt bought clothes and bags for her and Chen Jia, without mentioning a word about her eldest cousin and Chen Ting…

Every family has its own difficulties!

“Oh, you’re here so early? Have you had breakfast?” Chen Wenqiang strode in, seeing the brother and sister chatting on the sofa near the front desk. Chen Jin looked mysterious, and at the sound of his voice, the two immediately stopped talking, each more awkward than the other.

It was obvious it wasn’t good news.

Chen Wenqiang shot a warning glare at his son: Don’t lead your sister astray!

Chen Yongxin, who received the warning gaze: No one has suffered as much injustice as I have!

Chen Wenqiang called both of them to his office.

With family, things were more casual. It was Chen Jin’s first time in her uncle’s office, and she found it quite tastefully decorated, with plenty of books on the shelf. As she approached, she reached out to touch them, only to get her hand covered in dust.

Taking advantage of the moment when her uncle went to find the finance department, her second cousin smiled at her and said, “Don’t look too closely. Those books are just for show to look cultured.”

Chen Jin: “……” If she hadn’t looked closely, she really wouldn’t have noticed.

Sometimes, her uncle resembled an intellectual, as long as he wasn’t speaking loudly. Just sitting there, he looked every bit the “director” or “boss.”

Once Chen Wenqiang finished his work and came over, he shut the office door and got straight to the point: “The land I have in the suburbs of West District is about to start construction. I’m short on funds for building the houses, so I won’t beat around the bush; I want to ask you how much money you can spare to invest a little in this project.”

Chen Jin had already prepared herself for this after receiving her uncle’s call yesterday; otherwise, she wouldn’t have specifically gone to the bank to inquire about withdrawing her fixed deposit. She kept track of her money monthly, so she was well aware of her finances.

She needed to set aside some funds for the renovation of the nine houses and a shop in Jinxiu Community, along with a little extra as a backup, which happened to amount to the remaining three million.

As for the land and building in Qiaoxi Village, plus the subsequent renovations, she had initially reserved one million. So far, she had spent over eight hundred thousand on buying the land and building the house. The later renovations might require some additional funds, but the remaining backup money should be about enough.

She had calculated these accounts early on, so when her uncle asked about it now, she quickly replied, “Three million.”

“Is there still that much?” Her uncle’s niece looked at the numerous items purchased and didn’t expect there was still that much liquid cash in hand.

Her uncle thought for a moment and said, “You should keep some money for emergencies. The funds are nearly gathered; your third uncle contributed 1 million, your second uncle and your aunt each brought in 100,000, and your aunt invested 500,000. With that, you have 2.3 million, making a total of 4 million for a nice round figure.”

Before this, Chen Jin thought her uncle was genuinely short on cash, but now that he mentioned asking others, she couldn’t help but think more about it.

Was her uncle really in need of this 4 million investment? Or was he confident that building on the land in the suburbs of Western District would be profitable, so he pulled them in to share the spoils?

Thinking this way, Chen Jin asked, and her uncle laughed heartily, “I said your cleverness is entirely learned from me; your mind works quickly.”

“However, it’s true that I need money. Old Zhang wants to invest, but I didn’t accept. It’s better to make money for our own family than for others.”

So, Chen Jin decided to invest 2.3 million, and when the profits came in, they would distribute according to the investment ratio.

After discussing business, her uncle asked her, “What about your job situation? I estimate the city library is out of the question.”

Chen Jin mentioned applying for the counselor position at the academy, even quoting Professor Jiang’s exact words. However, since the matter wasn’t entirely settled, she couldn’t say for sure if Professor Jiang would have any influence on the recruitment of counselors at the academy.

She hadn’t mentioned to her family that she had dated someone at school, so she didn’t want to tell her uncle that her ex-boyfriend’s current girlfriend’s cousin was the deputy dean of the academy; what if they blocked her…

“Let’s see if I can get selected for the academy counselor position first. If that doesn’t work, I can still look at the school’s assignments. After all, I’m someone who has always ranked first in exams; there’s no reason for me to be assigned to some remote corner.”

“Isn’t that right? If they really assign you poorly, those people must have a problem with their heads.”

Chen Yongxin looked at his father with a complicated expression. No wonder Tingting always said that Dad only praised the third sister; just look at it—mindless praise! The children from both uncles’ families and the three aunts’ families, plus the three siblings, all gathered together, and it seemed like only the third sister was treated as if she were his father’s only biological child.

He still couldn’t understand why.

When sending Chen Jin downstairs, Chen Yongxin said, “Sometimes I feel like you resemble Dad more than me, your older brother, and Tingting. I used to think about why, but just now I seem to understand.”

“Why?”

“Take this investment for example. Dad was the first to bring it up at home, asking us three siblings to invest our own money. I was definitely going to invest after understanding the situation. But your older brother and Tingting weren’t willing, coming up with many excuses… then Dad just stopped mentioning it. He went to tell our second uncle, and they also took several days to decide. But you? Dad didn’t even need to tell you how much profit you could get from investing this money; you just put your entire fortune into it.”

Chen Yongxin glanced at her, “If I had such a niece, I’d treat her like my own daughter.”

Chen Jin smiled bashfully, “It’s mainly because my uncle is reliable. If it were you, second brother, asking me to invest money, I might not have been able to take out that much.”

“… Did you really have to say that?”

“Hehe.” Chen Jin chuckled and continued, “But my uncle once consulted someone about his fortune, and they said I would bring him good luck in finances. My uncle believes it strongly.”

Chen Yongxin’s eyes widened, “Is that true? Are you not just making this up to fool me?” How come he didn’t know there was such a ridiculous thing?

Chen Jin nodded very seriously, “Of course it’s true. My uncle used to work in the Special Zone, and his boss was from Chaoshan, who believed in these things a lot. After my uncle returned to start a company, he sought someone’s fortune-telling.”

“How do you know?”

“Oh, that day my uncle drove me to school, and there were many people by the roadside selling things, so we went to check it out. Then my uncle casually went to have his fortune told.”

Chen Yongxin: “…”

After leaving her uncle’s company, Chen Jin went directly to the bank, having arranged to withdraw the money in three days. The bank president was reluctant but still helped her out seriously.

Chen Jin reassured the president, “If I get a chance at relocation, I’ll come back to deposit money at your bank.”

The bank president smiled bitterly: Is relocation some common good thing? You can’t possibly expect to get a second chance after hitting it once?

Three days later, Chen Jin returned with her uncle and her second cousin to withdraw the money, receiving a black-and-white contract stating how much she had invested and how much profit she could share.

Then, on Monday, everyone had to go to Splendid Community to select their houses.

The relocation notices for Qiaodong Village and Mutang Village were issued simultaneously, but because Qiaodong Village was very cooperative, it completed the relocation work first and thus had priority in selecting the resettlement houses. Within Qiaodong Village, the selection was done according to the order of signing the compensation agreements.

Chen Jin was third in line; after the first two families had chosen, it was her turn.

Without hesitation, she chose all the lower floors. Since Splendid Community didn’t have elevators, the highest was the seventh floor, and higher floors definitely wouldn’t be as good for renting as the lower ones. The first floor had four units; she first selected a first-floor unit in Building 3, then chose the second and third floors.

For the shops outside, she took one close to the community entrance. The shops were fifty square meters each, and she received a compensation area of eighty square meters for the shop, so she just had to pay for an additional twenty square meters, spending eighty thousand to acquire two adjacent shops.

Aunt Zhou’s shop was selected on the other side of the entrance, and she also supplemented some money.

Seeing Lawyer Mo appear there, Chen Jin was about to ask whose matter it was, when she suddenly remembered that Aunt Zhou had said when she split off from the family, the six resettlement houses and shops would all belong to her.

Just as she was thinking this, she saw Chen Wenxing accompanying Chen Sangong and Chen Sanpo over.

Chen Wenxing had a swollen eye and kept his head down as he approached, not speaking to anyone.

Chen Jin patted her third aunt’s arm and gestured for her to look, “Did he get beaten up?”

Third Aunt snorted, “Deserved it!”

“What do you mean?” Chen Jin asked curiously.

“When we divided the property, it was agreed that the designated housing and shops would go to Zhou Xiangxiang and Chen Wenming. Now, Chen Wenxing has gone back on his word and stirred up his parents to cause a scene, saying he wants to redistribute the property. He wants three units of designated housing, splitting it with his brother.”

Chen Jin rolled her eyes in disdain. This person really had no shame. He wanted everything and was trying to take advantage of the situation.

“Chen Sangong and Chen Sanpo are also clueless. They went to Zhou Xiangxiang’s store to make trouble, insisting on a redistribution. Zhou Xiangxiang went to confront them that day and beat up Chen Wenxing and his wife. Look at how honest Chen Sangong and Chen Sanpo are now? They got slapped several times. When the police were called, they said it was a family matter and told them to negotiate privately, so they didn’t take anyone to the station.”

“Zhou Xiangxiang is really tough. She sat at their front door with a kitchen knife, and they didn’t dare come out. Today, Zhou Xiangxiang has called Lawyer Mo to help, and they’re going to transfer the property soon. Chen Wenxing and the others don’t dare to make a fuss, unless they want to stop living altogether.”

Chen Jin felt her mood lift. She hated hearing about people suffering and then having to swallow their grievances. Aunt Zhou is truly a model for our generation!

“Chen Wenxing is really a piece of work. Everyone used to praise him for being educated and knowledgeable, but all that learning has gone to waste; he’s just scheming against people.” Third Aunt spat and said, “He even tried to incite the people living in the Rose Garden to scold Zhou Xiangxiang, but no one dared to listen to him. Even the old village secretary doesn’t dare speak up this time.”

Chen Jin laughed, “If he meddles again, Aunt Zhou will definitely tear him apart.”

Just as they were talking, Chen Jin saw the old village secretary’s family approaching. Chen Wensong looked like someone owed him hundreds of thousands, his face full of anger. His and Chen Wenxing’s expressions were the worst; everyone else was happily choosing houses.

Third Aunt tugged at her and whispered, “Chen Wensong’s wife has given birth, and it’s a girl.”

Chen Jin maliciously remarked, “What good luck? Didn’t they say they were going for a checkup and confirmed it was a boy?”

“Well, you can’t be sure about such things. Machines can have issues.”

What a pity that Aunt Kexin and Chen Yue weren’t there today. If they had been, someone would have definitely laughed out loud.

Chen Wensong and the old village secretary were not decent people. They would probably still try for a son, hoping that his current wife can give birth to one; otherwise, that little girl just born is in for a tough life with such parents and grandparents…

The eighteen households from Qiaodong Village had chosen their houses, and several families from Mutang Village had chosen theirs. Soon, some people began to express their dissatisfaction.

“Why did they get to choose the best houses first? The rest are all high-rises; how are we supposed to pick?”

“Exactly, isn’t this ridiculous? Either we draw lots, and whoever gets what, gets it.”

“Yes! Or let’s redraw; all the good floors have been taken by Qiaodong Village.”

As they clamored, Village Chief Chen Guangman was already urging them to leave. “You’ve made your selections, hurry back. What are you hanging around for? You’ll just get yourselves in trouble. Move along!”

Everyone felt that the village chief made a point. Their houses were already settled, and they didn’t care how Mutang Village fussed; naturally, someone would manage that. They were the ones who benefited, so there was no reason to stick around and be an eyesore. One by one, they hurried off.

The people from Mutang Village remained arguing.

The houses and shops in the Splendid Community weren’t in a hurry to be renovated. They were waiting for the renovations in Qiaoxi Village to be completed before sending people to renovate in Splendid.

By mid-March, the “Yongfei Supermarket” of her third uncle and third aunt and her little aunt’s “Yongan Breakfast Shop” officially opened. Chen Jin specifically came to support them and brought two fruit baskets.

The fruit baskets were bought at Aunt Zhou’s “Xiangxiang Fruit Store.”

The occupancy rate of beautiful Community was gradually increasing because many people from Qiaodong Village were flocking to buy houses, resulting in half of the residents in this community being tenants.

With more people in the community, the shops outside the community were also starting to liven up. This row now had more than one supermarket and breakfast shop. Currently, the only fruit store was Aunt Zhou’s.

After looking at her third uncle and third aunt’s supermarket, Chen Jin started considering whether she should connect her two shops and open a supermarket as well. She hadn’t thought much about it before, but now she realized another issue: if she handed the shop over to Tian Miao to manage, it would be inconvenient for Tian Miao to travel back and forth from the Rose Garden.

In that case, she could leave a unit for Tian Miao to live in, but she was worried about whether it would be safe for her to be alone there.

She should find a chance to ask Tian Miao’s opinion.

Chen Jin took some time to visit Qiaoxi Village to check on the renovation progress and ran into her cousin Meng Chong, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time.

His arm was still there, but he had lost half of his right hand. Now he could manage using his left hand in place of his right with enough strength to handle daily life.

“Third sister.” Meng Chong looked at Chen Jin for a while before recognizing her. He smiled and looked her up and down, saying, “I almost didn’t recognize you.”

Chen Jin also smiled and replied that this meant her makeup was not wasted, which was exactly the effect she wanted.

“Come on, let me show you the renovated results. The first to third floors are finished, but the upper floors aren’t completed yet.” Meng Chong took her to see her building. Each floor had a total of five rooms, all spacious single-room layouts, complete with kitchens and bathrooms. Compared to most old rental houses in Qiaoxi Village, their place felt much more user-friendly, at least avoiding the hassle of crowding the bathroom at the end of the hallway early in the morning and not having to argue with neighbors over the monthly shared utilities.

The floors were tiled with patterns that were outdated and cheaper, but even so, the small rental units appeared clean and tidy.

The other four buildings had the same layout and decoration, but those buildings only had four rooms on the first floor, which were a bit smaller.

On the first floor, Meng Chong had agreed to rent a unit to run a small grocery store alongside managing rentals, which would also provide him with an additional source of income.

“Meng Chong, choose any shop you like first. If you don’t want to pay rent, that’s fine; let’s just offer a discount—how about half of what others are paying? Will that work? If it’s more than that, let’s forget it; we’re not outsiders.”

Meng Chong smiled, “Then I’m getting a good deal. Thank you, rich lady Jin.”

Hearing this title, Chen Jin couldn’t help but laugh, chuckling a few times, “Is this a new nickname the people from Qiaoxi Village have given me?”

Meng Chong looked at her and smiled helplessly: Do you really know you have a nickname in Qiaoxi Village?

“I’m telling you, they used to secretly call me ‘Trouble Jin.’ Hey, don’t say anything; I actually quite like this new nickname.”

Seeing her laugh foolishly, Meng Chong began to laugh as well.

After Chen Jin finished her latest thesis and was considering which day to go to the school to see Professor Jiang, her counselor called her.

“You’ve passed the preliminary selection for the college counselor position. They’re hiring two counselors, and six people have entered the interview stage. I looked at it, and your advantages are the greatest, so prepare well. Oh, right, the interview is at nine o’clock the day after tomorrow in the first-floor meeting room of the college, so prepare well.”

Chen Jin secretly cheered, then asked, “Teacher, do I need to prepare any materials? Are there any special requirements for the interview?”

“Go to the Academic Affairs Office and get a transcript; it’s best to bring your award certificates as well. Dress formally for the interview—nothing too flashy will do. Most of the interviewers will be our college teachers; if you answer seriously, there won’t be any problems. Prepare well!”

“Okay! Thank you, teacher!”

After hanging up the phone, Chen Jin shouted a couple of “yes” in her study, then ran to her bedroom to look at her clothes. Every outfit seemed suitable, but upon closer inspection, she felt none were quite right.

Ah, no more second-guessing! I’ll go out and buy a couple of work outfits to wear for the interview.

However, she hadn’t noticed that the window in her study was open. Her loud cheers, which were high-pitched and piercing, startled Shen Baichuan, who had just entered the courtyard next door, causing him to stumble and almost kneel down on the spot.