Chapter 44: Graduation

They didn’t cook at home for lunch, so the three of them went out to eat. They spent the afternoon outside and returned to the small Western-style building around five o’clock, then walked to the restaurant together.

At the entrance of the restaurant, they encountered others from dorm 405. Seeing the three of them coming from the other side, Chen Lu found it quite strange.

Chen Jin and Lin Xinran had a good relationship, so it was normal for them to walk together, but why was Yang Qian following them as well? She recalled that yesterday, Yang Qian had unexpectedly sat next to Chen Jin; she wondered how their relationship had become so good.

Qin Xuemei now avoided Yang Qian because Yang Qian had broken up with Zhuo Ran, and she had said some offhand comments in the dorm. She thought Yang Qian didn’t know, but one time when she went to the college to submit a paper, she ran into Yang Qian and tried to say a few words, only to be directly exposed by Yang Qian.

She knew she couldn’t provoke Yang Qian, and with graduation approaching, she didn’t want to get into trouble. So, whenever she saw Yang Qian, she tried to minimize her presence.

The teacher’s appreciation banquet didn’t have any special activities; it was a rare excuse for teachers and students to have a meal together. The classmates were passing around a “classmate record,” which was basically for them to exchange contact information and details about their assigned work units. In the future, these classmates could potentially become useful “connections.”

Chen Jin also prepared a notebook, but as she looked around, she felt that most of the classmates were strangers to her. Some had dressed up and, at first glance, she almost couldn’t remember their names. She realized that she hadn’t interacted much with everyone during her studies, so these “connections” probably wouldn’t be of much use to her.

But since everyone was exchanging contact information, she just went along with it.

In fact, even if she didn’t seek out others to exchange contact information, people were coming to her.

Who didn’t know that Chen Jin was wealthy? In this era, there were many people who had quit their jobs to pursue big money. They thought that if they ever went into business, they might find Chen Jin to collaborate with.

“Chen Jin, let’s keep in touch.”

Returning to her table, Chen Jin flipped through the records in her notebook and found that most of her classmates had chosen to work in Rong City.

Half of her class were from the southern provinces, but there weren’t many locals in Rong City. Almost all the students from other cities in the southern provinces chose to stay in Rong City, with only one female classmate opting to return to her hometown to become a high school teacher.

Looking at the units assigned to everyone, most were schools. They ranged from middle schools to high schools, including the vice class leader, who had run for the position of college counselor at the same time as her but hadn’t been elected. However, he still became a counselor, just at the Business Management College of their school.

People like Lin Xinran, Yang Qian, and Chen Lu, who were staying on for graduate studies, didn’t write in Chen Jin’s book. However, Meng Shengnan and Liang Xiaoyu from the dorm did. Both of them were heading back to their hometowns—one to a state-owned factory in her city, and the other to a high school in her county.

She completely ignored Qin Xuemei. Whether Qin stayed in Rong City or not, or no matter how she fared in the future, Chen Jin considered her an “ineffective connection,” unworthy of maintaining contact.

The place was bustling with people. Some were reminiscing about certain moments from their university years, some were bidding farewell reluctantly, and others, like her, were simply bystanders, feeling no emotional stirrings.

From middle school to now, whenever she graduated, she would watch others cry their hearts out and feel awkward. Sometimes, she wondered if she was too cold-hearted, but then she thought that moments like this one felt like her most comfortable state.

“Now that you’ve graduated, are you going traveling?” Yang Qian came back with her notebook, not even bothering to look through it before putting it back in her bag. She began talking with Chen Jin about which cities in the country were worth visiting.

Lin Xinran joined in, “I don’t have much money left, but I could tag along for one or two trips. Let me know when you’re going. But it’s not safe for just the few of us to go, right? We should find trustworthy people to go with. Chen Jin, when is your third brother’s travel agency opening?”

“I don’t know if he’s still opening it. But I don’t have time to travel. It’ll be July in half a month, and I have to start work. There are also things at home that need to be dealt with.”

Before starting work, she wanted to take some time to check the rental situation of the house in Qiaoxi Village, and the Splendid Community was also almost finished with renovations, so she needed to start arranging the rental there as well. As for her two shop spaces, she had already made an agreement with Tian Miao—one of the shops would be turned into a small supermarket, which she could manage on her own. Later, depending on the situation, she might consider connecting the two shops to open a larger supermarket, but for now, she planned to rent out the other one.

Yes, when the time comes, she would leave an apartment for Tian Miao to live in and hand over the rental responsibilities to her. She could offer a higher salary, and that way, she wouldn’t have to worry about anything anymore.

“Is there anything else? Are you going to collect rent again?” Yang Qian glanced at her. She remembered that Chen Jin had refused her shopping invitations several times, always with the excuse of either collecting rent or going back to her village to check on her buildings.

“Do you think collecting rent is easy? You still have to schedule a time with the tenants. If they’re not home, you have to reschedule. Worse, if you run into someone who refuses to pay, you have to chase after the rent.”

In reality, that hadn’t happened yet. Her third uncle and aunt were collecting rent for her. She had already told the tenants that they could pay the rent to the owner of “Yongfei Supermarket,” and then she would collect the rent from her aunt every month.

She just used this as an excuse to avoid going out, worried that Yang Qian would once again use shopping as a pretext to ask her to help with her thesis.

Lin Xinran said enviously, “If it’s collecting rent, even if it’s tiring, I’d still love to have such a job.”

Seeing that fewer classmates were gathered around the teacher’s table, and after the teacher had eaten a few more bites, Chen Jin called to Yang Qian and Lin Xinran, “Let’s go, time to offer a toast to the teacher.”

Even though she didn’t like her Chinese major, her teachers were all excellent—knowledgeable, responsible, and truly dedicated, showing her the genuine spirit of scholars. Unlike Liu Shisheng, who deliberately created an image of being cultured.

“You’re using soda? Should we drink a little alcohol?” Lin Xinran noticed that Chen Jin was pouring Sprite for the three of them.

“The teacher won’t mind. It’s the thought that counts. Besides, you all have to go home later, so it’s better not to drink alcohol.” Chen Jin gestured to them, “Just like this, let’s go.”

Seeing the three of them approaching, Professor Jiang smiled, “You don’t have to be so formal with me. We’ll have plenty of time to see each other in the future.”

Chen Jin smiled. That was true. Though they were being respectful now, who knew if they might provoke these teachers to the point of frustration in the future. But she still sincerely thanked her teachers.

Throughout her more than ten years of education, she had encountered many difficult classmates, but at each stage, she had also been lucky enough to meet excellent teachers. That was truly a fortunate thing.

After receiving her diploma, Chen Jin didn’t take a break.

She first went to Qiaoxi Village because Cousin Meng Chong had told her that, aside from two vacant shop spaces, all the other units had been rented out. However, some people in the village had recently started complaining, thinking their business was being taken away. But most of the tenants renting from her hadn’t previously rented in the village; they were introduced by friends, so it couldn’t be considered stealing business.

Cousin Meng Chong wanted her to come back and “show her presence.”

Chen Jin: …

What presence could she possibly show now? Stirring up trouble wouldn’t work anymore. In the past, she could rely on being young and “immature,” but now she was an adult and had to reason with people.

When Old Man Liu heard the sound of a car, he came out for a look, and sure enough, it was Chen Jin.

Ever since he realized he couldn’t take advantage of her, Old Man Liu’s attitude had reverted to how it used to be, like that of a family patriarch. He didn’t meddle too much in her affairs, but he didn’t completely stay out of them either. He would notify her if something came up.

“All your units are rented out. If you’re going to check on them, it’s best to drive over. Otherwise, you might get pelted with rotten vegetables in the village. Cutting off someone’s livelihood is like killing their parents.”

Chen Jin was speechless. “Are these people acting crazy again? How is it our problem that their tenants left? Most of the tenants renting from us previously rented elsewhere. They’re just blaming others instead of doing their own work. They’ll lose their wealth even if they get rich from a demolition payout.”

Old Man Liu paused in lighting his cigarette, surprised. “Is our village really going to be demolished?”

Instantly, Mrs. Liu, Uncle Liu, and others nearby looked at her with shining eyes.

Chen Jin: “… I didn’t say there’s going to be a demolition!!!”

Now she understood—going forward, she needed to watch her words carefully and never mention “demolition” in Qiaoxi Village.

These people were obsessed with it. She feared that if she said anything more, by the end of the day, there would be a rumor spreading throughout Qiaoxi Village: Chen Jin said the village was going to be demolished!

“You all should just focus on managing your rentals.” Chen Jin originally wanted to say a few more words, but after seeing their expressions, she changed her mind. What was the point of talking to them? Let them manage their own business.

After gathering some information about the current state of affairs from Old Man Liu, Chen Jin drove off.

Sure enough, she caught some people glaring at her viciously.

When she reached the edge of the village, the gate of the courtyard was open, so Chen Jin parked her car in the open space outside.

Under the iron sheds in the corners of the courtyard walls were numerous bicycles, motorcycles, and small tricycles. Opposite the gate was her building, and the sign for Cousin Meng Chong’s “Ruyi Supermarket” was very prominent. Sitting at the cash register, Cousin Meng Chong looked up and saw her. After helping a customer, he came out.

“Finished with school stuff?”

“For now, yes. I’ll be starting work next month.” Chen Jin said, “Cousin Meng Chong, you carry on with your work. I’m just looking around and then heading over to see the village head.”

“Alright.” Meng Chong wanted to chat more, but he was called back by another customer, so he had to return to the register.

Chen Jin glanced around and saw that Meng Chong’s shop seemed to be doing well. Two customers were leaving with their purchases, and they were likely tenants, not villagers. If they had been villagers, their reaction wouldn’t have been so friendly toward her.

All five of her buildings, with over a hundred units, were fully rented out, and the speed at which it happened was almost unbelievable to her.

But with more people, managing the place had become more difficult. She noticed some garbage dumped in a corner of the stairwell. Tenants were paying a sanitation fee, and there was a cleaner responsible for keeping the place tidy. But simply leaving trash on the ground without even bagging it properly? That was just inconsiderate. Other tenants passing by would definitely be annoyed by it.

Unfortunately, this kind of thing could only be solved by people being more conscientious. She couldn’t possibly hire someone to monitor every floor. So she could only ask the cleaners to be more diligent.

When she mentioned the issue with the stairway trash to Cousin Meng Chong, he also looked troubled. “There’s really no way to manage that. I’ve even posted notices warning that tenants who are caught littering won’t have their leases renewed, but people still do it. The two yuan a month sanitation fee is all given to the cleaning auntie, and she cleans three times a day—at 9 a.m., 2 p.m., and 7 p.m.”

However, with five buildings, cleaning them is no small task. Tidying up the garbage and sweeping the floors is manageable, but mopping every day is out of the question. Over time, the hallways and corridors might get dirty.

“Let’s hire a cleaning lady. We should properly maintain our new building.” In a year or two, the rent will surely go up, and by then, hiring two cleaning ladies for maintenance won’t seem like a waste.

Meng Chong’s cousin had prepared a rent collection list, simple enough to understand without much thought. Every month, all she needed to do was verify the amount of rent collected, count the money, and send her cousin his wages.

“This month the rent is calculated by the day, but starting next month, it’ll be for a full month. As for this money…”

“Hold onto it for now. I see there’s still quite a bit that needs to be purchased. It saves us from having to reimburse everything bit by bit. Just keep the receipts, and you can use this money for any purchases. That’s what Uncle said too.”

It wouldn’t be right to make her cousin front the money. He ran a supermarket, and the payment for goods was borrowed from their second cousin.

Meng Chong took the money back and said, “Don’t worry, I keep a record of every penny spent.”

After checking out the property, Chen Jin headed to the home of the village chief, Liu Guangman.

Liu Guangman got a headache as soon as he saw her. Lately, the villagers had been making a fuss, all because of those few buildings Chen Jin owned. He knew that some people in the village were just jealous, even though it didn’t really concern them. They simply wanted to cause trouble.

But to be honest, he felt jealous too when he saw Chen Jin. He shouldn’t have transferred that piece of land to her, letting her acquire such a large plot. If there was ever demolition compensation, her wealth would double.

Jokingly, Chen Jin said, “Chief, are the villagers planning to take revenge on me? They seem to have their eyes on my buildings every day.”

Liu Guangman played it off, saying, “You’re overthinking it. Why would they want to take revenge on someone as young as you?”

“Oh, that’s good then.” Chen Jin changed the topic, “Chief, didn’t old man Zhang from Mutang Village come to you the other day, asking if he could also buy some land here to build a house?”

Liu Guangman gave her a stern look. “Do you think land in the village is something you can just buy? If it weren’t for your father being Liu Shisheng, you wouldn’t even have been able to transfer your household registration here. Only after getting your registration did the village allocate you such a large plot of land.”

“Is it true that your uncle is planning to buy factory land in the suburbs?”

“That I don’t know,” Chen Jin replied, adding, “But I’m going to my uncle’s company later. I can ask him for you, and in a few days, I can let you know.”

“No need to make a special trip. You can just call. I’ll leave you my home number.”

Chen Jin replied, “No need for that. I’ll be visiting the village regularly. My cousin is worried that the villagers might gather and cause trouble at my house, so he told me to come by whenever I can.”

Liu Guangman, after a moment of thought, said, “Well, there is some unrest in the village lately. I’ll have a talk with a few people in the coming days. People shouldn’t just focus on the small piece of land in the village. We need to broaden our horizons and look beyond.”

Chen Jin smiled and said, “Exactly! You’ve got great foresight, Chief.”