Chapter 8: Madness

“Oh, oh, oh, who is this? Isn’t this Associate Professor Liu from the Normal University? Has the demolition issue near your house been settled? Your family owns several buildings and will get a lot of money. You must be laughing your head off, right?”

Liu Shisheng’s barely maintained fake smile couldn’t hold up any longer. He knew it—Chen Jin’s uncles might say a few nice things to his dad, but towards him, their attitude was always this bad. The mental preparation he had done before coming here had all crumbled. Right now, he just wanted to turn around and leave.

But the villagers had already gathered around, trapping him in front of the small shop.

For once, Chen Jin’s eldest uncle didn’t resort to physical force first. Instead, with a proud tilt of his chin, he mocked, “You know Chen Jin’s about to get money from the demolition, and now you want a share? Look at you, always putting on airs like you’re so noble, all for love. But now you’re jealous of Chen Jin’s money, aren’t you afraid your wife will be heartbroken?”

Chen Jin stood behind her uncle with her hands on her hips, looking smug. Heh, her uncle was practically her personal loudspeaker.

She had a serious illness when she was in elementary school. Back then, her family’s financial situation was just average. Her mother had gone to ask Liu Shisheng for half of the surgery cost to treat her, but he gave less than a quarter of it and even told her mother not to come to his house again, worried that his wife would be upset if she found out.

See? Now that she was about to have a lot of money, he wasn’t so concerned about his wife being upset anymore.

Liu Shisheng, with a disdainful expression, ignored her uncle and instead looked directly at Chen Jin, speaking as if it were only natural: “Your grandfather asked me to come and see if you needed any help. He’s worried you’re too young and might get taken advantage of without even realizing it. Now that the place is being demolished, you’ll need somewhere to live. Your grandfather has plenty of houses—you could move back and live there.”

The crowd’s expressions were complicated.

Chen Jin snorted and said, “Coming here to say this nonsense—what you’re really thinking about is my money. Do you think that just because you say a few words, I’ll see you as my dad?”

Liu Shisheng frowned, “What kind of talk is that? I am your father!”

“Oh, wow, really shameless. Crazy!” Chen Jin rolled her eyes dramatically and loudly said, “Uncle, you don’t know this, but a couple of days ago when I went to Qiaoxi Village, people there were worried that I, an outsider, might come and take a share of their demolition money. My grandfather said only descendants of the Liu family are entitled to it. My surname is Chen, not Liu. I don’t worship their Liu family ancestors, so I don’t get a share, right?”

“How big is your ego? When you had money, you guarded it against me. Now that I have money, you come here to try and take it.”

Liu Shisheng’s face turned red, either from anger or embarrassment. He glared at Chen Jin, furious at hearing her repeatedly say things like “are you crazy?” and “you’re crazy!” In his heart, he cursed Chen Fang for not raising her child properly—totally undisciplined!

In a scene like this, there’s no way Aunt Zhou could be absent. She squeezed her way through the crowd and started scolding, “You heartless scoundrel! Pah! Even a villain like Chen Shimei is better than you. Now you want to come here and play father? Where was that attitude when you should have paid for surgery? What kind of trash university would hire garbage like you to teach? My son will never apply to that lousy school! Go home and tell your old scumbag parents to stop calling Chen Jin every day. Back when you and Chen Fang divorced, those old scumbags didn’t want her because she was a girl, didn’t even pay child support. Heaven will strike them down with lightning for their wickedness! Mark my words, the demolition will skip right over your village! Doing evil deeds all your life—you’ll get what’s coming to you!”

All Liu Shisheng could do was stammer “you, you, you” while Chen Jin looked on with disgust.

Aunt Zhou’s voice boomed across the entire village entrance. In a corner, Grandpa Chen listened to his eldest daughter-in-law’s scolding with some guilt, shrinking his neck. This daughter-in-law was known for stirring up trouble even when she was in the wrong. She would yell at him and his wife whenever she felt slighted at home. But soon, he straightened up again—what was there to fear? The land title was in his name, and the household registration book too.

As for the other onlookers: listening to Aunt Zhou scold was just so satisfying! Like drinking a bottle of cold orange soda on a hot summer day.

Chen Jin’s uncles and aunts looked at Aunt Zhou with encouragement: keep going, say more!

With rare unanimous support from the crowd, Aunt Zhou grew even more emboldened. Hands on her hips, feet planted firmly, she declared, “Enough with your nonsense. Our Qiaodong village doesn’t welcome dogs like you—get lost!”

“Chen Jin, you’re just going to stand there?” Liu Shisheng glared in anger.

Chen Jin raised an eyebrow, “What else? You want me to curse at you too? I’ve been talking too much these past few days, my throat’s a bit hoarse. You can come back another day, and I’ll curse you out then.”

At that moment, Liu Shisheng finally realized there was no way he could use emotional tactics to get close to Chen Jin. Having grown up in her maternal family, she had always been at odds with the Liu family. Trying to get a share of her wealth was impossible—it would only result in being insulted and humiliated.

Suddenly, someone shouted, “The demolition office is here!”

Whoa!

In the eyes of the people in Qiaodong Village, the demolition office = the God of Wealth.

The God of Wealth had arrived; who would still be in the mood to watch the commotion? Of course, everyone rushed home to get their household registration book and land certificate.

Uncle rubbed his hands and immediately grabbed Liu Shisheng’s arm, dragging him out while viciously saying, “Get lost! No matter how much money Chen Jin gets, your Liu family won’t get a share. Besides, this land belongs to the Chen family. You people from the Liu family should show some decency and stop thinking about getting involved.”

Chen Jin added, “Exactly! No matter how loud the Liu family shouts, the money I get has nothing to do with them.”

“And don’t think about getting alimony. I’ve consulted a lawyer, and since you never provided child support, even if we go to court, I’d still have the upper hand. If you dare to sue me, I’ll go to your school and tell the leadership and your students all about the dirty things your Liu family has done.”

Liu Shisheng broke free from his uncle’s grip. “Fine! I don’t want your money, but your grandparents were only showing concern for you…”

“Ugh, ugh, ugh, no need for such talk.” Chen Jin gave him a sideways glance. “Do I need their concern? Anyone can say nice words. If they really cared, why didn’t they give me some money to spend before? Don’t think I don’t know what’s going on. It was only after I got into college that Old Man Liu invited me to his house for dinner. Although I only went occasionally during New Year’s, I was still treated differently. The red envelopes Old Man Liu gave to his other grandkids were much bigger than mine. And now you have the nerve to talk about concern? Money speaks volumes; concern comes in direct proportion to the amount of money. I’m straightforward like that!”

When it came to money, Liu Shisheng was at a loss for words. No matter how eloquent he was in front of his students, he could only stay silent now.

Seeing that everyone was heading home, Chen Jin grew impatient and waved her hand. “Alright, I don’t have time to deal with you. Uncle, let’s head back quickly.” Her house was the third to be measured.

Uncle waved his hand broadly. “Let’s go, let’s go, no time to deal with this crazy guy.”

Watching Chen Jin walk back with her uncle, aunt, and cousins, Liu Shisheng glanced at his wrinkled shirt, which had been messed up by his former brother-in-law’s rough handling. Feeling frustrated and short of breath, he wished he could pull out stacks of cash from his pocket and throw it at them.

“Once Qiaoxi Village is demolished, don’t even think about coming back!”

His family owned four buildings, four of them! According to the rumors in the village, those four buildings could bring in tens of millions.

Why did Qiaodong Village get demolished first?!

If only Mutang Village were being demolished, he wouldn’t be so angry right now.

But Chen Jin didn’t care what he thought. She checked her bag to make sure all the necessary materials were there, grabbed two bottles of soda from the fridge in the small shop, opened one, and started drinking. She casually called out to Tian Miao, “Miao Miao, take whatever you want to eat.”

Since the village was being demolished, the shop’s stock needed to be cleared out. Fortunately, she had a restocking list ready, but she hadn’t had time to go shopping yet.

“Okay!” Tian Miao, excited to witness a demolition, happily followed.

Seeing that no one was around, Chen Jin leaned closer to Tian Miao and whispered, “I asked Director Jiang. Once this shop is demolished, I’ll be compensated with a storefront. I’m planning to open a small supermarket, but I’ll have to wait since the storefront isn’t built yet. If you still want to work at my store, just come find me.”

Tian Miao’s eyes lit up with excitement. She said gratefully, “Thank you, Third Cousin! I definitely want to come!”

Running a small shop, collecting and giving change, restocking shelves—she loved this job. If she had her own small shop, she’d be happy to run it for a lifetime!

“Alright, I’ll contact you once I get the shop.” Chen Jin thought for a moment and then advised her, “It’ll take some time before the shop opens. You should ask Aunt if she can recommend another job in the meantime.”

“No worries, if nothing comes up, I’ll just work at a factory.” Seeing that everyone else had rushed to Uncle Chen’s house, Tian Miao urged Chen Jin to hurry over. The shop couldn’t be closed just yet, as more children than usual had been coming to buy snacks these past two days.

Chen Jin responded, grabbed the other bottle of opened orange soda, and ran over to the fruit and vegetable shop next door, where she insisted on handing it to Aunt Zhou. Then she followed the others to Uncle Chen’s house, the first to have its property surveyed and registered.

The crowd of onlookers was blocked outside the courtyard, and because the walls of Uncle Chen’s yard were too high, someone brought over a ladder, climbing up to peek over the top. Those who couldn’t see from below anxiously asked, “What’s going on? What did the demolition office say? How much will the compensation be?”

Chen Jin, trying to stand on tiptoe, couldn’t see over the others, and the sun was glaring down, making her impatient. So she simply returned to her small shop to sit and wait—her house was third in line, after all.

About two hours passed, and the demolition office finished measuring the inside of Uncle Chen’s house and moved on to measure the land. After verifying all the documents, they finally pulled out some papers for Uncle Chen to sign.

Uncle Chen held the pen, his hand trembling from nerves. He looked at the contract, but couldn’t make sense of it. Glancing around, he noticed everyone else also looking around, unsure of what he was searching for.

“Where’s my third sister? Let her come and help me look at this contract. I don’t understand it!”

Chen Guangman couldn’t hold back and rolled his eyes. “Chen Jin isn’t a lawyer. What would she figure out by looking at it? The demolition office brought a lawyer with them—if you don’t understand, just ask the lawyer!”

“Oh, oh. Lawyer, what does this part mean?”

The suited lawyer took the contract, glanced at it, and said, “It means that from the moment you move out of Qiaodong Village until the relocation housing is delivered, you’ll receive a subsidy of two hundred yuan per person each month. The condition is that you choose the housing exchange option. However, if…”

This explanation from the lawyer took up another half an hour.

Chen Jin glanced at the clock on the wall—there was no chance she’d be signing anything today.