In her past life, the original owner’s greatest wish had been to have a place of her own. However, until her death, this dream was never fulfilled. Now, Lin Ning was determined to make this wish come true for her.

In 1982, there were no commercial housing options available. To buy a house, Lin Ning had to consider either welfare housing provided by work units or a courtyard house with a residential plot.

After walking around Dong’an County, Lin Ning found very few suitable options. The houses she came across either had inconvenient locations or were otherwise unsuitable, making her search frustrating.

One day, just as she returned home, she noticed her landlord, Grandpa Han, accompanied by two other people. Seeing Lin Ning, Grandpa Han said, “Xiao Lin, I’m sorry, but I’ve decided to sell this house. I brought these two over to take a look.”

Selling it? Lin Ning’s heart skipped a beat. This is perfect timing—just like someone handing you a pillow when you’re sleepy! She could buy this courtyard herself.

The courtyard was approximately 400 square meters, featuring three main rooms and a kitchen.

While the area was large enough, the house itself was quite old—a traditional brick structure that would need to be rebuilt if used as a permanent residence.

The greatest value of this courtyard lay in its location, right in the center of Dong’an County. Nearby were a supply and marketing cooperative, a credit union, and a State-run restaurant. In the future, this area would be redeveloped into the bustling pedestrian street of Dong’an County.

Grandpa Han was asking for 3,000 yuan, but the two prospective buyers scoffed. “This house will only last a few more years before it needs to be rebuilt. At that price, we’d rather buy an apartment with running water and a flush toilet. It’s much more convenient.”

Grandpa Han lowered the price to 2,800 yuan, but the two still refused and left, shaking their heads.

After they left, Lin Ning asked, “Grandpa Han, your house is rented out just fine. Why are you selling it?”

“My son has gone to the south to do business and wants me to help him out. We’ll settle there for good, so I figured I’d sell the courtyard since I won’t be coming back.”

Lin Ning said, “Grandpa Han, I’ve really enjoyed living here, and I’d like to buy it. But I don’t have enough money. Could you lower the price a bit more?”

“You really want to buy it?”

“I do! But the price is a bit high. Could you make it a little cheaper?”

Grandpa Han thought for a moment. “If you’re serious, Xiao Lin, I can drop it to 2,700 yuan. I really can’t go any lower—I need the money for my son.”

Lin Ning pondered briefly. “Alright! Grandpa Han, give me three days to gather the money.”

“Sure, I’ll wait for you!”

Although Lin Ning already had enough money on hand, she didn’t want to raise suspicion or invite trouble. In any era, a single woman with a large sum of money could easily attract unwanted attention.

Flipping through the original owner t’s memories, Lin Ning knew that this area would soon be designated for commercial redevelopment, with small shops filling the neighborhood. A surge of goods from the south would flood this area, turning it into a bustling hub where the entire population of Dong’an County would come to shop. It would eventually become known as “Dong’an County Central Street.”

A few years later, as supermarkets and shopping malls rose to prominence, these small shops would decline, and the government would demolish the area, compensating residents generously. Numerous millionaires would emerge from this redevelopment.

This property was absolutely worth buying.

That evening, Lin Ning sorted her finances and found she had 4,350 yuan in total. After purchasing the house, she would have 1,650 yuan left.

The bath scrubbers she sold were becoming increasingly popular, and her commission earnings were growing. With a weekly payout of 2,000 yuan, Lin Ning’s monthly income was at least 8,000 yuan.

However, Lin Ning was cautious and didn’t want to put all her eggs in one basket. After buying the courtyard, she planned to renovate it into a two-story commercial building and rent it out, becoming a landlady.

The next day, as she was heading to the market with her bath scrubbers, she encountered Lin Yong.

Lin Yong had been having a miserable time at the Fan family’s house. Fan’s father would wake him up before dawn to work, and during meals, the family demanded money from him. When he refused, they denied him food. After forcing his way through two meals, the Fan family stopped cooking entirely and went to eat at the canteen instead, leaving Lin Yong in a terrible state.

He directed all his resentment toward Lin Ning. It was all her fault! If she had married into the Feng family and bought a house, he wouldn’t have to be a live-in son-in-law, and the Fan family wouldn’t dare treat him this way.

Adding to his anger was the incident with the red envelope. Lin Yong decided to teach Lin Ning a harsh lesson.

“Lin Ning, you took 50 cents and gave me a big red envelope. How dare you mess with me!”

Lin Ning replied calmly, “I wasn’t trying to trick you. Mom told me to give you a big red envelope. I didn’t have the money, so that’s all I could manage.”

“Bullshit! I’ve already asked around. You make good money selling those bath scrubbers. Don’t tell me you don’t have money—you’re lying!”

Lin Ning chuckled. “Yes, I have money. But I’m not giving it to you. Isn’t that infuriating?”

“You really were lying! I’ll beat you to death!”

Lin Yong charged at her, brandishing an iron rod he had brought from home, ready to teach her a lesson.

Whoosh!

The iron rod swung through the air. If it hit, it could break bones. Lin Yong wasn’t holding back.

Lin Ning flung her bag, which collided with the rod with a loud “clang.” Lin Yong stumbled back, his hand going numb. Lin Ning seized the opportunity and kicked the rod, causing it to fall from his grasp.

She picked it up and struck Lin Yong’s leg with it.

Crack!

Lin Yong let out a howl. “Ahhh!”

It looked like his leg was broken. A commotion broke out, and someone quickly called the police. Witnesses testified that Lin Yong had attacked first, and Lin Ning had acted in self-defense, absolving her of any responsibility.

Lin Yong was sent to Dong’an County Hospital, someone informed Fan Xiaoe, “Xiaoe, your husband’s been injured. Hurry to the hospital!”

Fan Xiaoe rushed to the hospital, only to find out that Lin Yong had been beaten by Lin Ning, breaking his leg and requiring immediate surgery.

The surgery required payment, but Lin Yong pretended to be unconscious and refused to pay a single cent. Fan Xiaoe had no choice but to cover the cost herself.

Since their marriage, Fan Xiaoe had been deeply unhappy. Marrying Lin Yong had brought nothing but losses to her family. They had gained no benefits from having a live-in son-in-law, and now Lin Yong’s injury would cost them more money.

When Lin Yong was wheeled out of surgery, still semi-conscious, Fan Xiaoe changed his hospital gown. While pulling down his pants, she felt something hard in the pocket of his underwear.

She pulled it out and nearly screamed—it was a passbook! The balance showed 1,400 yuan!

Her hands trembled as she looked around before quickly pocketing the passbook and dressing Lin Yong again.

Just then, Lin Yong’s parents arrived, and Fan Xiaoe made an excuse to leave and hurried home.

At home, she took out the passbook again. It was indeed 1,400 yuan, and the account holder was Lin Yong.

Fan’s parents were overjoyed. “I knew Lin Yong had money! He just didn’t want to share it!”

“Mom, Dad, what should we do with this money? Should we withdraw it?”

Fan’s father shook his head. “No, it’s too much money. If Lin Yong finds out we’ve taken it, he’ll report us to the police.”

But greed is hard to resist, and the Fan family couldn’t help but scheme. This sum was too tempting, and they needed a way to get it into their hands.