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Li Mancang didn’t care about the eldest daughter-in-law’s expression; since they were so intent on showing filial piety, he would definitely support them.
“Dad, Mom, you two just settle in here! I’ll come back to check on you after work!”
“Alright! Don’t worry about us!” The old man and woman looked around at the furnishings in the house and the new apartment. They were overjoyed; they were now people living in an apartment and could return to the village to boast about it!
Li Mancang turned and left without a hint of nostalgia.
The third son quickly hurried after him.
As they both exited the family quarters, they saw Li Xingguo panting as he returned.
Neither of them acknowledged him, riding past without a word.
“Dad! Dad! You…” Li Xingguo called out several times, but Li Mancang’s quick feet made sure not a single syllable reached his ears!
The third son admired his father immensely; his cleverness was like a flowing river! With his mother not around to make a fuss, the real scheming was done by his dad!
This tactic would surely get their eldest brother in trouble!
He was right; he and his brother had inherited their father’s cleverness!
Once home, Li Mancang patted his chest. Thank goodness he had finally sent his parents away! If they had stayed with him, given their mother’s temperament, life would have become unbearable!
Wu Zhiqiu hadn’t returned home yet, and the second son’s family was nowhere to be seen. It was obvious they had hidden away!
Why hadn’t anyone informed him? He could have hidden out with his wife!
Li Fengchun had finished cooking. Seeing that their father truly sent their grandparents away, she sighed in relief; they favored boys over girls and didn’t treat the girls in the family well.
If they had stayed for a while, she wouldn’t be able to focus on her studies!
After eating, Li Mancang pondered how long the eldest son could endure their parents. He wondered how they would behave once they learned that the eldest planned to go abroad.
He needed to come up with a plan! He had to get them to bother the eldest!
The third son watched Li Mancang deep in thought, also considering what would happen if their grandparents started asking their elder brother for money.
Their family didn’t have much savings; right now, the only valuable things they had were their parents’ jobs and the compensation money in their eldest sister’s hands!
The third son’s mind began to turn with ideas.
After a night of silence, Li Mancang went to work with a heavy heart.
Wu Zhiqiu took Fenglan and Manman to the property office to complete the transfer procedures!
The former owner brought the money over, and once the transfer was complete and the funds counted, the owner handed the keys to Wu Zhiqiu and headed straight to the airport.
Wu Zhiqiu took Fenglan and Manman back to the small courtyard, which looked just as it had the day before. The previous owner hadn’t taken any of the furniture, pots, or pans, so they didn’t need to buy anything; they could move in right away!
“Mom, this house was bought for such a low price!” Fenglan exclaimed, marveling at the small courtyard.
Wu Zhiqiu smiled proudly; her eye for value was spot on!
“Grandma, Mom, this place is even better than ours!”
“This will also be your home from now on!” Fenglan pulled her daughter around to explore, growing more satisfied with each passing moment.
“Mom, let’s plant some vegetables in the yard. It’ll be enough for both our families! We can even raise some chickens and ducks!”
“Just take care of it yourself!”
“Mom, you and Dad can move in with us!”
“You focus on living your own life. Your dad and I are still young and don’t need your worries!” Wu Zhiqiu was a bit annoyed with her eldest daughter, who always seemed to think about her family back home.
It was as if she had lived a past life, always worrying about those ungrateful relatives!
“You two take your time looking around; I have to get to work!” With that, Wu Zhiqiu hurried off.
A good woman has ambitions; she doesn’t boast about facing the wind!
She had bought her daughter a house, and she felt envious! Unfortunately, they were too poor! A few thousand yuan was all she had, and now she didn’t even have a few hundred!
Wu Zhiqiu worked at the recycling station. In her position, no one cared if she came in late or left early; it was all about doing as she pleased!
Around noon, Han Dazhuang rode his tricycle over, loaded with scrap metal.
“Sister Wu, I have something to do at home this afternoon, so I’ll leave the cart here!”
“Alright, you can leave it. I’ll help you register it this afternoon!” They all got along well, and they helped each other out whenever necessary.
“Thanks, Sister Wu!” Dazhuang didn’t hold back and rode off on his bicycle.
Wu Zhiqiu roasted two sweet potatoes on the stove for lunch. The sweet potatoes were soft, sweet, and satisfying, leaving her feeling content.
In the afternoon, Wu Zhiqiu put on her gloves and started unloading the scrap metal Dazhuang had collected, as if they were in a factory.
She carefully registered each item as she unloaded.
At the bottom of the tricycle, she found a thick iron rod, about the width of a small finger.
Wu Zhiqiu picked up the iron rod, feeling its weight.
Just as she was about to register it, her eyelids twitched. She recalled that in her past life, there had been a similar iron rod, which was later sold as scrap, only for them to discover it contained gold! The outer layer was merely a disguise for the gold inside!
Her heart raced! She glanced around like a thief, quickly hiding the iron rod in a corner by the side door, planning to take it home after work. No one would notice.
After hiding the iron rod, her heart continued to race.
“What are you doing?” A sudden voice startled Wu Zhiqiu, nearly making her jump out of her skin.
Li Mancang pushed his bicycle, looking suspiciously at his wife. “What are you doing? You look like a thief!”
Seeing that it was Li Mancang, Wu Zhiqiu scolded, “You old fool! You scared me to death!”
Li Mancang… He was just speaking normally; how was that scary?
“What are you doing here?” Wu Zhiqiu asked, annoyed.
Li Mancang looked aggrieved. “I came to tell you that my parents were sent to the eldest Son’s place. You’ll be staying home tonight!”
“Oh, you’ve become quite capable!” Wu Zhiqiu looked at her honest husband in surprise.
Li Mancang felt a bit proud. “The eldest wants to scheme against his father, but he’s too naive!”
Wu Zhiqiu rolled her eyes; a little praise made his tail stand up!
“The eldest isn’t that easy to deal with; in a few days, he’ll definitely send your parents back to you!”
“It’s fine; I’ll give Manman a call later, so she can find an excuse to get Mom and Dad back!” Li Mancang had thought of this plan all morning.
Wu Zhiqiu nodded. If they were going to become landholders, her parents wouldn’t last long here.
Just as Wu Zhiqiu’s thoughts drifted away, she realized that becoming landholders would also require money. In her past life, her younger brother had borrowed from them, claiming they needed to sell the barren mountains in the village!
In her previous life, they had been occupied with the eldest brother’s trip abroad and hadn’t had the energy to buy any barren mountains!
Barren mountains? Those weren’t barren; in a few years, the highway would come through and take land from their hometown, which was a gateway to the mountains!
Gold, gold!
Wu Zhiqiu stuck her head out the door, ensuring no one was around, and quickly closed the door behind her.
“What are you doing? You look like a thief!” Li Mancang watched his wife with suspicion.
Wu Zhiqiu didn’t have time to answer him. She quickly handed the hidden iron rod to Li Mancang.
In a low voice, she whispered in his ear, “This seems to contain gold; you need to figure out how to get it out!”
Li Mancang’s hand shook! The iron rod fell onto his foot, but he didn’t feel any pain as he quickly cradled the iron rod in his arms.
“Gold?”
Wu Zhiqiu nodded; she truly believed it was this rod!
“Holy cow! How heavy is this? There must be a lot of gold inside!” Li Mancang’s face turned pale, and his hands trembled uncontrollably.
“Don’t tell me we’re mistaken?” Li Mancang couldn’t believe they had stumbled upon such a large piece of gold!