Chapter 32

When Kang Guixiang got off the bus, she gazed at the bustling street, feeling a surge of excitement.

It was fantastic; that year’s seven thousand yuan was a sum that many families would take a lifetime to save, yet she had acquired it so easily. Taking advantage of the reforms and opening up, everything in this city was profitable. Even setting up a street stall could lead to wealth.

With capital, opportunities, and experiences from her previous life, Kang Guixiang thought with satisfaction that it would be difficult not to get rich. After finding a hotel, she used the change in her pocket to pay for a room. Once inside, she locked the door behind her, immediately took off her coat, and loosened her belt.

As she unfastened her belt, everything suddenly spun around her; her seven thousand yuan had turned into toilet paper. What was happening?!

Kang Guixiang nearly lost her mind. She shook out all her clothes, but the substantial sum had genuinely disappeared. She had kept it close and been sleeping on the bunk—how could it have gone missing? Why couldn’t heaven just let her be happy?

What was she supposed to do now? In a frenzy, Kang Guixiang threw things around the room, but no matter how crazy she acted, the money would not come back.

By midnight, Kang Guixiang had calmed down. Adding up all her remaining money, she realized she could only afford a hard seat ticket back to Qincheng. She certainly wouldn’t be able to survive in the Shenzhen market now; she could only return to Qincheng and rely on Jiang Guozhu, hoping for a chance to come along.

It didn’t matter; if she could obtain the first seven thousand, she could get a second one—she was sure of it.

Because she had damaged several things in the hotel before dawn, Kang Guixiang quietly snuck away. She hadn’t even spent eight hours in Shenzhen before she sat on the return bus, feeling defeated. This time, however, she didn’t have the money for a sleeper ticket and had to settle for a hard seat back home.

Meanwhile, Gu Qingchuan received the money that had been recovered and took it home to hand over to Jiang Ci.

After listening to the man’s explanation, Jiang Ci realized just how capable her Brother Chuan was in recovering the money that Kang Guixiang had deceitfully taken. “Brother Chuan, that Kang Guixiang has such a ruthless heart. She didn’t even want her child. After signing so many IOUs, she shouldn’t dare to come back again, right?”

If Kang Guixiang didn’t return, the old Jiang family would be peaceful again. Jiang Ci thought to herself that normal people shouldn’t return.

Recently, Gu Qingchuan has been learning about criminal psychology from a university professor. It was clear that Kang Guixiang was not a normal person. “I estimate she will come back, clinging to a sense of luck, hoping the old Jiang family will catch her fall. Those IOUs will come in handy. If she borrowed money and can’t pay it back, she should just wait to go to jail.”

Jiang Ci sighed; Kang Guixiang truly brought this upon herself.

Gu Qingchuan spoke to his wife, “Xiao Ci, what should we do with this money?”

Jiang Ci nodded. “This one thousand eight hundred is my grandfather’s retirement fund. My third uncle did a tally, and three thousand were taken from our relatives and friends by Kang Guixiang. The remaining two thousand plus…”

“Is probably the salary that Jiang Guozhu has been handing over these years. Kang Guixiang can really play the poor card, managing to trick Jiang Guozhu into advancing her salary to pay fines,” he remarked.

“What should we do with this two thousand plus?” the man asked.

Jiang Ci paused for a moment. “Let’s have Jiang Guozhu’s money go to my grandfather to handle.”

The two of them hurriedly took the more than seven thousand yuan to Jiang Laoshan’s home, handing it over to Grandpa Jiang. He hadn’t expected that one day, this money would return. Now, they could also gather enough for the second son’s fines.

Before he could allocate the funds, Jiang Ci pulled out a large brown paper bag. “Grandpa, the relatives’ money has been repaid, and your retirement fund cannot be touched. Brother Chuan earned four gold beads; we’ve gathered this five thousand. We’ll bring the second uncle back home as soon as the sun rises.”

“How can you let it be just your burden?” Grandpa Jiang said, tears streaming down his face. “You’re just a married granddaughter; you and Brother Chuan have already done so much for the family.”

Grandpa Jiang refused to accept the money. The families of the second and third sons didn’t dare to speak, but they all remembered their niece’s kindness.

Gu Qingchuan insisted that Grandpa Jiang accept it. “Grandpa, we’re all family. There’s no need to talk as if we’re separate households. If anyone claims they’re poor and wants my support, that’s definitely not the case. But my second uncle is in urgent need, so please don’t argue about it. Just hurry and bring him home tomorrow.”

“Alright, alright, Grandpa will listen to you.” Grandpa Jiang accepted the money and said to his son and wife, “Do you still think I’m biased? All this effort and money spent is thanks to Xiao Ci and Brother Chuan. Our family must unite in the future and not follow Kang Guixiang’s example for petty gains.”

The next day, Grandpa Jiang went to the police station to pay the fines and brought Second Son Jiang home. On the day Second Son Jiang returned, Zhong Huihui hugged the man and cried bitterly, using pomelo leaves to drive away bad luck. After that, their relationship grew even stronger.

Not long after, Kang Guixiang returned.

That woman was crying and wailing at the entrance of the Jiang family courtyard, “I am the eldest daughter-in-law of the Jiang family; you cannot disown me. Why won’t you let me come home?”

The second and third sons were furious. How could this woman have the face to return? Afraid that their father might get sick from anger, they wanted to rush out and beat her. Kang Guixiang stretched her neck and taunted, “Come on, are you going to beat your eldest sister-in-law? Come at me!”

Grandpa Jiang had never seen someone so shameless before. He managed to keep his emotions in check and instructed his two sons, “Second, Third, don’t lay a hand on her. If you do, you’ll only suffer. Go report her to the police.”

“What are you reporting? Dad, what crime have I committed? Are you going to call the police to arrest your own daughter-in-law?”

“You committed fraud by tricking friends and relatives out of three thousand yuan. Shouldn’t you be arrested for that?”

Kang Guixiang got up. So that was it! She had already thought about how to respond on the way there. “Dad, one must have a conscience. You told me to borrow money to pay the second’s fines. How could it be fraud if I wrote an IOU?”

Second Son Jiang jumped up in anger and rushed to Jiang Guozhu, “Eldest brother, did you see this woman’s true colors? She deceived me by saying I gave her the key to steal from the public. You don’t believe me, but you know what kind of person Dad is. How could a woman go out and borrow money? Isn’t there a man in the family?”

“Why is that impossible? Your father says that you committed a crime, and it’s embarrassing to borrow money. No one in the family wanted to be embarrassed, so they sent me to borrow it. Can I still be blamed for that?”

Jiang Guozhu looked pale. Not only would the Jiang family not let a woman borrow money, but there was also no family in Qincheng that would allow it. Kang Guixiang had cheated him so painfully. He questioned her, “If you borrowed the money, why didn’t you give it to Dad? Instead, you went to Shenzhen and deceived the kids. What kind of heart do you have?”

She had prepared for this question on her way there. “I only borrowed three thousand yuan, which isn’t even enough to pay the fines. I was thinking of doing business in Shenzhen; once I earned enough money, I would come back. Who knew I would be robbed on the way…”

Wait, how had Second Son Jiang returned? There was no money in the house to pay his fines. The relatives would certainly not lend more money.

Kang Guixiang hurriedly asked, “Second, how did you come back? Guozhu, does it turn out your Jiang family still has hidden money? Your father is biased and gave all the money to the second; you must take your share as the eldest!”

Jiang Guozhu could no longer bear to see this woman. “Kang Guixiang, let’s get a divorce.”

The words “divorce” and Jiang Guozhu’s disgusted gaze drove Kang Guixiang mad. It was she who wanted to leave Jiang Guozhu; how could he dare to reject her? She rushed forward and slapped her husband several times. “Want a divorce? Unless I die, Jiang Guozhu, I will drag you down with me for life!”

Soon, Zhao Qishu arrived with some people, his expression serious. The public security in Qincheng had always been good, and he hadn’t expected such a large-scale fraud case to arise.

He took out a file folder filled with all the IOUs written by Kang Guixiang herself. Over a dozen people had gone to the police station to report the case, stating that Kang Guixiang had secretly defrauded them of amounts ranging from 100 to 500 yuan.

Now, with both witnesses and physical evidence present, Zhao Qishu stated, “Kang Guixiang, come with us to the police station.”

Kang Guixiang had been to the police station once before and thought her previous experience would still work. “Director Zhao, why bother? What’s the point of me going? If you ask around for statements, I will only say that my father told me to borrow money, and since I wrote an IOU, how can it be considered fraud?”

Zhao Qishu, having dealt with such shameless criminals countless times, wouldn’t be intimidated by her. “Is that so? Then please return the borrowed money.”

Return it? How could she? Kang Guixiang replied, “I’ve already said the money was stolen. I’m the wife of the Jiang family; let the old Jiang family pay it back. We never said we wouldn’t pay it back. Don’t be unreasonable!”

“Kang Guixiang, you don’t understand the law, yet you dare to write IOUs. You really have guts.” Zhao Qishu instructed the officers to cuff her. “The IOUs you wrote must be repaid by you.”

The commotion in the courtyard was unbearable. Only Jiang Ci heard the noise from inside the room and rushed in to check. Grandma Xu had rolled off the bed; she was so thin that she looked emaciated. Jiang Ci couldn’t bear to see her like that and picked her up to carry her back to bed.

Jiang Ci had nothing to say to Grandma Xu. She didn’t want to stay in this room any longer and tried to leave, but Grandma Xu’s withered fingers clutched her sleeve tightly.

She was a bit surprised. Grandma Xu’s eyes were filled with pleading and regret as if she hoped Jiang Ci could think of a way to let her speak one last time.

Grandma Xu was on the brink of death.

What did Grandma Xu want to say before she died? Did she want to say something to her sons one last time?

Jiang Ci picked up half a cup of warm water from the bedside table and added a drop of spiritual essence into it, feeding it to Grandma Xu.

“Grandma, I don’t know if this water can buy you a little more time or let you speak again. If it can, I hope you don’t harbor hatred anymore. Please say your final goodbyes to your sons and grandsons.”

Jiang Ci’s eyes held no trace of sarcasm; she was genuinely sincere.

Grandma Xu thought to herself, how could she not hate? Kang Guixiang had already harmed her two sons. She had heard everything said outside just now. She was dying, and before she passed, she wanted to take Kang Guixiang with her; otherwise, she would continue to bring misfortune to her sons.

Grandma Xu felt that her repentance had been heard by the heavens. Before long, she felt a surge of strength. She knew it was just a fleeting moment of clarity and had to act quickly.

She croaked, “You go… get Director Zhao in here. I want to report… Kang Guixiang for not giving me my medicine. Doesn’t that count as… attempted murder?”