Chapter 9

“No, I didn’t steal anything.”

Kang Guixiang had rummaged through the bedrooms on the second floor but hadn’t found the diary. She was already panicking when she heard Jiang Ci’s voice downstairs, realizing that the girl had returned, which made her flustered as she hurried down.

“If you don’t believe me, go ahead and search me,” Kang Guixiang said, taking off her coat to let Jiang Ci search her, and then she turned the accusation back on Jiang Ci. “You’re framing me for stealing!”

Jiang Ci could tell from Kang Guixiang’s panicked eyes that she was lying. Although she hadn’t found any of her or Lin Wan’s belongings on her, the entire room was a mess.

“Grandpa, Kang Guixiang rummaged through my room!” Jiang Ci felt confused. What was this woman looking for?

Grandpa Jiang climbed up to the second floor with his hands behind his back. Seeing the chaos in his granddaughter’s room, he cast an angry glance at the unruly Kang Guixiang.

How could his Jiang family have brought in a woman with dirty hands?

“Xiao Ci, did you lose anything?”

“Luckily, I have all my money with me; otherwise, it would be hard to explain,” Jiang Ci said, opening her crossbody bag. Inside the olive-green canvas bag was a diary with a stack of cash and food stamps tucked inside.

Kang Guixiang’s eyes turned bloodshot. No wonder she hadn’t found it—the brat had taken the diary with her!

What should she do? Would the girl discover the secrets hidden in the diary? She was still waiting for the bizarre predictions of wealth it contained to come true.

Seeing Kang Guixiang’s greedy gaze, Grandpa Jiang mistakenly thought she was eyeing Jiang Ci’s stack of cash, and his anger surged. He called for Jiang Guozhu.

“Jiang Guozhu, come here! Look at the thief you brought home! Who goes rummaging through other people’s things on the first day you arrive in the house?”

Today marked their division of the family. The once lively household was now filled with his son and daughter-in-law packing their things to move out. Grandpa Jiang’s mood was already sour.

Jiang Guozhu had been trying to persuade him, saying he would find a job and move out once he secured housing. Grandpa Jiang hadn’t given in before, but seeing this woman’s behavior, he was even less inclined to let them stay in his house.

“I can’t afford to have someone with dirty hands like you living here. Get out!”

Kang Guixiang temporarily set aside thoughts of the diary. She was fixated on the large courtyard, thinking that if the second and third sons moved out and she stayed put, this house would surely be inherited by Jiang Guozhu once the old man died.

The housing market would allow for free buying and selling in a few years. In her past life, Jiang Guozhu had cashed in by selling this large mansion for fifty thousand, which he had used to get rich.

Now that the diary couldn’t be retrieved for the time being, she couldn’t afford to lose this house. She knew many things from her past life and believed that even without the diary, she could still become one of the first to grow wealthy again.

Jiang Guozhu rushed upstairs, defending Kang Guixiang. “Xiao Ci, if you haven’t lost anything, don’t make a fuss. Guixiang came up to help you pack because we’ll be moving in tonight. We’re just tidying up in advance.”

Kang Guixiang was using this excuse to rummage through Jiang Ci’s things upstairs, but luckily, Jiang Ci had taken the diary with her in advance.

“Do you want to monopolize the big house?” Jiang Ci scoffed. In her past life, Kang Guixiang had incited Jiang Guozhu to sell the mansion for 50,000 yuan, not giving a single penny to her second or third uncles—she pocketed it all for herself.

Jiang Ci would never allow Kang Guixiang to move into this courtyard or even give her an opportunity to claim it as her own.

In front of the entire family, she wrote out several IOUs. “Grandpa, I’m buying this big house. In a year, I’ll pay 5000. We’ll split it into five shares: one for Grandpa, one for the second uncle, one for the third uncle, one for me, and one for Jiang Guozhu. Each of us will get one thousand.”

Five thousand? Second Son Jiang and the third uncle’s eyes widened. Their niece was quite bold in saying such a thing. She had just started working at the machinery factory, earning thirty-two yuan a month with a level two salary. How many years would it take her to save up to five thousand?

A year? That was impossible.

During the family division, it had been agreed that whoever could come up with five thousand first would buy the big house. Grandpa Jiang was already annoyed with Kang Guixiang; if that woman moved in, he felt like he would lose a few years of his life.

“Second and third sons, what do you think?” Grandpa Jiang asked for his sons’ opinions. “Do you want to buy the big house?”

Second Son Jiang and the third uncle exchanged glances. The big house was indeed nice, but where would they find five thousand yuan?

Besides, they were both dual-income families; each had access to housing from their respective workplaces, so they didn’t lack a place to live. It would be better to wait and see how the division of the money turned out.

“If Xiao Ci can come up with 5000 in a year, we have no objections,” they said.

Kang Guixiang had her own calculations. She knew that if she waited a few more years, the price of the house would multiply by several times. These fools just didn’t understand.

“Well, I can’t agree to that,” Kang Guixiang was the first to object. “Jiang Ci, your grandfather has already given you a house. This big house has nothing to do with you; what are you trying to split?”

“Just because I’m a Jiang,” Jiang Ci replied. “If you’re not satisfied, you can also come up with five thousand in a year to buy it. If you can get five thousand, I’ll pay six thousand. After all, I’ll always be paying a thousand more than you. What can you say to that?”

Kang Guixiang was furious. Didn’t that brat just rely on her good luck to pick up some mountain goods to sell? How could she possibly save five thousand yuan in a year selling that little bit? Plus, she had to bear the risk of being reported.

She shouted, “I can take that thousand-yuan receipt. If you can’t come up with five thousand after a year, how do you plan to compensate us? You can’t just mess with the whole family like this!”

Kang Guixiang was confident that Jiang Ci wouldn’t be able to earn that money, and she might even find an opportunity to report her just like in her past life.

Second Son Jiang and the third uncle were getting annoyed with their brother for bringing this woman into their lives. “We’re all family. If you can’t come up with the money, then what’s with this talk of compensation?”

Jiang Ci thought that the house shouldn’t go to Kang Guixiang no matter what. If the second and third uncles didn’t buy it, she would. She wanted to avoid the situation where this woman would cause chaos in the Jiang family over the house. After all, she had already caused a lot of suffering for the second and third uncles in her past life.

“Let’s do this,” Jiang Ci said. “If I can’t come up with the money to buy the house in a year, then I won’t take my share.”

Kang Guixiang felt a flicker of excitement in her heart. This brat would definitely be busy trying to make enough money to buy the house and would likely spend the year in the black market. She wouldn’t have to worry about finding a chance to report her.

She greedily looked at the olive-green canvas bag that Jiang Ci was carrying. In the end, that diary would return to her hands.

Kang Guixiang, acting like the head of the household, deliberately provoked Jiang Ci with her words. “Alright, I agree. In a year, you must come up with five thousand yuan. Otherwise, you’ll never be allowed to return to the Jiang family’s house. You’ll have to give your job at the machinery factory back to your father, and you’ll have to return to the small courtyard where you’re living now.”

Jiang Ci gave her a calm glance. Kang Guixiang had added extra conditions to the bet, but if they were going to add conditions, it couldn’t be one-sided. “Fine. If I can’t come up with five thousand in a year, I’ll return my job and the small courtyard to my grandpa.”

Jiang Ci paused for a moment. “But if I can manage it, then Jiang Guozhu’s share will go to my grandpa for his retirement. You’ll also be forbidden from ever entering the Jiang family’s home. If Jiang Guozhu marries you, he shouldn’t even think about coming back!”

Kang Guixiang quickly thought it over. Jiang Guozhu was her stepping stone, and having enjoyed wealth in her past life, she now valued money more than ever.

In a few years, the mansion that would be worth fifty thousand yuan would be hers to claim alone. Although she couldn’t gather five thousand yuan in a year, Jiang Ci wouldn’tcouldn’t manage it either.

She worried that with Jiang Ci having a job and a place to live, she wouldn’t take the bet seriously, so she added those two extra conditions.

Initially, she was concerned that Jiang Ci wouldn’t agree, but to her surprise, that foolish girl rashly accepted.

As long as Jiang Ci dared to sell things in the black market to make money, she wouldn’t have to worry about finding opportunities to send her to jail over the course of the year.

Feeling smug, Kang Guixiang recalled how Second Son Jiang and the third uncle had always failed to compete with her in her past life. If she could send Jiang Ci to jail like before, her future would be smooth sailing.

She readily spoke on Jiang Guozhu’s behalf. “Alright, Dad and the second and third brothers can bear witness. If you can’t come up with the money in a year, you’ll leave empty-handed. If you manage to raise it, your father will leave empty-handed.”

“You’re both being foolish,” Jiang Guozhu said, feeling a bit irritated. Where would he go if he didn’t return to the Jiang family? He was the eldest son of the Jiang family. How could Kang Guixiang make such decisions for him?

Grandpa Jiang had connections in Qin Province; if he had a falling out with the old man, he wouldn’t be able to get ahead there in the future.

Meanwhile, Jiang Ci had already written out four IOUs for one thousand yuan each. She handed one to each of the second sons, Jiang and the third uncle, and the other two IOUs, and the guarantee letter was given to Grandpa Jiang for safekeeping. “Grandpa, please hold onto Jiang Guozhu’s IOU for now, just in case that woman tries to make trouble. I’ll definitely be able to come up with the money in a year, so don’t worry about the house; you can live in it peacefully.”

—o—o—o—

Kang Guixiang had been ordered to leave by Grandpa Jiang, and she could only rent a place to stay outside. Jiang Guozhu complained to her, “What are you arguing with Xiao Ci about? She is my daughter, after all. Didn’t you just say on your way here that you would treat Xiao Ci like your own daughter?”

He did not understand why the woman, who had always been understanding, gentle, and caring, had suddenly changed her demeanor and become the type of woman he despised the most.

Logically speaking, Kang Guixiang’s appearance could not compare to that of his ex-wife, Lin Wan. However, Lin Wan had always been too proud, never willing to lower her head and say a soft word. Unlike Kang Guixiang, who, even when he was at fault, would look at him like a wounded rabbit, cautious and tentative, making him unable to resist the urge to protect her.

Lin Wan… Jiang Guozhu sighed inwardly. After the divorce that day, he had intended to stop Lin Wan and tell her that if she and their daughter faced any difficulties in the future, they could come to him, and he would certainly help if he could.

Lin Wan had been as aloof as ever, with a face full of disdain. The way she looked at him was no different from how one would regard trash. She left without saying a word.

As he watched his ex-wife’s still slender and beautiful figure, Jiang Guozhu unexpectedly felt a pang of pain in his heart.

Kang Guixiang had lived with Jiang Guozhu for two lifetimes. She could tell what he was thinking just by looking at his expression. This dog of a man regretted the divorce, didn’t he?

She suppressed the anger rising in her heart and spoke softly, “Guozhu, you also saw how arrogant Jiang Ci was. She doesn’t even take you, her father, seriously. No matter how good I am to her, it won’t make a difference; she won’t appreciate it. What about our four children? I’m doing this for the benefit of our little family. Please don’t be angry, okay? I will listen to you from now on.”

“Forget it. Just don’t do that in the future,” Jiang Guozhu replied. “City life isn’t like the countryside where you earn points; everything requires money and tickets to buy. Now that we no longer have the help of our parents and have to rent a place to live, my salary alone isn’t enough to support four kids. You should also go find a job.”

“Guozhu, you… you?” Kang Guixiang stammered, unable to find the words. That dog of a man was indeed unreliable. Grandpa Jiang had already said he wouldn’t arrange a job for her. Where could she find a proper job? Did he expect her to become a nanny like Lin Wan?

She had married Jiang Guozhu to enjoy a good life in Qin Province, not to become a maid.

Kang Guixiang choked back her emotions, saying, “Guozhu, I don’t have any skills. If your family doesn’t arrange a job for me, how can I find a good one? I could go be a nanny, but how would it look if Jiang Guozhu’s woman worked as a nanny for someone else’s family? Don’t you think that would be embarrassing?”

Jiang Guozhu thought about how his ex-wife had cared for a disabled man for many years, and anger flared up in his chest. How could Lin Wan take such a job? It sounded nice to call it a private caregiver, but it was essentially a servant’s job, and the fact that the person was a man made him even angrier.

“We can’t do the nanny thing. I’ll help you find another job; you’ll be able to start working soon. Don’t worry,” he assured her.

Kang Guixiang was speechless. In her previous life, she had never worked after coming to Qin Province; she didn’t want a job! Did Jiang Guozhu not understand what she was saying?

—o—o—o—

“Xiao Ci, I’ve put everything in the west room for you. Those new blankets and bedding were sent to you by your third aunt from her family,” Grandpa Jiang said.

“Thank you, Second Uncle and Third Uncle,” Jiang Ci replied.

“Alright, then we’ll head back now.” Second Son Jiang and Jiang Laoshan went back to organize their things. Grandpa Jiang had some words to share with Jiang Ci privately, so he didn’t leave with his two sons.

After Jiang Ci spread out the blankets, Grandpa Jiang looked around the yard. Fortunately, he had been coming by occasionally to take care of the flowers and plants; otherwise, the yard would have been neglected.

However, the family next door had some issues with their background. Their eldest granddaughter used to like following Gu Qingchuan around when she was little. Now that she was older, they needed to avoid any trouble.

“Xiao Ci, where did you get these wild chickens and rabbits?” Grandpa Jiang asked, noticing the wild chickens and rabbits in the bamboo cage.

Jiang Ci secretly stuck out her tongue; she had forgotten to hide them.