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At first, the neighborhood ladies hesitated, stammering through their words.
But by the end, they couldn’t hold back—they spilled everything!
“Deputy Director Zhao, you have to save your daughter-in-law, Jinhua!”
“She’s suffered so much all these years at the hands of that brother of hers… even got pregnant…”
Old Man Zhao felt like his mind had gone completely blank, his ears ringing.
Adopted daughter? Got pregnant?
What kind of utter nonsense was this?
He couldn’t even remember how he got home.
It took a long time for his heart to settle.
He wasn’t someone who acted on impulse, but he also didn’t believe that all those rumors had come out of thin air.
Right now, he had two priorities:
First, confirm whether Cao Jinhua was really adopted by the Cao family.
Second, find out whether Dongming was truly his biological grandson.
The Zhao family now had only one male heir: Dongming.
Back then, Cao Jinhua had two miscarriages while she was young, and afterward she was never able to get pregnant again.
Just thinking about it, Old Man Zhao felt a sharp pain in his chest and a metallic taste rising in his throat.
He snuck out of the house while others were busy cooking and called the relative who had introduced Jinhua to his son years ago.
When he confirmed that Cao Jinhua was indeed the adopted daughter of the Cao family, his entire body trembled with rage.
His heart burned with fury.
People used to joke that nephews often resembled their uncles. But what kind of “uncle” was Cao Zhenping?
Dongming looked exactly like him, as if they came from the same mold—he shared no resemblance at all with the Zhao family.
They used to laugh about it, thinking it was a harmless joke.
Now he only felt ashamed of how stupid they had been.
No wonder the doctor who delivered Dongming had said he didn’t look like a premature baby at all.
Because he wasn’t—he was born full-term!
When Old Man Zhao got back home, the whole family had already returned from work.
He took one look at Cao Jinhua busily working in the kitchen, then pulled his son into the bedroom and laid out everything he had heard and discovered.
Zhao Guohua felt like he’d been struck by lightning. He punched the wall in frustration.
Old Man Zhao remained calm and clear-headed:
“What’s done is done. Getting angry won’t help now.”
“Cao Zhenping holds real power. He’s not someone we can take down easily.”
“Besides, Jinhua goes to his place all the time bringing food and soup—she doesn’t look like someone being coerced.”
“We need to be mentally prepared. This is going to be a tough battle.”
Zhao Guohua took a deep breath and said:
“There is a way.”
“I have a friend who’s a relative of Cao Zhenping’s political rival. I’ll write a report and have my friend pass it on. That guy will know what to do.”
“Only once Cao Zhenping falls will that position open up.”
Old Man Zhao nodded after a moment’s thought:
“Then go ahead. Just keep it quiet. It’s better for both of us.”
“Got it, Dad.”
Zhao Guohua tried to console him:
“Don’t worry. Once I deal with this, I’ll find you a new daughter-in-law who can give you a real grandson. The Zhao family line won’t end with this!”
Old Man Zhao’s eyes lit up.
“That would be wonderful.”
They couldn’t wait for the day Cao Jinhua was kicked out of their home.
After leaving the shoe factory residential compound, Lin Ting headed straight to a nearby specialty food store.
In truth, most of the rumors she spread about Cao Jinhua and Cao Zhenping were fabricated.
In her past life, Zhao Dongming had been Chen Li’s strongest political rival.
To defeat him, Chen Li had him investigated, and that’s when it was discovered that Cao Jinhua was adopted, and that Zhao Dongming was actually the son of Cao Jinhua and Cao Zhenping.
How pitiful—the Zhao family’s only male heir was actually the Cao family’s illegitimate child.
Chen Li had used that information like a dagger. Once those secrets were exposed, Zhao Dongming’s reputation was destroyed.
Thinking about all this, Lin Ting snapped back to the present.
She had already released the rumor—now she just had to wait for it to reach the Zhao family’s ears.
Old Man Zhao was an influential figure at the shoe factory, the very person who’d helped turn it into a model workplace.
She believed he would never let this slide.
No matter how powerful Cao Zhenping was, one day he’d fall.
All Lin Ting had to do was wait for the good news. The rest—she left to the Zhao father and son.
She relaxed and walked confidently into the specialty food store.
There, she bought:
– 20 catties of white rice
– 10 catties of premium flour
– 10 catties of cornmeal
– 10 catties of potatoes
– 3 catties of dried black fungus
– 2 catties of soybeans
– 1 catty of rock sugar
– 1 catty of salt
– 1 catty of red dates
– 5 packs of cigarettes
– 2 bottles of white liquor
– 2 cans of preserved meat
– and small amounts of oil, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea.
She then went to the meat market and bought:
– 5 pork ribs
– 10 catties of pork belly
– 1 pig trotter
Just as she finished paying and was about to leave, she saw the Meat Supply Factory delivering half a cow to the stall. She immediately bought 10 catties of beef as well.
As she left the stall, she saw two employees from the factory standing nearby, smoking and chatting.
An idea struck her.
She pulled out two packs of premium “Zhonghua” cigarettes, gave one to each man, and waited for them to look her over before getting straight to the point:
“My son’s hosting a banquet the day after tomorrow. I want to get some more meat. Do either of you have any connections?”
One of the men asked, “Who are you?”
She had handed out luxury cigarettes with ease—clearly someone with means.
“I’m from Cao Family Village. The Revolutionary Committee’s Director Cao is my nephew. We’re about the same age, but I outrank him!”
As soon as they heard she was related to Director Cao, they straightened up immediately and became much more polite.
“So you’re a relative of Director Cao! How much meat are you looking for?”
Lin Ting’s eyes lit up:
“As much as you’ve got, I’ll take it!”
“We slaughtered a cow and ten pigs today,” one said. “Once we finish deliveries, we’ll still have some left. If you want it all, we can bring it to you right now.”
“Top-grade pork is 0.8 yuan per catty, second-grade is 0.72, and third-grade is 0.63.”
“We’ll give you the same price for the beef. And since it’s for Director Cao’s family, we won’t ask for any meat coupons.”
Lin Ting beamed:
“Great! I’ll take all of it. Little Cao is coming home for dinner too—can’t skimp on the meat!”
“By the way, what are your names? I’ll make sure to mention you to Little Cao. Without you two, I wouldn’t have gotten this meat without ration coupons!”
The men quickly gave their names and invited her into their truck. Together, they went to the meat factory’s warehouse.
After getting permission from their supervisor, they sold all the remaining meat to Lin Ting:
“Lady, you’re in luck today. We had a full side of pork left—80 catties! Plus five catties of beef ribs, three catties of brisket, and thirty-five catties of beef chunks. Not bad at all.”
Lin Ting was overjoyed.
The city rationed meat at 1 catty per person per month, or 3 catties for the New Year.
What she bought today was more meat than a typical family would eat in an entire year!
Suddenly she thought of something:
“Do you guys know anyone at the grain station or flour mill? I’m still hoping to get some refined grain.”
Those who worked at the meat factory often had connections. Maybe she could pull another string.
The taller, thinner one replied:
“My wife works at the flour mill. I can take you there right now if you want.”
The other guy quickly added:
“My classmate works at the grain station. I’ll ask him for you!”
Watching them compete to help, Lin Ting thought to herself:
“Pulling rank really does get things done!”
“Alright, I’ll wait for you two at the entrance in an hour. If you really get me some refined grain, tell me what you need from my nephew—I’ll personally ask him to help!”