Who had stolen her money?

Comrade Jiang Manyue gripped the metal box tightly as she turned it over in her mind—one name surfaced: Bai Wanrou.

She remembered that in her previous life, around this time, Bai Wanrou’s younger brother was getting married and needed money for a house and bride price.

So Bai Wanrou went straight to Ma Xiangyang, asking him for three thousand yuan to help her brother get married.

But Ma Xiangyang had no money. Nearly all of his wages were spent supporting the entire household.

So, before the wedding, he approached Jiang Manyue and asked her to take out her dowry money to fund the ceremony.

She had refused, saying they could talk about it after the wedding.

That refusal had made Ma Xiangyang cold and standoffish, deliberately ignoring her in anger.

Her parents’ compensation of six thousand yuan had already been mostly handed over to the Ma family. Only three thousand remained.

She had planned to use that to prepare her dowry, and to be safe, she had hidden the metal box carefully under her bed.

In her previous life, after marrying Ma Xiangyang and after Bai Wanrou faked her death, she nervously handed over the box to him in an attempt to make peace.

But she never realized—the money was already gone.

Jiang Manyue burned with fury. This was beyond shameless.

Only Ma Xiangyang had known where the money was hidden. That scumbag had taken his wife’s dowry to pay for his widowed sister-in-law’s brother’s wedding.

This family had fed on her flesh and drunk her blood, and now they lied to and humiliated her.

Bai Wanrou’s younger brother, Bai Dazhuang, was a notorious local thug. Even if she confronted him, there’d be no way to get the money back.

Jiang Manyue forced herself to swallow the rage in her chest. But she couldn’t just let this go.

That night, lying on her bed, she sorted through her memories of the past life.

She swore to herself: she would get that money back, every last cent.

Liu Cuihua hadn’t come home all night, which meant Ma Xiangyang’s condition probably wasn’t good.

Early the next morning, Jiang Manyue packed up and headed to the textile factory.

As soon as she arrived, Director Li from the personnel department looked at her in surprise.

“Comrade Jiang? What are you doing here? I thought you resigned?”

“Resigned?” she asked, puzzled. “I never said I was quitting.”

Director Li’s tone hardened. “Your mother-in-law called this morning.”

“She said you were quitting your job as a quality inspector to stay at the hospital and take care of Ma Xiangyang after his burns.”

“What?” Jiang Manyue’s expression changed. “She said that?”

That wretched old hag had actually called the director to submit her resignation for her?

Clearly, they were taking advantage of her being an orphan with no one to stand up for her, thinking they could do whatever they wanted.

“Director Li, did she say who would take over my position after I resigned?”

Director Li hesitated, then mumbled, “Wasn’t it already decided? Once you resigned, the position would go to Bai Wanrou.”

A surge of anger ignited in Jiang Manyue’s chest—just as she suspected.

“I never said I wanted to resign, and Liu Cuihua has no right to do it for me.”

Director Li frowned. “Well, your resignation’s already been approved.”

Already approved?

Her heart sank.

The textile factory was a prestigious state-run workplace. Her quality inspector position was easy and desirable, many people had their eyes on it.

Bai Wanrou’s job was as a textile worker, hard labor with the lowest pay.

Ma Xiangyang had already been trying to get her to give up the position so Bai Wanrou could take it.

Jiang Manyue clenched her fists. She had underestimated just how shameless this family could be.

“This job was earned with my parents’ lives. What right does an outsider like Liu Cuihua have to take it from me?”

“She’s not an outsider. Isn’t she your mother-in-law?” Director Li snapped impatiently. “You two already agreed to this, didn’t you?”

In the past, Liu Cuihua had called in to help her apply for leave, and Jiang Manyue had always been too soft to object.

So when Director Li got the call this morning, he simply approved the resignation.

Now it was clear—they had all planned this together, waiting for her to quietly accept the loss.

Even if she made a scene now, it was too late. The resignation was official. The job was gone.

But Jiang Manyue suddenly let out a cold laugh.

“Director Li, you approved my resignation without my consent. That’s abuse of power for personal gain. How much did Ma Xiangyang pay you?”

“No wonder my three thousand yuan disappeared. Looks like it ended up in your pocket.”

The woman he thought would meekly swallow the injustice was now accusing him loudly and confidently.

Director Li’s face turned pale. He had been tipped off by Ma Xiangyang in advance.

Ma had promised that after the wedding, Jiang Manyue would quit and stay home as a housewife, and her position would be given to Bai Wanrou.

In exchange, Ma Xiangyang would help transfer his nephew into the purchasing department.

He had also warned that Jiang Manyue might resist. That’s why they had to push her resignation through quickly—once finalized, she’d be powerless.

Now she was threatening to report him.

“You’d better be careful with what you say. I never took a bribe!” Director Li blustered, trying to save face.

Jiang Manyue gritted her teeth, showing no fear or hesitation.

“Fine. If you won’t admit it, I’ll report you to the disciplinary and supervisory commission.”

She spun on her heel and walked out.

Director Li was so startled that he dropped his teacup.

“What? Report me to the disciplinary commission?”

Hadn’t Ma Xiangyang said she’d just accept the decision quietly?

What was going on?

The same Jiang Manyue who used to take abuse without saying a word was now acting like a completely different person.

Approving a resignation without the employee’s signature was a violation. If she really reported him, it would be a serious issue.

And if this blew up, there’d be a thorough investigation. He couldn’t afford that.

“Comrade Jiang!” he called out, hurrying after her.

He watched her run out of the textile factory, panicked, and panted all the way to the gate.

“Don’t just stand there—go bring Comrade Jiang back!”

But Jiang Manyue didn’t even look back.

She hopped on a bicycle and sped off.

Director Li and a few coworkers chased after her, huffing and puffing, soaked in sweat.

His round belly jiggled with every step, and the few wisps of hair on his balding head flapped in the wind.

Ignoring the people yelling behind her, Jiang Manyue rode straight to the Central Hospital.

At the entrance, she grabbed a loudspeaker from the security guard’s desk and marched up to the third floor.

There, she ran into Liu Cuihua coming out of the doctor’s office.

As soon as she saw her, Liu Cuihua’s face fell.

“Jiang Manyue, what took you so long?” she snapped, launching into a tirade.

“Xiangyang ended up like this because of you, and you spent the whole night hiding at home.”

Jiang Manyue stayed silent.

Seeing this, Liu Cuihua suppressed her anger and barked, “Since you’re here, go pay the hospital bill.”

“Now that you’ve quit your job, you should stay home full time to take care of Xiangyang. That’s your duty as a daughter-in-law.”

Liu Cuihua was exhausted from being up all night, and when she noticed Jiang Manyue’s empty hands, she frowned.

“What’s wrong with you? Xiangyang just woke up, and you didn’t even bring food?”

Her eyes were filled with disdain. “Go make some porridge and bring it over. How can someone as useless as you deserve my son?”

Listening to her spew venom and insults, Jiang Manyue slowly curled her lips into a cold smile.

“So you gave my job to Bai Wanrou?”

Liu Cuihua didn’t even try to deny it. She proudly replied, “That’s right. Wanrou is more capable and clever than you.”

“Now that you’re married into our family, your job is to take care of the household. Naturally, she deserves the position.”

So in their eyes, she was only fit to be a maid—someone to be squeezed dry, and still be told she wasn’t good enough.

Tolerate it and end up with breast hyperplasia. Step back and you’ll get ovarian cysts. A good beating could even extend your life.

In her last life, she had swallowed her pain until it turned into depression and breast cancer.

In this life, she would never endure it again.

Staring at Liu Cuihua’s non-stop chattering mouth, she suddenly grabbed the woman by the collar.

Without hesitation, she dragged her to the nearby restroom.

Jiang Manyue seized her head, and shoved it straight into the mop bucket.