Although Meng Suihuan hadn’t been to the factory these past few days, she wasn’t idle. Instead, she had been strolling around the village to get the lay of the land and soon discovered what was going on. Someone in the village had opened a new vegetable selling point, and their prices were even lower than hers. Normally, this should have meant their business was better than hers, but in reality, it was the opposite—her competitor’s business was far from good. Naturally, the competitor was dissatisfied and began spreading rumors about her business in the village. Later, feeling this wasn’t enough, they even started meddling in her factory. Meng Suihuan was well aware of everything, but instead of rushing into action, she gave them time. She let them expose the unreliable people in her factory so that she could deal with them later and avoid future trouble.

The villagers, who were already watching her factory closely, quickly spread the news once the issue blew up. Of course, they weren’t pleased, but there was nothing they could do to stop her, so they just grumbled. Meng Suihuan didn’t take it to heart, though. After handling the situation, she went to the city to see Cheng Xin.

As soon as Cheng Xin saw her, she smiled warmly. “Xiao Huan, wait a moment. I’ll go cook something for you.”

“Okay, thank you, Xin Jie. I just wanted to see how things are going here,” Meng Suihuan smiled softly.

Actually, she didn’t need Cheng Xin’s answer—she could already tell things were going well. Cheng Xin, compared to a few days ago, was glowing, looking like a completely different person.

“My business is getting better and better. Today, I earned as much as I did in the past half month!” Cheng Xin said, full of emotion. She hadn’t expected things to turn out this way. Now she had the money to treat her son’s illness, and she didn’t have to marry someone she didn’t love. She owed all of this to the girl in front of her.

Although they had come to a verbal agreement, and Meng Suihuan had been supplying vegetables to her, at that time, her business was poor. She had only a few regular customers, and most of the time, there was no one at all. She had spent sleepless nights not knowing what to do. That’s when Meng Suihuan came to her. She suggested, “There are a lot of workers around here. Why don’t you try doing fast food?” She explained the idea of fast food to Cheng Xin, and Cheng Xin decided to give it a try. Given that her business wasn’t doing well, she thought it was worth taking the risk.

As it turned out, her decision was right, and business improved day by day.

“Xiao Huan, thank you so much. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t know what to do with Tong Tong and me,” Cheng Xin said.

Meng Suihuan smiled lightly, “It’s nothing. It’s all in the past. Besides, you helped me too, increasing my sales.”

Cheng Xin smiled as well. Before they could chat much more, Cheng Xin’s parents came rushing over with Tong Tong, who was still crying.

“Xiao Xin, Tong Tong just fell and bumped his forehead. We took him for a bandage, but he still keeps crying for you,” Cheng Xin’s mother said, looking guilty.

Children are fragile, especially in moments like this, when all they want is to see their mother. Cheng Xin immediately hugged her son and blew on his forehead, softly comforting him, “It’s okay, it’s okay.”

Once Tong Tong had calmed down, Cheng Xin asked what had happened. Cheng Xin’s mother was full of self-blame. “Xiao Xin, this is all my fault. You said the roof leaks, but I thought we could wait for your dad to come back before fixing it. I should have been watching Tong Tong instead. He wanted to help me clean, and that’s when he fell. It’s all my fault.”

Cheng Xin didn’t blame her mother, “Mom, it’s not your fault. When I earn more money, we’ll move to a new place.”

“But the government said they’re going to renovate our old district… It seems a waste to move now,” her mother said, holding onto a last bit of hope.

“Mom, let’s not count on that. Look how many people have taken on this project, and in the end, they all left because the money wasn’t enough,” Cheng Xin said.

Her mother still didn’t want to give up, holding onto that last shred of hope, “Maybe someone doesn’t care about the money and just wants to renovate our district.”

At this point, Meng Suihuan, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up, “Xin Jie, can you tell me more about this renovation plan?”

Cheng Xin naturally didn’t hide anything and explained the situation. They lived in an old residential area that had been around for over twenty years. The facilities and other aspects were quite run-down, and safety was an issue. To make matters worse, they lived on the top floor, and their house had leaks that couldn’t be properly fixed despite many repairs. Finally, the government had announced plans to renovate these old districts, but after waiting for a long time, nothing had been implemented yet.

Meng Suihuan’s eyes lit up when she heard this. In the 1990s, the most profitable industries were real estate and the internet. The internet required specialized knowledge, and it wasn’t easy to make money in that field. But real estate was a different story. It was only 1997, and the real estate industry was just beginning. If she seized this opportunity, she could be among the first to benefit. Who wouldn’t make money?

Though she had been thinking about this for a while, she hadn’t found the right opportunity. But now, here it was.

She couldn’t think about eating anymore; she wanted to head straight to the local government office to get all the details. She was always the type to take action, so she immediately said goodbye to Cheng Xin and left in a hurry.

“Hello, I’d like to inquire about the renovation of the old district!” she said as soon as she arrived at the government office.

After explaining her intentions, she was quickly escorted to an office. When the person saw her, there was a brief moment of surprise, but he quickly regained his composure.

“I heard you have ideas about renovating the old district?” he asked.

Meng Suihuan calmly responded, and when the topic shifted to money, there was naturally a disagreement. But she didn’t back down easily. “The funding you’re offering might only be enough to renovate the area. Wouldn’t that mean we’re working for nothing?” she asked.

No one would accept such a deal, right?

The official sighed, “…The funding we received is limited. There’s nothing more I can do.”

This was the reason the project had been delayed. Many young people had inquired about it but had given up due to the money issue. They had reported it to higher authorities, but so far, there had been no resolution. The official sighed again internally.

Normally, when this topic came up, it was the end of the conversation. He had prepared himself for this. But to his surprise, the young woman didn’t leave. Instead, she smiled meaningfully.

“If the funding is insufficient, we could use other resources as substitutes… We can’t just work for free, right?” she said.

And thus, the conversation took an unexpected turn.

—

When the conversation finally reached its end, the man’s expression and gaze towards Meng Suihuan were completely different from before—both admiring and surprised.
“Then you can wait a few days. Once there’s a result, I’ll notify you,” he said.

Meng Suihuan didn’t hurry to leave; instead, she borrowed some paper and a pen from the man. She hadn’t bought a phone yet, so she left a contact number for the village public phone.
“This is the contact for the public phone in our village. If there’s any result, no matter what it is, could you please notify me?” she asked.

The man smiled, accepted the contact details, and privately thought: This young girl might be small in age, but her mind is quite meticulous. His impression of Meng Suihuan improved even more.

Meng Suihuan, however, had no idea about the man’s thoughts. Since she had already made an effort, the outcome wouldn’t affect her much. Besides, she was somewhat familiar with the real estate industry, and even without this project, she could still thrive. It was just a matter of time.

When Meng Suihuan returned home, it was already dark. The area was dimly lit, and there weren’t many people around. After saying goodbye to Meng Changsheng, she planned to go inside. But just as she reached the door and was about to knock, she heard Mr. Lu’s angry voice from inside, as if he was furious.
“This bastard actually…”
“Tomorrow, we’ll go find him and settle this!”

Along with the voice of a woman crying and sobbing. Meng Suihuan had no idea what had happened, but her reflexes were quicker than her thoughts. Without thinking, she pushed the door open and rushed inside.

The noisy room instantly fell silent. Everyone’s eyes turned towards Meng Suihuan. Even the woman who had been crying stopped and looked at her, still choking on her sobs.

While everyone was looking at her, Meng Suihuan didn’t stay idle. She instinctively glanced at Mr. Lu, who was still seething with anger. She had no idea what had happened. Mrs. Lu, standing beside him, also had a gloomy expression, as if it were the calm before a storm.

As for the woman who had been crying, Meng Suihuan looked her over a few times. When she saw the bruises on the woman’s face, she roughly guessed her identity. She was Lu family’s eldest daughter, Lu Xiuhe.

According to the original plot, Lu Xiuhe had a miserable life after marriage. Her husband not only cheated on her but also had a tendency for domestic violence, often beating her. Her in-laws, instead of intervening, coldly watched as it happened and even blamed her for it. They said it was because she hadn’t achieved anything in the three or four years since her marriage.

For years, Lu Xiuhe had endured in silence. It wasn’t until her husband brought home a pregnant mistress that she could no longer bear it and tried to ask her family to stand up for her. However, in the end, reality defeated her. She didn’t want to ruin her brother’s bright future, so she bore everything alone. It wasn’t until Lu Linshen became successful that her family found out about the abuse. Naturally, her abusive husband was dealt with by the male lead, Lu Linshen—he not only divorced her but also regretted it deeply. But by then, it was too late. After years of abuse, Lu Xiuhe’s health had deteriorated, and even though she was brought back to the Lu family, she didn’t live long.

She was a tragic character.

Given Lu Xiuhe’s personality, she wouldn’t voluntarily tell Mr. Lu and the others about her situation. So, what was going on here?

While Meng Suihuan was lost in thought, Mrs. Lu suddenly spoke.
“Xiuhe, this is Meng Suihuan, Xiao Huan, your brother’s wife.”
“This time, thanks to Xiao Huan, we wouldn’t have known that my daughter in-laws are ‘taking care’ of our daughter like this!!”

Meng Suihuan: “?”
This has something to do with me?!

—