When Old Lady Lin heard the mention of money, she stopped responding.

In her mind, Bai Ji’s job belonged to the third son, and there was no way she would pay to buy it.

“Weren’t the gift expenses covered by my parents’ retirement funds? All the money Yongcheng earned also went into this job.”

“What do you mean it’s not related to me? It’s my parents’ money, how could it not be related to me?”

“You think it’s so easy for me to give the job to the Lin family? My parents’ retirement money went into raising your son, and what right does he have to demand such a thing? Is he fatherless or motherless?”

Old Lady Lin’s gaze shifted, but she still stubbornly argued, “It was the third son’s connections!”

“Yes, it was his connections!” Bai Ji generously admitted.

After a pause, she added, “But Lin Yongjia only went to elementary school, right? He can’t even recognize all the characters, so even if I gave up the job, he wouldn’t be able to do it!”

Old Lady Lin was unwilling to admit her son was inferior to a woman.

She asked, “If you can do it, why can’t Yongjia? Are you really better than a man?”

She had little experience and her view of the world was limited to the small village of Lin.

In her eyes, physical strength was the most important thing.

How could Lin Yongjia possibly be inferior to Bai Ji?

Bai Ji said, “He definitely can’t do it. He can’t read.”

Her words hit Old Lady Lin’s sore spot.

Lin Yongjia at least attended second grade, but she herself couldn’t even read a word and was worse than him in that regard.

The feeling of inferiority she felt when facing Li Qiurong resurfaced.

“I give safety training to workers at the mine. It’s not just about strength, you know.” Bai Ji glanced at Old Lady Lin and added, “However… if the Lin family has the money, let Yongcheng use his connections again and hire a temporary worker.”

She said it was to find a temporary worker, but in truth, it was a lie.

Here’s how it went: Lin Yongcheng’s colleague’s nephew graduated from high school and found a temporary job through his uncle’s connections.

But it was manual labor, and he could only work until the end of the year.

The situation with the temporary worker was worlds apart from Bai Ji’s position.

Bai Ji’s job was lighter, and she could be promoted to a union secretary.

She had originally planned to stay at the mine, but now that she had better options, she didn’t want to stay.

Her job would soon be vacant, and Lin Yongcheng’s colleague wanted to pay to get it.

Since his nephew was a high school graduate, he could definitely handle safety training.

This was a way to trap the Lin family!

Honestly, if Old Lady Lin hadn’t come to bother her, Bai Ji wouldn’t have wanted to deal with the Lin family.

But since they kept pestering her like fleas, she was forced to trick them into emptying their pockets so they couldn’t keep bothering her.

Old Lady Lin finally understood what she meant.

She could let Lin Yongcheng use his connections, but the Lin family would have to pay. Lin Yongcheng wouldn’t help with the money.

When the money issue was mentioned, Old Lady Lin reacted strongly.

“The third son only gives five yuan every month. What about his salary? The family doesn’t have money. What’s wrong with him helping Yongjia with some money? Yongjia is his older brother. After Yongjia has a better life, he can still help him. Brothers should support each other, right?”

“Do you have the ability to pry money out of his hands? If you can do that, then go ahead and ask him,” Bai Ji paused and added, “You have three days to think about it. When Yongcheng returns, if you’re willing to pay, come find him. If not, forget it. After all, opportunities don’t wait, and if you miss it, it’s gone.”

After saying that, she picked up Little Bai Guo and prepared to leave.

Her Husband had been mistreated by the Lin family since he was young.

He had never received anything good from them.

When he was young, they refused to send him to school, and he had to save money for his tuition himself.

It was bad enough that he had to earn his own tuition, but the Lin family even stole his money to buy candy.

When he confronted them, they blamed him for stealing money from his father, causing him to be beaten by his father.

But her husband wasn’t someone who could be easily bullied.

If he were someone easy to push around, he would have been bullied to death by the Lin family long ago.

He was younger, and there was a big age gap between him and the Lin family, so physically he couldn’t beat them.

But he had a kind of toughness. He picked up an axe to strike at them.

Although he was beaten by Old Man again, he had struck fear into the Lin family.

After that, he worked for the family while earning money to pay for his schooling, setting traps with hunters in the mountains, catching fish in rivers, and enduring countless hardships before finally becoming independent.

This was why his feelings for the Lin family were so distant.

The Lin family couldn’t enjoy the fruits of his labor!

Thinking about her husband’s past, Bai Ji couldn’t help but feel sympathy for him.

She silently cursed Lin Old Man and Old Lady Lin for being heartless, and Lin Yongjia for being a waste who would always be a waste!

Wanted to come to the city?

Fine.

She’d give him hope, then let him fall into despair!

Let this waste stay in the Lin family and waste his life, since his parents still favored him.

“Wait, clarify before you leave!” Old Lady Lin had just digested what Bai Ji said when she saw her walking away.

She quickly chased after her.

For people like them who had been scraping by in the fields all their lives, without connections or any news of job openings, getting into the city was almost impossible.

Now that there was a chance, she had to clarify things.

If they could afford the money, they’d tighten their belts and send Lin Yongcheng to the city!

“How much for the connections?”

“Four hundred.”

“Four hundred? Why don’t you go rob a bank?” Old Lady Lin widened her eyes, nearly choking.

How long would it take them to save up four hundred?

All the money in the Lin family was with Lin Old Man, and she didn’t know if they could even get it.

Her heart was racing. Four hundred was too much, just hearing the number made her break into a cold sweat.

“My job cost four hundred. To get this job, my parents emptied their retirement savings to gather the four hundred,” Bai Ji gave her a strange look. “As parents, don’t you want to pay for Lin Yongcheng? When my husband returns, I’ll tell him!”

Old Lady Lin was still trembling.

She was so shocked by the four hundred that she took a deep breath.

“Don’t tell to third son yet. I’ll go back and discuss it with the old man. When he comes back, we’ll go find him ourselves,” she said, her voice shaking.

“Okay, think about it yourselves!”

After walking a few steps, Bai Ji turned back and said, “By the way, the position pays eighteen yuan. It’s a labor-intensive job, just as tiring as farming.”

Until she could no longer see Bai Ji’s figure, Old Madam Lin’s eyes went blank, and she collapsed to the ground.

“Four hundred… that’s enough to build two brick houses!”

“How long would it take to save that amount?”

After a long while, Old Madam Lin finally regained her senses.

She got up from the ground, walking home with a dazed look, constantly debating whether those four hundred were worth it.

That night, she couldn’t help but pour her thoughts to Old Lin, her heart aching as she spoke.

“Four hundred… how many years would it take for a family to save that much, without eating or drinking?”

Old Lin couldn’t sleep.

He stared at the beams of the house.

Four hundred was a lot, and it made his heart bleed, but opportunities to go to the city were rare.

If they didn’t seize this chance, the regret would be worse.

When jobs opened up in the city, people who had inside connections would notify their friends and family, and it was impossible for farmers like them to get in.

They didn’t even receive the news in time.

They were always far behind on information.

Not to mention the lack of connections.

The only person who managed to rise above in their family was his third son, and even he had to do it alone—everyone else could only feel envious.

If they wanted to send someone to the city, the only way was to scrape together money.

There was no other way.

Old Lin sighed. “Spending this money… it hurts. I can’t bear to spend so much. But if we don’t, it will hurt even more.”

It wasn’t just a job; it was a chance to rise above. It was an opportunity for future generations. It was all about future resources and opportunities.

Old Madam Lin quietly suggested, “What if… we try asking from the third one’s side?”

It would be best if Lin her third son could pay for it—then they wouldn’t have to spend their own money, and they wouldn’t feel the pain.

“Ask him?” Old Lin scoffed. Thinking about how his third son only gave five yuan a month, he felt even worse. “He’s an ungrateful wretch!”

They still decided to try, even if it didn’t work. For those four hundred yuan, Old Madam Lin had to beg. It wouldn’t hurt her to try.

“When the third one comes back, you go beg him. He’s your son. You gave him life. Just ask him if he’ll pay the four hundred!”

Old Lin was quite the sly one.

He knew full well that Lin Yongcheng was a tough man who would never part with that money.

Rather than losing face himself, he sent Old Madam Lin to do it.

Truly shameless.

And of course, Old Madam Lin listened to him without question. “I’ll go ask him.”

After a pause, she asked, “What about Yongye’s side? Would he have an opinion?”

Lin Yongcheng was unreliable.

Their only hope was to rely on Lin Yongjia and Lin Yongye. If they only sent one to the city, the other would definitely have objections.

The family was falling apart.

“Yongye has already been separated. We can’t send Yongjiu away too.”

If they sent Lin Yongye away, then Old Lin and his wife would only have Lin Yongjia left to count on.

Once Lin Yongjia went to the city, the main house would lose a strong laborer, and the two grandsons hadn’t grown up yet.

The family couldn’t survive without help—would they starve?

In any case, they couldn’t let go of Lin Yongye.

Old Lin fell silent, thinking about his second son.

His second son wasn’t talkative, always working hard, but he didn’t earn their affection.

However, if they drained the family’s savings for such a big matter, anyone who wasn’t an idiot would cause trouble.

Old Lin thought for a long time and then said, “Yongjia earns eighteen yuan a month. In two years, we’ll have four hundred. If Yongye has an issue with it, we’ll tell him it’s a loan to Yongjia. Let him pay it back from his wages!”

This made it sound like Lin Yongjia was already working in the city.

Saying it this way, Old Lin felt much better.

Four hundred sounded like a lot, but when you thought about it, it was only two years’ worth of wages from Lin Yongjia.

Once those two years passed, it would be paid off, and everything after that would be pure profit.

The anxiety that had been lingering in Old Madam Lin’s mind faded away.

“Why didn’t I think of this earlier?”

She had been too scared before, fixating on the four hundred yuan, not considering that it would be paid back with wages.

Now that she thought about it, four hundred was actually worth it!

With that thought, Old Lin’s expectations for the future grew higher.

“If it really doesn’t work out, we can give the third house to the second son. His two sons are growing up, and it won’t be convenient for them to live with us. Besides, once Yongjia settles in the city, he’ll definitely bring the kids to the city. Coming back will just be to visit the elders, and one room will be enough.”

“Then… should we tell them tomorrow?”

“Tell them tomorrow night!”