Chapter 22: Qian Sanya Sows Discord, Driving Them Away—The Rift Between the Zhao and Qian Families Deepens!

The job that originally could have been bought for 1,000 yuan, Mother Zhao ended up paying 1,200 for.

In truth, the job itself only cost 1,100 yuan.

But Zhao Qianqian, who had asked that colleague to make the connection, gave her a 100-yuan favor fee.

After all, when you ask someone for help, with all the running around involved, you have to pay some courtesy, don’t you?

Besides.

In those days, having money alone wasn’t enough to buy a job. You needed connections, and the right timing, place, and people.

So some money just couldn’t be saved!

Railway jobs came with good benefits.

The base salary each month was 33 yuan, and with benefits and long-distance allowances, someone as hardworking as her elder brother could probably bring home around 40 yuan a month!

The Zhao family mother and children all seemed filled with hope for the future!

But only Zhao Qianqian knew.

The days ahead would be difficult.

Because Qian Sanya had been reborn.

She knew many things about the future, and she also knew Mother Zhao’s true face.

Later on, she would gradually expose her mother’s many misdeeds before Old Qian and the rest of the Qian family!

When Zhao Laoda officially started working, Madam Zhao revealed it at the dinner table:

“My eldest was driven out of his original room, and I couldn’t build him a house for now, so I could only spend all my savings to buy him a job.”

“Buying a job? That must cost a lot,” the Qian family’s eldest daughter-in-law was the first to speak.

She meant no harm—after all, she and Mother Zhao had always gotten along well.

Old Qian was the second to speak, his tone unreadable: “You spent all your savings to buy him a job, then doesn’t that mean there’s still no money to build him a house?”

House, house—always the house.

Now whenever Zhao Saihua heard that word, she felt sick of it.

So Mother Zhao replied rather perfunctorily to Old Qian: “I won’t build him a house anymore. In the future, once he earns money, he’ll build it himself.”

Qian Ertian replied sourly: “Oh, so there was enough money to buy Elder Brother Zhao a job? Is it an official one? None of us Qian children could afford to buy an official job.”

Actually, it wasn’t that they had no money—just no opportunity.

It was then that Qian Sanya, as a reborn one, spoke in a sinister tone: “Not only does Elder Brother Zhao have a job now, even Zhao Qianqian has an official job too. I heard both were bought by Zhao Mama. They must be very rich indeed!”

One sentence stirred up a thousand waves.

Qian Sanya’s seemingly casual words were like a surging flood, crashing down with unstoppable force upon the entire Qian family.

The power of money.

Or more precisely, the power of official jobs, set off stormy waves in the hearts of everyone in the old Qian family, forming a deep whirlpool that threatened to swallow everything.

Everyone was swept in, unable to free themselves!

At this moment, all attention was fixed on the two official jobs, and an intense jealousy arose.

What?

Two official jobs.

And all paid for by Madam Zhao?

This completely soured everyone in the old Qian family!

Even Li Pantai, the eldest daughter-in-law who had always stood on Mother Zhao’s side, felt sour in her heart.

After all, kindness and friendliness sometimes depended on circumstances.

When someone was beneath you, you might be kind to them.

Meeting a beggar, you might even give him something.

But when you meet a tycoon!!!

You can’t help but feel inferior. Even when eating together, you think, “They’re so rich, they should pay for everything!”

When going out together, you think, “They’re so rich, they should cover all the costs.”

Human nature is complicated.

It can sympathize with the weak, and it can also envy the strong.

Now Li Pantai’s heart was exactly like this.

When she thought Mother Zhao was very poor, plus owed her a debt of gratitude, she had been very good to her!

She would even occasionally give Mother Zhao some pocket money.

Not much—maybe ten or twenty cents, maybe fifty cents.

But it was still a token of kindness!

But when she found out that Mother Zhao was actually richer than she was, Li Pantai became even angrier than the other Qian children, cursing Madam Zhao inwardly: “Old hag, if you had so much money, why did you take my pocket money?”

On the other side.

Madam Zhao hadn’t expected Qian Sanya to expose things so directly.

Or rather—she hadn’t expected Qian Sanya to know so clearly.

Whatever the reason, her daughter Zhao Qianqian and her son Zhao Nannan both having official jobs could no longer be hidden.

The old Qian family would know sooner or later.

After all, once her eldest son started working, he couldn’t continue earning work points.

A day or two could be concealed.

But over time, there was no way to hide it!

Better for the old Qian family to hear it from her own mouth, while she still had control.

Besides, when her daughter Qianqian married Zeng Cheng, everyone had thought she was marrying up.

Now.

By letting the Qian family know that Zhao Qianqian had an official job, her daughter wouldn’t seem like she was marrying above her station.

In front of Zeng Cheng, she’d have more confidence too, right?

By every calculation, it was to the Zhao family’s advantage to announce it themselves first.

So.

Madam Zhao admitted it openly.

“What? It’s true?”

The entire Qian family gasped in unison.

Now everyone’s faces were dark.

Why?

None of the old Qian family’s children had official jobs.

How could the poor Zhao family suddenly have them?

At that moment, their only thought was: “Who knows how much of our Qian family’s money they’ve stolen over the years?”

Even though they all knew Old Qian had never given the Zhao family any money or property.

Their first reaction was still to think that all of Madam Zhao’s money had come from the Qian family!

Whether from jealousy clouding reason, or simply from being unable to accept that those they had always looked down on had suddenly risen above them—

Whatever the case, none of the Qian family was happy for Madam Zhao. Their faces practically screamed: “I’m looking for trouble.”

Old Qian, unlike the younger ones, though jealous, also had other thoughts.

He had money too.

If possible, he also wanted to buy jobs for his children.

There was no way he could let his children be outdone by Madam Zhao’s kids.

But what Old Qian couldn’t understand was—

Even he, who had long worked outside, found it hard to secure jobs.

Before, just arranging temporary work for his second son had cost endless effort and many favors!

So where did Madam Zhao get her channels for job opportunities?

Unable to hold back, he pressed her about the source of the money for buying jobs.

Madam Zhao knew some things couldn’t be hidden, so she explained openly: “Qianqian’s job came because she studied well, and her teacher made the introduction. As for my eldest son’s job, it was introduced by a colleague of Qianqian’s at the food factory. She works at the food factory now.”