Chapter 277 We’ll cover the money first

Chapter 277 We’ll cover the money first

Lan Raoping, upon hearing Zhou Xue’s words, felt the tension in her heart snap completely.

Zhou Xue had never been honest with her.

If it weren’t for Liu Dayong coming to demand the money, she probably wouldn’t have admitted to taking the 1,200 yuan until now.

She watched coldly, with no intention of stepping in.

Liu Dayong wouldn’t let Zhou Xue leave, pulling her to go to the police station.

Zhou Xue cried out in desperation, shouting to Lan Raoping, "Godmother, help me!"

Lan Raoping calmly advised, "Didn’t you claim you didn’t take Zhang Chunhua’s money? Then call the police and see where the money went."

Liu Dayong nodded repeatedly, "She’s right, call the police! Since you claim you’re innocent, let’s see who really took my mother’s savings!"

Zhou Xue wailed, and whenever Liu Dayong touched her, she yelled that someone was harassing her.

This made Liu Dayong reluctant to let her go but afraid to touch her.

In the end, Liu Dayong’s mother stepped in, sitting on the ground crying and shouting.

Zhou Xue’s act paled in comparison to Old Lady Liu’s display.

Now, all the onlookers knew that Zhou Xue had taken the old lady’s life savings.

"You should return the money; the old lady’s struggling."

"You took the money without doing the work, why should you keep it?"

"Kids these days are so dishonest, even cheating the elderly."

"Don’t cry, ma’am; we’ll go with you to the police. Buying or selling jobs is illegal."

Zhou Xue panicked; if she were sent to labor camp, her life would be over.

She wanted to ask Lan Raoping for help, but Lan Raoping was gone.

"Godmother! Where are you?"

Lan Raoping’s mind was in turmoil; she couldn’t face Zhou Xue.

Zhou Xue had taken 1,200 yuan, and it was clear where the money had gone.

She was now certain that the courtyard wasn’t rented—Zhou Xue had bought it.

Somehow, she sensed that there was a secret between Shao Jiakang and Zhou Xue that she didn’t know about.

She couldn’t figure out what it was.

Lan Raoping was drained and just wanted to rest.

As soon as she lay down, Shao Jiakang confronted her.

"Zhou Xue has been taken to the police station, and you can still sleep?"

Lan Raoping closed her eyes, "What do you expect me to do?"

This is pretty straightforward. If Zhou Xue pays Liu Dayong back, he’ll drop it.

Instead of talking sense into Zhou Xue, Shao Jiakang grilled her at home—what a joke.

For a second, Lan Raoping felt like she didn’t even know the man beside her.

Shao Jiakang paused, his voice softening as he tried to calm her down.

"I know you’re mad at Zhou Xue, but she’s like a kid we raised. We can’t just turn our backs on her."

Lan Raoping suddenly asked, "The courtyard Zhou Xue used to live in—did she buy it herself? She’s someone I’ve known forever, and now she’s lying to my face—it’s heartbreaking. And you, how much do you know?"

Shao Jiakang was stunned, his expression shocked, pretending to be unaware.

"She bought it? I had no idea! Why didn’t she give us a heads-up?"

Lan Raoping studied him—he didn’t seem to be lying.

Shao Jiakin probably had no clue.

Come to think of it, he and Zhou Xue were never that close.

Lan Raoping relaxed a little, her suspicions easing up.

"Sell the place or just hand it over to them."

"No way, that place is worth way more than twelve hundred!" Shao Jiakin immediately objected.

Lan Raoping asked suspiciously, "How do you know what she paid for it?"

"I don’t know, but it’s a big place—it’s got to be at least two thousand! Zhou Xue probably even put more into it," Shao Jiakin said.

"Is that so?" Lan Raoping didn’t say more.

She didn’t respond, but Shao Jiakin was anxious and had to bring it up himself.

"Let’s front the cash, get Zhou Xue out, and figure it out later."

Lan Raoping sneered, "If you’ve got the cash, pay her back—I won’t stop you."

Their salaries look good on paper, but they’ve barely saved anything over the years.

Zheng Shufen’s health is bad, and they’re shelling out for her meds and treatments every month.

Lan Raoping’s been searching for her kid for years, and she’s not giving up.

She’s poured a ton of money into this.

And Shao Jiakin’s even worse—he’s obsessed with climbing the ranks, blowing cash on connections.

Any regular family could scrape together twelve hundred, but they’ve got nothing saved.

Shao Jiakin looked troubled, "Where am I supposed to get the money? If I had it, I wouldn’t be here talking to you."

"You don’t have it, so I do? If it comes down to it, sell the place, tell Liu Dayong to hold on, and pay him back with the proceeds."

Lan Raoping isn’t the type to keep bailing people out.

Especially since Zhou Xue lied to her—it really ticked her off.

She should be taught a lesson, otherwise she won’t know her place.

Seeing how determined she was, Shao Jiakang feared that further persuasion might make her suspicious, so he had no choice but to keep silent.

Jiang Yu didn’t find out about Zhou Xue being detained at the police station until the next day.

Zhang Chunhua and Tong Qilin were marching through the streets, and He Qianqian sneaked out to see what was happening.

She also witnessed the dispute between Zhou Xue and Liu Dayong and came to tell Jiang Yu the next day.

"This Zhou Xue is really heartless, that was the old lady’s coffin money."

Jiang Yu patted her head, "Mind your own business and get back to work."

He Qianqian pouted, "Jiang Yu, you don’t know, my cousin is about to get married, and my grandfather asked our family to contribute to the bride price."

He Youfu’s position as the production team leader was taken over from his father.

Originally, his father intended for the eldest son to take over, which would have been passed to He Qianqian’s uncle.

However, at that time, He Qianqian’s uncle had an accident, and her grandfather had to push her father into the position.

He Youfu and Liu Junmei are well-liked and respected, so in every subsequent election, everyone voted for him.

It became hard for He Qianqian’s uncle to get back into power.

Because of this, He Qianqian’s uncle’s family has always thought it was unfair, believing He Youfu owed them.

"How much?"

He Qianqian said unhappily, "My father thinks that since we are all family, helping each other is expected, and he plans to give twenty yuan, but my uncle thinks it’s too little and wants my father to give two hundred."

He even said that if they didn’t give it, they would take her job as payment.

Because of these things, she doesn’t want to go home anymore.

"Jiang Yu, do you think getting married changes a family?"

Her father and uncle are like this, and her brother was very loving before he got married.

But after getting married, her brother changed.

He thinks He Youfu and Liu Junmei play favorites, getting their daughter a job at the second factory, without even considering that their daughter-in-law doesn’t have a job yet.

This is something Jiang Yu hasn’t figured out yet.

Her own family is even more troublesome than He Qianqian’s.

"These matters are for your parents to decide, you’re still young, why worry so much?"

He Qianqian sighed, "I just feel uncomfortable inside."

If it weren’t for her parents’ firmness, her job would have been taken away long ago.

Who would have thought that just a small job could disrupt a peaceful family.