Chapter 34: Obstruction

Chapter 34: Blocked

"So you're saying Old Lady Chen and Chen Waner are planning to run?" Secretary Zhang tapped the table twice with his pen. "Got it. I'll have someone check it out."

The Chen family's situation was complicated—behind the scenes, they had ties not only with the U.S. but also with Japan. The military was already watching them, though Lin Zhijin didn't know that.

"Old Lady Chen put your parents up to this, right?" Seeing Lin Zhijin nod, Secretary Zhang gave a knowing nod. "Head back for now. Don't do anything rash that might mess up our plans."

Reading between the lines, Lin Zhijin realized they'd already had the Chens under surveillance. So she just did as she was told.

"Alright. I was originally thinking of passing this info to Second Master Chen and the others." Lin Zhijin glanced at her watch. "Secretary, once you're done, get some rest. I'm heading back now."

It was already dark by the time she got home. Li Yue and Wang Chunhua had the food ready and were waiting for her.

"I said I'd cook, but Li Yue wouldn't let me. What took you so long today?" Wang Chunhua sprang to her feet when she saw Lin Zhijin come in.

"Had some stuff to take care of." Lin Zhijin whipped up two dishes and a soup, then turned to ask Li Yue, "When's brother-in-law getting transferred back to Nancheng?"

"He's already back. He's just too busy with work to come home." Li Yue said nonchalantly.

It's fine now—at least they can talk on the phone. Before, he'd be gone for months or even over a year with no word, and she never knew if he was dead or alive. So she was pretty content.

"When he comes back, I'll introduce you. What about Yang Su? Hasn't he been by to see you?" Li Yue asked curiously.

"Yang Su? Haven't seen him in ages." Lin Zhijin wondered why Li Yue brought him up.

"Yang Su's a good guy, just hard to pin down. What about Sheng Huaimin? Has he been coming around? What, not even a little interested?" Li Yue asked with interest.

Wang Chunhua was also watching Lin Zhijin curiously. Both Yang Su and Sheng Huaimin were top-notch men; it was up to Lin Zhijin to pick.

Lin Zhijin shook her head. "Don't go playing matchmaker. I'm still young. No hurry."

If she met the right person, she wouldn't say no. Not marrying wasn't realistic in this day and age, but she wouldn't settle either. At the very least, there had to be mutual attraction and real feelings.

"Our Zhijin is still young, that's true. But Yang Su really is a catch." Wang Chunhua smacked her lips at the thought of Yang Su's looks. "Xiao Jin, when you pick a man, pick a handsome one. Even when you fight, you won't be as mad."

"Quit your nonsense." Li Yue shot Wang Chunhua a glare. "Zhijin, don't listen to her. Good looks won't put food on the table. Character comes first."

"How am I talking nonsense? With a handsome face across the table, even eating bran and veggies tastes good. With an ugly mug, even meat tastes like—what's the word? Anyway, even meat doesn't taste good." Seeing Li Yue about to object, Wang Chunhua snorted and asked, "Could you eat a meal sitting across from Wang Mazi?"

At the thought of Wang Mazi's pockmarked face, Li Yue shuddered and turned to Lin Zhijin. "Better find someone good-looking after all. Especially since you're so pretty—an ugly one wouldn't be a fit for you anyway."

Lin Zhijin couldn't help but laugh. "Got it. Don't worry about me. Let's eat—there's a ton of work tomorrow."

The next day, Chen Qiuqiu took Lin Zhijin to the security office to see the old lady. When she saw them, the old lady's eyes lit up.

"Comrades, you're finally here. I know I was wrong—I really do. Please, let me go." Her eyes darted around nervously.

Chen Qiuqiu said, "Oh?" and asked, "Wrong about what?"

The old lady froze, hemmed and hawed for a bit, then asked hesitantly, "I shouldn't have claimed a random grandson?"

Chen Qiuqiu let out a mocking laugh. "Looks like you still don't get it. Xiao Lin, call the police station and have them come pick her up."

"No, no, no—don't!" The old lady squatted down and clung to the table leg. "I shouldn't have mooched off someone else's family. I promise, I'll never mooch off anyone again."

"Li Chunxiang, don't think you can get away with being a pest just because you're old. Lucky for you, the other party didn't press charges, or you'd be in jail doing reform. Alright, pack your stuff—someone will take you back to your hometown soon." Chen Qiuqiu couldn't be bothered with more nonsense.

Li Chunxiang plopped down on the floor, her face white as a sheet. "Back to my hometown? I'm not going back. Comrade, I really know I was wrong. I'll never mooch off anyone again. Please don't send me back."

"Why not?" Chen Qiuqiu pulled up a chair and sat down.

Before coming to see the old lady, the police had already filled her in on the investigation results. This old lady was no ordinary person—after getting married, she somehow charmed a rich merchant and became his mistress. Last year, the merchant died, and the first wife kicked her out. She'd been drifting ever since, eventually becoming a moocher, scrounging wherever she could.

"If I go back, my ex-husband will beat me to death. Really." Li Chunxiang said with tearful eyes.

"Then you'll have to go to the old folks' home. There, you'll paste matchboxes or do sewing if you know how. You want to go?" Chen Qiuqiu didn't force her to go back.

If she could go back, Li Chunxiang would have already. Nobody likes drifting with no place to call home, especially at her age.

"I'll go, I'll go." Li Chunxiang said hurriedly, afraid they'd really send her back.

Lin Zhijin got back to the office and had just picked up her teacup when a mother and daughter walked in. The daughter, around twenty, was black and blue, limping as she walked—clearly she'd been beaten badly.

"Comrade, please help my girl. Her husband is beating her half to death." The mother sobbed, her voice hoarse.

"You take this one." Chen Qiuqiu patted Lin Zhijin, signaling for her to handle it.

Lin Zhijin glanced at her and stepped forward without hesitation. "Please, have a seat. Don't rush—take your time. The Women's Federation is exactly here to help in situations like your daughter's."

Through the mother's choked-up story, Lin Zhijin got the gist of it.

Her daughter's name was Zhang Caixia. She'd found her own man. Her parents disapproved at the time, but Zhang Caixia insisted on marrying him anyway. Not long after, his true colors came out—he was a gambler. When he won, he'd take Zhang Caixia out to live it up. When he lost, he'd come asking her for money. At first, it wasn't so bad, but eventually, when he lost big and couldn't get money, he'd beat her.

"What do you want to do?" Lin Zhijin asked Zhang Caixia.

Zhang Caixia covered her face and cried. "He really loves me. When he wins money, he gives it to me. But... I don't know why things turned out like this. I really can't go on with him anymore. Comrade, please help me."

Lin Zhijin's eyes narrowed. Good grief—she was black and blue all over, and she still thought he loved her?

"So do you want us to mediate, or help you get a divorce?" Lin Zhijin felt a lot more level-headed than before.

"I... I want to ask you to help me talk to my husband. If he quits gambling, I'll stay with him." Zhang Caixia said solemnly.

"You... We agreed before coming here that you'd divorce him. Why are you changing your mind again?" Zhang Caixia's mother asked angrily.

"Mom, I love him, and he loves me. I don't want to just divorce him." Zhang Caixia had wanted to divorce him earlier, but on the walk from home to the Women's Federation, she couldn't bear to go through with it.

Lin Zhijin nodded, asked for their address and when her husband was usually home, wrote it down, and told them to go home and wait.

"Caixia, listen to Mom. A man who beats his wife is no good. You should divorce him. Mom will find you someone better." Caixia's mother chased after her, looking worried.

Lin Zhijin shook her head. If she was willing, there was nothing they could do.

The next day, Lin Zhijin went to Zhang Caixia's place at the agreed time, but came up empty—her husband wasn't there.

"I'm sorry, Cadre Lin. He's usually home around this time." Zhang Caixia said apologetically.

"It's fine. Let's set another time. If he doesn't come back, have him come find you. I'm pretty busy with work too." Lin Zhijin said with a smile.

Zhang Caixia bit her lip. "Alright. Is the day after tomorrow okay?"

"Sure. I'll come back the day after tomorrow." Lin Zhijin turned and left.

On her way back to the street office, a man caught up to her. "Comrade, wait up."

Lin Zhijin turned around. It was a tall man with handsome, sharp features. He held out a small wallet. "Is this yours? Check if anything's missing."

She quickly checked her bag and found a slit cut in it—her wallet was indeed gone.

She took the wallet the man handed her and opened it—nothing was missing. "Thank you. That thief was a real pro—I didn't feel a thing."

"Don't mention it." He hadn't noticed earlier, but now seeing Lin Zhijin face-to-face, a flicker of admiration flashed in his eyes. He extended his right hand. "Let me introduce myself—Gu Yan. I work at the machinery factory."

Lin Zhijin gave his hand a quick shake. "Lin Zhijin, from the Women's Federation at Anhe Subdistrict Office. Thanks again for your help."

"Nice to meet you, Cadre Lin." Gu Yan said with a smile.

"Yeah, well... I've got to get back to work. I'll be off now." Lin Zhijin held up the wallet. "Thanks."

"Goodbye." Gu Yan watched Lin Zhijin's retreating figure, paused for a moment, then turned and left.

Back at the Women's Federation, Lin Zhijin tugged at the tear in her bag. "Ran into a pickpocket—a real pro. If it hadn't been for that guy from the machinery factory, I wouldn't have even noticed my wallet was stolen."

"Did you lose anything?" Chen Qiuqiu leaned in to look, frowning. "That's bold. We should get the cops to round up these lowlifes. But you need to work on your situational awareness. Weren't you training with Sister Li? Don't slack off—keep at it."

Since the afternoon wasn't busy, Lin Zhijin headed to the training ground to practice. She hadn't even fired off two rounds when Secretary Zhang called her in.

It had to be about the Chen family. When she got there and asked, sure enough, it was.

"Our people haven't made a move, but the Chens have started infighting." Secretary Zhang gestured for Lin Zhijin to sit down, reading documents as he spoke. "The Chen family's second, third, and fourth sons are all blocking the grandmother and granddaughter from leaving, and even the Li family objects. It's good they haven't left—we've received intelligence that the eldest Chen son isn't in America at all, but in Japan. There's more to the Chen family than meets the eye. I'm telling you this so you'll stay away from them and avoid getting dragged into the mess."

If even Xiaohong knew this, there was no way Second Master Chen and the others didn't. The eldest branch had taken the lion's share of the family fortune, and with the old lady trying to cash out and flee, Second Master Chen and the others naturally wouldn't stand for it.

As for the Li family, they had already declined, relying entirely on Old Lady Chen for support. If she ran, the Li family would lose their backing, so of course they'd block her too.

What Lin Zhijin hadn't expected was that the eldest Chen son was in Japan. Recalling Mayor Yang's loaded words, it was clear he was a traitor.

Good heavens—thank goodness she had already cut ties with the Chen family, or she'd be in trouble too.

"Don't worry, I'll steer clear of the Chens. There's absolutely no chance I'll have any dealings with them again." Lin Zhijin said seriously.

Author's note:

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