Xu Ziyan happily added the skill point to her intelligence, mailed out the finished manuscripts, and then, in front of Fang Lihai, withdrew the royalty payment she had received last time.
Fang Lihai hadn’t expected the articles Xu Ziyan wrote to be so profitable, earning more than an ordinary city worker. This wasn’t just about making money; it was about knowledge changing one’s fate, making him look at her in a new light.
Fang Lihai thought to himself that he would start studying as soon as he got back. His wife was making such progress; he couldn’t fall behind.
Xu Ziyan shared with Fang Lihai how her parents were making money from their business, then added, “I feel our country is about to enter a period of rapid development. It will be an era of money making money. I was thinking we could pool all our family’s money to start a small business or make some investments. Once we earn some money, we can use it to support our parents. What do you think?”
She was actually a little worried that Fang Lihai might object. Not being able to follow the plot was a minor issue, but if a family had different views and harbored suspicions, they couldn’t live together. In that case, she might just give up on the Fang family and leave on her own. After all, the plot related to the Fang family was almost done anyway.
However, before she could dwell on it, Fang Lihai smiled and said, “I’ll listen to you. You have lots of ideas and a quick mind. Having you arrange these matters is the most reassuring. When we get back, I’ll talk to my parents. They won’t object either. Actually, they all like you very much, and so do the kids. Thank you for being so good to them. This time I came back, I saw they were much happier.”
Xu Ziyan was very happy right then. Her new husband was so understanding; she liked it!
“It’s what family should do. No need to thank me. We’ll definitely live better and better in the future.”
The two went boating on the lake in the park and even took a few photos together, making up for their missing wedding photos. Fang Lihai also bought her the latest model watch, saying it was a belated wedding gift, before they headed home.
As soon as they got home, Fang Lihai went to find Fang Father and Fang Mother to talk about letting Xu Ziyan manage the family’s money. The two elders heard Xu Ziyan’s inner thoughts from next door.
【This excuse should work, right? I’ll take all the money, then find a way to make Xu Xiuyun think I embezzled the Fang Family’s money and ran away. That should complete the plot. Right now is when housing prices in the Capital City are at their cheapest. People who were just politically rehabilitated have houses but no money to live. We can use money to trade for them. Even though buying and selling houses isn’t straightforward on the surface, there are always ways to handle the transfer. When it’s time for me to go to school, the whole family can come with me. Perfect!】
As soon as the two elders heard this, they immediately dug out all their money. Fang Mother even added a privately hidden pair of gold earrings and gave them to Xu Ziyan, saying, “To be honest, when you two got married before, I wasn’t optimistic. I didn’t think you had much affection for each other. Now seeing you two getting along so well, I’m relieved. I sincerely accept you as my daughter-in-law and think you’re absolutely the best. These gold earrings were secretly given to me by my mother-in-law, so they’re sort of a family heirloom. Now I’m giving them to you.
You can keep them or exchange them for money, whatever you like. The family’s money is all for you to manage. We have limited experience, not as knowledgeable as you young people. You’re clever and sensible. From now on, you’ll be in charge of the household.”
Fang Father chimed in, “We’ve seen over this period that you have the family’s best interests at heart. With you here, our family has been getting better and better. From now on, we’ll listen to you. You’re the head of the household.”
Xu Ziyan didn’t refuse at all. She accepted it with a smile and said, “Mom, Dad, don’t worry. I’ve been in contact with a newspaper agency in the Capital City and know a bit of news. I won’t let you suffer a loss.”
She took the opportunity to mention she needed to make a trip to the Capital City. Since the novel she’d written would be serialized for a long time, it might require detailed contract negotiations. She wanted to go in person to take a look.
All four elders at home were a bit worried about her safety. Fang Lihai said, “I’ll apply with my superiors for a few extra days of leave to accompany Zi Yan there.”
Xu Ziyan was a bit surprised he could still get leave, but this was for the best. The train was so crowded, with pickpockets and such. With Fang Lihai protecting her, she could relax a lot and wouldn’t even have to carry her bags. How great was that?
Xu Ziyan’s philosophy was to enjoy comfort and avoid hardship whenever possible. She would never turn down such a good thing. She immediately urged Fang Lihai to go apply for leave.
So Fang Lihai made another trip into the city.
Next door, Xu Xiuyun and the others were packing to move. The Fang family’s courtyard wall was very high, so she couldn’t see anything, but she knew Fang Lihai had taken Xu Ziyan into the city for fun, and later Fang Lihai had gone into the city again. What was going on? Could it be an urgent summons from the army?
When Xu Ziyan opened the door to toss out some water, she noticed Xu Xiuyun wearing a thoughtful expression and knew she was scheming again.
Xu Ziyan thought for a moment. As soon as Fang Lihai returned home, she packed his luggage and told him to go stay in the city for the night. Her reason was, “The army gave you leave, so we shouldn’t waste time. The sooner we finish, the better. You go buy the tickets first. If it gets late, don’t come back. I’ll go find you first thing tomorrow morning.”
Fang Lihai instinctively asked, “Aren’t you coming with me?”
Xu Ziyan thought: 【If I go, how will I put on the act for Xu Xiuyun to see?】
She smiled and said, “I still have a lot of manuscripts to organize, and I need to give some instructions to my parents. You go first. It’ll be hard to buy tickets once it gets dark. Hurry up and go, listen to me. Oh, and it’s not good to talk about our business with others. If anyone asks you, don’t say anything.”
Fang Lihai nodded. When he said goodbye to his parents, Fang Mother quietly told Fang Lihai about Xu Ziyan’s inner thoughts. Only then did Fang Lihai feel at ease and head into the city.
Xu Xiuyun noticed Fang Lihai leaving with his luggage. Connecting it with his previous trip to the city, she was sure it must be an urgent summons from the army.
With Fang Lihai returning to his unit, she naturally couldn’t pull off anything. Actually, she hadn’t thought of any other method to get revenge. It was just that she had gone to great lengths to trick Fang Lihai back to the village, accomplished nothing, and instead made the relationship between Fang Lihai and Xu Ziyan even better. This made her feel particularly aggrieved.
Song Dongbo noticed her peeking at the neighbors again and had a huge fight with her. That night, they slept in separate rooms. Xu Xiuyun was so angry she tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
Xu Ziyan took advantage of the darkness, quietly slipped out the door with a bag on her back. However, opening and closing the main gate made noise, which Xu Xiuyun heard. She hurriedly got up to look outside, thinking Song Dongbo had gone out in a fit of anger. But peering over the courtyard wall, she saw Xu Ziyan walking away, looking guilty and glancing back over her shoulder as if she were a thief.
Xu Xiuyun immediately scurried out and hid behind the courtyard gate to watch.
Xu Ziyan had already heard the movement. She was waiting for her!
Walking in the dark, Xu Ziyan stumbled, and her bag fell to the ground. Several banknotes and ration tickets spilled out. She hurriedly looked around, stuffed everything back in, and then carefully ran off.
Xu Xiuyun’s mind went blank for a second, instantly hitting upon a possibility. Could it be that Xu Ziyan had embezzled the Fang Family’s money and run away?
She opened her mouth but still didn’t cry out. She thought with vicious satisfaction, let Xu Ziyan run. Just wait and see how angry those two old folks and the two little ones will be. Won’t Xu Father and Xu Mother’s faces be thoroughly shamed then?
She’d just wait and watch the show. Once it blew up, who would still remember her business? So this was why Xu Ziyan had changed her tune, getting along so well with the Fang family and putting on such an act. She was waiting for this all along.
If she wasn’t mistaken, Fang Lihai must have left a sum of money this time he came back. Because of Xu Ziyan’s good behavior recently, they trusted her and told her where the money was. As soon as Fang Lihai left for spring duties, Xu Ziyan immediately stole the money and ran.
Xu Ziyan had always despised poverty and coveted wealth, scheming her way up the social ladder. Xu Xiuyun had heard from Song Dongbo about the changes outside, knowing one could do business to make money now, and business could earn a lot, a whole lot. Xu Ziyan had her parents selling breakfast, so of course she knew about this. Being a military wife only brought in a fixed amount each month, and even if she followed the army, she’d heard it was a hard life. But if she went out and found a rich man, she could live a life of luxury.
Xu Xiuyun thought about it more and more and became convinced she had guessed right. The next day, she deliberately relaxed outside the main gate. Seeing the five-year-old Fang Bei, she asked, “Why haven’t I seen your mom today?”
Fang Bei’s little face fell. “My mom is gone.”
Xu Xiuyun struggled to suppress the corners of her mouth. “Gone? Oh, I heard some noise last night and thought I saw someone walking past outside. Could it have been your mom going out at night? Where did she go?”
Fang Bei said, “No. My mom definitely had something to do and went out. She’ll definitely bring me back something yummy.”
Xu Xiuyun dismissed this as the innocent talk of a child who didn’t understand. After thinking for a moment, she entered the Fang house, took out ten yuan, and said apologetically, “Auntie, I… I thought it over and felt I should give you another five yuan for nutrition. It’s just that I don’t have a five-yuan note. Could you give me change? I know it’s a bit rude, but I really don’t have any other money on me.”
Fang Mother thought, here it comes. Her face turned unusually grim as she said, “No money. Get out!”
Xu Xiuyun stared at her. “How can you not have any? I always thought you, Auntie, were good at saving money, that you had quite a bit on hand. Please just give me change. I’m sincerely trying to give you five yuan.”
Fang Mother said roughly, “No means no. Are you leaving or not? If you don’t leave, don’t blame me for being rude.”
Xu Xiuyun peeked into the room. “Where’s Zi Yan? I have something to say to her.”
Fang Mother suddenly picked up a broom and started hitting her with it. “Get out! You get out of here right now!”
Xu Xiuyun ran out screaming, having been hit several times on the body. It hurt so much her face turned pale. But in her heart, she was still happy. She had confirmed it. Xu Ziyan must have run off with the money. That’s why Fang Mother flew into a rage just at the mention of Xu Ziyan and couldn’t even produce five yuan in change for her.
Xu Xiuyun hummed a tune. She had to find an opportunity to leak this news to others. She’d wait two or three days. She’d been scared off by Xu Ziyan’s counterattacks before, so she thought she’d wait two or three days. If Xu Ziyan still hadn’t returned by then, there would be no mistake. At that point, she’d let the whole village know about this. With a worse comparison, naturally no one would pay attention to her anymore.
Xu Ziyan and Fang Lihai were already on the train when she suddenly heard the announcement: 【Congratulations, Host, for completing the plot mission: ‘Embezzling the Fang Family’s Money and Running Away’. Reward: One Skill Point.】
Xu Ziyan looked at the blue sky and white clouds outside the window and also hummed a tune. That meant all the plot points she needed to follow regarding the Fang family were now complete. She really had to thank Xu Xiuyun for stirring up trouble and tricking Fang Lihai into coming back. All the benefits had ended up with her!
【001, don’t you think Xu Xiuyun is my Lucky Star? She always ends up helping me out.】
001: 【If she knew you thought that, she’d probably die of anger.】
Xu Ziyan laughed inwardly. Well, better not let Xu Xiuyun know then. She liked to quietly rake in the profits. Just like her rapidly increasing intelligence now, quietly arming herself. It felt really great.
Arriving in the Capital City, Xu Ziyan first went to see the newspaper editor, settled on a price for her serialized novel, and got an advance payment. Then she asked for help introducing her to houses.
Thankful for this era where people were generally more enthusiastic and sincere, Xu Ziyan soon used all her savings to buy a house. Even doing missions had to be done comfortably. She didn’t want to suffer for many years like Xu Xiuyun before enjoying the good life. The first step towards a better life had been taken!