Chapter 27 opened my eyes.

The two ran into Chen Zhiyuan as they were leaving the apartment. Several apartment buildings built by the fan factory and the machinery factory were nearby. Chen Zhiyuan was currently living in one of those buildings with his family.

The courtyard Yao Fanghua bought was mostly inhabited by leaders of machinery and fan factories, primarily those at the department head level or above. He had been keeping an eye on this courtyard for a while, checking on it regularly. After learning the house was indeed for sale, he had already started borrowing money from various sources. As for repairs, he hadn't thought much about it yet; he figured he could just live there as is, even if it was dilapidated, as long as it was habitable. He could always repair it later when he had more money.

Seeing the two of them come out of the courtyard, Chen Zhiyuan asked in surprise, "Old classmate, what's going on?" Could it be that you're buying a house? So soon? Is it that working in a small factory is particularly easy? It seems that working in a small factory isn't without its advantages.

"Come and see the house."

Seeing Wu Peng discussing things with the landlord, Chen Zhiyuan pulled Yao Fanghua aside and whispered, "I heard this house is unlucky."

Yao Fanghua: "...Have people died here?"

Chen Zhiyuan choked up, "No, I've heard that people who have lived in this house all met with bad ends. It's so unlucky."

Yao Fanghua smiled and said, "I don't care about that. I've already decided to buy it."

Chen Zhiyuan said "Oh," and no one knew what he was thinking. Anyway, he stopped talking and changed the subject to congratulations, "You will definitely be blessed with good fortune and will not be as unlucky as them."

I'd heard you were good at making money while I was in school, but I never imagined you were so wealthy that you'd already bought your own house.

Yao Fanghua shrugged, “Our factory can’t compare to the big factories you’re in. Look, you’ve already been allocated housing, while I can’t even get a double dormitory room. I can only rely on myself.”

"I just happened to be lucky. As for me, I can only say I'm passable, but I can't compare to Director Shen. Not only is her housing better than mine, but she was also promoted to a permanent position much earlier. Unlike me, I'm still struggling at the deputy director level." Actually, he wasn't in a hurry, since it hadn't been long. He was just surprised by how quickly Shen Jiao had been promoted; it was truly astonishing. But who could blame him when she had connections and knew how to play the game? He'd certainly seen something new.

Their factory held a skills test last month, supposedly to improve the professional skills of all employees; those who failed would have their wages deducted.

Shen Jiao was in charge of the entire exam preparation, handling everything herself. She became incredibly popular at the factory, fawned over wherever she went. Her doorstep was practically worn down by suitors. Shen Jiao welcomed everyone with a smile, offering helpful tips and even leaking exam questions when necessary. In short, by the eve of the exam, almost everyone had a copy of the answer key.

It was only then that Chen Zhiyuan realized that this wasn't an exam at all; it was a way for Shen Jiao to win people's hearts.

Sure enough, Shen Jiao was soon promoted to a permanent position.

What's even more infuriating is that before this, the factory held a vote, claiming it was to give college graduates a preferential treatment by offering one permanent position. He and Shen Jiao were chosen, and everyone voted on it. He was completely used as a stepping stone for them. If you're going to get a permanent position, fine, but why drag him down with you? He cursed her a hundred times in his heart, but he still had to greet Shen Jiao with a smile. He was so angry during this period that he couldn't even get an erection.

He was hoping to buy a house and finally feel proud, but Yao Fanghua beat him to it. Her information network is incredible; he only just found out the house was for sale, and this girl was already looking at it. He's determined to go to the temple to pray this Sunday; this is just too unlucky.

Seeing Yao Fanghua's surprised expression upon hearing about Shen Jiao's promotion, Chen Zhiyuan smiled, this time with much more genuine emotion. He believed it was better to share misery than to be alone in it. He didn't believe Yao Fanghua could be happy watching someone less capable than herself rise in rank.

Chen Zhiyuan exhaled a breath of stale air and smiled, "Now that we live close by, we should visit each other often."

Chen Zhiyuan rode away on his bike. Yao Fanghua was still thinking about Shen Jiao's promotion. She was genuinely unhappy. How could someone with barely any professional skills get into a big company and be promoted so quickly? Oh, right, Shen Jiao changed careers; she went into public relations. Yao Fanghua rolled her eyes and scoffed. She refused to believe that she couldn't compete with someone through connections. It was only because Chen Zhiyuan wasn't capable that Shen Jiao was able to climb the ladder by stepping on him. Yao Fanghua firmly believed that gold always shines, and with her abilities, she would definitely be the one who had the last laugh.

After Yao Fanghua bought the house, she urged Wu Peng to find someone to renovate it as soon as possible.

She was anxious, and so was Wu Peng. He was eager to head south, but he couldn't rest easy until Yao Fanghua's house was settled. So he had to suppress his restlessness and get the house construction done first.

The drawings by Yao Fanghua are so bourgeois, with double-glazed windows, heating, a separate bedroom, study, dressing room, shower room, kitchen, dining room, bathroom, and even a dedicated laundry room.

Not only will they lay flooring inside, but they'll also lay it outside. Besides transplanting some plants, they also want to build a greenhouse in the yard. They say they'll be growing flowers and vegetables even in winter. He was completely speechless. All of this, plus the furniture, adds up to more money than buying the house itself.

Yao Fanghua's teacher's ancestors were wealthy and still maintain a complete mansion. Yao Fanghua had visited it once, and both the architectural style and the interior furnishings were exceptionally stylish. The interior layout in her drawings was modeled after that mansion, but it was a simplified version that could not be simplified any further. As for the exterior architectural style, it was the most ordinary style here.

While Yao Fanghua was busy building her house, the Yao family was also busy preparing for the college entrance examination. Ever since they learned that they would be directly assigned to an office after graduating from university, and would even be cadres and leaders, the enthusiasm for taking the college entrance examination in the compound was unprecedented. In addition to the Yao siblings, there was Yu Qingqing who secretly applied for the exam, and Zhong Er also planned to cram for the exam at the last minute.

However, after the exam, the courtyard was filled with wailing. Yao Fangyuan, in particular, cried under the covers and then threw herself around for several days.

As expected, Yao Fangyuan cried again after the results came out; her score was even lower than she had anticipated.

Looking at her older brother, who was already half bald at such a young age, Yao Fangyuan felt hopeless. If she couldn't pass the exam even if she studied as hard as her brother, what hope did she have? She didn't think she was much smarter than her brother.

She didn't want to take all the exams for nothing. The key was that studying was truly a torment for her. Yao Fangyuan kept crying and begged Li Chunying to take over the job.

Zhang Xiuxiu was furious. Her husband had failed the exam again and might have to take it again. She had to give Li Chunying the job; she had to fight for it. Before long, Zhang Xiuxiu and Yao Fangyuan were fighting. After a period of calm, the Yao family was thrown into chaos again.

Yao Fangyuan sat on the ground and cried loudly. Her hair was disheveled, there were several wounds on her face, and her clothes were torn. She looked miserable.

Zhang Xiuxiu tidied her disheveled hair and spat, "Don't even think about this job! A girl like you, actually coveting the family job, what a pipe dream!!" In her husband's words, it was wishful thinking!! "Even the second son doesn't deserve to fight for this job. Our parents have already gotten him a job, so now this job should belong to our family. I've never seen parents so biased. If they don't give me this job, I'll sit at the door every day and curse them, and nobody will have a peaceful day."

Li Chunying pounded her chest, feeling dizzy with anger. "This job is mine; I can give it to whomever I want."

Zhang Xiuxiu suddenly grabbed a kitchen knife. "Fine, give her the job, I'll kill her right now and pay for it with my life. My three children will be raised by their mother, which is better than them starving to death with me."

"How could they starve to death! Did we neglect to feed them or give them water?!" She even made new clothes for the three children. Although she didn't like the eldest couple anymore, she believed she hadn't mistreated the three children!

Zhang Xiuxiu ignored what Li Chunying said and brandished her knife at Yao Fangyuan, who screamed in fright.