Chapter 57 Moving and Celebrating a New Life

Although she had known for a long time that Ji Shengzhou would be laid off, the fact that they were being laid off almost half a year earlier than in her previous life made Ji Wei frown. Could it be the change brought about by her being a butterfly?

"Should we go back and take a look?" Seeing her frown, Gu Zhiyuan assumed she was worried.

"No need, they should have expected this outcome beforehand." Otherwise, they wouldn't have wanted to learn to drive from him. They must have been prepared in advance.

"Mom, what does it mean to be laid off?" Lulu asked curiously.

"Being laid off means losing your original job," Ji Wei explained, trying to use language she could understand.

"Since Uncle and Aunt are both unemployed, can Jicong still go to school?" Lulu remembered that there was a child in the neighborhood who didn't go to school because his family members were unemployed.

"No way." Ji Cong is the Ji family's precious darling; how could they possibly let him skip school?

"Oh." Although Lulu disliked Ji Cong, she didn't want him to be deprived of his education.

"What about the move?" Gu Zhiyuan frowned, feeling that things had happened by chance.

"Let's stick to the original plan and pretend we don't know anything about this." Ji Wei made a quick decision; the layoffs of Ji Shengzhou and his wife had nothing to do with her anyway.

"Okay, then I'll go upstairs and pack my things first." After saying that, Gu Zhiyuan called to Gu Chen'an over there, telling him to pack the things he was going to take to the city.

"Will we come back in the future?" Gu Chen'an asked.

"I probably won't come back often," Ji Wei replied after thinking for a moment.

"Then I know what to do." Gu Chen'an quickly figured it out.

"You don't need to bring winter clothes. You've all grown taller this year, so we'll buy new ones in the second half of the year. Also, keep your old books here; they're easy to damage if you move them around," Ji Wei reminded her.

"Okay, Mom." Gu Chen'an nodded to indicate that he understood.

"Mom, do I have to tidy up too?" Lulu asked eagerly.

"Help me pack, pack with me." Ji Wei knew she was really in a playful mood; packing was just an excuse, she really wanted to have fun.

Besides their own clothes, there were some tables and chairs. Ji Wei hesitated, "Should we move everything over?"

“Well, once we get the new house and all this stuff back, the city is only half an hour’s drive from here, so we probably won’t have much of a chance to come back and stay here.” Gu Zhiyuan had already made plans.

"That makes sense. Is the truck coming tomorrow?" Ji Wei asked.

“Yes, Wu Wenquan doesn’t need to drive tomorrow. I’ll have him make the trip.” Gu Zhiyuan nodded.

"We really need to thank them." Ji Wei remembered that this colleague was also painting the walls.

“Once we move in, he’ll probably come over for meals all the time.” Gu Zhiyuan couldn’t help but chuckle, thinking of what Wu Wenquan had said before.

"It's just a matter of adding a pair of chopsticks," Ji Wei readily agreed.

The family of four was busily packing their bags, preparing to move to the city. However, the atmosphere at the Ji family's house was somber. Although the couple had long been prepared for being laid off, no one expected this day to come so soon. They had been looking for better jobs while still employed, but unfortunately, they still hadn't found suitable employment.

"Mom and Dad, what do you think we should do now? How about we start a small business?" Ji Shengzhou said, looking at Ji Dahai. His meaning was clear: he hoped the old couple could give them some capital.

“There are more and more people doing business now, and many of them are losing money.” Ji Dahai glanced at him, his eyes full of disapproval.

“But there’s no suitable job available. If Ji Wei had been willing to help me out, I wouldn’t be in this situation.” Ji Shengzhou’s tone was full of resentment. In his opinion, if Ji Wei hadn’t been unwilling to help him out, he might already have a new job.

“What’s the point of saying all this now? Tomorrow you can go around asking around and see if there are any jobs available.” Remembering Ji Wei’s resolute attitude that day, Zhou Xiuzhen didn’t want to bring her up again.

“There’s no job available. More and more people are being laid off these days. If you ask me, Shengzhou should hurry up and learn to drive. Running a freight truck would be a good option.” Li Shuhui knew that Ji Wei’s approach wouldn’t work, so she hoped that the elderly couple could pay for Ji Shengzhou to learn to drive.

"Let's talk about this later." Although Ji Dahai and his family had some money, it was for the elderly couple's retirement and they didn't want to spend it easily.

That evening, the Ji family meeting ended unhappily. The next day, the couple went to town to inquire about jobs, but instead of hearing anything about employment, they heard that Ji Wei's family was moving. After hearing this, the two went to the vicinity of Ji Wei's house, and sure enough, there was a large truck at the gate of the yard. They saw Gu Zhiyuan and another person loading things onto the truck.

Hearing from those around them that they were moving to the city, Li Shuhui couldn't help but sneer, "Is your sister afraid we'll become dependent on her? Why is she moving so soon?"

"Why are they suddenly moving out? There wasn't a word of it beforehand." Ji Shengzhou also found it strange.

"Gu Zhiyuan made money running a freight truck, so his whole family moved to the city to live like city dwellers." Li Shuhui felt a little bitter. She had been jealous when Ji Wei and Xie Fei got married, but Xie Fei's death made her feel much better. She thought that even if Ji Wei remarried, her conditions would probably be worse than Xie Fei's. She never expected that Ji Wei would now be living in the city.

"It seems freight transport is really profitable. I need to go back and persuade them to pay for my driving lessons." Ji Shengzhou quickly came up with a plan.

"Shall we go back now?" Li Shuhui glanced at the people moving over there and tentatively asked.

“Otherwise, since Ji Wei moved out, when have we ever won against her? Rather than making her hate us now, we might as well pretend we don’t know anything. Next year when Xiao Cong starts elementary school, I’ll have my mom go to her. Maybe that will allow Xiao Cong to study in the city.” Ji Shengzhou revealed his plan. Ji Wei is a teacher, and it would definitely be better for Xiao Cong to study with her than with them.

"That's a good idea." Li Shuhui looked at him with some surprise. This guy actually figured it out?

“I know she’s always resented that my parents favor me. She’ll find out about our layoffs sooner or later, but let’s not confront her about it. We can talk to her about it next year when Xiao Cong starts school. As her aunt, how could she possibly hold a grudge against a child?” Ji Shengzhou knew that Ji Wei would soften her heart when it came to the child’s education, so he came up with this idea.

"Okay, let's go back then." Li Shuhui was afraid that if she kept watching, she would become more and more jealous.

Ji Wei took in the sight of the two figures as they left. She was somewhat surprised by their silence. Seeing her lost in thought, Gu Zhiyuan, who was beside her, asked with some confusion, "What are you looking at?"

"I just saw Ji Shengzhou and his wife. I wonder if they went back to complain." Helpless, she did have a prejudice against Ji Shengzhou and his wife, and could only assume the worst about any of his actions.

"It doesn't matter if they come looking for me, it's because of my job transfer." Gu Zhiyuan hadn't told everyone about Ji Wei's transfer to the city, so he wasn't worried about being exposed.

"So you mean even if the sky falls, you, being so tall, will be there to hold it up?" Ji Wei asked him with a smile.

"Yes, no matter what happens, I'll stand in front of you." Although he said that, Gu Zhiyuan still didn't want the Ji family to cause trouble today. He didn't want Ji Wei to leave Wu'an in a bad mood, so if the Ji family elders didn't come, he could still retain the last bit of respect for them.

"Don't worry, if they dare to come, I'll just yell at them back." Ji Wei said that she was no longer afraid of their moral blackmail.

“That’s right, Teacher Ji is the best.” Gu Zhiyuan said as he went to the main room to move tables and chairs. Ji Wei chuckled as she watched him walk away quickly. He knew to run faster, or she wouldn’t let him off the hook.

"Mom, bring these too." Lulu had a cardboard box before the New Year, filled with her miscellaneous toys.

“Okay, then you can ask Uncle Wu to help you put it up.” The truck was spacious, so Ji Wei naturally had no reason to refuse. She was still thinking about whether to have Wu Wenquan take the children in the truck or take them out for a drive when the Ji family came looking for them. Before she could figure it out, the things inside the house were basically moved out. She looked outside in a daze and said, “It’s all moved out? So fast?”

"Yes, everything that was packed has been loaded into the car." Gu Zhiyuan nodded.

"Let's go then. We'll need to unpack and settle in after we move." For a moment, Ji Wei almost wondered if she had masochistic tendencies. Wasn't it a good thing they didn't come? Why did she feel regret? Or did she want to see them cry and tell her they regretted it? Thinking of this, Ji Wei quickly shook her head, shaking away all these unnecessary emotions.

"Let's set off now." Since there were limited seats in the front, Gu Zhiyuan could only sit in the back of the truck.

When Zhou Xiuzhen ran over, she only saw the back of the truck. She stared at the truck as it drove away, tears slowly falling from her eyes. Ji Dahai, who followed behind, glanced at the truck but didn't see it. He frowned and asked, "It's gone?"

"Yes, she's gone. That girl really holds a grudge against us. She didn't even tell us about such a big thing as moving." Zhou Xiuzhen became more and more heartbroken as she spoke. She didn't expect Ji Wei to be so ruthless this time, truly not giving them any chance.

"I think that girl has grown too big for her britches. If she wants to leave, let her go. From now on, we'll pretend we don't have a daughter like her." Ji Dahai's tone was full of dissatisfaction. He was unhappy that Ji Wei left so abruptly. Where did that leave his pride?

"You're not a piece of your own flesh and blood, of course you can talk so easily about it." Zhou Xiuzhen glared at Ji Dahai. If he hadn't been so tough, they and Ji Wei might not have ended up like that.

"Now you're blaming me again? Do you think that girl doesn't hold a grudge against you?" Ji Dahai sneered. Wasn't she always the one using Ji Wei's money to subsidize Sheng Zhou's family? Why is she pretending to be a good person now?

Zhou Xiuzhen's tears fell like beads from a broken string. She didn't argue with Ji Dahai because she knew he was right. She was the one who hurt Ji Wei. But Ji Dahai had always understood her before. Why couldn't he understand her difficulties now?

Ji Wei was unaware of the two blaming each other. She was simply too busy to be sentimental. All their belongings had been moved into the house, and they needed to reorganize everything. It would probably be tomorrow by then. Fortunately, several of Wu Wenquan's colleagues who weren't driving came to help, and by evening, everything except their personal belongings was back in its place.

In the restaurant, Ji Wei raised her glass to thank them, and while the others were eating, she winked at Gu Zhiyuan next to her and clinked glasses: "Aren't we going to celebrate our new life?"