This "reasoning" is certainly not about reasoning with the Zhou family.
The Zhou family isn't a powerful family. If they were to hand over those three large yellow croakers themselves, they would definitely lose everything.
But the person who took that box was Cheng Wenyun.
Even if someone wanted to keep the big yellow croaker, they would have to see if Cheng Wenyun was willing.
Cheng Wenyun was naturally unhappy. They had been investigating for almost two months, and there was still no news. They also wouldn't return the items to him. How could that be acceptable?
Cheng Wenyun went over and spoke with the other party in person. No one knows exactly what they said, but the large yellow croaker was given to the Zhou family at the market price.
Cheng Huasheng and Li Ailian came to return the box, the original letter, and the money for the three large yellow croakers to Zhou Mingli and Jiang Ci.
The so-called "big yellow croaker" was actually a gold bar issued by a bank during the Republic of China era, with each bar worth ten taels.
Of course, this is not calculated according to the current ten taels, but the old ten taels, which is 312.5 grams after conversion.
Those three large yellow croakers did have some wear and tear, so they weren't that heavy.
"A total of 937 grams of gold, which, when converted to our local currency, would be worth 8,355 yuan."
Cheng Huasheng opened his briefcase and took out a passbook. "I've deposited all 8,300 yuan in the bank for you. The 55 yuan is small change, so it's not worth keeping it. I brought it all with me."
There were five ten-yuan bills and five one-yuan bills sandwiched in the middle of the passbook.
Jiang Ci and Zhou Mingli exchanged a glance. Jiang Ci said, "When we handed those things over, we never thought that the large yellow croaker would still belong to us."
Who would willingly spit out the good food they've eaten?
Jiang Ci and Zhou Mingli were both incredulous when they saw the passbook and the change.
"That's because there are so many good people in the world." Cheng Huasheng didn't elaborate on his family's role in this, and instead smiled as he pushed the passbook forward.
Jiang Ci smiled and said, "Then we won't refuse."
That's eight thousand yuan! A huge sum of money!
Even in the 1980s, this was a considerable sum of money, and Jiangci naturally accepted it without hesitation.
"You can also look around and see if anyone is looking to move. If you have enough money, you can buy one separately. My nephew's house is actually a bit too small for your family," Cheng Huasheng suggested.
This wasn't meant to drive Jiang Ci away, but rather because there are currently five people living here.
A 40-square-meter apartment is simply not enough for five people.
Jiang Ci and Zhou Mingli did not complain, but in reality, they faced various inconveniences.
Because the house is small, when guests come, it's hard to even turn around. There are also issues like fighting for the toilet, queuing for showers, and insufficient storage space. As the amount of stuff in the house increases, these shortcomings become increasingly apparent.
Jiang Ci said, "I heard from the logistics department that we'll be allocating housing again soon."
Li Ailian's eyes lit up. "Can I share some with you?"
Jiang Ci smiled wryly, "I've only been working here for a short time, how could I possibly get a share? What I mean is, I can try to find out if anyone wants to sell, and if I can buy, then of course I'll buy a few houses."
“Our family needs at least three rooms now, and Zheyue also needs a room.”
Huang Zheyue's ears twitched. He looked up at Jiang Ci and Zhou Mingli. Seeing that Zhou Mingli also agreed with Jiang Ci's statement, he pursed his lips.
I'm a little happy.
"That's true. Quite a few people at our school own houses. I'll ask around for you too."
Jiang Ci smiled and said, "Okay!"
As it grew dark, Cheng Huasheng and his wife left without keeping Cheng Yehan and Cheng Ke, who were still at home.
Jiang Ci and Zhou Mingli saw them downstairs and watched them walk away before returning home.
Zhou Mingli asked her, "You looked a little off when you came back. What happened?"
Jiang Ci looked around and said with a complicated expression, "The designer in the project I'm currently in charge of is Guo Zhen's daughter."
Zhou Mingli: "?"
"When I came back, I kept thinking, did Guo Zhen deliberately plant his daughter to monitor my movements and then stab me in the back at the most critical moment in my work, so that he could just kill me?"
Jiang Ci frowned. She had been thinking about this the whole way back. If the bus driver hadn't reminded her to get off at her stop, she would have missed her stop.
Zhou Mingli asked in a low voice, "Guo Zhen has always been single, how could he have a daughter?"
“This isn’t just my wild imagination; I saw it with my own eyes.” Jiang Ci also lowered her voice. “Right here at Linhuxuan in Peking University, Guo Zhen seems to have kept quiet about having a daughter for some reason!”
"That's why she cares so much about this."
Zhou Mingli pondered for a moment and said, "What's his daughter's name? I'll talk to Cheng Wenyun about it when I go to work tomorrow."
"Shan Lian." Jiang Ci paused, then grabbed Zhou Mingli's hand and wrote the two characters in his palm.
Zhou Mingli felt something was off about the surname, "This Shan Lian, could she be from the Shan Shengshuo family?"
Jiang Ci had heard Zhou Mingli mention this before, and her chaotic mind suddenly cleared up. "Didn't you hear Cheng Wenyun say that Shan Shengshuo's daughter was once Guo Zhen's fiancée, and they almost got married?"
"The child born to Shan Shengshuo's daughter is Shan Lian. Guo Zhen didn't acknowledge her, so she took the surname Shan?"
Jiang Ci thought this was very likely.
Shan Lian was clearly not from an ordinary cadre family; she was confident and outgoing, and her clothes were high-end items from department stores.
These days, anyone who can learn traditional Chinese painting must come from a family with some kind of background.
The two slowly walked upstairs. Zhou Mingli said, "Very likely."
“Guo Zhen may indeed be using this information gap that we don’t know about to have Shan Lian monitor your every move,” Zhou Mingli said in a deep voice.
As Jiang Ci climbed the stairs, she pondered, "They have no idea that I've discovered this. Perhaps I can use their thoughts to turn the tables on them."
Zhou Mingli looked at her profile as she pondered quietly, wanting to say something, but ultimately didn't.
After the meal, Zhou Mingli showed Huang Zheyue the letter that had been in the box.
“We discovered these things and that’s how we learned about your father. We learned about you from your father’s letters,” Zhou Mingli said. “Just as I told you before, your father was murdered because of a priceless jade seal. He and his colleagues were all killed.”
Huang Zheyue unfolded the letter with trembling hands. When she saw the familiar handwriting, her eyes immediately welled up with tears.
He read it carefully, tears streaming down his face, his thin shoulders trembling.
Huang Zheyue's grip on the paper tightened, and his sobs grew from soft whimpers to suppressed sobs. He hugged the box, buried his face in it, and wept bitterly, his sobs both suppressed and painful.
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