Chapter 20 Buying Barren Mountains and Houses
Factory Director Wu and the security personnel were all so frightened that they squatted on the ground, huddled together in fear.
As the flagpole fell and nearly hit his head, Director Wu quickly shouted in his shrill voice, which was split wide.
"I understand, I understand. Our factory has made such a big mistake, we must compensate them, we absolutely must compensate them."
Old Shen's injustice has been redressed today, and the Qin family must return the 1,000 yuan compensation and the house.
In addition, the factory paid 2,000 yuan to the Shen family as compensation and a pension.
Qin Liang has been fired from our factory from this point forward. Tomorrow, Jiang Ruzhen can bring her child back to work at our factory. The factory will pay double wages and provide you with a three-bedroom apartment to make up for our mistake.
"What do you think, Sister Jiang?"
Jiang Ruzhen rolled her eyes inwardly, not caring. So many years have passed, who would still want a job at that small, run-down shipyard?
Who cares about the housing compensation they get?
She wouldn't be foolish enough to let her children go back to work in a factory, only to be laid off again in a few years and have to find their own way to make a living.
Moreover, she caused Director Wu such a great loss today. Who knows if that old man will have a brain fart and make things difficult for her family again?
"I don't want the house or the job, I just want the compensation."
Jiang Ruzhen stared intently at Director Wu, who was terrified by the rumbling thunder overhead.
If he doesn't agree, will the lightning strike him and split him in two?
"Sure, sure, sure. Since you don't need a job or a house, I'll give you an extra thousand yuan as compensation, how about that?"
"Add another five hundred yuan!" Jiang Ruzhen made the final decision.
Factory Director Wu dared not haggle. Trembling, he invited Jiang Ruzhen into the factory and handed her the compensation of 3,500 yuan in front of everyone.
Jiang Ruzhen took the money and went out, shouting to her second son, "Go find the police and ask them how to deal with these beasts who are making false accusations and extorting money?"
Shen Zhuoyi nodded, turned around and went to report the case, and soon brought two police officers over.
The police came here to handle the matter officially, and they couldn't just listen to the Shen family's story. So they woke Hao Youde up to ask him what exactly happened, but he woke up, only to go mad.
Hao Youde kept muttering to himself that he was wrong, crying and laughing, rolling on the ground and running around like a madman.
The two police officers were in a bit of a predicament.
The most important witness was terrified and refused to give a statement.
If we say Li Fen is guilty, she completely denies it now.
There's not enough evidence to convict them!
Seeing the two police officers in a difficult position, Jiang Ruzhen also realized that the law was not yet perfect at this time, and there was no way to convict Li Fen.
“They came to my house and smashed and robbed it. My neighbors can testify to this over the years. Doesn’t this count as disturbing public order? Please arrest them and put them in a labor camp for a few days.”
The two police officers nodded in agreement; this was a good idea.
So the two of them each took one and led Li Fen and Qin Liang away.
The captain felt guilty, as he had misunderstood Jiang Ruzhen for so many years, and he had wanted to help her today but had no chance.
It was only through Jiang Ruzhen's own efforts that she was able to get justice. After thinking for a moment, he led the people to the police station to give their statements.
She recounted in detail all the ways Li Fen and Qin Liang had bullied Jiang Ruzhen over the years.
Jiang Ruzhen has won a great victory today, not only restoring the reputation of her child's father and clearing his name, but also receiving a lot of compensation.
Now, she had found the perfect excuse to start a business.
As for Hao Youde, who has gone mad, he deserves it; she has no reason to pity or sympathize with him.
As for the Qin family, taking advantage of the chaos, she had already seen Old Hu knock Qin Lanlan unconscious and drag her away, but she didn't make a sound.
The other villagers also saw it, but acted as if they hadn't seen it at all. Some of the more righteous people even helped Old Hu block the view of the factory workers and the police.
As for Li Fen and Qin Liang, Jiang Ruzhen will give them a big gift after they are released from labor camp.
After more than two hours of fussing, everyone finally finished giving their statements, and the group gradually headed towards the village.
The eldest and fourth brothers had very mixed feelings, sitting on the tractor with their heads down, seemingly lost in thought.
Shen Shuxin sat next to Jiang Ruzhen, hugging her arm and crying incessantly.
The second son, however, straightened his back, tilted his head back, and looked relaxed and content.
Xiao Changgeng noticed that Jiang Ruzhen's expression was very calm, showing no excitement or joy at the fact that her injustice had been redressed.
He hesitated for a while before asking, "Sister Jiang, why did you turn down such a good job at the shipyard? Are you planning to continue doing odd jobs in the village?"
Liu Guihua also looked disapproving. "Little sister, listen to my advice. Face and such are not important. The most important thing is to make money and survive."
Factory Director Wu promised you a job and a house, why won't you agree? Do you want to suffer in this fishing village?
The children couldn't figure out what Jiang Ruzhen was thinking, and they all turned to look at her.
Jiang Ruzhen gave a wry smile, feigning a helpless expression.
"Captain, Sister Guihua, do you really think I don't feel sorry for you? But what can I do? Although I avenged my husband Lao Shen today, I also put Director Wu in a very difficult position."
Now that the higher-ups know about this huge injustice, it's unclear how he'll be punished. It would be better if he were completely dismissed, but if he continues to stay at the factory...
Once we mother and children go back, won't we be at their mercy, completely at their mercy?
The captain thought it made sense. How come he hadn't thought of that? It was the cultured Jiang who was so thoughtful.
Liu Guihua was also stunned. She really hadn't thought that much about it, and couldn't help but mutter to herself.
"Really? I think Director Wu is a good person. He didn't know the inside story before! He'll feel guilty when he sees you later, so he won't do anything to you."
Jiang Ruzhen curled her lips into a cold smile, "If Director Wu were a fair and honest leader, he wouldn't have so hastily convicted my husband, Lao Shen, and let him be wronged for so many years."
He's only being so accommodating to me today because he's under duress. Once things calm down, I wonder how he'll regret it and try to ruin my reputation.
I'd be safest off getting the compensation now.
After listening to Jiang Ruzhen's analysis, the brigade leader and the other villagers who could hear the sound all nodded in agreement.
"By the way, Captain, does our village still have any house sites or barren hills?"
Yes, do you want to buy it?
"Yes. My sons are all grown up and will need houses to get married. Besides, it's not safe for a widow like me to have so much money. It's better to buy land and save myself the trouble."
That's what she said, but Jiang Ruzhen was thinking about the future.
Their small fishing village happens to be within the government's land development plan for the port, and according to the timeline of the previous life, they should be relocated in a month.
At that time, her house and the barren mountain will be expropriated, and a large sum of relocation compensation will beckon to her.
How could she possibly let go of such an opportunity to make money for free?
Besides, the villagers are very sympathetic to her plight now, but as time goes on, there's no guarantee that some people with impure motives won't try to take her compensation money.
There's no such thing as being able to guard against thieves for a thousand days if you're a thief for a thousand days.
“Okay, I’ll take care of it for you when we get back to the brigade headquarters.” Xiao Changgeng also thought about the compensation money in Jiang Ruzhen’s hands and readily agreed.
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