I don't know how Ye Zhiqiang managed it, but three days later, 1.2 million yuan arrived in his account on time, and Shu Yan and he officially signed the divorce papers.
"Most of this money is for the two children, Shuyan. Don't be fooled by your cousin and your family." Ye Zhiqiang signed the document, feeling a sudden unease in his heart.
All the wealth she had worked so hard for had vanished in an instant, leaving her looking haggard, and in this way, it was all taken away by her. Jiao Jiao's reputation was also ruined.
"Don't worry about that." Shu Yan breathed a sigh of relief after receiving the divorce certificate and handed the paper bag next to her to Ye Zhiqiang. "The photos and negatives are here. Ye Zhiqiang, from now on, we have nothing to do with each other."
Upon leaving the Civil Affairs Bureau, Ye Zhiqiang saw Shu Jianyang driving his own car. His lips twitched, he snorted, and turned to leave.
"Dad..." Ye Tianbao called out from inside the car.
Ye Zhiqiang paused, then left without looking back.
"Dad..." Ye Tianbao called out again, but still didn't see his father turn around.
Children don't understand anything, and they just accept whatever adults teach them. Grandma Ye always told the children that their father worked hard outside to earn money to support them and that he was very good to them. So even though they didn't see their father Ye Zhiqiang much, the two children still respected him very much.
Ye Tianbao burst into tears. Shu Yan hugged him and gently patted his shoulder. Ye Tianbao had been crying frequently these past few days, and she had always ignored him. But today was different. No matter what, Ye Zhiqiang was still their father in the children's eyes. Besides, Ye Tianbao was so young; what could he possibly know?
"Mom will take care of you and your sister from now on."
Ye Jingjing carefully tugged at Shu Yan's clothes. Her younger brother was too young to understand, but she already knew quite a bit. Her father didn't want her mother and them anymore, just like the father of the girl in the village, who didn't want her mother and found her a new mother.
That evening, Shu Yan learned from Shu Jianyang that part of Ye Zhiqiang's money was loaned out, and the rest was borrowed from others at high interest rates, leaving him heavily in debt.
“You don’t need to worry about him. As long as he doesn’t cause any trouble and finishes the two projects he has on hand, he can pay off all his debts once he gets the payment.” Shu Jianyang thought Shu Yan had softened her heart, after all, they had been married for many years and had two children.
Unexpectedly, Shu Yan shook her head and said with great displeasure, "I didn't expect him to have a chance to turn things around."
Shu Jianyang: ...
"So what are you going to do?" Shu Jianyang felt that he didn't know Shu Yan well enough.
"Third Brother, aren't you planning to start a construction company? Why not take this opportunity to snatch the projects from Ye Zhiqiang?" Shu Yan thought it was a good idea. "He doesn't have any working capital right now, and he'll be unable to operate if something goes wrong. Putting everything else aside, what about the team he has? Aren't you envious?"
These words tempted Shu Jianyang. In the past two days, he found that it was easy to find laborers, but difficult to find skilled masters. He wanted to set up a stage for a performance, but he didn't have any performers. How could he perform then?
"You said it yourself, his two projects are pretty good. If you can take them on, it's a sure-fire way to make money." Shu Yan thought this was a good opportunity.
"How come I never thought you were so eloquent before?" Or rather, you're completely uncharacteristic of someone else. If my cousin had always been this smart, would Ye Zhiqiang have gotten a divorce? Or was my cousin just pretending all along, waiting for Ye Zhiqiang to cheat so she could catch him in the act and kick him out?
Shu Yan inquired about the other two houses, seemingly unaware of what Shu Jianyang was imagining.
“The locations of the houses are all very good, and the prices you set are not high. There are quite a few inquiries, and I believe they will sell quickly.” Shu Jianyang felt that Shu Yan should not sell all the houses. “Why don’t you keep one? In case… you and the children come back, you’ll have a place to stay.”
He didn't finish his sentence, but Shu Yan understood what he was worried about. A woman with two children going to another place, she was afraid of the worst-case scenario, so she wanted to have a house in her hometown as a backup plan.
"Why don't you stay? Your third brother isn't very capable, but he can still protect you and your mother." She's a woman with two children and so much money. If something happens to her in a place she doesn't know, she won't have anyone to help her. At least in Xicheng, they can look after her.
Shu Yan smiled gratefully, "Mainly, I want to go somewhere where no one knows me and start over. Xicheng? It's a place that hurts me."
How can she stay in Xicheng? There are no secrets that stay hidden forever. Before long, her biological parents will find out about her divorce from Ye Zhiqiang and that she has a lot of money. They'll start making trouble every day, and maybe even Ye's parents will join in. How will she ever be able to live her life?
Shu Jianyang didn't try to persuade her anymore. Over the past few days, he had discovered that his quiet cousin was very opinionated and had probably been planning to leave Xicheng for a long time.
Selling a house is all about fate. If it sells quickly, it will be listed and sold immediately. If it doesn't sell, it may take one or two years. Shu Yan thought that if it couldn't be sold within a week, she would entrust it to Shu Jianyang and leave with the children first.
After feeding the two children and letting them rest, Shu Yan began to take stock of her assets. She already had 10,000 yuan in savings, and the house she sold to Shu Jianyang was a street-facing property, which was a bit more expensive at 300,000 yuan. Her two brothers bought houses for 150,000 yuan each, which added up to 610,000 yuan. Including the 1.5 million yuan she received from Ye Zhiqiang, that's 2.11 million yuan. She also has two houses, which are worth about 200,000 to 300,000 yuan. So, she had about 2.4 million yuan in cash.
Two million in the 1990s was worth more than twenty million in the future. Moreover, even in 2019, it was rare for a family to have more than two million in cash.
She kept her bankbook, household registration book, and ID card close to her body. Speaking of the household registration book, in the early 1990s, urban household registration was highly sought after, and many people went to great lengths to become city dwellers. After Ye Zhiqiang became wealthy, he moved his family to the city. When they divorced, Shu Jianyang used some connections to transfer her household registration out of the city, and her two children were also registered under her household registration book. The address of her household registration was still the house she originally lived in. After selling the house, she would go and complete the procedures for an empty household registration, and then buy a house and register her household in another city.
Having slept soundly without dreams, Shu Yan stretched. The two children were still asleep. Tears welled in Ye Tianbao's eyes. Shu Yan was taken aback. She hadn't heard him cry last night. Had he been crying secretly? She could understand if it was Ye Jingjing, but Ye Tianbao always cried silently. It must be related to what happened yesterday.
Shu Yan pulled the blanket up for him and sighed softly. Parents' divorce hurts children a lot, but what can they do when they have a father like that!
Ye Jingjing didn't seem too upset. Compared to her father, whom she only saw twice a year, it was definitely better to stay with her mother. Like the big girl in the village, who had never had a full meal since her stepmother came along and was often beaten, at least she wouldn't go hungry or be beaten with her mother. Don't underestimate her just because she's young; she understands things very well.
"Mom..." Ye Jingjing called softly.
"woke up?"
Ye Jingjing was able to dress herself at a very young age and could even help her younger brother get dressed and wash his face. She was like a little adult, so sensible that it was heartbreaking.
After washing her face and brushing her teeth, Shu Yan changed her clothes and pinched her waist. Her clothes seemed less tight. Had she lost weight?
Looking closely in the mirror, I have indeed lost a little weight, but I am still quite chubby. Once I settle down somewhere else, I must lose weight as soon as possible.
"Sister Yan, breakfast." Xiao Fei came to deliver breakfast to Shu Jianyang, and also brought Shu Yan's.
"Thank you." Shu Yan handed the money to Xiao Fei.
"We don't need that much." Xiao Fei said helplessly; his third brother's cousin was being far too polite.
"I'll buy you plenty of water." Bringing breakfast is just a side thing, but it's the thought that counts. Others might not care, but she can't take it for granted.
At noon, someone wanted to see the house, so Shuyan entrusted her child to her third brother, took the key, and waited at the gate. Instead of the person who wanted to see the house, she was greeted by people from her hometown.
Shu Yan initially suspected Ye Zhiqiang, but then immediately denied it. If Ye Zhiqiang wanted her family to make things difficult for her, he would have done it long ago, not waited until now.
Leading the group was the original owner's mother, Lin Zixiang, followed by her youngest son, Shu Jianxiang. Like any ordinary family, the eldest son was expected to uphold the family's honor, the youngest son was to be pampered, and the middle son was in the most awkward position. Take going to the city, for example; the original owner's second brother never had the chance. When the original owner's father, Shu Youfu, went to the city, he would take his eldest son, Shu Jianfei, while Lin Zixiang would take her youngest son. Every time, they had to get a cut from Shu Yan before they could return.
"Did you and Zhiqiang have a fight?" Lin Zixiang asked directly.
Shu Yan didn't answer. She opened the door and led them inside. Blocking the doorway would only make her a laughingstock.
Once inside, Lin Zixiang shoved Shu Yan unhappily, "I'm talking to you, are you mute?"
Shu Yan: I'll endure it.
"What couple doesn't have disagreements?" The people looking at the house will be here soon, and I have to get rid of Lin Zixiang and Shu Jianxiang before then.
She didn't plan to tell them about the divorce; it was better to avoid trouble. She would take the children and leave, and see where they could find them.
"Is it really just a quarrel? Let me tell you, that old geezer from the Ye family came knocking on our door demanding his grandson, saying that you asked Jianbo to snatch their grandson. What exactly happened?" Lin Zixiang was furious at this. "Don't you have parents? Or no brothers? You asked a distant cousin for help, and your aunt is so smug. You've made me lose all face."
Lin Zixiang and her sister-in-law have never gotten along. This time, because Shu Yan asked Shu Jianbo for help, Shu's sister-in-law bragged about it at their house, implying that none of her three brothers were capable, which was why her married daughter had to ask her brother from another branch of the family for help.
It almost made Shu Youfu and Lin Zixiang furious, which is one of the reasons why Lin Zixiang came with her son in such a huff.
"I know what I'm doing." If I don't go to Shu Jianbo, who else should I go to? Your three sons are all incompetent; how could they possibly get their children out of the Ye family?
"What do you know? What do you know?" Lin Zixiang immediately flew into a rage. "You don't know anything! How did I give birth to such a good-for-nothing? You can't even control a man. Where is Ye Zhiqiang? Where is he? If I go to find him, will he abandon his wife and children? Our Shu family isn't easy to bully."
"He'll be back for lunch soon, you can have a good talk with him then." Upon hearing this, Lin Zixiang immediately wilted.
She's a bully at home, treating her two daughters like servants, but when it comes to Ye Zhiqiang, she's a coward, not daring to utter a single word.
"You're quite capable, getting your cousin to pick up your child. If Zhiqiang hadn't just called home, he wouldn't have known his child was already in the city." Lin Zixiang glanced around; there wasn't a single piece of fruit on the table. Her face fell. "We've been here for so long, and you haven't even brought out some fruit for us to quench our thirst."
"Ye Zhiqiang has been keeping a woman on the side. I listened to you and turned a blind eye, but my heart was burning with resentment. I am also your daughter. You should at least have some pity for me." Shu Yan deliberately wiped her eyes and said in a sobbing voice, "I had no choice but to take the child back. Ye Zhiqiang is never home. I thought that if I took the child back, at least he would come back to see the child more often, and I could see him."
In Lin Zixiang's eyes, children were the best weapon to keep a man, and she said with some relief, "At least you have some brains." Then she glared at her, "What are you saying? How am I not loving you? All men are like this. Even those useless men in our village still have to find other women outside. Let alone someone as capable as Zhiqiang. Look at your girlfriends, which one of them lives as well as you? You live in a villa, drive a car, and your husband sends you money every month without ever lifting a finger. Look at Yingzi next door, she gets beaten by her husband every night. I think you're just living too comfortably, that's why you're having these wild thoughts."
Shu Yan: ...
"Third sister, I'm hungry." Shu Jianxiang shook his leg boredly, and seeing that his mother and third sister had said almost the same thing, he called out like a boss.
“Yes, we’ve been traveling for most of the day for this, and we haven’t even had lunch. Hurry up and cook something, don’t let your brother go hungry.” Lin Zixiang felt a pang of heartache when she heard her son say he was hungry.
"You all know that Zhiqiang has always been unhappy that I give money to my family. He'll be back to see you soon..." Shuyan looked at them with difficulty.
Lin Zixiang was so angry she wanted to hit Shu Yan a few times. "You good-for-nothing, you can't even manage a household after all these years."
That being said, Lin Zixiang was actually afraid of Ye Zhiqiang. That kid was cunning and shrewd, and when he got into trouble, he really didn't give you any face at all.
"You reimbursed our round-trip fare and gave us money for food. If you're not going to cook for us, you should at least spend money to buy us food." Anyway, she wouldn't leave until she got the money.
Shu Yan pretended to hesitate and took out a hundred yuan. She secretly noted it down in her little notebook. She thought this hundred yuan would be the original owner's filial piety gift for this year. At this time, who in the countryside would give a married daughter a hundred yuan a year? She was definitely considered generous.
Lin Zixiang took the hundred yuan with dissatisfaction, her eyes fixed on Shu Yan's pocket, wishing she could open it and take a look. But thinking that her daughter had always been honest, she didn't do it. She glanced around the living room, grabbed two cups from the table and left, saying, "What's the use of having a daughter? She came all this way and didn't even get a meal."
Shu Yan watched the mother and son leave speechlessly, feeling sorry for the original owner of this body. Shu Jianxiang was one thing, but he didn't care about her as his sister at all. Lin Zixiang hadn't shown any concern or said a word since they met. She only hoped that her daughter wouldn't get divorced and cut off this source of income. In her eyes, the original owner of this body was not a daughter at all, but just a tool for making money.
About ten minutes later, the person who came to view the house finally arrived. He was a man in his forties who kept apologizing to Shuyan.
"I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting."
"It's nothing, I'm just taking another look at this house." Shu Yan made up an excuse casually. Luckily, the other party arrived late. If she had run into Lin Zixiang, there would have been a lot of trouble.
This house is located near the new train station, in a great location. The surrounding houses are already selling for 170,000 to 180,000 yuan per square meter, so Shuyan's asking price of 160,000 yuan per square meter is really not high.
The visitor was very straightforward; after viewing the house, he didn't haggle and immediately decided to buy it.
Just as things were settled here, news came from Shu Jianyang that another house had also been sold, along with furniture and appliances, for a total of 150,000 yuan.
"The property transactions are all settled, are you planning to leave?" In just a few days, Shu Jianyang had a completely new understanding of Shu Yan.
"Yes, I plan to leave tomorrow."
"So fast?" Shu Jianyang didn't expect Shu Yan to be so quick, leaving as soon as she said she would.
"I was planning to do this in the next couple of days anyway." Shu Yan smiled. "Third brother, thank you. If it weren't for your help, I probably would have just taken that house and ten thousand yuan and lived a miserable life with my two children."
"Don't underestimate yourself. You came up with all the ideas yourself. I just had someone run errands for you. Even without my help, you could still handle Ye Zhiqiang."
Shu Yan chuckled lightly, "Third Brother is quite confident in me."
The next morning, Shu Yan packed the three of them's few belongings and prepared to go to the train station. As soon as she opened the door, she saw Shu Jianyang already waiting for her there.
"Let's go, I'll take you." He took Ye Tianbao, who was still sleeping, from Shu Yan's arms.
Shu Yan waved to Shu Jianyang outside the train, "Third Brother, you can go back now. I'll call you when we get there."
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