Back to 1984: Earning Money, Raising Kids, and Keeping the Household Busy

Chapter 243 Before leaving
Zhao Xue was restless in her office, but dared not contact Zhang Long for fear of being scolded.

After thinking it over, he could only grab his bag and rush out, buying a bunch of expensive things. He then chased after Lin Qin when she got off work and apologized to her.

"Director Lin, I've thought about what happened a while ago. You're right. That matter had nothing to do with me. I was meddling and didn't know what was good for me. Director Zhao also criticized me yesterday. I've reflected on it carefully. Please don't hold it against me, considering we're colleagues."

Zhao Xue is capable of taking things in stride and maintains a very humble attitude.

Lin Qin sneered inwardly, but her face betrayed no emotion. She smiled politely and said, "Since Deputy Director Zhao has said so, why would I argue with you?"

Zhao Xue secretly breathed a sigh of relief, said a few more words, and then hurriedly entered the TV station.

As soon as she left, Lin Qin's face darkened instantly, and she carried her things back without any expression.

Lin Yi looked at her with a droopy face and asked in confusion, "What's wrong? Who offended you?"

"It's nothing! It's just disgusting stuff! They say the King of Hell is easy to deal with but his underlings are hard to handle. I didn't want to get involved with the underlings anymore, so I accepted the gift. I don't even know what it is. You can see it in a bit. Keep it if you want, or throw it away if you don't." Lin Qin sat down in the rocking chair nonchalantly, happy because of today's news.

Lin Yi was puzzled. He opened the package and gasped, "Wow! Moutai, Da Hong Pao tea, cigarettes, a set of jewelry, and a set of high-end skincare products! What kind of background does this kid have? He's so generous!"

Lin Qin was somewhat surprised upon hearing this, and frowned, saying, "Dad, pick out that set of jewelry and I'll take it back. You can decide what to do with the others."

Jewelry is a sensitive topic; accepting it would be troublesome.

Lin Yi was a sensible man, and immediately took the jewelry back.

Meanwhile, Chen Wenjun was at the police station with Chen Xinyue, cooperating with the investigation.

Zhang Long escorted Zhang Jingxuan to the police station to turn himself in yesterday evening. After the police station accepted the case, they came to Nanxi immediately, but there was no one in Nanxi at night. They couldn't cross the river at all and had to go back. They would come back the next day during working hours, but Lin Qin would be at work by then, and Chen Wenjun wouldn't be home either.

After learning the police's purpose, Lin Yi became wary and refused to let Chen Xinyue go with them, insisting on waiting for Chen Wenjun to return.

Because it was in cooperation with the investigation, and since they were from the same area, and the other party knew that the Chen family had connections, they did not force Chen Xinyue to go.

This dragged on until Chen Wenjun returned in the evening.

The father and daughter were somewhat surprised to see Zhang Jingxuan looking haggard and unshaven at the police station.

The police acted in accordance with the law, asked Chen Xinyue for the audio recording evidence, took her statement, and then let her go home.

Chen Xinyue asked curiously, "Officer, can I see Zhang Jingxuan?"

The police nodded and took her to the detention room.

Zhang Jingxuan looked coldly at Chen Xinyue opposite him and sneered, "You won, are you very proud of yourself!"

Chen Xinyue frowned. "Are you out of your mind? Who's arguing with you about winning or losing? If you hadn't had malicious intentions, you wouldn't be in this situation today. Zhang Jingxuan, you brought this on yourself, it has nothing to do with anyone else!"

Zhang Jingxuan instantly erupted, slamming his fist on the table in anger, his eyes filled with venom as he glared at Chen Xinyue. "Stop pretending! If you hadn't meddled, I wouldn't have warned you. If it weren't for you, Annie wouldn't have found this place. You ruined everything for me! Chen Xinyue, I'll haunt you even as a ghost!"

Chen Xinyue glanced at the handcuffs and shackles on Zhang Jingxuan's body, a mocking smile playing on her lips. "Still so stubborn even now, you're hopeless! Since that's the case, I don't need to be polite with you!"

Things had escalated to this point enough. Originally, she planned to stop while she was ahead, but since Zhang Jingxuan showed no remorse, she couldn't let this potential threat remain. Zhang Jingxuan was surprised and uncertain, wanting to ask more questions, but saw Chen Xinyue walk away without looking back.

Under Gao Lei's manipulation, Zhang Jingxuan was quickly sentenced and imprisoned.

Zhang Long subsequently issued a statement expelling Zhang Jingxuan from his home.

Zhao Xue eagerly awaited Zhang Long's next move in the divorce proceedings, but nothing came of it, so she couldn't help but contact Zhang Long.

The reply she received chilled her heart.

Seeing that Zhao Xue had been in a daze these past few days, Director Zhang invited her to his office for tea. "If you're not feeling well, Deputy Director Zhao, just take a leave of absence. Our station treats its employees very well; we won't deduct your salary!"

Zhao Xue drank a cup of tea, and her pale face softened a little. Suddenly, she started to sob, "Director Zhang, thank you. Luckily, you persuaded me that day, otherwise I don't know what would have happened!"

That bastard Zhang Long, after she brought things up, bluntly told her that he would not get a divorce, and that she should stop daydreaming. He even threatened her with their son, clearly not giving them any chance.

This was completely different from what she had imagined. Her years of expectations were dashed, and she didn't even know how she got through this period of time.

Director Zhang wasn't surprised at all and comforted you naturally, saying, "If you ask me, things are pretty good as they are now. The children are growing up, and in a few years you can let go. You have a decent job, a house, a car, a shop, and savings. Your life will be pretty much set from now on. Only by curbing your desires can you have a steady and sustainable life!"

Zhao Xue nodded repeatedly.

After leaving Director Zhang's office, she felt much better. From then on, she was as gentle as she could in front of Lin Qin, completely losing her former arrogance and haughtiness.

With the Zhang family's matter settled, the Chen family's life returned to normal.

It's only October, and there are still a few months until the Lunar New Year. Chen Xinyue and her brother discussed it and decided that one of them would go to the port city to explore the area first, while the other planned to go back to the capital.

When Lin Qin found out, she quickly told her brother and sister about renting out the house.

"I was worried that the houses would fall into disrepair if no one lived there, so your father and I did some simple renovations on all three houses and rented them out for two years. We figured the time was almost up."

"Once you get to the capital, you can contact the real estate agents and tenants to see if you want to take back your own apartment or both of the remaining ones. Also, regarding the rent, I'll save it all for you. I'll hold onto Xile's share for now; you can take yours directly and manage them yourselves afterwards. I won't get involved."

Chen Ruiyu was both amused and exasperated. "Mom, I'm going to Hong Kong, so I can't manage things at all. Just leave things as they are. If my sister has any ideas, she can take over, but I don't need her right now."

Chen Xinyue quickly shook her head, "Brother, please have mercy. I can't worry about all that right now. Let me settle down first."

The family discussed it thoroughly before telling Lin Yi the truth.

Lin Yi was so angry that he didn't eat lunch and sulked in his room.

The brother and sister rushed into the house to comfort the old man.

"Grandpa, we're just going away for a few years to broaden our horizons. We'll come back eventually!" Chen Xinyue pleaded, shaking Lin Yi's hand.

Chen Ruiyu also looked like she had done something wrong, "Grandpa, we didn't dare to say anything because we were afraid you would be unhappy."

"Then why are you saying it now!" Lin Yi glared angrily.