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墨書 Inktalez
I haven't been focused in class these past few days because my dad was laid off from his job.
He shouldn't have been let go; he was an Old Employee at the factory, but our family got involved with the wrong people.
Our house is located in an old alley, quaint and charming, perfect for a shop.
A well-known businessman from that street took a liking to our house and wanted to buy it at a ridiculously low price.
One day, a middle-aged man with a big belly and his wife parked their car ostentatiously in front of our home.
A woman in a mink coat stepped out and looked at us with disdain. "Are you the homeowners? Why is it so shabby here? Hurry up and move out; we want to buy this house. It's a waste for you to live here."
She was the businessman’s wife.
My parents knew they couldn't afford to offend them, so they could only politely refuse. "Ma'am, we're really sorry, but if we leave here, we won't know where to go. Could you wait until we find a place before selling it to you? Can we stay for another year?"
The middle-aged woman's expression turned menacing. "I can't wait! You need to leave right now!"
My mom frowned. "Ma'am, how can you be so unreasonable? This house is ours; if we want to sell, we will, and if not, we won't! There's no such thing as forced buying!"
The woman glanced at my mom with contempt and scoffed, "With your shabby appearance, you think you deserve to live in this house? This alley has great development prospects; I heard it's going to be developed by a big company. Do you really think you belong here?"
I couldn't hold back any longer. "Excuse me, ma'am! Please understand that this is our house!"
The middle-aged woman's face darkened. "You dare call me ma'am? So you're not selling, huh? Fine, don't regret it! You'll be begging us to buy it later."
Fuming, she left, and just a few days later, my dad was laid off.
After working at the factory for 20 years, he lost his job simply because that businessman was friends with the Factory Director. With one word from him, my dad was out of the factory.
But this is the only source of income for our family.
My dad seemed to age several years overnight, yet when he saw me, he still smiled and ruffled my hair. "Don't worry, our Xiao Jin. Dad will think of a way. You just focus on your studies."
"Smack."
A pen tapped my forehead, pulling me back to reality as I met Xie Chen's handsome face.
Xie Chen raised an eyebrow, resting his chin on his hand as he looked at me. "Jin Yi, you haven't been yourself these past few days."
I dared not meet his gaze and quickly lowered my head to look at the problems. "No way."
Xie Chen squinted slightly, studying me with interest. "You're hiding something from me." It was a statement.
"I’m not! What could I possibly hide from you?"
He didn’t press further but his eyes darkened a bit. "No better."
I thought that would be the end of it, but unexpectedly, Xie Chen found his way to my home.
That couple came again, and this time they brought along the Factory Director who had fired my dad.
This time, my mother greeted them politely, while they condescendingly made things difficult for her. My mother bent over backward for the sake of our livelihood.
We had promised to help them live well, but in this situation, I felt utterly powerless.
I tried to pinch my own hand to keep calm, but just as I was about to lose control, someone tugged at my collar.
I looked up to see Xie Chen's smile, which had turned cold.
He let out a light scoff, "Jin Yi, you've really made it. You dare to hide such a big matter from me."
A middle-aged woman was sitting nearby, cracking sunflower seeds and tossing the shells on the ground while berating my parents.
The boss who wanted to buy our house was still making things difficult. He sat on a stool, sipping tea and smugly said, "Lao Jin, if you had sold the house to us earlier, you wouldn't have lost your job. I gave you the opportunity, but you didn't take it. You really don't know..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Xie Chen kicked him to the ground.
The boss looked shocked. "Who the hell are you?"
The middle-aged woman rushed over to help him up. "How dare you kick my husband! You’ve really done it now! You're finished! You're truly finished!"
Xie Chen stood with his hands in his pockets, his voice icy. "I know you're anxious, but don't rush."
In less than ten minutes, a line of cars arrived at our doorstep.
As the leading luxury car came to a stop, a man and a woman stepped out.
The man was gentlemanly, and the woman was elegant and exceptionally beautiful.
Before they got close, the woman took off her sunglasses and spoke loudly, "Who dares to bully my Xiao Jinjin? Do you want to die or what?"
She walked past me and then stepped back a few paces to hold my hand with a look of pity. "So this is our Xiao Jinjin? Oh dear, Aunt Song finally gets to meet you! You're really so well-behaved! I've seen you in Auntie's observation diary; you're even better than what Xie Chen described! My heart just melts when I see you..."
Before Aunt Song could say more, Xie Chen cleared his throat. "Don't forget the main issue."
"That's right, Xiao Jinjin, don't be afraid. Aunt Song will stand up for you."
With that, she hurriedly ran over to my parents, who were standing by and too scared to move.
The uncle who came with her nodded at me kindly.
I whispered to Xie Chen, "Who are they?"
A flicker of discomfort crossed Xie Chen's eyes. "My parents."
Xie Chen's Parents seemed a bit different from what I had heard.
Aunt Song excitedly took my parents' hands. "Hello, in-laws... oh, no, I mean, hello! I'm Xie Chen's desk mate's mother."
My mom looked stunned and replied blankly, "Hello, hello."
Aunt Song patted her hand. "Don't worry, in-law... oh no, sister! Leave this to me; I'll help you out."
Saying this, she pulled my mom behind her and her expression turned serious. "So you think you can take my Xiao Jinjin's house?"
The Aunt Song who had just been holding our hands now seemed like a different person. The pressure emanating from her was hard to ignore; it was the aura of someone in power that made one want to submit.
The middle-aged woman swallowed hard. She never expected that the chairman of Xie Group would come to back us up.
If she had known, even with a thousand times more courage, she wouldn't have dared to insult us because the big company developing this old alley was none other than Xie Group.
Moreover, almost all the business in Cotton City was in the hands of Xie Group.
Their expressions, once high and mighty, turned into a state of panic. "It's a misunderstanding, just a misunderstanding."
The Factory Director pushed aside the middle-aged couple and eagerly turned to Aunt Song and Uncle Xie with a flattering smile.
"President Xie, President Song, it's all a misunderstanding. There was no robbery; it was a purchase! They want to buy the Jin Family's house."
Aunt Song couldn't even be bothered to look at him. "Who are you? What status do you have compared to me? Do you think you're worthy of speaking to me? Oh, you're the Factory Director who fired our Xiao Jinjin's father, right?"
The Factory Director hurriedly nodded and explained, "No, no, Lao Jin misunderstood. He wasn't fired; he can come back to work tomorrow."
Aunt Song leisurely adjusted her hair as a secretary handed her a document.
She flipped through it and casually addressed the Factory Director, "Of course Xiao Jin's father will go to work tomorrow. You don't need to come; you've been fired. The factory has already been acquired by us."
With that, she turned and patted my father's shoulder, handing him the document with a proud expression. "Xiao Jin's father, you can take over as Factory Director tomorrow."
My father stood there in shock, unable to believe what he had just heard. After all these years, he should have been the Factory Director because he was the most skilled in the factory. But without connections, he had always been suppressed. Something he had struggled for half his life was now within reach.
Aunt Song then addressed the middle-aged couple again. "Don't get too pleased with yourselves. I heard you have a pig farm; tomorrow I'll send an excavator to demolish it."
The three people who had previously looked down on us were now pale and slumped on the ground. The middle-aged woman began to cry, but with just one glance from Aunt Song, a bodyguard covered her mouth and forcibly took them away.
I stared at Aunt Song. "Xie."
"What is it?"
My eyes must have been shining. "Your mom is really cool."
Once everything settled down, my parents gratefully invited Aunt Song and Uncle Xie to stay for dinner.
They didn’t hesitate at all, quickly calling to decline their engagements for the day and sitting down without a second thought.
Aunt Song gently stroked my hair and asked, “Xiao Jinjin, who gave you that name? It’s so cultured and beautiful, especially fitting for you.”
I replied earnestly, “It was my grandfather who named me, even though he never received an education.”
“Why did your grandfather name you?” she inquired.
“Because my mom told me that when I was born, Grandpa carried a basket with the family’s laying hens from the countryside to the city. It took him over two hours by car, but he walked every step of the way.”
“At that time, we were poor and didn’t have a mobile phone. Grandpa didn’t know which hospital we were in, and he couldn’t find his way in the big city. He went from one hospital to another asking around. His back had already started to hunch from years of farm work. Yet he managed to find us all on his own, just to see me for a moment.”
“Dad asked Grandpa to name me, and after thinking for a long time, he decided on Jin Yi. He said I was a unique treasure in the world.”
This was the first time I shared these stories in front of others, and Xie Chen listened intently.
Uncle Xie, who had been silent until now, was moved to tears, while Aunt Song wiped her eyes and said, “That’s so touching.” She then glanced at Xie Chen with a teasing look. “Oh no, with how much love Xiao Jinjin’s family has for her, who would ever look at you?”
Xie Chen: …
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