Lin Shuyue's family stayed in Lihua Village for three days as planned. Before leaving, father Luo and mother Luo sent Lin Shuyue's family to the gate. At this moment, Luo Laosan's house was no longer as tidy as before, because too many corpses were transported out from under his house, which did not match the number of missing people in Lihua Village. So the police visited various villages around Lihua Village and extracted DNA from the families of the missing people. Finally, it was confirmed that the corpses were all people abducted by Luo Laosan from various villages.
The earliest of these people can be traced back to forty years ago, when he was not yet married.
When everyone in Lihua Village learned about this, their scalps tingled, especially Luo Laowu's wife and other people who often went to his house to talk and work with him. When they thought about how they had been on the pile of dead bodies every day, they broke out in cold sweats.
Several of the more timid ones had nightmares for several nights.
The families in the neighboring villages who had lost their children came to Luo Laosan's house overnight and smashed everything. The village party secretary had been running around to negotiate with them for the past two days, and he liked to drag Bai Wenhua with him. Bai Wenhua was really impatient to deal with the things between the villagers, and now he was leaving, he was greatly relieved.
However, his friendship with the village party secretary survived. When he was leaving, the village party secretary gave him bacon, duck, fish, and many dried vegetables and mushrooms from the village. If it weren't for the fact that father Luo and mother Luo also gave a lot, they would have been outshined.
Mother Luo held Lou Fengqin's hand reluctantly, Brother Luo's wife and Lin Shuxing walked hand in hand, Lin Shuyue sat in the driver's seat, listening to the two people's reluctant farewell: "Ah Xing, after we harvest the rice, we will go to Pengcheng to work, then you can help us find a job. If we can make a lot of money, we will go out next year too."
Lin Shuxing promised: "Okay, no problem, sister-in-law, just call me in advance when the time comes."
Luo Dasao was very curious about the work and life in Pengcheng. In addition, Luo's parents were getting older and older, and they would be less able to work in the future. Their two children were in primary school. Their village committee's primary school was a boarding school, and life was not very good in all aspects. Brother Luo's wife also wanted to fight for it. Not to mention buying a house in Pengcheng like Lin Shuxing and Luo Zhengjun, she also wanted to buy one in their town or county. She wanted to get out of the mountains, but Brother Luo was a henpecked husband, so whatever his wife says is the rule.
The two sisters-in-law talked a lot. Before Lin Shuxing got in the car, she thought again and again and said, "If the third brother calls you and asks you to have dinner, the third brother's wife can't talk, so don't pay attention to her."
Luo Zhengjun's younger brother Luo Zhengxiang now lives in the county town. His wife Wang Xiaochun is not easy to get along with. She is jealous of those who have a better life than her and looks down on those who can't compare with her.
Luo Zhengjun and Luo Zhengxiang don't have a good relationship. They don't call each other once a year. In response, Lin Shuxing said, "My Ah Yue's vacation is coming to an end. She has to go back to work. We won't stay in the county anymore. We'll just leave when the time comes."
Mrs. Luo didn't say anything. She took a few steps back and waved to Lin Shuxing and the others. Lin Shuyue drove the car away from them.
After their car disappeared, the Luo family walked back. Mother Luo and Luo's wife said, "Xiao Jun and Ah Xing are both good kids. It won't do you any harm if you move around more."
"I know, Mom."
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law followed the eldest brother Luo and his father and slowly returned to the village. The pear orchard on the roadside that was originally full of fruits had now been picked. Those who came to pick the pears were all family members of those who had been persecuted by the grandfather and grandson for so many years.
Lin Shuyue finally left the place where Lin Shuxing was buried in a parallel universe. She did not let go of Luo Laosan and his grandson. Their names had long been written into the realm of reincarnation by Lin Shuyue. The mistakes they had made before would be returned to them a hundred times more cruelly. Until their souls were destroyed!
•••••
They sped all the way and had a meal in the county town. They did not have any direct contact with Luo Zhengxiang. After the meal, they went straight to Pengcheng.
After two days of cool days in Lihua Village, the further south they drove, the hotter it became. Before returning home, Bai Wenhua called the electrical appliance store and asked them to install air conditioners in his house. Lou Fengqin's objection was useless, as the heat of autumn this year was too severe.
When they passed by a fruit stall on their way home, Lin Shuyue asked Lin Shuyang to bring a chilled watermelon. When they got home, the air conditioner had already been installed. They closed the door and turned on the power, and while enjoying the air conditioning and eating the chilled watermelon, the whole family felt like they were alive again.
Lin Shuyue slept soundly at home all day and went to work in high spirits the next day.
Li Mingfang was very happy to see her. Lin Shuyue read the newspapers that she had forgotten in the past few days. Before she knew it, it was noon. Lin Shuyue went to eat with Li Mingfang. After not seeing each other for a few days, Li Weisheng and Li Mingfang had almost grown up together.
As soon as they sat down, Li Weisheng picked the green peppers that Li Mingfang didn't like from her bowl and put them into his own bowl, and then put the chicken from his bowl into Li Mingfang's bowl. While eating, he said to Lin Shuyue, "Ah Yue, Saturday is my grandfather's 70th birthday. We have invited many relatives and friends to our house for dinner. Do you want to come too?"
Today is already Thursday, which is the day after tomorrow. Lin Shuyue had nothing else to do, so she agreed. When Li Weisheng went to wash the lunch box, Lin Shuyue asked Li Mingfang: "Ah Fang, will you call me when you leave?"
Li Mingfang made an OK gesture and said, "Ah Sheng has already met my parents. My parents are quite satisfied with him. I also plan to take this opportunity to visit his family."
Li Weisheng's family is in business, but Lin Shuyue never asked what specific aspects they were in.
"Okay. Might as well buy a pig and raise it myself. We can't let a scheming man cheat us." As soon as Lin Shuyue finished speaking, they both thought of Zhou Xiang, the wretched man who specialized in cheating young girls with houses. [TL's Note: That phrase: (Chinese: '不如买只猪自己养' / 'Bùrú mǎi zhī zhū zìjǐ yǎng') 'Might as well buy a pig and raise it myself.' is a Chinese internet slang which means "I trust animals more than untrustworthy people."]
"Let's go, let's take a lunch break. It's too hot outside. I really don't want to move at all." The two of them didn't care about Li Weisheng who was still diligently washing his lunch box. They went back to the office together, took a pillow, lay on the desk, and fell asleep in seconds.
Wang Mingzheng had a good nap at noon. When he woke up, he was about to go out. He called Lin Shuyue along and said, "I'll take you to the head office for a meeting today."
Lin Shuyue exclaimed: "Editor-in-chief, isn't it inappropriate to take me with you?"
Wang Mingzheng's words made Lin Shuyue recall the time when Zhao Bing asked her to attend the business party. If she hadn't trusted Wang Mingzheng's character, she would have turned on her good and evil radar.
Wang Mingzheng said, "I can see that you didn't check your email. The head office sent a letter yesterday. The company is having a celebration banquet this afternoon. All those who have made outstanding contributions to the company can attend. At the banquet, if President Xun is in a good mood, there will be a lottery with prizes of all kinds. It depends on your luck."
When Wang Mingzheng said this, Lin Shuyue remembered the reward the system gave her. She didn't want to go at first, but since it was about a house, and it was a house in Xijiang Apartment, she had to go. After all, this was an item rewarded to her by the system, so how could she refuse it?
"Okay, editor-in-chief, let's go?" Lin Shuyue was sure that her face must look like very eager to flatter people.
Wang Mingzheng also smiled and walked away with her in front of everyone. There were basically no secrets in a company. The news that Lin Shuyue was going to attend the celebration banquet had already spread throughout the office, but no one was jealous. After all, compared to other companies, Dingsheng had already clearly distinguished between rewards and punishments.
No matter what your status is, as long as you contribute to the company, you will have channels for promotion and receive generous rewards.
Lin Shuyue got into Wang Mingzheng's Audi, and he drove Lin Shuyue to a five-star hotel owned by Dingsheng. At the entrance of the hotel, there was a sign that said Dingsheng Celebration Banquet, and a row of young ladies in cheongsams stood inside the door to welcome guests. When Lin Shuyue and her partner entered, they wrote their names on the sign-in book next to them, and then they could go upstairs by themselves.
Dingsheng's celebration banquet was held in the banquet hall on the second floor. When Lin Shuyue and Wang Mingzheng went in, many people had already arrived. They gathered in groups of three or four to chat. Wang Mingzheng's newspaper had performed exceptionally well this year and made a lot of money for the company. The people from other branches were more friendly to Wang Mingzheng than before.
Lin Shuyue was Wang Mingzheng's new capable assistant, and people from other branches knew about her, but even though they knew about her, people who saw her for the first time were all amazed. She didn't even put on makeup, and wore the same outfit of short-sleeved jeans, long-sleeved shirt and long coat. But without makeup, she had a natural beauty that not only men but also women liked to take a second look at her.
Wang Mingzheng brought Lin Shuyue to a female friend he knew: "Ah Liu, this is Lin Shuyue, the newspaper girl from our newspaper. This is her first time attending the celebration banquet. Please take good care of her."
The woman Wang Mingzheng called Ah Liu was probably in her early thirties, with neat short hair, a neatly ironed black suit, delicate makeup, and a neat look in every move.
"Go and do your own thing. Don't worry about leaving the girl here. When the banquet starts, I promise to return her to you in one piece."
"I'll treat you to a meal when I have time." Wang Mingzheng said, and then said to Lin Shuyue: "Xiao Lin, this is Liu Yueru from the head office's publicity department, just follow her."
"Okay, editor-in-chief." After thanking Wang Mingzheng, Lin Shuyue sat on the stool next to Liu Yueru: "Thank you, Sister Liu."
Wang Mingzheng did not introduce Liu Yueru's position, and Lin Shuyue didn't know how to address her, but calling her sister was definitely correct.
Liu Yueru smiled and nodded at her, poured her a glass of water, and then started talking to her in a low voice. She didn't talk to others until someone came to chat with her.
Another half an hour later, at half past two, Mr. Xun and his wife came. His wife was wearing a royal blue dress, and her big wavy hair made her look ten years younger. She smiled and greeted everyone skillfully as soon as she came in.
No one called her the boss lady, but instead called her Sister Luo affectionately. President Xun watched with a smile on his face from the side, and occasionally the two of them would look at each other with tenderness in their eyes.
A girl in her mid-twenties sitting next to Lin Shuyue sighed softly, "Every time I see Mr. Xun and Sister Luo, I feel like I believe in love again."
Beautiful relationships are naturally desirable. Liu Yueru promptly woke up her colleague's love-mindedness: "Don't believe it. There is only one person like Mr. Xun in a thousand miles. Look at the boss of Wanhua, and then look at the boss of Guangsheng. Are you awake?"
As soon as the names of these two people came out, not only the girl next to Lin Shuyue, but all the women sitting at the table became clear-headed. The girl sitting next to Lin Shuyue was called Xiang Bingbing, and when she heard the name, her face immediately became as cold as her name.
But soon, she couldn't hold on any longer: "Sister Liu, did the boss of Guangsheng Group really take his first wife's niece to bed?"
Lin Shuyue's curiosity was instantly aroused.
Liu Yueru said, "How could it be false? The niece's baby girl is about to be born."
Suddenly, people started to tut-tut. "This Guo Bingchang is such a jerk. His Guangsheng Group was built 20 years ago with the help of his first wife's family. But after his father-in-law died, he started to mess around outside. In the past few years, his gossip was reported in the newspapers every day, and now he even doesn't let go of his niece."
"That's right. Mrs. Guo is so pitiful. Not only did she marry a mountain wolf, but she was also stabbed by the niece she raised with her own hands. She has been in the newspapers every other day for beating up mistresses in recent years. Now the mistress is her niece. How miserable do you think she must be?"
"The boss of Wanhua is not much better. He is getting wilder and wilder. He used to play with women, but now he has started to play with men. He doesn't even like those good-looking young men. He likes to be with men with big bellies. What is he trying to do?"
Lin Shuyue didn't expect that she would be able to hear the follow-up of the grandson-killing medicine here, and she immediately joined the discussion. Her news was so explosive that even Liu Yueru couldn't help but be attracted. She had been holding a good water cup in her hand for a long time.
But before they had finished listening to the gossip, the celebration party began. Xiang Bingbing added Lin Shuyue's Penguin account and dragged her into their gossip group of a hundred people on the spot.
As the company's CEO, President Xun stood up first, summarizing the excellent results achieved by Dingsheng Group in the previous quarter, affirming the efforts of everyone present, and imagining the bright prospects of the next quarter. He spoke for half an hour before handing the floor to his wife Luo Qian: "I know everyone is already impatient for today's lucky draw, but don't worry, President Xun has specially invited several seafood chefs to cook a seafood feast for everyone. After everyone has eaten and drunk enough, we'll start the lucky draw, how about it?"
"Good!!!" What responded to Luo Qian was a neat "good" and a deafening sound. The smile on Luo Qian's face became even bigger. She sat down gracefully. President Xun stopped talking nonsense and immediately announced the start of the celebration banquet. But before it started, everyone except President Xun and President Luo consciously lined up and took a number tag from the lottery box at the front.
Sitting at the table, Liu Yueru reminded Lin Shuyue: "Be sure to hold the number plate well, don't lose it. Mr. Xun and Sister Luo will draw the number later, and the number you draw will be the winner."
Lin Shuyue nodded rapidly: "Okay, okay, thank you Sister Liu, I will definitely keep it." Lin Shuyue put the number plate into the system backpack. This is a house, she must keep it well, right?
The waiters who had been waiting for the news outside immediately brought the seafood carefully cooked by the chef, and bottles of red wine and white wine were placed on the table.
The chef is worthy of being a chef. The dishes he made are delicious. Every bite of each dish is the ultimate enjoyment of the taste buds. After eating a few bites, some people picked up their glasses and toasted everywhere. The banquet hall immediately became noisy. Lin Shuyue also drank a glass of red wine.
At 4:30, after everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, the lucky draw began.
President Xun and Luo Yuzhu walked onto the stage in high spirits. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, they reached their hands into the white transparent box, while Luo Qian explained on the side.
"For this celebration banquet, we have set up participation prizes, third prizes, second prizes, and first prizes. The participation prize is the rice cooker placed at the door for everyone. When you go home, you can just sign and take it away. There are three third prizes, which are motorcycles, two second prizes, which are double-door refrigerators of the Guangling brand, and one first prize, which is a house in Xijiang Apartment."
The prizes for the second and third prizes were not bad, after all, everyone present could afford them, but the houses were different, especially the houses in Xijiang Apartment. Some people couldn't help but shout, and the cheers almost blew away the door of the banquet hall.
Luo Qian waited until everyone calmed down before she started talking: "Now we're announcing the third prize."
President Xun opened the round sphere he had taken out, revealing the white paper inside. Immediately, a staff member from the banquet hall used a camera to take a close-up photo of the note. The numbers on the note were clearly displayed on the large screen at the back of the banquet hall.
"Congratulations to the holders of number plates 16, 30, and 7. You can come up to the stage to receive your rewards." Luo Qian pointed at the people holding the number plates and they immediately stood up and walked to the stage happily.
The price of a motorcycle is not cheap nowadays. Even if you don't use it yourself, you won't lose much by selling it.
"Congratulations to the second prize winner, the holder of No. 55. Your prize is a large refrigerator."
The first prize was next, and the noisy banquet hall immediately became quiet. Everyone present waited with bated breath. After all, it was a house, a house in the center of Pengcheng. Who would complain about having too many houses? Even if the winner didn't live in it, he could rent it out and collect a lot of rent every month.
President Xun finally took out the number slip, Luo Qian took it in her hand and showed it to the camera: "Congratulations to the holder of number plate No. 22, you won the first prize, a 60-square-meter fully decorated house in Xijiang Apartment!"
When everyone was whispering to each other and trying to figure out who was number 22, Lin Shuyue cheered out, "I won the prize."
For a moment, Lin Shuyue received countless envious and jealous looks from people.
"Please invite the winner to come on stage." Luo Qian looked at Lin Shuyue with a smile, and Lin Shuyue came on stage holding the sign with the number 22.
Luo Qian personally handed Lin Shuyue a plaque printed with the first prize of a Xijiang Apartment. As usual, Lin Shuyue excitedly spoke of her feelings for winning the prize. She was really excited. After two lifetimes, she finally had a house that belonged completely to her.
Someone from the company's publicity department took a photo of the winner.
After taking the photos, Lin Shuyue was directly taken away by President Xun and Luo Qian. Half an hour later, before the Housing Management Office closed for business, Lin Shuyue got the freshly issued real estate certificate with her name on it.
The moment she came out of the Housing Management Office, Lin Shuyue didn't drive her car or take a taxi. She wanted to run back. If she didn't run, she couldn't vent the excitement in her heart at that moment.
She has her own house, her own little nest ahh...