Chapter 67: Where Is the Money?

"He didn't say much, just came over to check on An'an and me." Her father's notebook—she couldn't let Lu Yan know about it just yet.

There were still two years left until the sixth year.

Lu Yan couldn't hear anything unusual in his wife's tone, but he noticed her eyes were red as if she'd been crying. His heart tightened abruptly. "Don't keep things from me if something's wrong. We're husband and wife."

Husband and wife? When Shen Qingyi heard this, she looked up and met his gaze—clear and earnest, both caring and anxious.

She wavered, unable to help herself. After a moment's hesitation, she began, "I wanted her to testify for my father, but she refused. After all, they've been married for twenty years. No one knows my father better than she does. Why..."

She couldn't finish her sentence. Seeing the desolation in her eyes, Lu Yan felt a sharp pain in his chest. He wanted to comfort her, but didn't know what to say. An inexplicable urge surged up in his mind—to pull her into a fierce embrace.

But he seemed utterly at a loss for how to comfort someone.

Shen Qingyi, seeing his frozen expression, feared he was also thinking about her father's situation. She hurriedly spoke again, "Forget it. You said we should wait a few more years, so I'll wait and not think about anything else."

Seeing his wife's sudden clarity, Lu Yan breathed a sigh of relief. "Alright, but next time, don't ask anyone for help."

It hurt him! Even if it was her mother, it was the same. He didn’t know exactly why it hurt so much.

"Alright!"

Shen Qingyi looked at her husband, so earnest, and agreed readily.

Seeing her spirits lift, Lu Yan added, "Today, Caiqing and I finished tidying up the house. We can move tomorrow. I've already arranged for people and a truck. All you need to do is bring An'an and check things off as they're moved."

"Alright!" Shen Qingyi thought Lu Yan was always so thoughtful in everything he did.

Lu Yan took a set of keys from his pocket and handed them to her. "Caiqing won't be here tomorrow morning. This is for you."

She took the keys and agreed again.

The next morning, three men arrived at the house, driving a small truck.

"We were sent by Comrade Lu Yan to help with the move," said a tall, middle-aged man.

Shen Qingyi nodded. "Yes, he mentioned it. Do you specialize in moving?"

"No, we're from the Institute's logistics department."

That made her a bit nervous. "Is this considered the private use of public resources? I’d rather pay."

"Don't worry, he filed an application. He doesn't trust outsiders."

She let out a breath. "That's good!"

First they moved the furniture, then the appliances, making three trips before everything was done. She and Caiqing spent the entire afternoon organizing, and still weren't finished. When Lu Yan came home from work, they all continued for another two hours before things were roughly in place.

Even little An'an helped in small ways.

Caiqing bought some eggs and peanuts from the supply store and made egg noodles. The old dining table had been thrown out and replaced with a white, round table they'd brought over, polished until it shone. Caiqing suddenly felt hungry just looking at it.

"Let's keep it simple today. Tomorrow I'll buy more groceries and cook a proper meal."

Shen Qingyi hadn't expected her sister-in-law to be so industrious, nor for her cooking to be as good as Lu Yan's. She smiled, "Aren't you going to the market stall tomorrow? I'll do the shopping from now on."

Caiqing nodded. "Alright. I don't have much money anyway. The fifty yuan I’d secretly saved was taken by Mom."

Lu Yan frowned at that. "Do you have any money left?"

"Just over twenty yuan."

Seeing him reach into his pocket, Shen Qingyi said, "I'll buy the rice, flour, oil, and vegetables for the house."

At that, Lu Yan withdrew his hand and continued eating his noodles. After a while, he asked, "Last time you said you knew where Dad put my money?"

Caiqing nodded. "Yes, with eldest brother. He wants to buy a house in the capital."

Lu Yan fell silent.

Caiqing continued, "But you mustn't let him come to the capital. If he does, we won't have any peace. That money must be retrieved. If we still have the twenty thousand or so saved, it's enough to buy a small, older three-bedroom apartment here. I checked."

Lu Yan nodded. "Alright."

"That's great. Why should we always have to scrimp and save for eldest brother? They always say he's successful and we’ll benefit, but all these years, besides taking money from me, we've gained nothing." Caiqing was indignant.

"Yes, we must get it back!" Whether or not it was about the money, Lu Yan could always deduct it, but Shen Qingyi didn't want that family to have another chance to return to the capital.

"Second brother, any ideas?" Caiqing asked.

"I'll be assigned elsewhere for now. When you go back for the New Year, I'll tell you what to do."

Caiqing was delighted. "You’re confident?"

"Let's give it a try," Lu Yan replied.

After discussing money, Caiqing turned to the matter of the market stall. "Sister-in-law, could you teach me? How did you come up with those sales strategies? You weren’t there today, and my business was the same as always."

Lu Yan grew curious. "You helped her at the stall?"

Caiqing smiled and recounted how Shen Qingyi had come to find her the other day. "Who would have thought sister-in-law was so capable? The cloth is sourced from Yangcheng, very cheap but good quality. I heard the owner of the three stalls makes two to three hundred yuan a month—just working in the mornings, and he even hires people to watch the stalls. If sister-in-law ran the business, I think the profits would double."

Lu Yan looked at his wife, surprised by her many skills.

Shen Qingyi considered, "If we do this, aren't we openly snatching someone else's business?"

Caiqing was unconcerned. "The country's encouraging individual enterprise now, isn't it? We're not breaking any laws—it's fair competition."

Shen Qingyi hadn't expected her to be so bold and energetic. "You want to do business?"

Caiqing laughed. "How could I have the ability or the capital?"

"I'm just asking if you want to."

"Of course I do! Business is much better than labor. Sure, there are risks, but I've observed—there's very little competition in individual enterprise right now. If you're a little clever, you can make money." Her eyes shone with excitement.

Shen Qingyi grew thoughtful. "Let's see how things go first."

"Alright, I’ll wait!"

Lu Yan glanced at Caiqing. "Your sister-in-law hasn’t agreed yet. What are you waiting for?"

Caiqing fell silent.

The day after the move, as soon as work ended, Cheng Youqing came to visit.

"Qingyi, why did you move without a word? You didn't even let me know—I came by and found you gone."

Shen Qingyi smiled. "We just finished settling in today. I was going to invite you over once we were done. Tomorrow’s Saturday—why did you come today?"

"Someone saw a man and a woman eating with Lu Yan, chatting and laughing."

Shen Qingyi laughed. "Wasn't there another man as well? What's the problem with that?"