Chapter 112: A Bit of a Clue

The courtyard that Chu Zhi’s family had just bought was not far from the market—less than three minutes away.

Standing at the gate, Chu Xuan felt a wave of familiarity.

In her previous life, Feng Chunhua had asked her for five thousand yuan, saying she wanted to buy a courtyard in town. Chu Xuan had scraped together the money over five months, doing everything she could, and finally managed to secretly give Feng Chunhua the five thousand yuan.

Back then, Feng Chunhua had brought her to this very courtyard.

She hadn’t known that Feng Chunhua had already bought the place and was just using it as an excuse to get money from her.

Seeing Chu Xuan standing motionless outside the gate, Chu Zhi took the initiative to invite her in. “Come in and have a look! It’s really grand! My new bicycle is in the yard.”

Chu Xuan’s expression was serious. “Where’s your mother?”

Chu Zhi grinned. “Don’t be so serious. She’s not home. I just took her to the town hospital for an injection. I’ll pick her up in two or three hours. She hurt her leg and was in the county hospital for a while. Today’s her first day back in town. I only dared to invite you over because she’s not here—otherwise, if you two met, wouldn’t you just end up fighting?”

“So you know your mother doesn’t like me, but you still invited me to see your house?” Chu Xuan finally realized that Chu Zhi not only wanted to show off, but also had something to discuss. “Just say what you want. I don’t have much time.”

She discreetly sized up the courtyard.

There were four bedrooms, a kitchen, an outhouse, and a storage room. The yard was about thirty square meters, with a bicycle parked inside, as well as a stone table and stools.

One of the bedrooms was locked.

In her previous life, Feng Chunhua had lived in that room.

It was probably still hers in this life.

Maybe there was some clue in her room.

Chu Zhi spoke up, “Today, besides showing you my wealth, I also wanted to talk to you about a partnership.”

Chu Xuan raised an eyebrow. “What kind of partnership?”

Chu Zhi smiled ingratiatingly. “I want to invest in your grilled fish snack workshop.”

Chu Xuan didn’t answer directly. “Aren’t you going to invite me to see all the bedrooms? Didn’t you want to show off your wealth? The furnishings inside must be nice, right?”

“Of course! All brand-new beds and furniture. Let me show you.”

Chu Zhi led Chu Xuan through the three unlocked bedrooms.

Afterward, he pointed at the locked one. “That’s my mom’s room. I don’t have the key. The window’s latched from the inside, and she’s drawn the curtains, so you can’t see in. But let me tell you, the most valuable stuff is in there. There’s at least five thousand yuan worth of things, especially that pair of dragon and phoenix jade pendants.”

Chu Xuan said deliberately, “Dragon and phoenix jade pendants? Just displayed in the bedroom? Isn’t that a waste?”

Chu Zhi replied proudly, “That’s what I said, but my mom insists. She just wants to keep them in her room so she can look at them every day and feel good.”

Suddenly, Chu Xuan realized that Feng Chunhua might not have bought the dragon and phoenix jade pendants to give away.

“When did your mom put them on display? She’s really extravagant.”

“She put them out before she hurt her leg! After the injury, she couldn’t see them for a few days, but as soon as she got back today, she went into her room and started wiping them and holding them to her face, muttering something I couldn’t make out…”

Chu Zhi rambled on, and Chu Xuan didn’t interrupt. This trip hadn’t been wasted—she’d picked up some useful information.

It seemed that on the night Feng Chunhua rushed to catch the train, what she was clutching wasn’t the jade pendants, but something else important.

Chu Xuan deeply regretted not grabbing it to take a look back then.

After Chu Zhi finally finished, Chu Xuan spoke again. “I’ve seen your family’s wealth—impressive. But my grilled fish snack workshop will be shutting down soon, by October at the latest. No point bringing in new investors. You can talk to the village chief and see if you can buy into the village-run food factory.”

“I already asked. Wang Depin said no, the investment period is over. Right now, you’re the one making the most money in the village. I want to work with you. I also want to restore our family ties. How about I go back to being your uncle? I promise I won’t hit you or Xiao Feng anymore. As long as you help me make money, I wouldn’t even mind if you beat me up every day.”

Chu Xuan was amazed at Chu Zhi’s shamelessness. “You only see that I make money, but do you know how much debt I have?”

Chu Zhi looked unconcerned. “Isn’t it just a bit over two thousand yuan? If you want to, you can pay it off in no time.”

Chu Xuan replied seriously, “Wrong! I owe much more than two thousand. To treat my mom’s illness, I’ve spent all my earnings and borrowed a lot more. Altogether, I owe about thirty thousand. The doctor says her future treatment will cost at least another fifty thousand. If you’re not afraid I’ll use your money for my mom’s treatment, then go ahead and work with me. Actually, I’d love to restore family ties too. Since your mom has money, she could help pay for my mom’s treatment and lighten my burden. Why don’t you bring it up with her?”

“I wouldn’t dare. I just want to restore family ties with you—my mom never said she did. If it’s not convenient for you to work with me, then forget it. You can go now, I won’t see you out.”

Chu Zhi’s face darkened, his earlier enthusiasm gone.

Chu Xuan knew what he was like. If she didn’t still have a use for him, she’d have slapped him away long ago.

Before leaving, she deliberately repeated, “Don’t forget to mention it to your mom—restore family ties soon and help pay for my mom’s treatment.”

She walked away with a light step.

Chu Zhi clenched his fists in anger, muttering to himself, “Poor wretch! Chu Xuan, you debt king! I must have been blind, thinking of working with you just because you make money.”

He didn’t dare say it aloud, afraid Chu Xuan would beat him up.

Only when Chu Xuan was out of sight did he curse, “You want to restore family ties with my family? Dream on! You’ll die poor…”

Chu Xuan didn’t hurry home but went back to Uncle Long’s shop.

She told him about Feng Chunhua buying the dragon and phoenix jade pendants but not giving them away, and asked Uncle Long to help her get the keys from Feng Chunhua—Chu Xuan wanted to check her bedroom for clues.

Uncle Long readily agreed.

Chu Xuan didn’t stay long. She said goodbye, bought some supplies in town, and took a horse cart back to the village.

Two hours later, Chu Zhi rode his bicycle to the town hospital to pick up Feng Chunhua. He exaggerated, “Mom, you have no idea! When Chu Xuan found out we bought a new courtyard in town, she cried and begged to restore family ties, and even wanted you to pay for her mom’s treatment. I told her off and sent her packing!”

Feng Chunhua clapped in approval. “Good for you! You used to say she made a lot of money, but now you see her family is a bottomless pit, right? Stay away from her! Don’t let her lead you around by the nose! Just look at that business with Pan Xiaoli—you even listened to her then…”

Chu Zhi interrupted impatiently, “It was a good thing I listened to her about that! Otherwise, I’d have been wearing a green hat before I even got married! Don’t bring it up again!”

“Fine, I won’t! Hurry up and carry me out.”

“Okay.”

Chu Zhi carefully carried Feng Chunhua to the bicycle, gently helped her onto the back seat.

Feng Chunhua sighed, “Xiao Zhi, as long as you keep being this filial, all my money will be yours in the future!”

Chu Zhi immediately promised, “Mom, I’ll always be good to you. Besides, I’m your only son—who else would you leave it to?”

Feng Chunhua smacked him on the back. “You’re not my only son!”

Chu Zhi’s eyes widened in shock. “Don’t tell me you had a secret child behind Dad’s back?”"