Chapter 28: A Big Payday

In her eyes, Feng Chunhua wasn’t capable of causing any real trouble.

First, Feng Chunhua shot Chu Xuan a dirty look, making her displeasure clear, but then her expression changed completely.

She put on an apologetic face. “Chu Xuan, Chu Feng, I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have kept this from you for so long. I was wrong! Today, I brought the 1,000 yuan compensation for your father’s death. Please accept it.”

Chu Xuan glanced over to where the security officers and Wang Depin were standing, watching the proceedings.

No wonder Feng Chunhua was so reluctant to hand over the money—it turned out she was being supervised.

But where did this 1,000 yuan come from?

Wasn’t it all stolen by Qiu Daguang?

Chu Xuan shot Wang Depin a questioning look.

Wang Depin immediately explained, “Only part of the money in Feng Chunhua’s house was stolen by Qiu Daguang. Another portion was taken by Feng Ti, but in his suicide note, he explained where he’d hidden the money. The security officers actually found 5,000 yuan.”

Something still felt off to Chu Xuan, but seeing the security officers nod to confirm the money was legitimate, she finally accepted it.

Feng Chunhua looked pained. “Aren’t you going to count it? Don’t come complaining later that it’s short.”

Chu Xuan handed the money to Chu Feng. “Little brother, count it.”

Chu Feng quickly counted the bills—twenty 50-yuan notes.

“Big sis, it’s all here. Exactly 1,000 yuan.”

Just as he thought Feng Chunhua would curse them out and leave, she pulled another 300 yuan from her pocket. “This is compensation for Chu Dashan breaking your front gate. Please write a letter of forgiveness. The old man’s not young anymore—every day he gets out early counts.”

Chu Xuan accepted the money and handed it to Chu Feng as well.

“I’ll write the letter. But all three of your family members need to sign the statement.”

“What statement?”

Feng Chunhua craned her neck, trying to peek into the yard, but Chu Xuan and her brother blocked her view.

Chu Xuan saw through Feng Chunhua’s intentions—she was eyeing the new house. “When my dad was alive, he earned your family a lot of money—enough to buy this old house outright. You’ll need to sign a statement declaring that from now on, this old house has nothing to do with your Chu family! Otherwise, I’ll come after you for all the money my dad earned for you while he was alive. A rough estimate? At least ten thousand yuan.”

She deliberately exaggerated the figure.

Feng Chunhua exploded. “I worked so hard raising your dad—”

Before she could finish, Chu Xuan cut her off coldly. “Are you looking for another lawsuit? Don’t think I don’t know you were involved in the child-stealing back then!”

Feng Chunhua’s eyes darted nervously. Feng Ti’s case was already closed—there could be no reopening it.

For the sake of her old age, she had to swallow her anger this time. “Fine! I’ll sign! But let’s make it clear—once I sign, no one brings up your dad again. This ends here.”

Chu Xuan sneered. Not bringing up her dad didn’t mean she couldn’t bring up something else. Some things just couldn’t be left unsettled.

But she also understood that some matters had to be handled quietly.

So she agreed firmly, “Fine! Once the statement is signed, this ends here!”

Ten minutes later, Chu Xuan had written up two copies of the statement.

Feng Chunhua signed and pressed her thumbprint, and Chu Zhi was called over to do the same.

Chu Xuan asked the security officers to take the statement to Chu Dashan for his signature. She’d collect it when she went to the town tomorrow to sign the letter of forgiveness.

One copy would be kept by her, the other by the village office.

Chu Xuan then made a quick trip to the docks and bought forty jin of skinned fish from Li Tong. At five cents a jin, it cost her two yuan total. Since she was firing up the oven anyway, she might as well cook more and not waste the firewood.

After eight o’clock that evening, Chu Xuan went to Wang Depin’s house to tally up the expenses for building her new house.

Compared to her original budget, she’d added a cement floor, built two ovens, raised the courtyard walls, and ordered custom cabinets, tables, chairs, and baking trays. The 2,200 yuan she’d planned wasn’t enough; the Wang family had covered the extra costs.

Now that she had money in hand, she wanted to pay them back as soon as possible.

Gao Meijuan treated Chu Xuan like family. “No rush. Wait until your life is on track.”

Chu Xuan patted her pocket lightly. “Grandma Gao, my brother and I have money now, and I want to open a small workshop for grilled fish slices. Things will only get better from here.”

Gao Meijuan replied warmly, “Then wait until your workshop is up and running and business is steady before you pay us back.”

“That won’t do. I want to settle my debts first—business is business. If I need money for the workshop later, I’ll come to you for a loan.”

With Chu Xuan insisting, Gao Meijuan had no choice but to calculate the expenses.

The construction team, led by Lin Lou, had given them a good deal on materials for Wang Depin’s sake, but all the materials were top quality for the time.

All in, labor and materials totaled 3,660 yuan.

Chu Xuan pulled out a stack of bills and counted out 1,460 yuan, handing it to Gao Meijuan.

“Grandma Gao, please count it.”

After paying off her debt and buying some household necessities, she still had over four hundred yuan left—enough to get her grilled fish slice workshop started.

“What’s the point of counting? I watched you count it just now—how could it be wrong?” Gao Meijuan stuffed the money into her pocket with a smile. “Xiao Xuan, if you need help with your workshop, just say the word. Sasa and I are home for the summer and bored out of our minds.”

Chu Xuan felt a warm glow in her heart. “Great. I’ll definitely need help. Around four tomorrow afternoon, could you and Sasa come to my place to help clean and prep the fish? I’ll pay you both for your work.”

“No need to pay—”

Before Gao Meijuan could finish, Chu Xuan cut her off, “If you won’t take wages, I’ll just hire someone else.”

Gao Meijuan laughed and patted Chu Xuan’s back. “You silly girl.”

Chu Xuan’s eyes grew a little misty. In this small fishing village, Grandma Gao’s family had given her and her brother the warmth of a real family. In this life, not only did she want her own family to prosper, she wanted to help Grandma Gao’s family too.

“Grandma Gao, when I was on the train last time, I heard that they’re going to build shops near the train station. There’s an internal sale, and if you’re late, you won’t get one. Doesn’t Grandpa Wang have a classmate at the train station? Could you ask if it’s possible to buy one? I’m sure it’ll go up in value.”

In her previous life, Grandpa Wang had heard about this too late and missed out.

Later, the price of those shops increased tenfold, business boomed, and they were in huge demand.

Gao Meijuan took the suggestion to heart. “He’s on duty tonight. As soon as he gets home in the morning, I’ll tell him.”

Chu Xuan suddenly remembered Gao Meijuan’s eldest son, Wang Mingchen. “Grandma Gao, where’s Uncle Mingchen?”

Wang Mingchen was 25 this year, only a few years older than Chu Xuan, but of a higher generation.

The second son, Wang Mingyang, was 20 and studying in another city.

Gao Meijuan smiled. “He’s out deep-sea fishing with his wife. They should be back early tomorrow, sell their catch, and head out again the next morning.”

When Chu Xuan heard “deep-sea fishing,” she suddenly remembered something. In her previous life, on August 12th, Wang Mingchen was attacked by a shark while at sea and lost his leg to save his life.

The day after tomorrow was the 12th—she absolutely couldn’t let him go out to sea.

How could she persuade him?

Maybe she’d have to be a little shameless.

“Grandma Gao, when Uncle Mingchen gets back, could you ask him to delay going out to sea for a day? The day after tomorrow, I’d like to ask him and Auntie to go to the city with me to sell grilled fish slices.”

Gao Meijuan had no idea what Chu Xuan was thinking. She still hoped her eldest son could earn more at sea, especially if they were going to buy a shop near the train station, which would cost a lot. She didn’t want to take up his time unless necessary. “I’ll go with you, or your aunt-in-law can go. Don’t worry, we’re both strong enough—”"