Transmigration: On the Gossip Front-Chapter 974 - 975 Countryside Orphan Girl 19

Liu Yuanchao returned home, saw the dinner left for him, and didn’t protest. He knew the more he protested, the worse things would get.

Anyway, the old man would take his side. After finishing his meal, he washed all the dishes.

He walked to Feng Lan’s room and softly knocked on the door.

Liu Ke heard the knock and stepped out. "What’s the matter?"

"I went to see Grandpa today. He mentioned that it’s been a few days since your little aunt and you brothers have visited him."

"He said for you to go see him tomorrow."

"Grandpa said, Ke, you might not want to visit him, the old man, but you can’t avoid seeing his younger brother."

Feng Lan didn’t expect that even after being sent to prison, even as a criminal, they still wouldn’t let her off the hook. She was unhappy.

"Oh, by the way, little aunt, Grandpa said you better treat me better, or when he gets out, he won’t let you go." Liu Yuanchao finished speaking and turned back to his room.

Feng Lan was so angry she could spit blood. "See? I knew the old man was biased."

"Never seen someone so partial. They’re already locked up, yet still find ways to control me." Feng Lan stomped around the room in frustration, muttering to herself.

Liu Ke looked at his mother losing her mind and sighed helplessly. What could he do? She was his mom; he could only endure it.

"Mom, what are you worried about? What can Grandpa really do to you?"

"This whole situation was just bad luck for our family."

"If he scolds you, can’t you just fight back?"

"I reckon Grandpa’s going to give his money to Liu Yuanchao; he won’t have much left for himself." The old man is still as partial to Liu Yuanchao as ever.

Liu Ke couldn’t understand one bit—what had he done wrong? Why couldn’t the old man see the good in him?

And if you can’t figure it out, there’s no point thinking about it further. Liu Ke knew overthinking wouldn’t help. The old man clearly wasn’t satisfied with their family of three—or even the whole family.

"Fight back?" The thought of causing a scene at the police station made Feng Lan instinctively shrink back.

Liu Ke nodded. "Yes! Our family’s the victim this time; why shouldn’t we fight back?"

"Otherwise, people will really think we’re easy to bully."

"Back then, when Liu Yuanchao didn’t do any work, it was Grandma and Aunt taking care of everything. You could still relax a bit when you came home."

Feng Lan listened to her son and kept nodding. "Yes, yes, that’s right."

Feng Lan looked at the lights in the house across the way. "When will our family ever live more comfortably?"

They had the same three rooms, but their house was stuffed with about ten people, while only two lived across the way. The thought made her envious.

Zhang Yu was reading a book she’d borrowed from the library about criminal investigations. Li Cui peeked her head out and glanced at it. "Why’d you borrow this kind of book?"

"Well, I’m working at the police station. Even if I’m just a clerk, I shouldn’t stay in a supporting role forever, should I?"

"I’ve got to do some prep work. You never know when it’ll come in handy for me." Staying a clerk forever? No way.

"I don’t need much—just a slight promotion, maybe work in the district someday." The long nights were hard to endure.

She didn’t find any novels in the library, only reference books, which bored her. Zhang Yu figured borrowing a book about this topic was better than nothing.

Always staying prepared for a promotion—people need goals.

Seeing a child with ambition was a good thing. Li Cui wasn’t in a hurry; she knew when it came time to actually catch criminals, it wouldn’t be Zhang Yu’s responsibility anyway.

"Have you seen anyone from Old Liu’s house these past few days?" Li Cui stitched a shoe sole—it was a gig she picked up from the street.

It wasn’t about earning money, but chatting with people while keeping busy.

"I didn’t go." Zhang Yu initially planned to visit Liu Dashan’s family to provoke them. "Then I thought about it—I’m involved in this mess too. If I showed up and agitated them, they might accuse me of abusing office power."

"So, I stayed away." Zhang Yu remembered how the director had called her over at noon today.

"The director said today that Jiang Dawei’s parents had pulled some strings to reach him, asking me to consider negotiating with the Jiang Family."

Li Cui knew the Jiang Family had connections in the supply and marketing bureau. They naturally had their influence.

She hadn’t expected them to have the clout to ask for a favor from the director. The old lady grew anxious. "Your boss doesn’t have anything against you, does he?"

"Why would he? They were the ones scheming against me first."

"From what the director said, he doesn’t like people like that anyway. It’s just that the person they found to help them happens to be someone he knows well, so he intervened."

"The director also said that even if we dig deeper, there’s no way to really go after Jiang Dawei. They’ve shifted all the blame onto Liu Jia."

"Makes sense." Knowing how Liu Jia always stirred up trouble, this time wasn’t any different—even if she didn’t lead the charge, the Jiang Family would still push the responsibility onto her.

"By the way, Grandma, you know what? This time the Liu Family really won’t get away clean."

The director had explained why the Jiang Family was so furious. "Apparently Jiang Dawei was competing for a promotion, but no one expected something like this to happen."

"In short, the result is—that promotion opportunity is gone."

"And Jiang Dawei isn’t that young anymore." Zhang Yu guessed they’d gone through Jiang Dawei’s father’s connections.

Maybe it wasn’t about Jiang Dawei’s age, but rather the person helping him is close to retirement. Once retired, there’s no one left to pull strings.

Li Cui hadn’t expected such a twist and was genuinely surprised. "No wonder Jiang Dawei’s parents were absolutely livid that day!"

"In the past, however much they looked down on the Liu Family, they’d at least put on a show of civility."

Li Cui recalled the reaction of Jiang Dawei’s parents that day. She’d thought their rage was directed at how Liu Jia had dragged Jiang Dawei down—turns out there was another layer to it.

Zhang Yu nodded continuously from the side. "This time caught everyone off guard—Jiang Dawei ended up the worst off."

Hmph. "The Liu Family thinks they’re so impressive, bragging about their powerful connections, always going on about how great their son-in-law is."

"Well, just let Jiang Dawei step out. The Jiang Family took such a big hit this time—they won’t let the Liu Family escape unscathed."

"And, of course, neither will our family." Zhang Yu knew the Jiang Family would hold a grudge against theirs as well.

"Honestly, I think working at the police station is pretty good." Although it wasn’t one of those sought-after roles, the workplace itself was powerful.

Better than working at the machinery factory. Otherwise, if the Jiang Family wanted to target her, they’d surely find opportunities.

Li Cui nodded repeatedly. "Yes, keep at it."

"The factory may have good benefits, but the future isn’t as good as the police station." People often thought factory jobs were great because of the perks.

But as someone who worked on the streets, Li Cui had never thought so. "You may just be a clerk at the station, but when I go out, people treat me with warmth."

"Everyone knows you work at the police station, so they’re careful not to offend you." Li Cui worried someone might whisper something in Zhang Yu’s ear and change her mind.

"Grandma, don’t worry—I definitely won’t switch jobs. There are fewer people at the station, but so many at the factory."

"Besides, even if I’m working there, how could the Liu Family do anything once they’re out?"

Thinking back to the last few mornings, Zhang Yu always noticed Feng Lan staring at her in the courtyard while she was washing up, a calculating look on her face.

She shared her frustrations with Li Cui, who had more experience and could offer some advice.