Chapter 59: The Verdict on Song Jianshe Has Arrived

"You have the nerve to say that! Where is your face!" Lu Meiqin was too late to cover Wen Ran's ears.

She hadn't expected Song Jianshe to care about nothing anymore, capable of uttering such shameless words right in front of his daughter!

With the pants already off, was there any difference whether they actually did it or not!

Song Jianshe glared at her. "You are the one who made me lose face, you ask where my face is!"

Su Hongyu had also cast away all shame, wiped her tears, and said, "Director, Su Hongyu and I really only did it for the first time, we haven't done anything yet!"

Song Jianshe slapped himself across the face. "Director, it was all just a momentary lapse in judgment on my part. I will return everyone's money in full. Please give us another chance! I promise I will never break the law or violate discipline again!"

"One thing is one thing, and another is another. Returning the money you owe the masses is what you ought to do. What right do you have to bargain!" Director Wei's expression was grave, utterly disgusted by such a brazen and shameless person. "Let me tell you, it would be better if you obediently pay it back. Otherwise, we will only consider increasing your punishment. Don't think about threatening the leadership by refusing to return the money; you are just compounding your errors!"

Song Jianshe's face instantly turned pale. "I was just saying that, I didn't mean to threaten anyone. I will pay everyone back."

"If you didn't mean it, then be quick about getting the money!" Not giving him a chance to go back on his word, Director Wei arranged for members of the security department to accompany him and Su Hongyu to their home to retrieve the money that should be taken.

Song Jianshe still didn't completely trust Wen Ran; he gave the director the list and the money meant to be returned to the people in the family quarters, and only then handed over the fifteen hundred yuan and the remaining grain and meat ration tickets to her.

Wen Ran counted them. "The amount is wrong. The money you have left is definitely more than just this. How do you expect me to go and call off the engagement without any sincerity? Do you think I'm willing to make this trip for you? You've already told the Gao family that I have a terminal illness, or else I might just tell the Gao family that you have another perfectly healthy daughter, and we wouldn't even need to return the betrothal gifts!"

Song Jianshe: "..."

Song Jianshe's mouth twitched, and his face turned as dark as charcoal.

Gritting his back teeth, he handed over the money he had intended to keep for his own living expenses, leaving himself with only four yuan.

"I only have these four yuan left. You can't possibly expect me to eat dirt!"

"I'm afraid you won't even get to eat dirt; you probably won't have anywhere to spend money in the future anyway!" Wen Ran could almost foresee his end. When Director Wei and the security department were discussing earlier, they had already reached a rough conclusion. She added, "You left something else behind!"

"What?" Song Jianshe's mind went completely blank. A fishy, sweet taste rose in his throat, and he felt a sudden urge to vomit blood.

The anger bottled up in his chest could neither go up nor down, and he was practically fit to die of vexation!

How could he possibly remember what he had left behind!

Wen Ran reminded him, "The agreement you signed with Director Gao's wife!"

Song Jianshe: "..."

Prompted by her, Song Jianshe remembered.

Under the supervision of the security department, he took out the agreement and handed it to Wen Ran.

Wen Ran said nothing and slipped it straight into her bag.

The events of this day had happened too suddenly, and she hadn't even had the chance to put down her cross-body bag yet.

Su Hongyu also understood that she could not escape this calamity and obediently handed eighty yuan to Wen Ran.

Wen Ran counted it, and making sure there were no tricks, she put it into her bag as well.

Now, including what Song Jianshe had given her, it totaled one thousand five hundred and eighty yuan.

The scattered bills stuffed her cross-body bag to the brim.

It was too late today to get a final verdict, so they would have to wait until tomorrow.

As soon as the security department took the two of them away, she and Lu Meiqin headed back together.

That night, Lu Meiqin tossed and turned, completely unable to sleep.

She let out a silent sigh and sat up.

She wanted to chat with Wen Ran for a while, but didn't want to disturb her rest, so she just sat there quietly by herself.

Ever since she met Song Jianshe, it seemed she had always been the one giving unilaterally, always believing that hard work would bring rewards. Facts proved that there was never any room for her in his eyes, and there never would be.

Seeing Song Jianshe and Su Hongyu in their half-stripped state still made her feel a little nauseous.

Stepping lightly, she went outside the door to catch some fresh air.

Wen Ran wasn't asleep either. Hearing her mother go outside, she sat up too.

She couldn't sleep either.

No longer having to worry about the marriage arrangement between Song Jianshe and the Gao family left her feeling somewhat exhilarated.

Once the disposition results for Song Jianshe and Su Hongyu were announced tomorrow, the heavy stone pressing on their hearts would finally fall to the ground completely!

The night was slightly chilly.

She switched on the lamp, threw a cardigan over her shoulders, and went outside to find her mother.

Lu Meiqin was gazing up at the starlit sky, lost in thought!

"Mom, it's so late, go to sleep!"

"Why aren't you asleep either?"

Lu Meiqin was slightly startled and went back inside the room with her.

"I can't sleep." Wen Ran said in the dim light, "There's something I haven't told you yet!"

Lu Meiqin asked with a puzzled look, "What is it?"

Wen Ran spread out the two agreements in front of Lu Meiqin. "When I came back today, I already got the agreement from the Gao family. The Gao family has fallen into ruin and will never use the marriage arrangement as an excuse again. It'll be printed in the newspaper before long!"

In addition to being shocked, Lu Meiqin looked them over carefully. "The signature is indeed Song Jianshe's, there's no mistake. How did you get it, and what's this about the Gao family collapsing? How did you get the agreement and still manage to ask Song Jianshe for money to call off the engagement..."

She had too many questions and couldn't make sense of it no matter how she thought about it.

Since Wen Ran couldn't sleep anyway, she explained the whole process of outwitting Mother Gao and Song Jianshe.

She had nothing to hide from a mother who wholeheartedly looked out for her.

Then she took out the money and gave it to her. "Mom, keep this money and find a suitable time to get us a new place."

Lu Meiqin was even more bewildered by the explanation and took quite a while to sort it all out.

They say a girl changes eighteen times by adulthood; she found that her daughter had truly grown up, possessing both independent judgment and capability.

She was far more decisive and bold than her mother.

Pushing the money back into Wen Ran's hands, she said, "You should keep this money yourself. If I need money in the future, I'll ask you for it. Over these past few days, Mom has noticed that you've become increasingly steady and are fully capable of managing this household."

"All right, then I'll keep it. But you must keep this one hundred yuan. Eldest Uncle said Eldest Aunt asked him to give it to us, and also said that Eldest Aunt has a sharp tongue but a soft heart, telling us not to let ourselves suffer or wear ourselves out." Wen Ran handed her the hundred yuan from her eldest uncle, along with the grain and meat ration tickets Song Jianshe had given her.

Her mother had to manage their meals, and it wouldn't do without money and ration tickets.

Lu Meiqin instantly broke down in tears, her body trembling slightly as she choked out, "Ranran, let's go visit your eldest aunt together this weekend!"

"Okay." Wen Ran had the exact same intention.

Lu Meiqin sniffled and said with a sudden realization, "Actually, it was always me who was wrong! I don't know what bewitched me back then, but I was blindly determined to marry him, which is why I incurred your eldest aunt's disgust. Your eldest uncle and aunt didn't like him, and your grandparents didn't like him while they were alive either. Now that I think about it, they saw much further than I did..."

Recounting those willful pasts, her hope was simply that Wen Ran would listen to good advice.

He who listens to advice will never go hungry.

Wen Ran couldn't remember how long her mother talked, but she drifted off to sleep amidst it all!

Early the next morning, as soon as she got up, she saw Director Wei arranging for Fu Kaiyu to distribute money to the workers who had lent it.

Every single transaction was clearly recorded in a ledger, making it impossible for anyone to falsely report.

However, Wen Ran cared much more about the disciplinary outcomes for Song Jianshe and Su Hongyu.

The outcomes were not announced until she came home from work in the afternoon.