I am chasing a rough man in the 80s
Chapter 870 Never Let Go

Chapter 870: Chapter 870 Never Let Go

Yu Jingting’s remark "happy like an old fool" successfully enraged the old patriarch.

Although he had never married, there was never a shortage of women around him, and the one dancing with Yu Jingting was his current favorite.

How did that make him a happy old fool!!!

"Six years, if you do not change your extravagant lifestyle, you will have only six years left to live. You will contract a certain disease in the autumn six years from now, a disease which I prefer not to name, and you will die in the same winter, but not from that illness."

"!!!" The old patriarch’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Suizi took a tortoise shell out of her bag.

Yu Jingting: ???

Wasn’t that the trick his mother used to scam people back in the day? How had it ended up in his wife’s hands?

"Come, hold three copper coins, think of the matter you wish to divine on, cast them into the tortoise shell, six times to form the hexagram. This is the ’I Ching six lines divination,’" Suizi shook the divination cylinder a few times and handed it to the old patriarch.

The old patriarch took it skeptically and closed his eyes to think.

Yu Jingting silently mouthed to Suizi, asking when she had learned to play the fortune-teller like her mother.

Suizi mouthed back silently, in the jianghu one must have many skills to not be overwhelmed.

Being a destined strategist, how could she get by without some skills in deception?

The copper coins made a dull sound as they hit the tortoise shell.

The old patriarch opened his eyes, waiting for Suizi to explain how he only had six years to live, and if she could not clarify it, he certainly wasn’t going to let it go.

"The fourth hexagram, ’Youthful Folly,’ with the Gen at the top and the Kan at the bottom, indicates breakage in marriage and partnerships, a sign of misfortune. The third yin line from the bottom: ’Do not vie for women in sight of the warrior, or death will ensue, nothing will be favorable.’"

Suizi spoke smoothly, and the old patriarch’s face changed at the mention of "death will ensue."

This was the same as when marketers conned the elderly with health products: no old person was unafraid of death. In marketing, this was termed "scare tactic sale," and while somewhat unscrupulous, it was mostly effective.

"Is there a way to solve it?" Old Mr. Hu became serious.

Suizi nodded.

"The solution lies in the second yang line from the bottom: ’Tolerate ignorance, good fortune; moreover, taking a wife, good luck; having children who can establish a household, good luck.’"

"What does that mean?"

"Taking a wife, let’s disregard that one; at your age, marriage won’t do much good, and a bad match could kill you outright."

"...Could you possibly not be so blunt."

"The last point, ’having children establish a household, good luck.’ A stable family for my father is your breakthrough point. You’ve seen the strengths of Jingting and me. As long as you can accomplish ’tolerating ignorance,’ you’ll certainly find the Life Gate out of this circle of Death Gates, and turn misfortune into good luck."

If this was before the bet incident with Old Mr. Yu and Yu Jingting, Suizi said, the old patriarch wouldn’t believe half a word of it.

But after the incident, what the old patriarch saw was not only a rising star in Yu Jingting that could not be stopped, but also the top military adviser Chen Hansui standing behind him.

Hansui’s strategic mind was utterly revolutionary to his decades-long belief that "women are only for sleeping with and not of much use."

So now, with Suizi using the I Ching to fool the old patriarch, he was already eighty percent convinced.

The remaining twenty percent was still wavering, as he remained silent without a word.

Suizi and Yu Jingting exchanged a glance, and her heartbeat started to speed up. Feeling her emotional fluctuation, Yu Jingting immediately took her hand under the table and gave her an encouraging look.

They had already started brewing this plan when the Fourth Master returned home. Yu Jingting had a rough idea of the overall framework, but with Jinnan’s involvement, they had to wrap up five years ahead of schedule, introducing many uncertainties. Suizi’s reaction at this moment was purely impromptu.

It’s a lie to say I wasn’t nervous; after all that preparation, it was a matter of life and death for her family, the moment to gamble on luck had arrived.

Suizi lowered her eyes, using her eyelashes to mask the emotional turbulence of the moment. For someone with social anxiety, improvising on the spot definitely wasn’t as easy as it was for Yu Jingting, who could do it effortlessly. She needed some time to adjust.

Suizi’s silence, the old man was also contemplating; it was a psychological battle between the two sides.

A silence as heavy as death intensified the old man’s anxiety.

Yu Jingting even saw sweat beginning to form at the tip of the old man’s nose.

His wife evidently had the upper hand, but she still needed him to give her a little bit of encouragement.

"My dear, we’re all family here. You can speak frankly," he said, "If Dad were here, he’d definitely support you too."

Upon hearing this, Suizi looked up, her eyes filled with unwavering determination.

"Say it, how do you turn misfortune into fortune?" Finally, the old man spoke up.

"The answer is in the third envelope; if you open it now, you’ll see," she replied.

And indeed the old man had brought it with him, as Yu Jingting had specially reminded him to when he accompanied him here.

This meant that the young couple had anticipated today’s circumstances when they decided to go to the Border to find someone.

Being able to predict the outcome a few days in advance was no longer considered very impressive, but being able to foresee the next five years, even ten or fifteen years, that was god-like.

Suizi was demonstrating her strength to the old man again, proving that her role as the family military adviser was rightfully earned.

The old man pulled out the last envelope, opened it, and inside was a single line:

In Beijing when the flowers are in bloom and the moon is full, the roast duck is fat, and Fourth Master will take care of your retirement.

After reading it, the old man was completely flummoxed.

This was the final step in Suizi’s fifteen-year plan, the envelope that could save his life?

As the old man read and re-read the note, grasping the implicit meaning, his eyes suddenly became fierce.

"You want me to give up my territory, to relocate inland?!" he exclaimed.

To think of giving up the territories he had fought for most of his life—was this girl an undercover agent for their adversaries?

These positions and money were earned with his life; asking him to give them up was akin to preferring his immediate death.

"Giving up and transforming are two different concepts. Your current assets are, frankly speaking, like warming yourself by a brazier. It seems cozy, but parts that are close to the fire have already started to burn. If you continue to hold on without letting go, disaster is bound to come sooner or later."

The same arguments Suizi had used to persuade Jinnan worked just as well with the old man.

"Taking that path, nine out of ten end in decline. My father-in-law realized this early on, and that’s why he escaped in time. He has always been concerned about you, always thinking of you," she argued.

"Heh, a traitor scared of death!" the old man held a grudge.

Suizi took out a document from her bag and handed it to the old man, who was stunned upon opening it. What was this?

"I had Jingting sneak out the key to my father-in-law’s safety deposit box in advance. I took it without him noticing. Don’t mind the wrinkles; we’ll have to sneak it back later. You’ll understand that my father-in-law never forgot you once you read it," she explained.

Inside were shares of Fourth Master’s Minefield, a twenty percent stake given to the old man, only he wasn’t told.

There was also a will stating that if Fourth Master died unexpectedly, apart from his family, part of his wealth was to go to the old man. It emphasized that if someday the old man grew old and had no one to care for him, if Fourth Master was no longer alive, the descendants of the Yu Family, whether Yu Jingting and his wife or Yu Jiaojiao, must unconditionally take care of the old man.

"My dad thought he covered his tracks perfectly, but Jingting and I both knew, we just never let on. Now, do Jingting and I have the qualifications to talk with you?" she asked.