I Got Rich in Period Fiction
Chapter 470: Take Ruthless Action

Chapter 470: Chapter 470: Take Ruthless Action

Lin Li only got a mouthful of information about this, but she really didn’t know where the groom was from.

After asking, she found out that the bride-price was five thousand yuan.

Lin Li was also startled, to be honest, she had lived through tough times herself, and it was only after she went to work in a construction crew in the county town, cooking for the workers, that she had money in hand. To say something laughable, when she married her late husband, her wedding dress and shoes were both borrowed.

Back then, many families were like that, you borrowed from me, I borrowed from you, and after the wedding, you returned it to them, tucking a few coins into a red paper envelope.

And her in-laws were even poorer, jingling with emptiness; her late husband, like her, wore borrowed clothes and shoes, even his underpants were worn for the first time.

So, hearing about five thousand yuan out of the blue, a flicker of envy passed through her eyes—the Old Qiao Family really had money, being able to shell out five thousand yuan just like that.

She couldn’t help but ask, "Brother Qiao, whose son is he? You haven’t even seen his parents or the child, and just like that, you gave five thousand yuan to the girl’s grandmother. Doesn’t this whole thing sound a bit off?"

Qiao Zhihai glanced at Lin Li, he really hadn’t thought about it that way, and then he said, "It’s Li Tiezhu from Li Village."

"Li Tiezhu from Li Village, is he the one who went to Nangang City to do business a couple of years ago?"

"Yes, yes, that’s the one. Do you know him?"

"My child’s aunt married into that hamlet, they’re neighbors, but I did hear something, just don’t know if it’s true or not."

At this point, Lin Li hesitated.

She didn’t know what repercussions her words might bring if shared, after all, it was only her child’s aunt who had spoken of it, without any solid evidence.

Qiao Zhihai’s eyes lit up, he wasn’t stupid, Lin Li clearly knew something, so he immediately asked, "What do you know? Tell me, don’t worry, I promise not to tell a third person it was you who said it, it’ll stop with me."

"...Brother Qiao, you’ve always taken good care of me and my three kids, I’m truly grateful. If I didn’t know, then it would be fine, but after what you’ve just said, if I don’t tell you, I’d be less than human."

Here Lin Li paused, then lowered her voice and said, "The Old Li family may seem to be having good days on the surface, but it’s all just a facade, shiny on the outside. Li Tiezhu did make some money in Nangang City, the first year he came back he built a house for his family, bought them new clothes, a radio, a tape recorder, and bicycles."

Qiao Zhihai nodded, he knew about this, that family did look pretty decent on the outside.

"My sister’s brother-in-law has a good relationship with him, they seem to have gone into business together, then they both got scammed. If it wasn’t for the local relief station, they wouldn’t have even had the fare to come back home. Before that, Li Tiezhu had taken a few girls from the village to work outside, and to this date, they haven’t contacted their families.

These girls’ parents went looking for Li Tiezhu, and he lied to them, claiming he had so much money, and that those girls were earning a lot in the factories, but those were all lies.

Now the Old Li family still owes high-interest loans, quite a lot from what I hear, the kind of debt that keeps piling up, beyond what most families can repay. Where could they get five thousand yuan for Qiao Ye’s bride-price?"

Qiao Zhihai sprang to his feet, regardless of whether this was true or not, something was definitely amiss. If anyone dared to swindle him and his brother out of their money, he would not let them off.

Qiao Zhihai rushed back to the Qiao Family Team overnight and then followed his brother to Li Village.

The Qiao Family had to play hardball before they found out that Li Tiezhu had split half of the five thousand yuan with Wang Mei’s maternal uncles, and with the other half he paid off his loans.

Then Li Tiezhu just had this ’like a pig not afraid of scalding water’ attitude, because the affair also involved Wang Mei and her maternal uncles.

But this time, Qiao Zhihai was truly scared and truly enraged. He felt he had been lenient with Wang Mei at every turn, yet she had colluded with her brothers and an unrelated person to swindle money from the Old Qiao Family. Could he possibly keep such a treacherous woman?

After returning, he didn’t hit her or berate her, not even a single word did he exchange with Wang Mei. He simply proposed a divorce straightaway.

Wang Mei, of course, disagreed, but this time Qiao Zhihai was determined, and he had realized that, despite his age being over fifty, it wasn’t impossible to find a hardworking and capable wife to share his life with.

It’s said that in Nangang City, men his age could even marry girls as young as eighteen.

As long as you have money.

With someone like Wang Mei, life would be worse than marrying a young widow, say, someone like Lin Li.

He figured that if he expressed his desire to marry her, she would surely agree.

But then again, he already had three sons, and Lin Li had two sons and a daughter.

He certainly didn’t have the spare time to raise someone else’s sons.

Of course, these were his private thoughts, which he wouldn’t share with anyone. In any case, he was adamant about the divorce, and naturally, the family all supported him, but even so, the matter of the five thousand yuan couldn’t just be dropped like that.

The Wang Family was abhorrent, clinging to the Old Qiao Family like leeches, and if he didn’t shake them off, they would never have a peaceful day.

Even if Qiao Zhihai earned mountains of gold and silver, it would be squandered by Wang Mei.

So, they filed a report for fraud, and then had the police intervene to investigate whether those three young girls were actually working in Nangang City or if they’d been sold somewhere else.

Li Tiezhu tried to flee when he saw things going south, but he was caught halfway and brought back, and then Wang Mei’s brothers were also taken into custody.

With He Xiu Yu’s assistance in Nangang City, the outcome was quickly revealed.

And then those three poor girls were brought back, indeed having been sold into a vile place by Li Tiezhu under the guise of job placement.

After that, the parents of the three girls demolished Li Village’s Li family home and then ran down to Wangjia Village, to Wang Mei’s parental home.

Her brothers were close with Li Tiezhu, so who could believe they were clean?

In the end, they needed a scapegoat and, incidentally, to extort some money. Their daughters wouldn’t have a chance of marrying well, but they couldn’t just strangle them. So, better to extort some money—having some funds would make life easier afterward, whether for marrying into a second marriage or to a widower.

Then, the Qiao Family Team held a big meeting.

The meeting’s agenda had three main points.

First, the end of the year was nearing, and the seed production base was due for an annual review; if it didn’t qualify, the authorities would revoke its status.

Second was that if it was revoked, the county would take back the qualification slot for key support, and Tenghai Research Base would have the right to terminate the contract.

Third, if it really got revoked, then modernization of the countryside would also come to a halt. As for housing, live in whatever you have now—if you want a villa, you’d better earn the money yourself.