I Got Rich in Period Fiction
Chapter 517: The Alarm Bell

Chapter 517: Chapter 517: The Alarm Bell

Qiao Zhiyuan took his daughter-in-law and youngest son to the Educated Youth spot next to the Qiao Family Team headquarters.

This area, still part of the old district, hadn’t been planned yet; although there were houses by the labs, breeding base, and pig farm, Qiao Zhiyuan chose this place nonetheless.

After Mr. Wu learned of his daughter’s call, he sent people to pick up Qiao Zhicai and Qiao Genbao, taking them to Yun City.

The pickup coincided with the end of the school term—just in time for the children’s winter break.

Qiao Zhicai discussed with Wu Qianyun, and not far from their home, they rented a storefront. Secretary Chang helped with the business license, and they opened a Northern specialities shop just before the New Year.

They already had some dry goods at home and had decided what to do before moving to Yun City, so they had collected quite a lot in advance. Then borrowing two large trucks from the county, they packed everything they could take from home onto the trucks. Along with the dry goods, they transported some medicinal herbs and even the grains harvested from home this year to Yun City.

Wu Xiucai then registered Feifei and Doudou’s household in Yun City.

It was for the convenience of schooling.

But for Qiao Zhicai and the other three, as well as Wu Qianyun’s households, they stayed with the Qiao Family Team.

Due to the family’s recent trouble, no one had anything to say about Qiao Zhicai moving to Yun City with his son and daughter-in-law.

In any case, Qiao Zhicai was dissatisfied with Qiao Zhihai.

He didn’t want to think ill of his second brother but couldn’t help but ponder.

This incident served as a wakeup call for him.

He had a wealthy father-in-law, for sure, and he benefitted from it, but the thought of his whole clan riding on his coattails was too embarrassing.

However, the rest of the family didn’t see it that way; his eldest nephew, Qiao Tianbao, was a good kid, but because the family now had a wealthy relative, his wife made a fuss. In the end, she got her way.

According to her wishes, she went to work in a government canteen in the county.

By the time he found out, it had all been arranged; his nephew didn’t dare to face him, but the nephew’s wife did visit him with many gifts.

What could he do?

Could he kick them out?

After all the favors he’d given, if he turned his back on them now, wouldn’t that make him the proverbial pig looking in the mirror—neither human nor beast?

Still, he felt aggrieved inside.

It was a good opportunity to move away.

Nevertheless, Qiao Zhicai was not willing to let go of the family homestead and the allocated land.

To put it bluntly, if one day his father-in-law no longer favored him and he couldn’t stay around, he could go back to the Qiao Family Team with a house and fields to his name, and with food to eat, he wouldn’t starve.

Of course, this was just a precautionary thought; he knew in his heart that his father-in-law would never do such a thing. It wasn’t about watching the owner before beating a dog; it was because at that level, there was no need for that man to be so concerned with a small fry like him.

So, Qiao Zhicai settled down very quickly, getting everything in order before the Spring Festival.

Qiao Genbao and Niu Guili were overwhelmed with running a business for the first time, but with the ever-capable Secretary Chang helping out, they soon got the hang of it.

Add to that the lack of survival pressure—they had enough food, money in hand, a house to stay in Yun City, the children registered as residents of Yun City not needing to pay for lodging at school—it all became easy. Moreover, shops selling Northern specialties in Yun City were few and far between, so business slowly began to pick up.

They could make over one hundred yuan a day, and their bond with their hometown actually grew stronger.

Most of the mountain goods were purchased by Qiao Shengbao.

Qiao Shengbao, being a craftsman, had his own transport routes, and Qiao Zhicai didn’t sit idle either. He always produced a handicraft every month to give to Qiao Shengbao to sell on his behalf, so Qiao Shengbao was entirely in charge of purchasing the mountain goods.

Of course, this allowed him to make some money.

They were brothers, but clear accounts were a must, or else it would lead to trouble when things were unclear, something the Qiao Family now feared.

But it also cannot go unmentioned that after Wang Mei died, the Qiao Family truly quieted down.

No one felt sorrow for Wang Mei; behind her back, everyone cursed her. In the past, the most malicious acts were murder and arson. Although she didn’t commit murder, she committed arson—with the elderly and children in the house, if they couldn’t escape, they would have burned to death.

And there were neighbors, too.

They say a fire burns through a poor man’s day.

So, for everyone, she got what she deserved.

As for Qiao Zhihai, he was now silent and visibly depressed every day.

No matter how much he hated someone, he never wished death upon them.

Especially since that someone was the wife who had spent a lifetime with him.

But everyone also knew that he wished to die with Wang Mei; otherwise, he wouldn’t have taken off his military coat to put it on her. Perhaps that was how fate arranged it; hence, before long, no one brought it up again.

And just like that, in the blink of an eye, warm spring came tiptoeing in, dressing the earth in a light veil of green.

Meng Siqi finally made up her mind to see her grandson, and of course, she came with He Shan, calling ahead of time. Qiao Zhicai came from Yun City.

Wu Xiucai arrived with Qiao Zhicai. Both Mr. He and Granny He were also missing their great-granddaughter and great-grandson.

Granny He felt it was time for a meeting while both she and her husband were still alive.

They decided to meet in Xichuan, for during this busy season, Qingyu could not easily travel to either Beijing or Yun City with the young child.

Once decided, the meeting happened smoothly with the three elders involved.

Once Meng Siqi let down her guard, she found that Wu Qianyun was indeed a very agreeable woman.

With six people suddenly in the house, even a large space suddenly felt cramped.

However, Meng Siqi didn’t stay for long and soon left.

Wu Xiucai was bound for Beijing, so they left together.

He Shan was very pleased and took exceptional care of the elders. After the train journey, he took Wu Xiucai to his home.

Wu Xiucai didn’t refuse, considering the respect for He Xiuyu and Qingyu.

Once Wu Xiucai was well settled in, Meng Siqi truly relaxed.

From now on, familial ties would be much easier to maintain.

Although Meng Siqi considered herself not to be opportunistic, she had to admit that acknowledging the relationship brought her significant benefits.

As the snow melted and life revived, not only did spring plowing begin, but the construction of the Cultural Palace library at the base also began. Zhou Hai was a man of capability, with more than one way up his sleeve to request funding.

The Cultural Palace received its funding, and construction began on the foundation; building materials would also gradually arrive by train at Tenghai Research Base.

Perhaps in the urgency to accomplish something, rumors spread that they were applying to build a television tower, taking advantage of the spring breeze with land permits, building materials, and support from fellow institutes at hand.

The news of the television tower construction excited the employees much more than the Cultural Palace did.