Quick Transmigration: The Mad Beauty Refuses to Be the Scapegoat!-Chapter 344 - 42: The Doomed Sister-in-law in the Group-Pampered Novel
Xie Yumian was extremely flustered, she rushed out without even wearing shoes to call for Lv Cuiping, but no matter how much she shouted there was no response from outside.
An indescribable panic and anger quickly spread, making her eyes red instantly, left at a loss yet itching with curiosity. Afraid that the gold bar might have the slightest mishap, she inadvertently made it disappear from right under her nose.
For more than two hours, Xie Yumian was restless, went out several times to look for Lv Cuiping but couldn’t find her, almost on the verge of tears when Lv Cuiping finally returned.
She finally came back!
Xie Yumian rushed over eagerly, her eyes glued to her, impatiently asking.
"Where is the gold? Where did it go? Did you take it?"
"What gold? Haven’t you been watching it all along? What’s happened to the gold? Tell me! What on earth happened!"
Seeing Xie Yumian’s thunderstruck expression, Lv Cuiping also panicked. She merely went out to have a chat with the blacksmith at the end of the village, planning to discreetly ask if there was a way to divide the gold into smaller pieces.
Indeed, she found a way, which was to melt the whole piece of gold into liquid and then soak it in cold water, but when she returned home, she saw Xie Yumian asking about the whereabouts of the gold as if she’d lost her soul.
Instantly, she looked as if she had lost a child, her eyes widened and her voice became urgent.
"What happened? The gold, it can’t be gone, right?"
Xie Yumian stared at her, her eyes frighteningly red, with a trace of suspicion that sent chills throughout Lv Cuiping’s body.
"Why are you looking at me like this, child? What’s wrong, do you think your mother swallowed it privately?"
Xie Yumian squatted on the ground, covering her face, took a deep breath, and then looked up at her.
"Then tell me, where’s the gold? I have searched every corner of the room and found nothing."
Lv Cuiping was also panicked, both anxious and helpless, but at this moment, what outweighed the loss of the gold was Xie Yumian’s questioning tone and suspicious eyes.
Her son and daughter-in-law quarreling after the family separation had already made her feel mentally paralyzed, yet not this sad.
"You must have gone silly, child, if the gold’s gone then go find it, blaming me does no good!"
Xie Yumian finally calmed down a bit, but not by much. That gold was going to change her fate. She had already envisioned a perfect future, and now being told that it was all going to turn into a bubble, how could she possibly accept it?
"Did you see anyone wandering around when you went out?"
Lv Cuiping also temporarily put aside the previous matter; the gold was important, money was important.
"I don’t remember... Oh right, the Jiang Family, Liu Yan brought her Jiang Jinbao over once, and they walked around our house for a whole circle! It must be them, they must have taken advantage of our inattention to come in and steal the gold!"
Xie Yumian stood up.
"Let’s go find them."
And just at this moment, Liu Yan, who was coming with Jiang Jinbao to find Jiang Lai, looked full of unwillingness at the Xie Family’s torn brick house. After going around and failing to find Jiang Lai, she intended to pour the bucket of muck she brought at their door. Instead, as she lowered her head, she spotted a speck of gold glimmering at the base of a wall corner.
She hurried over and brushed it aside, and upon seeing the contents, everything else was forgotten, grabbing her son and fleeing home at full speed.
Not long after, Jiang Lai came out.
Leaning against the wall, she looked at the hollowed-out spot in the corner with a leisurely smile on her face.
"You really pulled off an impressive move, one piece of gold seen by two gold-hungry people, now there’s a good show to watch."
Jiang Lai nodded.
"Ah, life in the village is too dull, I always have to find something to do."
Xie Jian had gone off on the tractor to collect goods. After working with Jiang Lai for more than a month, he was completely familiar with everything. He knew all too well what goods were at what prices and how much they could sell for when turned over.
The previously taciturn man had also become much more flexible thanks to this business; sometimes, when Jiang Lai was being lazy, he would take the tractor to collect goods himself early in the morning, earning four or five hundred if lucky, or one or two hundred if not.
The earning speed was so exaggerated that the goal Jiang Lai had set for becoming a ten-thousand-yuan household was achieved in less than a month, and it was still continuing to climb.
Xie Jian was clever and daring, proactively suggesting cooperation to the second-hand goods dealer boss, and not only did he collect himself, he also sold, found channels to refurbish, and then sold himself.
This model yielded higher profits, with goods bought at three-tenths or two-tenths of the price, refurbished for one-tenth more, and then sold at the original price, always in high demand.
Jiang Lai knew that Xie Jian had abilities—silent but not dull, cautious yet not timid, bold but not rash—besides the occasional sense of inferiority he showed around her, Xie Jian was already stable and composed enough when dealing in business outside.
He could handle it all alone; the initial goals were long achieved; the tasks which the original owner desired for a better life were already overfulfilled.
What was left was revenge.
These people were living a life too good; in the original storyline, this piece of gold was bound to be reported, and eventually, the original owner took the fall and became the object of everyone’s disgrace, while Xie Yumian not only washed her hands clean but also received a reputation for great righteousness.
Later on, Liu Yan pushed the original owner into ruin for a few hundred yuan, one pit after another, and no matter how strong the original owner was, she would eventually have times where she couldn’t get through.
Jiang Lai very much wanted these people to experience the feeling of having hurdles constantly appear before them—life can’t always go smoothly without inviting envy, she was the villain who couldn’t stand seeing these people live good lives.
Little Buding asked Jiang Lai.
"What do you think Xie Yumian will do?"
The gold was ownerless; whoever picked it up would keep it for themselves, and no one who picked it up would ever return it, not to mention Liu Yan, who could sell her daughter for a few hundred yuan.
Jiang Lai raised her eyebrows, speaking in an indifferent tone.
"What else can they do but split it equally, each taking half."
"Sure, whoever reports it will be done for; probably they’ll split it. What’s your plan?"
"Uneven distribution of stolen goods, or stolen goods lost, what situations do you think might occur?"
Little Buding let out a wicked chuckle.
"Such a cunning and deceitful woman."
"Likewise."
——
Xie Yumian and Lv Cuiping tracked down to Liu Yan’s house.
Just as Jiang Lai thought, both wanted to keep it all to themselves, but both feared being reported by the other, so they reached a consensus to split it evenly.
Xie Yumian was full of unwillingness, but had no way around it. Liu Yan was extremely greedy, so managing to negotiate half was the most reliable solution.
Now with both families eyeing one piece of gold, who would keep it safe was another problem.
Liu Yan wouldn’t let go, and Xie Yumian worried she might pull a stunt, so she straightforwardly stayed to watch.
Under Jiang Jinbao’s hateful yet covetous gaze, Xie Yumian only felt nauseated.
Jiang Jinbao knew he was beaten up for teasing Xie Yumian, and he was afraid; Xie Jian’s reputation was known by everyone, and Xie Yumian had three brothers, once this matter came out, the beating he would receive wouldn’t be a minor one.
Thus, he could only swallow this loss in silence.
