Chapter 308
When they lifted the thick curtain hanging at the door and walked inside, they brought with them the cold chill of the wind and snow.
Jiang Xinyue sat down next to Su Xiaoxiao and said with some relief, “It’s a good thing you’re taking the train to Shanghai today. Starting tomorrow, there’s going to be a sudden temperature drop, down to minus seven or eight degrees, and they’re even predicting heavy snowfall.”
“We’re really lucky this time. If we were leaving tomorrow, the roads might have been closed,” Su Xiaoxiao’s big round eyes widened with relief. She was glad they had already taken care of everything. Any delay, and they might have been stuck.
Jiang Xinyue smiled. “No rush. Generally, the railway only closes on the second or third day after it drops to minus five degrees. Otherwise, your train might have been stuck in the northeast before even getting out.”
“Will you still need to go to work at the recycling station if it snows heavily?” Su Xiaoxiao asked with some concern.
She didn’t want Jiang Xinyue, who was pregnant and had just found a job, to face any danger commuting in such weather.
Jiang Xinyue smiled and shook her head. “I don’t have to go every day. Just once on the weekend, and another time on the day they transport the recycling each week.”
In their area, when it snowed, the snow could cover a person’s knees. It would be tough for anyone to go to work daily, let alone a pregnant woman.
“That’s good,” Su Xiaoxiao breathed a sigh of relief.
Her gaze shifted, eventually landing on Hua Shoucheng. According to what happened in the previous life, his trouble would occur in the month they returned. It would probably happen in about two weeks. But the plotting against him wouldn’t happen all at once. She wondered how to bring it up without being too abrupt.
“Xiaoxiao, do you have something you want to tell me?” Hua Shoucheng noticed her hesitating and took the initiative to ask, thinking she might be too shy to speak up.
Su Xiaoxiao pursed her lips before finally speaking, “I just think that since you’re living in the family compound and Xinyue found a job even though she’s pregnant, people might start getting suspicious or jealous and try to trip you up.”
Seeing Hua Shoucheng and Jiang Xinyue looking a bit puzzled, she elaborated, “It’s not easy to find work right now, and even if you do, people consider the pay pretty decent. Since you two are so young, they might suspect something or think you paid for the job. And since you’re working as an accountant, they might imagine all sorts of things.
Also, in any group, there are always a few troublemakers who love to report others. If someone complains to the factory, they might audit all the accounts you’ve handled since you started. Even a small discrepancy could lead to punishment, given how seriously the factory would take a report like that.”
As soon as Su Xiaoxiao finished, the others’ expressions turned grim. Her reasoning made too much sense, and there was a high chance it could happen.
Hua Shoucheng thought for a moment and then said, “I’ll quietly start reviewing the accounts I’ve handled. I’ll check some before the New Year and some after. It won’t add too much to my workload.”
He knew it had to be done discreetly. If others found out he was reviewing accounts, they might suspect him of trying to cover up fraudulent activity.
“Thank you for doing this,” Jiang Xinyue said, looking at her husband with concern.
“It’s no trouble at all. Just a bit of extra work to ensure our family’s smooth future,” Hua Shoucheng smiled, holding her hand before turning to Su Xiaoxiao with gratitude. “Sister-in-law, thank you so much. We hadn’t thought about this at all.”
Especially since they didn’t just buy one job. There were already rumors in the compound when Yexun brought back the washing machine from Beijing. At the time, he hadn’t thought much of it, believing that the truth would prevail. But when multiple issues pile up, even the innocent can have dirt thrown on them.
“No problem, I was just thinking about it and got worried,” Su Xiaoxiao replied, waving her hand modestly but feeling a sense of relief inside.
Fortunately, she found a reasonable way to bring it up. As long as her brother-in-law hadn’t made any mistakes, they wouldn’t repeat the disaster of the previous life. And if it was just a matter of being plotted against, it wouldn’t take long for the issue to surface. Based on the timeline from the last life, they could monitor things once they returned from Shanghai and prevent any problems.
After lunch, Su Xiaoxiao didn’t head straight to the train station. Instead, she went to the post office to send gifts to Old Mr. Zhang and Old Mrs. Wang. Then she called the Zhang family in Beijing.
Coincidentally, Old Mr. Zhang answered. He was surprised to hear from Su Xiaoxiao. “Xiaoxiao, why are you calling today? Are you in trouble? Tell Grandpa, and I’ll make sure to help you solve it.”
Old Mr. Zhang was so anxious on the other end of the line that he couldn’t wait to hear more from Su Xiaoxiao before asking.
Su Xiaoxiao was momentarily taken aback and then smiled sheepishly. “Grandpa Zhang, I’m fine. I just wanted to let you and Grandma Wang know that I’m going to Shanghai with my brother and Yexun for the New Year. I was afraid you might worry if you didn’t hear from me, so I called to let you know.”
“Going home for the New Year? Is Jiang going to Shanghai to propose?” Old Mr. Zhang teased, relieved.
Su Xiaoxiao’s face turned bright red, and she responded softly, feeling embarrassed.
Old Mr. Zhang laughed heartily on the other end. “Good, good, good! That boy’s pretty decent, and he’s shown proper respect. Our Xiaoxiao wasn’t wronged. When you get to Shanghai, call us again. If you have time, come to Beijing to see me and your Grandma Wang.”
“Okay. Our travel papers are good until mid-March, so we can visit Beijing after the snow melts in the northeast,” Su Xiaoxiao quickly agreed.
She not only wanted to confirm if Peng Huijing was who she suspected but also wanted to verify her brother’s true identity.
Besides, it would just be a brief stop on their train journey, and she could stay with her brother for a few more days in Dai City. Once she returned to the Hong Feng Production Team, she wouldn’t have to work in the fields, but it wouldn’t be appropriate to drag Yexun all over the place all the time.
After all, he was destined to become China’s richest man in the future. She couldn’t have him neglect his business just to accompany her everywhere because she missed her parents and brother.