Rebirth and making money first

Zhang Jing knew full well that she was no longer the person who had once been entangled with Huang Zhicheng. After all, that was just a fleeting emotion from her youth. As for her feelings for A-Long, while there might be love, it was definitely one-sided. If one keeps giving without receiving what is in return, then the outcome is self-evident.

When she got home, her mother was still awake and asked about the class reunion. Zhang Jing replied, "It's been years since we last met, and everyone has really changed. Huang Zhicheng also came back from Qingdao, and our classmates were still teasing us about it..."

Huang Zhicheng's mother was no stranger to him; she even knew his parents. When she spoke of the past, she recounted it with familiarity, saying, "His mother was very arrogant and ignored most people." However, over the years, the most talked-about topic in his family has been his younger brother.

It was said that his younger brother had a girlfriend. Because he always liked to go out drinking, every time his girlfriend gave him some advice, they would argue endlessly and even get physical. After each fight, his younger brother would immediately apologize. The girl lived alone with her grandmother. After experiencing this several times, the girl began to worry about the possibility of long-term domestic violence in the future, so she resolutely broke up with him.

However, Huang Laoer refused to give up. Perhaps because his repeated attempts to woo her had yielded no results, the girl was deeply disappointed and unwilling to give him another chance. She refused to accept his gifts and returned them all. Huang Laoer could not accept this outcome, filled with resentment and unwillingness. So, he made a drastic decision: he killed the girl. Ultimately, he was arrested and imprisoned, facing the death penalty.

Upon hearing the news, Huang Laoer's parents seemed to age dramatically overnight. Their hair turned white, and their backs grew hunched. Desperate to save their son's life, the family ran everywhere, offering gifts and pleading for mercy, hoping for a glimmer of hope. Finally, someone who understood the situation spoke to them, telling them the only solution was to seek a letter of forgiveness from the victim's family.

From then on, Huang Zhicheng began his tireless efforts. He continuously provided the old lady with rice, noodles, oil, fruits, vegetables, and other daily necessities. Furthermore, he often knelt before the old lady, sincerely acknowledging her as his own grandmother and solemnly vowing to care for her throughout her life and to provide for her until her death.

After several twists and turns and much effort, he finally got the old lady's letter of forgiveness as he wished. Zhang Jing always felt that Huang Zhicheng's behavior was a little strange. She suspected that he had done something wrong, so he kept spending money to make up for it. She felt that the money was being spent in an illusory way, which was confusing.

The students added a side note about the Huang family's activities. They spent an unknown amount of money to get Huang Laoer's sentence commuted from death penalty to suspended death penalty, then to life imprisonment, and finally to a fixed-term imprisonment. After a sentence reduction, he only had a few years left. Even more outrageous, he actually took a job as a grocer in prison, riding his tricycle to get groceries for the prison every day. "What's the difference between this and life outside?" the students lamented, demonstrating that money truly can control everything.

Zhang Jing returned home and told her mother about this. Her mother was so angry, "These people are so heartless, worse than animals! God will see, they will definitely get their retribution. You should have less contact with them in the future!" Zhang Jing nodded and agreed. It is better not to get involved in some things.

However, Huang Zhicheng clearly hadn't given up. The next day, he sent someone to call Zhang Jing again, saying that the classmates had chartered a car to go on a boat trip. Zhang Jing didn't want to go, but she couldn't resist the classmates' enthusiasm. They even prepared to send a car to pick her up. Zhang Jing couldn't refuse, so she simply agreed to go.

Once everyone got on the bus, Zhang Jing realized some people were carrying children. They chatted and laughed until they reached Xingkai Lake, a famous lake in northern Taiwan. The lake was enormous, and there were many people swimming.

Zhang Jing and the others went to change clothes first, while Jia Xiang, who wasn't in the water with the child, was in charge of watching over the children. Her child was five years old and looked different from other children, so Zhang Jing didn't ask too many questions.

After changing into swimsuits and emerging, Huang Zhicheng and the others had already rented a tire. The ruggedness of northerners was evident everywhere, and they had discarded their swim rings. Zhang Jing and Lin Binbin, who couldn't swim, were being cared for by Huang Zhicheng. Lin Binbin had already climbed onto the floating bed, and Zhang Jing had put on the tire. Everyone started having fun in the water.

Zhang Jing's hot body was envied by her female classmates and drew whistles from the males. Huang Zhicheng couldn't hide the determined desire in his eyes. Zhang Jing pretended not to notice and, tired from playing, went ashore to take a shower.

Lin Binbin asked Zhang Jing jealously, "I didn't think you had a good figure before. What did you eat to get this figure?" Zhang Jing smiled and said, "Your breasts are firm and not sagging. We can't even compare to you." Speaking of this, Lin Binbin said that to maintain her figure, she didn't give her son much breast milk. Of course, mainly because she didn't have much milk.

Liu Xiaoping didn't want to listen. She said, "As a mother, breastfeeding is natural for women. You're depriving your child of the opportunity to improve their immunity. If they're not in good health, their resistance will be reduced. And you're just doing it to maintain your figure. It's really speechless."

Lin Binbin was anxious. "How I raise my child is my business. You take care of yourself. My husband agrees. We use milk powder imported from Russia!"

Seeing the two people arguing, Zhang Jing hurriedly tried to stop them. "Stop it! You're just making fun of yourself."

After packing up, everyone could not hide their fatigue. Lin Binbin suggested that they go to her cousin's fishing spot and eat fish if they could catch them. So the whole car rushed to the countryside again.

Zhang Jing found a warm kang and lay down. A few male classmates went fishing, while the others chatted. Someone had also killed a large watermelon and invited everyone to eat. Zhang Jing didn't want to move, saying she'd caught a cold and was worried she'd catch a cold. So everyone was given brown sugar ginger water to drink, and Zhang Jing managed to chug down a bowl. Then she was called back to eat watermelon.

Huang Zhicheng and another male classmate were eating, while Zhang Jing and the other two were talking while eating. A little boy came in, and Zhang Jing offered him some watermelon, but he refused, saying, "Auntie, I want water." The male classmate teased him, "Watermelon is sweet, so you don't need water. Here's a piece for you."

The child continued to cry out, "I want some water." Zhang Jing called out to Jia Xiang outside, "Your son wants some water. Come get him some!" Jia Xiang pretended not to hear, so Zhang Jing had to find a cup and get some water for the child herself. The child finished drinking and ran out again.

Zhang Jing sat down to eat watermelon again. Seeing this, the big guy looked at Huang Zhicheng and then at Zhang Jing, "Should I make room for you two?" Seeing the big guy take a bite of the watermelon, Zhang Jing asked, "Do you like me? Why do you hide when you see me?", which successfully made the big guy choke on his trachea and cough up tears frantically.

Huang Zhicheng teased the big guy with a smile, "Why are you so excited? You're not going to let her say it right, are you?" The big guy's eyes widened, and he coughed so hard that he couldn't speak clearly. Zhang Jingyu was determined to shock him, "What are you afraid of? Your wife is chatting over there, and no one will tell her!"

"Brother, please, can we talk for a while?" Zhang Jing finally let him go. Lin Binbin also came in and said he had caught two big fish and was going to cook them for lunch. Huang Zhicheng and Da Ge wanted to go and see, but Zhang Jing said she needed to lie down for a while.

When she went out the door and saw Jia Xiang playing with the child, Zhang Jing asked her, "Your son wants to drink water. He has called you several times. Why don't you answer?" Jia Xiang disagreed, "As an aunt, you can't even pour a glass of water for the child?" Zhang Jing said, you are the child's mother. It is your job to take good care of him. Don't confuse the priorities.

Jia Xiang said, "I know. I'm just too tired and want to take a break. Don't mind me." Zhang Jing didn't argue with her and quickly went back to the room to lie down on the warm kang. The eldest wife was chatting with a female classmate. They talked about the quarrels between the husband and his wife. The husband always said that he would have chosen someone else if he had known.

Zhang Jing listened, half awake and dazed. She felt unwell and didn't want to talk or move. Then, a classmate, Fatty Tang, came in and called out to Zhang Jing, "I heard you don't want to do anything. You're complaining about pouring a glass of water for the kids? I'm not indulging you. You haven't done anything. Hurry up and get up, or I'll pull you out. Why are you just waiting to eat? We caught some fish after all."

Zhang Jing was baffled. She said she felt uncomfortable after going into the water and was just snuggling on the warm kang. It wasn't that she wasn't going to work; if she felt wronged, she could have quit. There was no need to make a big deal out of it.

Fatty Tang refused to give up and said, "Aren't you just a working girl? What's so great about you? I don't believe I can't cure you. If you don't get up, don't blame me for pulling you up."

Zhang Jing was completely furious. She grabbed the scissors on the kang, pointed at Fatty Tang and cursed, "What's wrong with a migrant worker girl? Is she eating your rice? I don't mind a bear saving a beautiful girl, but if you step on your aunt to get to the top, ask her if she agrees first? If you dare to touch me today, I'll let you pierce me. I really want to kill the barefoot guy who wears shoes!"

Da Ge's wife and another classmate hurriedly pulled the two apart. Da Ge and Huang Zhicheng, who had heard the quarrel, also rushed over to pull Fatty Tang apart. Fatty Tang yelled, "I've always disliked you since we were in school. Why are you so arrogant?" Zhang Jing retorted, "You talk like who likes you? You effeminate thing, I know you're jealous of me, but unfortunately, even if you dislike me, you can't get rid of me."

The big guy hurriedly said, "Say less, there's no good in insulting each other." Zhang Jing said, "Damn, today is really unlucky, I ran into someone who was bitten by a dog and didn't get a shot." Fatty Tang said, "You are the dog!" Zhang Jing said, "I am a dog, you are the mad dog, don't you have a mirror to look at yourself in? Take a piss and look at yourself carefully, see what you have become? Don't you think you have embezzled public funds and are rich and powerful and want to show off in front of me? I advise you to stop daydreaming!"

Fatty Tang was furious upon hearing this and was dragged away by three male classmates. Zhang Jing lay down exhausted again, and soon Lin Binbin and the big guy came over to ask what was going on. "You're so awesome! Fatty Tang is furious. He said he's done with you and won't go anywhere you're around," Lin Binbin praised Zhang Jing. The big guy told her not to make things worse, saying that it's not easy for classmates to get together, so they should cherish it.

Zhang Jing said, "If someone respects me an inch, I will respect them a yard." This person is unacceptable. Da Ge's wife also came in and told her what had happened. Da Ge and Lin Binbin both said that Fatty Tang was too much and told Zhang Jing not to take it seriously.

Zhang Jing said, "He just looks down on me, a migrant worker. So what?" "I don't steal, rob, or sell anything. I live honestly through work. How can I bother him?" "If I had known I wouldn't have come. Wouldn't it be nice to just lie at home?"

Lin Binbin said, okay, we have to be merciful when we are right.