When Zhou Cheng called Kang Wei, Wei Juan Hong’s reaction was still unclear.

When Kang Wei went to the academy to collect what Zhou Cheng had given him, the news he brought back was half good and half bad:

“Mother Shi says if they don’t move to the factory-assigned housing, the whole family will return to their hometown. They’ll give up their jobs in the capital and go back to farming. In this situation, Sister-in-law Wei’s disagreement doesn’t matter. When I left, the Shi family was preparing to move… Brother Cheng, what about Sister-in-law Wei’s job?”

Making the Shi family move wasn’t Zhou Cheng’s real purpose. He just wanted to understand Wei Juan Hong better through the job transfer and relocation.

The current outcome disappointed Zhou Cheng. He would have preferred Wei Juan Hong to be straightforward, even if it meant showing her dislike for him – that would be better than the present situation.

What was she like now?

Zhou Cheng found it hard to describe, but she was different from how she appeared in her two letters.

In those letters, Wei Juan Hong’s tone was cautious, timidly expressing her thoughts. In reality, she wasn’t cautious at all, but rather silently stubborn.

No wonder Xiao Lan had come to argue about this matter. Zhou Cheng frowned:

“We won’t change it now. The cigarette factory isn’t owned by any of us – let her continue working in the office.”

Whether she performed well or not would be the result of her own choices.

An ordinary office clerk’s salary was much lower than that of a production line worker, but if Wei Juan Hong was content with it, nobody could do anything about it.

From what Kang Wei said, Wei Juan Hong was struggling in the office, but Zhou Cheng had no intention of helping voluntarily. He wanted to see if Sister-in-law Wei would write again. Without her explicitly asking for help with a job transfer, she might overthink his assistance… Even if Wei Juan Hong wrote again, Zhou Cheng didn’t plan to contact her directly. Future matters would still need to go through Mother Shi.

Mother Shi had never even attended literacy classes and couldn’t read, yet she was more reasonable than Wei Juan Hong.

Had he perhaps found what Xiao Lan called the bottom line?

Zhou Cheng handed the materials from Jiang Yan to Kang Wei:

“Give these to my father. Don’t concern yourself with the rest – he’ll probably contact me after reading them.”

Kang Wei was completely bewildered.

What could be so important that he was just being used as a messenger?

He had thought Zhou Cheng had a task for him, but if it was for Zhou Guo Bin to handle, it couldn’t be a small matter!

“This—”

“Don’t overthink it. It’s about Third Brother Pan’s previous matter. You’re not suited to be involved.”

Even if Kang Wei investigated, he wouldn’t find anything. Though Kang Wei had some money, he lacked the power to handle this matter.

Back then, the Jiang family had suppressed the incident, and after so much time, the traces had surely been cleaned up thoroughly. Zhou Cheng could only have his father investigate to see if they could uncover anything useful.

Kang Wei not only lacked the necessary resources but was also young and inexperienced, with insufficient judgment. He might fall into a trap set by the Jiang family!

Third Brother Pan’s matter had happened so long ago that Kang Wei thought Zhou Cheng had let it go, but now it seemed he was still hung up on it.

But Zhou Cheng had never mentioned it, and now suddenly handed him this folder – what was inside? Could it be evidence favorable to Third Brother Pan? Kang Wei’s expression turned strange: “Brother Cheng, I’ll follow your instructions and stay uninvolved, I know you wouldn’t harm me! But this thing you’ve got, you didn’t trade your good looks for it, did you?”

How could it be such a coincidence that a long-dormant matter suddenly resurfaces? Thinking back to seeing Jiang Yan last time, Kang Wei couldn’t help but speculate.

Jiang Yan was like a shadow, even following Zhou Cheng to the academy for advanced studies. Why would the academy suddenly offer a communications class open to female students? It was probably Jiang Yan’s scheme to get close to Brother Cheng.

Kang Wei didn’t believe Jiang Yan’s talk of “brotherly friendship” at all – how could women and men be brothers?

Zhou Cheng didn’t like the implications: “I notice you’re completely on Xiao Lan’s side now. Do you remember what you used to say?”

Kang Wei blushed. When they first met two years ago, he had advised Brother Cheng not to take things too seriously.

But why bring up old matters from ’83 to ’85? After knowing each other for almost two years, how could Kang Wei not understand Xiao Lan’s character? Sister-in-law Xiao Lan was the best – helping him make money in business, standing firm against Hong Kong merchants for his sake during the car accident… Xiao Lan was a competent sister-in-law who treated him sincerely, so of course he had to consider things from her perspective.

Jiang Yan had eagerly followed them to the academy, and Brother Cheng still had to stay there for over a year. With daily interaction, what if there was a slip-up and Jiang Yan succeeded?

Kang Wei was worried. Brother Cheng wouldn’t do anything to hurt Sister-in-law Xiao Lan, but he was too handsome, like a fragrant piece of Tang Monk’s flesh, always attracting female demons.

Kang Wei stuck his neck out:

“What did I say before? I didn’t say anything! Anyway, you need to be careful of Jiang Yan. Look at her brother Jiang Wu’s awful behavior – there’s something wrong with the Jiang family’s values!”

Zhou Cheng almost laughed in frustration: “Alright, get going now, this isn’t your business. If you’re bored, help your sister-in-law with more work. You need to watch the business in Peng City, right? Don’t let her have to manage the building materials store right after her exams. She and Uncle Liu have taken on a hotel renovation project – there’s plenty to do!”

It wasn’t that Xiao Lan couldn’t slow down; she had spread herself too thin.

Her studies at Hua Qing University took up most of her energy, and the remainder had to be divided between Blue Phoenix, Luna, the building materials store, and the South Sea Hotel renovation. Blue Phoenix was mainly managed by Liu Fen now, the building materials store had Bai Zhen Zhu, and Luna was overseen by Chen Xi Liang. Zhou Cheng estimated that this summer his wife would focus mainly on the South Sea Hotel renovation project.

It had been over four months since the car accident, and there was no need for Kang Wei to keep idling in Beijing. He could help with the building materials store, which would make things easier for Xiao Lan.

Kang Wei thought the same.

Shao Guang Rong was absorbed in his studies and barely involved in the building materials store’s affairs.

He had been recuperating these past few months and hadn’t been to Peng City.

As for Liu Yong, he was already busy with Yuan Hui’s business, bringing considerable business to the store – how could they ask for more?

Xiao Lan had agreed early on that she would only set the general direction and development policies. It was impossible to expect her to monitor every transaction at the building materials store – Hua Qing University wouldn’t approve of her frequently taking leave to conduct business.

Only Kang Wei had the most free time.

He really should go help now, especially since the second branch of ‘An Jia Building Materials’ was about to open!

Kang Wei stood at attention and saluted:

“I guarantee to complete the mission, I’ll take on all the dirty work myself, letting Sister-in-law Xiao Lan relax and earn money.”

Was being cheeky fun? Zhou Cheng kicked him:

“Less nonsense, more work.”

Kang Wei took the materials and prepared to leave smoothly. Since Xie Yun wouldn’t let him drive, he found it very inconvenient, having to ask someone to drive him here to Shi Jia Zhuang. Before leaving, Kang Wei heard cheering from the basketball court, with people shouting “Jiang Yan’s” name – apparently she had scored. Scoring was fine, but it seemed like deliberately drawing attention, trying to catch Brother Cheng’s notice.

People naturally have different levels of closeness, and Kang Wei, having already taken Xiao Lan’s side, was very wary of Jiang Yan’s presence.