RYEY -Chapter 303 Encountering Zhao Jing

The Zhao family had already fallen into ruin. Wu Ren didn’t worry about them bouncing back. Without their meager wages, they didn’t even have a place to stay. He was curious to see how they would survive.

Zhao Hui flicked his sleeve, turned around elegantly, and left—he didn’t even bother taking the cup on his desk. He went straight to find Cheng Qiao, who was helping Qin Yue move.

Qin Yue looked at the now cozy courtyard house, her eyes glistening with a hint of tears. She had a good relationship with Zhao Min, and she had even helped arrange this courtyard house before.

“Cheng Qiao, we’ll just stay in the west wing. Nobody will touch your mother’s room except you,” she said.

Cheng Qiao nodded. The west wing had two rooms—Zhao Qijun lived at school, Zhao Qiming had already returned to the northwest, and her uncle had to travel frequently. It was plenty of space for her alone.

Zhao Hui had taken a box of gold bars south. Cheng Qiao, having a little free time, accompanied Qin Yue to check out some shops. She suggested Qin Yue rent small storefronts near schools—students would always be the main consumers.

Qin Yue nodded. They first went to the entrance of Peking University. Small food stalls had already set up nearby, business looked booming. Everyone felt the spring of reform blowing, and clever people were already trying to grab their first pot of gold.

“Qiao, my elder cousin works here, and Zhao Xiaobao and Zhao Xiaobei also got into this school,” Qin Yue said.

“I know. Sometimes uncle even calls or writes letters to Uncle Zhao —they’re like brothers. I wonder if we’ll run into this pair of siblings today,” Cheng Qiao said.

However, they didn’t meet Zhao Xiaobao and Zhao Xiaobei. Instead, they saw Zhao Jing and Zhao Ying. The sisters had been admitted to Peking University’s nursing program and would be assigned to major hospitals after graduation.

Unlike the undergraduate program, the nursing program had an earlier enrollment and lasted only three years. So the sisters were there to register and unexpectedly ran into Cheng Qiao and Qin Yue at the gate.

“Cheng Qiao! What a coincidence!”

The sisters ran over excitedly at the sight of Cheng Qiao, but they looked down on Qin Yue, a minor employee at a small unit—useless to them.

Qin Yue didn’t mind. Back before the family split, Zhao Guodong and Zhao Guojian regarded Zhao Hui as a thorn, fearing he would claim too much of the Zhao family fortune.

After Zhao Min got into trouble, the patriarch decisively split the family, dividing the property into three parts—Zhao Kun and Zhao Chen each got one, and he kept one for himself.

When the patriarch passed away, he left all the property to Zhao Chen. From then on, the two brothers were completely estranged and never met again before dying.

So Zhao Jing and Zhao Ying ignoring Qin Yue was perfectly normal in her eyes. She would have done the same. But Cheng Qiao was also Zhao Chen’s descendant—why were they so friendly with her?

“I’m here to find Xiaobei and Xiaobao—they’re also studying at this school,” Cheng Qiao said.

Hearing Zhao Xiaobei and Zhao Xiaobao, Zhao Ying and Zhao Jing fell silent. Born from the same root, yet such a huge difference—they were undergraduates while the siblings were junior college students, half a level lower.

Moreover, the sisters still occupied half of Zhao Xiaobei and Zhao Xiaobao’s housing. Jealousy flared, and the atmosphere seemed to stiffen instantly.

“You two go register; we’ll wander around nearby,” Cheng Qiao waved and said goodbye. But Zhao Jing suddenly approached, linking arms with Cheng Qiao, her voice coy:

“Cheng Qiao, can’t you lend us some money?”

Cheng Qiao paused. “Doesn’t the school give subsidies?”

“Eight yuan a month—it’s not enough to buy a single bedsheet. Our bedding is too old; we’ll be laughed at if we bring it to school.”

Cheng Qiao shook her head. In her previous life, university students in Chun City scavenged at scrap stations for bedding—nobody cared about appearances; this was just vanity.

“Sorry, I don’t have money either. You know I have five kids to support. I can’t waste a single cent. You should ask someone else.”

Zhao Jing released Cheng Qiao’s arm but scanned her clothes: a small floral cotton jacket, black cotton pants, shell cotton shoes, and even a floral cotton hat—so tacky.

“Really? I thought being Ye Jun’s apprentice, you’d have it a bit easier. Turns out you’re still so poor. I misjudged you.”

Cheng Qiao smiled. Let her misjudge—better than pretending to be rich and having nothing. She said nothing and gently nodded, pulling Qin Yue to leave.

Zhao Ying’s eyes flickered. She had just noticed Cheng Qiao’s wrist, which revealed a sparkling watch—so all that shabby dressing was an act to appear poor.

The Zhao family patriarch had left most assets to the eldest uncle. Who knew how much was left after ten turbulent years? At least Zhao Jing’s family had nothing, and her own father was a gambler—he would try to double ten yuan and lose, ending up trading even his cotton jacket.

Zhao Ying inhaled deeply. Cheng Qiao must have money; otherwise, she wouldn’t dare stay in Beijing with several children. Slowly, she would gain her trust and eventually be able to access her wealth.

The sisters entered the school with their packages. Meanwhile, Qin Yue successfully found a storefront—but it was only for sale, not rent.

“Do you have property deeds?”

“Of course. If you buy, I’ll show them; otherwise, don’t bother.”

The landlord held up the deed. Cheng Qiao immediately saw that someone must have abandoned the property, maybe the previous owner had died. Fearful of bad luck, they sold it instead of living there.

“How much?”

“Five thousand.”

Cheng Qiao pulled Qin Yue to leave. A tiny twenty-square-meter room—how could anyone ask for five thousand?

The landlord hurried to stop them, slightly annoyed: “Little girls, you ran off before I finished! Five thousand for three rooms—is that expensive?”

“Three rooms? Which three?”

“The left, the right, and this one. All three together.”

Cheng Qiao turned to see the other two rooms, layouts identical, roughly the same size. Two walls in the middle were clearly built by this person.

“Three thousand.”

“Four thousand five.”

“Three thousand five.”

“Four thousand, I really won’t go lower.”

“Deal.”

Landlord: “…I should’ve held out at four thousand five.”

That afternoon, Qin Yue proudly carried the freshly obtained property deed, happily pulling Cheng Qiao home. She planned to cook some delicious dishes for Cheng Qiao as a treat.

“You’ll register in a couple of days. Freshmen live on campus the first year. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of your boys—you just focus on studying.”

“Thank you, Auntie.”

“Don’t mention it. In the Zhao family’s main house, it’s just your uncle and your mother. We’re family; we have to stick together, otherwise the second branch will come and bully us.”