"Ma Da, for this trip abroad, you must remember, once you obtain the item, you must protect it well. Whatever it is, it must be brought back intact."
"Yes, Miss!"
"Yun Cheng, I've already arranged for the special 2-billion fund to be transferred. Uncle Zhu is looking after things on the BS side, so the procedures should be easy to handle. Since you're overseeing operations there, aside from the matters related to Wanlong Plaza and Wanlong Supermarket, you must also ensure proper supervision of the schools we donated and are building. If there's any problem with even one school's construction, it will cause significant negative impact on our Wanlong Hui Group."
"If anyone dares to cut corners, you know what to do, right?"
"Understood! Our Wanlong Hui is a legitimate company!"
"Hmm!"
"..........."
Afterwards, Liu Yutong discussed the relevant details with them meticulously.
Meanwhile, at the home of their neighbor, Auntie Zhang, in apartment 502 across the hall.
Auntie Zhang had just put the groceries she bought into the kitchen when her son, Huang Daqiang, walked out of the bedroom yawning to use the bathroom. He had worked the night shift and only returned in the morning.
"Mom, I thought I heard some noise across the hall just now? Did someone come to 501?" Huang Daqiang asked through a yawn.
"Yes, Ya Ya is back, along with the young lady who adopted her. They brought people to pack things up, saying they're taking Ya Ya to live in Pearl City."
Auntie Zhang sighed: "Ah, that child Ya Ya, her fate is truly bitter... Thankfully, she met good people."
Hearing this, Huang Daqiang's eyes shifted. He walked over and lowered his voice: "Mom, is it that very young and pretty girl you mentioned last time?"
Auntie Zhang nodded: "Yes, why?"
Huang Daqiang: "Mom, I think this is a bit fishy. Why would such a young woman specifically adopt a burden like Ya Ya? You know the situation with Ya Ya's family."
Auntie Zhang was taken aback: "What do you mean?"
"This old apartment, for instance!"
Huang Daqiang wore an expression that said "how can you not understand" and continued: "Although our neighborhood is a bit remote, it's still an apartment, worth at least two or three hundred thousand, right? And that car accident involving Ya Ya's dad, the driver was caught, so there must be some compensation money, right? That adds up to quite a sum."
"Ya Ya is so young, she's now the sole heir. That apartment, that compensation money, wouldn't it all go to that woman? Those people, I'd say eight or nine out of ten, are after that. They call it adoption, but in reality, they're after Ya Ya's assets."
Listening to her son's analysis, Auntie Zhang also felt there might be some truth to it. But when she came to her senses, she immediately flared up, jabbing her son's forehead hard: "What nonsense are you spouting?!"
"What filthy thoughts do you have in your head all day? That young lady is clearly not an ordinary person! Her demeanor, her entourage, does she look like someone lacking a few hundred thousand or a million? I think she genuinely cares for Ya Ya! That day at the accident scene, you didn't see the way she looked at Ya Ya, like looking at her own little sister. If you keep making up stories, I'll tear your mouth shut!"
Huang Daqiang shrunk his neck from the scolding but still wasn't convinced: "You can't judge a person by their appearance. These days, what won't people do for money? Mom, let me tell you, yesterday afternoon there were a few people sneaking around downstairs asking about Ya Ya's family, really detailed questions too, like who else is in the family, whose name is on the apartment deed, and so on."
Auntie Zhang immediately became alert: "What kind of people?"
Huang Daqiang shook his head: "Don't know them. They didn't look like good people, all of them sharp-faced and shifty-eyed."
"I was just about to leave for work, and they asked me if I knew Ya Ya. I deliberately said I didn't, and they left. I figure they're probably some distant relatives from Ya Ya's dad's side or her mom's side, who heard about Ya Ya's dad's accident and, thinking Ya Ya is young, want to take advantage and grab the family assets."
Auntie Zhang's heart sank.
Both of Ya Ya's parents were only children, and the older generation was gone too, but there were indeed some distant relatives who had long stopped keeping in touch.
The reason was simple: they were afraid of being asked for money and looked down on them for being poor.
For them to suddenly show up now, they definitely had ill intentions.
"These people are truly wicked!"
"When Ya Ya's parents were alive, they never offered a bit of help. Now that they're gone, they're eyeing their property."
"Exactly!"
Huang Daqiang: "So I'm saying, the people across the hall might also be..."
"You're still saying it!"
Auntie Zhang glared at him: "Go do your business! Less gossiping!"
Huang Daqiang went to the bathroom sullenly.
The more Auntie Zhang thought about it, the more uneasy she felt. Although this matter had nothing to do with her, she had watched Ya Ya grow up after all. Coupled with her sense of justice acting up, she felt uncomfortable all over.
After thinking it over, she decided to go across the hall and warn that young lady, so Ya Ya wouldn't really be taken away.
After all, legally speaking, Ya Ya's relatives would indeed have a stronger claim to custody than someone with no blood relation.
However, as if on cue, the very thing she feared happened.
Just as Auntie Zhang thought about going to the opposite door to talk, a clamor of voices and footsteps suddenly came from the stairwell.
"This is the place, 501. I told you! Someone's definitely here, Ya Ya must be back!"
"Hurry! Don't let that girl be taken away by someone else. She's a descendant of our Jing family, she should be raised by us, the Jings!"
Auntie Zhang's heart immediately skipped a beat, and she quickly opened her door.
She saw five or six people coming up the stairs. Leading them were a couple around fifty years old. The man was dark and thin, wearing a tank top and loose shorts. The woman had permed wavy hair and wore bright red lipstick.
Following behind them were a few slightly younger men and women, each wearing an expression of impatient eagerness.
They were none other than Ya Ya's father's elder brother, Jing Fu, and his wife, Wang Jinhua—Ya Ya's almost estranged uncle and aunt—along with their son, daughter-in-law, and others.
Ya Ya's surname was a rather uncommon one: Jing. Her given name was Yao.
"What are you doing?" Auntie Zhang stepped out, blocking the stairway.
Wang Jinhua put her hands on her hips, sizing up Auntie Zhang: "Well, look who it is, it's Sister Zhang. We're here to pick up our Ya Ya, to take her home. What are you, an outsider, blocking the way for?"
"Take Ya Ya home?"
Auntie Zhang spoke without any courtesy: "What kind of family are you to Ya Ya? When Ya Ya's parents were alive, we wouldn't see you once all year. Now that they're gone, you show up? I think you're a weasel paying New Year's respects to a chicken—harboring no good intentions!"
Ya Ya's uncle, Jing Fu, darkened his face: "Sister Zhang, that's not right to say. No matter what, I am Ya Ya's father's own elder brother, her proper uncle. Her parents are gone, who will take care of her if not us elders? Should we just let her be taken away by some shady characters?"
"Exactly!"
Wang Jinhua shrilly chimed in, "We've heard all about it! Some woman from who-knows-where wants to take Yaya away. Who knows what she really is? What if she's a child trafficker? Our Jing family's child cannot be left to drift out there. Where's Yaya? Bring her out, she's coming with us! And this house needs looking after too; we can't let outsiders get their hands on it for nothing!"
"Move!" she said, stepping forward to push Auntie Zhang aside.
Auntie Zhang stood her ground. "Not a chance! Yaya's already been properly adopted by a decent family who treats her very well. We don't need your fake concern here. Seems to me you're just after Yaya's family house and that compensation money!"
"Bullshit!"
A slovenly young man pointed at Auntie Zhang and cursed, "You old hag, don't be so ungrateful! This is our family's business, what right does an outsider like you have to interfere? Get lost! Or I'll make you sorry!"
Auntie Zhang shot back, "Who are you calling an old hag? Where are your manners? This is my doorstep, I'll stand here if I want to, what's it to you? Go ahead, try and hit me!"
"You're all grown adults trying to snatch a child's property! Is there no law anymore?!"
"The law? I am the law!"
Jing Fu, emboldened by their numbers, started throwing his weight around. "Today, we are taking Yaya, no two ways about it! And hand over the keys to this house! For all we know, you're in cahoots with that woman, trying to swallow up our Jing family's property together."
"Yeah! Hand over Yaya! Hand over the keys!"
The others joined in the shouting. Just as a shoving match was about to break out, Huang Daqiang, who had heard the commotion from the toilet, rushed out pulling up his pants, fuming with anger.
"What's going on! What's going on! Looking for a fight? Picking on people right at their own doorstep?!"
"Let me tell you something, don't think you can bully people just because there's more of you! I know plenty of folks. Keep this up, and I'll make a call to get my people down here!"
Yaya's cousin, Jing Hu, burst out laughing upon hearing this.
"Hahaha! You? Getting your people?"
"You have any idea who you're talking to? I'm from the streets! You know Scarface from XX Street? That's my boss! I can have dozens of guys here with one phone call. You'd better wise up and get lost!"
