At this point, she quickly shut her mouth.
Before Wang Guifen could react, Lin Zhilan opened the door from the inside.
Lin Zhilan still remembered the contents of the book.
The Zhou family took Zhou Chen's pension and accepted Su Lang's money, suddenly living in infinite glory and becoming the wealthiest family in the village.
This time, it must be the commune delivering Zhou Chen's pension.
Zhao Jinbao, who was originally in a hurry to leave, went weak in the knees the moment he saw Lin Zhilan.
He hadn't had many years of schooling and didn't know how to describe it.
In short, she was gorgeous! Beautiful!
Her skin was tender and fair, like tofu. Although she was bundled up tightly in her clothes, one could still tell she had an excellent, curvaceous figure.
How should he put it?
Men could only use one word to describe her: a fairy!
"Did you say someone from the commune is here?" Lin Zhilan stared at Wu Li and asked.
Wu Li rolled her eyes. "Yes, but what the hell does it have to do with you!"
Lin Zhilan didn't reply. She turned around, carried her daughter out, and headed toward the Zhou family's house.
Wang Guifen hurriedly followed.
Zhao Jinbao, knowing nothing of what was going on, also followed foolishly.
The Zhou family's courtyard was already surrounded by a crowd of people.
Chen Jin was the section chief of the commune's civil affairs department. He had come this time to distribute the pension.
This was not a good thing; every pension meant a soldier had sacrificed his life on the battlefield.
Old Man Zhou was just about to press his thumbprint when a crisp female voice rang out from outside, "Wait a minute!"
The crowd turned around, saw it was Lin Zhilan, and quickly made a path for her.
Chen Jin gasped inwardly, not expecting to see such a beauty in the countryside.
She looked exactly like someone out of a book.
"Leader," Lin Zhilan looked around, locking her eyes on Chen Jin, "according to the rules, who should receive this pension?"
Hearing this, Wang Guifen immediately pushed through the crowd and rushed in, cursing, "You're crazy for money! Zhou Chen is my son; of course, I am the one to collect his pension!"
Chen Jin had seen plenty of this sort of thing. He asked Lin Zhilan, "What is your relationship to Comrade Zhou Chen?"
"I am his wife," Lin Zhilan pointed to her daughter, "and this is our daughter."
Chen Jin nodded. "According to regulations, this pension should be shared between you and your daughter, and Zhou Chen's parents."
Lin Zhilan breathed a sigh of relief. With the leader's words, she felt reassured.
"Leader, my parents-in-law have already separated my daughter and me from the family household. Please, could you divide the money for us right now?"
"No!" Wang Guifen shouted. "My son's pension belongs to the Zhou family. It has nothing to do with you, a Lin!"
Lin Zhilan said, "What you say doesn't count. We have to listen to the leader."
Wang Guifen quickly said to Chen Jin, "Leader, just give the money to me. My daughter-in-law is going to remarry soon anyway."
The onlookers immediately began murmuring among themselves.
The man who had been brought over by the matchmaker earlier showed a smug smile on his face. Before he could speak, he heard Lin Zhilan say from inside, "I have no intention of remarrying right now."
"What do you mean you don't? I've already brought the man here."
Zhao Jinbao took the opportunity to squeeze out from the crowd.
"Zhilan, stop making a fuss. How much could a pension be? Come home with me, and I'll treat you to the finest food and drinks."
"Leader, listen to this," Wang Guifen hurriedly said. "He even said so himself."
Lin Zhilan said with a cold face, "I don't know him. When I say I won't marry, I won't marry. If you dare force me, I'll report you for human trafficking!"
Wang Guifen glared. "You little tramp, do you think you can scare me? Men and women getting married, how does that count as human trafficking?!"
Her ferocious appearance frightened Little Linlin, who buried her face in her mother's embrace.
Lin Zhilan patted her. "If I don't agree, then it is human trafficking!"
"You...!"
"Alright! Enough!"
Chen Jin interrupted Wang Guifen. From their conversation just now, he had already grasped the general situation.
The mother-in-law wanted to monopolize the pension and marry off her daughter-in-law to collect a bride price.
The daughter-in-law didn't want to marry just anyone; she only wanted to take back the portion that belonged to her and her daughter.
"This matter isn't up to you to decide who gets it. The state has regulations; parents, spouses, and children all have the right to a share. There's no need to argue. According to the rules, it will be divided into three parts: one for the parents, one for the wife, and one for the daughter."
Lin Zhilan agreed. Zhou Chen was the son of the Zhou family, and she had no intention of keeping the entire pension for herself.
But Wang Guifen, of course, couldn't possibly agree.
She froze for a moment, then flopped onto the ground, slapping her thighs and wailing, "There's no justice! This jinx of a mother and daughter cursed my son to death, and now they're coming to steal my family's money! Oh, Heavens! Why don't you just take their lives instead!"
Lin Zhilan frowned and covered her daughter's ears.
Chen Jin ignored her completely and asked Lin Zhilan to press her thumbprint on the document.
Just as Lin Zhilan was about to press it, Wang Guifen scrambled up from the ground and swatted the inkpad box off the table.
"What are you doing!"
Chen Jin picked up the inkpad from the ground with heartache, blew the dirt off it, and said sternly, "Do you know this is state property!"
Wang Guifen felt a flash of fear but then puffed out her chest again.
"Leader, if Lin Zhilan remarries, does that mean she can't take this money?"
Chen Jin: "But she hasn't remarried yet..."
"I've already brought the man here."
"She hasn't agreed to marry, so she hasn't!" Chen Jin said in a deep voice. "Don't cause unreasonable trouble here. If you cause any more disruption, I'll call the police to arrest you and lock you up for a few days!"
Wang Guifen: "The police even meddle in family affairs?"
Chen Jin scoffed coldly. "Didn't you hear? Someone wants to sue you for human trafficking."
Wang Guifen gritted her teeth and shot a vicious glare at Lin Zhilan, but she truly didn't dare to make a fuss anymore.
If she were really arrested by the police, not only would the family's reputation be ruined, but she would also be sent to a farm for labor reform.
The pension totaled over eight hundred yuan in various bills. Aside from the 600 yuan from the military, the rest was pooled together by his leaders and comrades-in-arms.
Chen Jin divided it into three portions and handed them to Lin Zhilan and Old Man Zhou.
With Wang Guifen making such a huge scene just now, Old Man Zhou hadn't said a single word, as if he were invisible.
Chen Jin glanced at him, knowing that this was Old Man Zhou's tacit approval.
Alas, it was someone else's family affair, and he didn't want to interfere too much.
After the money was divided and the thumbprints were pressed, Lin Zhilan took the money and prepared to carry her daughter home, only to be blocked by the man who had been waiting at the door.
"Zhilan," the man licked his lips. "Have you thought it over?"
"I'm not considering it. Just leave."
"Hey..." The man stepped forward, trying to grab her hand.
"What are you doing!" Chen Jin shouted. "Hurry up and get out of the way!"
Chen Jin was a veteran, naturally exuding an aura of righteousness.
The man was a bit scared and didn't dare to pester her further, so he ran out first.
He and Wang Guifen shared the same thought: the monk can run away, but the temple cannot.
Lin Zhilan lived here; he had plenty of time to slowly wear her down.
Seeing that Lin Zhilan was a widow with an orphaned child, Chen Jin escorted her to her doorstep and urged, "You have a large sum of money on you now. Be careful in your daily life."
