Chapter 89

If it had been anyone else causing a scene under these circumstances, the Lu family would have already lost their temper. But the old man speaking now was none other than the renowned Mr. Li, whose reputation was internationally acclaimed—offending him was simply out of the question for the Lu family.

The fact that they had managed to invite Mr. Li to attend their exhibition this time was already a stroke of immense good fortune—like the ancestors of the Lu family blessing them from the grave.

Even if Mr. Li raised doubts, the Lu family heir couldn’t say anything unpleasant. He could only smile and explain:

“This is our family heirloom. It’s indeed extremely clear and transparent—very rare in the world. If you’re willing, Mr. Li, please take a closer look.”

“Alright.”

Mr. Li didn’t refuse. Leaning on his cane, he stepped forward.

At his current status and age, only truly exceptional jadeite pieces could barely catch his interest.

The transparency of jadeite was a key factor in determining its value—the clearer and more flawless it was, the rarer and more precious it became.

The piece of imperial green jadeite on display now seemed to be the pinnacle of transparency—so beautiful it stunned everyone present.

After examining it closely with a serious expression, Mr. Li glanced at the Lu family members with a complicated look and then quietly said:

“If this old man isn’t mistaken, this should just be an ordinary piece of glass.”

“What?”

The head of the Lu family immediately stepped forward. He had originally planned to let his son handle everything today to get him used to managing such affairs, but he never expected something this major to happen.

Mr. Li took another careful look and, in a tone far more certain than before, continued:

“This is definitely just glass!”

Given the gravity of the situation, the Lu family patriarch momentarily forgot to show Mr. Li proper respect and instinctively questioned:

“You’re already so old—how can you be sure you’re right about this?”

Mr. Li’s temper flared at that remark. He frowned and replied:

“There are many things this old man might not dare claim certainty over, but I’ve been dealing with jade since I was three—over seventy years now. How could I possibly not be able to tell jade from glass?”

The Lu family patriarch immediately summoned their professional appraisers, hoping to clear their name in front of the crowd.

Their store had been struggling to produce quality jadeite from raw stones recently, and they hadn’t received new materials in a while. On top of that, their jade carving master had been poached by another business. Many in Haicheng had already started questioning their credibility.

If they couldn’t use this exhibition to turn things around, then from now on, whenever someone mentioned the Lu family, doubt would be the first reaction.

If people continued to buy jade from them, they’d probably wonder if it was just glass, destroying the good reputation they had worked so hard to build over the years.

The professional appraisers, all wearing gloves, inspected the jadeite and each shook their heads.

The assistant beside the Lu family patriarch quickly supported his arm and hurriedly fed him his regular medication, just barely helping him stay on his feet.

“Impossible. This is absolutely impossible.”

The Lu family heir, no longer as arrogant as before, rushed forward to inspect it as well. He could now see for himself—this jadeite, which his father had regarded as a family treasure, was indeed nothing more than a worthless piece of glass.

Mr. Li had become more temperamental with age, and after encountering such a situation, he left in anger. The Lu family patriarch didn’t even have the mind to go after him.

Seeing the guests all whispering amongst themselves, his face turned ashen. He understood this incident had severely damaged the Lu family’s reputation and strength.

“It was you! You must have tampered with it behind our backs! I’m calling the police—you stole our priceless jadeite!”

Facing the accusation from the Lu family heir, Ji Chenbiao simply shrugged and replied:

“I’ve been here from the start and haven’t gone anywhere near the place where your jadeite was stored. Don’t go around making baseless accusations.”

“If you want to call the police, go ahead. I’m sure this place has surveillance cameras—they’ll prove my innocence.”

The Lu family heir had been certain it was Ji Chenbiao behind the sabotage, but now, seeing how calm he was, he started to doubt. Meanwhile, his father was desperately trying to recall where exactly he had bought that imperial green jadeite.

“It was Mr. Zhou! Mr. Zhou sold it to me! He must have done it on purpose and sold me a fake!”

Ji Chenbiao, who had been about to leave, paused when he heard that familiar name.

From what he knew of Mr. Zhou, he would never sell a counterfeit item.

“Well, lucky I happened to be in town for a business trip today. Otherwise, would that false accusation have landed on my head?”

A familiar voice came from the doorway. Mr. Zhou, dressed in a black suit, entered with the dust of travel still on him—it was obvious he had just arrived.

“You were the one who sold me this jadeite! You said it was top-grade imperial green!”

By now, the Lu family patriarch had lost all his usual composure. One incident after another had thrown him completely off balance.

“Don’t spout nonsense. When did I ever sell you a top-grade imperial green jadeite? Everyone in the jade market knows that of all things, I love imperial green the most.”

“The few pieces I have are all meant for my own collection. Why would I ever sell them to you?”

Mr. Zhou looked completely baffled. The last time he sold one piece, it already felt like a painful loss—let alone something like the one now displayed so prominently.

“You clearly had your assistant contact me!”

Seeing Mr. Zhou denying it, the Lu family patriarch became even more agitated. He even tried to charge at Mr. Zhou, only to be blocked by his bodyguards.

“If I were really planning to sell a piece of top-grade imperial green, something that valuable would obviously require a face-to-face deal!”

Some of the crowd who had initially been swayed by the accusation started thinking: that’s true. This was top-grade imperial green jadeite! One piece had sold for five hundred million at an overseas auction. How could such a large transaction not be handled in person?

“If I were ever planning to sell such a jadeite piece, there’s no way I’d keep it a secret. So don’t go falsely accusing me.”

After saying this, Mr. Zhou straightened his clothes and headed for the door. From his cool, detached expression, it was clear he was very displeased with the Lu family.

In recent years, Mr. Zhou’s business had flourished, and even in Haicheng, he was highly respected.

Now that the Lu family had completely offended him, many families with connections to them began distancing themselves from the Lu Family.

What was supposed to be a grand exhibition ended in chaos. Ji Chenbiao, however, left in high spirits. He even felt like dancing in the streets with Little Dadan in his arms.

This was only the beginning. Everything they’d done to bully his sister back then—every vile, outrageous act—he would return to them one by one.

Back at the hotel, as he pushed open the door, he saw Mr. Zhou already sitting on the sofa. Dadan wriggled free from his arms, ran over excitedly, and shouted:

“Uncle Zhou!”

“Well, Dadan’s grown quite a bit again, hasn’t he?”

Mr. Zhou picked him up with a smile and took out the gift he had prepared for him from his coat.

He had always valued his reputation and treated it as something precious, so he was highly trusted in this circle.

After so many years of careful cultivation, it would be a shame not to take advantage of it every now and then.

That piece of imperial green jadeite indeed had nothing to do with Mr. Zhou, but it was inextricably linked to a former assistant of his. At the time, that assistant tried to use his name to deceive others, and Mr. Zhou discovered it.

Originally, he had intended to stop it, but after learning that the assistant held a grudge against the Lu family—and that the Lu family was at fault in the first place—and confirming that he wouldn’t be implicated, Mr. Zhou chose to turn a blind eye.

After the assistant pulled off the con, he fled overseas almost immediately. Now, trying to find him would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

“Mr. Zhou, about that matter…”

In front of outsiders, Ji Chenbiao would always trust Mr. Zhou unconditionally. He had a good relationship with Mr. Zhou, and to many people, if he acknowledged something, it was as good as Mr. Zhou having done it.

“It really had nothing to do with me. But I did know about it.”

The Lu family didn’t earn all their money through proper means. They also invested in the pharmaceutical industry, selling so-called health supplements that were nothing more than scams targeting the elderly.

The parents of Mr. Zhou’s assistant were tricked by one of their salespeople and spent their life savings—meant for their child—on health supplements supposedly capable of extending life.

After realizing they’d been swindled, the elderly couple jumped off a building together.

So when Mr. Zhou found out that his assistant was leveraging his name to carry out some kind of revenge, he chose to silently approve.

“Is that pharmaceutical company still operating?”

“Yes, why?”

“I was just thinking, maybe it’s time for both the Lu and Gu families to meet their end.”

At first, Ji Chenbiao only wanted to take revenge on the main culprit behind his sister’s death. But after learning everything she had suffered, his intentions changed. He wanted both the Lu and Gu families to disappear completely.

“If you really want to do this, I can help you.”

Mr. Zhou didn’t know what exactly made Ji Chenbiao harbor such deep resentment toward these two families, but he trusted Ji Chenbiao’s character—he wasn’t the type to hate without reason.

Just like that former assistant—unless something truly crossed the line.

“Thank you, Mr. Zhou.”

“There’s no need for thanks between us.”

Back when that pharmaceutical incident occurred, Mr. Zhou had actually arranged for a thorough investigation. Some of the evidence was still stored in his safe.

It wasn’t a secret, and Ji Chenbiao didn’t want Mr. Zhou to think he was making a fuss over nothing, so he explained the whole situation from start to finish.

After listening, Mr. Zhou was silent for a long time before gently patting Ji Chenbiao on the shoulder.

“If there’s anything I can help with, just say the word.”

“Mm, alright.”

The Gu and Lu families had built their wealth through the jade industry, and after so many years, they were indeed quite accomplished in the field—there wasn’t much fault to be found there.

Back then, Ji Chenbiao had barely managed to throw them off balance with Mr. Zhou’s help.

Luckily, their ambitions were too great. They weren’t content with everything they already had and began trying to branch out into other industries.

Unfortunately, they didn’t have anyone particularly talented, so they could only rely on their jade industry contacts and resort to all sorts of shady tactics to scrape together some profit.

The pharmaceutical industry isn’t one that just anyone can enter, especially not the kind targeting the elderly with fake supplements.

Their advertisements even claimed the products had absorbed the spiritual energy of jade, promising longevity for the elderly.

If they hadn’t been protected all this time, they would’ve been exposed long ago.

Fortunately, it’s not too late now.

Mr. Zhou had his most trusted assistant hand over all the evidence he had gathered back then to Ji Chenbiao. In turn, Ji Chenbiao casually leaked the information to a young journalist who had just graduated.

The journalist, desperate to make a name for himself and secure a position at his current company, jumped on the news like a dog smelling meat once he heard the Lu family was secretly involved in the pharmaceutical industry—and was even cutting corners.

Ji Chenbiao took Dadan with him and had a joyful time in Haicheng. He remembered that in a letter his sister Xiaomei had once written, she’d said that after graduation, she wanted to enjoy herself in Haicheng.

Back then, he hadn’t been able to bring his sister here. Now, he could only come on his own, bringing Dadan along to make up for that regret.

The Lu and Gu families seemed powerful, but under wave after wave of scandal, they couldn’t hold up. Just as they were considering cutting ties and sacrificing someone to survive, the police came knocking.

They had scammed countless elderly out of their retirement savings through the pharmaceutical business. There were many cases of seniors committing suicide, unable to face their families. With such a serious matter, the entire family was implicated.

On top of that, all the illegal things they had done over the years under the assumption that their power in Haicheng protected them were now being brought to light.

The law doesn’t let anyone off the hook.

On the day of their trial, Ji Chenbiao made a point of showing up. Seeing them in yellow vests, no longer the lofty figures they once were, finally cleared away the stifling weight he’d carried for years.

What they had once said wasn’t wrong: it might take Ji Chenbiao half his life to reach the level the heirs of the Lu family were born into.

But thankfully, Ji Chenbiao had the strength of character to never be crushed by a few words.

Heroes aren’t judged by their origins, nor by their past.

Whatever the case, the fact remained—he had reached that position.

Law and death—these might be the few things in this world that are truly fair.

Once he confirmed that everyone in the Gu and Lu families had been sentenced and imprisoned, Ji Chenbiao finally began packing up to return home with his dear Dadan.

To protect his little one’s wish of becoming a civil servant in the future, Ji Chenbiao had become a law-abiding citizen himself—reporting the incident when he learned of it. It could be said he helped save many lives.

“Daddy, weren’t you here to do business?”

Seeing they were about to pack up and head home while his father had just been playing with him the whole time, Dadan couldn’t help but be a little confused.

He loved having his father around, but he didn’t want him to set everything else aside just for him.

“Oh, right. If you hadn’t reminded me, I would’ve completely forgotten about that.”

Ji Chenbiao’s face was lit with an unmistakable smile. The burden he had carried for so many years had finally been lifted. He had tucked the verdict documents into his bag, ready to burn them at his sister’s grave when he got back, so she could see.

“Daddy, I feel like you’ve changed.”

“Hmm? Changed how? Do I look a lot more handsome now?”

Dadan’s curious little face immediately dropped. With a snort, he replied:

“You’re being narcissistic!”

With that, he lost interest in talking to his dad and turned to play with the toy Uncle Zhou had given him last time.

Ji Chenbiao watched his pouty little back for a long time, his eyes full of laughter.

He had used “business” as an excuse to come to Haicheng, but that business wasn’t really important. His true partner was Mr. Zhou—everyone else was secondary.

But anyway, it was done—smoothly and successfully. Now, of course, one more task wouldn’t make a difference.

The business partner was a newly established jade merchant in Haicheng. It only took one meal for Ji Chenbiao to finalize their cooperation. Neither of them were the type to beat around the bush or fuss over irrelevant details—they simply made the deal.

After wrapping things up, Ji Chenbiao bought his son a balloon that could float. It wasn’t like they didn’t have such things back in Mountain City, but it just wasn’t as pretty as the ones here.

Thinking about how Dadan would definitely ask him to tie the balloon to a “nicer spot” on his clothes so he could run around happily with it, Ji Chenbiao’s steps picked up pace.

…

After returning to Mountain City, Ji Chenbiao contacted all the store managers and had them hang signs offering 20% off everything. There was no special reason—he was just in a good mood and wanted to thank both new and returning customers.

Mr. Zhou had recently gone abroad for business. He was getting busy again, spending almost half of each month traveling for work.

Ji Chenbiao was now following the same path Mr. Zhou had once taken—slow, but steady.

When the summer vacation ended, Dadan became a second grader. He’d always done well in school, and nearly every time a teacher contacted Ji Chenbiao, it was to offer praise.

One day after school, Dadan was picked up by the housekeeper and brought home. To his surprise, he found his dad waiting in the living room.

“Dad, how come you’re back so early today?”

Little Ji An tossed his backpack onto the single-seat sofa and snuggled up to his dad affectionately—just like a cat waiting at the door to be petted when its owner returns home.

“Dadan…”

Ever since he’d entered second grade, Dadan no longer liked being called by that nickname. If a classmate called him that, he’d definitely frown and correct them seriously.

But because it was his dad, he thought about it for a moment and let it go.

“Yeah?”

“Back then, we couldn’t afford it. But things are different now. Everything’s more or less settled, and I’ve been thinking… maybe it’s time we bought a new house?”

The place they were living in now was still the small villa Mr. Zhou had gifted them.

It was more than enough for just the two of them, so Ji Chenbiao had never seriously considered moving.

At the time, he had so many things he felt he needed to do—pushing himself relentlessly to grow his business, unwilling to waste a single moment.

But now, after making sure everyone who hurt Xiaomei had been punished, Ji Chenbiao felt as if a weight had been lifted. He started thinking more about improving their quality of life.

“A new house? Will it be bigger than this one?”

Dadan glanced outside instinctively, at the small vegetable plot where cabbages were growing.

His dad had told him that when he first came here as a kid, he’d suggested planting vegetables so the space wouldn’t go to waste.

So, for all these years, that open plot had always been full of various veggies. Many of his dad’s business friends who came to visit would ask about it.

Although Dadan had complained before that their current house wasn’t spacious or bright enough, the idea of moving still made him feel a bit reluctant.

“It should be bigger than this place. But we won’t sell this house.”

It wasn’t just Dadan who felt attached—Ji Chenbiao also had precious memories tied to this home.

Besides, with his current financial situation, a little villa like this was hardly worth worrying about.

“We won’t sell it?”

“Nope, I promise.”

Dadan held out his pinky finger, and Ji Chenbiao smiled as he hooked his own around it.

“Then if we get a new house, you have to tell me, okay? Otherwise, I might get lost.”

“Alright. If you want, I can start looking now. We’ll pick a few, and you can choose the one you like best, sound good?”

“Okay!”

The assistant offered two suggestions for the new house: an apartment or a detached villa.

Most people in Mountain City were buying apartments these days. But after thinking it over, Ji Chenbiao still decided on a detached villa.

No matter how good people said apartments were, they had lived in a standalone villa for years—it had become a habit. He didn’t want to spend time adjusting to a new type of place.

Dadan felt the same. He was still hoping for a patch of land to grow vegetables—preferably cabbages, some daikon radishes, and a few carrots.

On moving day, lots of people came to celebrate.

Ji Chenbiao’s personality was a lot like Mr. Zhou’s—loyal and generous. Being friends with either of them was always a win.

Over the years, he’d built a wide network of contacts. Just for this move, the banquet filled two entire floors of a hotel.

From his early discomfort in such settings, Ji Chenbiao had grown into someone who could handle them with ease, thriving in the atmosphere.

Mr. Zhou also brought a gift—further confirming public speculation that the two had a very close friendship.

After moving into the new house, it took Dadan a while to adjust. Before school, he’d always be thinking about watering or weeding his vegetable patch.

The new villa was significantly larger, and Ji Chenbiao even hired a few housekeepers. One of them had a rural background and helped plant more vegetables in the flowerbeds.

A gust of autumn wind carried away the last leaf. Soon after, Mountain City welcomed its first snowfall.

The snow in Mountain City was light—most of the time, it didn’t last, melting completely by morning.

Whenever he saw this, Ji Chenbiao couldn’t help but think of the little mountain village from his memories. Snow there could be deadly.

When Dadan finally started winter break, he came home carrying a backpack full of homework and asked if they could buy more fireworks this year.

“Dadan, this year… how about we go back to my hometown for the New Year?”

It had already been several years since they last left Mountain City for the holidays. Ji Chenbiao wasn’t sure if his parents and younger sister would blame him for never returning.

“Hometown? Where’s that?”

Dadan put down his pen, curious, and leaned closer to his dad.

He had left that village when he was too young to remember much.

“It’s where I grew up. Your grandparents and aunt are buried there. I want to burn the court verdict for your aunt.”

“Okay!”

Dadan agreed without hesitation. As long as he was with his dad, it didn’t matter where they spent the New Year—he’d be happy either way.

“Dad, then can we buy lots and lots of fireworks?”

“Of course we can.”

This trip home wasn’t just about burning the verdict for his sister. Ji Chenbiao also couldn’t forget the shame of being kicked out of the village during the New Year so many years ago. That humiliation had stuck with him for life.

He packed their things and had the driver take them home.

Since the road was long and driving while tired was dangerous, he brought two drivers with him so they could take turns.

Because of the terrain—and the lack of any notable local products—that place hadn’t developed at all over the years. It remained one of the rare, truly rundown and impoverished places Ji Chenbiao had ever seen.

Such a sleek little car showing up in the county seat immediately drew a lot of attention.

The vehicle continued along the road etched in Ji Chenbiao’s memory, heading straight for the familiar village. The path hadn’t changed much—it was almost identical to how he remembered it.

As they got closer, the maple tree at the entrance of the village looked like it had thickened considerably. At this time of year, only its bare branches remained, making the scene feel a bit desolate.

Dadan leaned against the car window, curious and wide-eyed. To him, this place was full of novelty. But the unpaved road was terribly bumpy, and before long, he stopped looking outside altogether.

He nestled into his father’s arms, listless and clearly uncomfortable.

Seeing him like that, Ji Chenbiao chuckled and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Daddy, I feel awful… ugh.”

The constant jostling made Dadan increasingly nauseous. By the time they finally arrived, he couldn’t wait to get out of the car. The moment the car stopped, he quickly opened the door, squatted down, and vomited everything he’d eaten at lunch.

“Bleh.”

After throwing up, Dadan quickly scuttled a few steps to one side, his little legs moving fast. His scrunched-up face and urgent movements showed just how grossed out he was.

Ji Chenbiao squatted beside him, gently patting his back. He pulled out the thermos from his bag, poured out half a cup of water, and handed it to Dadan to rinse his mouth.

“Daddy, is this your home?”

“Mhm.”

In truth, they hadn’t quite arrived yet. Ji Chenbiao had the driver stop early because he saw Dadan was struggling and figured a short break would help. They weren’t in a rush anyway—home was just around the corner.

The weather here was incredibly dry. The wind even carried a scent like sun-scorched leaves. After resting a bit, Dadan looked much better, though his stomach still churned uncomfortably. He rinsed his mouth again, drank another half cup of water, and finally recovered enough to say to his father:

“Let’s go.”

“Alright.”

The flashy car parked at the village entrance drew a small crowd of children eager to watch the fun. Since there wasn’t much farm work this season, even a few adults couldn’t help but glance over curiously.

“Whoa, whose kid is that? Driving such a fancy car around here.”

“Yeah, haven’t heard of anyone in the village who owns something like that.”

If one of their villagers was successful enough to afford such a car, they’d have been bragging about it for months. No way would they wait until right before the New Year to bring it back.

To put it bluntly, no one believed anyone from their village could keep that kind of achievement under wraps.

Ms. Wang, from the old Wang family, overheard people talking about it while washing vegetables. She immediately bustled over. Her younger brother-in-law had gone out to work last year and hadn’t come back since…

“What fancy car? Let me take a look!”

It was already the twelfth lunar month, and nearly everyone who was coming back for the New Year had already returned. There were only a few still out, most of them migrant workers relying solely on physical labor—not many left.

Among those few, Ms. Wang’s younger brother-in-law was considered one of the smarter ones.

Before she even had to say a word, the villagers had already started guessing it was someone from the Wang family. Quite a few people were now looking at her with envy and suspicion.

Noticing their stares, Ms. Wang straightened her back proudly, smiled, and practically floated on air as she hurried toward the village entrance.

The sedan parked there was unlike anything their village had seen before—sleek, glossy, and clearly expensive just from the look of the paintwork.

“Whose family could this be? Surely not really from the Wang family, right?”

“Who knows? Only a couple of households haven’t returned yet. Not too many guesses to make.”

“You know, the Wangs really do have some luck. Even after all the shady things they’ve done, their fortunes are still good.”

Ms. Wang couldn’t care less about what people were saying. Smiling, she reached out, wanting to touch the car’s paint. But just then, the car door opened—and someone stepped out.