Rebirth 1983: Building My Business Empire-Chapter 617 - 600: Old Colleague in Trouble

Lu Hongjun practiced Tai Chi in the park, and after finishing, he played chess with a few old men. Since the incident where he fell on the bus, Lu Shan and Da Mai were reluctant to let him pick up the kids, so Chaoyang Park became his activity area.

He checked the time; it was past five, and it was time to go back for dinner. After tidying up and saying goodbye to his old buddies, he leisurely made his way home.

An old man said enviously, "Sigh, I used to think having many children was a blessing, but now I think having just one might be better, less trouble."

Because his wife went to another province to take care of their youngest son’s child, his eldest complained that they were biased toward the youngest, while the second accused him of always siding with the eldest, feeling like an outsider himself.

Someone who didn’t get along with Lu Hongjun said, "What’s there to envy? His daughter went to Hong Kong and doesn’t care about him. He’ll have to rely on his stepchildren; just wait and see, he’ll end up crying!"

He wasn’t envious of Lu Hongjun at all, not at all.

The old man who had just spoken smiled and said, "You don’t know. The house he lives in now was bought by his daughter; even that little car is hers. With a phone call, she comes right over. As for being bullied by his stepchildren, his big nephew lives just three or four hundred meters away and visits him daily."

The old man who didn’t get along with Lu Hongjun snorted, "If his daughter were truly filial, she should have taken him to Hong Kong instead of leaving him here."

This was nitpicking. The old man said, "Hong Kong is great, but he’d be unfamiliar with the place and have no one to talk to. Life is better here. He can play Tai Chi and chess with us and visit his grandchildren and great-grandchildren when he’s bored."

Everyone said having a son was good. He used to think so too, but now, with three sons constantly bickering, and his daughter married far away living poorly and expecting them to subsidize her, he thinks it might have been better to have just one child. A capable child is more important than anything.

Lu Hongjun, who was envied, returned home to find a young woman with red eyes standing in the courtyard. He thought she was a relative of Tang Sufen’s and said unhappily, "I’ve told you many times, don’t bring just anyone home."

He disliked Tang Sufen’s relatives from the countryside visiting; last time, they came and took away dried shrimp, dried scallops, and other seafood Jiajie had sent him. Fortunately, he had locked away the tonics that Jiaxin had given him; otherwise, they wouldn’t have been safe either. Later, when the snuff bottle and pen wash were stolen, he felt that the Tang family’s members had sticky fingers.

Tang Sufen said irritably, "She’s here to see you."

Looking at the woman, Lu Hongjun seriously thought for a moment but didn’t recognize her. He asked, "I don’t know you, what do you want from me?"

The young woman cried as she said, "I’m Kang Jinzhou’s wife. My husband, Old Kang, has been wronged. Please, General Manager, help him."

Lu Hongjun’s expression changed slightly. Kang Jinzhou was his colleague, the finance section chief at the Department Store Building. Hearing that he was wronged and now being begged for help unexpectedly at his door, he asked, "What happened to Old Kang?"

Tang Sufen pondered upon hearing this. Her husband and Old Lu were colleagues and shouldn’t be young anymore. But this woman seemed just over thirty, attractive and slim, probably from a second marriage. Because at this age, they basically wouldn’t have much interaction with Old Lu.

After listening to the young woman’s account, Lu Hongjun learned that someone had reported Kang Jinzhou, accusing him of embezzling public funds from the Department Store Building.

The woman cried, "General Manager, my husband, Old Kang, has been innocent all his life, and now near retirement, he’s being slandered like this. General Manager, you must clear my husband’s name."

Lu Hongjun corrected her, saying, "Don’t call me General Manager; I’ve been retired for over five years. Just call me Old Lu."

The young woman complied, "Comrade Old Lu, please save my husband, Old Kang."

Lu Hongjun, not knowing what had happened to Kang Jinzhou, invited her inside to explain in detail. Tang Sufen also came in, wanting to find out more about the situation and if it had anything to do with Lu Hongjun.

Seeing her come in, Lu Hongjun scowled and reprimanded, "Is the meal ready? If not, hurry up and make it."

Tang Sufen knew that as long as she stayed, he wouldn’t say anything, so she turned around and left. But after waiting for a while, she quietly crept back, pressing her ear to the door frame to eavesdrop.

The woman cried and talked for more than half an hour, and Lu Hongjun told her to go home first. Even if he wanted to help, he needed to find out the situation clearly and couldn’t just rely on one-sided stories. Besides, it was uncertain if he could help at all.

After sending the woman away, Lu Hongjun went to Lu Jiaguang’s place. He made two phone calls and was surprised by what he heard: "What? He bought a courtyard house in the Forty-nine City, and that courtyard house costs more than fifty thousand yuan. Oh, I see, thank you!"

Before the wage reform, as an accounting section chief, Kang Jinzhou’s salary was just over one hundred, and along with benefits, it would be about two hundred. Even if he could manage to acquire some blemished goods, he still needed to support his old mother and brothers in the countryside and raise his wife and children, a total of six. Saving money was impossible. The year after the wage reform, his wife passed away, and he remarried to his current wife, who brought two children into the marriage. Given this, saving even ten thousand yuan would have been impressive; there’s no way he could save fifty thousand. Once those claims were reported, and with serious inconsistencies between income and expenses, an investigation started.

After hanging up, Lu Hongjun’s expression was not good.

Wang Xiaojie noticed his expression and asked, "Third Uncle, what’s wrong?"

Lu Hongjun didn’t hide it and said, "I’ve found out; it wasn’t a false accusation. With his salary, there’s no way he could afford a house worth more than fifty thousand yuan."

Wang Xiaojie was shocked and, worried that he’d be soft-hearted because of his age, quickly said, "Third Uncle, we absolutely must not get involved in such matters; once involved, there will be no end to it."

Lu Hongjun nodded and said, "I’m not senile yet. I’ll head back. You get on with your work!" freēwēbηovel.c૦m

Watching his heavy figure depart, Wang Xiaojie felt a sense of weight but knew that pressing for answers wouldn’t help, so she returned to the yard to fold laundry. Cooking was handled by the maid, so she didn’t have to worry about it.

Currently, people at work envy Wang Xiaojie immensely. She lives in a big house, and there’s a maid to handle laundry, cooking, and cleaning. The house was a gift from her sister-in-law, and the maid was hired by her younger brother, making many of her female coworkers green with envy.

Back home, Tang Sufen asked, "Old Lu, what crime did that woman’s husband commit?"

Lu Hongjun was unwilling to discuss it with her: "It doesn’t matter what mistake he made, I’ve been retired for so long now, it’s like a faded past, let alone it’s been five years. At the Department Store now, there aren’t many people left that I know; coming to me is useless."

"So you really aren’t going to do anything?"

Lu Hongjun glanced at her and said, "I can’t even manage my own pile of issues; I surely can’t handle others’ problems."

Tang Sufen didn’t believe him but seeing his impatience, didn’t press further.

New n𝙤vel chapters are published on fre(e)webnov(l).com