Chapter 157: Three Unlucky Souls

"Uncle?" Lu Hu next to him was also displeased, pointing at his own face and roaring, "Are you calling me uncle? I'm only twenty years old, and you actually call me uncle. I'd say your eyesight must be severely damaged."

"You, twenty?" The unlucky man was shocked once again. He turned his head to look at the second unlucky fellow, "That uncle over there—"

Before the unlucky man could finish his sentence, the third unlucky fellow, Zhou Xiaoqing, frowned and let out a low, displeased growl, "I'm only eighteen! You're the uncle, your whole family are uncles!"

The unlucky man's mouth dropped open into an "O" shape. He felt as though he had missed something crucial. If they were all eighteen or twenty years old, then why, oh why, did they look so old?

No, there was definitely something fishy going on here.

The unlucky man pondered back and forth, carefully replaying the stories the three of them had told, when a flash of inspiration crossed his mind. He remembered now—all three of these men had picked up some money wrapped in red paper, and only after that had they encountered the young girl.

The young girl had spoken very sweetly, constantly praising them for their good luck, and then asked if they could share some of that good luck with her. Those three blockheads had wanted to lure the young girl into bed, so naturally they agreed to whatever she said.

Once the young girl obtained the good luck, she stared at the red paper package and said, "This money is wrapped in red paper. I've heard it's folk 'life-buying money.' Are you really willing to sell your life?"

How had those three unlucky bastards answered?

Hahaha, the unlucky man laughed, laughing until tears came to his eyes. Those three unlucky fools hadn't believed at all that it was life-buying money. So they had said that as long as there was money, what harm was there in selling their lives? Could it really be life-buying money after all?

The unlucky man looked at the three of them with a trace of sympathy. Although they were all unlucky, at least he was still young. At the very least, his life had been preserved. Look at those three—they had surely lost a decade or two of their lifespans.

Tsk, as expected, a person must never be greedy.

The unlucky man's sense of superiority didn't last long before it was replaced by sorrow. How was he going to endure days like this?

When Xu Lin returned to the educated youth courtyard, she happened to run into the postman who was about to leave. The postman looked quite pleased when he saw Xu Lin come back.

"Educated Youth Xu, there's a letter for you." He pulled out the letter and waved it at Xu Lin. "I thought I'd have to make another trip tomorrow. You've returned just in time."

"Thank you, sorry for the trouble." Xu Lin took the letter. "Are people not allowed to pick up letters on behalf of someone else anymore?"

"Not anymore. Letters must be signed for in person. If nobody can be found repeatedly, we have to notify the recipient to pick it up at the post office."

The postman took out the signature log and asked Xu Lin to sign her full name. Making sure everything was correct, he said goodbye and left.

At that moment, Qian Li walked out of the educated youth courtyard. Seeing Xu Lin return, she smiled and said, "Ever since the incident with someone peeking at letters, the postman has become much more diligent about deliveries. It looks like proxy pickups won't be happening anymore."

"That's great. At least it guarantees the security of the contents of the letters." Xu Lin pushed her bicycle into the courtyard. "Didn't you go to work this afternoon?"

"I asked for leave to come back and pick up a letter. I'll have to head out to the fields shortly." Qian Li waved the letter in her hand. "It's from my old classmate."

Xu Lin raised an eyebrow. "Then you'd better take a look right away; there might be good news."

"That's what I was thinking." Qian Li happily opened the letter, reading as she walked. "I hope it's good news."

The two of them walked up to the row of houses. Qian Li had already read half of her letter. Instead of hurrying back to her own room, she stood right at the doorway of Xu Lin's room and kept reading. Seeing Xu Lin step inside, Qian Li followed her right into the room, and Xu Lin didn't try to stop her.

After parking her bicycle and turning around to close the door, Xu Lin poured two cups of water, placed them on the table, and invited Qian Li to drink.

Only after finishing these chores did Xu Lin open her own letter to check it. This letter was sent by Aunt Guihua, confirming that she had received the items Xu Lin had mailed her. In the letter, Aunt Guihua told Xu Lin not to send any more things, feeling bad that Xu Lin didn't have enough money to spend. She had even enclosed twenty yuan and told Xu Lin to go pick it up when she had time. It was clear that Aunt Guihua didn't want to take advantage of Xu Lin.

Naturally, the letter inevitably touched upon the situation of the Xu family. Ever since Xu Chenglin was arrested, the Xu family had moved out of the residential compound and started renting a place. However, having lost her job, Mother Xu no longer had any source of income, making even the payment of rent a struggle. With no other choice, they had to secretly sell off the clothes, shoes, and other items they had previously bought just to get by.

On top of that, Old Mrs. Xu was bedridden. Not only could she no longer contribute to the household income, but she had also become a heavy burden, so Mother Xu no longer gave her a pleasant look. It was constant verbal abuse and physical beatings, driving Old Mrs. Xu to cry night after night. Under such circumstances, Old Mrs. Xu finally broke down.

With no other option, she reached out to her eldest grandson, telling Xu Kun about the secret room. Despite being bedridden and trusting no one else, Old Mrs. Xu had Xu Kun carry her on his back to the secret room.

Xu Kun had gone to fetch the little stash of money in high spirits, but upon arrival, he found the secret room completely empty—not a single hair was left. This angered Xu Kun immensely. In his fury, he dumped Old Mrs. Xu at that dilapidated old house and left her to fend for herself.

It was precisely because of Xu Kun's abandonment of an elderly person that the matter blew up. Xu Kun was given a harsh lecture by the law enforcement officers before being released.

When Mother Xu heard that Old Mrs. Xu and Xu Chenglin had kept secrets even from her, she was furious. In an instant, she severed the remaining shreds of affection she had for Old Mrs. Xu, treating her with even harsher hostility. Furthermore, Mother Xu took the initiative to report and denounce Xu Chenglin, demanding a divorce to draw a clear line between them.

Because Mother Xu indeed provided a lot of incriminating information and showed meritorious service, she successfully divorced Xu Chenglin and regained her freedom.

Mother Xu hated Old Mrs. Xu and Xu Chenglin to the bone. She didn't want either of the children, leaving them behind to fend for themselves with Old Mrs. Xu. The selfish Mother Xu turned around and married a man in his fifties, becoming a stepmother to another family. However, the old man she married had a habit of beating his wife, and life after the marriage was far from easy. Aside from taking care of that old man, she also had to cook for the entire family, becoming an unpaid servant for that household.

Aunt Guihua sighed with emotion throughout the letter, truly never expecting that the once high-and-mighty Mother Xu would end up in such a state today.

In truth, even Xu Lin hadn't anticipated that Mother Xu would actually resort to divorcing and marrying an old man. This woman was truly selfish and ruthless; she only looked out for herself, completely disregarding how Xu Nuan and Xu Kun would survive in the future.

Putting the letter away, Xu Lin felt immensely pleased. The villains hadn't even waited for her to make a move before engineering their own downfall. How wonderful.

Putting the letter away, Xu Lin looked at Qian Li, who was silly-smiling, and asked, "What's the good news?"

"My old classmate said that the higher-ups will send someone disguised as an educated youth to investigate, and asked me to assist covertly when the time comes. Hehe, don't you think Ping Fang is about to meet her doom?"

Thinking about the good news, Qian Li wore a yearning expression. "Do you think Ping Fang's backer will be arrested along with her? As long as they're all locked up, my family will be safe, and I'll be safe too. Hehe, just thinking about it is wonderful."

Looking at Qian Li, who was grinning like a goofball, Xu Lin quickly reassured her, "Rest assured, as long as they've committed evil deeds, there's no way they'll escape retribution."