Chapter 314 - 312: Greed is the Original Sin

Chapter 314: Chapter 312: Greed is the Original Sin

On the way back to her villa, Cao Cao finally found a chance to run out of the space.

It floated in mid-air the whole way, following Gu Nuan Nuan as it probed, "Master, what on earth happened with the Lin family in your last life?" It had been curious about this for a long time, but unfortunately, Gu Nuan Nuan had been busy laughing and joking with Lin Qiao and then talking with others, leaving her no time to indulge its curiosity. That was why it had held back until now.

"A tragedy."

At Cao Cao’s question, Gu Nuan Nuan couldn’t help but curl her lips into a sarcastic smile. "The main characters were Lin Qiao’s current, non-biological grandparents. But in my last life, the secret that came out wasn’t that the unloved second son wasn’t related by blood, but that the doted-on eldest son, Lin Ding, was the ’adopted’ one. Lin Ding’s birth was said to be extraordinary; his family had been a renowned noble house from a previous dynasty, and Lin Qiao’s grandparents were their servants. In those chaotic times, even a great family struggled to survive. Once, when Lin Ding’s parents were visiting the wife’s family, they were delayed by robbers on the road because they hadn’t brought many guards. Their family back home grew worried and sent more men out to search for them, further weakening their defenses. An enemy family seized the opportunity to attack. During the crisis, Lin Ding, who was less than a year old, was entrusted to Lin Qiao’s grandparents by his own grandmother. They ended up taking him back to their hometown to raise him..."

"Ah..." Cao Cao covered its mouth.

Gu Nuan Nuan glanced at it and gave a faint smile, continuing her placid account of what she knew. "Considering Lin Ding’s biological parents didn’t come looking for him back then and subsequently moved overseas, and it took so many years before they finally found their family’s heir, the story in between must be complicated. But those are details we outsiders could never know. Lin Ding’s fortune was that after almost half a century, he was finally acknowledged by his fabulously wealthy biological parents.

But his misfortune stemmed from this as well. Just when his ’adoptive parents’ and ’adoptive siblings’—several entire households—were set to rise with him, it turned out he was fated to be unlucky. While they were all on a cruise ship to accept a private island from his ’biological parents,’ the ship was hit by a massive, once-in-a-century storm. In the end, of this branch of the Lin family, everyone except the disfavored second son—Lin Qiao’s parents and their family, who had been spared because they weren’t brought along to ’enjoy the fortune’—perished at sea. All their possessions were naturally inherited by the second son, Lin Fu, and his family. Overcome with grief, Lin Ding’s biological parents then vowed to treat Lin Fu as their own flesh and blood. To that end, they made a special trip to bring his whole family abroad. Ultimately, even the island originally intended for their real son went to a new owner..."

Cao Cao’s eyes widened in astonishment. Recalling what Lin Qiao had said earlier, it quickly pieced together the crucial point. "He wasn’t unlucky, he was clearly an impostor! ...Master, the second son, Lin Fu—Lin Qiao’s father—is the real biological son, right? Lin Qiao’s current grandparents were trying to use their own son to have him mistaken for their old masters’ heir instead of Lin Qiao’s father... But didn’t they know that nowadays you can verify blood relationships with DNA testing?"

"Heh, of course they didn’t know. If they knew, would they have dared to be so foolishly bold?" Gu Nuan Nuan laughed coldly. "In my last life, I thought the deaths of those dozens of people were a coincidence. Only now do I realize that greed is truly the original sin."

"Sigh. ’Humans die in pursuit of wealth, just as birds die in pursuit of food,’" Cao Cao sighed, shaking its little head.

"Exactly." Finding Cao Cao’s antics amusing, Gu Nuan Nuan couldn’t help but smile. Her own emotions remained steady as she continued to chat with Cao Cao about the topic for a little longer.

That evening, when Zhang Wei Qiang and the others returned, Zhang Dazhuang casually brought up the Lin family’s situation over dinner. He also explained his intention to arrange a job for Lin Yan. Zhang Wei Qiang agreed without a second thought, nodding his approval. To him, something like this was hardly an issue at all.

Although he didn’t have much contact with Lin Qiao’s family himself, how could he not look into a family that was not only his niece’s classmate but had also become quite close with his own parents?

Having done his research, he found Lin Fu to be a man of good character. More importantly, his own parents lived in the city with no relatives nearby to visit, so they were quite lonely. Now that there was a suitable family for them to socialize with and alleviate their loneliness, how could he not be pleased?

Since Zhang Wei Qiang didn’t object, Lin Qin, Zhang Minzhen, and Song Yong certainly wouldn’t either. The topic inevitably piqued everyone’s curiosity, and for a while, the dinner table was abuzz with speculation about Lin Fu’s origins.

Gu Nuan Nuan ate quietly off to the side, listening to them talk and only occasionally chiming in with a few noncommittal words of agreement.

Finally, as dinner ended and everyone was heading home, Zhang Dazhuang didn’t forget to remind Zhang Wei Qiang one more time. Zhang Wei Qiang took the matter, which his parents cared so much about, to heart. The very next day, he instructed his assistant to make the arrangements according to Zhang Dazhuang’s wishes. So, when Lin Fu visited the Zhang family on the third day, he successfully received confirmation.

Lin Fu went home for a bit. When they heard that the job the Zhang family had arranged for Lin Yan was just doing odd jobs in the large cafeteria of Gu Lihuang and Ye Laosan’s motorcade, Yao Hui Chun and the Lin Qiao sisters gloated. They all speculated that Lin Yan would throw a huge fit and refuse the offer, and they looked at Lin Fu, who was about to deliver the news, with sympathetic eyes.

"It’d be even better if she’s not willing to go. A job she looks down on is a sweet deal in someone else’s eyes." Seeing that his wife and daughters were clearly just looking forward to the drama, Lin Fu shook his head with a smile and turned to leave.

"I really want to follow him and watch the show," Lin Qiao lamented to Yao Hui Chun, watching as Lin Fu walked away.

"Then hurry up and follow him! You know your dad. It’s not easy to get him to come back and tell the full story. He’ll take a hundred words and shrink them down to ten," Yao Hui Chun urged Lin Qiao, holding a child in her arms as she watched Lin Fu’s retreating back.

"Right!" Lin Qiao immediately took off and caught up with Lin Fu.

"I want to go too!"

"Me too!"

Lin Long and Lin He quickly shouted as well.

"Neither of you are going. It’ll be the same if we wait for your big sister to come back and tell us. There’s still a ton of chores to do at home. Your sister is just going for a little while, and then she can go straight to the bamboo grove to help out. You two stay here and finish up the housework today. Tomorrow, I’ll have your big sister take you to buy new clothes and other things for the New Year," Yao Hui Chun said with a smile, stopping her two younger daughters and starting to direct them in their chores.