Chapter 1684: Lost Money

Sumptuous dishes, of course, could not be without fine wine. After the three of them had two glasses of wine, Afang said politely: "Deputy Division Chief Liu, I am truly sorry. I have to take students for experiments tomorrow, and the school specifically gave me a day off today to prepare. There are still some things I haven't finished preparing, so I won't accompany you two. You must drink and eat well, otherwise, it will be because of this sister-in-law's lack of skill."

Zhao Desan was stunned for a moment and asked: "Sister-in-law is a teacher?" He hadn't known this before.

"Yes, why, didn't Xia Jian tell you? I am a teacher at our Xijing Construction School. Oh, right, I stayed at the school after graduation." Afang said with a smile.

"Oh, no wonder! Her temperament is different at first glance!" Zhao Desan said this from the bottom of his heart. Ever since he entered the door, for some reason, he hadn't dared to look directly at Afang, who had once been wild with him. He always felt she had a temperament that was so seductive one dared not look directly at her. Who knew that seeing her this time, she had truly changed—she had become the kind of woman who was beautiful with spirit and beautiful with temperament, to the point that her pair of beautiful large eyes made one afraid to make direct contact.

"Alright, then you go ahead and get busy, we brothers can just be casual." Xia Jian interrupted.

Zhao Desan was puzzled in his heart. No matter how he looked at it, he felt Xia Jian simply didn't deserve Afang. How could they have ended up together? It seems the old saying is true: 'A good man has no good wife, a lazy man marries a flower branch!'

Without his target in mind, there was no motivation. After Afang left the table, Zhao Desan just casually socialized with Xia Jian and then rose to leave. However, at the moment of leaving, Zhao Desan seemed to remember something, turned back, took a stack of money from his pocket, and said to Xia Jian with a grin: "This is my first visit, and it's just after sister-in-law gave birth. I should have bought some gifts, but time was tight and I didn't have time. So, take this as my small token." After speaking, he placed the money on the dining table and turned to disappear outside Xia Jian's house as if fleeing.

Walking out of the building, Zhao Desan felt both conflicted and satisfied. He was conflicted because he hadn't had the opportunity to get closer to the little sister-in-law Afang and had made the trip for nothing. He was satisfied because he was truly a genius—one could say he learned and applied it well, using the methods of those who gave him gifts this afternoon on Xia Jian. He did this, on one hand, to let Xia Jian understand the announcement of the list the day after tomorrow and prepare himself mentally, and on the other hand, to express his dissatisfaction with the little sister-in-law leaving halfway through the meal. This could also be considered giving the little sister-in-law Afang, whom he was seeing for the first time after childbirth, a small show of force!

Walking on the avenue in the night, Zhao Desan's mood could not be calm. He now had basic operating funds and should consider Zheng Jie. After all, her current situation was what worried him most. Not only could the subsequent business situation not be underestimated, but the current company was in a small unit room downstairs. It was fine for a family, but now with Shuanzhu, there were four people in total. This situation not only caused great damage to Zheng Jie's body and mind, but also exerted an invisible pressure on Zhao Da and Shuanzhu, especially Nini, the little girl Zhao Desan liked the moment he saw her—she was probably the one suffering the most. No, he couldn't let this situation continue. He had to find a way to solve it. Thinking and thinking, a bold plan gradually formed in Zhao Desan's mind...

That night, Zhao Desan suffered from insomnia. After finishing his nightly routine with Su Qing, he couldn't fall asleep. He was making his own plans for the future life of Zheng Jie and her daughter. Because he now had a small sum of money, his thoughts were different from before.

After a night of thinking, Zhao Desan basically had a relatively mature idea. After going to work and finishing the final list for the excellent employee assessment, he told Jia Wanli that he had something to do and asked her to fill in for him, then hurriedly walked toward Zheng Jie's house.

Arriving at Zheng Jie's house, he happened to catch Zheng Jie in a temper, and a furious one at that. It was the first time Zhao Desan had seen Zheng Jie so crazy, so hysterical. As soon as he entered, Zhao Desan was stunned on the spot.

The room was a mess, with all items crooked, some here and some there. Zhao Desan thought something big had happened and asked anxiously upon entering: "What's wrong, what happened?"

No response. Everyone in the room had a dark face and said nothing.

Zhao Desan continued to ask: "What's wrong with you guys? I'm asking you, did you hear me?"

"Go ask him!" Zheng Jie said, her handsome face sinking, pointing at Zhao Da sitting on the bed, speaking sharply.

Zhao Desan seemed to understand the reason for the matter, but since he didn't know exactly what had happened, he hurriedly took a few steps forward, walked to Zhao Da's bed, sat down, and asked: "Big brother, what exactly is going on, tell me quickly!"

Seeing Zhao Desan sit by his bed, Zhao Da just raised his eyelids to look at Zhao Desan, then turned his face away, refusing to speak again.

Zhao Desan was really getting anxious. He asked Shuanzhu, who was squatting at the door: "Shuanzhu, tell me quickly, what exactly happened?"

"I... I... I don't know either." Shuanzhu said stutteringly.

Zhao Desan had no choice but to turn his gaze back to Zheng Jie, forcing his facial expression to adjust to a suitable level, and asked: "Sister-in-law, don't keep me in suspense, just tell me quickly!"

Seeing that Zhao Desan was really a bit anxious, Zheng Jie raised her hand, pointed at Zhao Da, and shouted with undiminished anger: "It's all this damned man, why is he so wasteful? He... he... he..." Saying this, Zheng Jie couldn't continue.

Seeing that Zheng Jie was so angry that her face was pale and her hands were trembling, Zhao Da hurriedly took over the conversation to explain: "Little brother Zhao, it's all my fault, I, I am not a human!"

"Stop talking in riddles, can you say something useful, don't just keep saying you and me!" Because he was anxious, Zhao Desan said impolitely to Zhao Da.

"I, I lost all your money!" Zhao Da finally gathered the courage to say in a low voice.

"What?" Zhao Desan asked, staring with wide eyes, as if he hadn't understood.

"Comrade Xiao Zhao, don't be anxious first. I, Zheng Jie, am definitely not the kind of person who defaults on debts. Even if I have to smash the pots and sell the iron, I will gather the money and return it to you." Seeing Zhao Desan's expression, Zheng Jie hurriedly took over the conversation.

Zhao Desan was stunned for a while, then smiled, shook his head, and said: "Don't mention returning it yet, tell me first how it was lost?"

"Sigh!" Zheng Jie let out a deep sigh, the expression on her face softened slightly. She looked at Zhao Da, who was sitting on the bed feeling depressed, and said to Zhao Desan: "It's also my fault. After you brought that money yesterday, I put it in the bedside cabinet in front of him. But just today, when Shuanzhu and I went to get goods, he had a nervous breakdown and actually took that money to gamble. As a result, he almost lost himself in it too."

Hearing Zheng Jie's account, Zhao Desan couldn't help but laugh to himself: 'It seems that this ill-gotten money really comes fast and goes fast!' Thinking of this, he felt a bit more comfortable in his heart, so he said with a smile: "Hi, I thought it was something big, isn't it just such a small matter? What's the big deal? This is called 'Money is a bastard, you can earn it again after spending it!'"

Zhao Da widened his eyes, raised his head to look at Zhao Desan. He hadn't expected Zhao Desan to brush off this matter, which was a huge deal for their family, so lightly. With tears of excitement and gratitude, Zhao Da grabbed Zhao Desan's hand and said: "It's all big brother's fault, big brother will definitely find a way to pay you back."

"Find a way? What way can you find? The ghost would believe you can change that stinking habit of yours!" Zheng Jie said, her anger not yet diminished.

Zhao Desan waved his hand, stood up, and said: "Alright, let's not say anything else, we still have to do our business." Saying this, he looked at Shuanzhu, who was still squatting at the door, and continued: "Shuanzhu, you tidy up the room first, I have something to discuss with your sister-in-law." After speaking, he nodded at Zhao Da and walked out of the house...

Arriving outside, Zhao Desan let out a long, angry breath. After all, that was money he had worked hard to get. Not to mention anything else, the plan he had just thought of was ruined because of this, how could he not be annoyed!

Zheng Jie came to his side silently and stood there without saying a word, as if ===== CHAPTER 1685 =====