Chapter 4: Goal—Buy a House and Land "What did she say?"

Wan Zhenzhen's face turned deathly pale, yet she forced herself to argue back, "I didn't say anything substantial. I merely repeated some gossip I'd heard and casually mentioned it to Qian Qing. Who could have guessed she'd take it so seriously?" Qian Qing sneered.

Wan Zhenzhen was precisely the type who wouldn't give up until reaching the Yellow River—and even upon arriving, still refused to admit defeat. Then again, anyone capable of harming others for personal gain without an ounce of guilt naturally possessed skin as thick as a turtle's shell.

"Didn't you claim that Wang Hua's cousin had been transferred to an oilfield in the neighboring province? And that he told you eight out of ten wells there were problematic, that a blowout accident occurred last month, killing three maintenance workers?"

Li Hongmei's expression instantly changed, her voice sharpening.

"Comrade Wan! Is what Comrade Qian said true?"

Wan Zhenzhen instinctively denied it, "No!"

Then, softening her tone, she pleaded, "Qian Qing, I was just making casual remarks; I truly meant no harm. I only said it for your own good. Please don't hold this against me."

Qian Qing paid her no heed, turning instead to address Li Hongmei with righteous firmness: "Director Li, since Comrade Wan claims she merely heard this blindly, I believe you should trace the rumor's source. The oilfield in the neighboring province has only recently begun operations, and our No. 2 Oil Extraction Plant has already transferred many personnel there. If everyone believes such rumors and perceives that location as a den of danger, how can future work proceed? Since Comrade Wan attributes this information to Wang Hua's cousin, perhaps you could place a call over there to verify?"

Li Hongmei too felt angered. The neighboring province's oilfield and the Northern Oilfield belonged to the same overarching organization. From the very beginning, its foundational staff had been drawn from the Northern Oilfield, especially from the No. 2 Oil Extraction Plant, which contributed the largest number of transfers. Moreover, the top leader there was formerly a senior executive from the No. 2 Plant; therefore, any serious oversight seemed impossible. Such rumors now circulating amounted to throwing the leadership's reputation onto the ground. Outsiders might even assume they were so heartless as to cover up accidents.

"Investigate! We must investigate!"

"No!"

Wan Zhenzhen panicked completely this time. If the plant actually placed that call, what would become of her? Only now did fear grip her. She turned to Qian Qing, pleading softly, "Qian Qing, it was my fault. I spoke without verification. But considering I said it for your sake, can you please let it go? I've only just gotten married. Once this call is made, my mother-in-law will torment me to death."

Before Qian Qing could even respond, Li Hongmei's eyes widened sharply: "Comrade Wan, this is a new era. Especially here on the oilfields, there are many female workers. If this matter truly has nothing to do with you, then your mother-in-law certainly cannot blame you. After clarifying the situation, I will personally speak with your mother-in-law and help mediate your family affairs."

Just a second earlier, Wan Zhenzhen had wondered, "Things are already this bad; how much worse could they possibly get?"

In this very second, she realized that when misfortune strikes, there is no bottom limit. Thinking of Old Lady Wang's detestable face, Wan Zhenzhen felt her future turn utterly gray. At this point, no matter what she said, Li Hongmei would not let the matter rest. The phone call must be made, and a visit to Wan Zhenzhen's home was inevitable. Having served as the Women's Director for so many years, how could Li Hongmei fail to detect something suspicious about Wan Zhenzhen? Yet whether or not there was ulterior motive, spreading false rumors about an oilfield accident and inciting neighbors to cause trouble were serious offenses. The latter might be manageable, but the former involved grave implications. Seeing events unfold exactly as she had hoped, Qian Qing felt pleased inwardly. Truthfully, she had been quite afraid that the dreams might come true, because the "herself"

she witnessed in those dreams seemed propelled forward by invisible hands. Even the most foolish person, facing Wan Zhenzhen's repeated schemes, would eventually notice something amiss. She didn't believe herself stupid enough to keep recklessly courting disaster. Yet in the dream, things were absurdly illogical: she was trapped, time and again, by Wan Zhenzhen's traps.Every time her life was about to take a turn for the better, Wan Zhenzhen would somehow, "unintentionally,"

make it worse. Recalling the misfortunes she had suffered in her dream, Qian Qing felt not a shred of pity. After bidding farewell to Director Li, Qian Qing hurried home; seeing that it was already four o'clock, she still needed to go back and speak with Zhou Hao. As she walked briskly forward, an angry voice called out from behind her.

"Qian Qing, stop!"

Pfft, who would pay her any mind? Qian Qing didn't slow her pace. Panting heavily, Wan Zhenzhen rushed ahead to block her path, staring at her with intense eyes. Originally, Wan Zhenzhen had merely been jealous of Qian Qing, but now a deep-seated hatred surged from the bottom of her heart. Qian Qing was already living so well! Why did she still have to make things difficult for herself? Zhou Hao had only lost one opportunity for promotion, whereas she could have obtained a sum of money capable of changing her destiny! Heaven must be blind to let someone like this live.

"Qian Qing! What grudge do I have against you? Why would you slander me like this!"

Wan Zhenzhen no longer cared about maintaining a good relationship with Qian Qing; her heart was filled with resentment. How could someone be so wicked? Did she fabricate lies without even preparing a script? Qian Qing didn't even lift her eyelids.

"I'd like to ask you the same thing: what grudge do I have against you, that you would deceive me like this?"

"On the second day after I got married, my husband was set to go on a business trip, so naturally, I felt a bit uneasy. You claimed that since we were neighbors, instead of comforting me, you tried to frighten me with your words."

"You said that last month a blowout accident occurred at an oilfield in a neighboring province, and that your cousin Wang Hua, who was stationed there, knew more about the situation than we did. Was it you who said that three workers died?"

"Wan Zhenzhen, just looking at you makes it obvious that something is wrong with what you're saying. I want to ask you: in what way have I wronged you, that you would go to such lengths to sabotage me?"

These words came straight from Qian Qing's heart; she genuinely couldn't understand where she had offended Wan Zhenzhen. The two families were neighbors, and they were roughly the same age. In their childhood, they often played together, but after starting school, Wan Zhenzhen began to distance herself from Qian Qing. With her cheerful personality, Qian Qing initially felt hurt by her friend's aloofness, but later made new friends at school. Because Wan Zhenzhen's mother had suffered greatly while giving birth to her younger brother, she had been taking medication constantly over the years. Throughout this time, Qian Qing's parents, being neighbors with the Wan family, had offered considerable help. No matter how hard Qian Qing looked, she couldn't find anything she had done to wrong Wan Zhenzhen, prompting her to bind the system to herself without hesitation, even risking the destruction of her own family in exchange for wealth. Confronted with these questions, Wan Zhenzhen felt choked up.

Where had Qian Qing wronged her? She desperately wanted to grab Qian Qing and scream at her: Don't you realize that your very existence in this world is a mistake? In childhood, she had been so poor she had nothing to eat, while the Qian family enjoyed three solid meals a day and occasionally even sent a bowl of food to her home.

Later, after her mother gave birth to her younger brother and fell ill, Wan Zhenzhen spent all her time either studying or doing chores at home. In contrast, Qian Qing would go out running wild as soon as she finished her homework every day. A few years earlier, when Wan Zhenzhen failed to get into high school, her family didn't allow her to continue her education.

Meanwhile, Qian Qing received tutoring from Zhou Hao for an entire semester and barely managed to pass the entrance exam for high school. Not to mention, those surrounding Qian Qing were mostly children of cadres; even those from slightly less privileged families wouldn't dare show her any favoritism. Although Wan Zhenzhen herself wasn't without suitors, they all came from ordinary worker families. In her previous life, upon learning that Qian Qing had married Zhou Hao, she had secretly breathed a sigh of relief. After all, given Qian Qing's appearance, she clearly could have married into a cadre compound, yet ultimately chose an oilfield worker just like herself. She thought that the mountain named "Qian Qing"

in her life had finally been removed, but that turned out to be wishful thinking. The ordinary worker Qian Qing had chosen eventually became a great engineer, reportedly earning annual dividends in the seven figures, undertaking projects from domestic sites to international ones, and earning widespread respect. Once again, starting from the same line, Wan Zhenzhen found herself lagging behind Qian Qing. Wan Zhenzhen thought to herself that even without the system binding them together, she would never allow Qian Qing to live the life she had in her previous incarnation. She doesn't deserve it!Qian Qing watched Wan Zhenzhen's expression shift repeatedly and gave up any hope of getting an answer. Wan Zhenzhen's face displayed resentment, grievance, unwillingness, and hope—but not a shred of remorse toward her. Let it be. Even if Wan Zhenzhen someday offered an explanation, Qian Qing doubted she could ever understand her thinking. She didn't expect to bring Wan Zhenzhen down with this single confrontation.

A sense of urgency gnawed at her; although Wan Zhenzhen had failed this time, having someone like her lurking nearby meant Qian Qing could not afford to relax. In her dream, aside from the mess between herself and Wan Zhenzhen, many details tied to the era remained hazy and indistinct. That left Qian Qing feeling unsettled. After all, knowing three years ahead could secure wealth for ten thousand years. If Wan Zhenzhen focused her efforts properly and stopped trying to profit off her, Qian Qing might even have lived quite well. But if Wan Zhenzhen thrived, given how thoroughly they had now torn off all pretense, she might well hatch some malicious scheme. Therefore, Qian Qing must accelerate her money-making efforts! She had to earn more than Wan Zhenzhen! Unlike Wan Zhenzhen, she was not reborn; the only thing she knew for certain was that houses and land would become valuable.

Then she would buy houses! Buy land! Having made up her mind, Qian Qing set herself a clear goal.