Chapter 633 Dead

"It’s chaos."

Director Zhao’s two definitive words made An Ning laugh without restraint.

"Good! It serves them right!"

When An Ning told Jiang Xia what she had done, he brazenly praised her for it. The two were in complete agreement and decided to go back and cause them some more trouble.

For example, they’d stop letting them use certain patents.

For example, certain partnerships would be off the table, and certain investments would be canceled.

Director Zhao watched the two of them plotting openly right in front of him and just smiled knowingly, making no move to stop them.

’When your own kids have been wronged, shouldn’t they be allowed to hit back?’

’Isn’t this the very reason they’ve worked so hard—for the day they could stand tall and speak their minds?’

An Ning and Jiang Xia left first. As the recipient of the donation, his injuries were much lighter, but the other six stayed behind to receive treatment before leaving.

Jiang Xia generously granted them paid leave, which made the six men break into happy smiles.

"You guys are so easy to please. Paid leave already has you this happy. If I told you there were also bonuses, you’d probably ascend to the heavens!"

"President Jiang?"

"President Jiang, I love you!"

"President Jiang, I love you too!"

Hearing several grown men shouting "President Jiang, I love you," Jiang Xia backed away in disgust.

"Shut up, all of you! Say one more word and the bonuses are gone!"

After Jiang Xia left, the six men began their paid medical leave.

After leaving, Jiang Xia and An Ning went to the airport together, but they boarded separate planes.

Jiang Xia was headed to Beijing to take control of the overall situation and stabilize things first.

An Ning, on the other hand, was worried about her family and wanted to go back to help with the rebuilding at home.

"Wait for me at home. I’ll be back soon."

"Okay."

An Ning and Jiang Xia, one heading south and one north, boarded different planes bound for different destinations.

Jiang Xia arrived a bit earlier and returned to his company without a moment’s rest to stabilize the situation and handle matters.

That night, everyone in the company worked overtime. But Jiang Xia had announced there would be overtime pay—triple the usual rate!

With the promise of triple pay, who wouldn’t be willing to work?

The company provided meals and a place to rest, but most importantly, it paid well.

Jiang Xia even said that for any work completed ahead of schedule, there would be a 1,000 yuan bonus for finishing one day early, 3,000 for two days early, and 5,000 for three days early.

With such a hefty reward, who wouldn’t love to work? The answer was: no one!

So as long as the money was good, if someone’s work wasn’t up to snuff, they would just grin, admit they messed up, and happily get back to redoing it.

The entire group began operating at supersonic speed.

Meanwhile, An Ning landed at the airport closest to her home. As soon as she disembarked, Yu Zheng was there to pick her up.

The two returned to Shili Gou. The floodwaters in the village had already receded, and the PLA soldiers had done a thorough job clearing away the silt, leaving only the mess inside each family’s home.

The atmosphere in the village was grim. Every household had suffered severe damage; after all, the floodwaters had risen above the rooftops.

During the two days An Ning was gone, the village had been disinfected. Only today were people beginning to return, the An family included.

In truth, the An family had suffered the most severe damage—their house was completely gone. But with their large family and successful business, while the loss was heartbreaking, it wasn’t enough to drive them to despair.

Still, Lin Cuihua and An Sancheng were absolutely heartbroken.

"Mom—"

At An Ning’s call, Lin Cuihua, who was in the yard, turned and waved at her.

"You’re back."

"Yeah."

An Ning stood quietly beside Lin Cuihua. Everyone in the family was there, except for An Guoping.

"You’re back just in time. Let’s discuss what to do next."

An Sancheng called everyone over. Those who could find a rock sat on one; those who couldn’t either squatted or stood as they discussed the next steps.

"Mom, Dad, what comes next is simple enough. Where do you want to live? In town, the county seat, Beijing, or here in Shili Gou?"

An Guoming was the first to speak. An Sancheng and Lin Cuihua exchanged a look.

"Your mom and I don’t want to leave. The city has its advantages, but we still prefer it here."

"That’s right. I don’t know anyone in the city. Besides, I’m still in good health. I can work in the fields, chat with people by the Big Willow Tree, and visit the neighbors. I feel more at ease here."

After Lin Cuihua and An Sancheng both expressed their thoughts, An Guoming looked toward An Guoqing.

"What are you looking at me for? Wherever Mom and Dad are, that’s where I’ll be. I’m the eldest, after all."

"Yes, staying in the village is fine. Your big brother and I are familiar with this place, and we know how to do the work here. We’d both feel out of place in the city."

His sister-in-law spoke up as well.

An Guoming and An Ning looked at each other. There was nothing more to say.

"Alright, in that case, we’ll just rebuild the house. For now, we’ll live in town. Once things here have dried out enough, we’ll get started."

"Deal! Let’s do it!"

The An family’s discussion concluded. Uncle An’s family was also planning to rebuild; they couldn’t leave this land.

Nearby, Grandpa Jiang and Master Tang had also decided not to leave. They were both used to living here. Besides, Master Tang was still thinking about all that good-quality produce.

Once the An family had more or less made their decision, everyone put on gloves and began their "treasure hunt."

They started searching for anything salvageable, rummaging through the debris and clearing out the plot of land at the same time.

An Guoming returned with several large trucks. One was to help the An family with the cleanup, and the rest were for the other villagers to use.

The village chief, Sun Dazhuang, walked lap after lap around the village, telling every household that there would be subsidies from the government and that the money would be distributed soon.

It had to be said, the chief’s words brought considerable relief to many.

"Alright, our village was pretty lucky. Other villages lost quite a few people, but we only lost one."

Sun Dazhuang’s words made An Ning turn and ask, "Someone from our village died? How?"

’We evacuated so early, how could someone have died?’

Sun Dazhuang glanced at her. Seeing no reason to hide it, he said, "It was Chen Mingliang."

Chen Mingliang!

An Ning was stunned.

"How did he die?"

"It seems that when the couple was evacuating, they left something at home. Chen Mingliang insisted on going back to get it, and he never returned. When the water receded, they found his body, all bloated from being in the water."

Sun Dazhuang added with a sigh, "Miao Xiaohua isn’t asking for the housing plot this time. From the sound of it, she’s just waiting to get the money and then she’s leaving. I doubt she’ll ever come back."

The members of the An family didn’t offer any opinions, and after a few more sighs, Sun Dazhuang left.

After Sun Dazhuang was gone, Lin Cuihua looked around to make sure no one was listening before saying, "It might not have been an accident, you know. That Miao Xiaohua is no simple character."

’Hmm? There’s a twist?’

An Ning leaned in closer as Lin Cuihua explained that Chen Mingliang had been abusive toward Miao Xiaohua. But Miao Xiaohua had always endured it without saying a word. Some villagers couldn’t stand it and offered to stand up for her, but Miao Xiaohua always refused their help.

"I always felt that Miao Xiaohua was just biding her time. Not that Chen Mingliang was a good person, mind you."

Everyone nodded in agreement, feeling not much sympathy for what had happened to either of them.

An Ning, however, remembered something: Miao Xiaohua had been reborn.

Therefore, she knew about the great flood.