Who Moved My Ashes Chapter 14
Chapter 14
In the morning, Jiang Xichu’s phone was ringing. When it rang once, Jiang Xichu hung up immediately. When it rang the third time, she frowned at the cellphone and turned it to silent mode instead of hanging up.
Chen Man was curious, “Who is it?”
Jiang Xichu's tone wasn’t good, it seemed that she was very annoyed with the caller. “No one, it’s harassment. Let’s finish eating so we can leave.”
They left at 8 o’clock, dawdled a little and arrived at the company by 8:20. The company’s workday actually started at 9 o’clock, however as the president and president’s chief secretary, it was better to set a good example by being early.
After she arrived at the office, Jiang Xichu was busy for more than an hour. At last, she finished all her urgent tasks and could rest for a while. And then the phone rang again.
Jiang Xichu frowned and flipped her phone over. After a minute, it suddenly vibrated.
The vibration meant that there was a new notification. Jiang Xichu picked up the phone slowly and looked at it.
—I’m downstairs at your company. If you don’t come out, I’ll go up.
Some people and some things couldn’t be solved by ignoring them. She had said many things on the phone, but the other side was unwilling to give up and made the situation extremely embarrassing.
Jiang Xichu stared at her phone screen for a long time, then grabbed it. She stood up and said to Secretary Yang behind her, “I’ll be out for a while. If anyone comes to find me, tell them that I’ll be back in half an hour.”
Today was the day when the local finance department handed in the reimbursement forms and accounts. Chen Man asked for the accounts to be rechecked because she didn’t trust the people from the branch company. This job was originally done by Jiang Xichu, but recently, these numerous tasks were continuously delegated.
It's not that she wanted to push work to others, but that she wanted to train the people under her.
Therefore, Secretary Yang was quite happy with the arrangement as although her workload had increased, it also meant she had more opportunities to get involved in various tasks. At that moment, she lifted her head from a pile of documents big and small, then blankly nodded. “Got it.”
Jiang Xichu turned and went out. The company’s decoration mainly consisted of four colors, bright yellow, dark blue, light green and milk white. Because the average age of employees in the company was no more than 28 years old, the young people’s exclusive vitality was everywhere. Jiang Xichu wore a light blue chiffon dress today which complemented the company’s decoration.
Downstairs, when passing the front desk, the young girl seated there smiled at her. Jiang Xichu quickly lifted her lips and looked ahead. Sitting on the sofa in the hall was a middle-aged woman in her fifties. Her clothes were wrinkled and old-fashioned as if she had worn them for many years. The smile on Jiang Xichu’s face quickly receded. She frowned at the woman, walked quickly to her side, whispered a quick command, then continued in a different direction.
“Follow me.”
The middle-aged woman stood up and followed Jiang Xichu.
Because the entire building was their company’s property and this land was Chen Man’s graduation gift from her father, it wasn’t meant for commercial purposes so there was no basement level. If they wanted to talk about things, they could only go somewhere else. There was a business square opposite the company, the amount of people passing by wasn’t much, but it met the office workers’ needs.
At 10:30 in the morning, there weren't many people in the tea shop. Jiang Xichu looked at the women expressionlessly. “I said, I will not give you any more money. You have a job and your son has graduated from college. Since you’re able to support yourself, why are you asking me for money?”
This middle-aged woman was Jiang Xichu's stepmother, Li Shuyun. When Jiang Xichu was around 10 years old, Li Shuyun married into her family with a boy that was 5 years younger than Jiang Xichu. When Jiang Xichu was 20 years old, her father had an accident at a construction site and died.
Jiang Xichu’s father was a construction engineer, and the company was afraid that the Jiang family would appeal. The company’s pension was quite a lot, but the money fell into the hands of Li Shuyun. When her father died, Jiang Xichu was only a sophomore. Later, she earned all the money she needed to attend university from a part-time job. Li Shuyun had given her a measly eight hundred yuan a month for living expenses - all while telling outsiders how wonderfully she treated her stepdaughter.
Li Shuyun had initially intended to reason with her, but seeing Jiang Xichu’s firm stance, she immediately grew agitated. "That won't do at all. I make less than three thousand a month, and your brother has just graduated; he needs money now more than ever. He’ll need to get married someday, too. If you don't help us out, what are we supposed to do?"
Li Shuyun had often played the victim and complained of poverty like this in the past. Jiang Xichu admitted that she was a soft touch; she couldn't bring herself to be as ruthless as others might expect. After all, Li Shuyun hadn't treated her particularly badly or well over the years; they had coexisted peacefully enough. It was only after her father passed away that Li Shuyun revealed her true colors, fearing that Jiang Xichu might come to claim their money.
Jiang Xichu remembered the small kindnesses Li Shuyun had shown her in the past, as well as the times her son had called her‘older sister’, so she would occasionally give Li Shuyun some money.
However, for every three times Li Shuyun came asking, Jiang would only give money once, fearing that the demands would otherwise escalate.
Yet, no amount of caution mattered; human greed knows no bounds. She should never have given her a single penny in the first place.
Jiang Xichu didn't really mind that Li Shuyun had moved all their savings after her death; Li Shuyun was her legal guardian and had raised her for six years, so legally speaking, she was the rightful heir to the estate.
But, having died once, Jiang Xichu saw things more clearly. She understood that she owed Li Shuyun nothing, the only person she owed was Chen Man.
She had only so much heart and energy to give, and she had devoted it all to Chen Man; there was none left to spare for anyone else. She wanted to treat Chen Man wholeheartedly, so she needed to quickly deal with anyone who might cause her trouble—and by extension, cause trouble for Chen Man.
Right now, Li Shuyun was asking her for money; if she found out later that Jiang Xichu was with Chen Man, she would undoubtedly go after Chen Man for money as well. The mere thought of that scenario made Jiang Xichu feel physically nauseous.
Jiang Xichu had no desire to say more; she unconsciously tapped her little finger against the table. "That’s your business, not mine. Your son is an adult; he’s perfectly capable of supporting himself. Even if he couldn't, he wouldn't be my responsibility, but yours."
Li Shuyun looked at Jiang Xichu incredulously. “How could you say such words? We’re family. Although I’m not your biological mother, I have raised you for so many years. Do you really have no regard for family ties?"
Jiang Xichu fell silent. It wasn't that she didn't know what to say, but rather that she simply couldn't be bothered to speak.
Realizing Jiang Xichu was truly adamant, Li Shuyun slammed her hand on the table, attempting to use her status as an elder to intimidate her. “Jiang Xichu! Don't think that just because you can talk back, I’m helpless against you. If you keep acting so ungratefully, I’ll sue you! I’ve looked up the law, I was your guardian, so you’re obligated to give me money!"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Xichu smiled, "Okay. When you turn sixty, I’ll fulfill my duty of support by sending you the national minimum monthly allowance. It’s about four or five hundred yuan. I may be poor myself, but rest assured, I can certainly afford that much."
Li Shuyun’s eyes looked at her incredulously. What could five hundred yuan be enough for?
She wanted to say more, but Jiang Xichu had already stood up and looked down at her. “It’s no use saying those grand words all day. We both know what kind of people we are in each other’s eyes. I have to go back to work. You can go now. Don’t come back to find me. Otherwise, I will call the police.”
With that, Jiang Xichu left the tea shop and returned to the office. It had only been half an hour since she left.
Secretary Yang was happy to see her, “Secretary Jiang is punctual.”
Jiang Xichu smiled and continued to look at the half-written document on her computer.
Originally, she thought that the matter passed, but Jiang Xichu underestimated her stepmother’s shamelessness.
Before long, Secretary Xiao Zhou walked in hesitantly, she looked at Jiang Xichu, “Secretary Jiang…there’s a woman out there who says she’s your mother. She wants to see you.”
Jiang Xichu’s movement paused and she didn’t speak. Secretary Li stood up first, “What? What kind of joke is this? Secretary Jiang’s parents have passed away, are they lying?!”
Secretary Xiao Zhou didn’t think so either, because at first glance, that person looked like a shrew and called the staff to complain and didn’t speak cleanly. How could this kind of person be Secretary Jiang’s mother? If such a daughter was born, Secretary Jiang’s father must be a sage.
The three secretaries turned their heads to Jiang Xichu. Her expression was rather unpleasant as she furrowed her brows and briefly explained, “She’s my stepmother. She came to ask me for money, but I didn’t give it any.”
Those few words were enough for the three secretaries to conjure up a whole prime-time melodrama on CCTV-8. As the noise grew louder and louder, Secretary Yang stood up with a displeased look. “What’s the security team doing? They can’t even keep a middle-aged woman out?”
Secretary Yang was actually being quite unfair to the security team. It wasn’t that they couldn’t stop Li Shuyun, but rather they didn’t dare lay a finger on her. The moment they did, she would put on a whole performance on how unbearable her life had become. As the saying goes, ‘You can’t reason with a soldier when you’re a scholar.’ The employees might not be scholars and Li Shuyun might not be a soldier, but the principle was the same.
With a cold, impassive face, Secretary Yang strode out of the office, her air of aloofness firmly in place. Jiang Xichu and the remaining two secretaries looked at one another, then hurried after her. Before they could even reach the doorway, they heard Secretary Yang thunder, “What’s all this noise about?! Don’t you know this is a private establishment? Make another peep, and I’ll call the police!”
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Novi’s Notes: Li Shuyun – means plum warm and virtuous cloud.