Chapter 91

Du Lijun's home was not in any commercial apartment building but in a street with a typical old-style alleyway of Mingzhu. His house was at the outermost part of the street, divided into a front hall and a back courtyard. The front hall had been converted by Du Lijun into a storefront, which was his jade shop. Passing through the shop, one would reach the back courtyard where his family lived.

The shop, converted from the front hall, was not very large but had a good location. Outside this alley was Zhufeng Street, bustling with traffic and a steady flow of customers. The alley where Du Lijun's home was located was surrounded by high-rise buildings, giving it a unique charm. This old-style alley and courtyard often attracted many passersby to stop and admire.

The shop was currently closed, with the main door tightly shut, but the roller shutter was not down, indicating that someone was at home. Ye Feng wanted to enter the back courtyard to find Du Lijun's wife, and he had to go through the shop to do so.

After knocking on the door for a long time, a woman finally opened it. This woman was Du Lijun's wife, the foreman.

Ye Feng introduced himself and had a brief conversation with the woman.

Inside the shop, the front hall had a row of glass counters displaying some jade items that Ye Feng couldn't name. Behind the counters was a small door. The woman led Ye Feng through the door into a small courtyard.

The courtyard was not very large but was very clean. Flowers were placed on both sides, and there was a main house, two side rooms, and a kitchen. In the corner of the courtyard was a bathroom. This was Du Lijun's home.

The woman led Ye Feng into the house, gave him a cup of water, and then found a pack of cigarettes in the cabinet. She opened it, took out a cigarette, and offered it to Ye Feng. She also found a lighter to light it for him, but it didn't work after a couple of tries.

The woman looked at Ye Feng, somewhat at a loss.

Ye Feng took the lighter, lit the cigarette, and looked at Du Lijun's simple home. Seeing his wife, who seemed distracted due to the sudden loss of her husband, a wave of inexplicable sorrow welled up in his heart.

Living in a big city and running a small shop that might not earn much money, they were not poor, but they were certainly not wealthy. The quality of life for ordinary people in a big city might be much better, but in terms of the quality of life, it might not be as pleasant as the life in the mountain villages of his hometown.

A life that was not the best but not the worst, if it could be lived peacefully and without major upheavals, with occasional small joys and sorrows, could be considered a kind of fulfillment in life. Unfortunately, Du Lijun's sudden death had instantly shattered this peaceful happiness.

Du Lijun's wife was named Zhao Caiping, in her forties. She used to be a worker at the Mingzhu Television Factory. Due to poor health, she had been laid off and had stayed at home, taking care of and educating their twin daughters. The two daughters were quite diligent and had both been admitted to a key high school, where they were now preparing for the college entrance exam.

The key high school where the twin daughters studied was a full-time boarding school with strict management. The two daughters could only return home once a month.

After Du Lijun's accident, Zhao Caiping did not dare to tell her daughters, fearing it would affect their college entrance exam. She silently endured the immense pain alone.

To Zhao Caiping, Du Lijun was the pillar of the family. Her in-laws had passed away early, and her own parents were old and sick. Her only brother was uneducated and often got into trouble, and he was now in prison for hit-and-run. She herself was not in good health and had been managing the household for years. Only in the past couple of years, after Du Lijun opened the jade shop, did they have a stable income.

Their living conditions were not bad, but they were not luxurious. Du Lijun had become more stable in recent years, giving up his obsession with gambling on jade and searching for jade. He ran the shop honestly, and their two daughters were smart and obedient, with excellent academic performance. The family's life was warm and harmonious.

Who could have predicted that a sudden disaster would strike, and Du Lijun would die at the age of forty, with his body nowhere to be found.

Zhao Caiping felt as if she were collapsing. It was like a bolt of lightning had struck their home, shattering the previous warmth and harmony.

Life is full of hardships, but when they actually fall on one's own head, how many people can truly bear them?

Looking at the young man who claimed to be a worker from her husband's construction team, Zhao Caiping did not have much energy to entertain him, but she did not want to rudely send him away.

Ye Feng did not know what to say either. He came here to ease his guilt towards Du Lijun, but when he saw this haggard sister-in-law, his guilt only deepened.

"Sister, Du Lijun was always very good to me. He was a good man. I came to see you today in a hurry, without bringing anything. I mainly came to get to know you. I will come to visit you often in the future. If you have any difficulties, just let me know, and I will do my best to help you."

Zhao Caiping forced a smile and said, "Young brother, you don't have to be so polite. You are Ye Feng, right? I often heard Lijun talk about you. He said you were a good and honest person who had suffered some injustice. Later, someone from the company had you fired. He felt very guilty about it and always said he had wronged you. But good people have good rewards, and you eventually got through it."

Ye Feng knew she was referring to his wrongful imprisonment by Liu Yong. He said, "Yes, Sister, that was a tough time for me. Du Lijun supported me a lot during that period, and he always trusted me. I am very grateful to him. So, when he had an accident, as his long-time subordinate and brother, I had to come and see you. If you need any help, just let me know. I will leave my phone number with you."

"I don't have any major difficulties, just a bad mood. I am worried about my two daughters. As a woman, I received a call from Zhengyang Company yesterday, asking me to go to their headquarters the day after tomorrow to handle Lijun's death compensation. They said I must bring my two daughters, and all direct relatives must be present and sign to receive the compensation. I had planned to keep Lijun's death a secret from my daughters, as they are about to take the college entrance exam. I was afraid it would affect their studies. I believe Lijun would not want to see this if he knew."

Ye Feng thought for a moment and said, "Sister, don't tell the children about Du Lijun's death for now. I will go to Zhengyang Company and talk to their responsible person to explain your situation. Maybe they can make an exception and allow you to go alone."

Zhao Caiping frowned and said, "Can that be done?"

Ye Feng thought, with Gu Nian's help, it would definitely be possible, but he couldn't be too direct with Zhao Caiping. He said, "This is a big matter, and Zhengyang Company also wants to resolve it quickly. Leave it to me; it should be fine."

"Okay, then I will thank you, Brother Ye. I will trouble you to run this errand for me. I am a woman and don't know how to handle such matters."

They chatted for a while longer. Ye Feng mainly wanted to understand Du Lijun's family situation. When he heard that Du Lijun liked to gamble on jade and search for jade, he was somewhat surprised. After all, Du Lijun seemed more like a foreman than a refined collector.

Before leaving, Ye Feng and Zhao Caiping exchanged phone numbers. When they came to the front hall of the jade shop, Ye Feng asked, "Sister, when do you plan to reopen this jade shop?"

Zhao Caiping sighed and said, "I won't reopen it. I plan to sell all the jade in the next few days, even at a low price. Lijun is gone, and I can't run the shop alone. Besides, I don't want to embarrass you, Brother Ye, but my brother was involved in a car accident that killed two elderly people. The families of the deceased demanded 4 million in compensation, and the court ruled that we must pay 2.3 million. Lijun had already paid 2 million, and we still owe 300,000. The families are pressing for the remaining amount. If I don't sell the jade at a low price, I won't have the money to pay them. Besides, the jade isn't very valuable, and even if I sell it all, it might not be enough to cover the compensation."

After saying this, Zhao Caiping sighed deeply. The economic problems were indeed a significant burden on her.

Ye Feng looked at the jade in the glass cabinets. Honestly, he had no interest in it and no collection hobby. But at this moment, his only thought was to buy all the jade, as a way to compensate Du Lijun's wife and children.

Although he didn't have the money now, he could ask Gu Nian to help him pay.

He was determined to buy all the jade.