Chapter 940: Chapter 813: Saving Face Even in Death

In the small courtyard of the retirement home, Mr. Lin returned after cooling off outside, glanced at the time once more, and stretched his neck to look outside the courtyard gate.

As Lin Liyin and her husband rode over on their bicycle, they saw the eagerly awaiting Mr. Lin.

Entering the courtyard, she didn’t keep Mr. Lin in suspense and talked alongside him as they walked: "Today they announced the graduation allocations. The young couple has sent off their classmates back to the Big Courtyard, and it’s already dinner time."

While speaking, she discreetly supported Mr. Lin’s arm, "Brother-in-law kept us there for dinner, which is why we’re so late."

Li Jianjun called "Dad" as he entered, and silently followed behind his wife. It wasn’t until he reached the living room and saw the housemaid that he stopped and asked a few questions about Mr. Lin’s daily life.

"Thank you for your hard work, Auntie."

"It’s my duty. Go inside, Mr. Lin is waiting for you with the door opened."

Li Jianjun nodded slightly at her and leisurely entered the study.

At this moment, Mr. Lin was asking who from the Zhou Family was present today.

"...Mr. and Mrs. Cheng, Cheng Ruzhu and her husband, along with the elder sister and brother-in-law. By the time I got there, they had been waiting for a while."

"On our way out, Xiao Wu saw us off, and we bumped into Mr. Mo and a few others. They probably got the news too and chatted with Xiao Wu for quite a while."

Under the lamp, Mr. Lin, with his white hair, nodded, "Where have they been allocated?"

"Xiao Wu has been assigned to the Logistics Command Automation Management Research Office, and after reporting, he’ll attend military school for three months. Dad, he was chosen as a defense student the year before last."

Mr. Lin laughed and shook his head: "No wonder Zhou Xiaozheng often threw him into military training. Real can be false, false can be real; nothing turns into something, something turns into nothing."

After sighing, he looked at his daughter, "And Jiao Jiao?"

"Dad, take a guess!" Lin Liyin stood up and poured water for the father and son-in-law, waiting with a smile.

"I can’t guess."

Lin Liyin smiled mysteriously: "The Planning Commission."

Mr. Lin raised his eyebrows in surprise and looked at his son-in-law, who nodded, confirming that his daughter wasn’t joking with him.

"Isn’t it odd? At the time, when Xiao Wu mentioned it, I thought I’d misheard. Before going, I assumed she’d go to a research institute at the Second Machinery Department."

Mr. Lin rolled his eyes at her. If it were that simple, why would he ask the couple to gather information? Things turned out as he expected, and she was indeed assigned to an administrative department.

"You don’t understand this child," Mr. Lin said with regret in his eyes. "She always grasps the key point. The incident with the Liang Family boy earned her a lot of praises from the elders."

Lin Liyin looked at him confused and then at Li Jianjun. Liang Family? Wasn’t that last year? What does it have to do with the allocation now?

Li Jianjun glanced at his pouting wife and chuckled, "Every family has one or two young ones who cause trouble. Last time, Jiao Jiao and her spouse rounded up some young ones and inadvertently set a rule; deal with family matters internally."

Lin Liyin sneered, immediately refuting: "Then what’s the point of the law?"

Li Jianjun smiled knowingly at her, "How is it pointless? Whether it escalates depends on the elders. The Liang Family serves as an example, doesn’t it?"

"Have you considered that the Liang Family may not amount to much before the Zhou Family, but they have people backing them up? If Zhou Jiao doesn’t want her dad and that person to fight to mutual destruction, their family must endure the humiliation."

"But how would she agree to that? If the elders cannot escalate, let the young ones handle it. She first found leverage against the Liang Family grandson, thus gaining the upper hand."

"Next, she had the advantage. If the Liang Family elders want to escalate, the elder brother-in-law can crush them like an ant, but would the person behind them dare to step forward?"

Guided by his reasoning, Lin Liyin shook her head thoughtfully. Would stepping forward not imply that the baseless accusation letter was related to them?

"The most crucial part is that when Jiao Jiao caused a stir, everyone present would report to their elders. She was telling everyone that if they want to topple the Zhou Family, they have to hide their tracks first. Didn’t they see that as soon as that letter came out, she caught five of their people? Who knows if she has other evidence?"

Lin Liyin sighed quietly: "Brother-in-law is truly impressive. There’s more to it than a threefold victory; it seems there’s another meaning behind it, his methods are still so high."

Li Jianjun looked at his father-in-law after hearing this. He sensed this wasn’t Zhou Xiaozheng’s doing, but he had only heard rumors and wasn’t clear on specifics.

Sitting upright, Mr. Lin quietly listened to his son-in-law’s analysis. Upon hearing his daughter’s words, he shook his head. Compared to them, he understood that elder son-in-law better and had asked Lin Dinghui, who was present that day.

"Dad, what do you mean?"

"If I’m not mistaken, it was all Zhou Jiao’s doing from start to finish. Zhang Guoqing was merely her stagehand. Your elder brother-in-law used the Liang Family to give her practice."

Mr. Lin said this, glancing at his daughter’s shocked expression, and laughed heartily: "Personality determines approach. If it were Zhou Xiaozheng, he wouldn’t care who the person was; wouldn’t he be the Northeast Tiger if he didn’t skin the opponent? But this time, he truly let the Liang Family off the hook. Only one person can make him change his mind."

"I’ve long said I won’t misjudge people. Zhou Jiao is not only smart and coolheaded but also politically sensitive. She cares about interests and the bigger picture."

"As Jianjun said, crushing the Liang Family holds no benefit for her. Even when you hit a dog, you must consider its owner. How could she let her dad battle others to both sides’ detriment, letting outsiders benefit?"

After these words, Lin Liyin hesitated, looking at him, then thought of today’s assignment document, her thoughts suddenly becoming incredibly complex...

Mr. Lin smiled as he looked at her. With his daughter’s understanding, she couldn’t comprehend the thoughts of those people, and it was more suitable for her to steadily perform her role as an army doctor.

He changed the topic: "Did you mention Xiao Hui’s wedding on May 1st? How did your elder brother-in-law react?"

Pushing aside her thoughts, Lin Liyin nodded, "I mentioned it while they were in a good mood, and also invited Mr. Cheng and the others for you. Brother-in-law said they’re quite busy during May 1st, Xiao Wu needs to attend military school, and it’ll depend on whether Jiao Jiao has time. Mr. Cheng asked me to congratulate you and said he’d make time to visit and celebrate."

"Oh." Mr. Lin nodded, "Did they ask who the girl’s family is?"

Lin Liyin shook her head: "They didn’t mention it, so I didn’t introduce it."

Li Jianjun quietly shook his head while picking up his teacup. Who would care whom a young one marries?

"Did your elder sister say anything about coming to see me?"

"Dad, if you miss elder sister, why don’t you visit them? Those twins are so interesting, not even a year old and already calling people. When Ping’an gives them a stern look, they obediently sit quietly. Once they see Xiao Wu, they know the back mountain is open, and ignore Ping’an."

"It would be wonderful if Xiao Hui could give me a fat grandson by next year." Mr. Lin avoided discussing whether to visit Zhou Family and said, "Your eldest niece-in-law has been married for so long and still hasn’t conceived. I wonder if there’s a problem? One must marry a daughter-in-law who can bear children. Could you find out what’s going on when you have time?"

Lin Liyin nodded, "I’ll write a letter later."

"By the way, also ask how Xiao Li’s marriage is going?"

Lin Liyin sighed with a wry smile, "Earlier, there was a head nurse at my workplace with good looks and a fine mindset who volunteered to go there. I thought she was great all around and tried to connect them, but this brat disliked her."

"So immature. The Yi kid wasn’t marrying either, yet was forced by his dad to marry, and now that fat kid can walk already. Your second brother doesn’t have enough means to control his son."

Seeing Mr. Lin mention Lin Aidang, Li Jianjun knew the lengthy criticisms of second sister-in-law Jiang Jiangyu were about to begin. Frankly, he wasn’t interested in the pointless chatter.

Noticing this, he changed the topic to ask when his brother-in-law would meet the in-laws, and discussed dowry and other trivial matters.