Gong Mingxia had seen such things plenty of times in her life, so it wasn’t anything extraordinary for her. She softly comforted Meng Xiuying with a few words. After selling the meals and it was two o’clock, she tidied up her things and got back home by half-past two. Without even taking the time to clean up, she hurriedly followed Meng Xiuying out the door, just in time to run into Aunt Wang. After thinking it over, the two women left the child with Aunt Wang, asking her to help look after the youngster for a while before they headed to Meng Xiuying’s former home.
Everyone lived in the same neighborhood, just that one was in building eight while the other in building one. The Liu Family lived in building one, a house facing the street that must have been quite cheap when they purchased it; it was on the third floor, with a restaurant just underneath. Such layouts usually meant lower property values, but how much lower she did not know, and naturally, Meng Xiuying didn’t know how much it was sold for either.
One would think this woman was simply careless, but if the Liu Family intended to deceive her, the matter would be conveniently easy as Liu Xueliang was the homeowner. He had the final say in everything and facilitating such operations would be quite simple for him.
However, as Gong Mingxia passed the security room, she suddenly had a vigilant thought: she ran to the Residence Committee and called upon their people to accompany them back home to get their belongings.
After all, no one knew what condition the house was in now after one night. If anything was unclear later on, it could only lead to more trouble.
The whole community had learned about Meng Xiuying’s plight yesterday, so naturally, no one could refuse her request to have witnesses when she went to retrieve her belongings.
The group of four arrived at the house, relieved to find that her key still opened the door. But once inside, they were stunned to see the place turned upside down, as if it had been burglarized.
Hearing the noise, a neighbor from across the hall opened their door and exclaimed, "Oh my, Xiuying, you’re back! Your brother is no good at all. Taking advantage of no one being home this morning, he hauled away all the valuable furniture and appliances to sell them, absolutely unstoppable!"
Meng Xiuying didn’t seem surprised by this at all and said to the neighbor and the Residence Committee members, "I’ve only come back to fetch my clothes and documents. As for the house, they’ve already sold it—it’s not my concern. Whatever happens to these belongings is the Liu Family’s affair. I won’t touch them; if I did, I would be unable to clarify my involvement. When the time comes for the court and the police to investigate, I’d appreciate it if everyone could vouch for me."
While everyone lamented Meng Xiuying’s unfortunate circumstances and cursed the Liu Family for being despicable, Meng Xiuying was out of her room in less than half an hour.
Of course, while she was gathering her things, the bedroom door remained open, and everyone could see the signs of the room having been rummaged through. Fortunately, important documents like the ID Card, marriage certificate, and Household Registry were all there. Meng Xiuying also gathered Liu Xueliang’s documents to prevent him from using their absence as a pretext in case of a divorce.
With two large bags of clothes and necessary items for herself and her child, Gong Mingxia and the community members helped carry them, accompanying Meng Xiuying back to Gong Mingxia’s home.
"Sister, I’ll leave my luggage here for now, and the baby and I..."
"No need to go, who else from the Liu Family would come to stir up trouble now? With the furniture and appliances sold, do you think he’d even bother coming over? The way I see it, he must have lost a fair amount of money gambling. Selling the house wouldn’t cover it, so he’s dragged away all the household items to sell too. He must be in a real pinch for cash. So relax, he won’t come looking. Even if he did, with so many neighbors, we can always call the police. You and your child would be inconvenienced staying outside."
Meng Xiuying burst into tears, "But sister, I can’t keep imposing on you, making you sleep on the sofa and disturbing Xiao Xiao’s sleep at night." ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novelꞁire.net
"It’s no problem at all. Xiao Xiao and I have made it through tougher times than this. It’s nothing, really. Listen to me, just stay here and let Xiao Xiao play with her little sister."
Gong Mingxia patted Meng Xiuying’s shoulder and said no more, as she still had a pile of dishes to wash...