I Was Reborn into the Past and Saved My Stunning Sister-in-Law at the Beginning - Chapter 68:

Chapter 68: Everyone’s Calculating Their Own Gains

Deputy Director Li was an old hand at this; how could he not know what this old woman was after? He asked the security office for a detailed account and learned that Jia Dongxu was just a temporary worker, and the accident had been caused by his own distraction at work. Knowing this, Deputy Director Li already had a plan.

“Alright, old lady, we are deeply saddened by your son’s death. After careful consideration, we decided to compensate you with 500 yuan. What do you think?”

In this era, 500 yuan was a considerable amount, especially since Jia Dongxu was only a temporary worker. If it weren’t for the fear of higher authorities investigating and the impact on the factory’s productivity, Deputy Director Li wouldn’t even have agreed to that much.

But no one expected that 500 yuan wouldn’t satisfy Jia Zhangshi at all. She showed no sign of backing down, and the situation became tense. Deputy Director Li’s face darkened immediately. Five hundred yuan was not a small amount. What more did this old woman want?

At this point, Yi Zhonghai, who had bandaged his face, returned to the scene. After all, the person who died was his apprentice, and he had to show up on such an occasion.

“Old Yi, what happened to your face?” Deputy Director Li, of course, recognized Yi Zhonghai. As the factory’s only level-eight fitter, he was treated like a treasure.

“I accidentally bumped into something. Since this man was my apprentice, I also bear some responsibility for this accident, Director Li.”

Of course, Yi Zhonghai was just being polite, and Deputy Director Li knew it.

“Old Yi, don’t say that. Everyone knows you always work diligently in the factory. I just said we’ll compensate 500 yuan and settle the matter, but this old lady refuses. Maybe you can try persuading her.”

Deputy Director Li had no intention of arguing with this old woman himself. He simply threw the headache over to Yi Zhonghai—after all, it was his apprentice who had died.

“Ahem.” Yi Zhonghai coughed theatrically. “Madam, 500 yuan is already a lot. You also know that this accident can’t be entirely blamed on the factory. Besides, Dongxu wasn’t a permanent worker.”

Given the choice between pleasing Jia Zhangshi or Deputy Director Li, any sensible person knew whom to pick.

“You heartless bastard, all you do is cozy up to the leaders. Is my son’s tragic death only worth 500 yuan?” Jia Zhangshi scolded viciously. Many people were still watching, and Yi Zhonghai felt utterly humiliated. He had already tolerated her once, but this time she crossed the line.

Yi Zhonghai flushed with anger but still said nothing. Deputy Director Li had no patience left for this old woman. “If you don’t listen to reason, go ahead and file a complaint! But don’t blame me if you end up getting nothing, and the factory’s operations are affected—let’s see how you clean up that mess!”

With that, Deputy Director Li turned around to leave. This finally frightened Jia Zhangshi. If it really came to that, she’d be finished.

“Wait, Director! Qin Huairu, go stop the director!” Deputy Director Li wasn’t really planning to leave. This little incident didn’t need to escalate; otherwise, it would impact both him and the steel factory. Spending a little money to settle things was the best approach.

As he turned back, Deputy Director Li finally noticed Qin Huairu, who was still crying like a weeping beauty. His eyes lit up instantly.

“And this is?”

Goodness, she was even more beautiful than Liu Lan from the factory kitchen.

“Director Li, this is my apprentice’s new wife. They just got married yesterday, and who would have thought this would happen today?” Yi Zhonghai forced himself to explain, having heard some rumors about Deputy Director Li’s character. He was afraid his apprentice’s widow might get involved with him.

“Indeed, this is a real tragedy. Then how about this? The original compensation remains unchanged, but let’s have her take over Jia Dongxu’s position. After all, the family needs some source of income.”

Deputy Director Li appeared to be caring about the worker’s family, but only he knew his real intentions. Jia Zhangshi, however, couldn’t see through it. Hearing that the job could be kept along with the 500 yuan compensation, she finally stopped her tantrum.

…

The news of Jia Dongxu’s tragic death at the steel factory had spread throughout the Courtyard. The other residents had various thoughts about it, but none of them felt any genuine sympathy. The happiest, of course, was He Yuzhu, who, being as straightforward as ever, didn’t even bother to hide it. He even said he would make a couple of dishes tonight and invite Xu Feng to celebrate—but Xu Feng wasn’t in the Courtyard.

It really confirmed the old saying: you never know who will have the last laugh. They had been fighting and competing every day, and from the looks of it, Jia Dongxu seemed to have the upper hand with his beautiful wife. Who would have thought it would end like this?

Despite his joy, to be fair, He Yuzhu did feel a hint of sympathy. After all, they had grown up together in the same yard. Even if they often quarreled, it wasn’t the kind of life-or-death grudge. Moreover, He Yuzhu wasn’t a bad person at heart. He even thought that maybe he should take care of the beautiful widow from now on—they lived in the same yard, after all.

Others, like Yan Jiecheng, were outright gloating. He had always envied Jia Dongxu’s temporary job at the steel factory—if he became a permanent worker, it would have been a lifetime of security. And of course, he also envied the beautiful wife Jia Dongxu had, especially those two exaggerated… Now that Jia Dongxu was gone, he wouldn’t get to enjoy any of it.

“Sigh, old man, how do you think the factory will handle this?” Third Aunt, though not malicious, still felt it was a pity for such a young man to die.

“Jia Dongxu was just a temporary worker. I guess they’ll compensate around 400 yuan. But what’s the point? The person’s already gone.” Third Uncle didn’t say anything mean but was already thinking about something else. Since this happened in the yard, Yi Zhonghai would definitely organize a collection later. With so much compensation already, they probably wouldn’t have to contribute.

Upon hearing his father’s words, Yan Jiecheng started to envy again. That’s 400 yuan—if used wisely, it would be enough to change his fate.

“Oh right, Dad, now that Jia Dongxu is gone, do you think we can find a way for me to take his place?” Truly heartless—he was already thinking about profiting from the tragedy.

“Probably not. The factory will likely have his widow take his position. But a woman working in the workshop…” In any case, the dead had nothing to do with them now. Maybe they could still pull some strings to make it happen.