She could see it, so naturally, Lu Changzhu and Liu Sanjin could see it too. Now that her son ended up in court and turned out like this, it was because of that Sai Jinhua.

A woman who had been married, a few years older than her son, actually seduced her excellent son. It was all the fault of this slut.

"Slut...."

"If there's any more noise, please take the family outside."

Liu Sanjin's words got stuck in her throat. She glared at Sai Jinhua with resentment, the latter disheveled and despondent, showing no reaction to their curses and hatred. Her life was about to end soon.

After the trial began, the judge directly described the crimes of those seated in the dock. Upon hearing Lu Jiaxuan's conviction for embezzlement, bribery, bullying men and dominating women, and his sentence of forty-five years in prison, Lu Changzhu and Liu Sanjin's eyes widened, almost unable to believe their ears.

Zhou Jiaojiao even whimpered aloud. On her way here, she already knew Lu Jiaxuan was doomed, but she still held onto a sliver of hope.

She thought even if Lu Jiaxuan committed a crime, he would consider their two children, and for their sake, he would find a way to pin the charges on someone else.

But she didn't expect that all of them would get sentences over forty years, with the heaviest being Sai Jinhua, who was directly sentenced to death.

It's over, all over. Her job, her future, her two poor children—how will they live in the future!

Without needing Zhou Jiaojiao to explain, Lu Qiancheng naturally understood. Lu Yaya didn't understand but dared not speak either, her little face very serious, showing that she could tell her father was in trouble.

Shen Meng looked on and felt a sense of relief throughout her body, as if a long-standing burden had finally been lifted. She had been waiting for this moment.

In the original story, Lu Yaya and Lu Qiancheng often bullied her family's Mingyang, Mingliang, and Ming Fang. It was imaginable how their lives would turn out from then on.

As Shen Meng left, heart-wrenching cries were heard from the court. She raised her hand to block the sunlight shining on her, and as she squinted, she seemed to see a blurred smiling face, thanking her.

After picking up four kids from Yu Xueli's shop, she went home to pack their things. That afternoon, she took them to the Provincial City. She didn't want to get involved with a pile of troublesome matters back home, and it was best to stay away.

In the evening, Lu Zhenping arrived with a bag. Seeing Shen Meng had cooked, he put the bag down and first hugged her when he saw the kids weren't around.

"We just drove over, don't bother cooking tonight. There's a restaurant not far from our compound, can't we just grab a bite there?"

"It's been more than half a month since I saw you. I wanted to cook something good for you to nourish you. What's in that bag?"

Lu Zhenping brought the bag over again, taking out all the documents inside.

"These are the three courtyard houses you bought in Shangjing a few days ago, one for each child. These are your registered company business licenses and one for a sole proprietorship. You wanted to open a hotpot restaurant, so I found a storefront for you on He Ping Road. It's quite suitable, you can check it out when you have time."

Upon hearing this, Shen Meng was delighted. The housing contracts and certificates were all complete. When she went to Shangjing, she checked them herself, and Bai Yan, for all his faults, did handle this reliably.

"It's smooth when there's someone in the court; Bai Yan did a great job on this. Next time he's here, let's treat him to a meal, a hotpot."

"No need, he's your cousin, it's his duty. Why invite him for a meal?"

"We should still invite him; of course, the person who deserves the most praise is you. If you didn't push hard in between, there's no way these licenses would pass so quickly. Hardware, clothing, textiles, construction, interior design, jewelry, yes, that's exactly what I want. Zhang Shuai over there in the county is also helping me arrange them, should be finished soon."

Seeing Shen Meng full of enthusiasm, Lu Zhenping couldn't help but sigh. These were all industries she had come into contact with in recent years. He didn't realize before what kind of business his wife wanted to do. Now he saw it, she registered these industries, covering almost all the categories of the state-owned factories in the Provincial City and the factories in the county.

In a few years, if anything happened to the factories, she could buy them out directly.

No wonder she's his wife, her mind is sharp and clever.

Eighty-nine years.

Mingyang, Mingliang, and Ming Fang all went to college: one to police academy, one to business school, and one studied medicine. Shen Meng was very anxious about their choices.

She worried herself into turning several strands of her hair white. Though she could handle social drinking and dining occasions well, now looking at the disobedient children, she ate one less bowl of rice than usual from the discomfort.

"Mom, I'll be a sophomore after the new year, and you're still so upset? Didn't you agree when I decided to attend the police academy back then?"

Shen Meng pointed angrily at Mingyang.

"You little brat, that was a tactic of delay! Do you think being a police officer is easy? No need to mention anything else, you can't even eat meals regularly for days with that job, let alone getting a wife in the future! I prepared a large dowry for you, when are you planning to bring a girlfriend home?"

Lu Mingyang's cheeks blushed. He was just about to finish his freshman year and enter the intense studies of his sophomore year—who had time to find a girlfriend? He was so busy he wished he had an extra brain.

Seeing Lu Mingyang didn't speak, Shen Meng turned her gaze to Lu Mingliang, who was pretending to read a book. The latter shivered and stood up immediately.

"Mom, if you want me to find a girlfriend, I'll get you one tomorrow, really, guaranteed to be pretty."

"Calm down, ancestor, when you're at a dinner with me, you manage to hook the eyes of the little daughters of my business partners. I'm asking you to find a girlfriend, not to become a playboy. If you keep on messing around, see if I don't beat you up."

"Mom, don't be angry. Second brother is good-looking, that's inevitable. He flutters those peach blossom eyes, seducing one after another. You can't entirely blame him for it."

Shen Meng was momentarily choked up, seeing her obedient and lovable Ming Fang, the little girl studying medicine. It truly broke her heart that she had to wear glasses at such a young age.

"You know, I wanted you to study business before but you refused. Then I said to study languages, to become a teacher, but you still refused. Why medicine? Don't blame me for not warning you, becoming a doctor means you'll be very tired, and staying up late often leads to hair loss." ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ NovᴇlFɪre.ɴet

Lu Mingfang: "......"

Getting a bit older and you still love to joke!!!

Ming Kai glanced at one, then the other, wisely choosing to remain silent. He was still a kid and though he was already in high school, he knew it was best not to speak up when mom was scolding others. Otherwise, he would be treated differently than his brothers and sisters, and he might really get beaten up.