Time-Travel: The Tragic Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Character Makes a Comeback

CHAPTER 90: The Eldest Sister of the 90s Quits Sacrificing Herself (2)

　　After getting the compensation money, Zhao Fuyao made another trip to the police station and officially changed the name on the household register from Zhao Laidi to Zhao Fuyao.

　　Since both her parents had passed away and their household registrations had been canceled, she was now the head of the household herself.

　　She didn’t rush home afterward. Instead, she went straight to the station and bought a train ticket to the neighboring city of Haishi.

　　Based on the trends of this era, Haishi was going to become one of the country’s major economic hubs. Starting next year, it would receive massive government support for development. Yet despite only being separated by one city, housing prices there were already several times higher than in other cities.

　　Back in the original timeline, the original host had once worked temporary jobs in Haishi to support her younger siblings.

　　But right now, housing prices between the two cities were still relatively similar.

　　So Zhao Fuyao planned to buy herself an apartment first and move her household registration over.

　　In the early 90s, property prices still weren’t outrageous. A few tens of thousands of yuan could buy a pretty decent apartment in the city.

　　After asking around, Zhao Fuyao found two promising new residential developments and went to inspect them in person.

　　The first complex had just finished construction. The neighborhood was spacious, and the apartments were decorated quite stylishly for the era. A ninety-square-meter unit sold for fifty thousand yuan, but the location was a little too far from the city center.

　　The second development was downtown.

　　The complex had recently added two new residential buildings. The units were around seventy to eighty square meters with two bedrooms, and directly across the street was a school. Hospitals and shopping centers were nearby too. A seventy-square-meter apartment cost fifty-five thousand yuan.

　　Zhao Fuyao chose the downtown one without hesitation.

　　The building was seven stories tall. The first, second, and third floors had already sold out. The fourth floor still had two units left because people thought the number four was unlucky.

　　The fifth floor was gone too, while the sixth and seventh floors still had available units.

　　Zhao Fuyao couldn’t be bothered climbing six or seven flights of stairs every day, so she decided to pick one on the fourth floor instead.

　　The sales agent saw she was genuinely interested and immediately lowered the price of the fourth-floor units to fifty-three thousand yuan, saving her two thousand.

　　Zhao Fuyao was very satisfied with that.

　　What was wrong with number four anyway?

　　Stable in all directions.

　　Connected in all directions.

　　Wasn’t that exactly what Haishi’s future was going to become?

　　After comparing the middle unit and the east-facing one beside it, she ultimately chose the east unit.

　　It faced south with excellent sunlight. Two bedrooms, one living room, plus a balcony. Though officially seventy square meters, it looked more like eighty or ninety inside. Once furnished, it would be ready to move into immediately.

　　Zhao Fuyao was extremely satisfied.

　　The moment she decided, she signed the contract, paid for the apartment, and got the keys.

　　The entire process took less than half an hour.

　　Zhao Fuyao made it clear that she wanted the ownership transfer done as quickly as possible. She had already brought all her documents, including her ID card and household register.

　　The sales agent was in a great mood after securing the commission, so they immediately contacted a friend at the housing bureau and helped reserve her a processing slot.

　　Zhao Fuyao discreetly slipped the person a red envelope and asked them to accompany her there. Having someone with connections really did make things easier.

　　Just like that, after roughly two hours of running around, Zhao Fuyao successfully completed her residency registration.

　　She then made another trip to the nearby neighborhood office. Using the property documents, she obtained several certificates before heading to the police station to officially move her household registration out and create a brand-new household register belonging solely to her.

　　Finally freed from the Zhao family’s household register, she found a large restaurant nearby and ordered all her favorite dishes to celebrate escaping that miserable life at last.

　　……

　　Meanwhile, back at the Zhao family home…

　　“Where the hell did that dead girl run off to? We’ve been waiting two or three hours and she still isn’t back.”

　　Grandpa Zhao impatiently tapped his cane against the floor.

　　Grandma Zhao, with her bound feet and a blue cloth wrapped over her head, held her two precious grandsons in her arms while cursing nonstop.

　　“When that little bitch Zhao Laidi gets back, I’m gonna skin her alive! She’s got some nerve bullying my grandsons!”

　　At the side, Zhao Fuyao’s eldest uncle and aunt also looked displeased.

　　The eldest aunt-in-law, Sun Hong, dressed fashionably in a skirt suit and stockings, with her hair curled into soft waves. One hand held Zhao Pandi, the other held Zhao Handi, and every so often she would lovingly pat their heads.

　　“I told you Laidi was unreliable. What kind of big sister kicks her younger siblings out of the house? We absolutely can’t let her hold onto the compensation money. Otherwise she’ll waste all of it.”

　　The moment Grandma Zhao heard that, she immediately exploded.

　　“Bah! Since when does money from the Zhao family get touched by some little girl? She’s already eighteen this year anyway. Just find someone and marry her off already. A married daughter is like water poured out of the house. She has no right to speak on family matters.”

　　Grandpa Zhao stayed silent, but it was obvious he agreed.

　　Uncle Zhao shot his wife a meaningful look, smiling faintly.

　　Their parents were already old. As long as the couple managed to keep the four children under control, wouldn’t all that compensation money eventually fall right into their hands?

　　Sun Hong was secretly excited too. She had heard that after the mining accident, the compensation for the two deaths would amount to at least a hundred thousand yuan.

　　She and her husband only earned three to four hundred yuan a month combined. To them, over a hundred thousand yuan was practically a fortune falling from the sky.

　　Not only was that enough to buy them a decent apartment, there would even be plenty left over to start some kind of business. It basically meant a straight leap into becoming a rich family.

　　When Zhao Handi saw the eldest aunt’s barely contained excitement, she noticed the faint tremble at the corners of the aunt’s lips as she forced a smile.

　　She frowned slightly. At sixteen, she was already more perceptive than most. She had always been the more thoughtful one compared to her eldest sister.

　　Even though her uncle and aunt had always treated them well…

　　That money clearly belonged to their family. Yet the way Grandpa, Grandma, and Aunt Sun were acting made it feel like it had already become theirs.

　　She did not dare to speak up. After all, they still depended on their grandparents and uncle to survive. She could only grumble inwardly.

　　The whole family waited and waited, but even after nightfall, Zhao Laidi still had not returned.

　　Grandma Zhao finally ordered someone to kick the door open.

　　Uncle Zhao did not hesitate either and slammed his foot right into it.

　　The house left behind by Zhao Laidi’s parents was a two-bedroom apartment with one living room, around sixty square meters.

　　Once inside, Uncle Zhao and Aunt Sun immediately began rummaging through drawers and cabinets.

　　“Eh? Where are the household register and property documents?”

　　“Pandi, Handi, where did your parents usually keep them?”

　　Zhao Pandi, a little clueless, led Aunt Sun into her parents’ room. But when they opened the drawer and saw it completely empty, she immediately cried out, “It must’ve been Laidi who took them!”

　　Grandma Zhao rushed over when she heard the commotion.

　　“And what about the passbook and the cash at home?”

　　Zhao Pandi opened her mouth to speak, but Zhao Handi quickly cut in.

　　“Grandma, Mom and Dad never told us where they hid the money. Maybe you should check the wardrobe.”    

　　They grumbled and started rummaging through the wardrobes.

　　Zhao Handi immediately pulled Zhao Pandi outside and lowered her voice. “It has to be Big Sister who took it. We’ll ask her for it later and just tell Grandpa and Grandma the money got confiscated. Don’t you still want some pocket money to buy clothes?”

　　Zhao Pandi, who loved dressing up, immediately nodded. She whispered back, “Yeah, let’s split it fifty-fifty. If they ask, we’ll just say we don’t know.”

　　“Mm.”

　　Inside the room, the others searched for a long time but found nothing, which only made them even more frustrated and angry.

　　Grandma Zhao took out her anger on the granddaughters. “Pandi! Handi! You two useless girls, get in here! It’s your own house and you don’t even know where things are kept? Come in and look properly!”

　　Aunt Sun Hong quickly stepped in to play peacemaker. “Mom, these girls are well-behaved. Don’t scare them. I’ll look instead.”

　　Zhao Pandi looked at her with gratitude. Zhao Handi, on the other hand, remained expressionless but still politely said, “Thank you, Auntie.”

　　The Zhao family waited for two full days, but Zhao Laidi never came back.

　　Uncle Zhao could not wait any longer. He took Zhao Pandi straight to the coal factory to ask for the compensation money.

　　But the staff told them the money had already been collected.

　　Only then did Uncle Zhao realize. It was that damn Zhao Laidi. She had already taken everything and run off.

　　The Zhao family exploded in anger, cursing nonstop and even reporting it to the police.

　　The police asked them for identification and the household register, but they could not produce anything. Since it was considered a family dispute and not fraud, the officers only gave a few words of mediation advice, told them to look for the child among relatives, and sent them off.

　　The Zhao family left fuming and split up to search the city.

　　Meanwhile, in neighboring Haishi…

　　Zhao Fuyao had already bought furniture and settled into her new home.   

　　A home that belonged only to her. Everything inside was brand new, furnished in a clean, minimalist style.

　　The living room had a large carpet spread across the floor, with a low table beside it. On top sat a delicate glass vase holding a few lilies. The fragrance was light and fresh, filling the space with a sense of life.

　　There were two bedrooms. One was turned into a study, the other for living.

　　Once the house was settled, Zhao Fuyao quickly contacted the school again. She still had to continue her studies.

　　The original owner had only just turned eighteen. After finishing middle school, her parents no longer wanted to support her education and pushed her out to work and help support the family.

　　But she loved studying. She had already been admitted to high school, so during the summer break she went to a construction site to do heavy labor, moving bricks. She endured two full months of frugal living just to save enough for her first-year tuition.

　　She completed her first year of high school, but when it came to second year, her parents firmly refused to let her continue. They made her follow her cousin to work out of town instead.

　　That same year, she spent three months working away from home with her cousin and finally saved enough tuition money. She originally planned to go back to school, but then her parents suddenly passed away.

　　Shocked and overwhelmed, and with younger siblings to care for, she ultimately gave up her studies.   

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