Transmigration: On the Gossip Front

Zhang Yu had just arrived home when she saw a crowd had already gathered inside, their expressions seemingly awaiting her return.

With a sigh, Zhang Yu resigned herself to the situation. Well, it seemed the crux of the matter was about to unfold. Better to settle things sooner so she could complete her mission.

Indeed, Zhang Yu was on a mission, tasked with fulfilling the assignments given to her by each client.

She had no idea how many others were like her, nor why they were obliged to undertake these missions.

But her goal was crystal clear: to complete missions with high quality, take on more assignments, and thereby earn enough points to save her family of three.

When Zhang Dagu and the others saw Zhang Yu come home, they said, "Little Yu, why are you so late today?"

"The boss needed me for something," Zhang Yu knew that in Zhang Dagu's eyes, or in the eyes of anyone in the Zhang family, she was only a minor financial staffer.

She was just an insignificant little person, someone they only cared about when they needed her to do household chores.

Zhang Dagu really didn't care why Zhang Yu was late leaving work. "Your brothers are here, go cook."

With everyone present, it was astonishing that not a single one could cook—they were all waiting for her. Zhang Yu couldn't be bothered to complain; it was just making a meal, after all.

Though it was unpleasant to say, making one meal less or more didn't matter. Today they were discussing the division of the house, and she could also mention her upcoming out-of-town work assignment.

Once she returned in the future, she would be a guest. Surely, when visiting someone's home as a guest, they wouldn't expect her to cook.

Zhang Yu changed her clothes and then went to the kitchen to cook, while the rest of the Zhang family discussed the situation in the living room.

Efficiently preparing the meal, she was completely disinterested in the discussions happening outside. After all, with the old house being demolished, everyone from Zhang Dagu and his wife to the three siblings, Zhang Guohua and Zhang Hong, was happy to have received a new house.

Only Zhang Yu, who lived with her parents, didn't get a house because she was unmarried and expected to live with Zhang Dagu and his wife in the future.

Since they had opted for resettlement, it would be years before they could move into their new house, meaning they would need to rent in the meantime.

The rent was to be covered by Zhang Dagu and his wife, while the household expenses were Zhang Yu's responsibility. Normally, the three of them didn't spend much.

But the Zhang family was a clan rich in kinship; on Saturdays and Sundays, the two sons and the daughter would return home with their families in tow for meals, and Zhang Yu was the main force behind buying groceries and cooking.

Previously, Zhang Yu had been handing over two thousand yuan for living expenses, and the Zhang family managed fine with that; she was just a bit more tired, and the elders would pay for the groceries.

However, once they moved out, weekends alone saw Zhang Yu spending over a thousand yuan on groceries, needing to buy quality fruits and ingredients.

Zhang Yu had hoped to breathe a sigh of relief after moving into the new house, but then the eldest grandson Zhang Yi decided to get married, and Zhang Guohua and his wife had to prepare for their son's wedding.

The ever cash-strapped Zhang Guohua and his wife, of course, set their sights on the wealthier Zhang Dagu and his wife and successfully secured three hundred thousand yuan from the elderly couple.

Zhang Shouhua and his wife, under the guise of sending Zhang Xin abroad for studies, also smoothly pocketed three hundred thousand from the older couple.

Zhang Hong's household wasn't to be outdone; they received one hundred thousand from the elders as well.

Seeing that their funds were depleting, the elderly couple grew reluctant to spend on renovating the house. They argued that the house would eventually go to Zhang Yu anyway, so she should pay for the renovations.

After moving into the new place, the elderly couple began contributing two thousand a month for living expenses. After all, with a great-grandson born, the family elders had to provide for his milk powder and diapers.

After Zhang Xin left for studies abroad and took on a job to ease the family's financial burden, the elderly couple learned of this and insisted that studying abroad meant focusing on education, promising to contribute forty thousand a year.

Consequently, the elderly couple's retirement income almost entirely vanished, and Zhang Yu had no choice but to continue upholding the family's dignity, spending her entire monthly salary in the process.

Despite this, Zhang Guohua and his family would often assert that Zhang Yu, who lived with their parents, was the most privileged of them all.

Zhang Yu, who was never one to defend herself, had indeed spent a lot of money and yet ended up labeled as a leech living off her parents.

But that wasn't even the worst of it. The worst part was that, before the elderly couple passed away, they actually left a will stating that the house would be left to the Zhang Family's eldest grandson, Zhang Yi.

Zhang Yu wasn't necessarily unable to continue living there, but the result was that Zhang Yi and his wife planned to move to a better living environment and sold the old couple's house.

Consequently, Zhang Yu found herself without a place to live, and Zhang Yi and his wife, who looked down upon their penniless aunt, were certainly not about to help solve her housing problem.

Having no choice, Zhang Yu had to rent a place to live, and in her old age, she ended up in a nursing home. As for those brothers and sisters who had promised to take care of her, they all vanished.

There were still Zhang Family gatherings, but Zhang Yu was no longer included. The reason they gave was that they feared going out to eat would increase the sister's financial burden since they paid using a Dutch pay system.

The original owner's wishes were simple, just to have a house to live in, so that she wouldn't be left with nowhere to turn when she got old.

To Zhang Yu, this was a very simple request—it was just a matter of buying a house.

Zhang Yu remembered that next year the corporate group was planning to exit internal housing subscriptions, and with her recent job transfer, her position and seniority were established—she certainly couldn't miss out.

As for the house belonging to Zhang Dagu and his wife, whoever wanted to renovate could do so; she had no intentions of counting on that house anyway.

No longer would she be like before, helping out when it was time to work but left out when it was time to divide the house. Only a fool would be willing to accept such a deal.

After years of cooking, Zhang Yu adeptly finished preparing the meal.

"Dad, Mom, you can eat now." She announced this in the main house before returning to the kitchen to start serving the dishes.

She was the cook, but she had no expectation that anyone else would help with serving the food—that was out of the question.

Zhang Yu became busy once again, while the Zhang Family members, upon hearing the meal was ready, held their tea cups in hand.

As for pitching in with the chores, that was simply not going to happen.

After Zhang Yu served the dishes, she announced, "Dad, Mom, big brother and sister-in-law, second brother and sister-in-law, big sister and brother-in-law, I have something to say."

Zhang Yu seized the opportunity before the news of dividing the house was brought up, "Today, the leadership talked to me, saying that the branch office in another region needs an external financial staff member."

"The leaders have decided to send me, and I have agreed."

"I'll be starting work in the other region next Monday."

The Zhang Family members were flabbergasted by Zhang Yu's sudden announcement that she was going to work in another place.

Zhang Dagu may have always complained about Zhang Yu's substandard work, but when he genuinely heard that she was going to work in another region, he was truly stunned.

"Why suddenly go work in another region?"

"Exactly." Zhang Guohua knew that their current situation, free from worry for the elderly couple and able to return each week to ready-made meals, was all thanks to Zhang Yu's presence.

He hadn't anticipated her actually taking a job in another region, "All's well here, why go there? Can't you just not go?"

Everyone was reluctant to see Zhang Yu leave, knowing that once she was gone, if Zhang Dagu and his wife fell ill, it would be their responsibility.

Not to mention they could still come back each week for a free meal and drinks, but the question was who would do the cooking and cleaning.

Zhang Dagu glared, "You're not allowed to go."