Zuo Family

Biodata

Background / History

Inheritance and family division

Old Master Zuo was a business genius whose company and 99.9% of his assets ultimately went to his eldest son, Zuo Zhenrong. Zuo Zhenrong was also the family’s unquestioned heir from childhood, despite believing that his father favored his younger half-brother, Father Zuo. 7 15

Father Zuo was the legitimate son of Old Master Zuo’s second marriage. He surrendered his inheritance rights after his conflict with Zuo Zhenrong, taking only money and a small portion of Old Master Zuo’s personal property; he later moved his family to City G. 10

Zuo Zhenrong interfered with Old Master Zuo’s intended burial arrangements, placing him in a different cemetery and restricting access. In response, Father Zuo removed his own mother’s remains from their joint burial plot. 19

Known household

Major Events

• Zuo Junhao took a jade-carved rockery ornament from Ming Jiu’s family during a childhood visit. The seemingly ordinary souvenir later became the spatial cheat behind his post-apocalyptic rise. 1
• Ming Jiu infiltrated the Zuo Family villa during Zuo Zhenrong’s birthday banquet and took the jade ornament from a second-floor study. 10 11
• Evidence of Zuo Junhao’s embezzlement was sent to the group’s directors. Zuo Zhenrong chose to liquidate family assets rather than surrender his shares or allow his son to face the consequences alone. 18 22 34
• Assets held under Zuo Junxin’s name were also sold or transferred to fill the deficit. During a manic episode, Zuo Junhao had her sedated and used her fingerprints on contract documents. 34
• Under pressure from the board, Zuo Junhao was suspended. By this point, the family had roughly two million in readily available cash and deposits, with nearly thirty million more tied up in illiquid wealth-management products. 45
• During the Lunar New Year, Zuo Zhenrong and Madam Zuo contacted Ming Jiu through the family chat, probing into the inheritance Old Master Zuo had left her. 47

Relationships

• Ming Jiu — Estranged niece and granddaughter. Her father’s break with the family led to her upbringing in City G; she later steals back the jade ornament that Zuo Junhao had taken from her household. 10 11
• Ming Rong — Estranged younger niece and granddaughter. Zuo Junhao arranges access to a psychologist for her, though Ming Jiu remains distrustful of him. 21
• Zuo Junhao — Zuo Zhenrong’s son and the family’s principal crisis. His embezzlement forces the liquidation of family assets, while his secrecy keeps even his parents unaware of his stockpiles and spatial cheat. 34 35
• Zuo Junxin — Zuo Zhenrong’s daughter. She bullied Ming Jiu in their youth, contributing to Father Zuo’s decision to leave City B with his family. 21
• Chu Family — Connected through Zuo Junhao’s engagement to Chu Lanning. The Zuo Family seeks to preserve the alliance after its financial collapse, and Zuo Junhao resumes contacting Chu Lanning under pressure. 32 45

Trivia

• The family’s WeChat group is named “One Big Happy Family,” despite its members’ persistent conflicts and financial collapse. 47
• The Zuo Family has a single plantation whose reported output in the apocalypse was far below the quantity of crops it traded with the City B base, helping conceal production from Zuo Junhao’s space. 9