Chapter 70 70 Being Beaten

Cheng Yuntian hadn't really made up her mind about the showdown with Manager Zhang. She glanced at Jiang Lili and thought for a moment, "Let's have the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. We should have a good New Year."

"That's true." Jiang Lili nodded in agreement. Thinking that school would start on the 16th day of the first lunar month, she rubbed her brows and said, "I'll have to start preparing for the start of school when I get home."

Cheng Yuntian smiled at her. Perhaps it was her maturity that made her forget she was still a student. She suddenly looked at Jiang Lili with some curiosity: "Lili, what major are you planning to study in college?"

"I haven't decided yet." Jiang Lili truly hadn't made up her mind. She was just parroting other people's ideas about toy design, but if she didn't choose design, what else could she choose? Before her awakening, she'd considered studying Chinese and continuing all the way through, but that had changed since her parents' divorce.

"I thought you had already planned it!" Cheng Yuntian was a little surprised. After all, she looked like the kind of person who had planned her future early on.

"No rush, there are still more than two years left." Many people in later generations have jobs that are not related to their majors, so Jiang Lili is indeed not in a hurry about this matter. However, she thinks that the most urgent task is that Tongqu Players should recruit designers, and not always pick on her alone.

"I'm already preparing for this. Don't worry, I'm really not Zhou Baopi." Cheng Yuntian used a joking tone to relax the atmosphere.

"That's good." Jiang Lili breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that. She couldn't be sure that every toy she designed would be a hit.

Compared to the hard seat, the sleeper berth was much more comfortable, but Jiang Lili still didn't sleep well. She yawned and was still thinking before falling asleep. She didn't know if they would like the things she brought back.

When they arrived at Yuncheng Railway Station, Jiang Lili originally thought that only Jiang Yulan came to pick her up, but she didn't expect that the whole family would come. Cheng Yuntian's parents also came to pick him up, so the Jiang family and Yuncheng's richest man Cheng Dabiao met in this way.

Cheng Dabiao invited the Jiang family to his home, but Jiang Jianyi declined: "Maybe next time. The two children just came back and they must be very tired."

"Uncle Jiang is right. Let's get together again next time." Cheng Dabiao said as he stretched out his hand to shake hands with the old man. Cheng Yuntian waved goodbye to them.

"It seems that Boss Cheng is not as scary as he said." Jiang Aiguo said, staring at the backs of the family of three in front of him. As the richest man, Cheng Dabiao has many rumors about him.

"You already said it was just a rumor. Rumors can't be trusted." Jiang Yulan said, looking at Jiang Lili beside her, her tone filled with resentment: "Why did you buy so many things? It's so troublesome for you to carry them all by yourselves."

"I didn't want to trouble Uncle Lu and the others every time I go to Jincheng, so I bought some specialties from Quanshi. I bought them for them. It would be bad not to buy for others, so I ended up buying so much." Jiang Lili said, spreading her hands helplessly.

"You are very thoughtful. Don't worry about these things next time. Just leave them to me." Jiang Yulan has already prepared the gift for the Lu family.

"Okay." Jiang Lili responded happily, but she would do the same next time.

It was at this time that Jiang Lili realized that Jiang Qitong was not there. She asked casually, "Why is Tongtong not here?"

"She went to her grandmother's house. We'll pick her up tomorrow. Let's go home first." Zhou Qingfen suggested.

"Yes, yes, let's go back first." The others also reacted.

When they got home, Jiang Lili spoke first without waiting for them to ask: "This time it went very smoothly, thanks to meeting He Jian and the others. Aunt Tian works in that factory."

"What a coincidence?" Jiang Yulan was a little surprised. The departure of Tian Shufen and her son was no secret. Last year, her family members came to the cotton mill to inquire about her, but nothing came of it in the end.

"Yeah, I didn't expect that this time, thanks to them, we can be so smooth." Jiang Lili's heart was full of emotion. Because of He Jinsheng's madness, she once regretted helping them mother and son. Now it seems that if it weren't for that good fate, there would be no help this time.

"Just get to the bottom of the matter. Don't leak any news about the mother and son to anyone. Remember to remind Xiao Cheng. The He family hasn't given up on finding them." He Jinsheng went in. The old couple of the He family were still waiting to ask Tian Shufen for money. It would be best if they couldn't find them.

"I know. I told Sister Cheng that day. She still wants to get more information from them, so she will keep her mouth shut."

"That's good. Lili must be very tired after sitting on the train for such a long time. There is not much to eat on the train. Why don't you eat something to fill your stomach first?" Zhou Qingfen said as she went to the kitchen to prepare some dumplings for her.

"Okay, then I'll trouble you, aunt." Jiang Lili was thinking and decided to send the things to the Lu family in the evening.

"Your uncle Lu and his family will be returning to Jincheng on the eighth day of the New Year. Can the things you bought be left there? If so, I will bring them over when I go to Jincheng for work." Jiang Yulan asked.

"Yes, what we ate were selected from those that could be preserved, and the others were all handicrafts." Jiang Lili nodded.

"Okay, I'll take you to Jincheng then." Jiang Yulan said.

"Okay, Aunt Qiu, let them send it over in the evening." Speaking of which, it was Qiu Shaoli who made the connection with Manager Zhang. She was originally hesitating whether to tell her about this matter, but then she changed her mind and decided to let Manager Zhang and Cheng Yuntian handle this matter themselves.

"Okay, I'll go with you." While the mother and daughter were talking, Zhou Qingfen was already busy in the kitchen, and soon she came out with dumplings.

*

Lu Jiaze only learned of Jiang Li's departure to Quan City on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year when he accompanied his family to the Jiang family's house to pay New Year's greetings. He was surprised and felt that she was getting further and further away from him, but there was nothing he could do. All he could do was, as his brother had said, maintain his current grades and physical fitness and work hard for his dream.

When he heard his family praising Jiang Lili, he agreed in his heart. Qiu Shaoli sighed, "Lili's condition isn't Ji Yushu's fault. If he hadn't accepted that mother and daughter, Lili wouldn't be working as hard as she is now."

Qiu Shaoli also felt sorry for Jiang Lili. That child had always been smart and capable. Why did she suddenly become so hardworking? Wasn't it because the only ones she could rely on now were herself and Jiang Yulan?

"It's already happened. There's no point in talking about it anymore." Lu Liangjun quickly stopped her from discussing the matter. In his opinion, there was no need to discuss what had already happened. However, Lu Jiaze, who was standing next to her, heard this. Yes, if it weren't for Ji Mingyue's appearance, Jiang Lili wouldn't be like this now. She would still be the same as before.

These past few days, this sentence has been ringing in Lu Jiaze's mind, so much so that when he opened the door and saw the mother and daughter outside, their eyes were full of surprise: "Aunt Jiang, why are you here?"

Jiang Lili was a little surprised by his surprise, and then explained: "I came back from Quan City and brought back some local specialties for Uncle Lu and Aunt Qiu."

"Jia Ze, who is it?" Qiu Shaoli asked casually inside.

"Mom, Aunt Jiang and the others are here." Lu Jiaze said as he stepped aside to let them in.

"When did Lili come back?" Seeing Jiang Lili, Qiu Shaoli's face was full of surprise.

"I came back this morning. This is a specialty I bought in Quan City. Aunt Qiu, you can try it." Jiang Lili said as she handed the thing in her hand to the mother and son.

"Our Lili is so thoughtful. She still remembers us when she goes out. It must be hard to carry all these along the way?" Qiu Shaoli was naturally happy to be remembered by others.

"It's not hard. My mom and the others have been waiting at the station since early morning." Jiang Lili smiled and shook her head.

"Is Quan City fun? Your mother said you went there to do some business. Have you done it?" Qiu Shaoli asked her while handing them the water cup.

"It was quite fun. I was lucky this time and got it done." Jiang Lili answered her question obediently.

Lu Jiaze sat beside them without saying a word. He couldn't help but start to lose focus while listening to their conversation, until Qiu Shaoli patted his shoulder and said, "Lili, are you talking to me? Why are you daydreaming?"

"I'm sorry, what did you say just now?" Lu Jiaze looked at Jiang Lili with some apology.

"It's okay, I just wanted to ask about the progress of your homework. I guess I'll have to stay home and catch up on it in the next few days." Jiang Lili sighed. She always had to rush to finish her homework before school started.

"I'm about the same. I've been busy playing these past few days." Lu Jiaze didn't actually have much homework left.

"It seems that we all share the same suffering." After the adults on both sides exchanged a few words, the mother and daughter waved goodbye to them. After they left, Lu Jiaze withdrew his gaze and looked at the things Jiang Lili brought next to him without saying a word for a long time.

In the next few days, Jiang Lili stayed at home and finished her homework with Jiang Qitong. They lived a happy life. Jiang Yulan went to work every day. Now the first version of the hand-torn book has been completed, and it is being adjusted continuously. If nothing unexpected happens, it will be put into production smoothly at the end of the month.

At the Ji family's iron factory, Ji Yumo had been asking around for Song Zhenzhen's whereabouts ever since his divorce from Yao Yan. No matter what Chen Guilan and the others said, he refused to give up. He felt that since he had finally divorced Yao Yan, he naturally wanted to marry the person he wanted to marry. So, he began arguing with his parents, insisting on his own ideas. On Ji Wenwu's side, Chen Guilan and the others only took care of his food and drink. As for his studies, which had previously been handled by Yao Yan, they had no idea. So, with school almost about to start, Ji Wenwu had only just begun his winter vacation homework.

Hearing the noise coming from the next door, he quietly left the courtyard. He had agreed with his classmate next door to borrow his homework so he could copy it, which would be much faster. When the agreed time came, the other party still hadn't shown up. Ji Wenwu couldn't help but frown, then walked towards the alley ahead without paying attention.

Someone was already waiting for him in the alley. When Ji Wenwu spotted the two yellow-haired men in front of him, his eyes became alert: "Who are you?"

The two yellow-haired men didn't say anything, but just looked him up and down. After confirming his identity, they started fighting without saying a word. Ji Wenwu was naturally no match for them. He turned around and ran when they were not paying attention, but they caught up with him. He quickly negotiated with them: "Two big brothers, as long as you are willing to let me go, you can have whatever you want."

Unfortunately, they ignored his pleas for mercy and just kept hitting him. Finally, the one on the right took the wooden stick next to him and smashed it down on his right leg. Only then did Ji Wenwu start to cry for help: "Help, help, someone is being beaten to death."

After he roared, the two men hit him on the right leg with a stick before leaving quickly. Ji Wenwu was in so much pain that he broke out in a cold sweat. It was not until more than half an hour later that someone heard his cry.