"Qiaoqiao, please accept my condolences. Although Brother Yang is gone, you still have..."

Jiang Jiahua stood in front of Jiang Qiaoqiao, but swallowed his words halfway through. "Never mind, Qiaoqiao, if you don't want to acknowledge us, I, as your father, won't force you."

Jiang Qiaoqiao coldly observed the Jiang family members. If it weren't for the current situation, it wouldn't be appropriate to send them away. She would never have allowed them to stay and disturb her father's peace.

Fortunately, it seems that the Jiang family really only came to attend the funeral this time, and they didn't cause any trouble. No one even mentioned the 20,000 yuan that Jiang Jiahua gave them.

After the funeral, Jiang Qiaoqiao took the 20,000 yuan to Jiang Jiahua and said, "Here's the money back for you."

“Okay, Qiaoqiao, you don’t need this money now, so Dad will take it back.” Jiang Jiahua didn’t hesitate and took the money back directly.

Jiang Qiaoqiao looked at him with a cool gaze, and finally said, "Thank you."

Jiang Jiahua's face showed obvious excitement. "We're all family, Qiaoqiao, don't be so polite with Mom and Dad."

After saying that, he added emotionally, "Qiaoqiao, whether you are willing to forgive your parents or not, whether you are willing to acknowledge your parents or not, you will always be a part of our family and your parents' only biological daughter."

Jiang Qiaoqiao frowned almost imperceptibly between her brows.

If she didn't know Jiang Jiahua's purpose for coming here before, she does now.

Jiang Qiaoqiao and Yang Jianguo returned all the money that the villagers had pooled together for them.

After everyone in the village left, the Yang family courtyard became completely quiet.

In just a few days, Lin Xiaohui seemed to have aged ten years. Not only did she have many more gray hairs at her temples, but her back was also slightly hunched.

Yang Jianguo was never a talkative person before, but he became more cheerful and talkative after opening the duck products shop. However, since returning to the village that day, he has become even more taciturn.

"Jianguo, Qiaoqiao, you both have your own things to do, go back to the city first. Mom wants to stay here and spend a couple more days with your dad," Lin Xiaohui said wearily in her hoarse voice.

Yang Jianguo's eyes reddened again, "Mom, I'll stay here with Dad too..."

Jiang Qiaoqiao hugged Lin Xiaohui and buried her face in the crook of Lin Xiaohui's neck. "Mom, I want to stay with you."

Lin Xiaohui hugged her and patted her gently, then sighed and said, "Nonsense, you still have shops in the city. Your father is gone, but you are still young. You have to live your lives well. Go back and do what you used to do."

"Mom will go back in a couple of days."

Yang Jianguo's tears welled up again, and he said in a sob, "Mom, I regret it. I regret going to the city to open a shop. If I hadn't gone to the city, our family would still be in the village, making a living on our small plot of land, and Dad would definitely still be doing well..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Xiaohui's face fell instantly, and she even picked up a broom from the side and hit him with it.

"I'll beat you to death, you good-for-nothing! What nonsense are you spouting? You're just stuck in the village, tending to your little plot of land. You're useless, but does that mean your dad will be alright?"

Back then, our whole family stayed here in this remote mountain area, so how did you and your dad still fall off the mountain?

If it weren't for Qiaoqiao... your dad would have..."

As Lin Xiaohui spoke, she couldn't help but feel a surge of sorrow. She wiped away her tears and said, "Now that your sister has finally managed to get you out of here, you're spouting this nonsense. Who do you think you're doing this to!"

Lin Xiaohui hit and scolded him, and Yang Jianguo finally realized what was happening. He jumped up and down and said, "Mom, Mom, that's not what I meant. I'll go back to the city right now and get the business up and running."

Jiang Qiaoqiao quickly stepped forward to stop Lin Xiaohui, "Mom, don't blame my brother. He's only saying this because he's upset about what happened."

"Mom, don't rush me back today. Our duck farm is only half-built. After this incident, whether the farm will continue or not, we need to give the village an explanation."

Jiang Qiaoqiao looked at Yang Jianguo.

Yang Jianguo seemed a little undecided. Before he could speak, Lin Xiaohui slapped her thigh and made the decision: "Build it! Why not build it! This duck shed is not only something you wanted to build, but also your father's hard work."

"Your dad has been incredibly happy ever since we started building the duck shed..."

When Lin Xiaohui mentioned the duck-raising shed, she was overcome with emotion and couldn't help but wipe away her tears again.

Yang Jianguo, shaking off his previous dejected state, rallied and said, "Okay, let's build it. I'll go talk to my uncle about how to proceed."

"I'm not only going to build duck sheds, but I'm also going to open branches of our Yangben Duck brand all over the country. I want Dad to be happy watching from heaven."

That night, Jiang Qiaoqiao originally planned to sleep with Lin Xiaohui.

But Lin Xiaohui insisted that she sleep in the same room as Huo Beixiao and his wife, saying that if Yang Minghui and his wife still slept in separate rooms, their spirits in heaven would not be at peace.

Jiang Qiaoqiao lay in her familiar room, on her familiar bed, counting the roof tiles above her head by the moonlight streaming through the window, but she just couldn't fall asleep.

Even now, she still can't believe that Yang Minghui really went up the mountain by himself and then accidentally fell off and died.

These past few days, she's been thinking that perhaps it's because they called the police, and somehow the news got out and became common knowledge. The kidnappers knew that even if they got the money, they wouldn't live to spend it, so they took Yang Minghui's life to vent their anger.

As Jiang Qiaoqiao thought about it, a wave of self-blame and regret washed over her. She felt a little cold and couldn't help but cross her arms and hug herself tightly.

Huo Beixiao noticed her movement and reached out to pull her into his arms.

"Bei Xiao, do you think Dad wouldn't have died if I hadn't called the police back then?"

Huo Beixiao gently kissed her hair, and said in a calm but very certain tone, "No. If Dad was really kidnapped and killed by the kidnappers, then the kidnappers probably never intended to ask for money in the first place."

Jiang Qiaoqiao looked up, meeting Huo Beixiao's gaze in shock. "You mean, they wanted Dad dead from the very beginning? Why? Dad was just an ordinary farmer, why..."

As Jiang Qiaoqiao spoke, tears streamed down her face.

Huo Beixiao gently patted her back, his tone firm, "Qiaoqiao, even if the police don't investigate Dad's cause of death, I will have people continue to investigate. Don't worry, I won't let Dad leave without knowing the truth."

*

On the other side, the Jiang family.

Jiang Jiahua had just come out of the study after hiding the money when Peng Cuiying pulled him into the room.

"Old Jiang, you see, I told you that Jiang Qiaoqiao, that ingrate, suddenly turned her back on us. It must have been those two peasants from the Yang family who were instigating it behind the scenes. You didn't believe me before."

Now you believe it, right? That old bastard surnamed Yang is gone, so isn't that brat Jiang Qiaoqiao's attitude towards us much better now?

Peng Cuiying felt a surge of pride when she thought about how Jiang Qiaoqiao had not only returned the 20,000 yuan to them but also thanked them.

Once that old bitch Lin Xiaohui is dead, she refuses to believe she can't handle that brat Jiang Qiaoqiao!