"Okay, Grandma Xia, no rush. I'll head back now!" Yang Qiaoqiao said as she walked, curiously observing the group of people in the courtyard who were dressed in their finest attire.

After Yang Qiaoqiao left, Wang Shuyi took the eggs into the kitchen first.

After coming out, Xia Yuntao and his family invited them into the main room to talk.

"Do you all think that your mother and I have a billion yuan and are planning to come back to divide the inheritance?" Xia Yuntao's gaze swept over the children and grandchildren in the room.

Xia Ruisong quickly smiled and said, "Dad, how could that be? My second brother and I started discussing coming back after our third brother returned."

My second child and I are not young anymore. Fallen leaves always return to their roots. No matter how good it is abroad, it is not our home.

Besides, you and Mom are both getting old. We sons should at least come back to fulfill our filial duties. How can it be reasonable for parents to be in the country while their children and grandchildren are drifting abroad?

Xia Yuntao remained noncommittal after hearing Xia Ruisong's words, and only looked at Xia Ruibo, "You think so too?"

Unlike Xia Ruisong, who has gained some weight, Xia Ruibo is quite thin, tall and slender like a bamboo pole.

He studied art and has been immersed in it for many years, paying little attention to other things.

Among the three Xia brothers, he was the one who caused the two elders the least worry and was the most indifferent to fame and fortune.

When Xia Yuntao returned to China and divided his assets among his children, Xia Ruibo also voluntarily stated that he did not want any property or company shares.

So Xia Yuntao gave him some extra cash.

Therefore, compared to the Xia brothers, Xia Ruisong and Xia Ruizhe, who had already bankrupted Xia Yuntao's company abroad and squandered all their cash, he still had some savings and was living a relatively comfortable life.

Playing with art is inherently expensive, and he doesn't have much money left.

That's why, when Xia Ruisong told him that the old man still had 1 billion yuan, he didn't hesitate much and came back with Xia Ruisong.

When his father asked him this, he replied, "Yes, Dad, my thoughts are the same as my older brother's. You and Mom are getting old, and Mom's health is not good. We sons should come back and take care of her."

"Good, good, good. Your mother and I are content with your filial piety," Xia Yuntao said with a satisfied nod.

Then, he placed the photo of the contract that Xia Ruisong and Xia Ruibo had brought back on the table.

He sighed heavily and said, "Before your mother and I came back, we did leave some money in our hands, intending to invest in building up our motherland after we returned."

When we returned with our funds, it coincided with China's reform and opening up and the development of a market economy.

We also took advantage of this opportunity and made some money.

The contract photo you see is real. I did sign such a contract and did indeed raise the money to make this investment.

When Xia Yuntao admitted to the matter, everyone in the Xia family had a gleam in their eyes.

This shows that the old man does indeed have money.

Moreover, there is a full billion yuan. Such a large sum of money, even if it is divided equally among the families, the amount they can get is ten times that the old man gave them last time.

Once they have this money, they will not only be free from worries about food and clothing, but they can squander it however they want for the rest of their lives.

"Father, what about this money now..." Xia Ruisong, as the eldest son, couldn't wait to step forward and ask.

“Gone…” Xia Yuntao uttered the two words with immense heaviness.

Xia Ruisong and Xia Ruibo hadn't reacted yet.

Xia Ruizhe, who had already been driven to the brink of collapse by his current impoverished life, spoke hysterically first, "Dad—can you please stop acting and lying to us? No matter how much money you have, it's just material possessions that you can't take with you when you die!"

"You're so old, and you hoard all that money while we're destitute, forced to do hard labor for those lowly people just to survive. Are you satisfied with that?"

Xia Yuntao looked at Xia Ruizhe, his eyes filled with disappointment.

He didn't want to say much. He tapped the photo of the contract on the table with his fingers. "The contract you see is the one where I was swindled out of all my money. If you have the ability, go and get your money back yourselves."

If you can get this money back, it's yours!

“If you can’t get it back, your mother and I have no money. Don’t try to take money out of us under the guise of being filial and taking care of us. We have no money!”

"Didn't you see that we had to buy eggs on credit from the villagers even if we wanted a few?"

Xia Yuntao's voice carried a hint of anger, and the other members of the Xia family looked not only astonished but also somewhat angry.

"Grandpa, as soon as you heard that the domestic market had opened up, you immediately brought funds back to support the country's development. Now that you've been swindled out of such a large sum of money, are the relevant departments just going to ignore it?"

"Yes, Dad, did you call the police? We can't let such a large sum of money be scammed like this. The police should help us get it back, right?"

Xia Yuntao snorted coldly, "Chase? How can we chase? In business, there are gains and losses. Their paperwork is complete, their accounts are clear, and the money I invested is clearly lost by them."

Even if you call the police, what can they do to them?

In an instant, everyone in the Xia family, including the three brothers Xia Ruisong, Xia Ruibo, and Xia Ruizhe, looked extremely grim, as if they were about to burst into tears at any moment.

Xia Ruizhe held back for only a second before bursting into tears with a loud "waaaah!"

As he burst into tears, it was as if all his strength had been drained away, and he collapsed to the ground, crying as he asked, "Dad, is there really no way for us to do anything?"

"Sigh!" Xia Yuntao sighed heavily again and said, "I'm old, and there's nothing I can do about it."

If you have a way, then go and do it!

After saying that, Xia Yuntao waved his hand, "I'm tired after all this fuss. This courtyard is only so big. Eldest brother, second brother, if your two families also want to stay here, then figure out how to stay yourselves."

"If you don't want to stay here, you can stay in a guesthouse or hotel if you have the money."

After Xia Yuntao finished speaking, he stood up, and Wang Shuyi followed suit. The elderly couple helped each other into the house.

The rest of the Xia family looked at each other, at a loss for what to do.

Finally, Xia Ruisong stepped forward, "Second brother, third brother, come here. We can't let our family's money be swindled away like this."

Let's work together to see if there's any way to get this money back.