Chapter 137 Regret

When Lu Mingyue returned home with the children, it was already completely dark.

Yao Yao slept soundly in her arms, her little mouth slightly open.

Leilei rubbed his eyes, and his steps were a little unsteady.

She first put Yao Yao on the bed, then helped Lei Lei take off his coat, and fetched water for the two children to wash up.

Just as he finished tidying up, Huo Zheng returned from outside, carrying several fresh sea fish in his hand.

"How was the wedding today? Was it lively?" Huo Zheng put the fish into the basin and turned to ask Lu Mingyue.

Lu Mingyue brought him hot water to wash his hands and said with a smile, "It's not just lively, there's also a big event. Aunt Yu has reunited with her relatives. Lin Qiaozhen is her own niece."

Huo Zheng paused in wiping his hands, then looked up in surprise: "Really? What happened?"

Lu Mingyue sat on the edge of the bed and recounted everything that happened at the wedding.

"Isn't it a coincidence? For so many years, they've lived in the same residential compound, yet they never recognized each other."

After listening, Huo Zheng sighed, walked to the bedside and sat down. Looking at the sleeping children, he said softly, "It's really fate. What's meant to happen will happen, no matter how many detours it takes."

After searching for so many years, Aunt Yu never expected that her own niece would be right in front of her. Comrade Lin, who has grown up so much, finally knows who his biological mother is, which can be considered a happy ending.

“That’s right.” Lu Mingyue also sighed, “Yu Shuxiang cried like that, it was heartbreaking to see, and Qiaozhen’s eyes were also red. Fortunately, it turned out to be a happy occasion in the end.”

Huo Zheng added with a smile, "But speaking of which, today's wedding is probably the most lively one in the family compound in recent years. With a wedding and family reunions, everyone will have plenty to talk about in the future."

Lu Mingyue laughed too: "That's right, Zheng Xiuhua said that the aunties in the family compound will get together to talk about this first thing tomorrow morning."

Sure enough, the next morning, several aunties gathered together and started chatting away.

The news of Lin Qiaozhen recognizing her relatives at her wedding spread throughout the entire residential compound overnight, becoming the hottest topic of conversation.

"Have you heard? At Li Jianguo's wedding yesterday, Yu Shuxiang recognized her relatives, and Lin Qiaozhen turned out to be her own niece."

Aunt Zhang held the soy sauce she had just bought in her hand, her voice low but unable to hide her excitement, "It's Yu Shulan's daughter. She was lost back then, but I never expected that she would be adopted and that we would meet her here."

"Really? Zhang Haihua disapproved of Qiaozhen and Li Jianguo's relationship before, so she probably didn't know about this connection, right?"

Another aunt chimed in, her eyes full of curiosity, "That's great! Qiaozhen has found her aunt, so she'll have someone to rely on in the neighborhood now. Li Jianguo will benefit from this too."

As the group was chatting animatedly, they saw Zhang Haihua walking over with a vegetable basket, intending to buy a bag of salt from the supply and marketing cooperative.

As soon as she approached, she heard the words, "Lin Qiaozhen is Yu Shuxiang's niece." Her vegetable basket suddenly stopped, and the salt bag slipped from her fingers and fell to the ground, scattering white salt grains all over the ground.

"Zhang Haihua? What's wrong?" Aunt Zhang saw that her face was pale and quickly stepped forward to help her pick up the salt. "Did you lose your balance?"

Zhang Haihua ignored her, staring straight at the aunt who had spoken, her voice trembling: "You just said that Lin Qiaozhen is Yu Shuxiang's niece?"

"Yes, we met at the wedding yesterday. Yu Shuxiang brought an old handkerchief with embroidery that was her family's heirloom. Qiaozhen had the same one when she was little. The details match perfectly, there's no mistake." The aunt thought she didn't know and explained enthusiastically.

After hearing this, Zhang Haihua took a step back and leaned against the door frame of the supply and marketing cooperative, feeling both shocked and regretful.

She never imagined that the orphan she looked down on was actually Yu Shuxiang's own niece.

You should know that Yu Shuxiang is the wife of the political commissar, and her family is well-off. I heard she has connections in Shanghai.

If they had known earlier that Lin Qiaozhen was related to their family, they would have agreed to her marriage with Li Jianguo long ago. Why are they now unwilling to even help with the wedding arrangements?

But now that she knows Qiaozhen's true identity, she is filled with remorse.

Lin Qiaozhen has already acknowledged her relatives, so she will naturally be taken care of in the future. Why should she need to worry about being wronged?

If she had known about this relationship earlier, she definitely wouldn't have stopped him, and she would have helped Li Jianguo organize a grand wedding.

Ever since she heard that Li Jianguo was going to marry Lin Qiaozhen, Zhang Haihua's face has never relaxed.

In her eyes, Lin Qiaozhen was an orphan with no parents, no savings, and an embarrassing family background.

Although Li Jianguo is just an ordinary technician, he still has a formal position. He should at least find someone of equal social standing, such as a niece with a formal job or someone with many siblings who can help each other.

“Jianguo is such an honest boy, he’s been bewitched by that girl.” During that time, Zhang Haihua would tell everyone she met, “An orphan girl, all alone and helpless, if Jianguo ever has any difficulties in the future, what can she do to help? In the end, won’t he still have to rely on us relatives?”

She even went to Li Jianguo specifically to persuade him, saying earnestly, "Listen to me, break up with her. I'll introduce you to the sister of Wang, the cadre in the east end of our compound. She also works at the supply and marketing cooperative, has a stable salary, and comes from a good family. Isn't she better than that orphan?"

Li Jianguo only said that Lin Qiaozhen was a good person and that he felt at ease with her. Zhang Haihua was so angry that she stomped her feet and said that he didn't know what was good for him.

She ignored him for a long time afterward. Even when Lin Qiaozhen greeted her, she just snorted coldly and turned away.

Zhang Haihua's heart skipped a beat, and she stopped what she was doing.

She used to look down on Qiaozhen, an orphan, because she was afraid that she would have no one to help her. But now that Qiaozhen has accepted Yu Shuxiang as her relative, why should she worry about her anymore?

"Ugh, what's wrong with my brain?" Zhang Haihua patted her forehead, her eyes full of frustration.

"If I had known she was Yu Shuxiang's niece, why would I have stopped her? I feel terrible that the child suffered so much and the wedding was so simple."

Seeing her like this, the aunties around her exchanged glances and thought to themselves that she was the one who broke up the couple in the first place, and now she was the one who regretted it.

If all the good things in the world happen to her, then what chance do others have?

But despite the complaints, as people living in the family compound, they saw each other all the time, so they comforted each other, saying, "You were doing it for Jianguo's own good. Who would have thought this would happen? It's not too late to find out now. Go talk to Qiaozhen and make amends. The child won't blame you."

Zhang Haihua nodded, picked up the vegetable basket from the ground, but lost interest in buying salt and turned to walk home.

She needed to hurry over to see Qiaozhen, apologize to the child, and help her prepare for the wedding, as a way to make up for her previous stubbornness.

Most importantly, he needed to latch onto Yu Shuxiang's coattails. Her eldest son was almost fifteen, not doing very well in school, and would be of military age in a few years.

She and her husband were not very capable, so they had to urgently cling to the Shen family to secure a good future for their son.