Chapter 41 You should spend more time with Aci, otherwise you won't have the chance...

Chu Ci paused in his yawning. "It's probably because I haven't eaten enough. Drinking this for another two days should be effective."

Hearing her say that, Grandma turned and walked into the kitchen. "Then I'll cook you another bowl. Eat it and go rest for a while."

Her voice came from the kitchen, "But don't sleep too long today. I think you slept too much during the day yesterday, that's why you can't sleep at night."

Chu Ci nodded haphazardly, one hand resting on the table, almost falling asleep.

Chen Xinxin took the initiative to bring out the food, and saw that Chu Ci was lying on the table as if she had fallen asleep. She hesitated whether to wake her up.

Grandma slapped him across the face. "Stop sleeping! Take your medicine now, then you can sleep."

Chu Ci ate his meal in a daze, took his medicine, and soon fell asleep on the sofa.

Grandma grabbed her coat and happily went out to take Chen Xinxin to school.

“Grandma, I can manage by myself.” Chen Xinxin didn’t want to trouble her grandma. “My school is very close to here; I can take a public bus directly there.”

"It's alright, it's alright, Grandma isn't busy, Grandma will take you to school!"

"Xinxin, you don't know, when your sister Aci was in school, she skipped class every day. I didn't even have a chance to take her to school!"

"Twice I insisted on taking her to school, and both times we got on the public bus, but this girl still managed to sneak off halfway!"

Grandma kept reminiscing about her granddaughter's embarrassing moments, then smiled and took the schoolbag from her hand, almost falling over as soon as she took it.

Her smile froze. "Is your backpack that heavy?"

"Grandma, are you alright?" Chen Xinxin quickly helped her grandma up and slung her schoolbag over her own shoulder.

She's staying at someone else's house; if she causes Grandma to get hurt again, that would be going too far.

After checking on Grandma and confirming that she was not injured, Chen Xinxin breathed a sigh of relief.

He explained, “Grandma, I’m in high school now. There’s a lot to learn, a lot of homework, and my schoolbag is very heavy.”

Grandma responded vaguely, her eyes lingering on her schoolbag.

After a while, she stomped her foot and exclaimed, "That silly girl, Aci, hasn't carried a schoolbag since she started high school. She tells me every day that the teacher didn't assign any homework. No wonder she couldn't get into university!"

Chen Xinxin couldn't help but laugh out loud when she realized that Chu Ci, who seemed so reliable, was actually so unreliable in high school.

She carried her schoolbag and walked towards the public bus stop, arm in arm with her grandmother.

As they walked, she chuckled, "Sister A-Ci is doing very well now. Everyone speaks of her with great respect. Even the police officers at the station are very familiar with her. She earns a good amount of money and lives in a big house!"

Grandma's expression faded slightly, then returned after a while, her face full of worry: "Making money or not doesn't matter, the main problem is that it's too dangerous!"

She patted Chen Xinxin's arm, "Did you see her hand? She insisted on meddling in other people's business and helping the police arrest people. Her shoulder was almost broken with a stick!"

"So dangerous?" Chen Xinxin exclaimed in surprise.

"That's right, this silly girl has grown up, and I can't control her anymore. It's really worrying..."

The public bus arrived at the station soon, and Grandma and Chen Xinxin boarded the bus without saying another word.

After getting off the bus, she watched Chen Xinxin run towards the school with her schoolbag, as if she had returned to the days when her granddaughter was in elementary school.

Only after Chen Xinxin's figure disappeared from sight did she reluctantly turn around to wait for the car.

But thinking about what Chu Ci had brought back the night before, and how the child had run around alone with an injured hand, she didn't plan to go straight home. Instead, she went to the Kowloon district where she had stayed before.

I plan to contact the various business owners I've worked with before and order some items that incense shops would use.

After arriving in Kowloon City by car, she walked towards the factory and ran into her former landlord who was taking Cheng Zhenzhen for a walk.

The landlord was delighted to see her: "Grandma Dan, what brings you here today!"

"I came to buy some things!" Grandma was also very happy to see her. "Ah Jun, you brought Zhenzhen out to play!"

"Yes, after what happened, my daughter's mind is much clearer now. She's planning to rest for a month, recover, and then look for a job!"

The landlord's expression turned sour when talking about what had happened before, but she became beaming when she talked about her daughter's plans for the future.

Grandma sighed, "That's really good. You always say I spoil Aci too much, but aren't you the same with your Zhenzhen? People have to suffer a little to grow up!"

The landlord thought of Chu Ci's dramatic change, then looked at his daughter, who had become much calmer, and nodded, "Yes, people can't teach you everything, but experience teaches you everything."

Having shared similar experiences, the two couldn't help but reminisce together for a while.

Just as Grandma was about to say goodbye and leave, the landlord suddenly thought of something, and his expression changed.

Holding Grandma's hand, she asked softly, "Does Aci know about Granny Guo's matter?"

"Grandma Guo?" Grandma asked, puzzled. "Which Grandma Guo?"

"It's that street over there, the one where your family had a conflict," the landlord pointed in a direction.

"At the time, she insisted that Aci had stolen her things, and she had her son and daughter-in-law come to her door, and almost smashed up your rice shop, that old woman Guo."

"Her!" Grandma slapped her thigh. "I remember! How could I not remember!"

Grandma was furious at the mention of Granny Guo.

"That Granny Guo, she only dares to come to our door and bully us because she thinks my Aci has no parents to protect her and only an old woman like me at home!"

She spat, "She bullied my Aci because she had no parents, but later her granddaughter's biological father also died in a car accident! Serves her right, it's all karma!"

"Hey!" The landlord frowned and quickly covered her mouth. "You can't say things like that!"

She glared at her grandmother before whispering, "The night before last, Granny Guo hanged herself!"

"What!" Grandma's face changed. "She hanged herself? What about her granddaughter? I remember her granddaughter just started high school, right?"

Seeing that she knew nothing, the landlord knew that Chu Ci hadn't told her grandmother anything.

But how could she not tell her family about this? Granny Guo had gotten herself into trouble with the Bai family!

She hesitated for a moment, then told her everything.

"Grandma Dan, don't you know? Grandma Guo's granddaughter has offended the Bai family, the Bai family that's involved in the underworld!"

"That Bai family, who have connections in both the legitimate and criminal worlds?" Grandma thought of something, and her face darkened.

"That's right, it's the Bai family!"

The landlord sighed, looked at his daughter sunbathing nearby, and felt a pang of sadness thinking of Grandma Guo's granddaughter.

"I heard that her granddaughter was driven to jump off a building by the Bai family's daughter. Grandma Guo lost her son and daughter-in-law, leaving only this little granddaughter, whom she cherishes like the apple of her eye. How could she bear it when her granddaughter did something like this?"

"She kept going to the school to make a scene and even tried to contact the media... But how could an old woman like her, who lost her son and daughter-in-law and was raising her granddaughter on her own, afford to pay for this?"

Grandma listened attentively, but then noticed that she suddenly stopped talking.

Puzzled: "And then? How did Granny Guo die?"

The landlord looked at her, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

The thought of the other person suddenly asking about her son, Ah Ci, made Grandma's ears ring.

"This matter...could it be related to my Aci?"

The landlord looked at her, smiled wryly, and nodded.

"A couple of days ago, Aci passed by here and happened to see Bai's daughter leading a group of students to bully Granny Guo."

Thinking back to the situation at the time, the landlord couldn't help but marvel again at Chu Ci's dramatic transformation.

“Many people were watching from the sidelines, but no one dared to step in and stop them. Only A-Ci couldn’t stand it anymore, so she went up and stopped those students.”

"That Bai family daughter seemed to know Aci, and was quite afraid of her. After that, the two of them talked about something, and then Aci wanted to take Granny Guo to the police station..."

The landlord sighed, "I was there at the time and even tried to persuade Aci. But this child probably doesn't remember what happened and insists on helping Granny Guo."

"She took Granny Guo to the police station, and the Bai family's daughter led the group of students away. Two days later, suddenly someone started scattering those small advertising flyers all over our two streets!"

Grandma didn't understand. "What advertising paper?"

"It's..." the landlord hesitated to speak, "...it's those advertising flyers with men and women naked!"

Her brows were furrowed so deeply they were almost knotted together, and she felt frustrated and upset. She casually took out a pack of cigarettes from her pocket.

"Dan Po, would you mind if I had a cigarette?"

"I don't recommend it, go ahead and smoke," Grandma said indifferently. "What does handing out these flyers have to do with Granny Guo?"

"Of course they're related!"

The landlord took a deep drag of his cigarette, frowned, and exhaled a puff of smoke.

"Those flyers were printed with photos of Grandma Guo's granddaughter sleeping with different men!"

"Huh?" Grandma didn't have a good impression of Granny Guo, but she really liked her little granddaughter.

"Her granddaughter, that girl named Tongtong, is such a good child, she would never do such a thing!"

Since her parents died, she often saw Grandma Guo's granddaughter following Grandma Guo around selling goods at stalls, and sometimes even picking up trash to sell.

The child, around ten years old, didn't care about the other children's mockery. He would greet familiar people with a smile, and his dignified demeanor made her envious.

Unfortunately, her daughter Aci was spoiled rotten. No matter how much she hit or scolded her, it was no use. She couldn't even catch up to one-tenth of Tongtong's level.

Last year, the child entered high school with tuition and fees waived and received various scholarships, making life much easier for Guo's family.

Grandma Guo praised her granddaughter Tongtong to everyone she met, which almost made her jealous. When she got home, she couldn't stand the sight of her own daughter, Aci.

How could such a good child do such a thing?

"Yes, we neighbors have watched Grandma Guo's granddaughter grow up, and we don't believe it either!"

The landlord, holding a cigarette, caught a glimpse of someone out of the corner of his eye.

Zhang Wulai, who usually acts like a scoundrel and always loitering on the streets, is dressed up like a respectable person today.

Wearing a suit jacket, with his hair slicked back, and carrying a briefcase, he would pull out candy from his bag whenever he saw someone, looking all happy and content, as if he were living a good life.

Grandma followed her gaze and saw Zhang Wulai handing out candy.

She exclaimed in surprise, "Isn't that Zhang the Scoundrel? He's made a fortune, he's dressed so neatly, he even has a suit now?"

"Yeah, they really struck it rich, made their fortune off the dead!"

The landlord spat and stared at him with disgust.

"It's him! None of us neighbors believe that Grandma Guo's granddaughter would do such a thing. It's him. He insists that Grandma Guo's granddaughter slept with him and got pregnant."

"He also said that the things in those advertisements were true, and that he suspected that Grandma Guo's granddaughter was having affairs and didn't want to acknowledge the child, which is why Grandma Guo's granddaughter jumped off the building and committed suicide!"

"Huh?" Grandma's eyes widened, and she exclaimed without thinking, "He's been bribed by the Bai family?"

"Grandma Dan, you think so too, right? All of us neighbors think so!"

"Grandma Guo hated those scoundrels the most back then, how could Tongtong possibly get involved with him!"

As the two were talking, Zhang Wulai came up to them carrying a bag.

He chuckled, revealing two rows of large yellow teeth, and pulled a handful of candy from his bag.

"Sister Jun, have some candy! Tongtong died because of me, and she was pregnant with my child. Granny Guo was also my grandmother. Now that she's gone, I, her son-in-law, will arrange her funeral."

"Pah!" The landlord glared at him fiercely. "Everyone in the neighborhood knows what really happened. Don't you dare disgust your mother here!"

Despite being scolded, Zhang Wulai remained unperturbed.

He handed the candy in his hand to the old lady next to the landlord, grinning with his big yellow teeth.

"Grandma Dan, I'll treat you to some candy."

Grandma frowned and didn't take it. Zhang Wulai still didn't care, put the candy back in his bag, and pretended to sigh.

"Danpo, I've met you today, so please pass on a message to Aci."

"Miss Bai said that once she finishes what she's doing, she'll go and settle accounts with Aci."

With an air of smug pride, he raised his eyebrows and curled his lips, yet pretended to be a hypocrite and a kind person.

"You should spend more time with Aci at home during this period. If you don't spend time with her these few days, you may not have another chance later."