Fang Qiao found Jiang Ling's office, where there was a telephone.

Fang Qiao explained her purpose, and Jiang Ling readily agreed to let her borrow the phone: "Okay, go ahead and make the call. I have something to do and need to go out for a bit."

Fang Qiao knew that she was deliberately making excuses to give herself some private space to make a phone call, and smiled gratefully at her.

Jiang Ling waved to her, turned and left the office, thoughtfully closing the door behind her.

Soon, Fang Qiao dialed the office phone number of the state-run hotel where Fang Hai worked.

After the call connected, the receptionist answered the phone. She waited for about two minutes before Fang Hai answered.

"Hey, little sister, you were looking for me?"

Fang Qiao cut to the chase, saying, "Brother, did you know that Fang Lu was fired from his job?"

"What?" Fang Hai's voice was clearly shocked. "I...I don't know. When did this happen?"

“It happened a long time ago. He was fired last month. If I hadn’t called their factory today, I might still be in the dark.” Fang Qiao asked, “You didn’t know about this? Do your parents know?”

"I really don't know. As for whether my parents know or not, how would I know?"

Fang Qiao said helplessly, "You live in the same compound, and you didn't notice anything unusual about whether he went to work or not every day?"

Fang Hai argued, "No, he's been going to work and leaving on time every day lately. This morning when he left, he said that it was going to get cold and that he would buy cloth for our mother to make clothes after he got paid. He seems much more honest than before."

Fang Qiao couldn't help but sneer: "Heh, honest one."

Fang Hai touched his nose with some shame, then suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, little sister, the family doesn't know about this yet. How did you find out?"

"It's all because this damned bastard didn't learn to be good and committed crimes in our Heshan. When the police arrested him, Xiaojing saw it."

"What!" Fang Hai suddenly raised his voice, his tone cracking: "Arrested by the police?"

Fang Qiao coughed, reminding him, "Keep your voice down."

"Understood." Fang Hai lowered his voice and asked, "What did he do wrong? Where was he arrested?"

"Who knows what he did wrong? I only know what I heard from others. I heard that this group stole from the textile factory's warehouse." Fang Qiao said angrily, "The people were arrested in the black market in Heshan. It caused quite a stir. The market was shut down, and a lot of other speculators were also arrested."

Fang Hai was startled. "Could there be some misunderstanding?"

Upon hearing this, Fang Qiao gritted her teeth and said, "He better pray that there's a misunderstanding! You know, an uncle's crime can affect his nephew's political background check! If he really gets involved and it affects the future of my children, even if he's in jail, I'll still go in and slap him across the face!"

"No, it can't be that bad, can it?" Fang Hai was startled and stammered, "Aren't they just grandparents, parents, uncles, aunts, and other direct relatives?"

"How could it not be?" Fang Qiao said angrily, "The father's side is considered direct relatives for three generations, but the mother's side isn't?"

Fang Hai panicked: "Then, what do we do?"

"What should we do? The person has already been arrested. How can I know what to do now?"

Fang Qiao said irritably, "I've warned him so many times. He should just go to work and not do anything bad, but he won't listen! If I say anything to him, Mom treats him like a precious gem and protects him, so he talks back to me without any fear. Does he really think I want to control him? If it weren't for the fear that his misbehavior as an uncle would affect my child's future, I wouldn't even utter a sound even if he died out there. He's like a dog biting Lü Dongbin, not recognizing a kind heart. What a piece of trash!"

"Little sister, don't say that. No matter how wrong he is, he's still your own brother. Saying things like 'die' is really hurtful."

Fang Hai spoke up for Fang Lu, saying, "My younger brother is a bit unreliable, but I think he has a good heart. He wouldn't dare to do anything illegal or disorderly. Perhaps there's been a misunderstanding. We brothers and sisters share the closest blood ties, so we should always be united and loving."

Fang Hai spoke up for Fang Lu because he wanted to persuade Fang Qiao to help him.

After all, he was just a kitchen helper in a state-run restaurant, with no connections, unlike Cheng Baidong who worked in a classified unit.

With her brother-in-law's backing, if the younger sister could find some connections and smooth things over, she would definitely be better off than them, who have no one to rely on.

He was annoyed by his mother's favoritism and by his younger brother's constant troublemaking. But despite his annoyances, his brother was, after all, his own flesh and blood, born of the same mother. There was no blood relation closer than that.

He couldn't just stand by and watch his younger brother go to jail after he did something wrong; he had to do something for him.

Fang Qiao understood his implication but didn't respond. She simply said coldly, "You said the same thing last year when he was gambling on loans."

Fang Hai didn't know what to say for a moment and fell silent.

He felt that Fang Qiao was somewhat heartless.

Both siblings were somewhat emotional.

The atmosphere on the other end of the line froze instantly. Fang Qiao couldn't stand the atmosphere and said, "If you want to be a punching bag and be friendly with him, go ahead, I don't care, but don't drag me down with you. I've been a punching bag for so many years since I was a kid, I've had enough, I wish I could never have anything to do with him again." Then she hung up the phone.

The office fell silent again. Fang Qiao stared blankly for a few seconds, then lowered her head, buried her face in her hands, and let out a long sigh.

Meanwhile, Fang Hai, who had just put down the receiver, also felt somewhat lost.

He couldn't help but wonder if he had made a mistake by wanting to help his younger brother.

But, but my younger brother is, after all, my own brother. We grew up together, and he's one of the closest people to me...