Chapter 84: Bringing Ning's Mother Back from the Northwest
Upon hearing this, Su Ying's cheeks flushed bright red.
I almost dropped what I was holding.
She got out of bed, looked at Ning Tang's innocent face, and was both angry and amused: "You little rascal, teasing your sister-in-law?"
Ning Tang suppressed a laugh and added in a serious tone.
"I wasn't teasing you, sister-in-law. Traditional Chinese medicine does have a concept of yin-yang balance. Brother's medicine caused an excess of yang energy. If you could..."
Before she could finish speaking, Su Ying quickly covered her mouth.
"Stop! Stop!"
"My back is about to break, how could I possibly be a match for those jackals and tigers?"
Ning Tang thought about it and realized that made sense.
Then he continued to give Su Ying acupuncture on her lower back.
Half an hour later.
Ning Tang put away the golden needles, and Su Ya slowly got out of bed, swaying her waist nimbly.
Just as I was about to praise her sister-in-law for being so capable, I suddenly noticed a furtive figure downstairs.
It looks like they're about to climb over the wall.
It was too dark, and she was on the second floor, so she couldn't see very clearly.
Seeing the person downstairs looking left and right, and then looking this way, Su Ying subconsciously turned off the light and pulled Ning Tang to hide behind the curtains.
"Sister-in-law, what's wrong?"
"Tangtang, look, isn't there someone downstairs?"
Ning Tang looked closely and realized it was true.
But why does it look so familiar...?
After a long while, she covered her mouth and exclaimed in surprise, "Sister-in-law, isn't that my second brother?"
"Qiao Yan? That's impossible. What would he be doing out so late?"
Despite saying that, the two of them kept their eyes fixed on Xu Qiaoyan downstairs.
In no time at all, he had already climbed over the courtyard wall.
It looks like they're about to go out.
There's a reason why they insist on climbing over the wall when there's a main gate.
Su Ying quickly went downstairs to tell Xu Qiaolan about it.
Xu Qiaofeng happened to be there as well, and his first reaction after hearing the story was that his second brother had gone out to steal chickens and dogs.
"Qiao Yan just got divorced recently, could she be suffering from a shock and can't think straight?"
"No, given his personality, he wouldn't commit suicide even if the sky were to fall."
“But after his divorce, he always stayed at home. I thought he was consolidating his life, but I didn’t expect him to go out at night.”
"It seems that Qiao Yan has been doing this familiar action for quite some time now. If Tang Tang and I hadn't noticed it tonight, we probably wouldn't have known for a long time."
Xu Qiaofeng held his wife's hand, speaking in a nonchalant tone.
He said casually, "Could he have gone to see some girl?"
"After all, you just got divorced, and you feel empty inside. It's normal to find someone to help you through your troubles."
Ning Tang was a little uncertain: "Really?"
“I don’t think my second brother is the kind of person who is not stable. Besides, his divorce was quite a big deal. How could he have new ideas so quickly?”
Xu Qiaolan glared at her younger brother.
What's wrong with Qiaofeng? He's not as sensible as Tangtang.
"Don't make wild guesses, let's see how things go first."
"Qiao Yan is a deep-seated person. If he really has something to say but doesn't want to, there's no point in asking him."
It's so dark outside that you can't see a single shadow, so going out would be pointless. They can only wait for Xu Qiaoyan to come back.
Ning Tang couldn't stay up all night, so she went back to sleep first.
Su Ying is the same.
Even when I went downstairs to eat the next morning, Xu Qiaoyan still hadn't returned.
On the contrary, Xu Qiaofeng and Xu Qiaolan waited on the sofa downstairs all night, looking unshaven and with obvious dark circles under their eyes.
Upon seeing Ning Tang, Xu Qiaofeng immediately pounced on her.
He was holding his wife and playing the victim in a corner.
He was a man who had participated in special training and remained calm for three days and three nights in the wilderness.
Now she looked utterly pathetic, and whispered a complaint in Ning Tang's ear.
"Tangtang, my eyelids are practically glued together, I'm so tired."
"Are you tired? Let me massage your temples."
Ning Tang felt sorry for him and pulled Xu Qiaofeng to sit down on the sofa next to her, letting him lie on her lap.
Xu Qiaolan, who was standing next to him, rolled his eyes. He realized that this third brother was a real green tea b*tch!
The next second.
Seeing that Su Ying had also come down, Xu Qiaolan instantly changed, rushing over to cuddle and beg for a hug.
Ning Tang was still thinking about Xu Qiaoyan, so she lowered her head and asked, "Second Brother hasn't come back all night. Could something have happened to him?"
"No, Second Brother is tough and won't get hurt."
"Tangtang, don't think about anyone else." Xu Qiaofeng was jealous, rubbing his chin against her leg, his tone tinged with envy. "He's such a big guy, how could he just disappear?"
Ning Tang was amused by his clingy manner and gently flicked the tip of his nose.
"You're so petty. Second Brother didn't come home all night, isn't it only natural that everyone was worried?"
"That shouldn't be the case. When I was little, my second brother beat me every day and wouldn't let me play. He always locked me in the room by myself," Xu Qiaofeng said, sounding both unconvinced and self-righteous.
Ning Tang truly believed it.
He patted Xu Qiaofeng for a while and comforted him gently.
Xu Qiaofeng almost burst out laughing, and quickly buried his face in Ning Tang's legs to suppress his laughter.
He just said it casually, only wanting to trick his wife into loving him more.
Xu Qiaolan, who was standing nearby, heard it all and immediately rolled her eyes.
That kid's really good at pretending.
Back then, he was like a little devil, always hiding the woodcutter's inkstone and his toys. Once, he hid his slingshot in a tree, making it impossible for them to climb up and get it. This kid was standing next to them and said, "If you call me 'brother,' I'll reluctantly help you out."
Now, just thinking about that "brother" he said to Qiao Yan makes me want to strangle that little brat to death.
——
They waited for a long time, but Xu Qiaoyan still didn't return.
Everyone was busy with work and had to leave in a hurry, but they said goodbye to Aunt Zhang before leaving.
Ning Tang has just arrived at the hospital.
I saw the same officer from last time waiting in the office.
The man's name was Hou Biao.
In stark contrast to his imposing name is his refined and scholarly demeanor.
I heard he was a renowned operations staff officer in the army, with a mind that works faster than anyone else's.
As soon as Ning Tang pushed open the door and went in, the man got straight to the point, his tone more serious than last time.
"Dr. Ning, we have found some clues about your background."
“But these clues are too old, and very little of them are useful. However, we have brought your foster mother from the Northwest, so we can ask her directly if there is anything we need.”
Ning Tang's heart tightened.
Is Ning's mother here?
Knowing Ning's mother's personality, even if he knelt before her, she definitely wouldn't say anything.
Especially since she had called him before, asking him to help Ningxin.
The person who was able to bring her home back then has always only cared about personal gain. Now, he can't tell the truth. He might even take this opportunity to make exorbitant demands and ask me to bring her back from the Northwest.
"Where is she now?" Ning Tang composed herself, her voice remaining relatively calm.
Hou Biao: "The hospital isn't convenient, so I've arranged for him to be in the nearest team. There will be someone watching over him, so there won't be any problems. Don't worry."
"I've already spoken to the dean beforehand, so we can go directly there."
Ning Tang took a deep breath and nodded.
The two walked side by side out of the hospital.
Hou Biao thought about it on the way and decided to tell her anyway.
“When we brought your adoptive mother here, she kept asking about your situation the whole way, and even asked if you were in charge now. It seems she really didn’t have good intentions.”
"Don't be soft-hearted when you ask her later. With us here, she won't dare to play any tricks."
Ning Tang nodded and hummed in agreement.
His profile, gazing out the car window, was tense, yet his small, palm-sized face conveyed a calm.
She wasn't afraid of Ning's mother playing tricks, but she was afraid that she would deliberately conceal the truth, and even more afraid that in the end, she would end up with nothing.
Soon, we arrived at our destination.
As soon as I entered the house, I saw Ning's mother sitting on a stool eating melon seeds, her pockets full of candy, I didn't know where she got it from.
Upon seeing Ning Tang, he immediately spat out the sunflower seed shells from his mouth onto the ground and put on a fake smile.
"Tangtang, you've finally arrived!"
"Mom's feet were swollen from the train ride here. Look how successful you are now. You didn't even know to bring me from the Northwest to enjoy my life sooner."
When Hou Biao's men went to the Northwest to find Ning's mother, she was incredibly proud of herself.
See? Ning Tang, that good-for-nothing, is all talk and no action; in the end, she still took me back!
But thinking about the bullying and targeting she had experienced while working in the countryside, Ning's mother's face fell again.
That brat, she's just deliberately trying to see me get the short end of the stick! No matter how well you raise her, she's never as close as your own flesh and blood. I should have just left her on the train to die!
Ning Tang didn't respond to her words, but glanced indifferently at her mother's angry eyes.
The voice was cold: "I'm here to ask you about what happened back then. Where did you bring me back from?"
Almost the instant the words left her mouth, Ning's mother's expression froze.
But he quickly covered it up, trying to grab Ning Tang's arm, and said with a grin:
"What biological parents? Aren't I your mother? Are you out of your mind?"
"Let's put that aside for now. How are you doing at the Xu family's place? Is the house you're living in a small villa or something? Is it big?"
"By the way, how much do you earn a month at the hospital? I heard that people in the city wear polyester clothing, can you buy me and Xinxin a couple of pieces too?"
Ning's mother still believes that Ning Tang really listened to her and rescued Ning Xin from Zhang Yanfei, so that she wouldn't be beaten anymore.
Hou Biao frowned as he listened from the side.
He didn't believe Ning Tang was adopted before, but now he truly believes it.
What kind of mother would ask her daughter for things as soon as she arrives? After asking around and saying so much, not a single word of hers showed any concern for Ning Tang.
Hou Biao could no longer contain himself and stepped forward, interrupting Ning's mother's questioning in a cold and harsh tone.
“We brought you here not so you could ask Ning Tang for this or that. Explain how she ended up in your life back then.”
The smile on Ning's mother's face vanished instantly, and she glared fiercely at Ning Tang.
He pointed his finger at her nose and yelled, "I raised you all these years, what's wrong with wanting a little something? Now that you're successful, shouldn't you be showing me some filial piety?"
"Besides, if I hadn't intervened back then, how could you have risen to such heights and climbed up to Xu Qiaofeng's sycamore tree?"
As she spoke, Ning's mother looked at Ning Tang again, her eyes filled with calculation.
"Tangtang, if you really want to know about the past, that's not impossible..."
"What are your conditions?" Ning Tang asked directly.
Ning's mother said, "You must take Xin Xin and me back to the Xu family for a while, give me 500 yuan for living expenses, and give me half of your monthly salary from now on."
"Otherwise, as I get older, my mind becomes increasingly confused. If you keep putting it off, you might forget everything one day."
Ning Tang smiled.
But the smile was cold, and the look in his eyes as he looked at Ning's mother was even colder.
"You might as well keep daydreaming. Don't even think about getting money from me."
They say they raised her, but from childhood to adulthood, all the Ning family gave her was leftovers, tattered clothes that Ning Xin didn't want, and endless chores.
Even when Ningxin causes trouble, she's always the one who gets beaten up.
"You raised me?" Ning Tang's eyes reddened slightly, feeling angry at her younger self. "I washed your clothes and cooked for you, even in winter. When my hands were chapped from the cold, the neighbors couldn't bear it and wanted to rub lard on them, but you were ashamed of me and beat me so badly that I couldn't get out of bed for three days. Is this the kindness of raising me?"
Ning's mother's face turned red and then pale as she was rebuked.
He glared at Ning Tang, wishing he could devour her, so angry that he couldn't speak for a long time.
"You wretched girl, if it weren't for me, you would have starved to death out there long ago. You ungrateful dog, I should never have taken you in!"
"Starve to death?" Ning Tang smirked, her eyes full of mockery. "Compared to the suffering I've endured with you, starving to death might be a relief."
Hou Biao, listening nearby, felt a tightness in his chest.
He knew from gossip that Ning Tang had a hard life, but he never expected Ning's mother to be so cruel to her.
"I don't care, Ning Tang, if you don't agree to my conditions, you'll never know your background for the rest of your life!" Ning's mother threatened with a smile. She didn't believe that Ning Tang could really be so heartless.
The moment the words fell.
Ning Tang nodded almost instantly and was about to open the door and go out.
"Don't try to flatter me. I won't agree to a single one of your conditions. Since you're not telling the truth, there's no use for you staying here. Comrade Hou Biao, please send her back to the Northwest."
Before Ning's mother could even salvage her smugness, she froze on the spot upon hearing these words, and took a step to chase after Ning Tang.
"You dare!"
"Ning Tang, are you crazy? Don't you want to find your biological parents?"
Ning Tang dodged to the side, her beautiful eyebrows and eyes seemingly covered with a layer of frost.
She said, "I don't want to think about it anymore."
“I am living a good life now. I have a husband, children, and a loving family. You have to give up something to gain something in life. I might as well just consider my biological parents as a regret.”
These words were like a bucket of cold water poured over Ning's mother's head.
How could she forget that Ning Tang now has the Xu family to rely on, and she's pregnant with a gold nugget. She'll be set for life, and even if she can't find her biological parents, it won't be a big deal.
She's really gotten carried away and lost her mind!
"Tangtang, Mom was wrong. I shouldn't have made demands of you. Please don't give up on finding our biological parents. As long as you help Xinxin and me find a place to live, I'll tell you everything that happened back then!"
Ning Tang looked at the woman in front of her who was so flustered that she almost knelt on the ground.
Having spent a long time working in the countryside in Northwest China, the arrogance of a capitalist that he once possessed vanished, and even his once-proud appearance and physique disappeared.
Moreover, the way they begged for mercy was disgusting.
Ning's mother now embodies the attitude of the rural women she used to despise the most.
Ning Tang's eyes remained completely calm: "Now you want to talk? Weren't you quite assertive just now?"
"It's just a pity that I don't want to hear it anymore."
"Comrade Hou Biao, could you please trouble your men to make another trip and send the person back to the Northwest?"
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