Chapter 62 Bad News
Ji Yanting smiled and nodded, "How have you been these years?" Time is really unforgiving! When they went to the countryside, they were all young and energetic, but now their faces are full of the vicissitudes of life.
"I'm fine. Do you have time now? Come to my house and sit down." Qin Hai invited. It has been many years since he last saw the educated youth who went to the countryside with him. Now seeing Ji Yanting reminded him of that time. At that time, he came here with full of blood and wanted to build this land and contribute his strength. However, the cruel reality smoothed all his ideals, and he stayed here for more than 20 years.
Ji Yanting had the same idea, so he turned to Ji Yuanming and said, "Yuanming, I'm going to your Uncle Qin's house with you, you wait for me in the car." Yuanming was worried about him being alone, so he followed along.
"Okay, Dad." Ji Yuanming nodded in response.
Qin Hai looked at Ji Yuanming in surprise, "Is this your son?" If he remembered correctly, Ji Yuanming had only been back in the city for more than ten years. Could it be that he had already married and had children before going to the countryside? Then why did he marry Ling Xuemei?
"This is my adopted son, Yuanming, say hello to Uncle Qin." His three sons were all orphans of his comrades-in-arms. When he adopted them, they were already sensible, so he never concealed their life stories.
"Uncle Qin!"
"Hello!" Qin Hai looked at Ji Yuanming with a smile, and couldn't help but admire his excellence in his heart.
"Yuanming, bring me the golden wine I brought." Ji Yanting ordered Ji Yuanming. This time he came back, he specially brought some gifts. If he wanted to find out about Xuemei and the others, he naturally had to give gifts first. The other party was happy and naturally told him everything.
Although he was paralyzed in these years, he never stopped missing Xuemei and the others. He didn't believe that they were dead. So he secretly asked people to investigate their news and found many people with the same name, but they were not them.
This time Zhou Yu came to his house with the jade pendant to recognize her relatives. He knew at the first time that she was not his daughter, but he still kept her, and pampered her and got used to her in front of the old man, just to make the old man reveal his flaws.
As expected, it lived up to his expectations. It was a pity that the old man never told him the whereabouts of Xuemei and the others. But that was enough. He had learned some truth from the old man. He would find them.
Qin Hai brought Ji Yanting to his home. He opened the door, and a big yellow dog rushed over and started barking at Ji Yanting.
"Don't bark." Qin Hai shouted angrily.
The big yellow dog immediately fell silent, howled twice, walked back under the eaves, lay back on the ground, and wagged its tail.
A middle-aged woman in an apron poked her head out of the kitchen, saw Qin Hai leading Ji Yanting in, wiped her hands on her apron, and walked out.
"Qin Hai, who is he?" Liu Juan felt that Ji Yanting looked familiar, but she couldn't remember where she had seen him.
"He is Ji Yanting, the educated youth who went to the countryside with me before. When he married Ling Xuemei, we went to the wedding."
"It turned out to be him?" Liu Juan sneered and turned back to the kitchen. She and Ling Xuemei grew up together and had a very good relationship.
After growing up, they both married educated youths one after another, but she was much luckier than Xuemei. At least her husband had been by her side for so many years, unlike Xuemei, who raised the child alone and was both a mother and a father.
"She has this temper. Don't bother with her." Qin Hai took Ji Yanting to the main room, "Sit for a while, I'll go get you a cup of tea."
"Don't bother, I'll leave after sitting for a while." Ji Yanting stopped Qin Hai, "I came here this time just to ask you something."
"What is it?" Qin Hai walked to Ji Yanting and sat down.
"Do you know where Xuemei and the others are?"
Qin Hai's eyes flickered slightly, "They died many years ago." He didn't want to deceive Ji Yanting, but he didn't dare to tell the truth. Someone once warned them that no matter who came to ask about Ling Xuemei and the others' whereabouts, they should say that they were dead, otherwise they would bear the consequences. For the sake of his family, he could only lie to Ji Yanting.
"Impossible." Ji Yanting shook his head in disbelief, his face as ugly as a blank sheet of paper. After a long time, he spoke with a trembling voice: "Where is their grave?" He didn't believe it unless he saw Xuemei and the others' grave with his own eyes.
"Who are you showing this to? If you hadn't abandoned your wife and daughter, would Xuemei have died?" Liu Juan walked in with a cold face. She really felt sorry for her sister. Why did she marry such an irresponsible man?
"It's my fault. I'm sorry to them and their daughter. You can scold me all you want, but can you tell me where they are buried now?" Ji Yanting looked at Liu Juan, his voice full of sadness and pleading.
He had already made up his mind when he came to Yuncheng this time. If Xuemei and her daughter were still alive, he would take them back to Jingshi. He would give Xuemei a grand wedding, announce her and her daughter's identities, and make up for what he owed them over the years.
If... they are really gone, he would also bring their bones back so that everyone would know that they are his wife and daughter.
Liu Juan took a deep breath, "Their graves have been washed away by the mountain torrent."
These words were like a sharp knife, piercing Ji Yanting's chest, making him heartbroken. He swayed and almost fell, "Why? Why do you treat them like this... Why..."
Tears slid down his cheeks, and his voice was hoarse and dry as if squeezed out of his throat. Why was he so cruel to Xuemei and the others? Why did they have to suffer such a fate even after death? Why?
Qin Hai hurriedly stepped forward to support Ji Yanting, "Ji Yanting, think about it, the dead cannot be resurrected."
Liu Juan shook her head and sighed, then turned and walked out of the hall. If she stayed any longer, she was afraid that she would not be able to help but tell the truth.
Ji Yuanming waited and waited but Ji Yanting didn't come back, so he asked the villagers and found Qin Hai's house. As soon as he walked to the door, he saw Qin Hai supporting Ji Yanting, who was pale and sad. He
hurriedly went up to him and supported Ji Yanting, "Dad! What's wrong with you?"
"Your dad learned about Xuemei's death and couldn't accept it for a while." Qin Hai had been struggling in his heart. He also wanted to tell the truth, but he couldn't. He still had family and he couldn't hurt them.
"Dad! Let me help you back to the car." Ji Yuanming supported Ji Yanting and walked towards where the car was parked. This is also the reason why he has been preventing his father from coming to Yuncheng. He knew that he would definitely not be able to accept it.