"Dean Jiang, please come inside and have a seat. I'll bring the food over in a bit." The old man wore a fawning smile, but the smile didn't look kind of peaceful; it was rather ugly, the marks of time deeply etched on his face. His wrinkled cheeks made it impossible to even smile.
Jiang Cheng let out a soft "Hey," opened the door without hesitation, and went inside. Liu Kang hesitated for a moment behind him before also entering the dark little room.
In the dirty and messy main hall, there was a table, scattered scrap metal everywhere, a sofa, a chandelier, and nothing else.
He walked in, his eyes darting around, finding no place to stand or sit. The environment was too dark; he couldn't even see the cobwebs in the corners. The entire living room was shrouded in a gloomy atmosphere. Liu Kang's gaze shifted to the sofa, and he was startled.
There sat a disheveled girl, staring blankly at the flies gnawing on the dried-out noodles on the table. The noodles were stuck firmly to the table, their edges burnt yellow.
She seemed to have some mental issues; she didn't even acknowledge people when they came in. She looked to be in her teens, wearing asymmetrical clothes that weren't dirty, but had shrunk a bit from being washed so many times.
The only clean spot was a small stool next to the sofa, on which sat a framed photo. The photo showed a woman with a gentle smile, her eyes lowered, her gaze unfocused, and an unnatural smile on her lips.
It's like wanting to laugh but not knowing how, feeling awkward and uncomfortable.
The person in the photo bears a resemblance to the girl on the sofa.
"The food is here!"
A shout came from outside, and an old man carrying two steaming bowls of pork stew with vermicelli strode in. He bent down to put the food on the table and then went back to get chopsticks from the kitchen.
"Sit down, I'll treat you to dinner." Jiang Cheng pulled over two stools and sat down first.
After disassembling the disposable chopsticks, four people sat around an old wooden table. The old man held a steamed bun in his hand, but didn't move the chopsticks, watching the two guests.
“Eat first, eat first,” he said.
Liu Kang reluctantly placed his chopsticks on the table. As a CEO, he was used to eating delicacies, but the home-cooked dishes in this chipped bowl, tinged with the yellow of soy sauce, smelled delicious, yet he didn't know how to eat them.
He picked up a piece of meat, put it in his mouth, and smacked his lips twice at the pork that was soaked in sauce. He raised an eyebrow.
good.
The old man seemed to have not eaten meat in a long time. He swallowed hard, and after the proper etiquette was over, he picked up a piece of cabbage with his chopsticks and took a big bite of the steamed bun.
The girl sat on a small stool, eating slowly and deliberately, without saying a word, like a mute.
"I really have to thank Dean Jiang. My daughter's emotions have stabilized a lot after taking the medicine, and she doesn't go crazy anymore. A few days ago, she ran out and fell into a stinky ditch, getting covered in mud and suffering terribly."
"It's no trouble at all. Just submit your name and address to the School of Life Sciences' charity foundation later, and they'll provide subsidies for you in the future."
"That's great, but I can't read."
"It's alright, I'll bring this person over later to write your name or something."
Liu Kang, who was eating, was suddenly called on. He looked up, said a few words in response, and touched his nose.
"The medicine isn't as good as it used to be. Is there any news about the person I asked you about, Dean Jiang?" the old man asked.
"I have news, but I haven't communicated with him yet."
"Good, good, that's great." That smile, which looked more like a grimace, reappeared on his face as he swallowed a mouthful of steamed bun.
Liu Kang was puzzled. What was the old man's relationship with Jiang Cheng, and who was he asking about?
He couldn't understand Jiang Cheng's actions today, and a sense of unease crept into his heart.
"By the way, what was the name of the person you were looking for again?" Jiang Cheng suddenly asked.
"Liu Kang, the boss of Yaokang Company, is very powerful!" The old man's eyes immediately lit up with excitement when he talked about this.
Mr. Liu, who was holding the chopsticks, paused, suddenly looked up, and stared at the other person in surprise.
The old man's withered lips parted and opened, recounting something from a very, very long time ago.
More than ten years ago, Li Baocheng, an old man in his thirties, married a woman. She was very beautiful, with an oval face, big eyes, and a quiet demeanor.
He met her a few times, spent three thousand yuan to hold a banquet, and settled the marriage. That's how it was back then.
Old Li was overjoyed. He never imagined that someone as poor and unambitious as him could get married, let alone such a high-quality woman. He was beaming with happiness all day long. After the woman arrived home, she remained silent, unusually so. He didn't pay much attention, assuming it was just her personality.
The matchmakers were her uncle and aunt; she had no parents.
Her aunt said that the girl's parents died when she had just come of age, and her name was Xiaolian.
Later, he realized something was wrong. It all started on an ordinary afternoon when Xiaolian, who had been sitting quietly cutting the edges of fabric, suddenly stared blankly at what she was holding. Caught off guard, she raised the sharp scissors high and stabbed them into her own palm!
The pain made her scream instantly. Old Li, who was repairing a broken wooden bench nearby, looked up and saw blood gushing from her hand, instantly soaking half the table and dripping down in a line.
He rushed over, panicked for several seconds, grabbed the fabric and pressed it tightly into her hand, saying, "What are you doing?" He then dragged her and hurriedly ran outside.
He hopped on a friend's motorcycle and rushed to the hospital with Xiaolian in tow.
After the surgery, which involved several stitches, Old Li pulled out his meager wallet, paid the bill with trembling hands, and took his bandaged wife home. The doctor reminded him not to forget to come back to remove the stitches in a while, to which he replied, and then led his wife home.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
