Chapter 225, before the banquet
It was a cloudless night with stars surrounding the moon. It was early summer and under the moonlight in the lotus pond, the sound of frogs croaking could be heard one after another.
The vermilion gate of the Huo family compound was open, and people were coming and going, making it bustling with activity.
"Hey, isn't this Mr. Huo? Why are you in the mood to go out for a stroll today?"
"Since Lingyin is able to return safely this time, as her uncle, I naturally have to come and welcome her back."
"That's true—the supplies Captain Huo brought back this time can temporarily alleviate the base's urgent needs. It's another great achievement. I'm sure you, Second Master, will be honored by it."
"It's natural."
When Jiang Ran followed Huo Lingyin to the scene, they met a few old men who were greeting each other at the door.
Huo Lingyin did not stop and passed by several people, but was stopped before they could go in.
"Lingyin." The man known as "Second Master Huo" called out to Huo Lingyin, "You saw your second uncle, and you didn't even say hello?"
He displayed the dignity of an elder, and his face looked quite solemn when he turned cold.
Huo Lingyin was not afraid.
She glanced at the man indifferently, her red lips parted slightly, and her tone was casual: "Is there any rule in Beichen Base that requires greeting elders when meeting them?"
Without waiting for Mr. Huo to reply, she continued, "Oh, you are not my elder either."
The woman gathered the hair that had fallen to her cheek and sneered, "You're just a dog my grandfather picked up. Who do you think you are? An elder? Don't flatter yourself."
After Huo Lingyin finished speaking, she didn't give Mr. Huo a chance to reply, and walked straight into the Huo family compound, leaving everyone behind.
"This..." The man who had spoken to Mr. Huo before touched his nose awkwardly, not knowing whether to leave or stay.
The second master Huo, Huo Xuan, is the illegitimate son of the old master Huo. However, due to the influence of the old lady Huo's family, the old master Huo did not dare to let him recognize his ancestral home, and only said to the outside world that he was an adopted son.
Although he is an adopted son, everyone inside and outside knows the identity of Mr. Huo, especially now that he has two special ability teams in Beichen Base under his control. Even Huo Sichan has to respectfully call him "Second Uncle" when he sees him.
Only Huo Linyin would be sarcastic and merciless every time she saw Huo Xuan.
Just as the man was feeling uneasy, he heard Huo Xuan's faint smile: "The banquet is about to start, let's go in."
He was neither angry nor upset, as if the words just now were not spoken to him.
The man quickly took advantage of the situation and went into the house after exchanging a few words of greeting.
…
I walked through the courtyard planted with various green plants and flowers, and didn't meet a single stranger along the way.
Jiang Ran looked around and sighed, "The scenery of your Huo family's house is really beautiful. You must have put a lot of thought into it when you renovated it."
"You're talking about this?" Huo Lingyin snorted, pushing aside the banana leaves blocking the way, as if mocking her. "These things were modified by Huo Sichan later. There weren't so many eyesores before."
"Huo Shuai?"
"Yes. Before the apocalypse, he was a landscape architect."
"..." Huo Sichan is the eldest son of the Huo family. Before the end of the world, he didn't work in the Huo family's company, so that he could inherit the Huo family business in the future?
Seeing her confusion, Huo Lingyin said, "Our family doesn't ask much of the younger generation. Grandpa said that the Huo family is large and prosperous. Even if we rely on the wealth accumulated by our ancestors, it is enough for us to squander for a hundred years. So, the younger generation of the Huo family, just be happy."
Huh? Is this the kind of family education the Huo family provides? It's quite different from what she imagined.
Huo Lingyin wouldn't lie for something like this, so Jiang Ran asked directly, "But I heard gossip at Xiling Base. It said that your Huo family forced Miss Huo and her lover to break up in order to form an alliance with the Pei family..."
"You mean my aunt?" Huo Lingyin quickly identified herself. "I know about that incident. It was quite a big deal back then. To be honest, the way things turned out in the end was only because of my aunt's bad luck."
"How do you say that?"
"Our family doesn't have high expectations for the younger generation, but our elders, especially our grandfathers, are quite trustworthy."
"Ah." Jiang Ran suddenly realized, "Was Huo Zhijue and Pei Qing's marriage arranged by the older generation?"
Huo Lingyin nodded, puzzled: "You even know the name so clearly? Do you people at Xiling Base even listen to gossip in such detail?"
Jiang Ran replied perfunctorily: "That's just gossip. Who doesn't like to hear it?"
Huo Lingyin didn't want to say much about the elders' affairs, which were still decades old. She only said, "Fortunately, my aunt married into the Pei family. I heard that the man she loved before died of illness at a young age."
As he spoke, he shook his head slightly, feeling very emotional.
Knowing that the young man she was talking about who died of illness was Si Xu's biological father, and disliking the tone of secretly rejoicing in her evaluation, Jiang Ran glanced at her and sneered: "Was he dead of illness or for some other reason? Who can say for sure now?"
Now that I think about it, there might be some hidden secrets, but it doesn't seem to have anything to do with the person in front of me... Huo Lingyin gave her a strange look: "Why are you so angry?"
"I'm not angry." Jiang Ran looked at her with a forced smile, "You're overthinking it."
“…”
Seeing that she was still confused, Jiang Ran changed the subject: "What's going on with your second uncle?"
"Huo Xuan is not my second uncle." Huo Lingyin's eyes turned cold when Huo Xuan was mentioned.
"I heard you say that Huo Xuan is your grandfather's adopted son?"
"Heh, illegitimate child. Due to the influence of grandma's family, I dare not acknowledge him."
Jiang Ran understood.
"Of the five special-ability teams at the base, two are under his control. The captain of the third team is his son Huo Siguo, and the captain of the fourth team is his close confidant Huo Yun."
"What about the remaining two teams?"
"The remaining two teams have nothing to do with him for now. The relationships within our base are quite complicated. Although Huo Sichan is in power, there are many people who covet this position. The other two special ability teams have always maintained a neutral attitude, so there is not much hope for them."
"Your eldest brother Huo Sichan..." Jiang Ran spoke frankly, "I think his health doesn't seem to be very good. Your base has so many things going on. I'm afraid it won't be easy for him to hold on to his current position."
Thinking of what Huo Lingge said about Huo Sichan being injured, Huo Lingyin's eyes flashed with murderous intent, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Those people should have been taught a lesson long ago..."
Why was Huo Sichan injured? It's easy to guess who did it, but for the sake of the base's development, the person involved didn't say anything, so no one pursued the matter.
As the two of them arrived in front of the small building where Huo Sichan was, they met a young man walking out of the building.
Seeing Huo Lingyin, he raised an eyebrow: "Hey, sister Lingyin is back? This time, sister Lingyin brought back so many supplies, it's really a great achievement."
As he spoke, he stopped in front of Huo Lingyin and was about to pat her shoulder.
Huo Lingyin stared at him coldly, grinning and sneering: "Huo Siguo, if you dare to touch me, I will break your hand."
Having suffered at the hands of the woman, the young man's hands stopped in the air.
He curled his lips, took back his hand and touched his chin, muttering: "I haven't seen you for a few months, and you are still so fierce, tsk."
After saying that, he looked at Jiang Ran who was beside Huo Lingyin. It was originally a casual glance, but his eyes were fixed on Jiang Ran's face and he didn't move away for a long time.
His eyes changed from wary to playful. He raised his chin and asked Huo Lingyin: "Who is this..."
While asking, he had already made up his mind - he was just an ordinary person, no matter what his identity was, he would get it first and play with it for a few days.
(End of this chapter)
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