Chapter 019 Chapter 19 Past Events

Father Xu held the two children in his arms for a long time before he was willing to put them on the kang. He covered the two children with quilts and went to the east room to get an exquisite wooden box.

The box was simple and elegant, with five compartments in total. The largest compartment contained an exquisite jade hairpin with a cluster of plum blossoms carved on it. The plum blossoms were decorated with a touch of red, which was naturally beautiful on the emerald green hairpin. The four smaller compartments below contained two small gold locks and two pairs of gold bracelets. Unlike the two pairs of plain silver bracelets that Xu's father had given him last time, these two pairs of bracelets were engraved with delicate and complex patterns, and were very delicate and small.

Father Xu pushed the box in front of her and said, "This is a gift I prepared for you and your two children. But these things are of little use now. Just think of it as a good omen."

Lin Yue wanted to refuse, but Xu's father stopped her and said, "Take it. I am the child's grandmother, and it is my duty to give things to the child." He hesitated for a moment and said, "However, we should not recognize each other. The situation is not good now, and you married a soldier. It will not be good for you to recognize me as your father. You should still call me Teacher Xu in the future. As for the rest, we just need to be clear in our hearts."

From the beginning to the end, he never asked his daughter why she was suddenly willing to recognize him. His daughter had suffered a lot of grievances in the year since her marriage. He knew that people's state of mind would always change after experiencing difficulties.

Father Xu loved his daughter deeply, so Lin Yue had no choice but to agree. Although she felt that she was being selfish, the situation would change in a few years, and she didn't know whether Father Xu's reputation as a red capitalist would be able to escape the storm. She didn't want the father and daughter to be completely wiped out, so if they didn't recognize each other now, she would at least have a chance to help Father Xu when the storm came in the future.

She nodded silently, and took out a set of cotton clothes from the basket and placed it on the kang. This was made by her using newly bought cloth and cotton according to the general shape of Xu's father. She also took out a can of peanut oil, a rabbit, 20 eggs and a rooster from the space under the cover of the basket.

Father Xu was in a state of excitement at the time, and only cared about entertaining the two children. He did not wonder how a basket could hold so many things. When he saw it, he urged him to put it back: "It's not easy for you to live alone, take the things back quickly, I have everything here!"

Lin Yue refused, saying that he had plenty of food at home and had no shortage of it.

The two couldn't agree on a deal, and finally decided to eat the rooster at noon.

Lin Yue didn't dare to kill the chicken. If Xu's father was stronger, he would dare to kill it, but he never did it. The poor rooster was chopped three times by Xu's father, but it still bravely ran around the yard like crazy, with chicken blood spilled everywhere, leaving an indelible shadow on Lin Yue.

Lin Yue was in charge of cooking at noon. She secretly took out the seasonings from the space and made a dish of chicken stewed with mushrooms, which was served with noodles made from three-in-one flour.

It's not that Lin Yue wanted to help Xu's father save money, it's just that this man's life skills are too poor. He mixed sorghum flour, corn flour, and white flour together, and he always ate this three-in-one flour. He had no experience and was afraid that he would use up the white flour too early, so he always mixed them together. He had lived in the countryside for so long and had always eaten this kind of noodles.

Lin Yue found it both funny and sad. In order to find his daughter, it was not easy for a grown man like him to live his life. He suffered a lot that he shouldn't have suffered.

During the meal, Lin Yue told him what she had learned today when she went to Uncle Lin's house. Father Xu looked up and listened silently, feeling a little sad, but also relieved that his daughter had grown up. However, this little clue was not very useful. The poorer the place, the more common it was to kidnap children. He had seen such things many times while searching for children.

In fact, he had suspected for a long time that this incident was related to Sun Hongmei, after all, the child was abducted here and Sun Hongmei was the closest person. Unfortunately, when he found his daughter, too much time had passed and there was basically no evidence.

Even now, he still has not dispelled his suspicion of Sun Hongmei, but he is afraid of the impact on his daughter, so he has temporarily let the matter go.

Lin Yue thought that after hearing the clues, Xu's father would have some clues. After all, this matter seemed to be committed by an acquaintance. However, seeing Xu's father's lost look, she could not bear to ask any more questions, so she simply changed the subject and asked about her biological mother. Xu's father was silent for a long time before he told her about her biological mother.

The original owner's biological mother was named Zhou Xiaomin. She gave birth to her child at the most chaotic time in this land. She had just experienced the tragic death of her mother and brother, and her own child who was less than three months old disappeared. She almost went mentally ill.

Later, the situation became increasingly chaotic, and Zhou Xiaomin's father-in-law wanted to take her abroad to seek refuge. Xu Enyuan, who still had businesses and was worried about his missing child, had to entrust his seriously ill wife to his father-in-law and stayed alone in this land.

Father Xu had no idea where his father-in-law and wife were now.

Lin Yue couldn't help but worry about the safety of Xu's father. His background was easy for people to make a fuss about, and he also had overseas connections, so he had stepped on a big landmine.

She couldn't help but ask, "Dad, now that you know I'm doing well, have you ever thought about going to look for my mom?"

Father Xu looked at Lin Yue deeply, asking her what was going on with her. Lin Yue thought about how her life had just improved, and lowered her head in shame.

Father Xu reached out his hand, wanting to touch her hair, but then he remembered that his daughter had grown up, so he put his hand back in disappointment. He consoled her, "You and the two children are doing well. Your mother will be happy if she knows."

Lin Yue didn't notice what Mr. Xu did and just nodded obediently.

The two kids just got new bracelets and were trying to stuff them into their mouths. Lin Yue saw them and quickly snatched the bracelets away. The bracelets were big enough that the kids wouldn't actually eat them. Lin Yue was afraid that some chemical products were used in the production process and that they might be harmful to the kids.

When Xu's father saw it, he said, "You should put it away so that no one can see it. If it is stolen, it will be a small matter."

It was New Year’s Day, and Mr. Xu didn’t want to say anything unlucky, so he didn’t say the rest.

Lin Yue agreed, put the jewelry given by Xu's father back in the box, and put it away.

She asked a question that had been bothering her for a long time: "Why is Sun Hongmei so hostile to you? When you came to see me during my confinement, she went crazy and had to pick a fight with me."

Father Xu pondered for a long time before speaking, "I didn't want to tell you at first, but fate has played tricks on you and you became her daughter-in-law. I have to remind you of some things. Your mother-in-law is a person with bad intentions. We must not let her know about our father-daughter relationship."

Lin Yue widened his eyes, ready to eat the melon.

Father Xu did not beat around the bush and told Lin Yue the whole story: "Sun Hongmei worked as a temporary worker in our family when she was young. Later, when your mother and I got married, she served by her side and your mother liked her very much. After the marriage, your mother did not get pregnant for several years. She wanted a child of ours so much that she was a little anxious. Sun Hongmei was very good at persuading people and could always make your mother happy. Later, I found out that she had bad intentions and I tactfully reminded your mother, but she did not believe me."

Lin Yue had watched many palace fighting and house fighting works before, so when he heard the spiritual words "evil intentions", he knew what it meant.

She couldn't ask exactly what the evil intentions were, so she could only ask, "What happened next?"

"Later, she got pregnant and married a farmer."

Lin Yue was shocked: "What do you mean she got pregnant and found a farmer to marry?" If Xu's father hadn't reversed the order, wouldn't it be what later generations would say, "she got pregnant and found an honest man to take over"?

Also, what Widow Sun said at that time couldn't be true, right?

Father Xu was a serious man. When Lin Yue asked him about this, he felt very embarrassed. He scratched his nose and said, "That's the way it is. That's why she doesn't like her eldest son."

Lin Yue wanted to ask more, but he refused to say anything. Lin Yue said anxiously, "Dad, you can't be like this. Last time, that widow Liu said that you are Zhang Yuandong's biological father, and now you won't explain it to me. What's going on? Don't scare me!"

Father Xu's face darkened instantly: "What a mess. When I first arrived, I knew that Sun Hongmei was in Xiaotian Village. If her eldest son really had a relationship with me, how could I let you marry her? I would never let you get married no matter what."

Lin Yue breathed a sigh of relief and then asked, "Then how do you know so much?"

Father Xu stopped talking and changed the subject, talking about Widow Liu again: "What's going on between you and that Widow Liu? Why do you believe everything she says? She is not a decent person, you should avoid associating with her in the future."

Lin Yue thought to himself, I've seen her at her most dishonest, why do I need you to tell me?

But she didn't dare to say anything, she just said: "I know, I didn't say a word to her before, she only came to me a few times because of you."

Father Xu almost choked on a mouthful of rice, and quickly picked up the water cup to drink to slow down.

He didn't dare to talk about these topics with his daughter anymore, and asked with a cup of water in hand: "Would you like some water? I'll go get you some."

Lin Yue pointed at the cup in front of him and said, "Dad, please sit down and eat. I haven't finished the big cup you poured for me."

Father Xu was afraid that Lin Yue would ask some strange questions again, so he sat far away from her, just lowered his head to eat, and didn't say a word to Lin Yue.

Lin Yue chuckled and lowered his head to eat.

In the afternoon, when it was still light, Lin Yue was driven back home by Xu's father. She walked down the street with her two children in her arms, feeling very depressed. She deeply suspected that Xu's father had deliberately driven her away because he was afraid that she would ask more gossip.

As she walked towards Xiaotian Village, she thought, Father Xu said that Sun Hongmei had "evil intentions", so could it be that she really slept with Father Xu? However, considering Father Xu's appearance and family background, it was not surprising. Not to mention Sun Hongmei and Widow Liu, she also knew that there were several women in Donglinjia Village who were attentive to Father Xu, but they were just flirting with a blind man.

With so many people rushing to be her stepmother, Lin Yue felt a little cold on her back. She pushed Xiao Wanli up again to let him warm her back.

However, Zhang Yuandong was not Zhang Zhiwei's biological son, which really shocked Lin Yue. And now thinking about Zhang Zhiwei's attitude towards Zhang Yuandong, he couldn't help but suspect that he had actually known about it all along.

She remembered what Aunt Zhang had specifically told her, and suddenly felt that Aunt Zhang seemed to know something.

Lin Yue wailed in his heart, Father Xu was truly his biological father. Zhang Yuandong was now his son-in-law and his daughter's husband, yet he refused to explain this to her. It seemed that there was some big secret waiting for her that Father Xu couldn't even talk about.

She was lost in thought all the way and slowly walked home.