Tong Laoda and Tong Ma returned to the Tong family home the day before the New Year. Tong Xiaohuai did not know this beforehand. When he returned home from school, he saw his parents' keys hanging on the storage cabinet behind the door.
"Dad, Mom, you're back?"
As Tong Xiaohuai changed his shoes, he shouted loudly into the inner room. Then, Tong Laoda's voice came from the backyard.
"Girl, we're back."
Tong Xiaohuai tossed her backpack aside and ran off to the backyard.
During the days she was sick, she missed her parents terribly.
But she didn't want to expose the well-intentioned lie that her parents had gone to so much trouble to keep from her. Even though she was so upset about Yanbo that she wanted to die, she didn't dare to bother her parents in the slightest.
My mother's health is very poor, so she lives in a sanatorium in the suburbs because the air there is good and it is conducive to her recovery.
Therefore, she was very sensible. Whenever her mother asked her if she was used to being home alone, she would force a smile and say, "How could I not be used to it? You and Dad can enjoy your time alone without me, and I can enjoy my time alone with Yanbo too."
As for Yanbo's disappearance, she repeatedly instructed Qin Ming and the others not to tell their parents.
"Mom and Dad, why didn't you tell me you were coming back?"
Tong Xiaohuai ran to the backyard and threw herself into her mother's arms, hugging her and complaining at the same time.
"Isn't tomorrow New Year's Day? We came back especially to celebrate the New Year with you."
Tong's mother is indeed in better spirits than before, and she has also gained a little weight.
At this moment, she looked down at her beloved daughter, raised her hand to touch Tong Xiaohuai's face, and said with a look of pity.
"Xiao Huai, how come you've lost so much weight?"
As Tong's mother spoke with concern, she pinched Tong Xiaohuai's arm and back a few times, her brows furrowing as she did so.
"Girl, are you too busy with work and can't handle it?"
Tong's mother has always maintained a neutral stance on the matter of Tong's eldest son insisting that his daughter take over the Tong family.
“If Xiaohuai likes it herself, I won’t stop her; if she doesn’t want to care, you can’t force her.”
These were the exact words that Tong's mother used to express her stance to Tong's eldest son.
Tong Xiaohuai didn't say whether she liked it or not, but she also didn't explicitly refuse.
Tong Xiaohuai buried her face in her mother's arms and rubbed against her a few times. "Mom, it's not work. I have exams coming up, and I'm cramming at the last minute. I've been staying up all night for a few days, so it's normal to lose weight. Besides, I used to be a little chubby, so this is a good time to lose weight."
Tong's mother patted her head and scolded her in a low voice, "Nonsense, you're not fat at all. You used to be so thin, I thought you were too skinny!"
"Yunxiang, you're right, aren't you?"
Tong Laoda had been fiddling with his newly acquired treasures, but when his wife asked him a question, he only glanced at his daughter briefly.
"Hmm...she is indeed too thin..."
Tong Xiaohuai glared at her father, "Dad, you're just Mom's yes-man."
Tong Laoda ignored her and continued to examine his treasure with his eyes down.
Tong Xiaohuai then noticed a wooden monkey carving in front of her father and curiously went over to look at it.
"Dad, where did you find some treasure this time?"
Tong Laoda took a magnifying glass and looked at it from here to there, comparing it. "This is a root carving, a New Year's gift from Fei Zi."
Tong Xiaohuai frowned slightly. "Fei Gang? When did he learn about these things?"
Tong Laoda still didn't look at her. "He doesn't need to understand. I do."
Tong Xiaohuai didn't say anything. She crawled out of her mother's arms, shifted her bottom, and sat down next to Tong Laoda. Then, she leaned over and started reading seriously as well.
Tong's mother got up. "You two enjoy it slowly. I'll go to the kitchen to see if the soup is ready."
The father and daughter examined the details of the statue bit by bit through a magnifying glass.
"What, have you figured something out?"
Tong Xiaohuai honestly shook her head, "No!"
Tong Laoda gave her a disdainful look, and was about to say that since she didn't understand, why was she getting involved? Tong Xiaohuai spoke up again.
“I can’t see anything in this statue, but I can see what Fei Ge is thinking.”
Tong Laoda scrutinized her from head to toe for a while, then straightened up and stared at her leisurely.
"Oh? Then tell me, what did you figure out about him?"
Since Tong Laoda handed the Tong family over to Tong Xiaohuai, he no longer directly interfered with her affairs. Even after returning to China, he would occasionally visit various places, but he basically did not issue any directives or orders.
When you talk to Tong Xiaohuai about these things, he never tells you what to do or how to do it.
Therefore, he has never interfered in Fei Gang's affairs.
“Dad, he and Brother Liu switched places. After taking over the money shop, a lot of things have happened. But I want to see if he really dislikes me and is unwilling to be managed, or if he has someone backing him up.”
Tong Laoda looked at her thoughtfully. "You mean, I'm backing him up from behind?"
Tong Xiaohuai shook her head. "Of course not you. You are my dad. He's not stupid. He just wanted to test whether you had developed any resentment towards him because of what happened before."
Tong Laoda laughed and put down the magnifying glass. "I'm not the boss anymore. My opinion of him doesn't matter, does it?"
Tong Xiaohuai shrugged. "Who knows!"
Old Tong turned to look at the lifelike root carving, feeling somewhat reluctant. "Then, should I send this back?"
Tong Xiaohuai shook his head again, "Of course not. He's worked for you for so many years and made a lot of money. You can't accept him giving you a broken tree root?"
Tong Laoda couldn't help but laugh again, "Girl, this isn't some broken tree root, it's a work of art carved by a famous artist, it's quite valuable."
“You are worth the money. Our Tong family has never had the habit of mistreating our brothers. He did something very unethical last time. I am willing to let him off the hook because he really made a lot of money for the Tong family when he was with you, Dad. If he still doesn’t know how to restrain himself after that incident and insists on causing trouble again, I won’t be so lenient next time.”
Tong Xiaohuai was also a little angry. Although Fei Gang seemed to be obedient lately, who knew if he was planning to stir up trouble again behind the scenes.
In short, Tong Xiaohuai has now listed this person as someone to pay special attention to. The reason she is not taking action against him is simply because she wants to expose all the people behind him at once.
Tong Laoda stared at her for a while, then said, "So, my silly girl isn't silly after all!"
Tong Xiaohuai rolled her eyes at him, stood up, and said, "I'll go to the kitchen to see what kind of soup they made today."
As she walked into the house, Boss Tong asked her from behind, "Isn't Xiao Yan coming over for dinner today?"
"I don't know, he's been very busy lately. Why don't you call him and ask?"
Tong Laoda thought to himself, something's not right. In the past, this girl was very concerned about Yanbo's diet and daily life. Could it be that the two young people had a fight?
Tong Laoda was suspicious, so he picked up the phone and dialed Yan Bo's number.
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