Grandma Liu said with a stern face, "You are his own mother, and you don't even care about him yourself, yet you blame others?"
"And..." Old Mrs. Liu paused, looked up and gave Xia Chen a deep look, "I had already found him a family with no children and a good financial situation. I just didn't expect that, due to a moment of carelessness, he was still taken away by human traffickers."
At this point, Old Mrs. Liu's voice choked: "I thought at the time, this is probably his fate. Being Liu Feiyue's son, he was destined to suffer some retribution for you."
"But it seems he's still lucky. Even though he fell into the hands of human traffickers, he still managed to meet kind people." A rare smile of relief appeared on Old Mrs. Liu's face. From now on, she wouldn't need to pray to Buddha every day anymore.
The burden that had tormented her for so many years was finally lifted, and Mrs. Liu felt completely relieved.
She calmly looked at Liu Feiyue and said, "Whether you call the police or want a divorce is up to you. Anyway, according to the current divorce law, I can get half of your assets. What belongs to my Xiaoxiao won't escape you. Just contact my lawyer when the time comes. I've already wasted most of my life with you, and now I don't want to waste any more time with you. That's it."
After saying that, Grandma Liu turned and left gracefully, her chest held high.
She hadn't gone far when she sensed something was wrong. She turned to look at her daughter, who was standing there dumbfounded, and urged, "What are you standing there for, Xiaoxiao? Let's go."
Liu Xiao snapped out of her daze, a cheerful smile spreading across her face, and quickly took two steps to catch up: "Okay, Mom."
Liu Feiyue watched the mother and daughter walk away hand in hand, his face dark and extremely ugly.
Dong Cui, oblivious to the danger, went over and hugged Liu Feiyue's leg, crying and pleading, "You have to stand up for me, Brother Yue! It's all that old woman's fault..."
Liu Feiyue kicked the man away, turned to look at Xia Chen sitting in the private room, and called out, "Ah Chen..."
Xia Chen ignored him, keeping his head down as if he hadn't heard.
Liu Feiyue thought back to when Dong Cui sold his son. In that underground palace, he pried open the coffin, looted all the treasures inside, and left behind a pile of bones. His heart tightened. Was there really retribution? He had finally gotten a son, only to lose him before he could even see him. Now that he had finally found him, it was impossible to be close to him anymore.
No, he didn't believe in such things. If there really was retribution, given the shady things he'd done, he deserved to die eight hundred times over; how could he have lived to this age?
Liu Feiyue took a deep breath and quickly regained his composure.
He bid farewell to Gao Hongfei again and left with his men without even having a meal. He also took the Dong family with him, which could be considered as helping the Gao family get rid of a problem.
After Liu Feiyue left, Gao Han quickly went over and closed the door to the private room.
The private room was extremely quiet, as if everyone was still reeling from the continuous stream of gossip they had just heard.
After a long while, Xing Zhaozhao finally let out a long sigh, shook her head helplessly, and sighed, "The entertainment industry is really chaotic."
Gao Lianzhou nodded seriously as well: "Yes, that's right."
Gao Han couldn't help but roll his eyes at his son. "You don't know anything."
Xia Chen looked apologetic: "I'm sorry, it's all my fault, I've caused trouble for everyone."
Ying Rongrong smiled dismissively and said, "What's it to you? You were just a child back then. What did you know? Besides, you were a victim yourself."
The others nodded in agreement: "That's right."
The private room gradually returned to its previous lively atmosphere.
Xia Xiaoyue still couldn't accept what had just happened. She was reluctant to believe it; how could her grandmother, who seemed so kind, be that kind of person?
"Gurgle," Xing Zhaozhao's stomach growled.
After all that commotion, we've missed lunchtime.
Ling Shuang immediately got up and went out: "I'll go and have them serve the dishes."
Ying Rongrong turned to Xing Zhaozhao: "Should we still call the police?"
Xing Zhaozhao shook her head, recalling the dejected look on the faces of the Dong family members when Liu Feiyue took them away. She said, "Forget it. They've fallen into Liu Feiyue's hands, and they're probably in for a rough time. Let the police investigate. It would be best if we could get that 3,000 yuan back, but if not, forget it."
Ying Rongrong nodded: "Okay."
The food has finally been served.
Xing Zhaozhao happily served herself a bowl of silver fish soup: "Finally, I can eat. I'm so hungry."
Gao Mingcheng picked up a large shrimp for her: "Eat more."
Xing Zhaozhao nodded repeatedly: "Yes."
"What's the deal with Liu Feiyue?" Gao Mingcheng asked Xing Zhaozhao.
While eating, Xing Zhaozhao chattered to Gao Mingcheng about Liu Feiyue, including how Qin Shicai had obtained the jade bracelet from Old Madam Qin through Liu Feiyue.
Gao Hongfei, who was sitting next to Xing Zhaozhao, overheard the conversation and exclaimed in surprise, "Really? No wonder Grandma Liu said he was going to get his comeuppance. Could all those good things he has have been obtained through such means?"
Sitting next to Gao Hongfei, Ying Rongrong overheard most of Xing Zhaozhao's words. Combining this with what Gao Hongfei had previously told her about Xing Zhaozhao's background, she was horrified. Could what they were saying be true?
“Even if it’s not all of them, they must have used these dirty tricks quite a bit.” Xing Zhaozhao said seriously, looking at Gao Mingcheng, “I plan to go back to the old house where my godparents used to live and see if the things have really been dug up. If they have, I have to find a way to get them back and not let him get such a big advantage for nothing.”
Upon hearing this, Gao Mingcheng's face darkened: "No, this is too dangerous, you are not allowed to go."
"I'll be careful and won't let anything happen to me, so you can rest assured," Xing Zhaozhao assured him.
Gao Mingcheng refused to listen: "No."
Xing Zhaozhao pouted: "Fine, if you don't want me to, then you don't want me to." Anyway, once we go back, he can't follow us or catch her. He can say what he wants, and she can do what she wants.
Gao Mingcheng could tell from the expression on her face that she hadn't listened, but there was nothing he could do about it; he couldn't go over there and stop her.
Gao Mingcheng sighed helplessly and asked, "Is there any news from the military?"
Xing Zhaozhao recalled the letter he had asked her to send to the army, and shook her head: "Not yet."
She looked at Gao Mingcheng, her eyes brightening, and asked, "What letter did you ask me to send? Are you coming back soon?"
"I don't know, it should be soon." Gao Mingcheng wasn't quite sure what the situation was like over there.
Xing Zhaozhao exclaimed happily, "Really? That's wonderful!"
"But if you really come back this early, won't it have some negative impact on you?" Xing Zhaozhao asked worriedly.
Gao Mingcheng shook his head: "No, at most my promotion will be a little slower."
"That doesn't matter, as long as you come back safely," Xing Zhaozhao said.
“If this trip to the south could end so soon, I might be the only one who can return safely,” Gao Mingcheng said, giving Ying Rongrong a meaningful look.
Xing Zhaozhao followed Gao Mingcheng's gaze to Ying Rongrong, completely bewildered. What did that mean?
Ying Rongrong met Xing Zhaozhao and Gao Mingcheng's gazes, looking completely bewildered. Why were they looking at her?
Lanyuan Town Railway Station.
The green train slowly pulled into the platform and came to a steady stop.
As soon as the car door opened, a tall man in a green military uniform jumped out, carrying large and small bags. A hideous scar ran diagonally across his resolute face, adding to his intimidating presence.
He looked at the familiar platform before him and couldn't help but take a deep breath. Finally home. It felt so good.
"Mingcheng." Someone called from behind.
Gao Mingcheng turned his head and took a large green bag handed to him from the car.
Immediately afterward, a man in a green military uniform got off the bus, carrying a pretty little girl who looked about seven or eight years old. She had pigtails with big red flowers tied to them, and her innocent little face was none other than Ying Rongrong when she was a child.
"Dad, when are we going to Uncle Gao's house?" Little Rongrong asked timidly.
"It should be soon," Ying Hongyi said, then helped another woman out of the car; it was Wen Sinan in her younger days.
"Is it almost time, Mingcheng?" Ying Hongyi turned to Gao Mingcheng and asked.
Gao Mingcheng slung Ying Hongyi's bag over his shoulder and, seeing that the family of three had all gotten off, strode towards the station exit, saying, "Almost there, it'll probably take another hour to walk from the town."
“It’s not far now.” Ying Hongyi, holding his daughter and pulling his wife along, followed closely behind.
"If we're lucky, we might catch a tractor going back to the village, and it'll probably take about half an hour to get there," Gao Mingcheng said, quickening his pace. He hadn't seen his wife and children for almost two years, and he was eager to go home. Counting the time, the third little one would be a year old in two months, and he hadn't met him yet. He didn't know if it was a girl or a boy. He hoped it would be a girl, someone who would look like Zhaozhao's little cotton-padded jacket. Two mischievous boys were already enough for him.
"That's great!" Ying Hongyi said, quickening his pace to catch up.
Just as they stepped out of the train station, Rongrong's tummy rumbled involuntarily. It was past lunchtime, and she was hungry.
"Rongrong, are you hungry? Can we wait a bit? We can eat when we get to Uncle Gao's house," Ying Hongyi reassured his daughter.
"Let me have a cookie to tide me over," Wen Sinan said, reaching into the bag slung over her arm, only to find it empty; it seemed she had eaten them all on the way here.
"Looks like we'll just have to bear with it," Ying Hongyi said regretfully, patting his daughter's head.
Little Rongrong nodded obediently: "It's okay, I can bear it."
Gao Mingcheng, who was walking in front, hesitated for a moment, stopped, turned to look at Ying Hongyi and his family of three, and said, "In that case, why don't we eat at the state-run restaurant before we leave? Don't let the child get hungry."
Ying Hongyi asked in surprise, "Aren't you in a hurry to go home?"
"We're almost there anyway, so a little more time won't make a difference," Gao Mingcheng said nonchalantly. "Besides, it's already this late, and everyone at home has probably already eaten. We'll have to start cooking again when we get back, and then we'll have to wait. It's fine for us adults, but it's not good for Rongrong to go hungry."
Ying Hongyi was taken aback for a moment, then quickly chuckled and said, "I think you just don't want your wife to suffer."
Gao Mingcheng chuckled, neither confirming nor denying. That was indeed one reason. Besides, he'd been sending things home for so long; who knew what kind of trouble that stingy old lady would cause? He wasn't sure if he'd even get a meal when he got back. He'd better eat first before going home; the children couldn't stand being hungry like that.
The four of them went to a state-run restaurant, ate, and then continued on to Xiaogaozhuang. Unfortunately, they didn't run into Da Han's tractor and had to walk instead.
Luckily, we had eaten at the state-run restaurant beforehand and also got two jugs of cold boiled water there. We walked for an hour under the blazing sun and almost fainted from the heat from Xiao Rongrong and Wen Sinan.
"We're almost home, we can sit down and rest now," Gao Mingcheng said as he saw the familiar big tree at the village entrance in the distance.
Xiao Rongrong and Wen Sinan, who had been listless from the sun, perked up again.
On such a hot day, I didn't see many people as soon as I entered the village.
Gao Mingcheng went straight to his own door, knocked, and was so excited at the thought of seeing his wife and children that his hands trembled and his heart pounded.
"Who is it?" A young girl's wary voice quickly rang out from inside the door.
“It’s me,” Gao Mingcheng replied.
"Is that... Uncle's voice?" The little girl thought for a moment, then exclaimed in surprise.
The one who called him "Second Uncle" was probably one of the younger sisters from the third brother's family: "That's me."
The door creaked open, and standing inside was Pandi from Gao Laosan's family. Looking at Gao Mingcheng, her eyes were red and swollen. She sobbed and said, "You're finally back, Second Uncle."
As soon as the door opened, Gao Mingcheng sensed something was off about the house; it felt like it was missing a bit of its vibrant life. His heart tightened: "Are you the only one home? Where's everyone else? Where are your grandparents? Your parents? Where's your aunt?"
Hearing the commotion outside, the children who had been hiding in their rooms came out one after another. When they saw Gao Mingcheng, they all sobbed and rushed over to him, saying, "You're finally back, Second Uncle..."
Gao Mingcheng panicked completely, his hands and feet went cold. He had never been so terrified during the year he had been hiding behind enemy lines. His voice trembled slightly as he asked, "Where are my family?" Where were his Zhaozhao and the children?
Ying Hongyi also sensed something was wrong. He exchanged a worried look with Wen Sinan and stepped forward to pull Gao Mingcheng back, saying, "Don't be too hasty, Mingcheng. Ask him first."
“They’re all gone…” Pandi said, wiping away her tears.
"Zhao Zhao..." Gao Mingcheng roared and rushed into the room where he and Xing Zhao Zhao lived. It was very clean, as if someone cleaned it regularly, but all the bedding and luggage were gone, as if no one had lived there for a long time.
Gao Mingcheng's legs went weak, and he almost knelt down in the room.
Fortunately, Ying Hongyi followed him in and helped him up in time.
"Who's here? Is Mingcheng back?" Aunt Hao from next door heard the noise and rushed over.
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