Marriage in the 1980s 15
When Mr. Zhao and the people from the second house saw the aggressive and self-righteous look of the Ke family, they knew that they must have come to negotiate or to directly file for divorce.
Because Ke Yi had previously fathered a child with someone else, the Ke family felt guilty and not only humbly apologized but also offered them significant concessions in their business dealings. Wine was a highly profitable business, but the Ke family sold it at cost to the Zhao family restaurant and barely made a profit from the cloth they provided to the Zhao family's clothing store. They even added a few percentage points to Ke Yi's dowry, which was to be left to Zhao Haoyu and Ke Yi's children.
But now, Zhao Haoyu can't even have children. This situation is even more unacceptable than the fact that Ke Yi in their family has given birth to a child, so the Ke family is quite confident this time.
"We already know about Haoyu's affairs." Ke Yi's father said straight to the point after sitting down.
"What do you want? Let them divorce?" Zhao Jianan was already in a bad mood and didn't want to beat around the bush with them. He just wanted everyone to be direct, make a decision quickly, and determine the result.
"Because of Ke Yi's situation, our Ke family was quite sincere in order to save the young couple's marriage. If your Zhao family wants a divorce, then we have nothing to say. Find a suitable time and let them complete the formalities. To be honest, given our family's conditions, it is not difficult to find a man with good character for Ke Yi to marry into our family. But if you don't want them to divorce, then you have to show your sincerity."
Zhao Jianan and Mr. Zhao looked at each other and said, "What do you want?"
"Don't worry, our Ke family is absolutely reasonable. Marrying is not making enemies. We marry our child to your family because we naturally hope that your family will get better and better, so we will not kick you when you are down. The benefits we gave to your family before will continue to be given in the future, and the dowry we added to Ke Yi will still be given and will never be taken back. What can we ask for, in addition to hoping that your family will treat Ke Yi better in the future, we have only one request, which is to take the child born by Ke Yi to the Zhao family to raise. In the future, the child will change the surname to Zhao, which means that he is the child of Ke Yi and Haoyu."
"Impossible!" Old Master Zhao immediately objected angrily, because he understood what Ke Yi's father meant, that he wanted the child to inherit everything from the second house in the future.
"Grandpa, we're making this request not for ourselves, but for the sake of the young couple," Ke Yi's mother said. "You don't want a child you already have. Do you want them to adopt someone who has no blood relationship with them? Or do you always want them to live out their lives alone, without anyone to take care of them?"
"You don't have to give me the benefits before, and you can take back all of Ke Yi's dowry, and you can even divorce me if you want, but our Zhao family's property can only be inherited by our bloodline. Our Zhao family is not extinct now, so we don't have to adopt other people's children." Old Master Zhao said with a serious face.
"It's impossible for Haoyu to have his own children. Grandpa, if you insist that the Zhao family bloodline inherit everything of the Zhao family, then this means that everything in the Zhao family will belong to the eldest wife, and the second wife will have no share?" asked Ke Yi's mother.
Zhang Shufen's greatest wish in life was that her sons and grandsons would inherit the Zhao family's entire fortune. When she heard what Ke Yi's mother said, she subconsciously panicked and wanted to object. But when she thought about Zhao Haoyu not being able to have children, the words of opposition were on the tip of her tongue but she couldn't say them, and she could only tremble.
"You don't need to worry about this. I will naturally consider and make plans for the second house. I will definitely let our Haoyu have a child who is related to him by blood, and take care of him in his old age." said Mr. Zhao.
"You mean you want to give one of the twins from the eldest wife's family to Haoyu for adoption?" Ke Yi's mother said, "Let's not talk about whether your eldest wife is willing to adopt. Even if they are willing, our Ke Yi is obviously capable of having children, but he has to raise a child who has no blood relationship with him. Isn't this unfair to him? Besides, they are not his own flesh and blood. Even if he is raised wholeheartedly, who knows what will happen to them in the future?"
"In short, it's impossible to let someone else's child have the surname Zhao!" Old Master Zhao said firmly. When he said surname Zhao, he meant inheriting the Zhao family's property. It's not like their Zhao family is really deserted, so it's impossible to let someone else's child inherit it.
Ke Yi's parents looked at each other, and then Ke Yi's mother looked at Ke Yi and asked, "What do you think in your heart? Do you want to stay here? Or do you want to go home?"
Ke Yi was silent for a while, then turned to look at Zhao Haoyu and asked, "Do you want me to stay? If you want me to stay, we will live a good life in the future. If you don't want me to stay, I will leave today."
Zhao Haoyu was hit too hard and his heart was in turmoil. When Ke Yi asked him this, he really didn't know how to answer. He could only say, "It's up to you. If you're willing to stay, I'll treat you well. If you're not willing, I won't force you to stay."
Neither of them could make a decision on their own, and all that was left was silence.
Ke Yi's father said, "In this case, let's take a step back. The child born to Ke Yi must be raised by his side, because biological children must be raised by him personally, and only then will they be close to him in the future. This is also a guarantee for Ke Yi in the future. This child's surname is Ke, and he has nothing to do with the Zhao family. In the future, he will only inherit Ke Yi's dowry and will not use a penny of the Zhao family. As for your Zhao family, no matter whose child you want to adopt to Haoyu, we will not care. Ke Yi can also help raise the child, but the dowry that the Ke family gave to Ke Yi cannot be given to that child. You can't accept such a decision, right?"
Mr. Zhao remained silent. Zhao Jianan said, "Let's just decide it this way. From now on, the two families will still be relatives. So, please stop saying hurtful things and just live your life well."
"Keyi, come back with us and stay for a few days. You haven't seen your child for a long time. Go back and accompany him and help him pack his things. Let Haoyu have some peace and quiet for a few days. Wait for Haoyu to pick you up, and then you can come back." Keyi's father said after standing up.
Ke Yi glanced at Zhao Haoyu, then stood up and left with his parents, brother and sister-in-law. He knew what his father meant. As long as Zhao Haoyu went to pick them up in person, it would show the attitude of the Zhao family, and no one would pursue the past.
After the Ke family left, Zhao Jianan looked at Old Man Zhao and asked, "Dad, do you really want Cheng Sheng to adopt a son for Haoyu?"
"What else can we do? Give me some advice!" Old Master Zhao said unhappily.
"I'm not... I'm not unwilling. I'm worried that Zhao Xiuning won't be willing. Don't you know how much he hates us? How could he give up his grandson to us? No matter how you think about it, it's impossible."
"The children will be adopted under Haoyu's name, and they can raise them themselves. In the future, the Zhao family's property will belong to those two children." Old Master Zhao expressed his thoughts. He felt that no matter what, Cheng Sheng's two children were their direct bloodline. Since Zhao Haoyu could not have children, it was only natural to let those two children inherit the Zhao family's business.
"Then doesn't this mean that all the family property will be given to the first wife?" Li Qin said dissatisfiedly.
"Then what do you think we should do? When Haoyu gets old and passes away, who do you want to inherit the family property? Tell me who is suitable!" Old Master Zhao asked, staring at Li Qin.
"I, what I mean is that what Ke Yi's parents said makes sense. Even if it is a biological child, you have to raise the child yourself to feel close to him. What's more, he is not a biological child. So I have no objection to letting the property inherit the child, but we have to raise him ourselves." Li Qin said in a low voice.
"If you have the ability, go and convince Zhao Xiuning to let you raise his grandson. If you don't have that ability, then just do as I say! After all, the Zhao family's fortune will never be inherited by an outsider's bloodline!"
Zhao Jianan and his wife were silent, feeling powerless, and Zhang Shufen started sobbing again.
Tao Yuan knew that it was not good for Old Lady Zhao to go to the Cheng family too frequently, so he often went to the Zhao family with Cheng Sheng and the children for a short stay, because he knew that Old Man Zhao and the second wife's family must be in a bad mood. Even Zhao Xuning went back to the Zhao family more often, because the misfortune of the second wife was what made him happiest.
That day, Cheng Sheng and his father were discussing business matters in the study, while Tao Yuan, Old Lady Zhao, and Cheng Wei were enjoying the cool breeze in the pavilion in the garden. As the three of them were playing with the child and chatting, Tao Yuan turned around and saw Old Master Zhao walking towards them from a distance, his hands behind his back.
Tao Yuan thought to himself, after he married Cheng Sheng, he came to live in the Zhao family so many times. Except for the last time when Cheng Sheng's aunt specially invited him, this was the first time he saw Mr. Zhao appear in the main courtyard on his own initiative. There must be something going on.
"Grandma..." Tao Yuan called out and then hesitated, because he didn't know whether he should call Old Man Zhao grandpa. Cheng Sheng had never called him grandpa, and Zhao Xuning hadn't called him dad for many years.
Old Mrs. Zhao was using a rattle to tease Xiao Yu, who was being held by Cheng Wei. When she heard Tao Yuan's cry, she fell silent and asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"
"Grandpa is here." Tao Yuan thought about it and felt that this was the only way to call him that. After all, Zhao Xuning didn't allow Cheng Sheng to call Grandpa Zhao "Grandpa".
Old Mrs. Zhao and Cheng Wei looked up at the same time, and sure enough, they saw Old Mr. Zhao walking towards them with his hands behind his back, getting closer and closer.
"Don't pay attention to him." Old Mrs. Zhao said indifferently, and continued to tease the two children whom she could never get enough of. When other children of their age, they would cry at the slightest provocation, but these two children loved to laugh so much that their laughter could melt people's hearts.
Old Master Zhao had already walked out of the pavilion. Although Old Madam Zhao told them not to pay attention to him, Tao Yuan and Li Qin were not Zhao Xuning after all, so they couldn't be rude to Old Master Zhao. So they stood up holding their children, but did not greet Old Master Zhao.
"Please sit down." After entering the pavilion, Mr. Zhao sat down on a long stone bench beside it and said to them, "I came here today to discuss something with you."
"Yes, if you had nothing to do, why would you condescend to come to the main courtyard?" Old Lady Zhao said sarcastically, "After all these years, don't I know what kind of person you are? Even if you don't say it, I know what you want to discuss. It's just that it's useless for you to discuss this matter with us. I can't even control whether Cheng Sheng's last name is Zhao, let alone these two children."
"Go, call the master over." Old Madam Zhao turned to the servant standing beside her and said, "Tell the head of the Zhao family that he wants a grandson for the second wife."
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