After Liu Man moved to the Zhao family, she lived a life of being pampered. Her face became rounder and rounder. After getting away from Li Qianqian, she found that she was not isolated. Instead, she made more friends, the best of all being Hu Xiaoling.
That day, Liu Man, along with Hu Xiaoling and two close friends, went to the cafeteria with the beef sauce made by Zhao's father. The girls mixed the beef sauce with their rice, chatting as they ate. Just then, Li Qianqian came in laughing and talking with a handsome, fair-skinned boy. Their behavior was quite intimate. Hu Xiaoling showed off a mouthful of rice to Liu Man and said, "You've spurred her on. She's the biggest fish she's caught after casting a wide net. Just you wait! She'll come over and show off to you in a bit!"
Liu Man smiled, revealing her tiny teeth, and said, "You're so good at describing things!" Sure enough, just after getting their food, Li Qianqian pulled the boy over and said affectionately, "Xiaoman! This is my boyfriend, Li Yifan, from Tongzhou! He's studying clinical surgery. His dad works for the government, and his mom works in the neighborhood committee. What do you think, is he alright?"
"Hello!" Li Yifan greeted everyone, and they all nodded awkwardly.
Liu Man smiled awkwardly and said, "It's fine..." Li Qianqian could tell that they weren't welcome, so she said, "Then you guys enjoy your meal!"
Then, they pulled Li Yifan to sit on the other side. The girls looked at each other and didn't understand why Li Qianqian had to compare herself to Liu Man. Putting aside whether Zhao Aiguo's expenses were affordable for ordinary people, Liu Man himself was rich. Zhao Aiguo was already working and earning money. But Li Yifan was a student. How could she bear to eat and drink with others every day and only choose expensive food?
The girls quickly finished their meal and then dispersed...
Liu Man has been counting down the days. Her parents and grandparents are going to come to Beijing as a whole family after Zhao Aiguo returns from his studies, so that the two children can get engaged first. Otherwise, it will not look good if they are not officially engaged.
That day, after Liu Man went back to sleep, Zhao's parents left Zhao Dahu and Wei Shuqing in the room. Zhao's mother said, "Shuqing! There's something we've been keeping from you. Now that things seem to be going well, we thought we'd tell you so that there won't be any misunderstandings or discomfort later."
Wei Shuqing looked at Zhao's parents with a puzzled expression and said, "Mom and Dad, what's going on? Why are you making such a big deal out of it!"
Zhao's mother smiled and said, "This was a big deal back then, it could have cost you your head! That's why I never told you and Aiguo. Do you remember in 1967, on your wedding anniversary, Aiguo spent 50 cents to buy two wooden boxes for his father and grandfather?"
Wei Shuqing thought for a moment, looking completely bewildered, as she didn't remember anything like that. Zhao's father waved his hand and said, "Let's get to the point! There were twelve large yellow croakers in the two wooden boxes that Aiguo bought! Back then, if we had dared to hide those things at home, something bad would have happened, so we didn't tell you and Aiguo, afraid you would worry! So we hid them!"
Wei Shuqing's face turned pale instantly. She quickly asked, "Mom and Dad, are you alright?" Then, belatedly, she realized that this was obvious. If something had happened, how could they have survived? She swallowed hard and said, "You guys are too brave. Thank goodness!" She patted her chest as she spoke.
Seeing her like that, Zhao Dahu patted her shoulder and said, "I knew you were a coward. I've been keeping this from you all this time!"
Wei Shuqing nodded. Indeed, although she had also bought some, she knew the background of the business and there was no problem. Zhao Aiguo was only eight or nine years old at the time, how could he understand these things!
"If anything happens, the whole family will be finished," Zhao's mother said. "After Da Pu was exonerated, his son didn't want that courtyard house anymore and wanted to sell it. At that time, the policy was not stable yet, and we were afraid that you would worry, so we made a private deal and bought it with the big yellow croaker and our savings, and registered it under Aiguo's name."
"After all, he was the one who discovered it, and besides, he's our only grandson. He'll be ours from now on. We didn't want to tell you then because we were afraid of getting into trouble and being implicated. Now that things are looking better and better, we should be fine, so we're telling you!" Then he turned and took out a locked wooden box, held it to Wei Shuqing, gave her a key, and said, "This is our family's wealth. You know about the bracelets, there are two hundred and twenty silver dollars, a few gold necklaces, two gold locks, and the remaining large gold bars. You'll be in charge of keeping it from now on."
Wei Shuqing immediately shook her head and handed the key to Zhao's mother, saying, "Mom, I don't want this. Please put it away. We trust you to be the head of the household."
Zhao's mother shook her head and said, "I'm old. Back then, the environment was unstable, and I was afraid that you were too young to handle things, so I helped steer the ship. Now that things are stable and there are no major issues, you still need to take the lead. This will all be yours from now on!"
Wei Shuqing placed the key in Zhao's mother's hand and said firmly, "Mom, you're not old. Don't think about unloading this burden and just keep managing it for us! The reason we were able to save this fortune in those years was because of your vision. Besides, I know myself well. I'm not smart, and my vision is limited. Even if you entrusted everything to me, I might not be able to keep it..." As she spoke, she thought of that strange dream. In the end, she really did die a stupid death. She worked so hard, and in the end, she didn't raise her children well, she didn't keep the house, and all she kept was a body full of illness!
Looking at Zhao Dahu again, she felt relieved. Who says you have to be the best at everything? Sometimes making the right choice once or twice is enough.
She handed the key back to Zhao's mother, saying, "Mom, I haven't done many right things in my life. If I had to pick two, they're marrying Da Hu and listening to you. Don't let me make any mistakes!" Then she pulled Zhao Da Hu aside and said, "It's too late, let's go back to sleep!"
Zhao Dahu chuckled and said, "I told you you were overthinking it. Shuqing isn't like that. Mom, you still have to try to live past a hundred! Otherwise, there'll be no one to support our family! I can tell that Xiaoman isn't capable of handling things either. After Aiguo has a child, you should train her properly and find a wife who can manage the household. Then we can deal with her!" With that, he was pulled out.
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