Xu Keke asked, and the old woman wrote, as the two were chatting. Wang Shujin and Zhou Xiangnan returned to their residence first. Judging from the expressions on the faces of the two sisters-in-law, they knew that things had probably not gone well within the family.
Around the same time as them, Zhou Zi'an also returned to the mansion. It turned out that when Xu Keke went outside, Sister Hua not only called Old Sun out, but also called Zhou Zi'an. However, Zhou Zi'an wasn't in his office at the time, and by the time he received the call, some time had passed.
Upon hearing from Zhou Zi'an that someone had come to cause trouble, Wang Shujin and Zhou Xiangnan immediately forgot about their family's affairs. They eagerly pulled Xu Keke aside to ask her questions. Seeing that she spoke so casually, the three of them didn't believe her and called Sister Hua over. Sister Hua's account was much more detailed than Xu Keke's.
Upon hearing that these people had come for the grandmother and granddaughter, Wang Shujin immediately said, "What should we do? Yuegui's family is in the countryside. If we don't take advantage of the night when there are fewer people, we should have Sun Cheng drive them there to avoid them for a while."
Xu Keke smiled. The Zhou family wasn't bad at heart. Even though Wang Shujin was timid and cowardly, she didn't say she would hand the person over. She was still thinking about how to hide the person well. It was rare to find such a heart in these chaotic times.
When Zhou Zi'an returned yesterday, he had already heard about this from Zhou Xiangnan. He hadn't taken it seriously at the time. In this day and age, people have seen too much displacement, broken families, and death; people's hearts have long since hardened. But hearing that this grandfather and grandson had actually come to his door demanding their release, and judging from Sister Hua's description, these people seemed to be from a gang, Zhou Zi'an realized that things were probably not so simple.
"Shaoqiu, what are you really thinking about this?"
Xu Keke was quite pleased that Zhou Zi'an hadn't made the decision for her directly, but instead asked for her opinion first. Especially considering that last night Zhou Zi'an had called her "Nanmei" (a term of endearment for a younger sister), but today he called her "Shaoqiu" (another term of endearment for a younger sister) in front of her, Xu Keke couldn't help but smile. Her adopted brother was quite interesting.
Zhou Xiangnan also asked, "Exactly, I didn't have time to explain in detail yesterday. What's the procedure for rescuing this person?"
As he spoke, Zhou Xiangnan looked at the grandmother and grandson. The little guy understood that he was talking about them, and like a startled fawn, he carefully moved behind the old woman.
"That depends on their own decision." Xu Keke was about to speak to the old woman when they interrupted her with their return. Xu Keke stared into the old woman's cloudy eyes. "I'll have someone take this little one out."
The old woman trembled slightly, thought for a moment, and slowly shook her head. As if sensing that what Xu Keke was about to say was something she couldn't bear, she gripped the clothes on her knees tightly with both hands, her eyes fixed on Xu Keke's mouth.
"Your missing person notice, and this piece of paper you just wrote to me, says your wife's name is Hu Xiu. Right?" Xu Keke opened yesterday's morning newspaper and placed it in front of her.
The old woman lowered her head in confusion, then excitedly pointed at Mingyu's photo, nodding frantically and exclaiming "Ah! Ah!" Her eyes eagerly turned to Xu Keke.
Xu Keke patted her hand, "Don't worry, I understand. You don't need to rush."
After calming the old woman down, Xu Keke pointed to Mingyu in the newspaper and said softly,
"This person is called Mingyu, a currently popular female celebrity. Her profile shows that her real name is Hu Xiu, and her ancestral home is the same as yours, Bengbu County. However, she has always said that she is unmarried. She came to Shanghai with her cousin Chen Lin, but later her cousin died of an illness, leaving behind a lot of debt. She had no choice but to work as a waitress in a coffee shop. As a result, she was spotted by a talent scout and started acting."
Xu Keke spoke slowly, and by the time the old woman finished listening, tears were streaming down her face. The atmosphere in the room became heavy and oppressive. Hearing the old woman's cries, the little boy came out from behind her and hurriedly stood on tiptoe to wipe away her tears. Wang Shujin looked distressed, her eyes reddening.
Xu Keke knew the old woman must be devastated upon hearing the news that her only son might have passed away. She was a little anxious to discuss the future with her now. She had originally planned to take it slow, but the other woman hadn't given her time. If things didn't go well now, it would be difficult to make arrangements for them later.
“Since I brought you out, I will definitely help you. Now let’s see what you mean. The people who kidnapped you that day and came to find you today were the same group. However, they should not have been sent by Mingyu. If you want to see her, we will try to arrange a meeting between you.”
At this point, Xu Keke glanced at Zhou Xiangnan, who nodded to her, indicating that it was no problem.
The old woman's tears fell in a steady stream onto the newspaper, wetting Mingyu's photograph. Her hands trembled as she gently touched the photo of Mingyu, standing by the window, her hair styled in a bun, lightly made-up, dressed as a young woman. After a long while, she picked up the pen beside her and began to write something on the paper.
After she finished writing, she handed the paper to Xu Keke with a pleading look on her face, "I wish to see her. Could you let Le'er be here?"
Xu Keke handed the paper to Zhou Xiangnan. Wang Shujin was right next to Zhou Xiangnan, while Zhou Zian, who was further away, got up and walked over. The three of them looked at the words on the paper together. They all looked up and nodded at Xu Keke in unison.
“Mingyu is having a celebration banquet in the foreign concession tonight. You can bring her along,” Zhou Zian said in a deep voice.
Zhou Xiangnan and Zhou Zi'an exchanged a glance. Zhou Xiangnan looked at him and said, "I'll call Feng Shaozhe later and ask him to talk to the police station and have them arrange more people around here these days."
The two people in charge of the household had made their decision. Xu Keke called to Sister Hua, "Have Sister Yuegui make her something light, something to eat. She has things to do tonight, and she can't be too weak. See what the little guy wants to eat and prepare some of his favorite dishes. Take them downstairs to rest."
They didn't hide their conversation from Sister Hua. Sister Hua only had one son, and knowing that the old woman might have lost him, she felt sorry for her. She took the initiative to help her up and left with Chen Le.
After everyone left, before Xu Keke could even ask, Zhou Zian inquired about the trip to the family home that day.
His words ignited Zhou Xiangnan's anger. "These people have lost their minds. Do you know why they made that phone call yesterday? Zhou Zichong from the eldest son's family went to see Ji Mingkai, and judging from what I heard today, the old master actually met Ji Mingkai's father sometime ago. But he must have fallen on hard times. That old Mr. Ji said that I can enter the Ji family, but only as a concubine."
He showed me the newspaper from this morning and said that since Shaoqiu's reputation was ruined, there was nothing wrong with her becoming a concubine in the Ji family. If my sister-in-law hadn't stopped me so early, causing me to miss my teacup, I would have definitely gone to see just how thick-skinned he really was.
And then there's the second wife's family. When I went there today, they kept bringing their daughter, Zhou Shaoyuan, to me. Their meaning couldn't be clearer. Don't these people realize that I wouldn't help an outsider if I didn't care for my own niece?"
After Zhou Xiangnan finished speaking in one breath, he suddenly covered his mouth and looked at Xu Keke.
Xu Keke laughed, "I heard what you guys were saying last night! It's just that they made up a movie saying I was a vixen who seduced Ji Mingkai."
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