In the Lin family's bedroom, Old Mrs. Lin, Gu Ruyi, glanced at her eldest brother expressionlessly.
Gu Changqing, the sixty-nine-year-old eldest son of the fourth branch of the Gu family, had silver hair and a ruddy complexion. His well-maintained appearance made him appear energetic. At this moment, he was glaring at his younger sister.
According to the custom of "don't celebrate the tenth on the ninth day", Gu Changqing plans to take this opportunity to get close to his nephew-in-law Zhou Xiaozheng so that the two families can make peace during the birthday banquet.
But he never expected his younger sister to disagree. She'd married into the Lin family, her husband's family so prominent, she'd forgotten the kindness of her parents. She wouldn't even help with this little favor. She was a complete ungrateful person.
Seeing that Zhou Xiaozheng had surpassed Old Man Lin, he had a promising future. If he didn't approach his grandfather at this time, what chance would he have in the future? The Gu family had declined to such an extent, he didn't believe that Zhou Xiaozheng would not remember Gu Mingzhu's kindness. As long as the other party promoted the Gu family a little, the Gu family would still be a big family in Jiangnan.
Old Madam Lin glanced at the clock and said, "You're already quite old, so don't let your imagination run wild. Zhou Xiaozheng's last name is Zhou, not Gu. More importantly, you've forgotten about Liu Xizhi. Do you think she won't tell Zhou Xiaozheng about how the clan leader and you persecuted the first wife?"
Gu Changqing immediately stared at her with a vicious look and scolded her in a low voice: "What nonsense are you talking about! Don't pretend to know when you don't. What do you mean by persecution? If I hear a whisper of this, I'll deal with you. You're just lucky enough to have met a lowly orphan. Don't think you can talk nonsense just because you're the general's wife."
Hearing this, Mrs. Lin immediately stood up and said, "It's getting dark, brother, you'd better go back. My lowly orphan doesn't want to see you."
"How outrageous... How outrageous! Good! Gu Ruyi, you have guts. You don't have to set foot in your mother's house anymore." After saying that, Gu Changqing turned around and left.
Old Mrs. Lin followed him silently and stood at the gate without saying a word, watching him leave angrily.
After standing there for a long time, she subconsciously moved her feet. Just as she was about to turn around and go in, she saw Liu Xizhi from the Cheng family walking slowly under the street light. When their eyes met, she saw the contempt in each other's eyes.
Old Lady Lin raised her chin and turned to walk away. She was filled with hatred. What was she despised for? Did she deserve his contempt? She was just an adopted daughter, a little bastard thrown into the garbage dump by her biological mother. Just a lowly orphan, as her eldest brother had said. She told herself not to get angry. There was no need to argue with this bitch.
Standing in the courtyard, Old Lady Lin listened to the call of "Auntie" from outside, her face livid with anger. She truly had given birth to a fool. He was so happy all day long, what was there to be happy about? Auntie? What kind of auntie was Liu Xizhi? That old cousin was taking advantage of her and acting like a spoiled brat.
"Aunt, where are you going? Brother Zheng just went out."
"Haha... I'm just anxious to know what our Jiaojiao said, so I'm going to ask you. Who do you think Xiaozheng inherited this personality from? Why does he only answer every question he asks?"
"Haha...our Brother Zheng is still good to you. I've never heard him say a word when I ask him. He actually has the most to talk to Jiaojiao, catching up on all the things he said over the past forty years."
Old Mrs. Lin stood in the yard. She really didn't want to hear Liu Xizhi's shrill laughter, but she still couldn't move her legs.
After listening for a long time, she didn't hear any useful information. She did know that her silly daughter was carrying something to give away. She didn't know what made the old woman laugh so exaggeratedly.
After hearing the footsteps gradually fade away, Mrs. Lin entered the living room and saw her aunt peeking in. She frowned slightly and said, "What's wrong? Did Shanshan just bring something over?"
The nanny was startled by her sudden voice and waved her hands, saying, "No... no. No one has come to our house since this afternoon except Mr. Gu."
Mrs. Lin glanced outside in surprise. After a moment, she said, "It's okay. Go back to your work."
When Mr. Lin walked in, he saw his wife resting on the sofa with her eyes closed. When she heard him come in, she immediately opened her eyes. He laughed heartily and said, "We are an old married couple. You don't have to wait for me. Go to bed and rest when you are tired."
Old Mrs. Lin smiled slightly. She didn't refute that she was lost in thought.
"Our Jiaojiao really made me proud today. This child is really thoughtful."
Mrs. Lin picked up the tea and handed it to him. She didn't need to smell it to know that the old man had drunk too much tonight.
"When you peel off the crabs, they're all covered in red roe. The yellow croaker is even bigger. This kid is really willing to spend money. I don't know where he found the source."
Old Mrs. Lin rolled her eyes at him. "Come on, don't get too excited. It's not a rare thing. Don't go to the beach too often every year. You take people's compliments seriously. That child is so complicated at such a young age. You should be more careful in the future."
"My dear granddaughter, what should I care about? I just hope that my child will have a promising future. You haven't heard what I want to say yet. Crabs are indeed not rare, but when you see live crabs at home in the middle of winter, are you not surprised?
Haha… What made us old men so happy was not only the children's kindness, but also a unique trick. This is a great idea. Could an ordinary person come up with this? Even those fishermen who have fished for generations couldn't come up with this. But our Jiaojiao is smart, isn't she?
Tonight, Lao Cheng and some intellectuals discussed how applying this technology to fisheries would benefit the fishermen. If the people have money, the economy will develop.
It seems that smart people can come up with any tricks."
Old Lady Lin frowned upon hearing this. These people were truly boring. Why were they bringing up finances for no reason? However, it seemed she had underestimated the abilities of Zhou Xiaozheng and his daughter, especially this little girl, who was truly capable of handling matters!
Zhou Jiao, who was in Northeast China at the time, could never have imagined that it was this blunder that brought the couple into the public eye and made Old Lady Lin even more wary of her.
Late at night, in the stillness of the bedroom, Mrs. Lin listened to her husband's snoring and opened her eyes. In the darkness, she looked up at the eaves silently, thinking of Gu Mingzhu and Liu Xizhi, remembering her own sister, and let out a long breath.
How many years had it been since she thought of her elder sister, who had been forgotten by the world and abandoned by her family? What her elder brother Gu Changqing said today struck her heart, and she couldn't help but think of her unfortunate elder sister.
She once had the most precious sisterly love in the world. But then, what made her avoid the sister who secretly loved her? Oh, it was timidity, and even more so, jealousy.
She envied the other person so much that he could live the life of his dreams without any scruples, except that he lacked a name named Gu. Her elder sister's high spirits, integrity, passion, and crazy love scared her.
"Good! Gu Ruyi, you're a brave man. You don't even need to set foot in your mother's house anymore." Her eldest brother's words reminded her of that summer, when her father had yelled at her older sister in the same way. The difference was that she was an elderly woman, while her eldest sister was still in her prime. From then on, her older sister had truly left, leaving without a second thought.
As for her, she couldn't leave. The Gu family's mess would be a disaster for Zhou Xiaozheng and Zhou Jiao once they learned the truth. Did the boss still want to get closer? And reconcile? How could that be possible?
Ever since she saw the smile on her eldest brother's face the night Zhou Xiaozheng's accident, she had guessed what she had been wondering in her heart—her eldest uncle's death was too unjust. She now wished the truth would disappear from the world.
Still want to get closer? Still want to borrow strength? Who's stupid! She wasn't worried about the real man Zhou Xiaozheng. Even if he ignored her again, his behavior was too much like Zhou Jinyu.
But something unexpected happened, Zhou Jiao appeared, and everything went out of her control. Before the child came back, she already felt that it was the second Gu Mingzhu.
She needed to think about what to do next, and think about it carefully.
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