In a secluded mountain village like Zhaojiagou, if a family member was imprisoned, the family would be humiliated in front of the entire village. Furthermore, Gutiezhu's family had more than one criminal inmate; both husband and wife had criminal records as "reform through labor" prisoners. When Wang Biyun was sentenced to execution in City N, a special document was sent to Zhaojiagou. Village chief Zhao Youtian even convened a village meeting specifically for this matter.
The farmers and farm women in the small village didn't understand what "attempted murder" meant. They only knew that Wang Biyun was a cruel woman.
Because of this, Gu Hongxing and Gu Xiaofang had virtually no friends in the village. Aunt Gu was the children's great-aunt, and although they lived nearby, Aunt Gu's wife said that Gu Tiezhu and his wife were not good people, and their children would not be good people either. She firmly disagreed with Aunt Gu bringing the two children to live with her.
Aunt Gu is old and has no control over anything at home. Even she has to rely on her son and daughter-in-law to survive.
But watching her two young children from her mother's family being left alone at such a young age was not a good thing, so Aunt Gu called Zhao Yunxiang and asked her to think of a solution. Aunt Gu had heard that there was an orphanage in the county where orphaned children could live. Aunt Gu, a village woman herself, didn't know how to handle the procedures. In her mind, Zhao Yunxiang's family were all "capable people", so she called Zhao Yunxiang and asked her for help.
Zhao Yunxiang thought that her younger brother Zhao Guohui had a good relationship with Gu Tiezhu, and she didn't want to watch the two children have no place to live while Gu Tiezhu was away from home, so she took the responsibility of the Gu Hongxing siblings.
However, Zhao Yunxiang had no plans to send Gu Hongxing and his sister to an orphanage. After all, the children admitted to orphans were all fatherless and motherless. Although Gu Tiezhu was not home, there had been no reports of his death. Gu Hongxing and his sister simply did not meet the orphanage's adoption requirements. Although the local orphanage might have granted Zhao Yunxiang's request, she always remembered her status as General Zhou's granddaughter-in-law and would not do anything that clearly used General Zhou's name to seek personal benefits.
Zhao Yunxiang planned to bring Gu Hongxing and his sister to live with her factory for a while. Her garment factory had a whole building of staff dormitories with vacant rooms, and they had been given one by lottery. The factory also had a cook, and the dormitory had a washing machine. There was also a primary school nearby, so the two children would be well cared for there.
Before doing something, Zhao Yunxiang would habitually ask Zhou Yuanyuan for her opinion. Zhao Yunxiang trusted Zhou Yuanyuan's judgment, and if Zhou Yuanyuan said something was inappropriate, Zhao Yunxiang would probably just ask Zhou Yuanyuan to come up with a proper plan.
Seeing her mother's face raised, looking for advice, Zhou Yuanyuan felt gloomy. When she was little, Zhou Yuanyuan loved giving Zhao Yunxiang advice because she was so clueless and timid back then, so Zhou Yuanyuan would teach her how to handle things. Now, Zhao Yunxiang, the CEO of two clothing brands, still relied on her like this, which Zhou Yuanyuan found unacceptable.
"Mom, I don't want to say anything more. Just remember, a little kindness is worth a grudge. Helping others is fine, but don't make them feel unappreciated." Zhou Yuanyuan reminded Zhao Yunxiang. There are many pitiful people in this world. Zhao Yunxiang should have a set of rules and regulations in her mind about who should be helped and who should not be helped. Zhao Yunxiang's money didn't just come from the wind; it was earned through hard work. There are examples of people who have helped others and then bitten back.
The relationship between Gu Hongxing and his sister and the Zhao family was a bit complicated. Ever since Wang Biyun died because of Zhao Guohui, it was still unclear what their attitude was towards the Zhao family. Zhao Yunxiang was so eager to help others, but they might not be happy about it.
"A little kindness, a peck of rice, a grudge?" Zhao Yunxiang chewed the words over several times before looking up and saying to Zhou Yuanyuan, "Yuanyuan, what does this mean?"
"Mom, some people are starving, and if you give them a bowl of rice, they'll be grateful to you forever. Some people, even if you provide them with luxurious food every day, might complain about why you don't treat them better. After all, if you can afford such good food, buying them a big house shouldn't be difficult," Zhou Yuanyuan explained to Zhao Yunxiang. Indeed, not everyone in this world is grateful. Helping others, while not expecting anything in return, is something Zhou Yuanyuan doesn't want to see constantly being taken advantage of.
Gu Hongxing and his sister were still young, and if no one spoke ill of Zhao Guohui around them, their rejection of him wouldn't be so strong. Zhou Yuanyuan could tell from Gu Hongxing's refusal of Zhao Guohui's help that he resented Zhao Guohui.
Zhou Yuanyuan is a cautious person, to put it nicely, and trouble-averse, to put it bluntly. She likes to think through every aspect of a situation before she does anything, nipping any potential trouble in the bud.
In Zhou Yuanyuan's view, Gu Hongxing and his sister are the future trouble for the Zhao family.
If Zhao Yunxiang hadn't already promised Aunt Gu that she would return to Zhaojiagou to help resolve the situation between Gu Hongxing and his sister, Zhou Yuanyuan wouldn't have wanted her to make such a trip. After all, it was an indisputable fact that Wang Biyun died after failing to harm Zhao Guohui. If Gu Hongxing and Gu Xiaofang grew up and took their anger out on Zhao Yunxiang, wouldn't that hurt her mother's kindness?
Thinking of this, Zhou Yuanyuan reminded Zhao Yunxiang, "Mom, think about it. Why is Gu Hongxing unwilling to accept my uncle's help? Does he hate my uncle? Or is he too embarrassed to ask for my help?"
"That's... hard to say." Zhao Yunxiang shook her head. She really couldn't guess. A child in his teens had a fickle personality. If he didn't say it, no one would know what he was thinking. Just like Zhou Yuanyuan, Zhao Yunxiang still couldn't guess what she was thinking after all these years.
If Zhou Yuanyuan knew that Zhao Yunxiang was complaining about her in her heart, she would definitely be amused by Zhao Yunxiang. Zhou Yuanyuan is older than Zhao Yunxiang in her two lifetimes combined, and has the experience of two lifetimes. If Zhao Yunxiang could see through her thoughts at a glance, then Zhao Yunxiang would not have been so stupid as to be plotted against in her previous life.
Zhao Yunxiang was too kindhearted and always thought positively about everything. However, Zhou Yuanyuan didn't mind being Zhao Yunxiang's teacher again.
"I think there's a greater chance that she hates her uncle." Zhou Yuanyuan smiled and cleared up Zhao Yunxiang's confusion.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
