Today is the third day of the Lunar New Year, the day Zheng Qiulian should have returned to her parents' home to visit relatives. But because this marriage has fallen through, Zheng Qiulian is too embarrassed to go back, fearing she'll be ridiculed by her brothers' wives. Sigh! Enough of this life.
Her mother-in-law still thought it was like the old days, when the family was well-off and could bring in all sorts of goodies and baddies. When relatives came to stay for a few days, Zheng Qiulian would do whatever it took to save her mother-in-law's face. But with Gutiezhu and his family acting this way, how could their shabby house be repaired if they didn't stay for a month or two? And who knew if Gutiezhu would even ask for a loan? The three of them only had one bag for luggage; they must be doing poorly out there. Zheng Qiulian labeled Gutiezhu "poor."
In the side room, Gu Hongxing and Gu Xiaofang were unaware that their cousin Zheng Qiulian disliked them, their father and son. Even if they knew, they wouldn't have taken it to heart. Gu Hongxing and Gu Xiaofang were preoccupied with one major concern: How could they get back to Kyoto?
Over the past two days, Gu Hongxing and Gu Xiaofang had muttered several times about how they could get back to Jingyang City. The siblings didn't have a penny on them. When Gu Tiezhu took them away that day, he hadn't given them anything. Gu Hongxing and Gu Xiaofang still had a few dozen yuan in savings, which they kept in the dormitory at the Yunyun Garment Factory. Now, their pockets were cleaner than their faces.
The brother and sister have always been thinking about Zhao Yunxiang. They were "taken away" by Gutiezhu without even having the chance to say goodbye to Zhao Yunxiang. I wonder how anxious Aunt Yunxiang must have been when she couldn't find them!
Gutiezhu didn't know what his two children were thinking. He just thought that bringing the children back to Zhaojiagou was a good thing.
Kyoto is a big city, full of bright lights and nightlife, offering hundreds of times more temptations than Zhaojiagou. Gutiezhu feared that if his children stayed in Kyoto for too long, they would be corrupted by its various temptations. Just like his subordinates, they were all fine at first, but after a year or two, some took drugs, some took drugs, some gambled, and none of them could learn to be good.
Gutiezhu thought Zhaojiagou was the best place. The people were simple and honest, and as long as they worked hard, they could have enough to eat. He himself was already half-human, half-ghost, so he let the children stay in the simple Zhaojiagou. The money he earned was enough for the two children to spend for a lifetime, so he felt it was worth it.
Gutiezhu arrived at Zhaojiagou on New Year's Eve, only to discover his house was dilapidated and uninhabitable. Even if Gutiezhu wanted to find someone to build a larger house during the Lunar New Year holiday, he had nowhere to turn. According to Yuyuan County tradition, after a busy year, the Lunar New Year is a time for everyone to rest. From New Year's Eve to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, no one works, even if offered a high salary.
No matter how anxious Gutiezhu was, he had to wait until after the Lantern Festival before he could hire someone to build the house.
Gu Tiezhu had made up his mind. Since Gu Hongxing and Gu Xiaofang would live in the village in the future, he had to build a better house. It would be best if he built an eight-room house with blue bricks and large tiles. He could also prepare a house for Gu Hongxing to marry in the future. Anyway, he had no shortage of money.
In Gu Tiezhu's heart, Gu Hongxing and Gu Xiaofang are still children. As a father, he does not need to discuss with them what he wants to do. Gu Hongxing and the others just need to be obedient.
Gu Tiezhu didn't open up to the children, and Gu Hongxing and Gu Xiaofang wouldn't rush to open up to him. In the eyes of Gu Hongxing and Gu Xiaofang, Gu Tiezhu, their nominal father, was far less kind to them than Zhao Yunxiang.
Last night in the middle of the night, Gutiezhu quietly went out.
Gu Hongxing drank too much water last night and was woken up this morning by the urge to urinate. When he came back from the bathroom, he saw that Gu Tiezhu was not in the room, and the half of the bed where Gu Tiezhu slept was already cold.
Gu Hongxing quickly moved Gu Tiezhu's pillow away and saw a thick piece of clothing under the pillow.
Gu Hongxing was stunned. He thought that there would be money hidden under the pillow that Gu Tiezhu touched with one hand when he slept at night! A piece of clothing, is it really that serious?
Gu Hongxing thought about it and touched the clothes carefully.
Why is it so hard? Gu Hongxing was a little puzzled and carefully spread out the well-folded clothes.
Gu Tiezhu's coat wasn't just a piece of clothing; it was a "money bag." Sewn into it were pockets, each slightly wider than a hundred-yuan Chinese currency note. There were nearly thirty of these pockets. Most importantly, each was stuffed with a stack of hundred-yuan bills. Gu Hongxing roughly estimated that at least a hundred thousand yuan was hidden in that "money" coat. No wonder his father, after changing his clothes at his great-aunt's house, didn't even wash them, but carefully folded them and tucked them under his pillow.
When Gu Hongxing saw so much money, his first thought was "Did his father do something bad?" It's no wonder that Gu Hongxing thought so. In this era, even a millionaire was still rare. Gu Tiezhu hid so much money in a piece of clothing. Gu Hongxing really couldn't imagine how Gu Tiezhu "earned" it.
Thinking of Huang Weidong and Zhou Jiaxing, who had returned with Gu Tiezhu, Gu Hongxing was truly afraid that Gu Tiezhu had done something bad. Although he hated his father and didn't want to live with Gu Tiezhu, that didn't mean he wished him bad luck. After all, Gu Xiaofang and Gu Tiezhu were the only two relatives Gu Hongxing had left in this world.
"Sister, I'm going to show you something. You promise me not to talk or scream." Gu Hongxing discovered Gu Tiezhu's "secret" and was a little excited. He quickly woke up Gu Xiaofang.
Gu Xiaofang blinked her eyes. She had just woken up and didn't understand what her brother meant.
"Sister, our dad has a lot of money, so much." Gu Hongxing spread out the clothes in his hand, pointed to the bags of money sewn on the clothes, and told Gu Xiaofang.
Gu Xiaofang's eyes widened. The shock of seeing so much money suddenly made her mind buzz. How much could so many stacks of Chinese currency be worth? No, she couldn't calculate it.
No, this money might not have come from a legitimate source! Gu Xiaofang's face turned pale as she recalled what Zhou Jiaxing, Gu Tiezhu, and Huang Weidong had said on the train.
Words like "woman", "power", "the goods are placed there", and "the police dare not search" flooded into Gu Xiaofang's mind.
"Brother, we can't take this money. Dad and the others might have done something bad." Gu Xiaofang sat up and repeated the words she had heard on the train to Gu Hongxing. Gu Hongxing had been knocked unconscious by Gu Tiezhu because he refused to go with him.
After all, Gu Hongxing is a few years older than Gu Xiaofang, and he immediately analyzed the problem from what Gu Tiezhu and the others said.
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