On her way to work, Wu Yuanyuan kept sighing.
"Ling, don't you think that Qi family has such different personalities?"
"Who knows? Different strokes for different folks." Every family has its disagreements, after all.
The Qi family consisted of thirteen members. Grandma Qi and her husband were both kind-hearted, and Mr. Qi and his two eldest sons were reasonable people. The children from both families were also well-mannered. Only his wife and their youngest children were quite disliked.
Taking advantage of his Kyoto origins, he always held his head high in the courtyard, acting all superior.
"What? It's obvious that Aunt Qi is unreasonable. I heard she's a stepmother, no wonder she's so different from the rest of the Qi family. What do you think Engineer Qi saw in her?" Wu Yuanyuan asked gossipy.
"Maybe he was attracted to her because she's short, ugly, or unreasonable?" Bling asked uncertainly.
Wu Yuanyuan thought about it carefully and realized that her friends made a strange but valid point; they really couldn't find a single good quality in Aunt Qi.
The two chatted and laughed as they arrived at the state-run restaurant.
In the courtyard, Aunt Qi kept sneezing. Ming Xiangru glanced at her, said nothing, and continued washing clothes.
Aunt Qi looked at Ming Xiangru suspiciously: "Are you secretly cursing me in your heart?"
"Aunt Shi, if you're sick, go take your medicine," Ming Xiangru said coldly.
Aunt Qi, whose real name was Shi Zhaodi, was Qi Gong's second wife.
Aunt Qi's face darkened: "You little brat, how dare you talk to me like that? I'm your mother-in-law."
"Oh!" Ming Xiangru had always looked down on her husband, her stepmother.
Aunt Qi hated Ming Xiangru's calm demeanor the most; it made her feel like a clown. Looking at Ming Xiangru's beautiful face, a flash of malice crossed her eyes.
"Xiangru, it's not that I'm criticizing you, but we women should be more obedient and behave ourselves, don't you think?"
"Like you, go to the master's bed quietly."
Aunt Qi hated it most when people talked about how she married into the Qi family, so when she heard Ming Xiangru's words, her eyes flashed with anger, and she raised her hand.
Ming Xiangru knew what she was up to without even guessing, and said without looking up, "Aunt Shi, I think you should tone it down a bit. Have you forgotten what you promised before you came to Gu County?"
Aunt Qi and Shi Zhaodi seemed to realize something, a hint of hesitation flashing in their eyes. They held their hands up, unsure whether to let go or not.
A hint of mockery flashed in Ming Xiangru's eyes as she carried the clothes outside to hang them up. After hanging them, she went straight back to her room, and only when she looked at the two children inside did her eyes gradually warm up.
On the other side, Bu Ling stared incredulously at Grandpa Tan in front of her. "Grandpa Tan, what did you say? I don't understand?"
Grandpa Tan looked somewhat ashamed: "Xiao Bu, could you go and check on Tan Xiao for me?"
"Uncle Tan, why are you looking for me? Why don't you go see for yourself?"
Grandpa Tan: "Tan Xiao is infatuated with Han Yu and has broken off all ties with us. She won't listen to anything we say. I was thinking, could you help persuade her?"
Without a second thought, Bu Ling refused: "Uncle Tan, I'm afraid this is inappropriate. I've never had any contact with Sister Tan Xiao. She doesn't listen to what you say, let alone me."
I don't know what Grandpa Tan was thinking, letting an outsider like her try to persuade her. Isn't that just making a scene?
Besides, she's not going to get involved in this mess; she's had enough of a peaceful life.
Grandpa Tan was rejected and somewhat disappointed, but he didn't say anything more. He hunched over and walked towards the kitchen. Seeing Grandpa Tan like this, Bu Ling reminded herself again.
We must pay more attention to our children's upbringing in the future, and absolutely prevent them from becoming love-obsessed; that's a recipe for parenting failure.
After finishing the staff lunch, Buling asked Manager Zhu for leave and went to the scrap yard; it was time for their monthly pulse check again.
When they arrived at the scrap yard, Buling was surprised to see Sangshen there as well: "Sangshen, what are you doing here?"
Sangshen's face was not good, and there was still some anger in her eyes. When she saw Buling, her expression softened a bit: "Yes, I came to talk to Old Man Yu about something."
"What's wrong? Is it serious?" Bling asked with concern.
Sangshen didn't hide anything: "Old Yu's youngest son has gone missing in the countryside."
"Missing?"
"It's the kind of thing where they disappear without a trace, neither alive nor dead."
"How could this be? Didn't anyone search for them?" Buling asked.
"We looked, but couldn't find it." (Mulberry)
They even sought help from the local armed forces, but to no avail.
Bu Ling understood the seriousness of the matter. He glanced at the tightly closed door of the small room and asked quietly, "Was there anything unusual about Old Man Yu's youngest son before he disappeared? I mean, did he have any conflicts with people?"
Sangshen shook her head: "Yu Banxia is a shy person, and she went to the countryside to avoid trouble, so it's impossible for her to have a conflict with anyone."
"Where did he go to the countryside? What's the environment like in the village? What's the atmosphere like? Was it done by someone close to him?" Buling's thoughts began to wander.
How can a perfectly healthy person just disappear without a trace?
"I don't know about the environment in the southernmost part of the village, but according to Yu Banxia's letter, the people there treat him very well." Sang Shen's eyes were filled with coldness.
In fact, Yu Banxia had been missing for more than half a year. Because of his identity, he rarely sent letters to himself. He only found out about this when the things he sent to Yu Banxia were returned.
His brother had sent people to search that area, but to no avail. Out of desperation, he came to ask Old Man Yu if there was anywhere Yu Banxia might have gone.
Old Man Yu told him with absolute certainty that Banxia wouldn't just disappear without a word; something must have happened to her.
Buling's face was full of worry. There was a question she didn't ask, but Sangshen probably already knew, otherwise she wouldn't have looked so pale.
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