Chapter 75: Adoption of a daughter blocked, both the bride's and groom's families...
Wang Qiang stood in front of the plaque, straightening his collar with his blond hair.
He turned to face the reflective glass signboard, straightened his hair, and then smugly waved to his underlings.
"When you go in later, show the master some respect, understand?"
The underlings replied in unison, "Understood, boss!"
"Walk!"
Wang Qiang waved his hand, and two of his underlings pushed open the shop door.
Amidst the crackling of firecrackers, Wang Qiang swaggered in, followed closely by two henchmen carrying a plaque.
However, when the three of them saw the scene inside the house, their legs went weak and they almost knelt down.
"Uh...Uh sir?"
Wu Jiangxue held the cat in her arms, staring at them coldly.
"Wang Qiang?"
Wang Qiang turned to run, but was blocked by the signboard behind him.
The two underlings carrying the signboard were even busier than him, turning around and around, blocking his way no matter which way he went.
The two underlings had no idea that they had cut off their leader's escape route, and they anxiously asked:
"Boss, what do we do?!"
Wang Qiang: "..."
Choosing such an idiot underling to come with him, he deserves to die here!
He turned his head and immediately changed his expression.
"Officer!"
He walked over with a dry laugh, plopped down opposite Wujiangxue, and scrunched up his face.
"I really had no idea that the White Tiger Gang was involved in smuggling! That was all done by other people in our gang!"
"But our gang had internal strife a while ago, and that person has been eliminated!"
"I guarantee that no one in our White Tiger Gang will ever continue smuggling again!"
Seeing that Wu Jiangxue's expression remained cold, he leaned closer and lowered his voice.
"Officer, try to think about it from a different perspective."
He was flexible and adaptable, and his words carried a subtle threat.
"Our White Tiger Gang just went through an internal conflict, and you know how much it affected the people around us at the time."
"If you arrest us again now, the same situation will happen again."
"Even if we take a step back and assume that our White Tiger Gang and the other gangs check and balance each other, it will reduce the trouble for your police."
"What if one gang becomes the dominant force in the future..."
He grinned, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.
"Even if someone is backing up your Royal Police, your police force will still suffer heavy losses, won't it?"
Wu Jiangxue kept staring at him with a cold and indifferent gaze.
Wang Qiang felt uneasy being watched, and his two henchmen also put down their signboards and touched the guns at their waistbands.
Seeing that the tension between the two sides was about to escalate, Chu Ci took the initiative to step forward:
"Go fight outside, don't fight in my shop."
"I just moved into this shop a couple of days ago, don't you dare damage it!"
The two looked away and remained silent for a moment before Wang Qiang reverted to his usual sleazy demeanor.
"master!"
He strode over to the plaque and said, “I specially commissioned a calligraphy master from Hong Kong to write this. What do you think? Isn’t it particularly impressive?”
Chu Ci looked at the plaque and twitched her lips.
"Yes, that's very impressive. I appreciate your kind intentions."
"But I have nowhere to hang this plaque, so you should take it back."
"Hey, there's no reason to take back what's been given away!"
Wang Qiang looked around the store and immediately took a liking to a piece of empty space on the wall.
"That's it! I feel like that place is just right!"
He rolled up his sleeves and reached out his hand to the underling next to him.
"Give me the tools, let's hang it on the master directly!"
The three of them worked around for a while, and then the plaque was hung up.
Wang Qiang stood not far away, completely satisfied with what he saw.
He dusted off his hands, grinned at Chu Ci, and said merrily:
"Master, the goods have been delivered. I'm leaving with my brothers now."
After saying that, he bent down and waved to Wu Jiangxue, who was sitting on the sofa.
"Officer, see you another day! I'll treat you to tea then!"
Wu Jiangxue ignored him. Wang Qiang wasn't angry, but his underlings looked dejected.
Just as he was about to step forward, Wang Qiang glared at him and sent him back.
Wang Qiang smiled good-naturedly at Chu Ci, "Master, see you another day!"
He walked briskly with his men outside, and as they passed the stalls, he even helped them by holding up a chair.
Chu Ci watched him walk away until he could no longer see his figure before turning her gaze away.
Wu Jiangxue kept staring at his departing figure, and softly asked Chu Ci:
What kind of person do you think he is?
Chu Ci recalled the first time they met, how Wang Qiang and his men smashed her and her grandmother's house to pieces.
"A scoundrel with a little conscience and a conscience, but not much of it."
She originally wanted to ask Wang Qiang about his involvement in smuggling, but considering the confidentiality of their police force, she didn't bring it up.
The topic then returned to the female student, Wang Jiali.
Chu Ci: "You seemed to have something to say just now?"
Wu Jiangxue stroked the fat cat a little harder, "Mmm."
She nodded, but then fell silent.
After a while, amidst the fat cat's protests, she squeezed the fat cat's paw in her arms.
"Wang Jiali's life at school was terrible."
She looked up at Chu Ci: "As far as I know, Wang Jiali is often bullied by her stepbrother who is in the same school as her."
"Her stepbrother was close to those idle people in society and used their influence to bully others at school."
"He seemed to really dislike Wang Jiali. He often led people to bully and harass her, and sometimes he would hit her in public."
She paused slightly as she spoke, and stopped pinching the fat cat's paw.
"Many people at the school say that her stepbrother often drags her into the woods."
Chu Ci was taken aback. "The grove?"
Wu Jiangxue noticed the clenched fist beside her and nodded, "It's the one you're thinking of."
Chu Ci: "..."
She could picture the way Wang Jiali had held her hand last night, carefully telling her she had no money for the hospital.
The knuckles of his fist turned white, and his knuckles clenched tightly into the flesh of his palm.
She glanced at the fat cat lazily licking its paws while nestled in Wu Jiangxue's arms and asked, "What about her home side?"
Wu Jiangxue rubbed the fat cat's head and shook her head.
"Her stepfather leaves early and returns late every day. He often drinks heavily and beats people when he's drunk."
"But according to the neighbors, Wang Jiali's older brother treated her very well and often bought her things."
"Wang Jiali is able to survive at home entirely thanks to her older brother."
Chu Ci: "..."
She hesitated for a moment, "Is this all what the neighbors said?"
Wu Jiangxue knew what she wanted to ask and nodded: "Yes, these are all things I heard from others, not things that my sister saw with her own eyes."
The fat cat in her arms let out a long, drawn-out "meow," then sprawled out on its owner's lap like a cat pancake.
Noticing the way Chu Ci was looking at it, the fat cat twisted into a pretzel and gave Chu Ci a cute wink.
Chu Ci loosened his fist and took the opportunity to rub the fat cat's head.
Sometimes, even what your neighbors say isn't trustworthy.
It's not that they're lying, but rather that they don't know the truth.
This theory has already been proven by the Li Yingqiao couple.
She looked at Wu Jiangxue: "I think Wang Jiali's stepfather and two stepbrothers are not innocent in this matter."
"I'll leave the investigation to you on their end. I'll try to do some persuasion with Wang Jiali."
"good."
Wu Jiangxue nodded and stood up, holding the fat cat in her arms.
Chu Ci noticed the faint straining sound as she stood up, and the bulging veins on the back of her hand.
“There’s no better direction for investigation than victim testimony.” Wu Jiangxue shifted her position while hugging the fat cat. “I hope you can make some progress on your end.”
She held the fat cat, her breathing becoming erratic from the effort.
Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly heard Chu Ci hesitate and say, "Inspector Wu, you..."
She turned around and saw Chu Ci pointing to the chubby little cat in her arms.
"Have you ever thought about helping your sister lose weight?"
The younger sister, who had been lying listlessly on Wu Jiangxue's hand, looked up in fright.
It stared at Chu Ci in disbelief, as if it couldn't believe that there could be such a cold-hearted person in the world.
"Meow!"
It placed one foot on Wujiangxue's wrist, straightened up, feeling unwilling and aggrieved.
"Awoooooo..."
It kept cursing under its breath, its tail swishing unhappily back and forth.
It's almost as if she's abusing outstanding police officers.
Chu Ci saw Wu Jiangxue's lips twitch and changed her position to hug the fat cat.
And where the fat cat had just stepped on the ground, there was a bright red, clear little paw print.
Chu Ci: "..."
This cat really needs to lose weight!
Wu Jiangxue's breathing was slightly unsteady, but when she talked about the chubby little cat in her arms, her voice softened immediately.
"My younger sister was a wanderer when she was little and never ate anything good, so she's quite greedy now."
"And it's actually not very fat, it's just that its fur is a bit long."
"Even if there is meat, it is mostly muscle."
Looking at her cat's broad back, Wu Jiangxue seemed to feel that her words were not very convincing.
He added, "It runs around every day to get information for me, so it gets a lot of exercise and has a lot of muscles."
When the younger sister heard her master say that, she nodded so hard that her shadow practically appeared.
It affectionately nuzzled its master's face and bared its teeth when facing Chu Ci.
"Aww..."
I'm telling the cat it's on a diet, or I won't let you pet it next time!
Chu Ci stroked its round head in response to its protest, then looked up at Wu Jiangxue:
"Let's go out together. I'm planning to go to the hospital to see Wang Jiali."
Wu Jiangxue originally wanted to go together, but considering that the child's condition might be unstable, she gave up.
She went out with Chu Ci. She got into the car, but Chu Ci was blocked at the store entrance.
"Hello, are you Ms. Chu Ci?"
A young woman in business attire, carrying a briefcase, stood in front of Chu Ci and handed him her business card.
"Hello, I am the lawyer representing Ms. Yuan Yuling. This is my business card."
Chu Ci took it and glanced at it casually.
Tianhe Law Firm, Bai Shengtian.
"Lawyer? What's up?"
"It's like this, Miss Yuan Yuling has entrusted me with all matters concerning the country, and she asked me to deliver something to you."
As she spoke, she smiled shyly and pointed to the shop.
"Can we go inside and talk?"
Chu Ci nodded.
As soon as she entered the store, the female lawyer took out several stacks of money from her seemingly thin briefcase.
They pushed the items towards Chu Ci, saying, "Miss Chu, this is the payment my client asked me to deliver to you."
Chu Ci glanced at it; there were five stacks in total, which should amount to 50,000 yuan.
In this day and age, that's enough for an average person to earn for a year and a half without eating or drinking.
She hesitated for a moment, but did not refuse.
"Please tell her that I will only take the money I am entitled to, and I will donate the rest for her."
The female lawyer was taken aback; she hadn't expected her to say that.
But soon I realized that this was a common trick used by con artists, which sounded noble but actually didn't give a penny.
She smiled, her politeness impeccable, but a hint of mockery flickered in her eyes.
"Yes, Miss Chu."
She stood up, flicked her wrist, and slung her bag over her shoulder.
"I will relay your words to Miss Yuan Yuling verbatim."
After saying that, she turned to leave.
Chu Ci called out to her, his gaze falling on her shoulder.
"Miss Bai."
Bai Shengtian turned his head, his smile impeccable.
"Is there anything else, Miss Chu?"
Chu Ci: "It's almost July, go home early tonight."
She paused, lowered her eyes for a moment, and added, "If you encounter anything strange, you can come to me."
Bai Shengtian's smile deepened. "I don't believe in that. Thank you for reminding me, Miss Chu."
She quickly left with her bag on her back.
Chu Ci glanced at the money on the table, carefully put it away, and then went to the hospital.
In the hospital, Master Qiu and Uncle Qiu held the baby girl and played with her.
Compared to their previous slump and despair, the two are now full of energy.
While preparing formula for the baby, Uncle Qiu smiled and told Chu Ci about his future plans.
"I've heard that things are developing quite well in the mainland these past few days, so I'm planning to take some money there and see for myself."
"When they grow up and go to kindergarten, primary school, and middle school, they will need money everywhere."
"We don't know how many more years we can work, so we want to earn as much as we can while we can, and save as much money as we can for Shuangshuang."
The baby girl lay in Master Qiu's arms, whimpering softly with her eyes closed.
Master Qiu held the little one in her arms and nodded repeatedly at her husband's words.
"Yes, I also plan to pick up my old trade and continue making desserts."
She smiled at Chu Ci and said, "Master, my skills are excellent. When I used to run the shop, customers would always line up."
"Once this period is over, I'll have Lao Qiu find a stall or shop. I'll definitely let you have a taste before it opens!"
The two of them kept circling around the child, and all traces of their gloom vanished.
Watching them breastfeed their child, Chu Ci greeted them and then went to find Wang Jiali.
Wang Jiali lay on the hospital bed, her face as white as the pillow, her eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.
It wasn't until Chu Ci sat down on the edge of the bed that her eyes, which had been staring into the void, moved almost imperceptibly.
His gaze fell on Chu Ci with an extremely slow speed, his fingers gripping the blanket tightly around him.
Chu Ci softened her voice: "Are you feeling better?"
Wang Jiali looked at her, as if she hadn't heard her.
After a long while, her eyelashes trembled, and she nodded almost imperceptibly.
"Um."
"Get up and eat something when you feel better."
Chu Ci took out a small thermos from beside him, opened it, and a rich aroma wafted out.
"The chicken soup that Master Qiu made for you isn't greasy."
Seeing that she didn't move, Chu Ci advised her, "People can't always be on glucose drips; they still need to eat."
After she finished speaking, she scooped out a bowlful with a small bowl and placed it on the table to the side.
He tried to help Wang Jiali get up, but she grabbed his hand.
"you……"
Wang Jiali's hands were still icy cold, and her panicked eyes were fixed on Chu Ci, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.
Chu Ci paused, then grasped her hand and asked softly:
What are you trying to say?
Wang Jiali pursed her lips and tightened her grip on her hand.
"I……"
She grasped Chu Ci's hands with both of hers, anxiously instructing him:
"Please don't contact my family, don't tell them I'm here, okay?"
Chu Ci looked at her red eyes and took out a tissue. "You can't keep crying now, or you'll develop health problems later."
She handed a tissue to Wang Jiali, watched her wipe away her tears, and then casually asked:
"Don't you have a good relationship with your family?"
Wang Jiali: "..."
She clutched the tissue in her hand tightly, biting her lip hard, unwilling to look at Chu Ci.
Chu Ci smiled and helped her sit up.
"It's okay if you don't want to talk. Get up and eat something first. The chicken soup should be drunk while it's hot."
Wang Jiali obediently let her sit up, took the small bowl of chicken soup, and drank it in small sips.
She finished a bowl of chicken soup and ate two pieces of chicken when Master Qiu happened to come to see her during her illness.
"Jiali, how are you feeling? Is the soup delicious?"
She served Wang Jiali another bowl of soup, saying, "This is an old hen that I had someone bring back from the countryside; it's very nutritious."
"You're not feeling well right now, you need to rest, and you must drink more water."
Facing Master Qiu, Wang Jiali's smile became more genuine.
The steam from the chicken soup hit her face, and her voice trembled slightly with a barely perceptible sob.
"Aunt Qiu, thank you."
"Oh, no need, no need. Just focus on getting better."
Master Qiu kept nagging Wang Jiali about the things she needed to pay attention to over the next month, and Wang Jiali nodded while drinking chicken soup.
The two of them got along remarkably well.
Chu Ci handed the space over to the two people and walked towards Uncle Qiu's ward.
In the ward, the baby girl had just drunk formula and was fast asleep in the machine.
Uncle Qiu watched over the baby girl, his no-longer-young face filled with loving kindness.
"master?"
Upon seeing Chu Ci enter, he quickly stood up.
Chu Ci waved his hand, gesturing for him to sit down.
"It's nothing, I just came to let you know. I'm going back now. I'll come again tomorrow."
"Okay." Uncle Qiu nodded quickly.
Before leaving, Chu Ci instructed, "Take good care of Wang Jiali, and remember to tell me if anything happens."
"Yes, Master."
When Chu Ci returned home, he started folding paper ingots again.
Today is the last day for burning paper money.
However, when she burned paper money for the two underworld messengers at midnight, she didn't see them come over even after the fire in the brazier had burned out.
Although they didn't come, the system still determined that she had completed the task.
Chu Ci looked at the small but cold pistol in his hand, playing with it from side to side, reluctant to put it down.
She opened the magazine and looked inside, only to find it empty of bullets.
"Huh?"
She paused for a moment, took out the magazine and felt around; there were indeed no bullets.
"Seriously? How can we use it without bullets?"
She thought the system would give her bullets as a separate task, so she clicked her tongue and loaded the pistol.
Just as I was about to fire a blank shot to test it out, a familiar voice suddenly came from the side.
"Hey! Sister Chu, don't be impulsive!"
"You can't just point this thing at ghosts!"
Chu Ci turned her head and looked in the direction her gun was pointing when the White Yin Chariot and the Black Yin Chariot suddenly appeared.
The two ghosts stared warily at the gun in her hand, instinctively dodging to the side.
The dark-skinned eunuch's gaze fell on the brazier in front of her, his eyes filled with longing and a hint of complaint:
"Sister Chu, even if we didn't do things properly yesterday, you can't point this thing at us!"
He snatched the mourning stick from Bai Yinchai's hand and gently deflected Chu Ci's gun barrel.
"This thing is so dangerous, what if it goes off accidentally?"
"It hasn't been easy for Lao Bai and me to get to where we are now!"
Chu Ci quickly put the gun away and laughed, "I thought you weren't coming today!"
The black-clad messenger sighed and squatted down in front of the brazier to pick up the money.
Chu Ci then realized that although it was the same style, he had indeed changed into new clothes.
Not only were the clothes replaced with new ones, but even the rusty iron chain wrapped around his hand was replaced with a new one.
Just as she was about to ask, the white-robed ghost beside her snatched back his mourning staff, sighed, and squatted down in front of the brazier.
He scratched his head, his voice a little downcast. "It's because I didn't get things done yesterday, so I was embarrassed to come over."
He quickly looked up at Chu Ci, feeling guilty: "We ate and drank and even took money, but we didn't do a good job."
"How could I possibly take your money again..."
"It's done very well." Chu Ci chuckled. "You guys did a really good job."
It's no wonder the baby girl has a disability in her foot; it's just that Qiu Shuangshuang's soul is too thin.
If she hadn't been reincarnated, Chu Ci felt that she would have been annihilated sooner or later.
Upon hearing Chu Ci's words, Bai Yinchai no longer held back his politeness.
"Alright, young man, since you've put it that way, then I'll accept this gold ingot!"
He started snatching the gold ingots from the Black Yin Guard: "Don't stuff them all into your arms! These are for both of us, leave two for me!"
Black-faced messenger: "Isn't there still some in that basin? Why did you have to take it from my pocket!"
The two seemed to be quite busy today; they picked up the money and left quickly.
The next day, Chu Ci had just opened for business when customers came to his door.
She had been busy all morning, and when she went to the hospital at noon to see Wang Jiali and Master Qiu, she heard them arguing from afar.
The old woman's voice was shrill and sharp, a mix of cursing and crying:
"Are you two crazy?!"
"Why would you raise a disabled child instead of your own?"
"Your nephew doesn't even have a house yet. Instead of helping your own nephew, you're going to raise someone else's daughter?!"
"Give me the property certificate! I won't allow the Qiu family's belongings to fall into the hands of a cripple!"
The curses from Master Qiu and Uncle Qiu followed closely behind.
"You old hag, you're not allowed to call my daughter a cripple!"
After Master Qiu roared, the old lady's scream suddenly rang out.
"You troublemaker, how dare you scratch my face!"
"They've gone mad! They've all gone mad!"
"Boss, you blockhead, you watch your wife beat your mother and you don't even dare to fart!"
"Tell your mother the truth, is this cripple, this good-for-nothing, a relative of your wife's?"
When Chu Ci arrived at the ward where the argument was taking place, he saw that the old lady was still vigorous despite her advanced age.
He jumped up and slapped Master Qiu, but was stopped by Uncle Qiu.
Hearing her call him a "cripple" and a "money-loser" over and over again, Uncle Qiu could no longer bear it.
"Mom! Are you ever going to stop?! That's my wife and my daughter, how dare you talk to her like that!"
The old lady didn't expect her son to be against her either, so she sat down, hugged her chubby grandson, and started crying.
"Look! Look at this! My family can't live like this anymore!"
She cried and shouted, waving to the doctors, nurses, patients, and their families who were watching the commotion.
"Everyone, please be the judge. Their daughter is gone, and I kindly advised them to raise their nephew so that they would have half a son to take care of them in their old age and see them off when they die."
"But my son is such a troublemaker! He takes everything to his mother's house!"
"She's trying to take the house my son bought and move it to her parents' house!"
Master Qiu was so angry that she trembled all over when she saw her mother-in-law's unreasonable and shameless behavior.
"You old geezer, stop talking nonsense!"
She picked up a stool from the side and was about to rush forward.
"According to you, everything belongs to your grandson!"
"Is it just because I didn't give birth to a son? You want to take all the good things and give them to your second son's family!"
"Let me tell you, I can raise whose child I want, it's none of your business!"
"She can't control it, but I can certainly control it!"
Master Qiu was being held tightly by her husband when suddenly an old voice came from behind her.
Chu Ci looked over and saw an old woman who looked about five-tenths like Master Qiu being helped over.
Master Qiu's younger brother, along with his daughter, helped his elderly mother quickly over.
He raised his chin at Master Qiu, speaking in a sarcastic tone:
"Big sister, how can you not discuss such a big decision as adopting a child with Mom?"
"Mom was so worried when she heard you were going to adopt a child."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com