Chapter 42 Chapter 42 How could Diandian like this? I can’t coax her…
My uncle is here. If I'm not mistaken, he's here to apologize. Hongguo and Changzong opened the door and saw my uncle standing outside with a big smile on his face.
"Changzong, Hongguo, I listened to other people's instigation and misunderstood you. Now I am here to apologize to you. I am sincere. From now on, even if my own son says something bad about Changzong, I will not believe it."
It was expected that the eldest uncle would come to apologize. If he didn’t come, the second uncle would be unhappy. Although the eldest uncle is the eldest, the second uncle has the final say.
Hongguo and Changzong no longer cared about his apology. As for going to Shenzhen to find the culprit of the slander, Hongguo did not force it. If something happened to her uncle in Shenzhen, she and Changzong would be hated, which was not worth it.
But his uncle had to be responsible for what he said, so Hongguo took a pen and paper, wrote a few lines, and then asked his uncle to sign.
The uncle took it and looked at it, then laughed. It was written on the paper that for personal safety reasons, the uncle could not go to Shenzhen, but the uncle promised that if there were any conflicts in the future, even Xin Changzong would not believe his son.
The uncle felt guilty, so he signed the document and said, "Uncle, learn to distinguish right from wrong in the future. You must go to your grandpa's birthday party in a few days. If you don't go, I can't enter the house."
Gu Changzong disagreed: "Going to my second uncle's house is considered as climbing the social ladder, so what about going to my grandfather's house? My grandfather hasn't retired yet, I can't afford to marry him."
This is why Gu Zhiqing could not return to the city after going to the countryside, but could not ask for help from his relatives on his grandfather's side. His grandmother had not been rehabilitated, and political issues could not be ambiguous.
The uncle was extremely frustrated and begged again and again, but Hongguo didn't look at his uncle. He just felt that it would not be good for Changzong if he didn't go on grandfather's birthday. Even if there were any difficulties that day, it would be better to be there to solve them than to be slandered behind his back.
Hongguo agreed to go there on grandpa's birthday. The eldest uncle was relieved and assured Hongguo: "You will go there. All your aunts will give gifts. Grandpa's gift is the biggest. It would be a waste if you don't go."
Hongguo was willing to go, and there was also a gift for the meeting, so Changzong said nothing. He closed the door, held the little one, and asked Hongguo: "The little one also has a gift, right?"
Hong Guo was worried: "I almost forgot about this. The aunts gave us gifts, and we have to give gifts in return. Originally, we only needed to bring some cigarettes, alcohol and tea. Now that my uncle said this, I have to reconsider."
Chang Zong thought it through: "Guo Guo, we have decided not to rely on them, so just take the gift as it comes, don't take it to heart."
That can't be done. Since she has agreed to go, Hongguo doesn't want to give herself up to gossip. Grandpa's birthday is still a few days away. She should think about it slowly.
After resting for two days, Changzong had to go deliver goods. Hongguo was afraid that he would be delayed for half a month like last time, so she asked him to come back before grandfather's birthday. Gu Changzong said that he would definitely come back and would not let her go to grandfather's house alone.
As soon as Changzong left, Lao Zheng took Xiaobudian to the workshop. When he came back, he told Hongguo that Xiaobudian liked the jade materials and picked the good ones. The better the water content, the more he liked them. He didn't drop any of them and his hands were very steady.
Jiang Hongguo was terrified when she heard this: "If he breaks a piece or two of it, it'll be my fault."
Old Zheng rolled his eyes at her, but Jiang Hongguo was not angry, but happy. Old Zheng would roll his eyes disdainfully at others, but his emotions were becoming more and more free.
She went to the store to see the jade processing situation. Xiao Zheng had arranged everything very well. Finished jade pendants and bracelets were already on the shelves. Hong Guo tried on an emerald bracelet. Its green and transparent color was really beautiful. As for pricing, Xiao Zheng had his own business philosophy.
Xiao Zheng asked mysteriously: "Sister, I have a gift for you."
Hong Guo was curious: "Why would you give me a gift if it's not a festival?"
Xiao Zheng took out a gold bracelet inlaid with gemstones, which scared Hongguo. It was the same one that Lao Zheng gave to Changzong. If she hadn't touched the bracelet and seen the appearance, she would have thought it was the one at home. It was really almost the same.
Xiao Zheng said, "It must have been stolen by some good-for-nothing descendant and sold at a low price. I just happened to come across it, so I took it. Red Fruit, I'll give it to you as a perfect pair."
Hongguo already knew who stole it, but she didn’t know what to do with it, so she just kept it for now.
Hong Guo instructed: "Don't tell anyone yet."
Xiao Zheng was not a talkative person, she was just curious about the reason: "What's the matter, sister? Zong Ge's grandmother had this bracelet, and now another one has appeared. Is there a story behind it?"
Jiang Hongguo had touched the bracelet before, and today's bracelet was the only one of a pair. No wonder she couldn't feel anything with the previous one. But when she touched this one, everything became clear.
"The bracelets were given to Grandma Changzong by someone else. They were originally a pair, but later the bracelets were separated, and so were the people."
Xiao Zheng understood and sighed, "There was war in Zong Ge's grandmother's era. Maybe they were separated because of the war."
Hongguo saw that it was the war. After they separated, the two wealthy families got married separately. There was no ups and downs of love and hate. Perhaps the one who was still alive would occasionally dream about him/her one night.
Hongguo took the bracelet home and put it together with the other one.
…
Changzong came back the day before my grandfather's birthday. This trip took another ten days. As soon as he came back, he didn't hide anything from Hongguo and said that Hong Kong businessmen wanted him to do a job.
"Guoguo, there was a conflict among the families of that Hong Kong businessman, and he asked me to help him. I refused, and only accompanied him back once to keep him safe. He gave me 20,000 yuan and asked me if I had any other requests. I said I wanted to accompany you and asked him to look for me less. He smiled and wanted to meet you. I regretted it, and we will not meet him next time."
Jiang Hongguo was very happy: "Changzong, are you afraid that he will use me to save the country in order to bribe you?"
Hongguo could tell when Changzong was jealous and when he was worried.
This is what Gu Changzong was worried about. Hongguo already had a job to make money, and he had to accompany Hongguo, so he had no time to protect the safety of the Hong Kong businessman.
Hongguo said that this was the mainland and there was no need to worry about being coerced by the Hong Kong boss. At most, they could just deliver less goods to Shenzhen and still make money elsewhere.
She had to talk to Changzong about the bracelets, so she took out two at once. She saw from the scene that the bracelets belonged to Changzong's grandfather, who gave one to Changzong's grandmother. Later, to avoid the war, the two families moved away and got married. Grandpa and grandmother were not destined to be together, but their children got married. However, Changzong's parents still divorced.
Hong Guo said, "I saw in the scene that grandpa's thing was stolen by my aunt and given to her family to sell. What happened to my aunt that made her want to sell grandpa's things? When I saw my uncle the other day, I didn't see that his family was in financial difficulty."
Chang Zong didn't care: "Who cares about her family? After decades of marriage, some of their ideas and personalities will be unified. My uncle is like that, maybe he was influenced by the people around him. I don't have a good impression of my aunt."
Hong Guo said: "My uncles don't know about the bracelet. If they knew, my aunt wouldn't dare to take it. She might think that grandpa never looked at it and had forgotten about it. I think he might have really forgotten about it. Grandma never mentioned the origin of the bracelet and even gave it to Uncle Zheng."
Chang Zong came to the conclusion from the bracelet incident: "That means Grandpa and Grandma didn't love me deeply enough at the beginning. Hongguo, no matter how long I am apart from you, I will always love you."
Jiang Hongguo said the same: "Me too."
The two of them talked to each other sweetly. The little one picked up the pair of bracelets on the quilt and knocked them against each other. The tinkling sound was very pleasant and he giggled with joy.
One like this would cost seven or eight hundred yuan, and a pair would be even more expensive. Hong Guo didn't dare let the little one play with it like this and wanted to take it from his little hand.
The little one has learned to hide behind his back and refuses to give it to others. He is almost one year old and is smarter than kids who are almost two weeks old. He even kisses Hongguo and wants to play with the bracelet.
Jiang Hongguo coaxed her for a few times, but gave up and asked Chang Zong: "Why does Diandian like this? I can't coax her down, what should I do?"
Gu Changzong was very generous: "Then let him sleep with the pillow, and he will stop playing when he gets tired of it."
Ever since he brought back six pieces of raw jade, Hongguo has become indifferent to antique jade. No matter how precious something is, it is not as precious as his own child. If the kid likes it, just let him play with it. Otherwise, he will probably forget it in the bed by tomorrow morning.
The next morning, the little one was going to his grandfather's house. Not only did he not forget, he also put the pair of antique bracelets in his travel bag, together with his bottle and diapers.
Hong Guo joked to Chang Zong nervously: "If he takes this child out, someone in Grandpa's family will be embarrassed."
Gu Changzong teased the little one and coaxed him: "Mom is soft-hearted, can you leave the bracelet at home?"
The little guy turned his head and tried to run away by feeling the wall. Hong Guo had no choice but to let him pretend.
Hongguo and Changzong came to the door with gifts, including cigarettes, alcohol and tea. They heard that grandpa liked calligraphy, so they gave him a set of the best four treasures of the study. The gift was small but the thought was great. As long as it met grandpa's hobbies, he really liked it.
The house is really lively today. Hongguo counted and there are six people in the eldest uncle's family. His daughter-in-law is pregnant and the baby in her belly counts as one. There are four people in the second uncle's family. The third uncle's couple is very loving and they haven't had children yet. In addition to the grandfather and the nanny, there are a whole family. Changzong's mother didn't come, and everyone tacitly agreed not to mention it.
They ate first. The aunts and uncles asked one question each, so there was a lot of talk, mainly Hongguo's answers. Changzong got up from time to time and picked up the little kid who was running around and looking for people to act coquettishly. When the little kid ran to grandpa to act coquettishly, he could not be picked up again. Grandpa liked him very much and held him in his arms.
After the meal, when the table was cleared, the three aunts exchanged glances and gave Hongguo a gift.
The three aunts gave Hongguo three pieces of gold on behalf of their three families: a gold necklace from the eldest aunt, a gold bracelet from the second aunt, and gold earrings from the third aunt.
Fortunately, the return gift prepared by Hongguo was of comparable quality. She carried nine bracelets of varying quality in her bag, and she was prepared to give a bracelet of the same quality as the return gift she received.
The bracelet was packed in a box. Since it was a gift, it would be embarrassing to look at it closely in front of the gift giver. My second and third aunts took a look at it, smiled happily, and closed the box.
But the eldest aunt was too busy and wanted to compete with her sisters-in-law. Hong Guo hurriedly said, "Aunt, wait until we get home to see. Let's talk for a while. Changzong and I will go back."
My aunt said, "I like jade very much. I appreciate it."
She insisted on seeing them, and took out all three to compare them together. The white-bottomed green bracelet that her eldest aunt received was far less transparent than the ones her second and third aunts received.
My aunt knows a little about jade. Otherwise, the gift would be bad. What’s the matter with the difference?
"Hongguo, what do you mean by treating people differently?"
At this point, if the aunt knew what was going on, she should find an excuse to cover up the truth. Since she wanted to ask, Hongguo said, it would be embarrassing to question her instead. Why should she compromise? Just say it.
Jiang Hongguo held the three pieces of gold in her hand and said, "The gifts from the three aunts are about the same size. We must have agreed to buy them together. I am very grateful that you think so highly of me and Changzong. But, eldest aunt, you changed to a fake gold necklace. The quality of the jade bracelet I gave you is not as good as the ones from the second and third aunts, but at least it is real."
My aunt was so ashamed that she wanted to find a hole to hide in, but my uncle didn't believe her and came up to explain: "Hongguo, what makes you say that the gold necklace my wife gave me is fake?"
Because Hongguo couldn't find the trace on the gold necklace, she could find it on the gold of her second and third aunts.
Hong Guo said, "Real gold is not afraid of fire. If it is real, send it to a gold shop to melt it. Who will be embarrassed? Don't you know it? I want to let my aunt know by giving her a bracelet. Do you have to shout it out? Do you think I am easy to bully? Changzong has been bullied by you like this before, right?"
When the little one saw his mother getting so angry that her blood boiled and her face turned red, he rummaged in his small bag and took out the pair of gold bracelets inlaid with rubies. He then held on to the table, chairs and bench and ran to Hongguo, wanting to put the bracelets on her to make her happy.
Hongguo felt warm in her heart. She kissed the little one gently and put on the pair of antique bracelets.
At this moment, everyone in the family had different expressions on their faces. Even an old man as steady as my grandfather couldn't help but call Hongguo to his side for a closer look.
"Hongguo, where did you get this pair of bracelets?" asked grandpa.
Hong Guo touched the bracelet on her wrist, glanced at her aunt calmly, and said, "One was given to Chang Zong by a student taught by Chang Zong's grandmother, and the other was given to me by a friend who runs an antique jade shop. He knew I had one, so he gave it to me to make a pair."
Grandpa smiled and said, "That's a coincidence. I once gave one like this to an old friend. When we met again later, she said it had sunk into a pond and was gone. I have one at home too. So, there are four such bracelets in our family alone. My eldest daughter-in-law, you know where I keep my belongings. Take them out and show them to everyone."
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