Thinking this, Lu Guoqing suppressed the anger that had just risen within him.
“Xiaoqin, I know you resent me for abandoning you and leaving, but the situation at the time simply did not allow me to take you with me. I thought I wouldn’t survive out there, and I only survived by sheer luck.”
"After things got better, Dad made some money and kept thinking about coming back to bring you and Xiaojun to live a better life. Now that I have the chance, I've come back to find you."
"Xiaoqin, it hasn't been easy for Dad all these years. Can you forgive Dad? I will make it up to you in the future."
If Lu Guoqing's attitude had been more forceful and aggressive, Lu Xiaoqin would have stood her ground.
But when the other party softened their attitude, played the emotional card, and begged for forgiveness in a gentle voice, she started to feel a pang of sadness.
"Compensation? Who cares? We're doing just fine now, we don't need you anymore. Go away, and don't bother us again."
After saying that, she turned and ran away with red eyes.
"Hey, Xiaoqin, don't go! Dad still has something to say."
Lu Guoqing wanted to chase after him, but Lu Guoan stopped him.
"Xiaoqin has already made things clear. You two have severed ties, so it's best not to bother her."
Lu Guoqing said angrily, "This is a matter between my daughter and me, and outsiders should not interfere."
Lu Guoan refused to back down, saying, "I am the brigade leader, and I have an obligation to take care of all matters, big and small, in the brigade."
Lu Guoqing was about to say something when Qin Manman grabbed him.
“Brother Lu, don’t worry. It’s normal for Xiaoqin and Xiaojun to be angry after you’ve been gone for so many years. After all, you are their biological father. Blood is thicker than water. They will forgive you sooner or later.”
She glanced at Lu Guoan and continued, "The most urgent thing now is for us to settle down; we can deal with other things later."
The village head is the most influential person in the village, and it's not a good time to have a falling out with him. She can't let Lu Guoqing continue arguing with him.
Lu Guoqing thought about it and realized that what she said made a lot of sense.
He asked, "What happened to my house? How did it turn into a classroom?"
Lu Guoan said, "Xiao Jun rented that house to the brigade, and the brigade set up a literacy class there."
"What about Xiaoqin and Xiaojun? Where do they live?"
At this point, he suddenly remembered that Lu Xiaoqin hadn't told them where she was staying or invited them to her home, and his anger flared up again.
Lu Guoan said, "Xiaoqin is already married, so she's naturally staying at her husband's house. Xiaojun usually stays at the construction site these days."
There are a lot of materials on the construction site these days, and Lu Yuan and the others are worried. Lu Xiaojun, Lu Jiefang, Lu Yuanchao, Xu Dong and the others are all staying at the construction site.
Upon hearing that his son lived on the construction site, Lu Guoqing immediately imagined Lu Xiaojun dressed in tattered clothes, carrying bricks under the scorching sun, and sleeping in a dirty, messy pile of mud and ash at night, looking miserable.
I felt much better immediately; it seems this son is easy to win over.
"Construction site? How can Xiaojun sleep on a construction site?"
Lu Guoan was speechless. Why couldn't he sleep on the construction site? Both of his sons slept on the construction site.
"The construction site is much better than your dilapidated house."
The temporary houses built on the construction site are not much worse than living at home.
Lu Guoqing naturally didn't believe Lu Guoan's words, but he couldn't care less about that now; the important thing was to settle them down.
"Since my house has been turned into a literacy class, shouldn't you, as the team leader, arrange where we'll live?"
Lu Guoan was surprised, "You're not staying at the commune's guesthouse, you're staying in the village?"
Naturally, he has to live in the village. If he doesn't live in the village, how can he talk to everyone about his glorious achievements over the years, and how can he make everyone admire and respect him?
“Yes, since we’re coming back to pay respects to our ancestors, staying in the village will be much more convenient.”
Lu Guoan frowned, "But there's no suitable place for you to live in the village."
Lu Guoqing knew that the village was in poor condition, but he was not someone who had never experienced hardship.
He generously said, "It's alright, as long as there's a place to stay, or you can take us to Xiaoqin's in-laws' house."
"Xiaoqin's in-laws only have two rooms, which is just enough for their whole family. Why are you going there to cause trouble?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Guoqing felt even more superior and his mood improved considerably.
I just saw that Lu Xiaoqin was dressed well and well-maintained, and I thought she had married a man with good conditions.
It seems so insignificant now.
With only two rooms, the family must be poor. That outfit she's wearing today was probably borrowed, or it's the only new clothes she bought for her wedding. She wore it specifically to save face in front of her father.
After another round of imagining, Lu Guoqing made himself extremely happy.
Qin Manman felt the same way; her sense of superiority surged instantly.
Finally, Lu Guoan took the person home.
There are still empty rooms in his house. Lao Luqian rarely comes back, so their room is empty, and several men can squeeze onto one kang (a heated brick bed).
As for Qin Manman, it just so happens that Lu Jiefang is sleeping at the construction site these days, and Zhong Zhiping is living alone with her child in one room, so Qin Manman can stay with her.
Lu Guoqing, Qin Manman, and Guo Conglin were all dissatisfied with this arrangement.
Lu Guoqing and Qin Manman didn't want to sleep separately, but Guo Conglin felt that how could a leader like himself sleep on the same kang (a heated brick bed) with a few subordinates?
"There's nothing I can do, my house is only this big, there aren't any extra rooms," Lu Guoan said.
"Does the brigade have any other empty houses?" Guo Conglin asked.
Lu Guoan waved his hand, "That's all, everyone's housing is tight."
In recent years, many families have had new wives or children and wanted to build new houses, but Lu Guoan has suppressed them, saying that he will build small villas in a unified manner. At this time, there is no need to build new houses, and they will be demolished anyway, which is a pure waste.
So there really aren't many families with extra housing.
The only relatively spacious place was the former educated youth settlement. The buildings there were quite large back then, but many of the educated youth left after passing the university entrance exams in the past year or so.
It would be possible to arrange a few berths.
However, that place was close to the rabbit farm, and Lu Guoan didn't want them to go there, lest they try to steal their rabbits.
There were no extra rooms available, and Guo Conglin really didn't want to squeeze in with several grown men, so he finally suggested taking the driver to the commune's guesthouse.
Lu Guoqing readily agreed, allowing him to take his two henchmen with him so that he could share a room with his young wife.
Thus, only Lu Guoqing and Qin Manman remained in the village, while everyone else went to the commune's guesthouse.
Lu Guoan was secretly pleased. If Guo Conglin stayed, he would treat him well with good food and drink. But if only Lu Guoqing and Lu Guoan were left, he wouldn't care so much.
After taking the two of them home, they locked all the other rooms except the one where the two of them lived, and then left.
They plan to stay home for the next few days and have the whole family eat at their youngest son's house.
Lu Guoqing was unaware of Lu Guoan's actions. He and his mistress were packing things in the house, discussing who to give gifts and red envelopes to, while waiting for Lu Guoan to prepare food for them.
They waited and waited, but no one came to call them for dinner. They had a bad feeling, so they went out to check and found that the house was empty, without a soul in sight.
"This is outrageous!" Lu Guoqing exclaimed in exasperation.
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