In Zhaozhong Town, Pang Yong carried a sack of flour he had just earned through hard work. As he walked, he pondered what he could do in the days leading up to the New Year to earn some more money. If no one asked him to help with the accounting, he could also take a few days of odd jobs.
Just as they were about to reach Chen Juren's residence, there was a rather inconspicuous donkey cart parked by the roadside. Pang Yong had already walked past it, but for some reason, he turned around and looked at the donkey cart again.
Pang Yong had already entered the courtyard. The person inside the donkey cart was trembling, his hands pressed against his chest, where his heart was pounding wildly, as if it were about to jump out of his chest.
The moment he glimpsed the young man's face through the gap in the car window curtain, he even forgot to breathe; his heart was completely captivated.
It was a strange feeling, and he couldn't find the right words to describe it.
The young man's face and eyes looked exactly like mine.
"You don't need to come along, just wait outside." The person on the donkey cart was Jiang An. After trying to calm himself down, he got off the donkey cart and whispered to the driver.
After speaking, he casually glanced at both sides before walking towards the house.
Standing outside the simple fence gate, I watched the young man carrying a bucket of water up from the well in the yard, and he turned around to look at me.
As the young man put down the bucket and walked towards him step by step, Jiang An tried to calm his racing heartbeat, but it quickened again, and his breathing became rapid.
"Who are you? Are you here to visit the master?" Pang Yong looked at the elder in front of him. Although he had never seen him before, for some reason, he did not feel any sense of unfamiliarity with him. On the contrary, he felt a desire to get closer to him.
Jiang An had heard some things about Chen, the scholar who lived here, from Hong Xiaoduo, and after arriving, he also secretly ordered people to find out more.
"Hmm." Jiang An replied simply. The excuse he had originally thought of was that he was a classmate of Chen Juren and had stopped by to visit him since he was passing by.
But now, facing the very person in front of him, who could very well be his own son, Jiang An couldn't bring himself to say it.
"Please come in quickly. But the gentleman has just taken his medicine and fallen asleep. He won't wake up for about 15 minutes. If you're in a hurry, how about I wake him up?" Pang Yong said as he opened the gate to welcome him in and closed the courtyard gate behind him.
Jiang An looked around the simple but clean courtyard and replied, "No need, no need, there's no rush."
"Would you like to sit inside and wait?" Pang Dayong inquired about the other party's intentions.
"Let's go inside," Jiang An said after thinking for a moment.
He didn't really care whether he sat inside or outside, but to be on the safe side, it was better to stay inside.
If what Xiaoduo said is true, and the other party is plotting to seize my property, carrying out such an unbelievable thing right under my nose, then I have come here with Madam Pang several times for the sake of being safe, but I have never seen this child. It is clear that they are very meticulous.
Therefore, Jiang An naturally dared not speak to the child carelessly in the courtyard.
Therefore, he used the excuse of the shop incident to cover up his departure, and deliberately chose the shop farthest from Yaozhen. In addition, there was another reason for choosing that shop, which his elder brother had always helped manage.
Although he was still somewhat skeptical after hearing what Xiaoduo said, since he was going to investigate and verify it himself, he naturally had to be cautious.
Of all of Jiang An's shops, the only one that Manager Wu couldn't get involved in was the one his elder brother helped manage.
He didn't dare use the two men from his mansion that he had brought with him on this trip. Instead, he went to his brother's shop, which was the closest to his own, and left the two men there to be looked after. The people who came with him were all from his brother's shop, and the coachman was Fang Hong, the shopkeeper.
Jiang An didn't really tell Fang Hong much, only that he needed to investigate something discreetly.
Upon hearing this, Fang Hong knew that the matter was quite serious. Otherwise, why would he not even trust the people in his own household? Therefore, he immediately decided to come personally.
Jiang An followed Pang Dayong into the house, first going into the bedroom to see Chen Juren, who was sleeping soundly on the bed.
Pang Yong explained in a low voice that the medicine contained sedatives, which was why he felt this way after taking it.
Jiang An nodded, looked around, and then sat down in the outer room.
"We have no tea, so we can only offer you plain water," Pang Dayong said apologetically.
Jiang An waved his hand and said, "It's alright, it's alright. Would you mind sitting down and talking to me?"
Upon hearing this, Pang Dayong pulled up a chair and sat down.
At this distance, one can see the other person's appearance more clearly; the child's nose and mouth really do resemble his wife's.
Seeing the other person scrutinizing him, Pang Yong smiled shyly. Jiang An's heart skipped a beat when he saw that smile. This child, like his wife, had a dimple on his right cheek when he smiled.
"Are you alright?" Pang Yong asked, at a loss. He didn't know what was wrong with the kind elder in front of him, why he was looking at him with tears in his eyes and seemed very agitated.
Over the years of caring for my husband, among those who have visited him, some have been moved and expressed their gratitude and praise, but none have ever been as emotional as this.
Upon hearing the question, Jiang An realized his lapse in composure and quickly replied, "It's nothing, it's just that seeing you makes me feel very close to you, as if we've known each other for a long time."
"Is that so? Hehe, to be honest, I feel the same way," Pang Dayong replied somewhat awkwardly.
He felt the same way. Could this be what they call blood ties, the connection between father and son? But if there really is such a thing as telepathy as described in books, how come he, as the father, didn't feel his own son suffering here?
“Child, I’ve heard some of what you’ve been through. Have you ever resented your father, mother, or maternal grandparents?” Jiang An asked, trying to remain calm.
Pang Yong smiled and said, "When I was little, I hated it. I hated having such a father, and I also hated my mother who was good to other people's sons but ignored me."
I hated my maternal grandparents even more, but I stopped hating them as I grew older. Maybe it was just my bad luck.” At this point, Pang Yong glanced towards the bedroom and added, “Looking at it this way, my fate isn’t exactly bad; there are still people who care about me.”
For example, the gentleman who is now sleeping soundly in the bedroom.
Hearing these words, Jiang An felt a twisting pain in his heart. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't utter a word because of a lump in his throat.
Although he had only secretly inquired about the Pang family's relationship with the child upon arrival, and had only seen the child, Jiang An was already certain that the child named Pang Yong in front of him was his biological son, and that Xiao Duo had not lied to him!
He wasn't worried at all about exposing Wu Qing and the Pang family's conspiracy. What troubled him now was how to tell his son that he was his biological father...
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