Chapter 179: How Could He Not Be Heartbroken?
Zhu Dashan and his wife didn’t want to go to the guesthouse.
If they went, they might not be allowed to come back.
This place was so good—clean and bright without yellow sand, and they might even eat a full meal. Moreover, it seemed the silly girl’s parents were both gone, leaving only one younger brother. Wouldn’t this family belong to her son in the future?
Actually, in a situation like this, especially in an era where urban-rural differences were like heaven and earth all because of household registration, rural people like Wang Cuilan wouldn’t dare or even think of such ideas of taking over someone else’s nest.
But those who could shamelessly follow to Jiangcheng weren’t ordinary people.
Lu Qiaoge glanced at this woman but didn’t stop her from speaking. No matter what, for Liu Xia, this family was her closest relatives.
If she wanted to speak, let her. Qiao Ge actually wanted to hear what she had to say.
Wang Cuilan was also trembling with fear. Many people said the Northeast was desolate and remote, even worse than their Great Northwest, but this journey proved otherwise.
She envied the people who could live here.
Not to mention this awe-inspiring military factory.
So, while envious, Wang Cuilan was also afraid in her heart.
After all, this place was too different from their countryside, and there were gatekeepers who didn’t let outsiders in casually.
She glanced at her useless husband and mustered her courage to say: “The silly girl is my daughter-in-law. We’ve had the wedding ceremony, so we’re a couple. She’s called me mom for over ten years. We’re family, we…”
She hadn’t finished speaking when she was interrupted by the young man’s angry voice.
Liu Yu stood up, his eyes red and swollen from crying, clearly too heartbroken and disappointed. After all, he had no relatives left. Thinking of his sister whom he had long hoped would return, it was normal that she didn’t recognize him, but she didn’t side with him at all and instead sided with that bastard. How could he not be sad?
But upon hearing the old woman’s words, he immediately got angry and pointed at Wang Cuilan, shouting: “Shut up! You’re not my sister’s mom at all. My sister’s mom is Chai Xiaoyan. My sister isn’t called silly girl either. My sister’s name is Liu Xia. Mom said Xia means beautiful, and my sister is the most beautiful clouds in the sky. You don’t even know her name and dare to be her mom? You’re a bad person, a big bad person!”
This shout startled Liu Xia. Instinctively, she sought out the person she felt close to. Lu Qiaoge didn’t let her gaze fall on that family. From now on, cut it off.
Lu Qiaoge blocked Liu Xia’s gaze, reached out to put her arm around Liu Xia’s thin shoulders, and gently said to her: “Your younger brother is right. You’re not called silly girl. Your name is Liu Xia. Liu Yu, find that photo and show it to your sister. Let her see herself as a child and also see her biological mother.”
Among these cadres, Lu Qiaoge was the youngest, but when she spoke, no one thought it unreliable—especially Sister Qiao, who had cooperated with Lu Qiaoge many times. She immediately softened her voice and said: “Zhu Dashan, Wang Cuilan, you two come with me to the guesthouse to settle down first. The journey has been tiring. You need to wash up and eat something. Even if you adults aren’t hungry, the child must be. Besides, Liu Xia still needs to meet the left and right neighbors. Someone will come to visit her soon. It’s not suitable for you to be here. Once everything is handled, won’t it be better if Liu Xia personally brings you back?”
This made a lot of sense.
So, Wang Cuilan, who already felt unsure, wanted to discuss with her husband what to do. Thus, she called the three children to head out.
Zhu Baozhu suddenly went to pull Liu Xia, saying huffily: “You can’t stay here. You’re my wife. You have to go wash my clothes and feet.”
Liu Yu was furious, clenching his fists viciously.
Lu Qiaoge looked at this spoiled child—Liu Xia was almost like his maidservant.
Lu Qiaoge didn’t scold or accuse, and naturally wouldn’t let Zhu Baozhu touch Liu Xia.
Even though Liu Xia was scared and instinctively wanted to follow.
Shao Le frowned and blocked Zhu Baozhu, saying: “You’re not even that old, yet calling her wife all the time. Aren’t you ashamed?”
Before Zhu Baozhu could speak, Lu Qiaoge smiled at him and said: “Little classmate, you go eat with your family first. In a bit, I’ll bring Liu Xia to the guesthouse to find you, okay?”
Old Hou was getting impatient. These people were giving them face but not taking it—did they really think they were the young master?
If they truly cared about Liu Xia, it would be one thing, but clearly, they didn’t!
No one gave Zhu Baozhu and the others a chance to speak. Old Hou and the security department comrades took them away.
The place they went was the guesthouse—they had to eat first before anything else.
Once everyone was gone, Liu Yu stood at the doorway, timidly holding the family photo frame to show Liu Xia: “This is you. This is mom. Mom is holding me. This person is… dad.”
Liu Xia twisted her fingers, glanced at the photo frame, then lowered her head. But soon she looked again, biting her lips with a very bewildered gaze.
Suddenly she asked: “Then… where’s mom?”
Liu Yu burst into loud sobs: “Wahhh, mom was killed by that woman.”
Liu Xia was stunned, her face deathly pale, lips trembling. She didn’t know what to ask.
Lu Qiaoge told Liu Yu to quickly wipe his tears and accompanied Liu Xia to walk around inside and outside the house to look around.
This was her home, after all.
The Liu family lived in the bungalow area. Next door used to be Li Ying’s house, but it had long changed owners.
Once they learned there had been a murder here, that family couldn’t have been more unlucky. But with the housing shortage now, leaving meant nowhere to go. So Lu Qiaoge saw a small round mirror placed under their eaves.
Lu Qiaoge wasn’t sure what it was for.
But obviously, it could put the neighbor’s mind at ease.
Lu Qiaoge only glanced once before looking away.
For these two hours that afternoon, she did nothing else but accompany the siblings.
Almost without suspense, Liu Xia became much more intimate with Lu Qiaoge.
She timidly called Lu Qiaoge: “Sister Qiao Ge.”
Then Deputy Director Huang arranged for the neighborhood committee to send over rice and flour, telling Lu Qiaoge she could go back—someone here would take care of the siblings.
The weather was overcast, looking like it might rain again.
Lu Qiaoge walked around once, and Liu Xia wasn’t so uneasy anymore. Her bewildered gaze had a bit more spirit.
The person who came was Aunt Xu, always smiling cheerfully with a particularly good temper and great cooking skills. She was a cadre from the First Neighborhood Committee, with no salary but a subsidy of twenty yuan a month.
She gently and intimately patted the siblings’ heads, then said to Liu Xia: “Good child, you’re home. Now your mom can finally rest in peace.” Then she added: “The journey was tough. Aunt will knead dough and make noodles for you to eat.”
Liu Xia tensely looked toward Lu Qiaoge, but for some reason, these words sounded warm.
She was a bit simple-minded, but she knew Zhu Dashan and Wang Cuilan weren’t her biological parents. She had never dared to ask about her biological parents. She knew that only by being obedient and working hard could she avoid beatings.
Liu Yu was diligent and immediately said: “Aunt Xu, I’ll light the fire. I know how to knead dough too.”
Aunt Xu didn’t let him, telling him to properly accompany his sister Liu Xia and talk more about their childhood.
