Chapter 353 - 350: Daytime Conversation

Chapter 353: Chapter 350: Daytime Conversation

"All better? Then who was it that was supposed to avoid any major shocks, anger, or grief?"

Zhou Lian glanced at Grandma Li, embarrassed, and asked softly, "Grandma, who told you all this? Besides, it’s been so long. Why bring it up again?"

"Grandma doesn’t ask for you to be rich and powerful. I just want you all to be well, safe, and healthy!" Grandma Li said with a sigh.

With a faint smile, Zhou Lian said seriously, "Grandma, sometimes our hands are tied. It’s not that we crave wealth and glory. It’s that when you’re in a certain position, you’re forced to keep moving forward. To put it bluntly, Grandma, we have to master the skills to protect ourselves and our family. What’s the alternative? If something really happened, would we just stand by and watch?"

"You two have been wronged, and you’ve worked so hard!" Grandma Li said, wiping away a tear. She understood the reasoning. No matter where you were, you needed skills to have a say, to protect your family and loved ones.

Shaking her head gently, Zhou Lian said dismissively, "We chose this path. Whether it’s hardship or pleasure, you have to grit your teeth and swallow the blood to keep going. Otherwise, what would happen to the people who depend on us? Don’t worry, Grandma. Things are much better now. After all these years, we’ve achieved some success!"

Grandma Li sighed and said no more. ’What could she say? She couldn’t help with anything. Not holding them back was already a form of help. Saying anything more was pointless now. They never spoke of it during the hardest times, so no one knew. But that’s all in the past. Hardship or not, no one could bear it for them.’

After lunch, once they saw Grandma Li resting on the kang bed, Zhou Lian and Sister Fang left the room. They went to the main room and sat down, each holding a cup of red date, longan, and goji berry tea, sipping it slowly. After a while, Zhou Lian finally asked softly, "Sister, what’s wrong?"

"It’s nothing serious. I noticed the old lady was in a mood last night, so I had someone ask around. It’s just those heartless fools from the second branch acting up again. Xiao Lian, you should just pretend you don’t know anything. The old lady is probably just having a moment of weakness. After all, they’re her own grandsons. From what I can see, Li Xiu is still the most important one in her heart, and that’s all that matters. Family matters are a tangled mess. It’s best to just turn a blind eye. You can’t really hold it against Grandma, can you?" Sister Fang said with a helpless sigh.

Taking a light sip of her tea, Zhou Lian gave an enigmatic smile and said, "What’s there to hold against Grandma? We should go after the real culprits. It hasn’t even been that long, and they’ve already forgotten the pain of their past mistakes. Sister, don’t let Jin Chen find out about this. It’ll just put him in a bad mood."

"I’ll handle this. You stay out of it," Sister Fang said gently, glancing at Zhou Lian. Some things weren’t suitable for Zhou Lian to get involved in.

Looking at Sister Fang with a wry expression, Zhou Lian said helplessly, "Sister, where is your mind going? I’m just going to have someone teach them a small lesson, that’s all. Sister, this can end here. You don’t need to worry about the rest."

"No problems?"

Zhou Lian nodded and said with a smile, "No problem, Sister. It’s just a small matter."

"This Water-Land Dharma Assembly, is it for seven days or forty-nine?"

"Seven days. We don’t have enough time for forty-nine. If we can’t be there for the whole thing, it feels insincere. Jin Chen and I discussed it. We’ll do a full one for the master’s next memorial anniversary. We’ll prepare for it in advance then."

Frowning slightly, Sister Fang asked softly, "Why the sudden decision to hold a dharma assembly?"

"This year is the twentieth anniversary of the master’s passing."

Sister Fang nodded in understanding. She glanced at the time and said, "You go get some rest. I’ll go pick up the two kids."

After watching Zhou Lian enter the bedroom and close the door, Sister Fang cleared the cups into the kitchen. She gave a few instructions to the bodyguard before heading toward Third Brother Li’s house. After lunch, Li Xianglin and Li Xiangrui had gone to Li Bao’s family to give his two children the sparrows they had caught that morning.

When she arrived at Third Brother Li’s house, the east wing was full of people. Aunt Li and Uncle Li were on the kang bed with four children. Li He and Li Yuan sat on the edge of the bed, while Li Bao, his wife, and Li Guo were drinking tea on chairs by the window. Seeing Sister Fang arrive, they all hurriedly greeted her.

Seeing them pouring tea and moving chairs, Sister Fang stopped them with a smile and said gently, "There are no strangers here. What’s with all the formality?"

Sister Fang was about ten years older than Li Xiu, so all the Li siblings called her "Sister Fang." The ones in the Capital City had often received her care, and they knew their eldest brother and sister-in-law treated her like a biological older sister. As a result, every one of them respected her greatly.

"Sister Fang, I heard from the others that Li Xiu is back this time to hold a Water-Land Dharma Assembly for his master. Why hold one all of a sudden? It’s not the anniversary of his death," Aunt Li asked Sister Fang curiously.

Smiling, Sister Fang said gently, "This is the twentieth anniversary of Li Xiu’s master’s passing. Li Xiu wanted to hold a dharma assembly for him, to honor the guidance Teacher Ge gave him back then."

"It’s really been twenty years!" Uncle Li remarked softly. ’Time passes so quickly!’

Aunt Li pursed her lips and said, "Of course it’s been twenty years. Li Xiu was fifteen that year, sixteen by traditional age, and was already earning twelve work points. That’s the year he passed away! I remember it clearly. At first, no one even knew they were master and apprentice. I remember the production brigade wanted to use work points to trade for someone to be the chief mourner! In the end, our eldest nephew stepped up and said, ’A teacher for a day is a father for a lifetime,’ and that settled the matter."

"Yeah, I remember Big Brother became even quieter after that," Li Bao said after a moment of thought.

Aunt Li chuckled and said cheerfully, "Tell me, were we all fools back then? Li Xiu acted as chief mourner for Ge Da, and not a single one of us thought twice about it!"

"Mom, I remember Big Brother said back then that he was young and didn’t know anything, and it was Uncle Ge who taught him everything. People say, ’A teacher for a day is a father for a lifetime,’ so he was going to wear mourning clothes for his ’father’! No, wait, seriously, Mom! I remember Big Brother never went to school for a single day. Weren’t you suspicious at all about how he could talk and read and all that?" Li Bao grew so agitated as he spoke that he almost shouted.

Third Brother Li and Aunt Li looked at each other. ’That’s right! Their eldest nephew had never been to school, but the way he spoke and the things he did were nothing like an illiterate brute. Why had no one noticed any of this?’

"And another thing, Big Brother disciplined all of us siblings when we were little. Mom, Dad, you know this. Grandma and my uncle and aunt knew it too. Did you never ask Big Brother about it? Never even thought about it? Didn’t you find it strange at all?" Li Bao asked, looking at his parents curiously.

Glancing at Third Brother Li, Aunt Li cleared her throat and said, "I don’t think we ever really thought about it. We didn’t find it strange either. It was just... as if your big brother was supposed to know those things. No, wait. Honey, this isn’t right. How could even his parents and Grandma not have noticed? We only found out when our nephew mentioned it himself during the family property division!"