Chapter 1713 - 1311: Refused Acceptance_4

Chapter 1713: Chapter 1311: Refused Acceptance_4

"I’d like that too, but Old Jiang just won’t agree. Still, I have a good feeling about our Xiao Yu. Maybe in ten or twenty years, he really will marry Guoguo into our family."

As Old Mr. Xi said this, his face bloomed into a wide chrysanthemum-like smile.

"If that day really comes, that’d be wonderful."

Old Mrs. Xi was all smiles too.

"By the way, is Li Li really the child born by Feng’s second wife?"

Old Mrs. Xi looked at Old Mr. Xi: "That’s what Guobang’s wife told me. She mentioned it in passing, but I was so tired my eyelids kept drooping, so I didn’t listen carefully after that."

"Mm, that’s how it is. Feng’s second wife, the one he married later, was the daughter of Old Jiang’s housekeeper. Back then, Boya was young, love just blooming, and he and the housekeeper’s daughter took a liking to each other. But Old Jiang absolutely refused, so those two youngsters simply eloped. By the time Old Jiang’s men found Boya, almost a year had passed. Boya was forcibly brought back to North City, and soon after Old Jiang forced him abroad..."

Old Mr. Xi briefly recounted to Old Mrs. Xi what he’d heard from Jiang Hongfa about the story between Jiang Boya and Fang Su. In the end, he sighed, "Old Jiang’s actions back then were harsh, but from where he stood, I guess I understand. But Feng’s wife at home, her way of handling things was just plain wrong.

If she chose to give birth, even if she didn’t want to raise the child, or couldn’t, she could’ve given her away, or left her somewhere with people around, at least that would have given the child a chance to live. But who’d have thought she’d be so cruel as to dump her newborn in the hospital’s trash can? Honestly, I’m not surprised Li Li doesn’t acknowledge Feng’s family. Not one bit."

"Such a heartless woman!"

Old Mrs. Xi said, "To throw away her own daughter, and chase her son out of the house too—no real mother should ever do such things."

"Exactly."

Old Mr. Xi agreed, "She must be regretting it bitterly by now."

"Serves her right."

After learning what Fang Su did to Jiang Li and Feng Yi, Old Mrs. Xi had nothing good to say about her. She said, "Li Li’s adoptive parents, they’re really good folks, honest and sincere. I can tell—they treat Li Li as if she were their own child."

"Mm."

Old Mr. Xi nodded.

...

"You keep it yourself. Your dad and I don’t need it."

Cai Xiufang looked at the wild ginseng and lingzhi that Jiang Li set before her, showing not the slightest inclination to take them. She closed the box and said, "If your dad and I ever really need it, you’d still bring it out for us, wouldn’t you?"

"Of course!"

Jiang Li didn’t even think before saying, "Whatever I have, in my heart, it all belongs to Dad and Mom."

"What silly talk is that?"

She gave Jiang Li a look. Cai Xiufang said, "Your dad and I know these things are precious, but Tuanzi and the others found them in the mountains, and rightly, you should keep them. If we took them, and your big brother found out about it someday, trouble might come of it."

Team Leader Jiang spoke up, "Your mom’s right. You hang onto them yourself."

"But the wild ginseng and lingzhi are for you two. Whether you use them or give them away later, it’s all fine by me."

Jiang Li pushed the box sitting on the table back towards Cai Xiufang and Team Leader Jiang.

"Do you really want your big brother and them fighting over these things one day?"

Cai Xiufang said, "Even among blood brothers, accounts must be kept clear. If your dad and I have these good things, and one day your big brother or any of the others find out, they’ll come to ask us for them. Should we give them or not? If we do, your other brothers will hear and then what? But if they’re in your hands, they belong to you. Even if your brothers found out, they wouldn’t come asking you for them. Do you get what I’m saying?"

After a long silence, Jiang Li nodded, "I got it. I’ll keep them safe for you. If you two need them later, I’ll bring them out."

For the sake of family harmony, she’d just hold onto them then. Anyway, as long as her family needed it, she’d always offer it without hesitation.

"I’m going out to check the fields."

Team Leader Jiang said, getting up and heading out the door.

"Aren’t you going to lie down for a bit?"

Cai Xiufang asked Jiang Li.

"I’m not sleepy."

Saying so, Jiang Li didn’t keep sitting either. She stood up, "I’ll go keep Grandpa and Grandma company for a while."

"Go on, then."

Cai Xiufang waved her hand, then added, "I’ll put the box back in your room. Remember to keep it safe."

"Okay."

Jiang Li answered, and was out the door in a flash.

...

"Where are you off to, Li Bao?"

Just as she stepped out the yard gate, Jiang Li bumped into Big Mouth Cui. Hearing her, Jiang Li smiled and replied, "Going to my uncle’s to see my grandparents."

"Is that so? Come on, I just had something to talk to your aunt about anyway, we’ll go together."

Big Mouth Cui was extremely enthusiastic. Her family was about to have two factory workers: her youngest son and his wife. The couple had just gone to apply for jobs at Jiang Li’s factory, and they both got hired. This was the best news her family had heard in ages.

She’d heard the factory wages were even better than those at the county factories, and all this fortune had come from the girl by her side.

Sigh! Such a good girl—if only she was her daughter.

If she was, Cui Erhua would be the mother of the factory director, walking out in public with so much face!

Jiang Li, of course, had no idea what was going on in Big Mouth Cui’s mind. Even if she had known, she’d probably just laugh it off and not think much of it.

"Oh right, Li Bao, I bet you don’t know—Chunxia’s come home!"

Startled by Big Mouth Cui’s words, Jiang Li paused, then asked, "Auntie, how did you find out?"

"I saw her with my own eyes."

Big Mouth Cui lowered her voice, "She should have just arrived home. If only you’d seen her—she looked all flashy, flirting with every man she saw, not a shred of shame. Still, she came dragging bags and cases—must’ve earned good money all these years."

Jiang Li only smiled, not saying anything.

Big Mouth Cui was so caught up in her own talk she didn’t notice Jiang Li’s lack of response. She kept going, "Li Bao, how much do you think Chunxia’s earned while she’s been away these years?"

"I really couldn’t say."

Seeing Big Mouth Cui’s eyes on her, Jiang Li smiled faintly, "But you said it yourself, Auntie—sounds like she made quite a bit."

"Yeah, Chunxia dresses all rich now. But to me she never seemed too proper."