Chapter 19: The Past

Xu Fu held the two children for a long time before he was willing to put them on the kang.

He covered them with a blanket and went to the east room to get a delicate wooden box.

The box was simple and elegant, with five compartments inside. The largest compartment held a delicate jade hairpin, carved with a cluster of plum blossoms. A touch of red on the plum blossoms adorned the emerald green hairpin, a perfect match.

The four smaller compartments held two small gold locks and two pairs of gold bracelets.

Unlike the two pairs of plain silver bracelets Xu Fu had given before, these two pairs had delicate and intricate patterns, very exquisite and small.

Xu Fu pushed the box towards her and said, “This is a gift I prepared for you and the two children. But these things are not very useful now, just take them as a good omen.”

Lin Yue wanted to refuse, but Xu Fu stopped her and said, “Take it. I’m the children’s grandfather, it’s only right to give them things.”

He hesitated for a moment and then said, “But, we shouldn’t acknowledge each other. The situation is not good now, and you’ve married a soldier. Acknowledging me as your father won’t do you any good.

You can still call me Teacher Xu. As for the rest, we know in our hearts.”

All along, he hadn’t asked his daughter why she suddenly wanted to acknowledge him. He knew she had suffered a lot of grievances in the year since she got married. People’s hearts always change after going through hardship.

Xu Fu was filled with love for his daughter, so Lin Yue had to agree.

Although she felt selfish doing this, the situation would change in a few years. By then, she didn’t know if Xu Fu’s reputation as a red capitalist would survive that storm.

She didn’t want both of them to be wiped out. Not acknowledging each other now would at least give her a chance to help Xu Fu when the storm came.

She nodded silently and took a set of cotton clothes from the basket and placed it on the kang. She had made it with new cloth and cotton she bought before the new year, according to Xu Fu’s size.

She also took advantage of the basket’s cover to take a jar of peanut oil, a rabbit, 20 eggs, and a rooster from her space.

Xu Fu was still excited, only focused on teasing the children, and didn’t suspect how a vegetable basket could hold so many things.

Now that he saw it, he kept asking her to take it back: “It’s not easy for you to be alone. Take these things back, I don’t need anything here!”

Lin Yue refused, saying that her family had plenty, and they didn’t lack food at all.

They argued for a while, and finally decided to eat the rooster at noon.

Lin Yue didn’t dare to kill the chicken. Xu Fu was stronger, he dared to kill, but he hadn’t done it before.

The poor rooster was hacked three times by Xu Fu, and it bravely ran around the yard like crazy, chicken blood splattered everywhere, leaving an indelible shadow on Lin Yue.

At noon, Lin Yue cooked. She secretly took out seasonings from her space and made a dish of braised chicken with mushrooms. They ate three-in-one noodles made with rolled dough.

It wasn’t that Lin Yue wanted to save Xu Fu money; it was just that this man’s life skills were too bad. He mixed sorghum flour, corn flour, and white flour together, and had always eaten this kind of three-in-one noodles.

He had no experience and was afraid of using up the white flour too early, so he always mixed them together.

He had lived in the countryside for so long, and had always eaten this kind of noodles.

Lin Yue found it both funny and heartbreaking. In order to find his daughter, this big man had a hard time, suffering a lot of unnecessary hardship.

During the meal, Lin Yue told him what she had learned at Lin Er Shu’s house today.

Xu Fu looked up and listened silently, feeling a little sad, but also a sense of relief that his daughter had grown up.

But this clue wasn’t very useful.

In poorer areas, child trafficking was more common. He had seen many cases like this while searching for his daughter.

Actually, for a long time, he suspected that Sun Hong Mei was involved, because the child was taken to this place, and the closest person was Sun Hong Mei.

Unfortunately, by the time he found his daughter, too much time had passed, and there was basically no evidence.

Even now, he still didn’t dismiss his suspicion of Sun Hong Mei, but he was afraid of affecting his daughter, so he put it aside for now.

Lin Yue thought that Xu Fu would have some leads after hearing the clue, after all, it looked like an inside job, but seeing his dejected look, she didn’t dare to ask further. Instead, she changed the subject and asked about her mother.

Xu Fu was silent for a long time before telling her about her mother.

The original owner’s mother was named Zhou Xiaomin. When she gave birth, this land was in chaos. She had just experienced the deaths of her mother and brother, and then her three-month-old child disappeared. She almost went crazy.

Later, the situation became increasingly chaotic. Her father-in-law wanted to take Zhou Xiaomin to escape to a foreign country. Xu En Yuan, because he still had industries here and was worried about his missing child, had to entrust his seriously ill wife to his father-in-law and stay in this land alone.

Xu Fu didn’t know where his father-in-law and wife were now.

Lin Yue couldn’t help but worry about Xu Fu’s safety. His background was easy to make an article of, and he had overseas connections. He had stepped on a big mine.

She couldn’t help but ask: “Dad, now that you know I’m doing well, haven’t you considered going to find my mother?”

Xu Fu looked at Lin Yue deeply, his eyes asking her where she was doing well.

Lin Yue thought about how her life had just started to improve, and she lowered her head in shame.

Xu Fu reached out, wanting to rub her hair, but then he remembered that his daughter had grown up,

He put his hand back down, feeling lost.

He comforted her, “You and the two children are doing well. Your mother would be happy to know that.”

Lin Yue didn’t notice Xu Fu’s small gesture, she just nodded obediently.

The two little ones had just received new bracelets and were trying to stuff them in their mouths.

Lin Yue saw this and quickly snatched the bracelets away.

The bracelets were big enough that the children wouldn’t actually eat them, but Lin Yue was afraid that they were made with some kind of chemical product that could be harmful to the children.

Xu Fu also saw this and said, “You should put them away. Don’t let anyone see them, or they might be stolen. It’s a small matter.”

It was the New Year, and Xu Fu didn’t want to say anything unlucky, so he didn’t say the rest.

Lin Yue agreed and put the jewelry Xu Fu had given her back in the box and kept it for herself.

She asked a question that had been bothering her for a long time, “Why does Sun Hong Mei have such a strong animosity towards you? When I was recovering after giving birth, you went to see me, and she went crazy, she had to argue with me.”

Xu Fu pondered for a long time before speaking, “I didn’t want to tell you, but fate is a cruel mistress. You became her daughter-in-law, and I have to remind you of some things.

Your mother-in-law is not a good person. You must never let her know about our father-daughter relationship.”

Lin Yue’s eyes widened, ready to eat some gossip.

Xu Fu didn’t beat around the bush, and told Lin Yue the story in general: “Sun Hong Mei worked as a short-term worker in our house when she was young. Later, your mother and I got married, and she served your mother. Your mother liked her very much.

After we got married, your mother didn’t get pregnant for several years. She wanted a child of our own so badly, she was a little anxious.

Sun Hong Mei was very good at comforting people, and she always managed to cheer your mother up.

Later, I discovered that she was not a good person, and I subtly reminded your mother, but she didn’t believe me.”

Lin Yue had read many palace intrigue and house fighting stories before, and when she heard the words “not a good person,” she knew what it meant.

She didn’t dare to ask how exactly she was not a good person, she could only ask, “What happened next?”

“Later, she got pregnant and married a farmer.”

Lin Yue was shocked, “What do you mean she got pregnant and married a farmer?” This order, if Xu Fu hadn’t said it backwards, wasn’t it what they called “getting pregnant and finding a good man to take over” in the modern world? Besides, what Sun Widow said then couldn’t be true, could it?

Xu Fu was a serious man, and when Lin Yue asked, he was very embarrassed. He scratched his nose and said, “Anyway, that’s how it is. She doesn’t like her eldest son for that reason.”

Lin Yue wanted to ask further, but he refused to say anything. Lin Yue urged, “Dad, you can’t do this. Last time, that Liu Widow said you were Zhang Yuandong’s real father. Now you won’t tell me the truth. What’s going on? Don’t scare me!”

Xu Fu’s face instantly turned black: “It’s all nonsense.

When I first came here, I knew Sun Hong Mei was in Xiaodatian Village. If her eldest son really had anything to do with me, would I let you marry him? I would never let you get married under any circumstances.”

Lin Yue breathed a sigh of relief and asked, “Then how do you know so clearly?”

Xu Fu didn’t answer, changing the subject and talking about Liu Widow again: “What’s going on between you and that Liu Widow? Why do you believe everything she says! She’s not a good person, you should avoid her in the future.”

Lin Yue thought to herself, I’ve seen her at her worst, you don’t need to tell me.

But she didn’t dare to say it, she just said, “I know, I haven’t talked to her much anyway. She was just trying to get close to me for your sake.”

Xu Fu almost choked on his food. He quickly picked up his water cup and took a sip, calming himself down.

He didn’t dare to talk about these topics with his daughter anymore. He held his water cup and asked, “Do you want some water? I’ll go get you some.”

Lin Yue pointed to the cup in front of her and said, “Dad, sit down and eat. I haven’t finished the big cup you poured me.”

Xu Fu was afraid that Lin Yue would ask another strange question, so he sat far away from her, just lowered his head and ate, not saying a word to Lin Yue.

Lin Yue snickered and lowered her head to eat.

In the afternoon, it was still light out, but Xu Fu sent Lin Yue back home.

She walked along the road with the two children, feeling very depressed. She deeply suspected that Xu Fu was deliberately sending her away because he was afraid, she would ask more gossip.

As she walked towards Xiaodatian Village, she thought to herself, Xu Fu said Sun Hong Mei was “not a good person,” did she really sleep with Xu Fu? But considering Xu Fu’s looks and family background, it wasn’t surprising.

Forget Sun Hong Mei and Liu Widow, she knew there were several women in Donglinjia Village who flirted with Xu Fu, but they were just throwing their eyes at a blind man.

With so many people vying to be her stepmother, Lin Yue felt a chill down her spine. She moved Xiao Wanli up a little, letting him warm her back.

But Zhang Yuandong was not Zhang Zhiwei’s biological son, this really shocked Lin Yue.

And now, thinking back to Zhang Zhiwei’s attitude towards Zhang Yuandong, she couldn’t help but suspect that he had always known.

She remembered what Aunt Zhang had specifically told her, and suddenly felt like Aunt Zhang knew something too.

Lin Yue wailed in her heart; Xu Fu is really a father! Zhang Yuandong is now his son-in-law, his daughter’s husband, and he won’t tell her the truth. It seems like there’s a big melon waiting for her, something Xu Fu can’t bring himself to say.

She was lost in thought all the way, and slowly walked home.