Chapter 26 – Departure for the Army

Tao Jiaxing’s face was so dark it looked like it could drip ink. “This isn’t the time for internal strife!”

“The goods are in that damn girl’s hands—we have to find a way to make her spit them out!”

“Otherwise, once we’re sent to the Great Northwest, we’ll all suffer!”

Tao Ronggui looked dejected. “I can’t even walk—what will I do when we get to the Great Northwest?”

“Well, I’m not taking care of you,” Tao Ronghua quickly stated his stance.

Tao Jiaxing shot both his sons a fierce glare and couldn’t help but admit, “The four of you siblings together aren’t even a match for that dead girl, the second child!”

She had clearly been kidnapped and imprisoned, yet she still found a way to escape.

In fact, he had planned to kill her after retrieving the goods, to cut off all loose ends once and for all.

Who would’ve thought, in the end, their whole family would be the ones completely defeated!

As he spiraled into chaotic thoughts, Old Man Tao was brought into the room.

“Dad?” Tao Jiaxing felt inexplicably guilty.

Old Man Tao’s lips were tightly pursed, and a storm was slowly brewing in his eyes!

Tao Ronghua could sense something was off and didn’t dare say a word.

Tao Ronggui turned his face away silently, unable to meet his grandfather’s gaze.

Those eyes looked like they were ready to kill—terrifying!

Without a word, Old Man Tao suddenly slapped his eldest son hard!

Tao Jiaxing was stunned. His cheek swelled up instantly. He never thought his own father would hit him. “Dad!”

Old Man Tao trembled with rage, his voice shaking as he spoke word by word: “That slap was for your second brother!”

Smack!

“This slap is for your second brother’s wife!”

Tao Jiaxing looked utterly confused. Wasn’t his father the one who always disliked the second brother’s wife?

Why would he hit him for her?

“I’ve thought about it. Even though I didn’t like Qingyue much, I can’t deny that without her, your second brother wouldn’t have had the funds to start a business. He wouldn’t have had the ability to buy that big house your whole family lived in. And there’s no way your mother and I would have enjoyed such a comfortable life back in the village, envied by everyone.”

“You haven’t been back to the countryside in ages. Have you forgotten how many of your peers are still scraping by in the fields?”

“Who gave you the opportunity to work in the city?”

His father’s words made Tao Jiaxing’s expression turn unnatural.

But he didn’t want to admit it.

He didn’t want to acknowledge that he had been relying on the second brother’s generosity all this time!

And he definitely didn’t want to admit that he had been coveting the second brother’s possessions!

Old Man Tao wiped his face and sat down on the floor, continuing, “Without your second brother, Ronghua and Ronggui probably couldn’t have even afforded school, let alone dreamed of high school or college!”

Tao Ronghua bit his lip and stayed silent.

Tao Ronggui also said nothing.

“All these years, you’ve been badmouthing the second brother’s family in front of me and your mother. We thought you were having a harder time than them, so our hearts leaned toward you.”

“Until the Public Security Bureau took me to meet that mechanic in person. That man told me face-to-face—you bastards tampered with your second brother’s car! And even that venomous wife of yours wasn’t sure they were dead and set another fire…”

Old Man Tao choked up. Just thinking about his second son and daughter-in-law being burned alive was like a knife in his heart.

How could he have raised such a vicious eldest son and family?

His second son had died a miserable, unjust death!

Sob sob sob…

As he grieved, he suddenly heard his wife’s violent curses echoing from another room.

The four men in the room perked up their ears. Every harsh insult rang out clearly:

“You shameless bastards!”

“I’ll kick all of you right back into your mother’s womb!”

“Especially you, Liu Ying—you filthy wretch! My son marrying you was the worst curse of his life!”

“My poor second son! You schemed him to death!”

“You heartless monsters, you’ll never die a decent death!”

“Beasts! Scum! Even the eighteenth level of hell would be too good for you!”

Her cursing was accompanied by loud slaps and the chaos of people yelping and dodging blows. The satisfying sounds echoed through the detention center.

Those who sympathized with Sang Feiyu couldn’t help but feel an immense sense of justice!

Some even went out of their way to inform Sang Feiyu at the guesthouse.

“Comrade Sang, you should’ve heard it—your grandma’s cursing was absolutely vicious!”

“Your uncle’s entire family couldn’t talk back and were getting slapped around while screaming. The guys outside were laughing so hard their stomachs hurt…”

Sang Feiyu replied sincerely, “You’re a good person for coming all the way here to tell me that.”

“Ah, it’s nothing. I just couldn’t stand seeing them get away with it.”

After watching the person leave, Sang Feiyu and the others finally went back to their room to pack up.

Zhao Hui placed two neatly packed parcels aside. “I’ll mail these to you later.”

That way, Sang Feiyu would have a reason to pull things out of her space as needed.

She didn’t have much luggage—just a small travel bag and a shoulder bag.

When Ning Zhiyuan arrived, he only had a backpack, but he was leaving with both hands full.

Even Sang Feiyu was surprised. “Comrade Ning, are you bringing souvenirs from Guangzhou for your comrades?”

Ning Zhiyuan nodded. “I brought a few things.”

Sang Feiyu nodded in realization and didn’t ask further.

As evening approached, Sang Youde came in from outside and whispered to Sang Feiyu, “I packed a bunch of food into the space. Don’t forget to sneak in tonight and eat it.”

“And these ten BBQ pork buns, one box of beef balls, a few pieces of sponge cake, one portion of braised tripe, two shrimp dumplings, and one order of steamed meat—you can take them on the train.”

Sang Feiyu used her consciousness to enter the space and saw the table outside their small Western-style villa stacked high with food.

There were shrimp dumplings, BBQ pork buns, tiger-skin chicken feet, beef balls, sponge cake, steamed meat, spring rolls, radish cakes, braised tripe, roast pigeon, fried dumplings, water chestnut cake…

And a whole pot of sampan congee!

“Grandpa, how did you manage all this?”

Sang Youde beamed proudly. “I know the head chef at the state-run restaurant.”

“Booked it in advance.”

Sang Feiyu finally understood. “No wonder you were able to buy so much roast goose before!”

Zhao Hui couldn’t help adding, “That chef used to be the head chef at your family’s restaurant. He even asked us to send his regards.”

“Chef Liang?” Sang Feiyu asked, unsure.

Their restaurant used to have more than one head chef.

“It’s him.”

Just then, footsteps echoed outside, cutting their conversation short.

Sang Feiyu showed Ning Zhiyuan the food her grandpa had prepared for them. “No need to worry about getting hungry on the road.”

“Grandpa really went all out.”

Ning Zhiyuan had also bought quite a bit of food but didn’t mention it.

Seeing the time, Zhao Hui urged, “It’s time to go to the train station.”

“Alright.”

The four of them took a public bus to the station—it only took around ten minutes.

Once at the train station, Zhao Hui couldn’t help but nag Sang Feiyu a few more times. In truth, she had already gone over everything repeatedly in the past two days.

As the roar of the approaching train echoed, Ning Zhiyuan shielded Sang Feiyu and helped her board. “Goodbye, Grandpa, Grandma!”

“Safe travels!” Zhao Hui and Sang Youde waved.

Sang Feiyu walked ahead to find their carriage, with Ning Zhiyuan closely following behind.

Not far away, a gaze unintentionally fell on him—and the person’s eyes immediately lit up—