Chapter 35

Su Lizhen said, “Yes, she said she fell and hurt herself. Your dad even went back to check on her. She also said that both of us should go back and see her.”

Li Yuechan frowned. “When did my dad go back?” Could it be that she really mistook the person?

“She just said that she fell earlier, but I didn’t ask when he went back. Why, daughter?”

Li Yuechan shook her head. “It’s nothing. How would we know when she fell? She’s just trying to make trouble for us.”

Su Lizhen sighed. “Your grandmother wants you to go back and stay for a few days.”

Li Yuechan pointed at herself, puzzled. “She wants me to go back and take care of her?”

“Yeah, she said your second uncle’s son, Shengli, is about to take his high school entrance exam. Your second uncle is worried he won’t pass, so he wants you to tutor him. And since your grandmother is injured, she wants you to go back and see her as well.

Your mom’s factory will have overtime, and I already told your grandma I’m going. If you also go, it’ll be perfect.”

Li Yuechan nodded reluctantly, thinking to herself: Fine, after all, she’s my grandmother. If both of them go back, they’ll ruin their reputations sooner or later.

“Alright, I’ll go tomorrow morning.”

Su Lizhen took out some money from her pocket. “Here’s ten yuan and a few coupons. Tomorrow, go to the supply and marketing cooperative and buy something for her.”

“What should I buy? The peach crisps on my table haven’t been eaten much, I’ll just take those to her.”

“Ah, those have been sitting for half a month, right?”

“So what? They’re not spoiled. I don’t like them anyway, they’re too hard. Perfect for her.”

“You brat! Whatever, do what you want.”

“Hehe.”

“These are coupons for this month. Take them. Didn’t you say you wanted to buy a checkered shirt? You can just go to the department store and pick one out tomorrow.”

Li Yuechan shook her head. “No need, the ones I got last time from the person who bumped into me are fine. I didn’t need the money, and I’m good!”

Su Lizhen thought for a moment. She hadn’t given her daughter much pocket money before, so she didn’t really care.

“Oh, right, you should tidy up those clothes you don’t wear anymore and take them back to Meili tomorrow!”

“Oh, okay.”

Li Yuechan remembered that her mom always took the clothes she didn’t wear back to her hometown, since those clothes were rare in her village!

But her mom had never let her wear patched clothes, so she could only give them away!

As they were talking, they heard the front door creak open, and Li Jianguo walked in, pushing his bicycle.

Su Lizhen walked out and, seeing the man had returned, forced a smile. “I heard mom fell?”

Li Jianguo looked at her expression and didn’t notice anything unusual, quickly nodding. “Yes, that’s why I took leave to go check on her.”

“Is mom okay?”

“She’s fine, but she’s getting old, so she might need a few days to recover.”

“Mom called me just now. She wants Xiao Chan to go back and stay for a while to help Shengli with his studies.”

“Oh, mom mentioned it to me too, but I didn’t agree. I was planning to discuss it with you when I got back.”

Li Jianguo thought for a moment and then asked, “So… will Xiao Chan go tomorrow?”

Su Lizhen nodded. “Yes, I already told her she should go tomorrow. As for helping Shengli with his studies, I didn’t agree to that.”

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“After all, you know Xiao Chan’s homework was always sloppy back then. Don’t let her help and make things worse, only to get blamed later,” Su Lizhen said.

Li Jianguo quickly replied, “How could that be? She’ll help as much as she can. You know my second brother only has this one son, and he’s hoping he can get into high school and find a job in the future. If Xiao Chan can help him, my second brother will definitely thank us in the future.”

Su Lizhen lowered her eyebrows and didn’t say anything, heading straight into the kitchen.

Li Yuechan scoffed inwardly. “Who cares? Isn’t he just a temp worker at a food factory? Occasionally bringing back expired food to eat—what’s so impressive about that?”

She thought about her second uncle’s son, who seemed to have never passed a proper exam. It would be a miracle if he could even get into high school!

At this moment, Li Jianguo walked into the kitchen, calling out, “What’s that delicious smell? Is mom stewing meat again?”

Su Lizhen smiled and replied, “Yes, Xiao Chan went up the mountain and caught a wild chicken.”

Li Jianguo was taken aback. “Oh, Xiao Chan went up the mountain? Did she not go back to the village to check on grandma?”

Li Yuechan pouted. “How would I know grandma fell? I just managed to catch a wild chicken and was rushing home.”

Li Jianguo looked at his daughter’s expression and felt relieved, thinking that there wasn’t anything suspicious.

After dinner, Li Yuechan returned to her room and continued working in her space, pondering that she still had to return the bicycle to Comrade Xiao Gu. With her grandmother’s temperament, she probably wouldn’t stay for long; who knew how many days she would stay?

But then, she thought about it—how was she supposed to know where that man lived? All she knew was that he worked at the police station. What was she supposed to do?

Just then, she heard a “bang” from the window.

Her eyes lit up, and she quickly opened the window.

Li Yuechan looked at the visitor and teased, “It’s 8 o’clock, and you’re here already?”

The man urgently said, “Xiao Chan, I have something to tell you. I have to catch a train tonight. It’s getting late, and I’m worried I won’t make it.”

Li Yuechan frowned. “Where are you going?”

“The same place as last time, Feng Chuan. I told you before, I suspect he’s connected to a case in the neighboring city. Now I have some leads. I need to go there, and I’ll be back in about three days.”

Li Yuechan nodded. “Oh, sounds good. I’m going to my grandmother’s house tomorrow, and I’ll probably be back in a day or two.”

“Perfect. When you go tomorrow, take that bicycle. Don’t take the bus.”

Li Yuechan smiled. “I was thinking of returning the bicycle, but I guess now I don’t need to.”

“Just keep it and ride it. Oh, and don’t worry about Han Chunguang. I’ll make sure he’s locked up properly. His family still has quite a bit of influence. They even asked our deputy director to intervene. But luckily, I acted fast and reported him early. The paperwork is already in, and he’s been sentenced to ten years. He’ll be sent to Beidahuang to work the land. The people from Beidahuang will come to pick him up in about three days.”

Li Yuechan’s eyes sparkled. Beidahuang—that was a good place. He would definitely be reformed well there.

Li Yuechan grinned and reached out her little hand, gently patting the man’s shoulder. “Xiao Gu, well done!”