Chapter 55.2

By the time they got home, it was already past two in the afternoon. Li Xiao decided not to go to the factory in the afternoon, and since An An still needed her afternoon nap, Jiang Rou and Li Xiao simply napped with her, sleeping until four.

If Li Xiao’s phone hadn’t rung, the couple might have continued sleeping.

An An, however, woke up early. She sat quietly on the bed playing by herself, holding a paintbrush and coloring her father’s toenails all purple.

Li Xiao answered the phone; it was Aunt Wang calling.

Jiang Rou, who had just sat up intending to take An An to wash her hands, paused when she heard the familiar voice over the phone.

Aunt Wang said something that made Li Xiao frown more and more deeply, only replying with occasional “mm-hm”s, and finally ending with an “okay.”

After the call ended, Jiang Rou couldn’t help but ask, “What happened?”

Li Xiao didn’t hide it from her and said directly, “Aunt Wang said my great-aunt has taken a liking to the old house in the county and plans to take it over while we’re away. She called Brother Wang Yan over, and they chased the whole family out. She called just to let me know.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Rou’s first thought wasn’t about the old house being taken, but she instinctively asked, “You have relatives?”

How come she’d never seen them during New Year’s?

Li Xiao let out a cold laugh, “Why wouldn’t I? My grandfather was adopted, but he had several biological brothers. My third great-uncle has been jealous of my family living in the county since he was young, and he even got his son to lead my father astray. After my grandfather passed away, he and a few other brothers teamed up to empty out my house.”

As he spoke, a look of disgust appeared on Li Xiao’s face. “His son is my second great-uncle. Since childhood, he tricked my father into listening to him, deceiving, stealing, and cheating. When he grew up, he got addicted to gambling and drinking.”

Jiang Rou was puzzled, “Why would he do that? Weren’t they close brothers and nephews?”

Li Xiao sneered, “What ‘close’? When it comes to interests, family ties mean nothing. My grandfather had five children. The first four were sons, and they were dirt poor. The older two got all the benefits since they were older, and by the time it came to my grandfather and his brother, there was almost nothing left. He wanted to be adopted out, but my great-grandfather didn’t choose him, thinking he was too scheming and ungrateful.”

Jiang Rou fell silent. She had heard of difficult relatives before, but such vicious ones were rare. All because he wasn’t adopted, he unleashed all his resentment on innocent people.

Li Xiao’s biological father was someone Jiang Rou knew about from the information in her past life. It was mentioned that he had been on the wrong path since childhood, picking up one bad habit after another.

If it hadn’t been for having such a father, Li Xiao’s fate in his past life would have been entirely different from the start.

To the Li Xiao of the present, everything was in the past. His current life is very good.

But what he had no idea of was what he and An An had gone through in their past lives.

Li Xiao laughed, “There are several demolition projects going on in the county. His family thinks that one day our place might be up for demolition, so they’re trying to take it first. Somehow, Lin Meiru heard about it and even brought He Wenhua’s wife to make a scene.”

In his heart, he only found it ironic. He wasn’t even dead, yet these people were already eyeing his house.

Jiang Rou glared at him in frustration, “And you can still laugh?”

“Why wouldn’t I laugh? Even if I were to give the house away, I wouldn’t give it to them.”

Neither Li Xiao nor Jiang Rou took this matter seriously. But not long afterward, Li Xiao’s great-uncle’s daughter unexpectedly showed up with her boyfriend, acting all high and mighty, demanding that Li Xiao arrange a job for her.

That day happened to be a weekend. Jiang Rou had taken An An to the factory to visit Li Xiao.

At around eleven o’clock, Li Xiao was getting ready to leave work early to take them out for lunch when Assistant Meng came over to say that a couple was at the gate, claiming to be his relatives.

Li Xiao couldn’t think of any relatives he had, so he frowned. As he drove out with Jiang Rou and An An, he glanced toward the gate and saw a familiar face.

The young man and woman were chatting and laughing with each other. When they saw a car approaching, they instinctively turned to look. The girl spotted Li Xiao and immediately recognized him, “Li Xiao?”

She looked at him with some disbelief. She knew he was doing well now, but she hadn’t expected him to be doing this well, driving his own car.

Li Xiao also recognized her. After a quick, indifferent glance, he shifted his gaze away and stepped on the gas.

The girl hadn’t expected this reaction. She chased after the car, calling out, “Hey—”

After the car disappeared from view, the boy behind the girl couldn’t help but complain, “Didn’t you say you had a good relationship with your relatives? Why are they treating you like this?”

The girl, irritated, snapped back, “How would I know he’d be so ungrateful?”

After driving a little further, Jiang Rou suddenly asked Li Xiao to stop the car. She hesitantly asked, “Was that woman up ahead Cao Wang’s wife?”

It wasn’t that Jiang Rou had an exceptionally good memory, but her impression of Cao Wang’s mother from before was so strong that it extended to his wife as well. The moment she saw her, she recognized her.

This time, however, she didn’t see that “Grandma,” just the woman walking anxiously along the road with two children, seemingly searching for something.

Li Xiao pulled the car over in front of the mother and her children. Jiang Rou rolled down the window and asked, “Are you Cao Wang’s wife? I’m Jiang Rou. Do you remember me?”

Cao Wang’s wife immediately recognized Jiang Rou and Li Xiao, her face lighting up with excitement. She’d heard her husband mention them before—he was now working for Boss Li. “Yes, yes, I remember. You’re my husband’s boss and the boss’s wife. I was just looking for Cao Wang.”

Li Xiao glanced at her and said, “Get in. Cao Wang’s not at the factory right now. I’ll call him in a bit and we’ll go have lunch together.”

The woman looked at the car, shaking her head hurriedly, “No, no, I’ll just wait here.”

Li Xiao, who only had a soft spot for Jiang Rou and An An, was not known for his patience with others. He frowned, “Get in.”

He didn’t like repeating himself.

The woman hesitated, glancing at them nervously.

Jiang Rou turned around and opened the back door, speaking gently, “Come on, don’t be so polite. We’re all family here. Cao Wang’s a very capable man.”

Hearing Jiang Rou’s words, the woman seemed to relax a little and obediently got in with her two children. She closed the door gingerly, not wanting to use too much force. Jiang Rou turned and reminded her, “You need to push it harder.”

The woman gave the door a firmer shove, and with a “bang,” it closed properly. Her face tightened in fear, worried she might have damaged the car.

Jiang Rou smiled and asked, “Did you come from the old hometown? Why didn’t you have Cao Wang come pick you up?”

The woman noticed Jiang Rou’s calm expression and that Li Xiao, focused on driving, didn’t seem upset either. She relaxed a little more and quickly explained, “I didn’t tell him. He… he didn’t know.”

Jiang Rou immediately understood this was a family matter and didn’t press further. Instead, she tactfully changed the subject, praising Cao Wang for being highly skilled in his work.

The woman was delighted to hear the praise, and the older child beside her, being more mature, smiled faintly upon hearing that their father was capable.

Li Xiao glanced at Jiang Rou while driving, his lips curving slightly in a subtle smile. He found her to be so thoughtful with everyone.

The young couple who had come looking for Li Xiao earlier noticed that his car had stopped for a while, so they hailed a cab and followed them. When Li Xiao entered a restaurant, the couple followed them inside.

While Jiang Rou sat holding the child, chatting face-to-face with Cao Wang’s wife, Li Xiao went to order food. The young woman from the couple glanced disdainfully at the shabby appearance of Cao Wang’s wife and children, wrinkling her nose in disgust before plopping down right next to Jiang Rou without hesitation.

Jiang Rou turned her head to glance at the girl, then acted as though she hadn’t seen her, calmly picking up her teacup to take a sip.

However, the girl next to her wasn’t so polite. She bluntly asked, “Are you the shameless woman who clung onto Li Xiao back then? You’re pretty clever, huh?”

She spoke loudly, catching the attention of the nearby tables, with people instinctively looking over.

Her boyfriend hadn’t sat down yet, and upon hearing this, he tugged at her sleeve.

The girl shook him off. “I’m not wrong, am I? She did it, so why shouldn’t I say it? Li Xiao and I are relatives, after all. His grandpa and mine were brothers.”

Cao Wang’s wife hesitated and glanced at Jiang Rou, unsure if she should say something.

Without a word, Jiang Rou calmly splashed the tea in her cup onto the girl’s face. The water hit her, and her cheap makeup instantly smeared. The girl screamed, jumping up and yelling, “What the hell are you doing?!”

Jiang Rou looked at her calmly, “Oh, so you’re one of those thieves who ransacked my husband’s family back then? How dare you come around now.”

“What kind of nonsense are you spouting?”

The girl reached for the teapot, intending to throw it at Jiang Rou. But just as her hand touched it, it was swiftly taken from her grasp. She instinctively looked up and met Li Xiao’s cold gaze.

She flinched, but, emboldened by her family background, she said, “Li Xiao, after all, my family helped yours. And this is how your woman treats us? If my grandpa hadn’t lent your family money back then, how would your grandfather have had the money for a proper burial?”

Li Xiao, pouring tea for Jiang Rou, chuckled softly at her words. Without a hint of emotion on his face, he asked, “So, what do you want me to do about it?”

When the girl heard Li Xiao laugh, she thought he had agreed. Upon hearing his question, she immediately softened her tone and quickly stated her demands, which she had thought through beforehand. “I don’t need much, just a job with a monthly salary of five thousand. I’ve heard the wages here are pretty high. After all, I’m a college graduate, so I shouldn’t be earning less than others.”

The man standing next to her immediately tugged at her sleeve, reminding her of something. She quickly added, “Oh, and my boyfriend should get a job too. He’s a university graduate, so his=m working at your factory would be a step down for him. I bet your factory doesn’t even have any university grads. His salary should be at least eight thousand a month. And we’ll need accommodation, but we won’t be staying in the dorms.”

After finishing her list, she hesitated. Li Xiao asked, “Done?”

The girl hesitated again. “Let me think…”

Li Xiao interrupted, “No need. If you’re done talking, you can leave now.”

The girl was stunned. “What do you mean? You’re a big factory owner, and you can’t even give us jobs?”

Her anger rising, she snapped, “Have you forgotten who lent your family money back then? Your father wasted all of your family’s money. If it weren’t for my grandpa, how would your grandfather have been buried? Is this how you treat your benefactors?”

Li Xiao responded with a biting tone. “Benefactors? Why don’t you mention how, right after my grandfather’s funeral, your family came and looted our home?”

He vividly remembered the scene when Lin Meiru had sat crying in the courtyard. The gold bracelet that Grandma had given her when she got married had gone missing, and later, Li Xiao saw it on Liu Xiaomei’s mother’s wrist.

“Do you know where the money for your university education came from? It was stolen from us. Don’t pretend you didn’t know.”

Liu Xiaomei’s face darkened at this. “What? We were only worried that your family wouldn’t be able to pay it back.”

Her boyfriend frowned. “Even if we’re not talking about family ties, we’re both university graduates. Do you even have college graduates working in your factory?”

Li Xiao laughed. “Really? If you’re so capable, why come to me? Go apply at a big company.”

The boy was irritated by this and, pulling his girlfriend’s hand, started to walk away. The girl was unwilling to leave and tried to continue speaking, but the boy shook her off and left by himself. “I don’t believe it. Without him, I’ll still find a job just fine!”

Across from them, Cao Wang’s wife sat awkwardly, feeling as though she had overheard something unpleasant.

Jiang Rou, on the other hand, remained calm. She poured more water for the woman and then turned to Li Xiao, asking, “Did you call Cao Wang?”

Li Xiao nodded. “He’ll be here soon.”

After a while, Cao Wang still hadn’t arrived, but several dishes had been served. Jiang Rou suggested they start eating. The two children, who seemed to have been hungry for a long time, had their stomachs growling.

Cao Wang’s wife worried they might find her family unclean, placed food into her children’s bowls, telling them to focus on what was in front of them.

An An, seeing the two boys eating by themselves, wanted to eat on her own too. Li Xiao, however, ignored her protests, pulling her onto his lap and feeding her one spoonful at a time. Though An An pouted, she obediently opened her mouth to eat.

Opposite them, Cao Wang’s wife watched An An, who looked healthy and chubby. She still remembered seeing An An in the hospital years ago. Even back then, the little girl had been well taken care of. Now, a few years later, she looked even better. Her own youngest son, although older than An An by a bit, appeared much thinner and weaker.

Her eyes reddened slightly as she thought about how much she had failed her children.

By the time Cao Wang arrived, his two kids had already finished a bowl of rice each. Jiang Rou asked Li Xiao to get more for them.

Just as Li Xiao returned with the rice, Cao Wang walked in. Upon seeing his wife and children, he frowned. “Weren’t you supposed to be at home? Why did you come all the way here?”

His tone was not pleasant.

He had been busy with work and had assumed it was something urgent when he received a call from his boss. To his frustration, it turned out to be his family showing up unexpectedly, causing him more stress.

His wife’s eyes turned red upon hearing this. “You didn’t send us any money. We can’t even afford to eat properly. Who else was I supposed to turn to?”

“Da Wa should have started school a long time ago. Mom said you have earned a lot, but the three of us are living even more miserably than before. If I don’t come over, what will happen to the two children?”

Cao Wang frowned when he heard this. “When have I ever not sent you money? My salary has been sent back every month.”

Cao Wang’s wife turned her head away. “You sent it to Mom, not to me.”

Cao Wang’s tone turned harsh. “What do you mean, sent it to Mom? Aren’t we all one family? Hurry up and go back. Will Mom really mistreat her own grandchildren?”

Tears welled up in Cao Wang’s wife’s eyes, and her voice grew louder. “Mom doesn’t only have Da Wa and Er Wa as grandsons. She has other grandchildren too. She even built a house for Xiao Shu. They eat meat every day, while my children and I can’t even get a bowl of soup…”

“What’s wrong with brothers helping each other out? You’re just being petty. My younger brother is grown up now, he really needs to build a house and get married. Mom definitely wouldn’t give all the money away. I have two children as well.”

Cao Wang’s wife trembled with anger upon hearing this.

No matter what she said, Cao Wang always sided with his mother and brother.

Seeing that the two were about to argue, Jiang Rou secretly pinched Li Xiao’s thigh under the table.

Li Xiao, who was engrossed in the conversation, winced from the pinch and had to stand up. He pulled Cao Wang back and said, “What’s wrong with you? You usually have good judgment in your work, but why are you so clueless about family matters? Look at your two children, they’re so thin from starvation. I remember your younger son was…”

“Look how tall my An An is. How come your son still doesn’t seem as tall as my An An?”

“Brothers supporting each other is normal, but you shouldn’t neglect your own family. You’re not just a son; you’re a brother, a head of the family, and a father. You need to take on the responsibility of supporting your family. Your brother’s family won’t be affected if you don’t provide, but how will your two children survive without you? If I were your wife, I would be angry too.”

Cao Wang didn’t heed his wife’s words, but he did listen to Li Xiao. Seeing his two children, thin as skeletons, did make him feel some pangs of guilt. He pressed his lips together and said to Li Xiao, “Boss, you all continue eating. I’ll take them back to the factory.”

“No need, sit down and eat with us.”

Li Xiao signaled the waiter to bring another set of chopsticks and bowls. After finishing the meal, Li Xiao drove them back to the factory. When they parted ways, Li Xiao said to him, “Speak nicely. She’s your wife, not an enemy.”

Cao Wang nodded, “Okay.”

“Our factory still needs workers. If it really comes to it, let her stay.”

Cao Wang looked at Li Xiao with gratitude. “Thank you, boss.”

Li Xiao patted him on the shoulder and left with Jiang Rou.

Once they had gone far, Jiang Rou couldn’t help but say, “I used to think Cao Wang was pretty good, but look at him now. His mother is obviously not a good person— she used his money to build a house for her younger son, and he still blames his wife. It’s really blind filial piety.”

Li Xiao responded in a normal tone, “It’s normal. In his eyes, he and his mother and brother are the family. He’s honest but not very clever.”

Jiang Rou shook her head. “His wife is really something, too. If it were me, I would have slapped him right then.”

She was furious just watching from the side.

Li Xiao laughed. He remembered what Aunt Wang had told him. It was about how Lin Meiru came to their house to find trouble but instead, had been scolded by Jiang Rou, so she left in a sorry state.

He had almost forgotten how fiery Jiang Rou’s temper could be—she had always looked gentle.

He thought it was great; he liked people with strong personalities.

—o—o—o—

Time passed quickly, and before they knew it, it was time for An An to start kindergarten.

On the first day of kindergarten, Jiang Rou and Li Xiao both accompanied her. They had agreed on everything the night before, but when they arrived at the school gate, the little one was reluctant.

At the kindergarten entrance, the sounds of children crying were overwhelming. An An, frightened by the commotion, clung to Jiang Rou and refused to let go. Jiang Rou squatted down and tried to comfort her. “We agreed last night.”

The little one clung to her and, with a tearful voice, said, “I don’t want to.”

She even reached out to push Li Xiao toward the kindergarten. “Daddy, go.”

Li Xiao wasn’t very enthusiastic about the idea of school. Seeing his daughter so scared, he couldn’t help but suggest, “How about…”

Jiang Rou glared up at him.

Li Xiao immediately fell silent.