Chapter 451: Chapter 262 Xu’s mother: Wouldn’t it be terrible if he liked both?
Uncle scratched his head, he couldn’t really rember, but since his eldest nephew said so, it must be right.
Adults digging in the fields for food, if they could recognize the children from their own family, that was already not bad. They didn’t have the energy to observe other people’s children, especially since she transferred away in junior high.
Nowadays, children grow up so quickly, changing every year.
Uncle took another careful look at Lin Wanzhou in front of him, but couldn’t at all connect her with the little girl from the old Lin Family, thinking to himself how much a girl can change as she grows.
However, he rembered that the old Lin head and his spouse had both passed away six or seven years ago.
Xu Qingyan placed the luggage on the car, sat in the passenger seat, and Lin Wanzhou took the back seat.
Uncle expertly started the vehicle and sped out of the urban area toward the direction of the county town.
“Hongqi Road… They’re fixing the road over by Hongqi Road, it’s unsafe to travel at night, so we have to take a detour through Pingsha county.” Uncle said sowhat shyly.
“They’ve been repairing it since May or June, isn’t it fixed yet?”
As the car left the urban edge and entered the county town, Uncle ticulously steered the wheel, his eyes focused within the reach of the headlights, the ground frozen a pale white.
He sighed, “They said there’s been so issue with the person in charge, so it won’t be fixed until after the new year.”
Lin Wanzhou listened to their conversation without saying a word. She just turned and looked through the car window at the unfamiliar night scene that didn’t match her mories, her eyes filled with bewildernt.
Xu Qingyan glanced at her, then quickly turned his gaze away and explained.
“The city has changed quite a bit in the last few years, and Pingsha county isn’t quite the sa as before. Lots of old houses have been demolished, and quite a few new buildings have been constructed.”
“Oh, no wonder.” Lin Wanzhou nodded.
The county town is a complex web of social connections, a small world for hundreds of thousands of people, all controlled by those with power and influence, who distribute wealth and resources.
Power and influence are too broad terms, to put it simply, it’s a matter of over two hundred officials big and small, dozens of businessn, and a few figures from the underworld. These people form the ecology of the county town.
Ordinary citizens have difficulty getting in touch with them and generally don’t feel much about it. But anyone who’s been cheated or taken a fall in the county town will have their sentints.
As the saying goes, “With a weak mother, one becos a rchant; with a strong father, an official’s attendant. Preserve your family na in your hotown, but if born poor, seek fortunes in another land.”
For soone like Xu Qingyan, staying in a small county town for a lifeti, they’d never have a chance to shine. Only by heading to the big cities could they strive for more fairness.
He ca ho mainly to sort out the matter with Li Yang, to pay extra for a lawyer and get the process done. For a case without controversy, a direct lawsuit would suffice.
To get the family property back and then sell it would settle the matter.
Getting the money that rightfully belonged to her would be enough for Li Yang to last until she was financially independent. If she wished, she could probably manage to pursue a master’s or even a PhD.
After a shaky two hours in the second-hand Toyota, they finally arrived ho.
Xu Qingyan turned his head and suddenly said, “We’re almost there.”
Lin Wanzhou in the back seat abruptly looked up, gazing out into the dark foggy night. A few houses in the distance still had lights on, two of which were not far apart.
“We’ve arrived?” She seed sowhat nervous.
The bumpy ride was uncomfortable, and she hadn’t really thought it through. Only now did she realize she was about to et Xu Qingyan’s mother, and even though she had t her before, she now felt nervous.
“Yeah, give my mom a call.”
Before he could make a call, one of the more lavishly decorated gates opened. The car headlights shone over and stretched Zhang Hongi’s shadow on the wall infinitely long.
“Oh, no need to call then.” Xu Qingyan got out of the car, slamming the door shut, and called out, “Mom.”
Zhang Hongi took a very brief look at her grown son, a hint of joy in her eyes. After nodding her head, she didn’t look at Xu Qingyan for another second but headed straight for Lin Wanzhou.
Xu Qingyan: “????”
“Ah, Zhouzhou’s back, that darn kid should have told earlier.” Zhang Hongi took Lin Wanzhou’s hand, treating her as if she were her own daughter.
“I did tell you.” Xu Qingyan said.
“You told squat! You only told yesterday!” Zhang Hongi turned her head and glared at Xu Qingyan, speaking irritably, “You’re so busy you don’t even have ti to give a heads up.”
Xu Qingyan was speechless; how could one bring this up in advance?
Lin Wanzhou wasn’t the kind of person with a stable job, what if sothing ca up and she couldn’t make it? If he ntioned it early, it would just be getting their hopes up for no reason, of course it couldn’t be said early.
Lin Wanzhou felt a bit out of place being pulled by Zhang Hongi, but catching a glimpse of Xu Qingyan looking thwarted made her feel slightly amused, and she pursed her lips.
It was a classic case of everyone having their match; even Xu Qingyan was left without anything to say.
It being very late, Uncle politely declined Xu Qingyan’s invitation to co inside for a drink. Steering the wheel downhill, he headed straight ho, and Xu Qingyan watched the taillights disappear before turning back.
After realizing Xu Qingyan wasn’t short of money, Zhang Hongi had spent quite a bit on renovating the house. In her words, since getting married was inevitable, it’d be too late if they waited a couple more years.
The yard, including the entire house, was originally quite clean, and now with the renovation, it looked even more beautiful. It was unlike those popular bed-and-breakfasts, the materials used were genuinely high quality.
“Getting married…” Xu Qingyan shook his head.
He had just walked into the living room when he suddenly sensed sothing odd in the atmosphere. Looking up, he saw three people sitting in the living room, his mom, Lin Wanzhou, and Li Yang in her thick pajamas.
Li… Yang?
Xu Qingyan turned his head as thoughts rapidly flashed through his mind. That’s right… Li Yang. He’d been so busy he’d completely forgotten that Li Yang was on vacation.
The university had been on break for a while, and his house probably had been just the two of them for this period. Oh, just the two of them? Then what was he?
He shook his head, cleared his thoughts, and looked again, still feeling the atmosphere was a bit strange.
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