Chapter 171: Reminiscence
Translator: Lonelytree
When Gong Tianhao helped Old Master Gong to Xiao Lingyu’s house, he was surprised to see that their house was filled with flowers and plants.
In his memory, no one in the countryside would have the leisure to plant flowers in their courtyard. Most of them would plant small vegetables for more income. More importantly, the flowers at the Xiao Family were well taken care of.
“Wait, this is giant crinum lily!” The old master saw a pot of flowers, and he was exceptionally excited. “This is a waste of God’s gift to plant them here just like that.”
It was just five or six in the afternoon. The sky was bright. The old master was not blind. At a glance, he saw the many different flowers in the yard.
“This is the orchid, sword-leaved cymbidium!
“And this here is the chrysanthemum, Si Zang Zhu Lian!”
The old master was excited when he saw these expensive flowers. However, his heart ached because these precious flowers were placed so casually in the yard or on the wall. But to his surprise, they were raised so well.
Xiao Zhengyang saw how excited Old Master Gong was, and he was confused, “Sir, what are you talking about? We, the village folks, don’t know anything about flowers. We picked them from the mountain, and some were abandoned by others.”
When Old Master Gong heard this, he sighed. This family had such good luck. They went up the mountain to pick some random flowers, and they were so of such precious varieties.
Old Master Gong asked curiously, “Does your family like flowers that much?”
Xiao Zhengyang smiled, “My Yu ‘Er has liked flowers since she was young. When she saw beautiful flowers in the mountains, she would dig them up. When she went around the village and saw flowers other families threw away, she would pick them back to plant. Strangely enough, she was able to raise all the plants from death. The villagers called her the flower goddess jokingly.”
Old Master Gong asked with great interest, “So you let your daughter plant all these because she likes flowers?” In the countryside, the villagers relied on the land to survive. The work was long and tiring. During the high season, even children had to go down to the field to help. Farmers normally wouldn’t allow their children to waste time on useless hobbies like raising flowers. So, Old Master Gong could tell immediately that this family was different.
When Xiao Zhengyang heard Old Master Gong’s question, he said seriously, “Sir, this is a child’s hobby. We parents naturally have to support it!”
Xiao Zhengyang was very open-minded. Other families would do everything to control their children, but Father Xiao and Mother Xiao didn’t share that philosophy. As long as their children didn’t do anything bad or illegal, they wouldn’t stop them. In fact, they would support them.
“Haha…” Old Master Gong laughed loudly in a good mood. “You’re right.”
‘This whole family is very interesting.’
“Lingyu, I didn’t expect your parents to be so open-minded!” Jiang Tao told Xiao Lingyu. But when he turned around, he noticed that Xiao Lingyu’s face was a little pale, and her entire body was trembling. He immediately asked with concern, “Lingyu, What’s Wrong?”
Jiang Tao’s words immediately attracted the attention of others.
Xiao Zhengyang noticed his daughter was not acting right, and he moved to ask, “Yu ‘Er, are you alright? Are you not feeling well?”
Xiao Lingyu was jolted awake by Jiang Tao’s words. When she came back to her senses, she met Father Xiao’s worried gaze. Xiao Lingyu shook her head and said, “Dad, I’m fine.”
“Yu ‘Er, your face looks pale. Are you really fine?” Father Xiao said worriedly, “If you’re not feeling well, you should go back to your room and rest.”
“But…” Xiao Lingyu looked at the people in the courtyard and hesitated. As the host, she couldn’t just abandon the guest. Plus, Jiang Tao, Li Yuanhang, and Gong Tianhao were technically her guests.
Old Master Gong said, “Girl, if you don’t feel so well, you should go rest.”
Xiao Lingyu nodded and said, “I’m sorry, Sir. Forgive me for my rudeness. I’ll need to retire first.”
“Of course. You should rest if you’re not feeling well.” Old Master Gong said politely. “We are the ones disturbing anyway.”
Xiao Lingyu returned to her room.
Li Yuanhang and Gong Tianhao were a little confused.
When they saw Xiao Lingyu this morning, she was energetic and full of energy. However, after seeing Gong Tianhao, her condition became very abnormal. After seeing Old Master Gong, her condition worsened.
Of course, they didn’t ask Xiao Lingyu. Plus, Jiang Tao was there.
As soon as Xiao Lingyu returned to her room, she immediately locked the door. She leaned against the door, tears streaming down the corners of her eyes.
‘So, is that why those things happened in my previous life?’
At that time, she didn’t understand why Lan Hongxing suddenly brought people to their house. They snatched the valuable furniture and most of the flowers and plants in the yard.
Her brother and father fought with them, but they were outnumbered. Father Xiao was beaten until he vomited blood, while her brother’s leg was directly broken.
By then, the Chen Family had already sucked the Xiao Family dry. The Xiao Family had no savings left, and they had racked up a lot of debt.
Father Xiao was heavily injured, and Xiao Lingye’s leg was broken. Mother Xiao went around borrowing money, but no one dared to borrow her any money. Mother Xiao pleaded with her maiden family, but the money she got was not enough to heal two seriously injured men. The hospital wouldn’t treat them without money.
Grandpa Xiao and the others received the news and rushed back. When they saw this situation, they were angry, anxious, and distressed. The family didn’t say anything else and immediately raised the money and paid the medical expenses.
However, it was already too late by then. Father Xiao and Brother Xiao were left to deal with lingering side effects. Father Xiao had injured his head and lungs. From time to time, he would have a headache and cough. Every time, it sounded like he was going to hack his lungs out.
Xiao Lingyu’s little brother limped as he walked. It became his lifelong disability.
Speaking of, Xiao Lingyu owed her little brother, Xiao Lingye, a lot.
In his previous life, Xiao Lingyu’s return from City Z affected Xiao Lingye greatly. He performed badly during the university entrance exam. He had not even reached the mark of a second-tier college.
Father and Mother Xiao wanted Xiao Lingye to repeat his students and retake the exam. However, during this repeat year, Xiao Lingye’s leg was broken, and he became disabled.
Xiao Lingye was devastated. He gave up and became extremely dispirited.
It was Grandpa Xiao who came to his rescue. He reminded Xiao Lingye that the whole family was now relying on him. If he gave up, who was going to protect his family? Was he going to allow the Chen Family to bully them forever?
A person could be physically deficient but not mentally deficient.
“Ye ‘Er, if you throw in the towel, do you plan to watch your mother support this house on her own?” Grandpa Xiao was a very wise person. He was still alive, and with his orders, his other sons would help his second son. However, if his second son’s family refused to bounce back, once Grandpa Xiao was gone, his other sons would have objections.
Even if his other sons didn’t say anything, for now, Grandpa Xiao knew that resentment was already bubbling among his daughters-in-law and grandchildren. For the sake of family harmony, he needed to make sure that his second son’s family rose from this tribulation.
Ever since Grandpa Xiao came back home, the Xiao Family did become more peaceful. The Chen Family still came to cause trouble, but they were all chased away by Grandpa Xiao and Grandma Xiao.
Grandpa Xiao said directly, “If you want to cause trouble, then let’s go to City Z to cause trouble.
“Didn’t you say my Yu ‘Er betray that Chen Ran and thus owe you guys? Alright then, let’s go to City Z to confront Chen Ran. We’ll know the truth then.
“Since your Chen Ran is already married, why do you still come to my second son’s place to find problems? You used all kinds of excuses to ask for compensation and even injure people.
“Chen Dahua, Lan Erying, don’t think I don’t know what you’re planning. Fine, if you want to make a scene, then let’s make a big scene. Get Chen Ran to come back. If he doesn’t want to come back, we’ll go find him.
“Ten years of love, and he won’t be satisfied until his former lover’s family is ruined? All the while, he is living in luxury with his new wife.”
Chen Dahua and Lan Erying were shocked by Grandpa Xiao’s threat to find Chen Ran in City Z.
Why? Because they were guilty.
