Chapter 113: Old Man Zhao

  Zhang Qing was somewhat discomfited by Fang Haibo's words, having had it too easy for so many years and forgetting the taste of fighting with others.

  She hastily piled on more smiles and said: "I didn't mean anything else..."

  As she spoke, she looked at Old Man Zhao on the bed with a somewhat aggrieved expression. Although she was already over 50 years old, due to good maintenance, she still looked like a beautiful and elegant lady. The way she glanced at Old Man Zhao was basically the same as it was twenty years ago - charming and flirtatious, yet also pitiful. Her skill in casting flirtatious glances had not diminished one bit.

  "You guys, Aunt Zhang didn't mean anything else, we're all one family..." Zhao Lao Ye has been controlled by Zhang Qing for so many years, seeing her expression like that, he unconsciously started defending her, but immediately shut his mouth. It was the same situation back then, Xiao Yan would get angry and quarrel with him, and in a fit of anger, she drove the child away, and it's been twenty years since then.

  Zhao Shuyan didn't get angry like she used to when she was younger, and instead of arguing with Old Man Zhao, she just smiled faintly and changed the subject, asking: "Dad, how's your body been lately?"

  Old Zhao didn't expect Little Yan to be so casual about it, and he was a bit taken aback. "Good...alright."

  "As long as you're healthy, that's all that matters. Haibo and I are far away from here, and the place is also relatively backward, with inconvenient communication, so we can only come back when we have the chance. You should take care of yourself in your daily life." Zhao Shuyan said to her father who was sitting on the bed.

  "I know, I know, you're so far away and can't take care of the family, after the New Year's festival, Dad will find someone to transfer you back, it's better for a family to live together. " Old Zhao thought that what Xiaoyan just said meant asking him for help, wanting to go back to Beijing.

  Zhang Qing listened to the side and felt anxious, she had just managed to drive this stepdaughter away, how could she let her come back now? What would happen to her own two children in the future? She was so young and followed an old man, what for? She wouldn't be content until she got what she deserved.

  "You're just an old worrywart, Xiaoyan and Haibo are both capable people. I heard you all went abroad to study back then, can the treatment of returned overseas students in our country be any worse?" Zhang Qing hastily interrupted, afraid that Zhao Shuyan would agree immediately.

  Zhao Shuyan didn't even bother to look at Zhang Qing, and she pretended not to hear what he said. She only spoke with her father, "Dad, I'm not going back to Beijing. My home is no longer here. This time I came back mainly to see my mom and you. Now that I've seen your body is fine, I can rest assured."

  Old Zhao hastily asked: "Where are you now? Which unit...?"

  Zhao Shuyan sat down on the edge of the bed and slowly answered Old Man Zhao's questions, briefly telling him about her life outside for the past twenty years.

  After talking for about twenty minutes, Zhao Shuyan finished speaking and turned her head to glance at Fang Haibo, then said to Old Man Zhao, "Dad, you must take care of your body. Haibo and I will leave first. We'll come visit you again when we have the chance."

  After finishing speaking, Zhao Shuyan and Fang Haibo both stood up.

  "How can it be just a short while?!" Mr. Zhao looked at his daughter, who had returned after more than 20 years, and was about to leave again in less than 20 minutes, his heart aching with sadness.

  Zhang Qing didn't expect them to stay for just a little while, but she had always been good at concealing her emotions. She hid the joy on her face very well, and only the slightly raised corners of her mouth could reveal some subtle changes.

  "Yes, how come you're just staying for a bit? I was even preparing to pick you up tonight. Just now, I called Xiaoqiang and told him to come back early tonight." Zhang Qing said hypocritically.

  She said that Xiaoqiang is her son, Zhao Lao's stepson, Li Jiqiang. He has been helped by Zhao Lao to get into a government agency and become a civil servant, but not an official, just a basic low-level civil servant.

  "Right, you have a meal and then leave, also get together with Xiaoqiang and Xiaolong. You haven't seen each other for over 20 years, all siblings, and in the future, we need to take care of each other more." Old Man Zhao still wanted his daughter to stay longer, thinking that after he passed away, she would still have to rely on her stepson and younger son for support.

  Zhang Qing originally said it out of politeness, but unexpectedly the other person didn't say anything, yet her own family's old man jumped to conclusions, and the smile on her face couldn't be maintained, at this time she also couldn't say anything.

  "No need, we still have to go see my mom later. My mom only has me as her daughter, I don't have any brothers or sisters." Zhao Shuyan said, and without paying attention to Old Man Zhao's angry face, she said: "Dad, you take care of your own health, we're leaving first."

  After finishing, he didn't even look at Zhang Qing's fake smile and got up to leave Zhao Lao Ye's bedroom. He also ignored the young man Zhao Long sitting in the living room, opened the door and walked out of the Zhao family gate.

  Walking on the way back to Chen's house, Zhao Shuyan's emotions were a bit low, and she asked as she walked: "Do you think I'm very cold-blooded?" Just now, she could see that her father really wanted to keep her for dinner, and he really missed his daughter. She could feel those genuine feelings.

  "How could you think that? Look at Father, this is the filial piety a child should have. How can it be cold-blooded?" Fang Haibo didn't think Xiaoyan did anything wrong.

  "But just now Dad said..."

  Before Zhao Shuyan finished speaking, Fang Haibo took over and said: "Xiao Yan, you should understand that we are rushing back and forth for everyone's good."

  "Uh-huh, I know, I know..."

  Zhao Shuyan knew in her heart that although she had a good temper, there was also a bottom line. Otherwise, she wouldn't have quarreled with her father twenty years ago and left home for so many years.

  If she had agreed to her father's request and stayed home for dinner, this meal would likely be unpleasant for everyone. Not only did they dislike the shameless woman and her son who took advantage of them, but they also felt annoyed with themselves. Probably before today, they hadn't thought that they would return to this house again.

  Think about it, if thinking of oneself being comfortable would likely lead to conflicts with them, then Dad is also in a difficult situation. From the various signs today, it can be seen that Dad has been deeply poisoned by that woman and it's not something that I, as his daughter, can cure.

  If you don't want to make it difficult for your father, then you have to put yourself in a difficult position, but that's not possible either. So the best way is what we're doing now: my husband and I will go back to see our parents and then leave without having any contact with those people. This way both sides can rest assured and be satisfied.

  "Come on, Xiaofeng and Xiaoye are still waiting for us at the Chen's house!" Fang Haibo looked at Zhao Shuyan's furrowed and then relaxed eyebrows, knowing that she had understood.

  "Alright, let's go pick up the kids." Yeah, I still have kids to take care of, no need to get worked up over those people and ruin my mood, wasting my time.

  The two of them quickly walked towards the Chen's house, it was quite cold outside in this weather.

  On the way back to Jiang's home, Zhao Shuyan asked Qiu Feng and Qiu Ye what they had done at Chen's house. Qiu Feng said: "Auntie, my sister was holding her stones and looking at them, I played video games with Chen Bo."

  He said, then turned to Qiu Ye and said: "Sister, let's go home and buy a TV too. And also buy one of Chen Bo's game consoles, it's so much fun."

  Qiu Ye pulled Zhao Shuyan's hand and walked on the snowy ground, hearing her brother's words, she suddenly had an idea.

  "Brother, this idea of yours is really good. You said you like this game console so much, I'm sure our kids back home will like it too. Why don't we buy some here and sell them at a high price?" Qiu Ye was thinking about going back home in a few days and making some money during the New Year's period, and her brother's idea reminded her of this.

  "Give up on that idea, didn't you just see that the game console at Uncle Chen's house is a Japanese product? It was brought back specifically for Uncle Chen's kids from Japan. There's no place in our country where it's sold." Fang Haibo had been interested in the game console when he was at the Chen's house and had even taken it to study carefully, knowing that this thing wasn't available domestically. So when Xiaoye mentioned bringing some game consoles back to sell in Oil City, he spoke up to remind her.

  "Is that so, our country doesn't have it yet? What a pity, otherwise I would bring some back and they would definitely sell well." Qiu Ye only thought of this after hearing Fang Hai Bo's words, realizing she hadn't considered the problem of not having a place to stock up.

  "I don't think so, this thing is for sale, but it's not necessarily good to bring back, think about it, how many households in our Oil City have a color TV? This game console needs to be connected to the TV to play, if they don't have a TV, what's the point of buying a game console?" Fang Haibo reminded.

  Qiu Ye thought for a moment, although the salary of the teachers had increased this year and several families in the residential area had bought TVs, there were still not many households with TVs in the university, let alone color TVs. Even a well-off family like his adoptive father's only had a black-and-white TV. Hmm, if he could get a batch of TVs back at this time, he should be able to make some money.

  "Hey, Dad, I was thinking if we were to buy a batch of TVs and bring them back, would they sell well?" As soon as he thought of it, Qiu Ye immediately spoke out his idea. After all, his dad and mom were different from his parents, never treating him like a kid, as long as it was feasible, they would definitely support him.

  Fang Haibo listened to the child's words and really started thinking. Logically, the standard of living in Oil City is good now, with some spare money on hand. However, it's located in the north and is relatively remote. Things like TVs are not easy to sell there, and you can't even think about buying them at local department stores. If you want to buy one, you have to take a train to the provincial capital and then carry it back yourself.

  "Our colleagues were just talking about buying a TV in the office, but no one was willing to go to the big mall and carry it back to our hometown, so the matter was dropped. If we really bought several TVs back, they should be able to sell them," said Zhao Shuyan beside him.

  "Hmm, if it's TV, someone should buy it, but this matter isn't as simple as we thought, there are many issues to consider." Fang Haibo walked while thinking, the other three people didn't dare disturb him and quietly followed behind.