Zhou Xueqin's transformation after her rebirth was truly remarkable. Gu Xiao, who was supposed to return to the country in 1995, had originally planned to invest in Xiping City upon his arrival. However, due to certain circumstances, he ended up not investing a single penny in Xiping City.
Zhou Xueqin's current situation is as follows: Last year, after earning a sum of capital, she and Lu Jingyu opened a private factory in Yangcheng City, where they sourced raw materials and produced pagers. However, the pager market is currently oversaturated, so although sales are good, profits are not high.
Upon hearing that Gu Xiao would be returning to the country earlier than expected, Zhou Xueqin decisively returned to Xiping City. She had already rented a factory, obtained a business license, and registered with the Municipal Propaganda Department, all in preparation to secure this investment.
She was well-versed in the events of her previous life, even having met Gu Xiao once in the courtyard of the First Brigade. With this advantage, she was highly confident in securing the investment.
However, there was a significant obstacle to overcome.
There was a person who would cause Gu Xiao to develop a deep prejudice against the entire Hua Country. Originally, he had come with a large sum of investment funds, but ultimately decided against investing. After personally touching Su Wen's ashes, he returned to Singapore and passed away shortly after, leaving his entire estate to the local government.
Zhou Xueqin knew who this obstacle was.
But she couldn't tell Chen Meilan that she had been reborn; she had to approach the matter indirectly.
Thinking about it, she said, "You probably don't know, but there's someone from Yanguan Village who has been in contact with Gu Xiao all along. There's also a girl from our village who is currently taking care of him. Gu Xiao even arranges for someone to sweep our mother's grave and offer incense every year."
This genuinely surprised Chen Meilan.
Who could it be from Yanguan Village who had gone abroad?
And the gate of the First Brigade was always locked; who would go to offer incense? Could it be a neighbor?
But the neighbors didn't have the key either, and Chen Meilan hadn't seen anyone ask Yan Zhao for the key.
"The gate of the First Brigade is locked, and I haven't seen anyone go to offer incense to our mother," Chen Meilan said.
Zhou Xueqin explained, "The mystery lies here. The person Gu Xiao sent didn't go to the First Brigade. Isn't our mother's ashes box known only to Yan Zhao? But Gu Xiao knows. He didn't ask anyone; he guessed it based on his understanding of our mother. All these years, he has been quietly sending someone to visit the ashes box."
Chen Meilan was a bit moved by the future benefactor.
Su Wen's ashes box was placed according to Su Wen's wishes by Yan Zhao in a certain place.
That place was accessible to everyone, but not everyone could guess where it was.
Unlike Yan Peiheng, who would only ask his son where his wife's ashes box was, and would get angry if his son didn't tell him, never thinking for himself where the ashes box might be.
Gu Xiao didn't ask Yan Zhao; he guessed where Su Wen's ashes were placed on his own.
And all these years, he never mentioned it to Yan Zhao, yet he has been quietly sending someone to visit the ashes.
It seems that in terms of the soul, Gu Xiao is the one who truly understands Su Wen.
However, anyone in the village who had contact with Gu Xiao would have informed Yan Zhao immediately. Who could it be that chose to keep it a secret and quietly offer incense to Su Wen?
Chen Meilan thought hard and suddenly blurted out, "Do you think the person who has been offering incense to our mother on behalf of Gu Xiao is Yan Dongping?"
There were two landlord's offspring in Yanguan Village: Yan Xishan and Yan Dongping.
Yan Xishan, through his own efforts and struggles, had become a real private entrepreneur with a big reputation in Xiping City. Yan Dongping, on the other hand, was more unfortunate. His cousin was killed while doing business in the capital, and he himself became addicted to heroin, selling his house to Little Wang. He was now a destitute opium addict.
Yan Dongping had a sister named Yan Dongxue who had gone abroad a few years ago.
So, Yan Dongxue must have gone to Singapore and ended up with Gu Xiao.
Indeed, Zhou Xueqin was surprised by Chen Meilan's quick thinking and even suspected she might have been reborn: "Meilan, that's amazing. I haven't even said anything, how did you guess that? Do you know how to read fortunes?"
"I've been living in this village all along. I know everyone here, and I know what everyone does. What's so surprising about that?" Chen Meilan retorted.
Zhou Xueqin didn't have any more doubts.
Recalling when Zhou Xueqin first married Yan Zhao, Su Wen had said many good things to keep her in Yanguan Village. The old lady, despite her age and mental instability, even cooked for Zhou Xueqin.
Unfortunately, Zhou Xueqin despised Su Wen's poverty and left to find a powerful father-in-law in the capital, abandoning Su Wen.
Who would have known that one day, that gentle, smiling old lady would become Zhou Xueqin's biggest chip for getting rich.
But now it was too late to regret.
Zhou Xueqin then said, "Yan Dongping's cousin was killed, right? Meilan, think about it, how would Yan Dongxue describe our country to Gu Xiao? She would definitely say that our society is extremely dark and that the government is full of evil forces and protectors. Yan Peiheng has recently been promoted to commander in the military, right? Yan Dongxue would definitely portray Yan Peiheng as a huge protector, wouldn't she?"
Chen Meilan thought seriously and found that it was indeed the case.
Zhou Xueqin held Chen Meilan's hand, glanced back at Yan Zhao, and said, "I'm Little Wang and Little Lang's real mother; I won't harm you. Gu Xiao is coming, and our Xiping City is currently in chaos. If something happens on his way here, he might get upset. Yan Dongping is a troublemaker. When Gu Xiao returns, the first person he will meet is Yan Dongping. That man has no conscience. Even though his cousin was killed and Yan Peiheng stood up for him, he and Yan Dongxue will work together to portray Yan Peiheng and Yan Zhao as demons, the biggest evil forces in the country. So we can't let him meet Gu Xiao. Talk to Yan Zhao and think of a way to plant some drugs on Yan Dongping and send him to jail before Gu Xiao arrives. What do you think?"
Sometimes Chen Meilan felt sorry for Zhou Xueqin but couldn't help but feel pity for her.
Everyone has a mouth, used for eating and speaking. Who can stop it?
Yan Dongping's cousin's death was avenged by Yan Peiheng, and Yan Dongping could slander Yan Zhao and his father, but Chen Meilan also had a mouth. Couldn't she explain the situation?
To avoid trouble, if Yan Zhao really planted drugs on Yan Dongping and sent him to jail, wouldn't Yan Zhao become the real protector?
Thinking of this, Chen Meilan firmly refused, "You go ask Yan Zhao about this. I can't do it; I'm too scared of him."
If Zhou Xueqin dared to make such a ridiculous request to Yan Zhao, why would she have to go around telling Chen Meilan all this?
"You're still so timid and afraid of trouble, never changing," Zhou Xueqin scolded Chen Meilan for not striving, stamping her feet in anger.
After hesitating for a long time, the temptation of money was greater. Zhou Xueqin then asked Chen Meilan, "Do you know where our mother's ashes box is? You've been married to Yan Zhao, haven't you asked him about this?"
When Gu Xiao arrives, he will head straight to the place where Su Wen's ashes are kept. There, he will be misled by Yan Dongping and Yan Dongxue, and he won't even attend the government-hosted reception.
He will visit the First Brigade, take a look around, and then return directly to Singapore.
Then the old man will die.
When the man is dead, the tea is cold, and what investment is there to talk about?
If all else fails, Zhou Xueqin will go to the place where Su Wen's ashes are kept to intercept Gu Xiao and secure the investment.
Regarding this, Chen Meilan still replied, "I don't know this either. You go ask Deputy Director Yan yourself; I don't dare to ask."
Zhou Xueqin knew Chen Meilan was soft-spoken, but she didn't expect her to be so afraid of Yan Zhao.
After glaring at Chen Meilan for a long time, she finally said angrily, "If I ask him, I might as well ask Yan Dongping." Yan Dongping is a drug addict; giving him some drugs might make him reveal the address.
Asking Yan Zhao would just be asking for a scolding.
After talking for so long, Zhou Xueqin was thirsty and hadn't gained any benefits from Chen Meilan. She had to make a demand: "Meilan, you can't do anything else, but I have one request you must agree to. I want to take Little Wang and Little Lang back to my parents' house for a few days to show them some love."
She had money now, returning home in glory, and wanted to spend some time with her two sons, showing them some affection.
This was a reasonable request.
Yan Xishan came to visit Yuanyuan. Out of three applications in a month, Chen Meilan would allow one visit.
Zhou Xueqin, being the birth mother, had the same rights as Yan Xishan.
Unlike adults who overthink things, children don't hold grudges; they only remember kindness.
Take Yuanyuan for example - she used to fear Yan Xishan and wanted nothing to do with him, but now she loves him dearly, holding both her birth father and stepfather in equal regard.
It wouldn't be right to prevent Zhou Xueqin from seeing Little Wang and Little Lang, but given what happened when Yan Xishan took the children, Chen Meilan was hesitant to let Zhou Xueqin take them out.
Even if Yan Zhao firmly refused, Chen Meilan knew she had to let the children have a say, particularly Little Wang's opinion.
"Little Wang, what do you think? Do you want to go?" Chen Meilan asked.
Yan Zhao was pouring tea for his former father-in-law, his voice deep and authoritative: "Visiting is fine, but taking them out is not."
"We won't stay overnight. Can't we at least have a meal together? I can see you're living quite frugally. I have money - why can't I treat the children to a nice meal?" Zhou Xueqin raised her voice.
"They don't lack for food," Yan Zhao coldly refused.
Zhou Xueqin stood up abruptly and called out: "Little Wang, come on, let's go eat!"
With a birth father, birth mother, and stepmother involved, the children were in the most awkward position. They were like objects being fought over, with no one asking how they felt.
Little Wang kept looking outside because of that Subor Learning Machine.
When Zhou Xueqin called out to him, he saw his father's stern look of disapproval and quickly turned away.
But the child was still curious about the Subor Learning Machine, and because Zhou Xueqin had been cheerful this time, neither hitting nor scolding him, but instead bringing many clothes, his heart had softened a bit.
The child hesitated, unsure whether he should go out with his birth mother.
Seeing Yan Zhao's continued stubbornness, Zhou Xueqin picked up a plastic bag and said proudly: "Look, shoes for the children. I bought five pairs each for Little Lang and Little Wang. And look at these clothes - I brought them a whole bag. After bringing so many things, why can't I take them out for a meal?"
Just as Yan Zhao was about to speak, the courtyard gate slowly opened.
First, a fist-sized wrapped zongzi leaf swayed in.
Then came a small sandal with a tendon sole, followed by a chubby little leg in floral shorts.
Finally, Little Lang's whole head appeared.
Looking back, he was waving with a smile: "Goodbye, Auntie Qi."
It turned out that earlier, Qi Songlu and Yan Wei had grown tired of waiting for Chen Meilan to return, so they had taken Little Lang out for a meal. Little Lang had a good appetite and was definitely a quality third wheel. From the lamb in hot pot to the stuffed pasta skin, then honey-flavored cold zongzi and ice cream, when he couldn't eat anymore, he asked his second uncle for a popsicle. He even bought a honey-flavored cold zongzi for his mom. Now Qi Songlu was dropping him home.
Little Lang had grown into a fair-skinned, tall, and chubby little boy, taller than his peers.
With a popsicle in one hand and a honey-flavored cold zongzi in the other, this outing had been quite fruitful.
Standing at the courtyard gate, he smiled contentedly with a sigh before turning around.
The child was born to Zhou Xueqin, and in her memory, Little Lang had always been sickly. Seeing him now so healthy, innocent, and adorable, how could she not feel love?
Taking a few steps forward, Zhou Xueqin reached out to pat Little Lang's head: "Son, mommy has missed you so much."
Little Lang had completely forgotten Zhou Xueqin, and the only mother he had ever known was Chen Meilan.
Finding this auntie strange, he bounced over to Chen Meilan.
Passing by the shoes on the ground, he sniffed and instinctively said, "Ugh, smelly!"
Those were the leather shoes Zhou Xueqin had brought. The smell wasn't noticeable when the plastic bag was closed, but once opened, a strong odor of synthetic leather wafted out.
Walking up to Chen Meilan, he first gave her the zongzi, then pulled at her, wanting to whisper something.
Zhou Xueqin quickly pulled out another hundred-yuan note, trying to give it to Little Lang: "Yan Minglang, you're a good boy. If your brother doesn't want to go, that's fine, but would you like to go out to eat with mommy?"
Little Lang turned to look at Zhou Xueqin, his eyes falling on the money.
Since he could remember, whenever Little Lang was well-behaved, Chen Meilan would buy him whatever he wanted to eat, drink, or play with. So unlike Little Wang, he had developed a completely different personality and didn't care about money at all.
His eyes barely lingered on the money before he tugged at Chen Meilan, constantly nuzzling against her: "Mama, I have something really important to tell you."
Zhou Xueqin was already divorced and remarried.
She knew that if she wanted the best for her sons, she needed to be careful with her words and try to encourage their closeness with Chen Meilan.
But Little Lang's affectionate behavior toward Chen Meilan still triggered her.
In a moment of impulse, she said: "Yan Minglang, I'm your mother too. I gave birth to you."
Little Lang was even more protective of Chen Meilan than Yuanyuan was. After all, being the youngest, he was the most indulged by Chen Meilan, and this child truly believed in his heart that Chen Meilan was his birth mother.
He was quite proud of this fact, and turning back while touching Chen Meilan's belly, he said seriously: "Auntie shouldn't lie to children. I came from this mama's belly."
Little Lang had escaped illness in this life, and Zhou Xueqin was very grateful for that.
She didn't believe the responsibility for the child's previous illness lay with her, and always thought of herself as a good mother. She believed she had only been unkind to her children in the past because she had no money, but now that she had money, she wanted to be good to them.
She even thought of herself as an extremely kind person. In fact, she was also good to Lu Erniu and Lu Dabao, paying for them to attend the best boarding schools.
She was the world's most competent stepmother.
And when visiting her own children, she naturally controlled her temper, knowing that only this way would Chen Meilan not despise her children the way she despised Lu Dabao and Lu Erniu.
But Little Lang still managed to provoke her anger: "Meilan, Yan Zhao and I may be divorced, but I'm not dead. Who told my son that you gave birth to him?"
Aggressively, she first looked at Yan Zhao, then at Chen Meilan.
This time Zhou Xueqin felt she was in the right, and questioned further: "Yan Zhao, let me ask you, how would Yan Xishan feel if you claimed you gave birth to his daughter?" She continued: "Yanguan Village is still your hometown, shall we call the village elders to judge this matter?"
Where was the shame in claiming someone else's son as your own?
At this moment, Zhou Xueqin finally stood on the moral high ground.
Just then, Little Lang finally pulled Chen Meilan down to whisper, telling her some explosive news: "Mama, I saw Wang Yuhan today."
When Chen Meilan heard Wang Yuhan's name, she immediately bristled, asking: "Where is she?"
Little Lang said: "On the fifth floor of the People's Department Store. Her father is selling pagers."
Knowing what matters most, Chen Meilan immediately grabbed Little Lang's hand and called back to Yan Zhao: "Third Brother, we found the person who hit our child. Let's go confront them."
Zhou Xueqin, not knowing what had happened, grabbed Chen Meilan: "Meilan, don't be too unreasonable. I must take my son out today. I need to have a meal with him."
Chen Meilan, suppressing her anger, said: "Little Lang was beaten up, and we've been looking for that troublemaker. Now that we've found them, we need to talk to their parents."
Zhou Xueqin didn't know the details of Little Lang being beaten.
If she had known, she would certainly have been angry too.
But at this moment, in her eyes, Little Lang was so well-behaved, adorable, and obedient, just like a little bunny.
She thought, what child doesn't get hit sometimes? Couldn't such a small matter wait?
So she said: "What child doesn't get hit sometimes? I'll give Little Lang a hundred yuan to buy a stick and hit back tomorrow. Today he must have dinner with me first. I want to shower him with love."
For Chen Meilan and Yan Zhao, everything should be handled reasonably.
After all, as adults, they couldn't just start arguing immediately.
Although Chen Meilan had decided in that instant that she absolutely wouldn't let Zhou Xueqin take Little Lang out.
But what she never expected was that the first person to explode would be Little Wang.
In an instant, the child pushed open the window and jumped out, grabbing the large cardboard box containing the Subor Learning Computer. He rushed out of the courtyard gate, throwing it away, and then let out a heart-wrenching roar: "Zhou Xueqin, leave! Get out of here and never come back!"
This was her own son, yelling at her, cursing her, and telling her to get out?
Zhou Xueqin was stunned at this moment, and immediately shouted in anger: "Yan Wangqi, you ungrateful wretch, you worthless thing, what did you just call me? How dare you tell me to leave?"
"I called you Zhou Xueqin. We don't need your food or your things, just get out!" Little Wang pointed towards the door, his chest puffed up high, tears welling in his eyes, but he stubbornly refused to let them fall.
"Ungrateful wretch," Zhou Xueqin instinctively added.
She didn't realize those three words cut into Little Wang's heart like a thousand knives.
She also didn't understand why this usually obedient and quiet child suddenly exploded, and she still thought it was all Chen Meilan's fault.
Look at him now, crying and running to Chen Meilan, saying: "Mom, I don't want to eat with that woman, and Little Lang won't go either. We won't eat her food."
Zhou Xueqin was completely enraged and reached out to grab Little Wang: "I gave birth to you. If you keep treating your birth mother like this, I'll go back to court with Yan Zhao and fight to get you back to teach you a proper lesson."
"Get out!" Little Wang's heart-wrenching roar startled the sparrows in the locust tree behind the courtyard, causing them to flutter away in an instant.
Zhou Xueqin was so angry her scalp tingled, and she suddenly raised her hand to slap him: "Worthless thing, ungrateful wretch!"
In fact, if Zhou Xueqin hadn't been so impulsive and had spoken reasonably, Chen Meilan would have convinced Yan Zhao to let her have a meal with the children.
If she had behaved better, like Yan Xishan, Chen Meilan might have even taken a day off from home to let her spend time with the children.
But with one shout after another, calling them worthless and ungrateful, even Chen Meilan became angry.
On the steps lay a pile of clothes and shoes that Zhou Xueqin had brought.
Two small leather shoes were scattered on the ground, the ones Little Lang had wrinkled his nose at earlier, saying they smelled bad.
Chen Meilan picked up the shoes, smelled them herself first, then thrust them under Zhou Xueqin's nose: "Tell me, how much did these shoes cost?"
"Eighty yuan a pair, what about it? I'm willing to spend money on my son. These are brand-name shoes," Zhou Xueqin said in a raised voice.
Chen Meilan suddenly tore the shoe apart – a leather shoe ripped into two halves, revealing that the inside wasn't leather at all, but a layer of flimsy rubber-like material. The outside smelled bad, but after tearing it open, the inside had an even worse stench like burnt tires or burning hair.
"These are fake brand-name shoes, they're called 'dawn-to-dusk shoes' or 'one-day shoes.' Only conscienceless, corrupt merchants sell these. They fall apart after one day of wear. You claim these eight-yuan shoes cost eighty yuan, and what about these clothes?" Chen Meilan said, pulling out a piece of clothing from the plastic bag and shoving it under Zhou Xueqin's nose. "Smell it yourself. Isn't it foul?"
"New clothes always smell. The patterns are painted with oil paint, of course they smell," Zhou Xueqin said matter-of-factly.
Chen Meilan glared at Zhou Xueqin and pressed on: "You think it's okay for your son to smell such toxic paint?"
Zhou Xueqin was stunned, not comprehending.
Zhou's father stuttered, seeing the two women arguing, and wanted to step forward to intervene.
But Yan Zhao held his former father-in-law back with his large hand, preventing him from getting up.
The two women looked like they were about to fight, but at that moment, Chen Meilan turned and went into the bedroom. She pulled out Little Lang's injury photos, ultrasound reports, X-rays, and various medical records from the bedside table. Finding last year's blood test report, she came back out and handed it to Zhou Xueqin.
"Look at this yourself. This is Little Lang's blood test from last year. The child's platelet count has always been very low, only improving somewhat this year. The doctors in the capital warned us that he can't be exposed to paint or rubber fumes because those things contain formaldehyde that can make him sick – leukemia! If you want to see the children, just see them. Why did you bring so many toxic things? Are you trying to poison my son?"
Little Wang stood behind her as she shielded him with one hand while pointing at Zhou Xueqin's nose with the other, emphasizing each word: "This is my son. If you dare call him worthless or ungrateful again, I swear I'll slap you right out of this courtyard."
Zhou Xueqin stared at the fierce woman before her, dumbfounded.
Was this really the same timid, honest, and simple Chen Meilan she knew?
