Chapter 401: Chapter 401: Eldest Brother Gu’s Decision
When Mr. Mu came downstairs, Mu Shan was getting ready to leave. "Sir, I’ve finished eating. I’ll be heading out now."
"Mmm. Take good care of Ziquan. Tell his mother that her husband wants her to rest easy."
"Got it." Mu Shan drove off after saying his piece. He didn’t dare ride his motorcycle anymore.
"Qingtong, ask Aunt Li to add two more dishes. Let’s eat." Mr. Mu’s heart ached seeing his daughter’s red, swollen eyes.
"Cheng Rong, you and your brothers shouldn’t go to work or school tomorrow.
Wait until your cousin gets your father out, then you can decide which city to work in.
Your family should leave the Imperial City for now and go to another city to work and study."
"Grandpa, it’s all because we’re useless. We’ve made you worry." Wang Chengrong was very satisfied with his grandfather’s arrangements.
He could already imagine the scene tomorrow at his workplace—being drowned in everyone’s gossip.
"Sigh! People’s hearts are unpredictable. It’s Wang Yuting who was too greedy. You really aren’t to blame for this. If anyone’s to blame, it’s your mother for being too kind!
And it’s also my fault, your grandpa, for spoiling your mother too much and letting her remain ignorant of how sinister people can be.
Wang Yuting had designs on your cousin for a long time. I warned her several times, telling her it was impossible for your cousin to marry her. That’s what made her so resentful."
Mr. Mu sighed several times in a row. ’If Ziquan hadn’t been injured and paralyzed in bed, would Wang Yuting have dared to cause such a ruckus?
His daughter, son-in-law, and their sons were all bookish types who didn’t know how the world worked. To put it nicely, they were honest people.
In Jiaojiao’s words, they were fucking idiots, far too pedantic!’
Mu Qingtong came out of the kitchen and into the dining room just in time to hear her father’s words, and her tears started flowing again uncontrollably.
"Dad, you taught me to be magnanimous and benevolent. What’s wrong with that? The only one to blame is that ungrateful wolf! She’s the one who’s too vicious."
"Yes, the ungrateful wolf is too vicious. From now on, she can reform herself in prison." Mr. Mu was old and couldn’t bear to see his daughter so sad.
"Then what about He Ming? He was framed by that ungrateful wolf... WAHHH..."
"Since He Ming was framed, of course he’ll be released. Qingtong, stop crying and sit down to eat."
"Mom, Grandpa said our cousin will get Dad out in a couple of days. How about we leave the Imperial City?" Wang Chengyao didn’t want to study in the Imperial City anymore either.
"Leave the Imperial City? Then where would we go?" Mu Qingtong was in a difficult position. She really didn’t want to leave her father and nephew.
"Everyone sit down and eat. We’ll discuss it after He Ming is out. It’s also fine if you don’t leave the Imperial City."
’He Ming might be fired from his job and expelled from the Party, since Wang Yuting has backers, too. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have dared to be so audacious.’
But Mr. Mu didn’t mention these things to his daughter or grandsons. Their world was too simple.
Su Shuochi hung up the phone and sat staring blankly beside it. His wife wasn’t home, and he had no appetite for the sumptuous dinner he had prepared.
Still, he went to the dining table, picked up his chopsticks, and forced down a bowl of rice. If he let himself go hungry, Jiaojiao would be upset.
’She had said that his heart and his body both belonged to her, so to make her happy, he had to eat on time.’
After eating, Su Shuochi received calls from Grandpa Gu and Mr. Gu. He could only tell them the truth: Jiaojiao was in the hospital.
After hanging up, he received a call from his own parents. This time, he had to lie, saying Jiaojiao had gone back to her parents’ home for the weekend.
He was waiting at home specifically for his parents’ call. He still had to go to his father-in-law’s house later, and Jiaojiao would call them herself tomorrow.
Su Qinchun clutched the phone, hesitating, but in the end, she only said, "Brother, I’m hanging up then. Make sure my sister-in-law calls home tomorrow, okay?"
"Mmm."
Loneliness washed over Su Shuochi as soon as he hung up. But it wasn’t convenient for him to go to the hospital for fear of exposing Jiaojiao’s identity.
’It was destined to be a lonely, sleepless night. Might as well go do some drawing!’
「Qing City, the Su residence.」
Su Qinchun had a bellyful of things she wanted to tell her sister-in-law, but of all nights, her sister-in-law didn’t answer the phone this evening.
She had only found out today, while selling jianbing guozi with Dong Qiming and his sister, that Eldest Brother Gu had actually returned to Qing City.
Dong Qiming’s father was a bureau chief, so he naturally knew a lot of inside information. His current stepmother was pregnant.
To please his young, pampered wife, his father would come home and tell her about things happening at his workplace, and so he and his sister would overhear some of it.
His stepmother was a teacher and fairly kind-hearted, or at least she treated him and his sister very well on the surface for now.
Ever since the family assets were divided, his stepmother would come home from work and cook for their family of four.
His sister would naturally help in the kitchen after coming home from school. The family of four was happy and harmonious, and their daily life was even more pleasant than when their biological mother had been around.
Dong Qiming learned from his father that the Song Family had sued Sheng Yueyue, accusing her of disrespecting her elders and crippling her mother-in-law.
In the end, it was Second Brother Sheng of the Sheng Family who took the blame and went to prison. Sheng Yueyue had originally planned to flee Qing City and find her mother in Yun City.
But Sheng Yueyue got wind from somewhere that her adoptive brother was the new second-in-command at the prison.
So she went crying to Eldest Brother Gu. Originally, Eldest Brother Gu had returned to Qing City to become the second-in-command of a certain prison.
After Sheng Yueyue’s performance of crying, begging, and kneeling, Eldest Brother Gu’s heart softened, and he agreed to help her.
The final result was that the Song Family was willing to settle privately and release Second Brother Sheng, but they demanded that Eldest Brother Gu give up his position as second-in-command.
Without the Gu Family around to restrain him, Eldest Brother Gu let himself go and helped his adoptive sister to his heart’s content.
With Eldest Brother Gu’s help, Song Zijin was prevented from divorcing her, and her second brother was released.
So for the time being, she was living a life of success and satisfaction again. She had gained a lot of face in front of Second Brother Sheng and looked down on him even more.
Meanwhile, Eldest Brother Gu went from being second-in-command to a prison guard, clocking in and out with the inmates every day. Aside from eating slightly better food, there wasn’t much difference between him and them.
Eldest Brother Gu thought that with his abilities, he would get promoted again quickly, and then he could go home and show off to his family.
But year after year, his situation didn’t change. Forget going home, he didn’t even have the face to call them. But that’s a story for later.
When Dong Qiming learned of Eldest Brother Gu’s current situation, he really wanted to share it with his cousin, but he didn’t have Gu Jiaojiao’s phone number.
So he could only tell Su Qinchun. He was so happy telling the story; he felt like their jianbing guozi business was especially good that day because of it.
Su Qinchun felt both happy and sad hearing it. She felt it wasn’t worth it for her sister-in-law’s brother, and so she became a little worried.
So as soon as she packed up her stall and went home, she wanted to call her sister-in-law right away, but who would have known that her sister-in-law had gone back to her parents’ house.
’Sister-in-law probably already knows about this, right?’
But how could Eldest Brother Gu have the face to tell his family? He did call home, though.
On the call, he just told his grandpa and parents that he was safe and sound, saying that he had started work without a hitch.
Ever since his eldest son had insisted on going to Qing City, Mr. Gu hadn’t held much hope for him.
If his son didn’t bring it up, they didn’t ask. They would exchange a few pleasantries and then hang up.
The Gu Family’s second son, Gu Jingtai, didn’t need them to worry about him either. He had a very active mind.
Whatever he wanted to do, he would always discuss it with his grandfather and parents first. When they didn’t understand something, he would go ask his younger sister.
For such a diligent and studious person who always consulted with his family, it would be strange if he didn’t succeed.
