Chapter 627: Chapter 625: Kindhearted Father (Part 4)
Sometimes, Zhuo Qiaoqing wondered whether Wei Yue was too sensible or too shrewd, perhaps both. It was undeniable that Wei Yue was a clever child.
If it weren’t for Ran Zhengfeng between them, she might have sympathized with the girl’s plight. But now, she couldn’t help but feel disgusted.
"Right now, Yuanyuan’s illness is the main concern. Let’s not bicker about this, okay? Lately, I’ve been visiting Yuanyuan every day, and I might return home late at night, so no need to prepare dinner for me." Ran Zhengfeng sighed, "Yuanyuan lost her mother just past ten, and within two years, Jinming also passed away due to illness. At this age, no one would adopt her, and even if they did, who knows their purpose? Now she’s sick again; it’s really pitiful."
"So the phone is for Wei Yue?" Zhuo Qiaoqing asked. She had already suspected this yesterday when she heard about it.
No matter how well Ran Zhengfeng treated the orphans, there was no way he’d casually give away a phone worth several thousand dollars. The only one who could make him do such a thing was Wei Yue. Wei Yue was his good friend’s daughter, and he felt a bit guilty towards her, so it wasn’t surprising he acted this way.
But what about her Chenchen?
Was she supposed to use an old phone?
Every time she bought something for Chenchen, Ran Zhengfeng would never forget to get one for Wei Yue as well, and this really made her feel uncomfortable.
"Yuanyuan’s phone is too old, and it lags quite a bit. Besides, she doesn’t have much to pass the time with in the hospital. Yuanyuan is also sensible. Isn’t she good at drawing? Now she’s learned to make some cover designs, which can be done on the phone and earn some money. Giving her the phone is a perfect fit. This child is just too sensible; if I don’t take care of her, who will? Besides, this was something I promised Jinming at the time." Ran Zhengfeng continued, seeing Zhuo Qiaoqing looking unhappy, he chuckled awkwardly, "As for Chenchen, we can make up for it later, it’s the same. Besides, Chenchen is already in the second year of high school, and what I said earlier was genuine. She should focus on her studies now. Having an expensive phone with many functions may not necessarily be a good thing."
Zhuo Qiaoqing remained silent. She knew how sensible her daughter was. It was because she believed in her that she had bought her a new phone. The school’s assigned work was not a problem because she herself was teaching in high school. Often, she directly helped Chenchen photocopy the test papers, so her daughter didn’t need to do it herself.
But what would Chenchen do without her as a mother?
Thinking of this, Zhuo Qiaoqing’s tears flowed again. She gently wiped them away, with no intention of arguing with Ran Zhengfeng.
Perhaps she should consider separating.
A healthy family, that was her hesitation. Although she wasn’t an orphan, she grew up in an unhealthy family.
Ran Zhengfeng cared a lot about the orphanage, but Chenchen also cared a lot about this father. If they separated, would Chenchen accept it?
She thought about Wei Yue’s illness, that bringing this up now was definitely not okay, and her daughter was about to enter her third year of high school. If it affected her studies, she would regret it for the rest of her life. She had heard many stories where children’s grades plummeted when parents divorced during high school, and some even went astray. So, although she didn’t quite agree with the method, many parents maintained marital ties until the child got into college, appearing united before divorce.
Zhuo Qiaoqing took a deep breath, turned around, and looked into the mirror. Her eyes were still a bit red. On weekends, her daughter liked to sleep in, so it shouldn’t be a problem after a while.
"I’ll make breakfast." Seeing that her emotions had stabilized, Ran Zhengfeng knew this matter was over and immediately went to the kitchen.
Today’s reaction from Qiaoqing was more intense than when he wanted to adopt Yuanyuan. For a moment, he even thought Qiaoqing wanted to divorce him, causing panic in his heart.
Fortunately, it wasn’t the case.
Zhuo Qiaoqing did not stop him, staring blankly at Ran Zhengfeng’s back.
Actually, Ah Chen had woken up long ago. She didn’t sleep until late, but she didn’t interfere with what Zhuo Qiaoqing had to go through now.
Today’s events were an opportunity, and there were more things to come that would let Zhuo Qiaoqing make up her mind to separate from Ran Zhengfeng. He’s a good person, sure, but mistreating your own people is not that appealing.
Zhuo Qiaoqing’s hesitation had her reasons, as well as concern for the Commissioner. The other party was just an ordinary person without the God’s-eye perspective, and many things couldn’t be severed or cut off immediately. She needed time.
In fact, in the Commissioner’s memory, Zhuo Qiaoqing had regretted many times not being more decisive back then for countless days and nights. But she couldn’t foresee what happened later. She had some responsibility, but not much. The Commissioner didn’t blame Zhuo Qiaoqing at all, and Ah Chen wouldn’t either.
If she hadn’t met Ran Zhengfeng, and if Zhuo Qiaoqing had married an average, more normal person, these things probably wouldn’t have happened, and it would have been an ordinary but somewhat warm little home.
Ah Chen stayed in the room, planning to go out after Ran Zhengfeng left to have breakfast, as the Commissioner also had the habit of sleeping in on weekends.
The phone was indeed very laggy, so she didn’t use it much.
"Xiao7," she called out in her mind. 997, with whom she was most closely bound, immediately responded.
"Host, what’s wrong?" 997 was a bit excited; was there finally something he could help the host with?
Ah Chen said, "Help me upgrade the phone system, it’s a bit laggy." She made do with it for now. If she were to make money for a new phone now, it would be a bit strange, and Zhuo Qiaoqing would be worried again.
She was a high school sophomore, and her task was to study.
She believed 997 could handle such a small matter.
"Alright, Host, right away!"
"Host, it’s done! But due to hardware limitations, this is the best it can be for now."
Ah Chen picked up the phone and started using it. It was indeed smoother; at least there were no more interruptions during normal use: "This is already great, go have fun."
"Oh, by the way, ask your other bound hosts if they need a golden finger." Ah Chen remembered this matter.
"What golden finger?" 997 was curious.
"Didn’t the Commissioner from the last world give me a planting space? It’s at a pretty high level, and if it keeps upgrading, it’ll be even better. But now that I’ve left that world, there’s no one to help me with the farming." Ah Chen felt a little regretful, as someone like Jiang Zhi, who was good at farming, is hard to find. Even if there were, human nature is inherently hard to manage, and many people couldn’t match Jiang Zhi.
She wasn’t afraid of anyone trying to take it, but felt it was troublesome to deal with such things.
If she could find some long-term collaborators, that would be best.
"Is the host looking to let other missionaries use the planting space?" 997 still didn’t quite understand.
Ah Chen said, "You could say that, but as long as they’re suitable, anyone can come. Through you as a medium, they can all go in to farm. I’ll allocate parcels and rewards; the more you work, the more you get."
Now 997 understood. He thought other hosts wouldn’t refuse; this is a great deal! It’s like having a safety net.
The host was essentially looking out for him, making sure not to benefit outsiders.
"Choosing whom, I’ll leave that to you." Ah Chen sensed 997’s emotions, "I’ve already given you the authority, and the parcels will be assigned by you. They only need to pay sixty percent of their earnings."
In the previous world, she even upped Jiang Zhi’s share to fifty-fifty, which was her acknowledgment of him.
As for giving it away for free, that was naturally out of the question.
"Okay, Host!" 997 immediately went to handle the task. The host was really nice, even giving the planting space authority to him. This way, persuading—not persuading—encouraging other hosts to complete tasks would be more convenient.
After playing on the phone for a bit, it was around nine o’clock, and Ran Zhengfeng had already left. Ah Chen got up, ready to have breakfast.
Zhuo Qiaoqing was in the study preparing lessons and came out when she heard movement. Her eyes had returned to normal, and seeing her daughter coming out with breakfast, her heart softened.
She wanted to say something, but swallowed it back down, not knowing how to start.
Judging by her daughter’s demeanor, it didn’t seem like she heard any noise in the morning, which made her breathe a sigh of relief.
"Mom, what were you and Dad arguing about this morning?" Ah Chen broke Zhuo Qiaoqing’s hope. It was time she appropriately showed her stance.
