Chapter 245: Chapter 245: Zhao Youcai’s Worry
"Of course not," Li Aiguo said hurriedly. "I’ve come with the utmost sincerity."
As he spoke, Li Aiguo gritted his teeth and pulled two hundred yuan from his pocket. He had only brought three hundred with him on this trip. After subtracting the cost of travel and lodging, and now these two hundred, he would only have a few dozen yuan left. ’He was certain he’d have to pay for his own ticket home; it was impossible to count on this damn girl in front of him. It’d be a blessing if she didn’t beat him up again.’
’This two hundred yuan will placate her for now. Sooner or later, she’ll have to cough it all back up! And her house in Beijing, too!’
Li Aiguo was cursing inwardly but wore a wide smile as he placed the two hundred yuan in front of Su Qing. "Qingqing, this two hundred yuan is just a little something from your uncle. Buy yourself whatever you’d like. After you come with me to see your mother, you can stay at my place for a while. Don’t worry, your aunt and cousins will be thrilled to have you. I haven’t been able to take care of you all these years, so please let me make it up to you, okay?"
Zhao Youcai, who was beside them, glanced at Li Aiguo. He hadn’t expected Li Aiguo to pull out two hundred yuan all at once. It was quite a generous sum.
Su Qing looked at the two hundred yuan before her, the corners of her lips curling. "Well then, thank you for your generosity, Uncle. I won’t stand on ceremony."
With that, Su Qing took the two hundred yuan.
Li Aiguo secretly gritted his back teeth. ’This damn girl has no modesty at all! She didn’t even make a show of refusing, just reached out and took it!’
But what could Li Aiguo say? He was the one who offered the money, so he couldn’t very well complain. He quickly asked, "Qingqing, does this mean you agree to come back with me to see your mother?"
"All those years ago, I thought my mother had abandoned me, so I’ve held a grudge this whole time. But now it seems she only forgot about me because of an injury. Of course I have to go see her," Su Qing said softly, looking at Li Aiguo.
"Ah, good, that’s great! Then let’s pack up and leave as soon as possible," Li Aiguo said hurriedly.
"We’ll have to wait a couple of days. I need to pack and say goodbye to a few friends and elders here. So, we’ll probably have to wait a bit. Is that alright, Uncle?" Su Qing asked.
"Yes, of course." Seeing that Su Qing had agreed to go back with him, Li Aiguo naturally wouldn’t object. Two days was fine. ’Things were going smoothly enough. Once they were back on his home turf, he’d be the one calling the shots.’
Seeing that Su Qing and Li Aiguo had come to an agreement, Zhao Youcai, who was sitting nearby, nodded. "Su Qing, go and see how your mother is. If you need any help from the village, just call the village office. We villagers can’t help with major problems, but we can certainly help with small ones."
"Okay, thank you, Village Chief." Su Qing’s smile toward Zhao Youcai was much more sincere.
This made Li Aiguo, watching from the side, grit his teeth again.
Su Qing glanced at the sky outside and said to Li Aiguo, "Uncle, it’s getting late. You should hurry back to the guesthouse. I’ll come find you in a couple of days once I’m all packed."
Li Aiguo froze. "I..."
Before Li Aiguo could finish, Su Qing cut in, "As you can see, I only have one bedroom here, so there’s nowhere for you to stay. Housing is tight for everyone else in the village right now, and it wouldn’t be right to trouble them. Uncle, you don’t blame me for not being able to arrange a place for you, do you?"
Su Qing blinked at Li Aiguo. She was just waiting for him to argue; no matter what he said, she would shut him down. ’After how he treated the original owner of this body back then, did he really expect her to give him a warm welcome? In his dreams.’
Looking at Su Qing’s expression, Li Aiguo understood. The girl simply didn’t want to host him. ’Fine, whatever. It’s just two more nights at the guesthouse. It’s not like he wanted to stay in this village anyway, lest the girl get some crazy idea and try to rough him up again with the villagers backing her.’
He hadn’t forgotten the beating from earlier. This girl was not good-tempered. No wonder she’d managed to break free from the Old Su Family. And it was obvious she had no contact with them anymore. Look, the damn girl’s house was right next to the Old Su Family’s, yet no one had come out despite the huge commotion. Their relationship must have hit rock bottom.
"No, of course not," Li Aiguo said, struggling to maintain a friendly expression. "In that case, I’ll head back to the guesthouse first. Come find me when you’re ready. I’ll be waiting for you there."
"Alright," Su Qing agreed with a grin.
After seeing Li Aiguo off at the village entrance and watching him leave Lihua Village, Zhao Youcai said, "Su Qing, if what your uncle said is true, and a misunderstanding is what made everyone think you were abandoned, I think you could be a little nicer to him. No matter what, he has been taking care of your mother all these years."
Zhao Youcai had been the village chief for many years. Despite Su Qing’s smiling face earlier, he could tell the young lady was still holding a grudge. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have sent Li Aiguo away without even offering him a meal.
"But that’s just his side of the story." Su Qing’s smile had vanished. She said to Zhao Youcai, "Village Chief, no matter how chaotic things were back then, do you really think he would forget a child like me existed, and not even mention me once?"
Zhao Youcai narrowed his eyes, looking at Su Qing. "You mean to say...?"
"I don’t have any theories right now. Everything will have to wait until after I see my mother." Su Qing trusted Zhao Youcai, and she might need his help with many things in the future, so she didn’t hide her thoughts from him. "At least for now, I don’t sense any of the familial concern an elder is supposed to have from this uncle."
Then, Su Qing smiled again. "Village Chief, believe it or not, if it weren’t for what you said, he would have shown up completely empty-handed."
"Sigh, I believe you." Zhao Youcai had always harbored anger toward the Li family. The suffering Su Qing had endured over the years was inextricably linked to them. His anger had subsided a little after hearing Li Aiguo’s story, but now, Su Qing’s words made him worry again. "Su Qing, if your uncle isn’t telling the truth, wouldn’t it be dangerous for a young woman like you to go so far away with him? If something happened, no one would be there to help you. How about this? I’ll see if I can find one of the aunties to go with you."
Zhao Youcai was thinking of Aunt Cuihua or Aunt Tao. Both of them were incredibly good to Su Qing and would absolutely protect her if anything happened.
Su Qing laughed. "No need, Village Chief. I’ll be careful. Besides, you saw for yourself today, didn’t you? I beat my ’dear’ uncle so badly he couldn’t even fight back."
Since Su Qing insisted, Zhao Youcai had to drop it. "Alright then. If anything happens, call the village office right away."
"Okay." Su Qing nodded with a smile. She narrowed her eyes in the direction Li Aiguo had left and sneered inwardly. ’Whatever tricks he wanted to play, she would be ready for them.’
