Li Zhengguo got off work and heard the lively sounds from the kitchen. He knew the tour group from Kushan had returned.
Just as he was about to enter the kitchen, his sister pushed him from behind.
"Mom, Mom." Li Min pushed her annoying younger brother aside and ran into the kitchen. Seeing her eldest son, she yelled at him, "Xiao Fu, go back and be with your wife. Put Ji Qing and Ji Xiang down. They're staying with us recently."
Chen Suozhu followed his wife. Seeing her barging in, he quickly apologized to his younger brother.
Li Zhengguo waved his hand. "Don't I know her temper? But why is she yelling at Xiao Fu?"
Chen Suozhu didn't quite understand what had happened.
He and his wife first tidied up the house, took out the dirty clothes from their luggage, washed them, and then cleaned themselves up before going to their eldest son's home.
To their surprise, their eldest son wasn't home, and their eldest daughter-in-law was silently weeping, with a slap mark on her face.
His wife, being hot-tempered, thought her eldest son had bullied his wife and was ready to avenge her.
Lin Hua'er held onto Li Min, saying it wasn't Xiao Fu's fault. She had been disrespectful to her maternal grandmother and was punished by Xiao Fu.
When Li Min heard that her eldest daughter-in-law dared to be so brazen, she immediately turned hostile and berated her.
Lin Hua'er never explained why her attitude towards her maternal grandmother had been poor, so Li Min decided to ask her own mother.
"Uncle, Dad."
Chen Fu was driven out of the kitchen by his mother. Seeing his uncle and father standing in the yard, he quickly greeted them.
Li Zhengguo waved his hand. "Go back and help take care of the children. No matter the reason, you cannot hit a woman. There are no men in our family who hit women."
Chen Fu nodded. "I understand. I'll go back and have a good talk with her."
Li Zhengguo nodded. "Go ahead."
Chen Suozhu and Li Zhengguo appeared at the kitchen door. Tian Jing put down the dumplings she was wrapping.
"Suozhu, you wrap. I'll go chop some more vegetable filling. Zhengguo, put down your bag and then go call Eldest Brother and Sister-in-law over for dumplings too."
Li Min said with displeasure, "Can't you just let us have a meal alone? You have to call Eldest Brother and Sister-in-law?"
Tian Jing glanced at her and said, "We'll eat at your place tomorrow. You're only allowed to invite me and your younger brother to eat."
Li Min paused. "Alright, I won't say any more nonsense. It's livelier with more people. Mom likes it when everyone is together."
Li's mother poked her daughter. "If you know it's nonsense, then don't say it again."
Li Min retorted, "If I don't say it out loud, how will I know it's nonsense?"
After Li Zhengguo called Eldest Brother and Sister-in-law, he returned to help chop filling.
The kitchen was as lively as a bustling market.
Han Lushi washed his hands and helped Li Weili up. "There are too many people. Give them space. Let's go for a walk outside."
"Right, right," Li Min waved at Li Weili. "You're taking up the space of two people. Now that there are more hands here, we don't need you."
Outside the kitchen, Li Weili asked Han Lushi if he was unaccustomed to the lively atmosphere at home.
Han Lushi held her hand and walked slowly in the yard.
"I prefer quiet, but I don't dislike lively. When family is together, the noise and chatter create a great atmosphere. My heart is so full it's almost bursting, making my eyes feel a bit watery. I had to come out quickly to avoid losing my composure. I know, this is home."
Li Weili looked up and saw his eyes were already moist. She swayed his hand and said, "Are you moved? Hehe, you're lucky you met me, right? I gave you a complete family."
Han Lushi silently pulled the woman beside him into his embrace.
Li Weili continued, lying in her husband's arms, "Now that Grandma is here, we all gather around her."
"When Grandma is no longer here, my siblings and I will gather around Mom and Dad."
"And later, we will become the center for our children and grandchildren. This is how a family continues, generation after generation."
Han Lushi grabbed her hand and kissed it. "Thank you."
Li Weili smiled gently at him. "You have to thank me for the rest of your life."
Han Lushi nodded. "I'll be thankful my whole life."
...
After the dumplings were finished, Zeng Jingchu still didn't leave.
He waited until Ouyang Meihua and Li Min's families had left, then chased after Tian Jing, asking where Lin Duo'er had gone.
Tian Jing turned and glared at him. "That's not something you need to know."
Zeng Jingchu didn't believe her. "Impossible. Lin Hua'er must know. Why did she offend her in-laws?"
While making dumplings, Li Min had asked Li's mother several times why Lin Hua'er had been upset, but Li's mother kept changing the subject.
Tian Jing raised an eyebrow. "Does this have anything to do with you?"
Zeng Jingchu shook his head. "I just need to confirm that you didn't bring Lin Duo'er into your company."
"Have you confirmed?"
"Confirmed."
"And then?"
"No 'and then'."
"Do you think I believe that?" Tian Jing gave him a sideways glance.
"Lin Duo'er was taken away by your cousin. You won't be able to find her. Don't cause trouble. In a few days, I'll take you to see Yulia."
"Alright." Zeng Jingchu agreed not to bother Lin Duo'er. "What about Tian Ligu? He's also propped up the second branch of the Tian family. The second branch of the Tian family is the one who truly bullied you."
"Zeng Jingchu." Tian Jing sat up straight. "I'll ask you a few questions. You can have Zeng Lin leave."
Zeng Jingchu gestured to the person beside him. Zeng Lin nodded to Tian Jing and Li Zhengguo, then turned and left the living room.
In the living room, there were only Tian Jing, Li Zhengguo, and him. Zeng Jingchu also sat up straight. "Ask away."
Tian Jing stared into his eyes. "Zeng Jingchu, imagine if, when you found me back then, I had been deceived by Chen Yaoming into losing the siheyuan left by Grandpa Xiao, and I hadn't even understood Grandpa Xiao's hint that there were treasures hidden beneath the siheyuan."
"Then, I was forced by Chen Yaoming to wash dishes in the kitchen of a restaurant. Chen Yaoming's children didn't spare me either. They spent the gold and silver they dug up from beneath the siheyuan while also going to the kitchen to humiliate me, even pushing me into the slop bucket. I would only feel anger and dare not resist."
"In that state, I wouldn't even be a tenth as good as Liu Yuelian. Would you, your mother, and Zeng Jingrong still acknowledge me?"
Seeing Zeng Jingchu about to speak, Tian Jing continued.
"From the perspective of the head of the Zeng family, if this hypothetical situation were true, what would you do?"
"Moreover, at that time, Zeng Jingliang had just been framed by the Wang family, rivals of the Yuan family, and someone else was blamed. Between Zeng Jingliang and me, he was closest to you. You should have dealt with Zeng Jingliang's matters first."
"After dealing with the family that was framed and the Wang family, you, physically and mentally exhausted, facing your heartbroken parents, would you still have the inclination to pay attention to someone like me who was like a puddle of mud?"
"Even if a few years passed and your parents had recovered from their grief, would your mother, who lost an outstanding son, still insist on making amends with an abandoned illegitimate daughter who had lost all dignity?"
"Would your father agree to take back someone who was worse than a beggar, someone with whom he had no connection, when he had lost an outstanding son?"
"I want to hear your true thoughts as the head of the Zeng family."
Zeng Jingchu couldn't answer.
If what Tian Tian described were true, according to the Zeng family's approach, acknowledging the mother's illegitimate daughter was already shameful. This illegitimate daughter was a mess; they definitely wouldn't acknowledge her, nor could they even go to help her. Furthermore, due to the similarity in appearance, they would keep their distance.
And Tian Tian asking this must have a deeper meaning. How should he answer?
Could he speak hypocritical words when Tian Tian wanted the truth?
He didn't know the consequences of speaking the truth.
In Zeng Jingchu's silence, Tian Jing had already gotten her answer.
In fact, she had long had the answer in her heart.
"You can go. In a few days, I'll take you to see Yulia."