CHAPTER 359: CHAPTER 360: GOING TO SHANGJING

"Mom, what are you staring at? Hurry up and wash my feet. Mom, I’m talking to you!" Lu Yaya sat on the kang bed, yelling impatiently at Zhou Jiaojiao.

"Shut up, shut up, just shut up."

Lu Yaya and Lu Qiancheng were startled; Zhou Jiaojiao had never treated them like this before. She had always been very gentle, even when they were naughty or disdainful of her, she never lost her temper with them, but today she actually yelled at them.

This made both children very angry. Lu Yaya ran up to her and kicked her.

"You dare to yell at me, I’ll have Dad leave you."

"Yaya, don’t talk nonsense. Come over to your brother’s side. Let her be angry if she wants to; we’ll ignore her. She’ll still have to come and apologize to us obediently later."

Lu Qiancheng looked at her with disdain, thinking that she would surely, as countless times before, try to please them, buy them food and toys, just to have them call her mom.

Dad is the village chief, but mom is just a worker in a workshop, which they find shameful.

Zhou Jiaojiao clenched her fists as if deaf to their words, shivering all over, her throat feeling as if it were grasped tightly.

Where’s the money, the money in the savings book, why is it so much less than before? The wages of both Lu Jiaxuan and herself were deposited in the same savings book. There were seven thousand two hundred yuan when they got paid last month, but now there’s five thousand less, a whole five thousand yuan, taken by Lu Jiaxuan.

That damned bastard. She worked so hard for so many years, scrimping and saving everything for those two old ungrateful people, all to save a bit more money. Over time, her greatest pleasure had become watching the numbers in the savings book grow.

No matter how much disdain and disgust she got from Lu Jiaxuan, no matter how mischievous the two children were, she was happy as long as she saw the numbers in the savings book. But now, so much money was missing from it.

Her heart was growing cold.

She kept the savings book close to her, her heart pounding. She needed to take the savings book away quickly, withdraw the money, and either redeposit it or buy treasury bonds – in any case, she couldn’t leave it at home anymore.

The missing five thousand yuan must be known to Lu Jiaxuan; he definitely knows where it is. When she gets a chance to visit, she must inquire thoroughly with that bastard.

Her eyes caught sight of the siblings chatting together on the kang, and she frowned in irritation. The children she once adored now annoyed her with just a glance.

That evening, Shen Meng returned from outside. Mingyang and the other children had already had their dinner. Xiao Dai peeked out from the kitchen, then hurriedly served another bowl of rice.

"Sister Meng is back. Come and eat, I stewed chicken soup tonight; it’ll warm you up."

"Thank you, Xiao Dai," Shen Meng said with a smile, taking her place again and picking up a piece of dried radish.

"Xiao Dai, I have to go to the provincial city tomorrow, and it’ll take a week before I can return. I’m relying on you to take care of the home."

"Sure, Sister Meng. Oh, and I heard it’s going to cool down when I took lunch to Zhang Liang today. You should bring some thick clothes, I’ll pack them for you tonight."

"Alright. And you and Xiao Zhang are getting married at the end of the year, I’ve prepared a set of house keys for you both. The furniture is all set, so you can take a look tomorrow with Zhang Liang. Just let Mingyang and the others have lunch out at a restaurant."

"That’s, that’s not okay. Zhang Liang and I have discussed it, we plan to rent a place in the county town first. He said there might be commercial housing developed in our county these two years. We’ll save more money, and we could afford it."

"Take it. If you want to buy commercial housing, go ahead, it’s a good thing. What I’ve prepared for you is a small courtyard, it’s spacious, with four rooms and a yard plus a covered walkway. If you can’t decide alone, go talk to Zhang Liang, but I bet that guy would be overjoyed to death and would certainly take it."

Dai Hua smiled awkwardly. Over the years working for the Lu Family, although she was called a nanny, Secretary Shen treated her like a younger sister, and was also very kind to Zhang Liang.

She had seen Secretary Shen’s brother, and felt that there was no difference between how she treated Zhang Liang and Shen Xiaobin.

"Mom, you go about your business without worrying. I’ll take good care of my little brother and sister at home, and I won’t neglect my studies. Ming Liang and Ming Fang get good grades. I’ll have them tutor Ming Kai’s homework at night."

His own academic performance was only within the top five of his class, while Ming Liang and Ming Fang were among the top ten in their grades. He could help with life’s affairs, but when it came to studying, he could only take care of himself.

"Good son, Mom doesn’t ask for you guys to be highly successful in the future, don’t put too much pressure on yourself."

"Don’t worry, Mom, studying is easy, I’m not feeling any pressure at all."

While gnawing on a chicken leg, Ming Liang suddenly said this, leaving Shen Meng and Mingyang somewhat speechless. They didn’t understand the world of top students; they were just those who buried themselves in their books.

"Ming Liang, hurry up and eat. In a moment, Ming Kai will have finished all the stir-fried pork with hot peppers."

Dai Hua cooked dinner with controlled portions every night to ensure they were full, because the current Lu Mingkai was really too heavy, and growing quickly. She and Shen Meng had discussed controlling the child’s diet.

But even if she only cooked cabbage and tofu, the child would eat it with great relish, and his weight continued to rise steadily, making her feel quite helpless.

The next morning.

Shen Meng got on a bus to the Provincial City. She had some special dishes at a nearby restaurant around noon, then took a taxi to the train station, where she waited for about half an hour before Lu Zhenping came over with a bag.

"Did you wait long?"

"No, I just got here. Have you eaten yet?"

Lu Zhenping nodded, took her hand and noticed it was a little cold, quickly placed it in his own pocket to warm it.

Shen Meng: "....."

Although touched, didn’t you notice that the pockets of the clothes you wear today are a bit small? It’s a bit uncomfortable, really!!!

"This time, we’ll go to see her, and that’s all that concerns us."

"Okay, I know."

Two days ago, a call came from Shangjing saying that Bai Shuyu was critically ill and wanted to see Lu Zhenping and Shen Meng, and also wanted to see the children. Lu Zhenping did not agree, making the excuse that the children had exams, but he and Shen Meng could take a trip to Shangjing.

He felt no affection for the people in Shangjing, but during the years in the military, Commander Bai was very kind to him, promoting him overtly and covertly, and almost fell out with another nephew because of him. Just a visit, he thought he should agree.

When he suggested it, Shen Meng readily agreed. It was already 1982, and in a few months, it would be 1983.

With more people attending college, and with the market economy starting in full swing, a wave of going abroad would surge in the late ’80s. Shen Meng wanted to visit Shangjing to scope it out, see if there were any suitable courtyard houses to buy first.

Once back in Ning County, she would start registering the company. The net has been cast, just waiting to catch the small fish.