CHAPTER 567: CHAPTER 565: THE MISSING ITEMS

After a day of festivities, as everyone was about to leave in the evening, Grandpa Jiang suddenly leaned on his walking stick and shouted, "Who took my ginseng?!" That ginseng was a filial gift from his grandson.

Nowadays, Grandpa Jiang is particularly focused on health preservation and was most delighted when he received ginseng and bird’s nest gifts, though he didn’t show it on his face, he would glance at them from time to time.

Just as everyone was about to disperse, he had planned to tidy up and take his favorite items back to his room. But when he opened the ginseng box, the ginseng was gone. This was a big deal, and he immediately yelled out in anger.

Everyone was stunned at first, then turned around from the doorway, bombarding with questions, "How could the ginseng disappear? Wasn’t it placed right on the table?"

Father Jiang and Second Uncle Jiang went over to the table specifically set for Mr. Jiang’s birthday gifts and searched thoroughly, only to find that the ginseng box was empty, yet the bird’s nest that came with the ginseng was still intact.

Everyone started looking for their own gifts and discovered that, except for a rosewood bead bracelet also missing from the gifts Second Uncle Jiang had given, all other gifts were still present.

Grandpa Jiang fumed, "Nobody is allowed to leave until my gifts are found!"

Such an incident left everyone dumbfounded. Lin Jiayi couldn’t help but whisper to her mother, "Are we just missing two things? Grandpa is increasingly valuing those things, lacking the generosity he had before. Anyway, if it’s not found today, maybe it’ll turn up tomorrow since it’s still in this house."

Jiang Lirong gave her daughter a look, "Don’t speak ill of your grandpa."

After searching for a long while without success, Grandpa Jiang lost his temper, the tapping of his walking stick deafening, complaining about being ignored now that he’s old, being deceived at every turn, and now someone had stolen his belongings, making it intolerable to live in this home, to the point of wanting to jump off a bridge with the crazy old lady.

The three Jiang brothers were angered by their father’s words but couldn’t retort harshly, each looking ill-tempered.

Father Jiang said, "We’ll search! It has to be in this house, we will find it for sure. Even if we can’t, I’ll go buy more for you. How much you want, I’ll buy it back for you, but what are you saying? How can we, as your children and grandchildren, bear this? If this gets out, we’d be ridiculed!"

Grandpa Jiang humphed twice, stubborn like a child, insisting, "I don’t care, I want the ginseng my eldest grandson gave me."

The crying of Chuanqi, frightened by the adults throwing temper tantrums, pained Mrs. Jiang’s heart greatly, so she quickly picked up her granddaughter to soothe her outside.

Wan Chu’er was also speechless, feeling it was just a farce. She wanted to leave this place and clear her mind, but leaving now might cause the irascible old man to suspect her of guilt.

Lin Jiayi didn’t want to stay here anymore either, so she put on a compassionate act and gently said to her grandfather, "Grandpa, if it’s gone, then it’s gone. In a couple of days, Simon and I will go buy two even better ginseng roots for you. What do you think? Today is your 80th birthday, it’s not worth getting upset over such a small matter."

Normally, Mr. Jiang quite favored Lin Jiayi, his sensible and considerate granddaughter, but today he was so furious he didn’t care for her at all, swatting Lin Jiayi’s arm away.

"No, I want that one! I can’t live without it!"

When he pushed her, Lin Jiayi’s arm hit the table next to her, immediately causing a piercing pain. Lin Jiayi gasped as her arm was immobile for a long while. Apart from Jiang Lirong showing concern for her daughter, others were caught up in a mess, looking for their belongings, placating Mr. Jiang, expressing their grievances.

Jiang Lirong pulled her daughter aside and lifted her arm to look - it was bruised a large patch.

Lin Jiayi was on the verge of tears, feeling an unbearable resentment in her heart, blaming it all on Wan Chu’er for giving such a troublesome gift as ginseng, which led to her getting hurt.

At first, Jiang Lingling took it as a joke and found it amusing. But as Mr. Jiang became increasingly unreasonable, she lost her interest in watching the drama unfold, sighing at how her grandpa was becoming more and more irrational.

She walked over to Wan Chu’er and asked quietly, "Sister-in-law, where do you think the ginseng could have gone?"

"I have no idea. If I knew, it would be great. Everyone could finally have some peace," Wan Chu’er replied exasperatedly, wondering who on earth would take the ginseng for no reason. Except for Grandpa Jiang, no one here lacks ginseng. It all seemed like a prank.

She turned to look for Hunter, only to discover him sitting on the sofa, stealthily snickering while playing with a toy gun.

How suspicious! Wan Chu’er felt wary, sneaking over to Hunter and whispering, "Was it you who hid great-grandpa’s ginseng?"

Being a child with transparent intentions, Hunter immediately protested when wrongfully accused by his mother, "It wasn’t me, I didn’t take great-grandpa’s present."

His shout caught everyone’s attention, and upon seeing that, Hunter boasted, "You scared my sister to tears, so I won’t tell you where great-grandpa’s present is."

That statement implied that he knew where the old man’s item was all along but simply refused to tell, enjoying the sight of everyone’s distress.

Father Jiang, as the grandfather, couldn’t help but be amused by his grandson’s cleverness, chuckling as he asked, "Xiao Zhuo, tell grandpa."

Hunter turned his little face away and said proudly, "I won’t tell you."

Jiang Lirong chuckled with ill intent and said, "It couldn’t be Xiao Zhuo who hid it, could it? Even kids know it’s a valuable item."

"Mom, don’t talk nonsense. Xiao Zhuo doesn’t even know it’s valuable. He probably just thought it was fun," Lin Jiayi said, appearing to chastise his mother outwardly, but subtly hinting that someone older must have instigated Hunter’s action.

Today, every time Jiang Lingling heard Lin Jiayi’s voice, she reflexively wanted to snap back, "I think it’s you who’s spouting nonsense. Despite being adults, you blame Xiao Zhuo without any evidence. Aren’t you ashamed?"

Lin Jiayi was already fed up with being repeatedly reprimanded by Jiang Lingling and couldn’t hold back, "Xiao Zhuo said it himself, what’s the hurry? You’re so eager to be someone else’s lackey, and you’re getting even more excited about it."

"You said what! Lin Jiayi!" Jiang Lingling was furious, rebuking, "You’re the lackey, your whole family are lackeys, and it’s not like you can say anything wise!"

Now the scene became even more chaotic, with Mr. Jiang clamoring for his gift, Lin Jiayi quarreling with Jiang Lingling, and people trying to calm Mr. Jiang, Lin Jiayi, and Jiang Lingling.

Wan Chu’er took a deep breath, pulled her son aside, and patiently asked Hunter, "Where exactly is great-grandpa’s item? Tell mommy quietly."

After pondering for a bit, Hunter whispered into his mother’s ear, "I saw great-grandma put great-grandpa’s gift into Auntie’s bag."

What!?

Wan Chu’er grabbed her son and looked at him closely. Hunter blinked his big eyes earnestly.