CHAPTER 432: CHAPTER 434: IT’S UNCERTAIN WHO WILL HAVE GOOD DAYS AHEAD

Old Lady Gao directly declared her severance of the mother-son relationship with Gao Guoqiang, while Li Shengmei’s mother caught hold of Old Lady Gao demanding an apology. Old Lady Gao, naturally unwilling, was eventually stopped by Mr. Gao, who said, "Let it go. Let her leave. I believe that’s enough for you."

Li Shengmei’s mother felt deeply aggrieved. Even though Mr. Gao comforted her, she could not let go of her resentment. Li Shengmei said, "Mom, don’t be angry anymore. Just watch. They won’t be doing any better at the Red Star Production Team."

"Secretary Cheng, who will be the captain then?" someone asked.

Everyone looked at each other. Secretary Cheng turned to Gao Guoqiang and said, "Comrade Guoqiang, the captain should still be you..."

Gao Guoqiang shook his head, "No, I actually want to rest."

"Then, Comrade Guoqiang, please recommend someone," Secretary Cheng said.

Gao Guoqiang shook his head again, "No, I want no part in this. Hold a vote, and whoever gets the most votes should be selected."

Everyone nodded immediately, and Secretary Cheng said, "Then, let’s gather at the team headquarter tomorrow morning to elect the new captain."

Gao Guoqiang, Zheng Xianghong, Gao Jiazhi, and Sun Yuhua, along with little Weilin, returned to the Gao family home, all remaining silent.

Gao Jiazhi, full of guilt, said, "Dad, it’s all because of me, if not for me..."

"Jiazhi, don’t say such things. You are my son," Gao Guoqiang said.

"I will always be my parents’ son," Gao Jiazhi said, his eyes reddening.

Sun Yuhua, seeing Gao Jiazhi like this, knew he refused to acknowledge his biological mother. She felt frustrated, thinking Jiazhi was stubborn and inflexible. She wasn’t asking Jiazhi to sever ties with Gao Guoqiang and Zheng Xianghong, just thought recognizing his biological mother would be better for his future. But Jiazhi wouldn’t listen, which immensely troubled Sun Yuhua.

The Gao Guofu family, having left Guangming Production Team, felt indignant. Old Lady Gao was extremely reluctant and even secretly regretted it, constantly looking back.

Gao Guihua said, "Grandma, don’t look back. We are no longer people of the Guangming Production Team. We have Xueyong and me at the Red Star Production Team. I won’t let our family suffer."

Gao Guihua felt she was in a position to help her maternal family live well and wanted to prevent them from feeling aggrieved.

Thus, she kept telling her parents how good the Red Star Production Team was and mentioned that Gao Guofu and the family had a house in the city, now just waiting to secure a residence registration.

City residence registrations came with rationing benefits, something Gao Guofu desperately wanted, but during those restrictive times, even the Wangs wouldn’t foolishly help the family secure a city residence registration and risk trouble.

But once the period of restrictions was over, Gao Guofu wanted not only a city residence registration but also rural property.

Old Lady Gao still felt distressed. Guangming Production Team, and indeed, the Gao Mansion held different meanings for her. She wished to die there if possible, but she also didn’t want to separate from her youngest son.

Her oldest and second sons had died, and she wasn’t close with her third son who had also severed ties with her. Naturally, Old Lady Gao didn’t want to be abandoned by her youngest son or end her days in loneliness.

To Old Lady Gao, even though Lin Xuebi could not tolerate her, she equally disliked Lin Xuebi. Yet, she believed her youngest son wouldn’t leave her behind, so she resolved to stay close to him.

Lin Xuebi was extremely frustrated, wishing Old Lady Gao had stayed at Guangming Production Team. Over the years, Lin Xuebi hadn’t treated Old Lady Gao well, even hoping daily for her death. However, Old Lady Gao lived a long life, still recovering with a little medication or even without it.

Lin Xuebi found Old Lady Gao bizarrely resilient, even considering starving her to compel a return to Guangming Production Team, but Old Lady Gao couldn’t be starved to death; she even managed to find her own food. Essentially, Lin Xuebi was at a loss regarding Old Lady Gao.

Moreover, Gao Guofu had privately reprimanded Lin Xuebi, warning her not to overdo things, reminding her that Old Lady Gao was his mother, so Lin Xuebi hadn’t been too overt.

Old Lady Gao’s days improved slightly, cherishing her son Gao Guofu more, feeling he still cared for her as his mother.

"My son-in-law, get us a large plot in the Gao family. Let’s build a big mansion where our descendants can live forever."

As soon as Old Lady Gao spoke, Lin Xuebi said, "Mom, who would choose to live in the countryside if they can live in the city? If you want to live there, live there by yourself. I certainly won’t."

Old Lady Gao said, "The houses in the city are small, the land is expensive, and not spacious. It’s different in the countryside; the land is vast, and it’s more comfortable to live in."

Gao Guofu said, "Of course, we need to live in the city, and we need to secure a city registration. But since the old home is gone, we also need to get a plot at the Red Star Production Team and build a large courtyard. We can come back to stay occasionally."

At this, Wang Xueyong darkened his expression, "Why didn’t you discuss this with me? We’re all family, why stir up such trouble?"

Old Lady Gao said, "My son-in-law, you don’t know about Zheng Xianghong..."

Old Lady Gao rattled on to Wang Xueyong about the misdeeds of Zheng Xianghong, essentially portraying her in the worst light possible while implying Gao Guoqiang was a son who forgot his mother once he had a wife.

Wang Xueyong said, "No matter what, you shouldn’t cause such a scene. Family matters should be discussed behind closed doors. It doesn’t look good to air them publicly."

Lin Xuebi said, "When you’re that angry, you don’t think much. Just thinking about how Zheng Xianghong has deceived us over the years, how can we not be angry? It’s obvious that Jiazhi is Zheng Xianghong’s brother’s child. Zheng Xianghong is unwilling to admit it, but that doesn’t mean we can’t see it. I’ve always felt that Zheng Xianghong wasn’t the type to bite her tongue and endure. Having three daughters, she had no confidence, couldn’t stand straight at her in-laws’, but with a son, how could she still tolerate it? It’s just not logical."

Speaking to this point, Lin Xuebi added angrily, "It’s a pity we couldn’t force Zheng Xianghong out today to make her swear she wouldn’t dare because she’s guilty."

Gao Guihua said, "Mom, stop talking so much. After all, our family has already severed ties with them. We don’t have those relatives anymore and won’t interact with them. How they live is none of our concern. We just need to live our lives well."

Wang Xueyong didn’t make a sound. Who would live well was still uncertain. Gao Jiaxing had become a deputy company commander, and after graduating from military school, he had become a company commander. Considering his future promotions, Wang Xueyong couldn’t help feeling envy and jealousy.

As secretary of Guangming Production Team, what was he compared to Gao Jiaxing, who would soon be a military school graduate?

Wang Xueyong resettled Gao Guihua’s family in the Red Star Production Team, assigning them a plot of land to build a house and even allocated several dormitories from the Youth Point for them to stay in until their house was completed.

In Liu Haihua’s view, the Red Star Production Team was her territory, but with Gao Guihua moving her maternal family there, Liu Haihua felt deeply displeased, believing her territory was being invaded.