Chapter 424 The Wanderer Returns Home
Ye Shenge and her two masters busied themselves, and soon Qi Luquan was covered in needles, but his crooked smile was still uncontrollable.
"You need acupuncture every day from now on. Let's take it slow."
Qi Luquan grumbled at Dad Ye, trying to reach out to him with his free hand.
Seeing this, Qi Xuan quickly reached out to grab his grandfather's hand, but Qi Luquan, with all his might, slapped it away.
Dad Ye immediately squeezed past Qi Xuan and sat by the bed. Qi Luquan tightly grasped Dad Ye's hand and spoke with difficulty.
"Go, go, all of you go."
Dad Ye didn't understand what "go" meant.
"Uncle Qi, do you want us all to leave?"
"Mhm, go."
Ye Shenge nodded and left first, followed by the others, except for Qi Xuan who was reluctant to leave.
"Go, go."
Qi Luquan looked at Qi Xuan, his voice hoarse and angry.
Dad Ye looked at Qi Xuan with a stern expression.
"You should go too. Don't upset your grandfather anymore."
"I..."
Qi Xuan stood up, glanced at his grandfather on the bed, and immediately tears welled up. He turned and ran out.
Dad Ye stood up, closed the door tightly, and sat beside Qi Luquan.
"Old man, don't think too much about anything right now. Focus on recovering. A stroke isn't an incurable disease. We'll take our time, and you'll get better."
Qi Luquan gestured with difficulty towards the cabinet.
"Get, sav, savings..."
Dad Ye listened carefully and guessed what he meant.
"Are you asking for the savings book?"
"Mhm."
"Okay, don't worry, I'll get it for you right away."
Dad Ye searched the wardrobe and found a savings book in a hidden compartment.
"What do you need the savings book for now? We don't need to use your money for your treatment."
Qi Luquan pushed the savings book towards Dad Ye.
"Keep, you keep."
"You mean for me to keep it for you?"
"Mhm, not for Xuan."
"Not for Qi Xuan?"
"Mhm."
Dad Ye sighed, looking at the savings book in his hand. Even when sick, why was he still thinking about money?
"Let, Xuan, go. Take thirty thousand, send Xuan away."
"You mean take thirty thousand yuan for Qi Xuan and then let her leave?"
Qi Luquan closed his eyes and nodded, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Where do you want Qi Xuan to go?"
"Mi"
"Mi Province? You want to send Qi Xuan to Mi Province?"
"Mhm, go, don't come back."
"Let Qi Xuan leave and never return?"
"Mhm."
Dad Ye opened the savings book. The money was still deposited by Mu En.
"But, can you rest assured letting her go to Mi Province alone?"
Qi Luquan opened his eyes, filled with disappointment and heartache.
"Go, don't see."
Seeing Old Qi like this, Dad Ye couldn't help but wonder if it was a mistake for the two of them, grandson and grandfather, to flee to the mainland.
"Fine, it's best to send her away. You'll stay at home and recover. Out of sight, out of mind. I won't abandon you."
Qi Luquan grabbed Dad Ye's hand and suddenly cried like a child.
"Don't cry. Perhaps if you stop interfering with Qi Xuan, she might grow up. I'll exchange thirty thousand for Mi Province currency and have someone send her back there. I won't concern myself with the rest."
"Mhm, thank, thank you."
Dad Ye put the savings book in his pocket and walked out. Since the decision was made, it had to be done quickly, lest Qi Xuan, this troublemaker, continue to poison his family.
Qi Xuan stood in a corner of the yard, ignored by everyone, as if she were an unwanted extra.
Shang Shaoyan was whispering with Zi Yisheng, while Ye Shenge accompanied her mother. The atmosphere in the entire courtyard was so awkward it made Qi Xuan suffocate.
Dad Ye walked directly up to Qi Xuan and spoke without reservation.
"Your grandfather wants me to send you away immediately. You'll live alone in Mi Province from now on."
"What? Send me away? No, I absolutely refuse to leave."
Qi Xuan screamed hysterically, causing Dad Ye's brow to furrow even deeper.
"If you leave now, today's incident won't escalate, and things will eventually calm down. This is for the best for both of you. Moreover, you saw your grandfather's condition today. It can all be attributed to your mistakes. Give your grandfather a way out and let him recover peacefully at the Ye family's home."
Qi Xuan stumbled back a few steps. It was all her fault. Yes, it was all her fault.
"Yes, only I made mistakes. Now it seems that my leaving will settle everything."
Qi Xuan walked up to Shang Shaoyan, but he dodged to the side. Seeing this familiar movement, Qi Xuan gave a tragic smile.
"Will you marry me now? That will calm things down, and I won't have to leave Grandpa. Don't worry, even if you marry me, I won't pester you anymore. We'll just be a fake couple, and I'll leave voluntarily when you find the person you truly love. Please, I'm begging you, I don't want to leave my grandfather."
"Impossible. I'd rather go to jail than be with you."
"Hahahaha, even now you're still unwilling. You all despise me, abandon me. I hate all of you."
Qi Xuan cried out maniacally. Ye Shenge, seeing Qi Xuan's unstable emotions, quickly took out a packet of sleeping pills and threw them.
"You, you too."
Qi Xuan quickly lost consciousness. Ye Shenge quickly supported her, and her mother also came forward to help. The two of them took Qi Xuan back to her room.
Mother Ye looked at Qi Xuan on the bed with a sigh, wondering how things had come to this.
"Letting her continue to act out like this is bad for her mental health. It's better to let her calm down. Perhaps she'll come to her senses when she wakes up."
"Let's hope so. I hope Qi Xuan can live well alone in Mi Province."
Dad Ye handed the savings book to Zi Yisheng.
"Exchange it for thirty thousand Mi Province currency, and send her away as soon as possible. Try to have the people in Mi Province arrange a safe place for Qi Xuan."
"Alright, she can leave tonight."
Dad Ye patted Zi Yisheng's shoulder with a hint of pleading in his voice.
"It would be even better if your people could keep an eye on Qi Xuan, at least so she doesn't get bullied."
Zi Yisheng didn't reply. Watching someone would consume manpower, and his subordinates were not that idle. Moreover, if Qi Xuan knew someone was protecting her, she might become even more brazen. He had no such obligation.
Dad Ye understood Zi Yisheng's meaning and could only sigh. Well, the path ahead would be up to Qi Xuan.
Shang Shaoyan breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. The matter was resolved before he had to act, and he could stay far away from Qi Xuan, perhaps never seeing her again.
Third Master Shang patted his son's back. Finally, some peace. The Shang family just wanted to live peacefully and wasn't suited for causing trouble in the village.
"Let's go back."
Shang Shaoyan looked at his father's receding back with a pang of sadness and let out a heavy sigh before following. However, when he saw many villagers looking at him, Shang Shaoyan felt a little dejected, as if he were being stripped bare under their gaze. Fortunately, he had a thick skin.
As Qi Xuan was being carried away, she made sure Qi Luquan saw her. Qi Luquan only glanced once before closing his eyes.
When Qi Xuan opened her eyes again, she found herself on a boat, feeling the familiar rocking motion of "drifting with the current." Qi Xuan didn't scream, but stared wide-eyed at the ceiling, tears constantly flowing down her temples.
With one person gone from the house, it suddenly became completely quiet. No one mentioned Qi Xuan's name anymore, not even Qi Luquan. He only became more silent, often lying in the yard, basking in the sun, lost in thought.
It seemed the village had also moved on. Everyone assumed Qi Xuan had been sent away by her family to get married.
Every day, Ye Shenge insisted on going up the mountain to tend to the patch of crops she had planted. The harvest from the mountain had solved the village's food shortage, at least allowing their Bai Rong Brigade to eat sufficiently.
However, the national food shortage had not significantly eased, and many areas were still suffering from drought, resulting in no harvest at all.
Disaster victims from severely drought-stricken areas had also left their homes and were being resettled by the government in other villages with harvests.
Bai Rong Brigade also received quite a few disaster victims, which led to some chaos in the entire village, and even incidents of theft occurred.
Now, Arsen and the others took turns on night watch every day, at least ensuring that their families would not be burgled in the middle of the night.
Ye Shenge was the only girl in the family, and now, no matter what she did, someone would accompany her.
Zi Yisheng also spent most of his time with Ye Shenge. The closer the wedding date, the more excited he became, to the point where he even treated buying the bedsheets for the wedding as a major event to discuss with Ye Shenge.
Ye Shenge watched Zi Yisheng go crazy. At first, she was willing to humor him, but over time, she just looked at him acting out alone like an idiot.
Ouyang also didn't go out much now, unless there was something he absolutely had to do. The rest of the time, he stayed home with Chen Tangtang, who had a new identity.
Chen Tangtang and Ouyang were inseparable, and the two elders in the family doted on Chen Tangtang, so she quickly became pregnant.
The Chinese New Year was approaching, and Chen Tangtang's belly was already quite large. Due to the family's good conditions, her mother-in-law, Xia Hong, couldn't help but constantly find new ways to feed her beloved daughter-in-law. Thus, Chen Tangtang had transformed from a little chubby girl into a very plump woman, her weight skyrocketing.
Every time Ye Shenge saw Chen Tangtang, she would remind her repeatedly, but Chen Tangtang's mouth never stopped.
Not only was Chen Tangtang pampered at Ouyang's house, but she also received preferential treatment at the Bai family's home. Especially Grandma Bai and her several aunts, who were envious of Chen Tangtang's growing belly.
Mother Ye also looked on enviously. She, who had once vowed never to force her son to marry and have children, now regarded Ye Mu'en as her mortal enemy and constantly tried to provoke him with her words.
Therefore, Ye Mu'en avoided going home as much as possible, wishing he could live on West Mountain and spend his days with the mining personnel.
The year passed quickly. Ye Shenge was less than twenty days away from turning eighteen and less than twenty days away from her wedding. The Ye family, Bai family, and Zi Yisheng's people were all busy.
Elder Fan and Elder Dang even specifically made nourishing and qi-enhancing pills for Ye Shenge, vowing that their little apprentice would be the most beautiful bride on her wedding day.
Three people were gazing at their homeland across the vast ocean, their faces filled with excitement and longing.
"Xiao Tiantian, do you see? That's our home."
Xiao Tiantian finally showed a different expression on her face. Although she still refused to speak, she responded to the person talking to her.
Min Xing remained his usual flippant self, sitting on the deck, drinking wine, with his legs crossed, a hint of regret on his face.
"My jolly, Sara, who knows when we'll meet again. I hope you don't miss me too much."
Mo Lin quickly covered his sister's ears, suppressing the urge to beat Min Xing into submission.
"Can you stop shouting? If you didn't want to come back, you didn't have to follow us."
"Tch, if I hadn't promised Ye Shenge to bring you all back in one piece, I would have stayed abroad for a few more years."
The situation in China was so dire now. Many members of the Min family had also left the country, and the family business had either closed down or gone into hiding.
Min Xing's return to China meant he would have to live in Bai Rong Brigade. Where would he find the freedom to live recklessly again?
"Also, I'm very reluctant to leave Xiao Tiantian. After all, Xiao Tiantian likes me a lot now. She gets uneasy if she doesn't see me all day, so I'm very important, understand?"
"Hmph!"
Mo Lin really had no way to refute this. He didn't know how Min Xing had gained Xiao Tiantian's approval. He was out fooling around every day and wasn't by her side during her treatment, yet Xiao Tiantian trusted him implicitly.
"Don't be unconvinced. Xiao Tiantian likes me the most. Isn't that right, Xiao Tiantian?"
Xiao Tiantian turned around and walked towards Min Xing, reaching out for him to hold her, even forsaking her own elder brother.
Min Xing triumphantly picked up Xiao Tiantian and placed her on his lap, feeding her snacks.
Mo Lin couldn't bear to watch and stood aside, practicing his punches. He hadn't stopped practicing martial arts a single day since leaving home. Now, he could even exchange twenty to thirty moves with Min Xing.
Despite his flippant demeanor, Min Xing was also a master. While not as powerful as true powerhouses like Ye Mu'en, he could still contend with Zi Yisheng.
That afternoon, Zi Yisheng mysteriously left home with Ye Shenge, saying he was taking her to live by the sea for a few days. However, Ye Shenge, who knew him very well, had a feeling he was hiding something from her.
They arrived at the seaside house, which Zi Yisheng had rebuilt. It was much larger than the previous house, to accommodate family members who might want to visit the seaside.
The two of them had a delicious seafood feast at the village chief's house. Ye Shenge became sleepy at the usual time and fell asleep shortly after lying down.
Just as Ye Shenge was sleeping soundly, she felt someone tugging at her blanket. She opened her eyes to see a fully dressed Zi Yisheng standing by the bed.
"What are you doing up in the middle of the night?"
Ye Shenge rolled over and wrapped the blanket tighter around herself. It was quite cold by the sea in winter.
"I've thought of a surprise for you to see. You can keep sleeping. I'll wake you when we get there."
Ye Shenge, still groggy, let Zi Yisheng dress her and then he wrapped her in a thick coat and carried her.
Ye Shenge vaguely felt the person holding her stop and faintly heard the sound of a ship approaching.
"Are we picking up goods?"
"Mhm, some good stuff being transported back from Mi Province."
"Are you tired holding me?"
"Not tired. You can doze off again. I'll wake you later."
It would take some time for the ship to dock, so Ye Shenge drifted back to sleep.