Chapter 370
“I just think that if people knew who Hongchen’s real father and grandfather were, they might hesitate a bit more when seeking revenge. As a mother, I’m not too concerned about whether he gets promoted or not; what matters most is that our family stays safe and sound,” Mrs. Su said. She usually dealt with smaller family issues and had never faced something this big. Last night, she tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
But Su Xiaoxiao’s attitude was firm. “Why should we care about that? The mastermind behind this is a spy, not one of our own. Do we really need to worry about maintaining friendly relations for future encounters?”
Mrs. Su pressed her lips together, realizing her daughter made a valid point. “Alright, I won’t think about it anymore. Just make sure to stay safe and don’t run around recklessly,” she added, her concern still evident.
Su Xiaoxiao was both amused and exasperated by all the reminders from her family but could only nod and agree obediently.
Over the next few days, the Su family would always accompany Su Xiaoxiao to the Jiang family house every morning at 7:30. Even when Jiang Yexun and He Xingzhi came to pick her up, they still insisted on personally ensuring her safety.
Since she had little else to do, Su Xiaoxiao would lie back in bed to catch up on sleep once she arrived at the Jiang house, only getting up around noon to eat. Most of her time, however, was spent working in her secret space. The herbs there could be harvested with a mere thought, but preparing the medicinal materials required her personal attention. Yet even with her efforts, her processing speed couldn’t keep up with the rapid growth of the plants.
Having exhausted her current supply of herb seeds, Su Xiaoxiao planted ginseng and fo-ti root throughout the entire garden. With one day outside equating to one year inside the space, in just ten days, these two medicinal herbs would be ready for potent applications. Ginseng, for example, was especially effective in removing fine lines, while fo-ti root worked wonders for hair growth and shine. Stocking up on these now would allow her to be prepared when private businesses opened up in the future, allowing her to quickly bring her products and formulas to market.
Sitting in the courtyard, Aunt Guo was preparing dinner while chatting with Su Xiaoxiao. “Xiaoxiao, look at this empty yard. Besides the fruit trees, which basically take care of themselves once they get some rain, have you thought about planting anything else?” Aunt Guo asked curiously.
Su Xiaoxiao’s eyes lit up instantly. She eagerly replied, “Actually, I’ve been thinking about planting a few tea trees. Tea is hard to come by these days, and I’ve heard that the best teas never make it to the market. The growers keep most of it for themselves.”
“Tea trees, huh? Are they easy to find?” Aunt Guo frowned, a bit concerned.
Su Xiaoxiao realized that her request might be difficult, so she quickly backtracked. “I was just speaking offhand. It’s not a big deal if we can’t find them.”
“They’re not that hard to find! Of course, we can get some. Maybe we can’t buy fully grown, mature tea trees, but we can definitely start with some young saplings. They’re easy to grow in the ground, so don’t worry about whether they’ll survive,” Aunt Guo reassured her confidently.
“When Yexun comes back, I’ll ask him to help you find some tea trees. Since he’s been traveling a lot recently, it’ll be easier for him to find them,” Aunt Guo said, promising to take care of it.
“What are you looking for?” Jiang Yexun had just stepped into the courtyard when he overheard the conversation.
“Tea trees! Xiaoxiao wants to plant a few in the yard,” Aunt Guo quickly explained.
Without hesitation, Jiang Yexun nodded. “Sure, I’ll look around while I’m out investigating these next few days. If I can’t find any, once we’ve resolved my uncle’s situation after the New Year, I’ll visit some tea-growing villages to ask around.”
Su Xiaoxiao had experienced firsthand in her previous life how Jiang Yexun and Aunt Guo always went out of their way to fulfill her requests. Even now, their enthusiasm left her feeling a little overwhelmed.
“There are many different kinds of tea. You two keep talking, I’ll go prepare dinner,” Aunt Guo said with a smile, picking up a basket and heading into the kitchen. He Xingzhi, feeling out of place, quickly excused himself to check on his sister.
With everyone else out of the courtyard, Jiang Yexun reached out his hand to Su Xiaoxiao, who placed hers in his. His warm palm made her instinctively want to pull away, but before she could, he tightened his grip and pulled her up from her small stool.
Seizing the moment while no one was watching, Su Xiaoxiao buried herself in his embrace.
“How’s the investigation going? Did you find proof to clear my father’s name?” She looked up, her bright black eyes filled with hope.
Jiang Yexun nodded. “We’ve confirmed the people involved here in Shanghai. Now we just need to track down where they hid the ton of steel. These guys only let some things slip in conversation, so we don’t have concrete evidence yet. If we arrest them now, they might deny everything.”
“As long as you’ve identified them, that’s good. No one’s trying to silence them, right?” Su Xiaoxiao was still worried about this.
“Your brother’s investigation is in full swing, and Jin Xubo really does have some key evidence. Those involved are unsure how much he’s revealed, so they don’t dare to act rashly,” Jiang Yexun said, resting his chin on Su Xiaoxiao’s fluffy hair, gently rubbing against her.
The overly intimate gesture made him feel a bit parched. He was torn between pulling away or retreating to a room to continue their conversation when they heard someone approaching.
Startled, Su Xiaoxiao quickly jumped out of his arms and glanced toward the door.
When Su Hongchen entered, the first thing he saw was his sister’s flushed face. This made his already sharp gaze even more intimidating.
However, Su Hongchen would never direct his displeasure at his precious sister. The only one on the receiving end of his ire was Jiang Yexun, who, feeling guilty, kept a stiff face, pretending nothing had happened.
“Brother, where have you been these past two days? I haven’t seen you! Is everything going smoothly with your investigation?” Su Xiaoxiao hurried to his side, linking her arm with his and shaking it playfully to divert his attention.
The tension around Su Hongchen immediately eased.
“I went out of town, and there’s been some progress. The situation is bigger than we thought, and it’s not something that can be solved quickly. But I’ve spoken to the leadership in Beijing about our family’s situation. They believe our father was framed by spies because of my involvement. However, to give the factory workers closure, we still need to find the people responsible for framing Dad, but we’ve been given a couple more months to investigate.”
He carefully shared what he could with Su Xiaoxiao. Despite several days of questioning, Jin Xubo still hadn’t confessed anything. However, the National Security Office had gathered information from children he had fostered, and after examining his movements over the past few decades and interviewing his old neighbors, they discovered that Jin Xubo had been raising other people’s children since he was 22 years old.
In 18 years, he’d gone through three wives, starting with a village girl from 16 to 22, then another from the city from 18 to 24. Both of his first two wives had connections to prominent figures.
They had confirmed that Jin Xubo had fostered at least 10 girls, of whom five or six had been traced. He’d also taken in eight or nine boys, though only one of their whereabouts was currently known. Most of these boys had been sent away at 14 or 15, supposedly reunited with their biological families.
Such a large operation shocked the leadership in Beijing, and the discovery triggered widespread concern. They had only uncovered this one network, but no one knew how many more might be out there.