Chapter 576
“Don’t worry so much, I’ll take good care of everything.” Su Hongchen, seeing his younger sister stuffing all the good things into his hands, felt deeply moved. After carefully storing everything away, he turned to look at Jiang Yexun, who was standing by the side.
His expression immediately grew sharp.
“Once you go back, make sure you get everything done quickly and don’t let my sister suffer any hardships. She’s still early in her pregnancy, and the weather hasn’t warmed up yet. Once everything is settled, you can take her back to Shanghai. It will be better for her to have a few more adults at home to take care of her, you understand?” Su Hongchen said in a low voice, emphasizing his words.
Jiang Yexun nodded seriously. “Brother, don’t worry. I’ll definitely deal with all those messy things and people quickly.”
Ever since he confirmed that his father was really looking for the treasure hidden by the Gu family, the Jiang family had become nothing more than blood-related wolves to him. This time, he planned not only to help his parents get divorced but also to find a way to make them disappear completely.
“Be careful, and if you have any problems, feel free to contact me anytime.” Su Hongchen reminded again with concern.
Only then did they send Su Xiaoxiao and the others onto the train. Previously, they had only booked regular sleeper tickets, but this time, Su Hongchen’s military leaders directly got them soft sleeper tickets.
In their small compartment, there were four upper and lower bunk beds facing each other. For the entire three-day, two-night journey, no one came into their compartment, let alone encountered any danger.
However, both Aunt Guo and Jiang Yexun were dissatisfied with the boxed meals on the train, feeling they didn’t provide the necessary nutrition for Su Xiaoxiao. So, as soon as they got off the train, they took her straight to a state-owned restaurant.
They ordered chicken soup for just over two yuan a serving, braised pork for over one yuan, and various meat dishes. They ordered everything Su Xiaoxiao usually ate, without holding back.
This caused quite a stir among the restaurant patrons.
Some even muttered quietly, “Isn’t this too wasteful? Did they really need this much food?”
“Exactly! So wasteful! There’s no sense of frugality at all.”
Hearing these comments, Jiang Yexun’s brows furrowed into two small mountains, visibly displeased. Before he could say anything, Su Xiaoxiao reached out and pressed his hand down.
Then, she smiled lightly at the people and said, “We just returned from a trip to the faraway land to visit relatives, and we hadn’t had any hometown food for months. We were a little too eager and ordered too much. But our family has big appetites, and we even brought our own lunch boxes, so we can pack up whatever we don’t finish.”
Upon hearing this, the others immediately broke into hearty laughter.
“Of course! Our northeastern food is so delicious! It’s totally normal to miss it after being away for so long.”
“If I were to go abroad, even half a month without a good meal would make me crave it madly!”
Seeing that no one was paying attention to them anymore, Su Xiaoxiao continued eating.
Although they were paying for the food themselves and could eat however they wanted at the state-owned restaurant, frugality and simplicity were the right things in these times. Anyone who indulged in extravagance would be publicly lectured by the revolutionary committee.
After packing up their food, Aunt Guo went to buy two pounds of sauerkraut pork dumplings, and the three of them hurried off to the recycling station.
By the time they arrived, it was already 1:30 p.m. They just happened to bump into Hua Shoucheng, who was pushing a bicycle as he walked out.
From a distance, Su Xiaoxiao and Jiang Yexun noticed his expression wasn’t good. He seemed to be enveloped in a heavy, downcast mood.
What happened to him? Could it be that things from the previous life had already started to unfold?
Su Xiaoxiao bit her lip, slightly suspicious.
“Brother-in-law!” Jiang Yexun stepped forward and called out to him.
Hua Shoucheng, who had been keeping his head down, jumped in surprise, looking up at them in confusion.
Then, a smile slowly spread across his face. “You’re back and didn’t even let us know in advance so we could go pick you up.”
“My sister is about to give birth. How can we let her suffer like this?” Jiang Yexun’s expression softened slightly, but his eyes still scanned Hua Shoucheng with suspicion. “Brother-in-law, I noticed you seemed a bit off just now. Did something happen?”
“No… no, it’s just that work has been a bit overwhelming, and I’m tired.” Hua Shoucheng hesitated for a moment before quickly denying it.
However, he wasn’t good at lying, and even Aunt Guo could tell something was wrong.
Jiang Yexun was about to ask more when Hua Shoucheng hurriedly cut him off. “It’s getting late. I have to go to work. Let’s talk later.”
They couldn’t really hold him back, so they let him leave on his bike.
After watching him ride away, Aunt Guo expressed her concern, “What’s going on with your brother-in-law? He’s an accountant at the factory, so he shouldn’t be facing any problems.”
The worst issue an accountant could have was with the books. But because Xiaoxiao had been worried before, her son-in-law had gone through the accounts carefully, and there was absolutely no major issue. Even if there were minor mistakes in the books over the past three to four months, it shouldn’t be anything serious enough to make him look so distracted.
“We’ll ask my sister about it later. She and my brother-in-law don’t hide anything from each other,” Jiang Yexun said calmly.
But the next second, Aunt Guo slapped him hard.
“Are you out of your mind? Your sister is about to give birth in a month. Even if the sky were falling, your brother-in-law wouldn’t tell her his worries. You want to add to her stress?”
“Yexun, don’t you know anyone in the black market? Why don’t you find someone to keep an eye on him and see if something’s going on?” Su Xiaoxiao suggested.
On the way here, she had been thinking carefully about when things went wrong in her previous life. The time of the preterm birth, the weather, and the farm work in the brigade could all point to something that might happen around this week.
Now, if they found someone to keep an eye on Hua Shoucheng, the timing would be perfect.
“Alright. After I drop this off, I’ll find someone right away,” Jiang Yexun agreed, his dark eyes glinting with resolve. He was planning to get someone to bring a camera along, just in case his brother-in-law had done something wrong and they could get solid proof.
The thought of this possibility made Jiang Yexun’s mood even colder.
Su Xiaoxiao and Aunt Guo both glanced at him, shivering a little from the coldness emanating from him.
“Control your emotions. Don’t let your sister notice anything,” Aunt Guo warned sharply.
“I won’t slip up once we’re inside the recycling station.” Jiang Yexun helplessly suppressed his frustration, calming down the cold pressure he was feeling.
Then, without saying anything more, he grabbed his wife’s hand and walked toward the station.
The weather had already warmed up by now, and it was just past noon. The sun was high in the sky, casting a warm glow over everything.
Jiang Xinyue was lying in a rocking chair, with a small heater on the side and a blanket over her. She wasn’t afraid of getting cold.
“Xinyue!” As soon as Aunt Guo saw her daughter, her eyes welled up with tears.
The shout startled Jiang Xinyue, making her jump.