At the ntion of their eldest grandson, Mr. Han and Mrs. Han exchanged a look. They felt they really should make a trip back to Chuncheng.
Their eldest son was infuriating, but their grandson hadn’t reached the point of no return.
At worst, he was just a bit arrogant. This trip to Chuncheng would be a good opportunity to see if his temperant had smoothed out a bit.
So, they both nodded.
"Yes, we really should go back. It’s not good to leave the house in Chuncheng empty for too long. We’ll go back and stay for a couple of days, and we’ll call you before we return."
Xie Changning nodded in agreent.
After dinner, once everything was cleaned up, the family started assigning rooms.
Since Mr. and Mrs. Han’s courtyard was just diagonally across the way, and Mr. Han had already gone back to heat up the kang before dinner, he warmly invited Xie Hengsheng and Ms. Sheng Yongi.
"I’ve heated two kangs. Why don’t you co stay with us?"
Xie Hengsheng didn’t see any issue with that. He nodded. "Alright. We won’t crowd you here."
And just like that, the four elders found their places to rest for the night.
Sheng Jiaojiao had originally thought that if there wasn’t enough room, she and her mother would just go back to the factory to sleep. As it turned out, Xie Changning’s house had plenty of kangs.
There was no shortage of places to sleep at all.
Xie Changning found so clean quilts and carried them to the room next door.
As for Mr. and Mrs. Han’s courtyard, Xie Changning had already prepared extra quilts for them long ago. There was enough room for eight or ten people to stay without a problem.
There was no need to bring any more quilts over.
With the arrangents made, everyone went to their respective rooms to sleep.
It was Sheng Jiaojiao’s first ti staying sowhere other than the factory, and she was a little excited. In the darkness, her eyes were wide open as she asked her mother, "Mom, what do you think about mooching off my senior for one more day tomorrow?"
’Not staying in the lab dormitory, my brain can finally get a rest! I’m so happy!’
"Snap out of it. Your senior is going abroad next week. If you don’t get your sample ready soon, she might not be able to take it with her."
"It’s fine if my sample doesn’t go abroad. It’ll be the sa if I present it at the sharing session."
The mother and daughter bickered playfully.
Perhaps because neither of them had any experints to think about today, their minds were relaxed. After exchanging a few more words, they both drifted off to sleep.
Xie Changning, on the other hand, was in her small room with her desk lamp on, poring over various data on her desk.
She didn’t go to sleep until late at night.
「The next day.」
When Xie Changning woke up, Sheng Jiaojiao and Teacher Qin were already ready to go. Their biological clocks were set by their experints; they had to get up early every morning for etings.
Today was actually considered sleeping in for them.
Xie Changning greeted the two of them and went to wash up.
The four elders ca over around this ti as well. Compared to the day before, they seed to be getting along even more cheerfully.
"I’ll show you what I can do today! My hand-pulled noodles are second to none!" Mr. Han declared, rolling up his sleeves to head to the kitchen and make them.
Xie Hengsheng nodded. "Alright, I’ll be waiting for your hand-pulled noodles this morning!"
As they spoke, they were about to head to the kitchen.
But they were both pulled back by their respective wives. "Old Xie has to go out for sothing today, so don’t waste ti. Xiao Wang and Xiao Zhao have already prepared the al. If you want to cook, you can do it tonight."
Ms. Sheng Yongi, for her part, just stared intently at Xie Hengsheng.
Xie Hengsheng imdiately behaved, turning to Mr. Han to say, "I’ll co appreciate your hand-pulled noodles tonight, then!"
On the way to Anong County yesterday, Xie Changning’s parents had discussed with her that they would go visit her adoptive parents today.
They were going to collect a debt!
They weren’t going empty-handed this ti; they had co prepared.
Before returning, they had Xie Changyi investigate all of Xie Changning’s expenses over the years with her adoptive family, including her school fees. They also obtained certificates from all of her schools, confirming she was an outstanding student who received financial aid due to poverty.
After everything was ready, Xie Changning photocopied all the docunts her parents had prepared and gave them to a lawyer to handle.
Her parents would take the original docunts, go to the place where the couple had been sent down, find the local leadership, and have them issue a certificate. And then!
Half of the work points and grain rations they earned each month would be taken from them! To repay the debt!
Xie Hengsheng didn’t feel like he was kicking them while they were down. After all the years of hardship his daughter had suffered, this was what they deserved!
As for the adoptive parents’ original money, Xie Hengsheng and his wife both assud it had been confiscated by the authorities.
They had no idea that all that money was actually inside Xie Changning’s personal space.
She was gradually using it, planning to open an airline or sothing similar in a decade or so.
Of course, Xie Changning wasn’t planning on telling anyone about this.
The fewer people who knew that she’d emptied her adoptive parents’ house, the better. Ideally, she would be the only one to ever know.
On the way to see her adoptive parents, Xie Changning sat in the front passenger seat, chatting with her parents from ti to ti.
"We know everything now. We know how much they bullied you because of their own child, and we’re especially furious that they tried to make you drop out of school for an arranged marriage!"
Ms. Sheng Yongi didn’t believe for a second that her daughter avoided that fate because the other party had shown rcy.
Rather, it was because her daughter was resourceful and very lucky that she was able to escape their control, run to the school, and be protected by her teachers...
It wasn’t an act of kindness on their part!
So, she would never forgive them!
"I really have Teacher Qin to thank for that. When I contacted her, she took an overnight train to Shanghai to get out of there."
Xie Changning recounted the past events.
The driver, listening from the side, couldn’t help but glance over at Xie Changning, his eyes filled with admiration.
’For our factory director to have turned out so outstanding after growing up in an environnt like that... it’s truly a blessing!’
’Anyone else in her shoes would have either given up on themselves or died along the way...’
"That’s right. If it weren’t for Xiao Qin, we still wouldn’t know how difficult your life was!" Mrs. Xie felt a wave of lingering fear just talking about it.
This was also why she had chosen to retire.
She was getting older and couldn’t contribute much more to the project in her position anyway. It was better to step down, see how her daughter was doing, and spend a few years living by her side.
She couldn’t be there for her daughter’s childhood, so she had to at least be there for her now that she was grown, to see her and let her know who her parents were.
That her parents... hadn’t stopped loving her.
That was why, once they had completely handed over their work and ensured there were no lingering issues with the project, the couple left the base and ca to Chuncheng.
While they were chatting, the driver had already pulled up to the entrance of the work unit where the couple was located.
Xie Changning opened her car door, then helped her parents out one after another, leading them into the unit to find the person in charge.
Xie Changning’s arrival stunned many of the staff mbers.
They all read the newspaper and were very familiar with Xie Changning, knowing she was a hero of Lin Province.
They never expected this hero to one day show up here...
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