Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 195 - 193: Life is Like a Play

Chapter 195: Chapter 193: Life is Like a Play

Instead of heading straight home after returning from the prefecture city, Xiao’er’s family made a detour to a furniture shop.

The proprietor of the winery was already waiting there for them.

"Apologies for having kept you waiting, Boss Shi," Xiao’er said.

"Where did you see this jade pendant before?" The winery owner pulled out a drawing that Xiao’er had sent him and asked her about it.

"Cousin Zhiwen, could you please show your jade pendant to this respected elder?" Xiao’er requested.

Everyone looked at Xiao’er and Boss Shi with a sense of bewilderment, feeling like something was about to happen.

Zhiwen took out his jade pendant which he carried with him all the time and handed it to the winery owner.

The winery owner, trembling hands holding the jade pendant, was immediately overcome with tears. "Die’er..." he murmured.

The sight of him in such a state made everyone feel uneasy.

Once Boss Shi managed to control his emotions, he asked again, "Who gave you this jade pendant?"

"It was my grandmother who gave it to me."

"Where is your grandmother?"

"She’s in the village."

"Where is the village? I want to go find her right now."

"Boss Shi, please don’t rush. I’ve already sent someone to bring my grandmother here."

"Let’s clear things up first."

Upon hearing this, the winery owner finally sat down. "This jade pendant belonged to my daughter who was lost many years ago."

Daughter? Xiao’er glanced at the winery owner, judging if he was about sixty years old, if not less.

Mrs. Liu was currently twenty-four years old. At this time, girls usually got married around fifteen or sixteen. Mrs. Liu Lin conceived Liu Minhong three years after getting married, meaning she was twenty when she gave birth to Mrs. Liu. So, Mrs. Liu Lin should be forty-four this year.

"My grandmother is forty-four years old, so she can’t be your daughter." Xiao’er remarked, noting the age gap – the winery owner’s only son had died before he could get married. If his grandmother was his daughter, the difference between the siblings was too vast.

"I got married when I was fifteen and had a daughter when I was sixteen. However, a cunning man did harm to me. I had been unable to have children for many years until I met a divine doctor who cured my disease. I gave birth to a son when I was forty-four. I turn sixty this year," the winery owner recounted, revealing the hardships of his life.

The winery owner choked up, recalling the past, and his eyes turned red again.

Liu Minhong handed him a handkerchief.

He waved his hand, holding back his tears. "My daughter has a birthmark on her arm."

"Is it on the right arm? Is it red and shaped like a butterfly?" Mrs. Tan exclaimed excitedly.

The winery owner nodded, "Yes, yes. It’s like a butterfly. That’s why I named her Shi Caidie."

The people present looked at each other. This situation was incredibly dramatic! A long-lost great-grandfather suddenly appeared on the scene?

"But I have never heard my mother say that she was not birthed by my grandmother," Liu Minhong countered, obviously referring to his grandmother, not the man in front of him.

"My daughter was taken away when she was just one month old, so how could she know whether she is someone else’s biological child! It’s understandable that the person who raised her didn’t tell her. Who wouldn’t want the child they raised to treat them like their birth parents?"

He only guessed that it was his clan who took his daughter away and stopped giving any benefits to them. Perhaps because of this, the people of his clan crossed the line. First, they poisoned him, resulting in his childlessness, and then when the poison was finally cured, he had a late-life son. Just as the son was about to get married, he was murdered!

Without evidence, he couldn’t enforce justice on the spot! Yet, they sought his winery! He would not let them have it!

"Are you silly! How many biological parents would willingly send their child away at the age of five to be a child bride? I remember my father saying that my mother had a terrible time when she was a child. She always had finger marks on her face and unrecovered wounds on her hands, which would be soon followed by new ones. She had to fetch water, chop firewood, cook, wash clothes, and feed livestock every day. Not to mention, she never had a pair of shoes to wear all year round. She always walked around barefoot, even in the intense winter, leaving a trace of bloody footprints in the snow... Xiao’er saw that Mrs. Tan was going on and on, without noticing the old man’s rising panic.

Seeing the winery owner clutching his chest, Xiao’er quickly interrupted Mrs. Tan. "My aunt, let’s forget the past and talk about the present."

"Boss Shi, take a sip of water to relax!" Xiao’er covertly poured out a cup of water from an empty glass.

Mrs. Tan finally realized something was amiss and quickly changed the topic. "But now we finally made it through. Look at our clothes and this shop. You can tell that my mother’s tough days are over and that she can now enjoy her twilight years."

Xiao’er was truly amazed by Mrs. Tan’s adaptability. Now, she had started calling the winery owner "grandfather."

They hadn’t even fully accepted their relationship yet!

Thankfully they made it through, or his daughter would have suffered her whole life!

Mrs. Liu Lin soon walked in. Seeing the winery owner, she smiled and said, "So we have a guest at home? You should have informed me earlier. I just burst in and disturbed you."

The winery owner stood up. She definitely was his daughter. She looked just like his wife.

"Die’er," he muttered, reaching out to hold Mrs. Liu Lin’s hand.

"Sir, you’ve mistaken me for someone else. I’m not Die’er..." Mrs. Liu Lin looked around for help from her children and grandchildren.

"I’m not mistaken. It’s you. You look so much like your mother. Isn’t this your jade pendant? And don’t you have a butterfly-shaped birthmark on your arm?"

"But my father..."

"Grandmother, this gentleman is your biological father. The jade pendant you gave to Wen’er and the one he wears are a pair."

"Father?" Mrs. Liu Lin was having a hard time processing the revelations.

"We should go out and let them talk and catch up."

Following Xiao’er’s words, everyone left the room.

Mrs. Tan and Mrs. Liu started cooking, planning to prepare a sumptuous dinner to celebrate the fact that their mother had finally found her biological father.

Who knows what the father and daughter, after so many years apart, had to talk about? They talked for a full two hours before coming out.

The winery owner looked completely different from when he had first arrived.

Indeed, the difference between despair and having a glimmer of hope in life was pronounced. Xiao’er thought she noticed a few black strands appearing amid the all-white hair of the winery owner.

"Great-grandfather, have you managed to hire someone for the winery? If not, I know a few skilled workers. I can ask them to help if necessary. They are very reliable. You can trust them. I could also help if it weren’t for fear of causing trouble for you, but..." The wicked were too cunning. He couldn’t take that risk!

"Thank you, great-granddaughter. But don’t worry about us. We can handle any trouble. Great-grandfather, from now on, you should live a more carefree life and do as you wish!"

"Life really is like a drama. I never thought buying a winery would bring a great-grandfather into my life." Jinghao sighed.

"You’re the one who talks too much. Isn’t this even better? Now we have one more person to pamper you."

"Definitely!"