I Got Rich in Period Fiction
Chapter 298: The Ingrate

Chapter 298: Chapter 298: The Ingrate

"I know your grandpa only has your mom as a daughter, and your grandma is no longer with us," said Qiao Qingyu. "Even though we’ve lived in the Qiao Family Team for so many years, we can’t escape the truth—it’s still a rural community. Your grandpa won’t let your mom return to the Qiao Family Team."

Qiao Qingyu nodded. "Dad, that’s for sure. Let’s put ourselves in their shoes for a moment..." Qiao Qingyu said with a smile, as if she hadn’t noticed Qiao Zhicai’s conflict, helplessness, and a hint of deep pain.

"Let’s make an analogy," she continued. "You and my mom were workers in Ning’an County, right? And when I was little, I got kidnapped..."

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Qiao Zhicai’s face changed. He couldn’t stand such talk; his daughter was the apple of his eye.

"Dad, I’m just making an analogy. Listen to me."

Qiao Zhicai snorted through his nose, but his mood seemed to improve.

Qiao Qingyu went on, "...then, after over a decade, you found me in a tiny, dilapidated village deep in the mountains. Even if I was married with kids by then, life was so hard that we were going meal to meal without proper clothes. Could you bear to abandon me there and not care?"

Qiao Zhicai wasn’t a fool; he understood perfectly well what his daughter meant. He grumbled through his nose, "Although life with your mom has been hard, I’ve never let her go hungry or wear clothes patched on top of patches..."

Qiao Qingyu fell silent and just looked at Qiao Zhicai quietly.

After a moment of silence, Qiao Zhicai finally said in a low voice, "Qingyu, I understand what you mean. If you really were in that situation, I’d risk my old life to bring you back to the city. I wouldn’t let you suffer a bit more."

Qingyu clapped her hands. "So, Dad, think about what my grandpa must feel, as a father too. He went through so much to find my mom, so how could he possibly let her go back to the Qiao Family Team?"

Qiao Zhicai fell silent, looking around after quite a while.

In the past, this place could have been for the Emperor’s son or perhaps high-ranking officials.

Now such residences are assigned to individuals, something he was aware of. Yet the mansion was still here, which meant his father-in-law’s status was certainly not just about wealth.

The Qiao Family Team may be nice, but it’s still rural. His house might have been top-tier in the village with its brick facade, but the rest was made of yellow mud. He was planning to save up this year to build a five-room brick house next.

But even if you built a mansion in the Qiao Family Team, it couldn’t compare to this place.

Here, even using the bathroom was upscale, with some kind of toilet that made him feel constipated because he couldn’t relax.

When you think about it, it’s all tears.

"...Qingyu, if I stay here, wouldn’t it mean I’m living off someone else? How could I let your grandpa support me?"

Then he added, "There are still so many relatives back at the Qiao Family Team, and your grandparents are in poor health. Even though your uncle and others are looking after them, I have my responsibilities and obligations.

I can’t just abandon them and ignore them. You know as well as I do, Qingyubao, how they’ve been to our family, right?"

"Dad, I know." Qingyu nodded quickly.

"...Despite our poverty, we have our dignity. No matter how rich your grandpa is, your grandparents would never move here. Yun City and North City are too far apart. Qingyubao, Dad is really worried, I have no idea what to do."

Qingyu was silent for a moment, then laughed, "Dad, if this were happening to someone else, they’d be over the moon and praising their ancestors’ graves. But why do you look so worried?"

"Qingyubao, you don’t understand," Qiao Zhicai sighed. "I can’t settle down here. No matter how big the house, how nice the place, how beautiful the city, your dad—I don’t own anything here, how can I feel at ease? But I can’t bear to see your grandma and mom separated, logically, your mom and I should be by your grandpa’s side to show filial respect."

"Dad, you’re right to think that way. At this time, you should consider it from my mom’s perspective. After being apart from my grandpa for so many years, they’ve finally reunited. Grandpa’s getting older, and you can’t put mom in a difficult position."

"I know, you don’t have to tell me, I’m not a beast. How could I deny your mom the chance to show filial piety? It’s what children are supposed to do."

"So, you’ll have to stay with mom and grandpa for a while."

Qiao Zhicai nodded.

Qingyu continued, "My little brother absolutely has to go back. He has his college entrance exams next year and can’t fall behind. Then there’s Doudou and Feifei. Even though the Qiao Family Team’s primary school isn’t the best, they still need to finish this semester before making a decision for next year. With those two kids going back, my older brother and sister-in-law just can’t stay here..."

"What about my corn husk crafts?"

"You can keep weaving them here, proudly continue your work. You come from a farming background, there’s no shame in that. Plenty at the Xichuan Base talk behind my back, calling me a country girl, but I became the humanities top scholar went to university. Now all they can do is praise me. I’ve never been ashamed of being from a rural area; without farmers, what would people eat?"

The father and daughter chatted on and on, with Qiao Zhicai’s mood gradually shifting from gloomy to brighter. He’d tackle the unresolved issues slowly, but most he could accept by looking at things from a different perspective.

He really learned a lot of new terms from his daughter.

And those two rascals! No wonder he was less affectionate toward them. Seeing their father distressed, they didn’t even bother to check on him.

His daughter was more thoughtful.

So when everyone sat down for dinner, Qiao Zhicai’s expression was considerably brighter, and Wu Xiucai noticed the change instantly.

Thinking back to what his daughter had said, he sighed.

What could he do? He couldn’t let his daughter be torn.

She was right. If she had acknowledged a wealthy father and abandoned her husband and children, what good would such a daughter be?

That would be nothing but an ungrateful beast.

In any case, he had no plans to return to the United States. The important assets had been quietly moved back, though he still had companies in the United States with special significance. Now, he entrusted them to Tai’s children and his nieces and nephews, feeling very assured.

Wu Tai had things to take care of and left with Secretary Chang pushing his wheelchair.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.