Rebirth 1983: Building My Business Empire
Chapter 502 - Chapter 502 Chapter 490 Not Everyone is Grateful

Chapter 502: Chapter 490 Not Everyone is Grateful Chapter 502: Chapter 490 Not Everyone is Grateful Lu Jiaxin returned to the Forty-nine City and immediately went to visit Gu Xiuxiu upon arriving home. There was no one in the courtyard, and after asking around, she was told to go to the back garden. In the back garden, she found Gu Xiuxiu throwing a tantrum, not allowing anyone to come close. Aunt Mei coaxed her gently for quite a while before she allowed Jiaxin to approach.

Lu Jiaxin called out to Aunt with a shout, but to her surprise, Gu Xiuxiu gave her a glance and then turned her head away, ignoring her.

Aunt Mei was startled to see Lu Jiaxin: “Miss Cousin, when did you arrive?”

“I just got here, let’s take Aunt back to her room first!”

Gu Xiuxiu was currently living in the fourth courtyard, which had been empty before, but she had moved there due to her dementia and her liking for the place.

Unexpectedly, when Jiaxin tried to enter the courtyard, she was blocked by Gu Xiuxiu, who watched her with a wary expression. Alright then, Jiaxin understood that look, it meant she was not allowed to enter.

Feeling somewhat helpless, Lu Jiaxin said to Aunt Mei, “I’m going back to the front courtyard, come and see me later.”

“Yes, Miss Cousin.”

After sitting down, Lu Jiaxin made a phone call to Lu Jiaguang: “Big brother, I’m back in the Forty-nine City. Yes, I just arrived home.” “Big brother, do you have any news about Fifth Brother?”

Upon hearing this, Lu Jiaguang became unsettled and said with a heavy heart, “No, I’ve asked around and there’s not a single piece of news.”

Lu Jiaxin frowned and said, “The person I entrusted for information found out that the goods he took were very popular with Longhair’s people, and he sold the merchandise and exchanged the money for Purple Gold and fur to bring back to the country.”

Lu Jiaguang knew about the fur, but this was the first time he had heard about Purple Gold.

Lu Jiaxin continued, “I will keep asking around and will tell you as soon as I get any news.”

Lu Jiaguang sighed, “Qiangqiang and Xiao Fengfeng ask every day when dad is coming home, and I don’t even know how to answer them anymore.”

“There hasn’t been any trouble from the Ma family’s side, has there?”

Lu Jiaguang said coldly, “They heard some rumor that Jiajie had died, came over and said they wanted to take the two children to raise. I drove them away and warned them that if they dare to come back, I will not be courteous.”

They didn’t truly want to raise the children; it was obvious that they were after the house Jiajie had bought and the money he left behind. This family truly disgusted him; had he seen their true colors earlier, he would never have agreed to let Jiajie marry their daughter.

“Jiaxin, I’ll come over after work,” he said.

Lu Jiaxin replied, “Big brother, you don’t have to come. I’m going to visit dad this afternoon, and I’ll stop by to see you and sister-in-law after that.”

Lu Jiaguang said that Lu Hongjun could now get out of bed and walk, but he could no longer stride as briskly as before, “Jiaxin, have dinner at my place tonight.”

“Alright. By the way, there’s no need to tell Second Brother and his family about my return.”

After that, Lu Jiaxin phoned Su Hongying to say she was back in the Forty-nine City and was planning to visit her tomorrow. Her return this time was mainly for hiking, and she wasn’t sure when she would be able to come back to the Forty-nine City, so she hadn’t informed anyone in advance.

Su Hongying said with a smile, “Heyuan called me yesterday, saying you had gone on a trip. I thought you had gone abroad, I didn’t expect you to come back.”

Mainly because Mrs. Lu’s grave had been moved, she thought Lu Jiaxin would never come back. But then she pondered, probably it was because Madam Gu was there that Jiaxin had come.

In fact, Su Hongying was quite puzzled as to why she would go traveling at this time, when she should have been at school. It was not appropriate to ask directly, so she decided to call Heming later to inquire.

Lu Jiaxin explained, “Aunt Su, as you know, I was almost kidnapped by abductors during the summer holidays, so now I dare not let people know my exact itinerary.”

Some time later, Aunt Mei arrived and spoke with Lu Jiaxin about Gu Xiuxiu’s condition over this period. Because she paid close attention to nutrition, Gu Xiuxiu’s health wasn’t in much trouble, although her mind wasn’t clear and she often caused disturbances. It was somewhat manageable when she made a scene in the backyard today, but the most troublesome issue was her constant attempts to escape. Once, she took advantage of their naptime to sneak out of the yard, intending to go away. Fortunately, someone at the side gate was on watch and prevented her from slipping away.

Lu Jiaxin said, “Aunt Mei, I’m thinking of bringing Auntie back to Hong Kong, what do you think?”

Aunt Mei sighed and replied, “Let’s go back! Last month, Aunt Hong sprained her ankle and couldn’t take care of the Old Lady, and it just so happened that I caught a cold and had a fever. The caretaker didn’t even help when the Old Lady soiled her pants; it was Ziyang who found out and had the caretaker change her.”

Upon hearing this, she had the caretaker dismissed, but who would have thought the worker would shout that she had no right to dismiss her and even brought several men over to the house demanding wages after she drove the worker out. The audacity, bolstered perhaps by the fact that Miss Cousin was in Hong Kong and the family had no one in charge.

Lu Jiaxin stated, “I have a flight the day after tomorrow, pack your things and we’ll go back together.”

Hearing about taking a plane, Aunt Mei hesitated, “I’m worried the Old Lady might make a fuss on the plane, which could disturb other passengers.”

The flight is short; any fuss would only last a few hours. A bus or train journey would take days and be more troublesome.

“No worries, if necessary, we can charter a plane.”

Hearing her casually mention chartering a plane, Aunt Mei thought that she must be earning more money now. That was good; with Miss Cousin making more money, the Old Lady’s life would become better. After a thought, she said, “Miss Cousin, there’s no need to charter a plane, it’s too expensive. Before boarding the plane, I’ll give the Old Lady a bowl of calming medicine.”

“Isn’t that bad for her health?”

“Just once won’t have much of an impact.”

Lu Jiaxin told her to make the arrangements; then she went to Gu Wenfeng’s home, not wanting to cause a scene, so she only brought Yan Yijun, Li Qing, and Wang Lin along.

Wang Lin’s injuries had been serious but he hadn’t developed any complications; due to his youth and strong constitution, he had recovered in two months. Of course, quality medical care was also crucial.

When they arrived outside Gu Wenfeng’s house, the door was ajar.

Wang Lin was about to knock when suddenly a woman’s voice shouted from inside, “I don’t mind you wanting to help your war buddies or give back to the country. But donating so much money, all without asking me, without considering that there are elderly and children at home. Now my father needs an expensive surgery and I can’t afford the medical bills, what am I to do?”

By the end of the speech, her voice was laced with tears.

Gu Wenfeng said solemnly, “Should I borrow some money?”

His wife, Tian Jinhua, wiping tears, responded, “Thousands of dollars, where can you borrow such an amount? Who can lend it to us?”

Gu Wenfeng’s voice grew faint, “I’ll borrow from Jiaguang. After the New Year, I’ll go back to work and we can deduct the borrowed amount from my salary. Don’t worry, I’ll just work for one more year, help her train a batch of useful people, and then I won’t go anymore.”

Tian Jinhua fell silent, then said, “Okay, continue working for another year. But from now on, I must handle the full salary, and you can’t support those people anymore.”

Anger flared up in her again as she recalled the situation, “At first, when you said they were struggling to get by, I didn’t stop you from helping. But look at the kind of people you’ve helped! When we face difficulties ourselves and don’t send money for two months, they start demanding it by telegraph, and curse us if we don’t send.”

Lu Jiaxin, overhearing this, sighed internally; not all those who are helped feel grateful. Some complain that what’s given is too little, and others, like the person described by Gu Wenfeng’s wife, will even curse you if you stop supporting them.