The people from the county were furious—especially the county chief, who was so angry he could have eaten the whole family alive. What kind of nonsense was this? They were there, humbly asking Zhao Shenggu for help, and right in front of him, people had come to lodge a complaint—and the complaint was about disobedience and unfilial behavior.
County Chief Zhao told them to get up first.
Li Xiucui's family wouldn't listen, crying as if they had suffered some enormous injustice. The people of Guanjia Village gathered around, pointing and whispering.
Some wore expressions of eager schadenfreude, looking at Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu as if to say: Aren't you rich? Aren't you looking down on people? Let's see what you do now.
They never stopped to think about what their lives would have been like without Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu. Even if someone pointed it out, these people would argue self-righteously that everything they had was earned through their own hard work—they weren't freeloaders. The money they made was what they deserved, and Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu should be grateful to them for working at the factory.
"Then why don't you go look at people from other villages? Are they any lazier than you? Look at how they're living! If you hadn't joined the garment factory and hadn't been able to buy clothes at low prices to resell, you wouldn't have made a dime! Where do you get the nerve to demand gratitude?"
Even when rebutted, these people didn't think they were wrong. They assumed the ones arguing back were just bootlickers—afraid to tell the truth because they saw how rich Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu were.
Guan Yuan took in every expression on their faces clearly, but he didn't take it to heart at all. Human nature—he had seen it clearly enough after wandering for over a hundred years.
Li Xiucui was still crying non-stop, and her daughters-in-law were crying along with her. Guan Mancang and his brothers all wore expressions of grief and indignation, as if they had truly suffered some enormous injustice.
And fair enough—maybe in their hearts, they actually believed Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu were in the wrong. No matter what treatment Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu had received as children, they believed that now that Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu were grown up and wealthy, they naturally ought to show filial piety.
Among the Guan family group were a few young people. If you looked closely, you could still faintly see what they had looked like as children. One of them stood out—bleached blond hair, chewing gum, completely carefree.
Guan Yuan looked carefully and realized it was Guan Yu—his half-brother, born to the same father but a different mother.
Seeing Guan Yuan's gaze fall on him, Guan Yu glared back fiercely.
He didn't have many memories of this brother. When Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu left, he was only a few years old. He'd only ever heard the elders grumble about a rich brother who'd gone off to enjoy a good life without them. But he'd never actually seen him. Now, seeing Guan Yuan for the first time, that refined appearance and bearing stung his eyes.
Why did they get the county chief to come invite them personally, while he was only ever called a thug by others? He couldn't even find a wife.
The county chief had a headache from the Guan family's commotion. He looked at Zhao Shenggu awkwardly, not knowing what he meant to do.
Zhao Shenggu said calmly, "Since someone else is suing us, the county chief can just follow the procedures."
The county chief's expression shifted—Zhao Shenggu had said "someone else"! Not elders, not family, but "someone else." His attitude was already unmistakable.
County Chief Zhao quickly put on a stern face: "What's all this racket? If you want to file a complaint, go to court. But let me remind you—Mr. Guan and Mr. Zhao have already severed ties with you. You'll only be wasting your time. A bunch of troublemakers—it's you who've ruined the good reputation of Yun County! Hmph!"
With that, he hurriedly invited Zhao Shenggu into the car, and even came over specifically to Guan Yuan: "Mr. Guan, don't worry. The county understands your situation completely. We will never wrong a good person." Then he got in the car and left.
Guan Yuan was escorted by bodyguards into Guan Guo's house.
The Guan family all stood dumbfounded.
How could it turn out like this? It shouldn't have ended this way. Shouldn't the county chief have angrily reprimanded Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu, so they could use that as leverage to squeeze benefits out of them?
Instead, the magistrate had scolded them, while treating Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu with utter respect. The outcome didn't need spelling out — everyone understood it. File a complaint in court? Given how things looked now, what kind of favorable verdict did they think they would get?
The onlookers saw the Guan family get scolded. The clear-headed ones quietly slipped away, while others pulled Li Xiucui aside and whispered, "Sister-in-law, don't be afraid. Officials protect each other these days. They have money now, so of course the officials take their side. Ai, the world has really changed."
What they didn't know was that every word and move of theirs had already been noted.
After Li Ying went inside, she was still fuming about the Guan family: "Honestly, they've got some nerve! They actually dared to go to the county chief to file a complaint. Look—did they really think they could fool the county chief? He gave them a good scolding. Pah, serves them right."
Guan Yuan sneered inwardly. If they were still the penniless Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu, would the county chief have sided with them? Maybe he wouldn't have helped the Guan family, but he definitely wouldn't have spoken up for them either. It all came down to profit—the county needed their investment to boost official performance records. That was why the county chief stood on their side.
Zhao Shenggu went to the county seat and didn't return until it was almost dark.
Guan Yuan sniffed him. "You didn't drink?"
Zhao Shenggu took off his coat. "If I don't want to drink, who would dare force me?" In fact, once Zhao Shenggu said he wouldn't drink at the dinner, the others followed suit and they had a clean meal. Of course, those people got what they wanted too — Zhao Shenggu had agreed to invest ten million in Yun County.
"Ten million for what?"
Ten million was no small sum in those days — about the same as Yun County's entire annual revenue.
"Building roads. Fixing up Yun County's roads will be good for everyone. With this much investment from me, they'll naturally help take care of some minor troubles." Guan Yuan knew exactly what Zhao Shenggu meant by "minor troubles."
"Let them make a fuss. What can they really do?" Guan Yuan said indifferently.
Zhao Shenggu lay down on the bed. "There's no real trouble, but they buzz around like flies — aren't you annoyed? Come sleep with me a while." He pulled Guan Yuan into his arms and closed his eyes.
"Chanchan is still outside. He'll come looking for us soon!" Sure enough, just as Guan Yuan finished speaking, Chanchan came into the room. Seeing the two of them on the bed, he kicked off his shoes and tried with all his might to climb up.
Guan Yuan scooped him up. "Alright, let's go outside. Don't bother your dad."
Zhao Shenggu wasn't actually sleepy — he just wanted to be with Guan Yuan. Seeing Guan Yuan about to leave, he got up too.
"You're not sleeping?" Guan Yuan asked, surprised.
"Mm. Can't sleep without you," Zhao Shenggu said naturally.
"What are you saying? The child is right here!" Guan Yuan, who was usually immune to Zhao Shenggu's sweet talk, actually blushed, taking a moment to get the words out.
Zhao Shenggu saw his shy expression and let out a low laugh.
Guan Yuan didn't know what was wrong with himself. After all these years, he hadn't expected to become shy now.
"Alright, let's go out. Have you two eaten?"
"Not yet!" Before Guan Yuan could say anything, Chanchan jumped in first, then hesitantly added, "Can I have two pieces of candy?" He held up two short, chubby fingers.
Guan Yuan put on a stern face: "No. You've already had three pieces of candy today. We agreed on that, remember? Do you want bugs growing in your teeth?"
"Ah, no! I don't want bugs in my teeth!"
Chanchan was scared by Guan Yuan and kept poking at his teeth with his fingers. He asked Zhao Shenggu with a woeful face, "Dad, I won't really get bugs in my teeth, will I?"
Zhao Shenggu patted his head: "No, I checked. Your teeth are fine. You just need to eat less candy from now on!"
Chanchan nodded vigorously. For a while after that, whenever he saw candy, he would run away on his own. Guan Yuan was happy to stop being so strict about watching him.
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar