She only said that her husband is a drunkard, who beats her whenever he drinks. Her daughter couldnât stand it and brought her out.
She also said that her husband was seen wandering around their neighborhood a few days ago. She was scared and didnât want her husband to find her.
Qiu Hualan thought that saying this would make Du Guangjun stay away from her as a married woman, but unexpectedly, Du Guangjun felt even more sympathy for her and cared more about her affairs.
He even promised that he wouldnât let her husband find her, saying he had a vacant house in the suburbs and if she felt uneasy here, she could stay there for a while.
...
When Du Guangjun asked around the neighborhood, he soon found out if anyone was at her home; Lin Wan didnât want to deal with Ye Weijunâs matters.
After knowing this, Lin Wan quickly told Shi Lan, "If he comes here and keeps knocking, just say this place has already been sold to you, and we moved to Z City as a whole family."
After Lin Wan finished speaking, she hurriedly called Xiao Gu. The store had just installed a phone a few days ago, and this was the first time she was using it.
They had just finished eating two chickens. Their hands hadnât even had time to wash when there was a knock at the door.
"Ignore it, let them knock as much as they want, wait a bit before going out."
...
Ye Weijun knocked on the door of Liang Hongmeiâs yard for ten minutes, but no one answered. He thought Liang Hongmei wasnât home; everyone in the village knew Liang Hongmei had such a big store.
If heâd known earlier, heâd have gone to the store directly to find her, maybe even gotten a meal out of it.
Since he was already here, Ye Weijun decided to check Lin Wanâs yard.
Who knew that after knocking for a long time, there was still no response.
Just as he was about to leave, Su Ling came out casually, "What are you doing here? Who are you?"
Ye Weijun was about to be happy, thinking the person was Lin Wan, but saw it wasnât her.
Ye Weijun thought it was someone from Lin Wanâs husbandâs family and quickly smiled, "Excuse me, is this Lin Wanâs house?"
"Lin Wan? Whoâs that? Thereâs no one by that name here." Su Ling replied coldly, with a look that said âstrangers keep out.â
"This... This is obviously Lin Wanâs home, Liang Hongmei, yes, Liang Hongmeiâs daughter."
Su Ling furrowed her brow, pretending ignorance, "Whoâs Liang Hongmei?... Oh, youâre talking about the previous owner of our house, right? Well, they have all moved to Z City. You might not know, her husband returned home, and heâs from Z City."
"What... the house has been sold?"
"The whole family isnât here anymore, is it going to stay empty just for show?" Su Ling said with a small-town attitude.
"Donât they have a big restaurant here?"
"I donât know about that."
Ye Weijun felt frustrated at getting such an outcome.
He gave Su Ling an awkward smile and turned to leave.
He hadnât gone far when he started swearing under his breath. Su Ling leaned out to see heâd walked away before turning back inside, "These Ye Family members are no good. A woman with a child isnât safe."
"Gone?" Yin Peibai and Shi Lan asked curiously.
Su Ling nodded, and the two finally felt at ease.
Lin Wan wasnât bothered, laughed and said, "Why be afraid, when I have you all here."
"True, weâve been staying with you these nights."
Just taking advantage of rush work, they stayed overnight to finish making clothes.
In the snowy weather, during military times, people trained outside every day and had to exhaustingly dry their clothes when returning. If not dry, theyâd have to wear them to train the next day.
So, the demand was urgent; that day Brother Wu sent them off, and they were ordered right there.
Sixty yuan for a set of clothes, Lin Wanâs cost was thirty, adding fifteen to each set, Brother Wu added another fifteen.
The profits were considerable.
In a few days, making more than one thousand yuan could be considered an extra income.
Ye Weijun couldnât find anyone; his money was nearly spent. Originally wanting to return directly, he thought he couldnât let it end like this.
He was nearly out of money for food, he had to find someone he knew to borrow some money.
So Ye Weijun went to Liang Hongmeiâs store again; it was here not long ago, now suddenly no trace, Ye Weijun decided to check the hot pot restaurant. Who knew the hot pot restaurant wasnât Liang Hongmeiâs, and the staff didnât know her.
Seeing such a big restaurant with people coming and going, it must make a lot of money; by the end of the day, it might be more than a thousand.
Liang Weixiang clearly said it was Liang Hongmeiâs, maybe something wasnât true?
Ye Weijun watched people eat with enthusiasm, mouth watering.
Touching his pocket, only twenty-plus yuan remained; if he couldnât find anyone soon, he wouldnât even have money for a train ticket.
Ye Weijun pulled back some sanity, went out to eat a three-cent large pot dish, ate two buns, totaling five cents.
After eating, he walked towards the outskirts...
....
In the evening, a few women stewed some noodles with meat slices. Su Ling made a dozen potstickers. As they were enjoying the food, Li Jianye and Li Congnan arrived.
"Brother Jianye, Brother Congnan, why are you here at this time? Have you eaten?" Shi Lan was surprised as she opened the door and led them in. Lin Wan asked.
"After work today, my father-in-law said someone asked if our factory belonged to Lin Yinghui. Without thinking much, he said yes. Then they asked for your address, where your store was, and whether you moved, my father-in-law thought they sounded like people from your area, assuming it was a fellow looking for you." Li Jianye finished and shook his head helplessly, "My father-in-law, being helpful, told them everything. After work, while we were eating, he mentioned it. I thought something wasnât right, so after dinner, I brought Brother Congnan over to check."
Lin Wan finished listening, slapped her forehead, "I was careless, forgot to call you. I know the person; itâs Ye Qingâs dad. He came looking for Ye Qing and her mother; since he couldnât find them, he sought our help. This old man is troublesome, Iâm cautious of him. He already visited us, and Su Ling sent him away. Then he went to our store and Xiao Gu sent him away. I didnât think he got the brewery address."
"Ye Qingâs dad, we definitely shouldnât help him. If Iâd been there, I wouldâve caught him for a beating." Last time with Ah Huiâs issue, Li Congnan hadnât found the real culprit for a beating; now the real culpritâs dad came.
"Right, catch him for a beating," Li Jianye agreed.
"You two, stop boasting. If youâre worried, stay tonight. Two men can guard us." Su Ling said cheerfully while eating.
Li Congnan smiled, "Sure, no problem."
"Haha, Brother Congnan, if Sister-in-law Yueâe has you kneeling on a washboard for staying tonight, donât blame me," someone teased.
Li Congnan scratched his head embarrassedly, "Donât worry, it wonât happen."
"Hey, whatâs up today, why are you all staying?" Li Congnan asked puzzledly, seeing it was dark, and the women were still there.
"Itâs true, we recently took a rush order, so weâre working hard."
"Oh, is there any help you need?"
"Ah, youâre really staying?"
"Uh-huh, staying a couple of days. Iâm afraid Ye Qingâs dad knows about his daughter and might retaliate." Li Jianye said cautiously.
Lin Wan was about to say it wasnât necessary when a knock came from outside.
They exchanged glances, and Su Ling gave them a reassuring look. She passed Tiger to Lin Wan and went out.
Cautiously looking through the door slit, seeing Zhang Hanfu, Su Ling breathed a sigh of relief.
As she opened the door, and the view widened, she saw Ye Weijun pacing in their alley.
Su Ling jolted, before Zhang Hanfu could speak, she drummed up and grabbed his arm, pulling him inside, "Hey you, why come home so late, everyoneâs waiting for you to eat!"
Su Lingâs actions left Zhang Hanfu bewildered, not knowing what was happening.
"Su... Sister-in-law Su, whatâs the situation?"
Su Ling covered her mouth to laugh, directed him inside, and pulled him along. Panic-stricken, Zhang Hanfu pulled away awkwardly and said, "Sister-in-law Su, this isnât good, Iâll walk in myself."
Zhang Hanfuâs reaction amused Su Ling, but pleased for Yin Peibaiâs sake, at least Zhang Hanfu wasnât a troublemaker.
"Hey, you got it all wrong; I did that because someone outside is watching. It was on purpose..." Su Ling outlined todayâs events to Zhang Hanfu.
"Oh, thatâs what it was."
Seeing Zhang Hanfu enter, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.