Chapter 392: Not All Prodigals Can Turn Back

Jia Liang sat there, letting her vent.

Only after she said she was tired did he continue, "I will help you find Feng Zhong’s whereabouts so that you can settle things between you. Anyway, I hope you can adjust your emotions properly."

Liu Na, after crying, also regretted yelling at the store manager and nodded her head before turning and leaving the office.

Once she left, Jia Liang picked up the telephone on the desk and called Xiyang Food Factory, passing the message to Hou Xiaobao and asking for help to find Feng Zhong.

It turns out Feng Zhong was not a city resident or from Ancheng County. Their acquaintance was coincidental, leading them to come together.

After hanging up, Jia Liang sat in his seat, silently staring out of the window until the office door was knocked on again.

Lin Chuxia came in and saw Jia Liang in this dejected state.

"Wow, it’s rare to see such a look on our big brother here."

Jia Liang stood up with a helpless smile, "Mr. Lin, please don’t make fun of me. People say one should only fall once in the same place, but I’ve stumbled over and over again, I’m almost too embarrassed to face anyone."

"What’s the situation exactly?"

When she came into the store just now, she saw Gao Lele thanking Qin Jianjun profusely at the front desk.

She heard the girl who had just been involved with Feng Zhong had an argument with Gao Lele, with Qin Jianjun helping to mediate.

Big sister had already told her about it: Feng Zhong stealing money from the store and Jia Liang firing him was justified. So why did that girl confront Gao Lele?

Jia Liang sighed and recounted today’s events to Lin Chuxia, also hinting that Liu Na’s overreaction and blaming everything on Gao Lele might be because of her relationship with Feng Zhong.

Although his words were subtle, Lin Chuxia as someone experienced understood and frowned, "This is indeed not easy to handle."

People at that time were generally conservative, premarital sex was highly frowned upon.

It was understandable for the young Liu Na to lose her composure in such a situation.

Feng Zhong’s methods and shamelessness were also undeniable.

"I’ve already notified Houzi to help find Feng Zhong," Jia Liang hammered his fist on the desk emphatically, "Just firing him is letting him off too easy."

Jia Liang didn’t find it appropriate to tell Lin Chuxia that Feng Zhong initially aimed for the second floor.

In his view, Qin Juan was the boss’s cousin, and even if there were discrepancies in the accounts, it wouldn’t be taken too seriously.

But finding Qin Juan too diligent at work and without the slightest opportunity to embezzle, he then diverted his target toward Gao Lele on the first floor.

Jia Liang thought of the moment when Feng Zhong regretted his actions.

"Brother Liang, Brother Liang, just give me another chance, I know I was wrong, I really had no choice, my mother at home fell ill, even if I am a scoundrel, I can’t neglect my mother, I sent all the money I had home, and it still wasn’t enough..."

"Not enough so you steal? What did you tell me at the beginning? If you said you couldn’t change your bad habits, I wouldn’t have hired you."

"I didn’t want to steal again, I tried other ways, honestly, Brother Liang, I once brought in some cheap meat for the store, just trying to make a little difference in price. The meat was fine, just frozen for a few days. In such cold weather, with the meat being frozen, how could there be a problem? But Qin Juan spotted it right away, I was afraid she would tell Brother Liang, disappoint you - after that incident, I never dared again. Brother, I was really desperate, I know I was wrong, please give me one more chance, I swear I won’t steal again..."

Hearing that he had tampered with the meat as well, Jia Liang stood up and kicked him.

"I entrusted you with such an important job, and you think you can get away with such sloppy work? You can leave. I won’t hold this against you, but that’s the end of our brotherhood..."

Jia Liang snapped back to the present and looked guiltily at Lin Chuxia.

"Mr. Lin, rest assured, I will handle this matter properly and give you a satisfactory report."

"It’s not about me, after all, the shop didn’t suffer any loss. You should pay more attention to that young lady, Liu Na’s emotions; make sure nothing serious happens."

The Spring Festival was just around the corner, and she didn’t want the New Year celebrations to be ruined.

"Yes," thought Jia Liang with a lump in his heart at this critical juncture, "I’ve always fancied myself as someone who has good judgement of character. The brothers under my command were willing to follow me, always calling me righteous, and I took pride in these words. I even thought the burden on my shoulders was heavy, always eager to help my brothers whenever I could—I’d share my blessings and face hardships together with them. But who would have thought they’d be so heartless."

For some reason, whenever Jia Liang brought up his past, Lin Chuxia couldn’t help but silently criticize him.

A group of lawbreakers, without the assistance of a certain Uncle Hat, rarely manage to turn over a new leaf.

A prodigal who returns is more precious than gold!

Why is it so valuable for a prodigal to come back?

In other words, not all prodigals can make a return.

"Mud, when it’s good and wet, you insist on sticking it to a wall. Dead fish, laying flat, you insist on turning it over. These actions all go against the laws of nature. A conscience is something you either have or you don’t—there’s no awakening it. Never punish yourself for others’ mistakes. Only by letting go of others’ wrongs can you free your own heart."

Lin Chuxia tossed her car key to him, "It’s a new car, I just got the plates for it. Go put them on for me and give it a test drive. You’re coming out with me tomorrow."

Qin Yang was busy at the end of the year, but after much thought, Lin Chuxia decided it was better to have Jia Liang accompany her.

He could double as a driver and a bodyguard.

Plus, he’d come in handy as a mover after buying books.

....................

On the day Qin’s Restaurant closed for the holiday, Jia Liang finished handing out salaries and bonuses to the staff, prepared a staff dinner, and even invited Lin Chuxia.

Everyone had a lively meal filled with New Year’s greetings before departing.

Qin Yang’s workplace had given him time off two days earlier, and Qin Jianjun’s school had also started their winter vacation earlier.

Knowing that Jia Liang had to celebrate the festival in the city, Lin Chuxia gave him an extra red envelope so he could have a good New Year with Aunt Jia.

Then, with a wave of her hand, she gathered Qin Jianjun and Qin Juan, "Let’s go, back to our hometown."

Little Ningning had been looking forward to returning to Ancheng County and cheerfully chanted, "Going to Grandma’s house."

Qin Jianjun lifted her onto his shoulder with one swoop, "We’re heading back to our hometown."

Ningning giggled without fear of being dropped.

Qin Juan watched the siblings with a smile in her eyes, "Jianjun only seems like a child now. Usually, he appears so sensible, kind of reminds me of how the Second Brother was as a kid."

"I heard from mom that when Jianjun was young, he would always follow Qin Yang around, really fond of his Fourth Uncle," said Lin Chuxia with a sense of admiration.

"Yeah, not just him, the village kids of that age nearly all looked up to Second Brother back then."

As they chatted, they saw Qin Jianjun getting stopped in his tracks.

Gao Lele had surprisingly not left yet and was waiting at the door, speaking to him about something before she stuffed something into his arms.

Qin Juan and Lin Chuxia exchanged a look, both raising their eyebrows.

Outside, Lin Chuxia caught sight of the knitted gloves poking out of Qin Jianjun’s pocket and deliberately drew out her words, "Wow, Lele is really skillful with her hands, these are very well made."

Qin Juan seriously nodded in agreement, "Better than my own knitting, I’ll have to ask her for some tips. Maybe I’m doing it all wrong."

Qin Jianjun immediately took out the gloves and handed them to Qin Juan, "She thanked me for helping her out that day. Aunt, if you like them, I’ll give them to you. A big guy like me can do without gloves."

Qin Juan: "..."

Lin Chuxia: "..."

Is he... a typical straight guy?