Chapter 740: Gone

Old Mrs. Li fell sick last year, and after recovering, she seemed to have aged several years at once.

She was feeble, and even shouting left her breathless.

Li Guangyuan ignored her and went straight into the house.

There was only a kerosene lamp inside the house.

Although the village had electricity over the years, during the busy farming season, crops needed electricity for irrigation, so to ensure agricultural production, the electricity for lighting would occasionally get cut off at night.

Tonight, the family had a power outage.

Old Mrs. Li had lived through poverty since she was young, so even when she asked Li Guangyuan for spending money, she didn’t dare spend it easily.

With just one kerosene lamp in the house, she didn’t even dare to turn up the wick.

The faint light barely illuminated the area close to the lamp.

There was no one else in the house.

Li Guangyuan entered the house and immediately found a needle to adjust the lamp wick.

Old Mrs. Li, behind him, picked up the 20 yuan bill she had dropped, not forgetting to do so before catching up to him.

She hastily wrapped it in a handkerchief and then tucked it into a pocket sewn inside her pants.

Seeing her come in, Li Guangyuan straightforwardly said, "The Zhang family came looking for me at the market today. They said the second sister went back home early yesterday morning. What’s going on? Where did the second sister go?"

Old Mrs. Li was slightly taken aback on hearing this and replied evasively, "What are you asking me for? Your second sister married into the Zhang family just fine, and now she’s missing. Instead of asking the Zhang family to produce her, you come home to question me. How would I know where your second sister went?"

Saying this, she started crying pretentiously.

"Oh, my poor daughter, marrying that bastard Zhang Wenbin, what city folk? Bull crap, just pretending to be decent while bullying my daughter day and night. They deserve to be jailed forever, to spare my daughter from suffering..."

Though she cried with genuine emotion, Li Guangyuan didn’t miss her initial guilty look.

"Mother, we are one family. I also want both of my sisters to live well."

Old Mrs. Li didn’t believe him and shot him a dissatisfied glance, "If you really want them to live well, how did they end up like this? When you found such a match for your older sister back then, she couldn’t even manage to live properly. Up to now, she’s missing without a trace. And no need to mention your second sister. You knew she was having a hard time and were unwilling to help. Do you know what kind of life she’s having in the Zhang family? And you still have the face to say you wish them well? I think you’re only concerned about yourself, not leaving any room in your heart or eyes for us three..."

Old Mrs. Li began her irrational old talks again, and Li Guangyuan exercised patience to reason with her.

"Mother, be fair. Wasn’t the Ma family a good match? Ma Dazhuang is diligent, hardworking, good-tempered. If Li Hongmei lived sincerely with him, how bad could their life be? I’ve heard Ma Dazhuang remarried, and they’ve become almost millionaires by raising pigs. Anyway, I was against my second sister marrying Zhang Wenbin from the start. But you and she insisted on marrying someone from the city, putting our family below them right from the start. Haven’t I helped her enough all these years?"

"Fine, fine, it’s all our fault, and you’re blameless. So why do you even bother with us? Just stay in the city with that heartless wife of yours and never come back. I understand now. You’ve picked up her ways and no longer see anything but money. Even your son is dispensable, let alone your parents."

Mentioning the grandson truly grieved Old Mrs. Li. She clutched her chest and cried, "My poor little grandson, had I known they were so ruthless, I would never have let them keep him. He is the root of the Li Family..."

Zhang Wenbin was somewhat moved by her crying. Her favoritism toward her daughters was obvious, but the little grandson was genuinely dear to the old lady.

Otherwise, after Genbao went missing, the old lady wouldn’t have fallen ill.

Since a young age, he knew that his parents had him after many years of marriage.

In terms of children, his mother was always more persistent.

That was why the loss of Genbao distressed her so much.

"Mother, please don’t cry. I really am not disregarding you. As for my two sisters, I won’t neglect them either. I came back this time to ask you for the truth. I still say, we are family. If my sister has truly disappeared without a word, I definitely need to report to the police for them to help find her and hold the Zhang family accountable. But if she has returned and you are hiding something from me, then an investigation by the police..."

He didn’t need to finish the sentence for Old Mrs. Li to panic.

"It’s just a small matter. Go and settle it with the Zhang family. Why take it to the police?"

Li Guangyuan answered seriously, "The older sister has been missing for so long, and people say she might have been abducted by traffickers. It’s difficult to find her again. I can’t let both sisters vanish without a trace. I must find the second sister. Since you don’t know, I’ll report it to the police."

With that said, he turned to leave, but Old Mrs. Li grabbed him.

"Don’t go yet."

Li Guangyuan turned to her, and Old Mrs. Li, unnaturally, brushed her hair.

"Your second sister wanted to divorce Zhang Wenbin for a long time. You know the Zhang family never treated her right. And with Zhang Wenbin imprisoned, they watched her like a hawk, let alone allowed a divorce. Life in the Zhang family wasn’t bearable. Yesterday, your sister came home and told me she was leaving."

"Leaving? To where?"

Li Guangyuan thought Li Dongmei might hide at home for a few days, but he never expected she’d just leave directly.

"I don’t know where she went, but I heard there’s a place down south where she can earn a lot of money. As for the child, he’s the Zhang family’s; she shouldn’t take him. How would she remarry otherwise?"

Li Guangyuan furrowed his brows even more, "Did she leave just by hearsay? That’s reckless. Money isn’t so easy to earn. A lone woman traveling far, unfamiliar with the place, aren’t you afraid she’ll get abducted or cheated?"

The older sister, Li Hongmei, has already vanished without a trace. If the second sister also went missing, the Li family’s reputation would be utterly ruined.

Old Mrs. Li looked around conspiratorially and whispered, "Your second sister isn’t really alone in an unfamiliar place. Your older sister Hongmei sent news to her. She wrote telling your second sister she made a lot of money over there, and had her come along. Otherwise, how would your timid sister dare?"

This time, Li Guangyuan was even more shocked, "Hongmei has news? Where is she? If she can write to my second sister, why can’t she send a letter home? No matter what, after all these years, she should come back to visit. Where is she? Tell me, and I’ll find her."