20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 538: Sister-in-law of the Grain Station [Additional Update]

It was the evening of the second day after Liu Yansheng was assassinated.

At this time of year, the scenery in the north is already marked by the rustling of fallen leaves, and in late autumn, the setting sun is as red as blood, and the world is filled with a solemn and solemn atmosphere.

Above the clouds, a lone goose was circling low in the sky, chirping mournfully and looking very sad.

Below the lone goose was the Jiang family mansion in the north of Fengtian City.

As usual, Yuan Xinfa was standing guard and patrolling at the gate of the compound with a few guards.

Not long after, a burst of hurried and heavy footsteps suddenly came from the other side of the street intersection.

When I looked up, I saw Wang Zhengnan running towards me, panting and jogging.

"Second Master, is there something wrong?" Seeing that he was anxious, Yuan Xinfa quickly turned sideways and asked.

Wang Zhengnan was panting heavily, and had no time to explain. He just waved his hands and said, "Old Yuan, quickly, open the door. I want to see my sister-in-law!"

The brothers did not dare to delay and immediately pushed open the heavy iron door. The door panel made a buzzing sound, bringing a gust of wind that gently rolled up the dead leaves in the yard.

Without saying a word, Wang Zhengnan hurriedly walked towards the mansion.

……

At this moment, in the U-shaped corridor on the second floor of the mansion, Hu Xiaoyan, wearing a blue cloth dress, was turning her wheelchair forward and backward, circling back and forth.

Her face was a little pale, her breathing was disordered, a layer of sparkling beads of sweat oozed out of her forehead, and her temples were pressed against her cheeks, making her look even more frail.

Ever since she fainted for no reason last time, Hu Xiaoyan has followed the doctor's advice and started to consciously strengthen her body. She exercises on her own during her free time every afternoon.

After practicing like this for a few days, I haven't seen any improvement in my physical condition, but I feel much better.

It's strange to think about it. When he was young, he was helpless, had broken legs, was hungry, and often rolled in the mud on the street, but he never had any symptoms. Now he is in his early thirties, with fine clothes and delicious food, and is in the prime of life, but his body is getting weaker and weaker, which makes people laugh and cry.

After thinking about it, there seems to be only one sentence that can explain it - you are not destined to enjoy a good life!
Little Jiang Ya stood at the door of her bedroom, watching her mother pass by again and again, muttering cheerfully: "Twenty-two laps... twenty-four laps... Mom, hurry up, it's almost thirty, and then I can play the piano for you!"

Hu Xiaoyan smiled and nodded, then continued to turn the wheelchair.

At this moment, Wang Zhengnan quickly climbed up to the second floor, came to Hu Xiaoyan, bent down, took out a letter from his arms, and whispered: "Sister-in-law——"

He paused, looked up and glanced at Jiang Ya who was not far away, then lowered his voice: "Sister-in-law, Lao Liu... is taking a break."

"Who?" Hu Xiaoyan's heart trembled, and she subconsciously asked hurriedly, "Where is your brother?"

"My brother is fine... Liu, Liu, the goose calls have stopped!" Wang Zhengnan quickly handed the letter to his sister-in-law, "This is the telegram my brother just sent from Shanghai, take a look."

As soon as the voice fell, little Jiang Ya immediately ran over, straightened her waist, and said arrogantly: "Mom, give it to me, I will help you read it!"

"Xiaoya, stop making trouble. Go play with your aunt for a while!" Hu Xiaoyan pushed her daughter's hand away in annoyance.

“I can read it!”

"Don't make trouble!"

Hu Xiaoyan glared at Jiang Ya, and she was so scared that she took a step back.

The little girl was afraid of her mother but not her father, so after being yelled at, she immediately stood against the wall with a wronged look on her face, not daring to step forward timidly.

Seeing this, Wang Zhengnan fumbled around in his pocket and took out a piece of chocolate candy. He handed it to Jiang Ya, pinched her cheek, and said with a forced smile, "Niece, go into the house and play for a while!"

Jiang Ya shook her head, took the candy, but still looked at her mother, waiting obediently, or rather, refusing to leave.

Hu Xiaoyan didn't have time to pay attention to her. She just spread out the letter and read it carefully with a frown.

Telegrams were charged by word count, but the letter was very long and some parts were very obscure, mixed with jargon and Jiang family code words, enough to confuse others.

However, no matter how detailed the text is, it is still impossible to cover everything.

Fortunately, Jiang and Hu have been together for more than ten years, never leaving each other, and they have a tacit understanding between husband and wife that is difficult for others to understand. In addition, Hu Xiaoyan is naturally intelligent, and she can infer many details from just a few words from Jiang Lianheng, and then make corresponding proper arrangements.

There are some things that are hard to say out loud, but once they are written on paper, they start to seem a bit shameless.

Just like the last two sentences in the letter - it's cold outside the pass, remember to protect your knees to keep warm. I'm fine, don't worry - if they were face to face, Jiang Lianheng would never say it, but he wrote it in the letter.

This seemed to be just a word of concern and comfort, but after reading it, Hu Xiaoyan immediately put down the letter, and a moment of panic flashed in her eyes.

"Your brother is injured."

"What?" Wang Zhengnan asked in confusion, "Sister-in-law, don't scare yourself. The letter didn't say my brother was injured."

"No, he didn't write it, but he must have been injured, otherwise he wouldn't have said that." Hu Xiaoyan's tone was quite firm, "Nanfeng, go to each counter and inform them that the family has to pay the money in advance this year, so they can prepare."

Wang Zhengnan responded, and of course he did not dare to be negligent. He immediately turned around and walked downstairs.

Seeing this, Jiang Ya was extremely anxious, but she didn't dare to step forward. She just asked in a low voice: "Mom, what happened to my dad? Is he coming back?"

Hu Xiaoyan looked at her daughter and suddenly felt sorry for her, so she said, "Xiaoya, I'll listen to you play the piano tomorrow when I'm free. Mom has something to do tonight." "I can help you."

"You are too young, be obedient and go downstairs to play for a while!"

Jiang Ya hesitated and refused to leave. She scratched the door handle with her fingers, stared at the keyhole, and said nonchalantly: "The doctor said... not to let you get too tired."

Hearing this, Hu Xiaoyan was stunned for a moment, and suddenly realized that her daughter was already nine years old. Although she was still a child, she had begun to have her own worries and concerns, and knew how to love others.

Hu Xiaoyan's eyes softened slightly, and after thinking for a moment, she said, "Okay, then please help me call your uncle Dong over."

"Okay!" Jiang Ya's eyes lit up, and she hurried to the stairs, shouting downstairs, "Uncle Dong, Uncle Dong, my mom is calling you, come up quickly!"

After a few calls, Zhang Zhengdong came to the second floor, walked to his sister-in-law, and nodded gloomily: "Sister-in-law."

Hu Xiaoyan sent her daughter away and turned her wheelchair towards the study, asking without turning her head, "Got it?"

"Well, Nanfeng just came downstairs and mentioned it to me, but he didn't give any specific details." Zhang Zhengdong followed him into the study.

"Go get some 'bangers' to come home." Hu Xiaoyan ordered coldly, "We're not going to have a gang fight. I just want good fighters, and the ones who are steady are best."

“How many people are needed?”

"Not too many, just call three or five people over first."

"Sister-in-law, this... is a bit too little, isn't it?"

Zhang Zhengdong couldn't help but frown, and then quickly realized that he had said the wrong thing, because the news of Liu Yansheng's death was too sudden and caught him off guard.

Hu Xiaoyan raised her eyelids in response, seeming a little dissatisfied, but after a moment's hesitation, she could understand, so she did not blame him, but patiently explained: "Dongfeng, how many favors have the Hezi on the Fengxian line owed to our family?"

Zhang Zhengdong was stunned, and immediately understood what his sister-in-law meant. He nodded and asked, "Then I'll ask them to come tonight?"

"Tomorrow morning," Hu Xiaoyan groaned. "I made a mistake in a hurry. I'll think about it carefully tonight. This is not just about people, but also about money and relationships. Otherwise, if we just send someone over there, not only will they not be able to help, but they will also easily cause trouble."

"clear."

"Go find a few reliable 'Xiangzi' tonight, tell them in advance and let them prepare. Tell Manager Xue the news. There are many big bosses in her place, and maybe she can make some connections in Shanghai. Anyway, I can't hold your brother back, and neither can you."

"know."

"Go ahead, come back and tell me when you're done."

Zhang Zhengdong groaned, then turned and left the study.

Afterwards, Hu Xiaoyan moved a few account books and notebooks to the desk. When she was about to reach out to take the phone on the corner of the table, she glanced and saw Jiang Ya standing at the door like a follower, neither going in nor leaving, pretending to be nothing, but in fact stealing glances at her mother frequently.

"What's wrong with you?" Hu Xiaoyan asked patiently.

Jiang Ya turned her head to one side, tilted her head, and pretended to talk to herself: "I can make phone calls too."

"I'm calling you!" Hu Xiaoyan put down the receiver and reminded him sternly, "Get out after you finish the call and don't cause any more trouble for me!"

"Actually, I don't have to fight."

"Hurry up!"

Jiang Ya then walked in pretentiously. As soon as she picked up the receiver, she became happy and asked hurriedly, "Mom, who are you going to call?"

"This is for your Uncle Zhao." Hu Xiaoyan pointed to the notebook in front of her, "Tell him you want this number."

Jiang Ya picked up the receiver and asked for the number from the operator quite skillfully. After waiting quietly for a while, a familiar voice came from the other end of the line.

"Hey, who is it?"

"Me!" Jiang Ya said aggressively, "Uncle Zhao, what are you doing?"

The person on the other end of the phone was stunned for a moment, thought carefully for a moment, and then laughed out loud: "Oh, niece, what's up, do you want to talk to me about something? Is your father back?"

"No, can you come over here?" Jiang Ya is a child after all, so her questions are inevitably a bit incoherent.

"Oh, no, I can't. I'm busy helping those...a few friends. Your dad asked me to do something for them." The person on the other end of the phone seemed to be hiding something and only said half of the words.

"Then when will you be able to finish it—" Jiang Ya was about to say something else, but the receiver in her hand was quietly taken away by her mother.

"Hello?" Hu Xiaoyan called softly.

As soon as the voice fell, there was a pause on the other end of the phone, and then he immediately stopped laughing and asked very seriously: "Sister-in-law, do you have something to talk to me about?"

"Guo Yan, come home for a visit."

"Okay... ten minutes. I'll be there soon."

(End of this chapter)