Chapter 55: How Should I Repay You?

Tang Ye secretly mused that the people of the Hong family, generally speaking, were still well-bred and reasonable.

The so-called conflicts and disagreements were merely a matter of differing standpoints.

"Wenqin, let me take care of the child. You are busy with work, and the child is more familiar with me. If you miss her, come see her anytime."

Hong Lei's mother had endured great hardship to raise the child to the age of three; the thought of the child going with Gu Wenqin made her feel inexplicably pained.

Nini was the old woman's spiritual pillar for surviving the grief of losing her son.

Gu Wenqin fought back her tears, "I won't fight you for Nini. I just hope Nini can receive more love. Even though Hong Lei is gone, I have always regarded you as the most respected elder. You are Nini's grandmother and will always be my family."

Mother Hong had harbored resentment toward Gu Wenqin, but having learned the truth of the case, she had already let go of the hatred in her heart.

At the same time, she also began to sympathize with Gu Wenqin.

For Gu Wenqin, she had not only lost her husband but had also been deprived of her own flesh and blood.

She wiped the tear stains from the corners of her eyes, "The past is in the past; one must look forward." After saying this, she tugged at the sleeve of her daughter, Hong Yu, "For Nini's sake, don't make things difficult for Wenqin."

Tang Ye knew that Hong Yu was currently lacking at least a way to back down.

He tried hard to mediate, "One look at Sister Yu shows she is a person of character. If it were anyone else, who would voluntarily take on the responsibility of caring for a niece? Nini's personality is cheerful; one can see she lives in a warm family atmosphere. Now that the misunderstanding is resolved, she will receive love from even more people."

Hearing these words from Tang Ye, the tightly furrowed brows of Hong Yu relaxed.

"Wenqin, I want to say I'm sorry. I have always had prejudices against you before. Actually, I have also reflected on whether it was too cruel to keep Nini from seeing you."

Song Jin put his arm around Hong Yu's shoulder and said softly to Gu Wenqin, "Your sister is just a person with a sharp tongue but a soft heart. Even though Hong Lei is gone, because of Nini, we will always be one family."

Seeing that the couple Hong Yu and Song Jin had also relented, Tang Ye finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Gu Wenqin handed Nini to Mother Hong, "Mom, I am very at ease with Nini being with you. I will come to see her every day from now on. Also, I have stocked up on a lot of pretty clothes for her; I will send them over later."

Gu Wenqin had sent over quite a few clothes before, but they had all been thrown away by Hong Yu.

Mother Hong knew that Gu Wenqin had never been able to let go of the child.

After ten months of pregnancy, how could the bond between mother and daughter be easily severed?

Mother Hong clutched Nini in her arms, her eyes filled with hot tears, "Good, good, good." She excitedly kissed Nini on the face twice, "Mommy bought you new clothes, are you happy?"

Nini's world was very simple; she did not know what the adults were talking about.

Seeing her grandmother crying, she instinctively frowned;

Seeing her grandmother smiling and talking about new clothes, she innocently clapped her little hands.

At the moment of parting, Song Jin deliberately slowed his pace.

Tang Ye walked shoulder-to-shoulder with him.

"Town Mayor Tang, thank you so much for your help this time."

"Secretary Song, you are too kind."

Song Jin patted Tang Ye on the shoulder, "Come visit our home when you have time. Nini likes you; she kept smiling at you."

Tang Ye replied readily, "Certainly, certainly!"

Song Jin was three years older than Tang Ye. He currently served as the Secretary of the County Youth League Committee of Chongjiang County, a Section-level Cadre, and was considered a young cadre with great potential in the Hanzhou officialdom.

Youth League cadres had a high starting point and fast promotion speed, but they lacked staying power. It was often very difficult to move up once they crossed the Deputy Division Level threshold.

To put it bluntly, it depended on whether you had someone behind you.

Although Song Jin was Hong Ruilin's granddaughter-in-law's husband, he had almost no opportunity to interact with Hong Ruilin.

Although he had never thought that the impartial Hong Ruilin would help him, he still harbored aspirations in his heart, wanting to go higher and further, and to gain Hong Ruilin's support and recognition.

Now, Municipal Party Secretary Zhou Chengwu was Hong Ruilin's student and would stay in Hanzhou for at least five years.

If he did not take advantage of the current opportunity to move up, he would likely remain at a standstill forever.

Song Jin understood Hong Ruilin's character very well.

His father-in-law had once walked down the wrong path because he could not resist temptation; Hong Ruilin had upheld justice by severing the father-son relationship.

Therefore, neither Hong Yu nor he himself was favored by Hong Ruilin.

Now that the conflicts in the Hong family had eased, Song Jin had more extravagant hopes for his official career.

However, he had to be careful about his methods and sense of propriety; if he were overly proactive, it would make Hong Ruilin feel repulsed.

Perhaps the key to breaking the deadlock lay with Tang Ye.

Outside rumors had it that Tang Ye was Hong Ruilin's close friend across generations, and some even said Tang Ye was Hong Ruilin's last disciple.

This could also explain why Tang Ye had racked his brains to investigate the cause of Hong Lei's death.

And why he had worked so hard to resolve the knots and grievances of several generations of the Hong family.

Regardless!

It was not a bad thing for Song Jin to get closer to Tang Ye.

Sitting in the car, Song Jin looked toward the back row with a smile.

"Nini, you were so happy today; it feels like your cough is much better."

"However, you still have to take medicine when we get back."

Nini shook her head quickly, "Baby doesn't want to take medicine."

Smiles appeared on everyone's faces simultaneously.

Hong Yu noticed her husband's good mood and sighed inwardly. He and Song Jin already had a son in elementary school; now that they were raising her younger brother's daughter, even if her husband didn't say anything, he must have some resentment in his heart.

"Wenqin's clothing factory has been doing quite well recently. It is said that she is going to expand her scale and acquire the Boman Clothing Factory." Song Jin had been secretly keeping an eye on Gu Wenqin's situation.

"Wasn't it said that it was going to go bankrupt?" Hong Yu's tone was a bit surprised.

"It is booming now; if nothing goes wrong, it will become the most profitable factory in Pinghu." Song Jin's assessment made Hong Yu realize that Gu Wenqin's situation was "not what it used to be."

If this had happened before, Hong Yu would certainly have been extremely angry.

Now that the knot in her heart had been removed, she felt some comfort; if Gu Wenqin's economic situation could be better, Nini would be able to have a better material environment in the future.

A mother caring for Nini could provide emotional support, but after all, one had to consider her education, schooling, and even her future marriage—all of which would cost money...

Sending off the few people.

Gu Wenqin looked longingly in the direction where her daughter had disappeared.

Her eyes were red.

However, the sorrow in her gaze had vanished without a trace.

It was replaced by determination and confidence, as if she had become a different person.

"Town Mayor Tang, I thank you. Nini was my knot of the heart, and you have completely helped me untie it. I don't know how to repay you. If you have any needs in the future, just give the order; even if it is something illegal or against moral ethics, I will not hesitate."

This woman Gu Wenqin was truly extreme in her temperament!

She really dared to say anything!

Tang Ye did not let his thoughts wander in the wrong direction, "The first thing I need you to do is to conduct business honestly, manage things in a down-to-earth manner, and do not do anything illegal, undisciplined, or against morality."

Gu Wenqin took a deep look at Tang Ye, as if using all her strength, "I promise you!"

Tang Ye then said, "Next is the second thing! Accompany me to meet someone on Sunday."

Gu Wenqin answered without hesitation, "Fine."

Sunday, morning.

The sunlight was very good.

Hong Ruilin wore a straw hat on his head, blue work clothes on his body, rubber boots on his feet, and held a hoe in his hands, working hard to loosen the soil.

Suddenly, he heard the giggling laughter of a child coming from not far away.

He leaned on his hoe, picked up the towel draped over his neck, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and looked in the direction the sound came from.

He saw a tall young man with a two or three-year-old little girl sitting astride his shoulders.

Beside him was a slender and pretty young woman, pushing a child's stroller.

As the sunlight spilled onto them, Hong Ruilin felt a bit dazed.

It was as if he saw what his son and daughter-in-law looked like back then...

He slowly came back to his senses.

The young woman was Gu Wenqin.

The little girl was his great-granddaughter.

And, the young man was that kid Tang Ye!