Chapter 367: Reunion 2.0

"Mother..."

The mother and daughter hugged each other and wept bitterly, while Zhong Laotou wiped away tears on the side, and Wei Xia and Wanqing both stood by, at a loss for what to do.

"Mom..."

After a long while, the mother and daughter finally steadied their emotions, and Zhong Mingzhu took the medicine bottle from Wei Xia's hand, first giving one to each of her parents to take.

"Father, Mother, don't be too agitated, take these Pills first."

The thing elderly people fear most is great joy or great sorrow; Zhong Mingzhu herself was a doctor of Western medicine, and she had also been influenced by Traditional Chinese Medicine, so taking this medicine was a precaution.

"Alright, Mother will take it." Mother Zhong took the Pill, and then Zhong Dingbang also took the Pill and swallowed it in one gulp.

"Mingzhu, are they your children?"

"Yes, Father, Mother, this is Wei Xia, Wanqing, hurry, these are your grandmother and grandfather."

"Grandmother, Grandfather."

"Hey, good, good, good children." Zhong Dingbang looked at the two children with a kind face.

"Father, Mother, let's go inside the house to talk."

"Alright, you tell me properly about what has happened all these years."

"Mm."

In the Back Courtyard, Wang Xiaoling was hoeing the ground with Wandong, Wei Chun, and Wanyi; there was over a tenth of a mu of land here, planted with scallions, ginger, garlic, and small vegetables, while Lou Xiaoe had been inside the house on a long-distance call to Xiangjiang.

The commotion of Zhong Mingzhu and her group entering the Back Courtyard caught Wang Xiaoling's attention; besides the four of them, Zhang Ping'an, and a few small children, others rarely came in, but now with this commotion, it was clearly several people talking and laughing.

"Wandong, Wanyi, you two go see what is going on."

"Alright, Mother (Wang Yi)."

The two obediently ran toward the front of the house and happened to run into Zhong Mingzhu and her group.

"Wandong, tell your mother that my family has come over."

"Alright, Auntie Zhong." The two girls, one big and one small, hurried away.

"Mingzhu, who are they?"

"They are also... Brother Ping'an's children."

"Brother Ping'an? You mean Zhang Ping'an? Mingzhu, you and Zhang Ping'an? Are these two children yours and Zhang Ping'an's?" Zhong Dingbang asked uncertainly.

"Mm..."

Zhong Mingzhu felt somewhat uneasy; her parents had opposed it back then, and now that so many years had passed, she had no idea what they were thinking in their hearts.

"Old man, what are you trying to do? How many years have passed? If you hadn't opposed it back then, Mingzhu wouldn't have..."

"Mother, it was my own choice back then, and it is the same now; I don't blame Father."

"No, I didn't say anything, did I? I was just asking."

Zhong Dingbang felt somewhat wronged; now that his daughter had "returned from the dead," what could be more important than this? Besides, Zhang Ping'an had been nothing but excellent to their family all these years.

He had always regretted it, and now it was a good thing that his daughter could be with him. Wait? That's not right, didn't Zhang Ping'an have a wife?

In the main room, everyone took their seats, and Zhong Mingzhu recounted what had happened back then once more.

"Good lad, he really has guts."

As Zhong Mingzhu told her story, the doubts in Zhong Dingbang's heart were resolved; he hadn't expected that this lad had dared to sneak to the opposite shore back in 1970 and even pull off such a big business.

It was just that his own daughter was still the same as she was back then, still throwing herself at him, and he shook his head with quite a bit of helplessness in his heart.

Zhong Dingbang also understood the reason why Zhang Ping'an had been sending gifts during every festival all these years; it turned out he was his father-in-law.

When the two families had made peace back then, Zhong Dingbang had thought Zhang Ping'an sent gifts out of guilt and respect for him as an old comrade, but he hadn't expected it was because of his own daughter.

Thinking of this, Zhong Dingbang got a bit angry again; it turned out he had known his daughter was still alive all along, yet he had kept it bottled up for so many years without saying a word.

But putting himself in his shoes, Zhang Ping'an really had no way to say it; he couldn't just say, "I snuck to the opposite shore and discovered your daughter is still alive," could he?

Not to mention anything else, just the act of sneaking to the opposite shore alone would be enough to keep him in prison for life.

Understanding was one thing, but Zhong Dingbang just felt uncomfortable in his heart; he looked at his daughter and grandchildren again and sighed in his heart—it was too late to say anything now.

"Mingzhu, don't tell outsiders about these things in the future; let today's matter rot in your stomach."

"Don't worry, Grandfather, we will both act as if we don't know."

"Right, Grandfather, I will also let it rot in my stomach."

Wang Shufang also knew of this aunt, Zhong Mingzhu, but she had always been a taboo topic in the Zhong family.

If she dared to spread what she heard today, she didn't doubt for a second that, given how much the old man Zhong doted on Zhong Mingzhu, their entire Wang family would probably be sent to a remote frontier exile by tomorrow.

"Mm." Zhong Dingbang nodded solemnly.

As for Wang Xiaoling, upon hearing her daughter say that Zhong Mingzhu's family had come over, she considered it and decided to come over to greet them.

"Wei Chun, you take your sister and water the plants here first."

"Alright, Wang Yi."

Wang Xiaoling had just arrived at the doorway when she heard Zhong Dingbang's solemn warning, and she nodded to herself.

"Sister Xiaoling."

"Wang Yi." X2

"Mm, hello Uncle, Auntie. I'm sorry, I was in the back planting vegetables, and when I heard Wandong and the others say you had arrived, I hurried over."

Zhong Dingbang and his wife both raised their eyebrows slightly; what a woman of peerless appearance and temperament, no wonder Zhang Ping'an had been unable to forget her all these years.

Wang Xiaoling was forty-four this year, yet her appearance was around thirty, exactly the most beautiful age for a woman; plus, because she dealt with Chinese medicine all year round, there was a faint fragrance of herbs on her body.

"Father, Mother, this is Wang Xiaoling, Sister Xiaoling."

"Mm, I'll call you Xiaoling."

"Alright, Auntie. Uncle, Auntie, it's almost noon, just eat at home."

"Mm, that's fine."

Lou Xiaoe finished her phone call on this side, and upon opening the door, she saw a large group of people in the main room.

"Xiao'e, is your work finished? These are Mingzhu's parents and nephew."

"Oh, oh, um, hello Uncle, Auntie."

"Hello."

Zhong Dingbang turned his head and the corners of his mouth twitched; adding Li Aihua to the mix, each one of them was no less beautiful than his own daughter, especially Wang Xiaoling, whom none of them could surpass.

Hearing it from his own daughter was one thing, but seeing it was another; at this moment, Zhong Dingbang was already grinding his teeth in anger at Zhang Ping'an.

After greeting everyone, Wang Xiaoling took Lou Xiaoe to prepare today's lunch.

"Sister Xiao Ling, Mingzhu's father looks so serious."

"He's an old comrade, so it's normal for him to be a bit serious; plus, with our situation, he might have some mental hurdles he can't get over."

Wang Xiaoling naturally understood the thoughts of Zhong Mingzhu's parents; her own parents were the same back then, and because of this, Zhang Ping'an had avoided her parents for quite a long time.

Although he didn't escape a lecture in the end, the matter just passed like that.

"Oh."

Since she was little, Lou Xiaoe's father had three concubines; influenced by her family, she didn't have much of a feeling about this, and on the contrary, she felt it was normal for a capable man to have multiple wives and concubines.

Moreover, Zhang Ping'an was terrifyingly strong in both ability and capacity, having brought all four of them to heel.

Soon, the two began to make lunch, and Li Aihua also returned; she was startled to learn that the Zhong Family had come over.

"Sister Xiao Ling, did Uncle and Auntie Zhong say anything?"

Her own parents still didn't know her specific situation, and she feared it would be difficult for them to back down once they found out.

"No, they were both very easy to talk to."

After hearing this, Li Aihua breathed a sigh of relief, and at the same time, she saw hope for convincing her own parents.

"Aihua, we will all be leaving after the summer vacation; there are still many things waiting for us in Xiangjiang, and even if we come back in the future, it will likely be several years from now."

"Sister Xiao Ling, I..."