Rebirth 1983: Building My Business Empire-Chapter 85 - 79 Moving Out of the Ma Family
Chapter 85: Chapter 79 Moving Out of the Ma Family
After the implementation of the family planning policy, Father Ma and Mother Ma began to regret marrying their daughter to Lu Jiajie, thinking that if they had taken him into the Ma family instead, their family line wouldn’t have been cut off. Now that their eldest daughter was willing to have her youngest son take the Ma surname and continue their family line, the couple’s hearts leaned towards their eldest daughter and future grandson. It was only because the child hadn’t changed his surname yet that they hadn’t asked them to move out. But the son-in-law had already relented, saying that as long as Ma Lili and Lu Jiajie moved out, he would let them move in and have Little Fatty change his surname.
Lu Jiajie could no longer tolerate the indignity, and upon hearing Mother Ma telling them to leave, he was no longer timid, “Fine, I’ll move right now.”
Having said that, he went inside with Xiao Fengfeng in his arms to pack up. When Ma Lili came home with her son, Lu Jiajie had already packed the clothes and bedding.
Ma Lili was shocked and asked, “Jiajie, what are you doing?”
After Lu Jiajie explained everything that had happened, he continued, “These past few months, your elder sister ridiculed me for living off a woman, and made sarcastic comments about me wanting to take over your family’s house; I put up with all that. But after Xiao Fengfeng was treated like this today, and your mother, rather than standing up for her, slandered her for lying, I couldn’t possibly continue living here, even if I had to sleep on the streets with the children.”
Xiao Fengfeng, frightened, started crying again, “Daddy, I don’t want to sleep on the street, there are bad people on the street, bad people will kidnap Fengfeng, break her arms and legs and make her a little beggar. Daddy, I don’t want to be a little beggar.”
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Ma Lili was taken aback, “Fengfeng, who told you this?”
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Upon hearing that it was Little Fatty who said it, Ma Lili angrily went out to find Mother Ma.
Lu Jiajie, trying to control his anger, picked up his daughter and comforted her, “We won’t sleep on the street, let’s first stay at your little aunt’s place for a few days.”
Qiangqiang cried and clung to Lu Jiajie, pleading not to be left behind.
Lu Jiajie patted his son’s head, “Don’t worry, Daddy definitely won’t leave you behind, we’ll go together if we have to go.”
While Ma Lili was arguing with Mother Ma, she saw Lu Jiajie walking ahead with a suitcase in one hand and a bag of luggage in the other, while Qiangqiang was holding his sister’s hand behind him.
With a dark expression, Lu Jiajie said, “Lili, if you can’t bear to leave then stay, but I can’t live here anymore with the two kids. If we continue to stay, who knows how they’ll be mistreated.”
When he found out that the attitude of Father Ma and Mother Ma changed after Big Sister Ma proposed to have Little Fatty take the Ma surname, he wanted to rent a place to move out. It was Ma Lili who worried that her older sister and her husband might be deceiving them and, considering the children’s schooling nearby, had been reluctant to rent a place. But now, staying was no longer an option.
Mother Ma became furious upon hearing this, “Lu Jiajie, ever since the two children were born, I’ve raised them, dealt with their messes, and any good thing we had, we thought of them first. Yet now you say this – you truly have no conscience.”
It was also in consideration of the couple’s hard work in helping raise the two children that he had been doing all the dirty and tiring work at home all these years, dealing with any troubles that arose.
Lu Jiajie replied with a cold face, “Since Yan Jixiang moved in, I know very well how you have been treating my two children, and they know even more clearly. There’s no need for further words; today you got what you wanted, we’re moving out.”
Ma Lili picked up Xiao Fengfeng and took Qiangqiang by the hand, following Lu Jiajie out, and as they went downstairs, she didn’t hear her mother call after her. She was extremely sad, which indicated that her parents really wanted them to leave.
Downstairs, Ma Lili with tearful eyes said, “Isn’t it inappropriate for us to stay at Jiaxin’s place without her consent?”
Lu Jiajie wiped his face and said, “It’s fine, we’ll just stay for a few days, I’ll go look for a house to rent tomorrow.”
It would take at least three or four days to get a rented house in order.
Ma Lili fell silent for a moment, then said, “Let’s not rent a house, let’s buy one directly.”
Lu Jiajie understood her meaning, to buy a good house before moving out, which meant they would be staying for a longer time, “It’s okay, Jiaxin told me before she left, if you can’t live here anymore, then bring you all to stay at her place temporarily.”
“Did Jiaxin really say that?”
“When have I ever deceived you?”
Ma Lili wiped her tears and said, “Okay, then let’s move now. Uncle Peng has a tricycle; let’s borrow it from him.”
Xue Mao was startled to see the family of four, with their bags and belongings, standing at the doorstep, “Brother Jie, what’s going on?”
Lu Jiajie briefly recounted Xiao Fengfeng being bullied and Mother Ma telling them to leave. A grown man’s voice choked up as he spoke.
Xue Mao was angry after hearing this; Xiao Fengfeng was so adorable, how could one stand by and watch her be mistreated? He wondered how hard her grandmother’s heart had become.
Seeing that Xue Mao didn’t respond, Lu Jiajie said, “Little Mao, don’t worry. I’ll go house-hunting tomorrow and will buy a good house as quickly as possible so we can move out. We’ll just stay here for a few days in the meantime.”
Snapping back to reality, Xue Mao said, “Brother Jie, buying a house is a lifelong decision, one that can’t be rushed. You need to take your time to find the right one.”
“Brother Jie, you’re Sister Xin’s brother after all, living here for however long is not a problem. I believe Sister Xin would say the same if she were here.”
Seeing the children’s eyes red and swollen, especially Xiao Fengfeng whose eyes were severely swollen from crying a lot, he washed their hands and gave them a bowl of dates to eat.
Xue Mao saw that they didn’t take the dates and smiled, saying, “These dates were specially brought back by your little aunt from the Ancient Capital for you to eat. They are very sweet, I guarantee once you eat them, you’ll want more.”
Xiao Fengfeng looked up and asked, “Did my little aunt really buy this?”
“Of course it’s real. Not only did she buy dates, but she also bought apples and pomegranates for you. Have some dates now, and I’ll peel the pomegranates for you after dinner.”
With delicious treats on hand, the two children quickly forgot the unpleasantness from before. Ma Lili felt that since Lu Jiaxin still thought about the two children even while in the Ancient Capital, it should be fine for them to stay temporarily.
After work, Lu Jiaguang headed straight to the restaurant they had agreed to meet at. When he arrived, Lu Hongjun was already there. His first sentence upon seeing him was, “Jiajie has been back for half a month now; how much longer does she intend to stay there?”
Lu Jiaguang wanted to tell Lu Hongjun the news he had just received, but he also wanted to persuade him to stop favoring that mother and daughter duo.
When Lu Hongjun heard that Lu Jiaxin was selling paintings, he was both shocked and angry, “She must be crazy for money.”
Lu Jiaguang’s face darkened; what father speaks about his own daughter like this, “Third Uncle, was Jiaxin like this before? No, who caused her to become like this now?”
Lu Hongjun, seeing the indignation on his face, softened his tone, “I had someone check it out. It was Jiaxin’s classmates who said she felt uncomfortable staying in the Forty-nine City, so she went out to clear her mind. Her return to her hometown has nothing to do with your Aunt Ding and Siyi.”
“And what about Jiaxin’s failure in the college entrance exam? That was orchestrated by the mother-daughter pair.”
Lu Hongjun still sided with Ding Jing, “That has nothing to do with your Aunt Ding; she found out about it later. Jiaguang, your Aunt Ding is a good person, you shouldn’t be prejudiced against her.”
Lu Jiaguang posed a question, “Third Uncle, by protecting that mother and daughter, ignoring the harm they’ve done to Xinxin, aren’t you afraid that she’ll be so disheartened that she’ll truly sever ties with you?”
Lu Hongjun said, “It was wrong for Siyi to date Fan Yinuo, but it has nothing to do with your Aunt Ding Jing. When she found out, she strongly opposed their relationship.”
Seeing that he was avoiding the question, Lu Jiaguang didn’t get angry. He said, “Third Uncle, I know what you’re thinking. You believe that Jiaxin is your own flesh and blood, someone you’ve raised. Even if she’s done some things wrong, she can’t ignore you in the future.”
“You say Jiaxin is desperate for money now, do you know why she is so eager to make money? It’s because with money, she won’t have to depend on you anymore.”
“Third Uncle, if Jiaxin stays in the Forty-nine City, when you get old and unable to move, she’ll have no choice but to take care of you under pressure. But have you considered, what if she’s not in the Forty-nine City, or even not in the country?”
Lu Hongjun’s complexion changed, “What do you mean by that?”
Lu Jiaguang said calmly, “Jiajie told me a few days ago that he was staying with Jiaxin, and that she’s spending a lot of time every day memorizing English. We all know that among all the subjects, English is the one Jiaxin likes the least. Why is she so proactive now?”
In the past, he wouldn’t have thought so much because his sister was like an open book, with all her emotions on display. But after these events, his sister has not only become more calculative but also learned to employ strategies. Of course, this is a good thing.
Lu Hongjun understood, “You’re saying she’s so actively learning English because she wants to go abroad. But going abroad isn’t that simple.”
Lu Jiaguang, seeing that he still viewed his sister with old ideas, said, “Third Uncle, there are two ways to study abroad: one is through state-sponsored programs, and the other is self-funded study. With Jiaxin’s intelligence, as long as she works hard, it won’t be difficult for her to get a spot for a state-sponsored program in the future.”
Lu Hongjun took a sip of his tea, then laughed and said, “I know Jiaxin better than you do. It’s not a problem for her to get into a university, but state-sponsored study abroad is out of the question.”
Knowing that further persuasion was futile and unwilling to waste more words, Lu Jiaguang said, “Third Uncle, I just hope you won’t regret it later.”
Lu Hongjun originally had something to tell him, but after the argument, he wanted to say nothing. In the end, the two of them left without even eating.
Wang Xiaojie saw his furious expression and stepped forward to ask, “What happened?”
Looking irritated, Lu Jiaguang unbuttoned the first button of his shirt and said, “I didn’t have dinner; make me a bowl of noodles, will you?”
Wang Xiaojie was surprised but seeing his state, she didn’t ask further and went to the kitchen to get busy. It wasn’t until they were about to go to bed that night that she asked if he had had a conflict with Lu Hongjun.
Lu Jiaguang briefly went over the incident, “Seeing his expression, even if Jiaxin really gets into a state-sponsored study program in the future, he probably would try to stop her from going.”
“Surely not?”
Lu Jiaguang, trying to contain his anger, said, “Given his personality, there’s a very good chance he would do that. Jiaxin went to Peng City to sell paintings; I guess she’s considering leaving the Forty-nine City.”
“You mean, she wants to self-fund her study abroad?”
Lu Jiaguang shook his head, “That’s not necessarily the case. But isn’t she planning to take the university entrance exam? When the time comes, she can completely opt for universities in other provinces. His influence is in the Forty-nine City, and in a couple of years, he’ll have to step down; then she can fully escape from his grasp.”
Wang Xiaojie exclaimed in surprise, “Jiaxin is still so young; could she really be thinking that far ahead?”
“Jiaxin has grown up; she’s not the Jiaxin from before. We need to stop viewing her with outdated notions.”
