The 1970s: Married First, Fell in Love Later-Chapter 221 - 220: Encountering Meng Ye’s Family

He Ze had also heard that Gao Cuiyun was building a new house. He hesitated at first, but for the sake of their three children, he decided to go and help. However, when he arrived, the place was swarming with members of the Gao Family. He was so terrified he didn’t even show his face, just turned and ran straight home, locking the door from the inside.

Lately, he hadn’t even dared to leave the house. He was constantly on edge, terrified the Gao Family would suddenly show up at his door again.

Mrs. He secretly cursed in front of Mr. He, "That good-for-nothing. His own children are getting a new house, and he, their father, doesn’t offer to help. He just hides at home and won’t come out. How did I give birth to such a heartless creature?"

"He’s probably scared of the Gao Family." Mr. He, it seemed, understood his son quite well.

Mrs. He paused for a few seconds. "So much time has passed. If they were going to hold it against him, they wouldn’t have waited this long. This is the perfect chance for him to redeem himself!"

Mr. He stared at Mrs. He for a few moments, frowning. "You’re not still trying to get our second son and his wife back together, are you?"

Mrs. He’s gaze flickered, and she said, a little guiltily, "And what if I am? Our second son is single, and his ex-wife hasn’t remarried. They say you can’t beat the original. Why can’t they get back together?"

Mr. He advised her, "Let me tell you, you’d better drop that idea right now. Otherwise, I’m afraid Little Chen won’t be happy. Besides, how do you know either of them even wants to get back together?"

Mrs. He froze. "What does Little Chen have to do with it?"

Mr. He told her, "Little Chen is shrewder than he looks. I can see the hatred he has for his father as plain as day—he makes no effort to hide it. If you try to get those two back together, Little Chen will be the biggest obstacle."

Mrs. He was baffled. "That can’t be right. Doesn’t Little Chen want his parents to reconcile? For their family to be whole and happy again?"

Mr. He scoffed. "Hah. You’re the only one who thinks things could ever be ’happy’ again."

After hearing what her husband said, Mrs. He sat on the edge of the bed for a long time, completely unable to wrap her head around it.

「Over in Beijing City」

The New Year celebrations had just ended, and the family wasn’t in any rush to get back to business. Instead, they decided to go out and have some fun together.

They made a tour of all the places they’d never had time to visit before.

One day, they unexpectedly ran into Meng Ye’s family at Century Square.

"Brother Hua?"

He Lang recognized him first. It was Brother Hua, the man who had bought his gold bars on the black market.

This time, however, he wasn’t alone. A woman with delicate features, dressed fashionably and appearing to be around Xue Yue’s age, was holding his arm intimately.

Meng Ye followed behind them, along with two other girls.

Hearing his name, Brother Hua turned and saw He Lang.

He broke into a broad smile. "You’re out for a stroll, too? This must be your wife?" he asked, glancing at Xue Yue.

He Lang nodded. "This is my wife, and my two children."

Brother Hua gave Xue Yue a quick look before his gaze dropped to Ruanruan and Shiyi. His attention, however, clearly lingered on Shiyi.

"You’re a lucky man, brother. A beautiful wife, and you’ve got both a son and a daughter."

A flicker of scorn crossed Meng Ye’s eyes.

He Lang smiled. "Is this your wife?"

Brother Hua nodded. "Yes, and my daughters."

Xue Yue was a little surprised. She didn’t know Meng Ye’s father, but she found herself wondering, ’Could a woman that young really have a daughter Meng Ye’s age?’ Seeing the strained expression on Meng Ye’s face, Xue Yue put two and two together. ’She must be the stepmother.’

He Lang glanced at Xue Yue, noticing she was staring at the girl across from them. "What is it? Do you know her?"

Xue Yue nodded. "She’s a classmate."

Brother Hua looked at Xue Yue, then at Meng Ye, and said with a smile, "So, my daughter and your wife are classmates! Meng Ye, why didn’t you say hello?"

Meng Ye nodded at Xue Yue without a word.

Brother Hua asked He Lang, "What prestigious job have you landed lately, brother? I haven’t seen you come looking for a deal."

He Lang chuckled. "I’m actually planning to start a business, but I haven’t found the right location yet."

"Oh—what kind of place are you looking for?"

"The bigger, the better."

Brother Hua’s expression froze for a second. "If you’ve got a moment, brother, how about we chat?"

Hearing this, He Lang’s interest was piqued.

"Sounds good."

So, the two families found a place to have tea together.

As soon as they entered, someone came up to greet Brother Hua. He was clearly a regular.

A pot of Tieguanyin was served, and Brother Hua and He Lang continued their earlier conversation.

"Brother, as it happens, I have a plot of land right in the city center. The government was controlling it for a few years, but it was returned to me recently, so it’s my private property. You should go take a look. I originally planned to build on it myself, but I’m short on capital at the moment, so the project is stalled. If you want it, it’s yours."

He Lang was definitely interested. But he figured a large plot in the city center wouldn’t come cheap.

"Brother Hua, what price are you thinking of?"

Brother Hua smiled. "Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. See it first, then we can talk price."

He Lang nodded without hesitation.

The two men set a time to see the land. Before leaving, Meng Ye glanced at Xue Yue again, looking like she wanted to say something but held back.

After Meng Ye’s family left, Xue Yue asked He Lang, "Was he the one you sold the gold bars to before?"

He Lang nodded. "He’s not just anyone. There’s a real chance we could actually buy that land."

"You plan on buying land to build a supermarket? Won’t that take a long time?" Xue Yue had thought He Lang was in a rush to open one.

"It’s not like there are any other suitable options. Even if we bought a pre-existing building, we’d have to renovate the whole thing. It would be better to just build from scratch."

"Speaking of which," He Lang looked at Xue Yue, "I had no idea you were classmates with Brother Hua’s daughter."

Xue Yue pursed her lips. "I have plenty of classmates. Meng Ye is one of the good ones, though. I just never imagined her family situation was so complicated. You could tell that woman wasn’t her birth mother. I mean, what mother is the same age as her daughter? That Brother Hua is a real cradle robber."

This reminded He Lang of what his mother had once said to him—that he, too, was robbing the cradle.

So he had no response to that.

To her surprise, Meng Ye showed up alone the very next day.

Xue Yue was still amazed. "How did you find my house?"

Meng Ye looked at her. "Did you forget? You mentioned it when we were planning to go dancing."

Xue Yue was confused. ’Did I say that? I don’t remember.’

"Anyway, are you here to teach me how to dance?"

Meng Ye shook her head, then nodded. "If you want to learn, I can teach you today. But I have something else to tell you."

Xue Yue looked at her. "What is it?"

"Can you please not tell anyone about my family? You saw for yourself how complicated things are. That woman from yesterday... she was my classmate in high school. Surprising, isn’t it? She’s my stepmom now. And she’s the fifth wife my dad has married."

Xue Yue’s eyes widened in utter shock.

"Then... your dad married all these women at the same time? Isn’t that illegal?"

Meng Ye paused. "You’ve got it wrong. It wasn’t at the same time. My mother was his second wife. After she died from an illness, he married two more in succession. But they didn’t live very long. One died in childbirth, and the other... she fell down the stairs. It killed both her and her unborn child."

Xue Yue was left completely speechless. ’This sounds like something straight out of a novel,’ she thought. ’So this is what life is like in a rich, powerful family?’