Chapter 300 - 301: Acting Wilfully
Liu Haiguo was in deep trouble again, with five lives lost. At the moment, his mind was racing with countless thoughts, yet he couldn’t think of a better solution.
The people who followed him didn’t blame him, but the families of those who had died would definitely blame him, and might even seek revenge.
It also didn’t help that Liu Haiguo had a history of causing death before during a grave digging incident, which had only been calmed down by Ge Lai. Everyone knew it involved Liu Haiguo.
But now that Ge Lai had been ousted by Liu Haiguo, there was no one left to step forward in his defense. Liu Haiguo couldn’t help but look towards Hong Xing, but Hong Xing wasn’t foolish and ignored Liu Haiguo.
Hong Xing refused to help, and Liu Haiguo truly had no way to deal with him. Plus, he couldn’t just handle Hong Xing as he did Ge Lai because Ge Lai was an orphan and, to some extent, part of the Lius.
But Hong Xing was different. In the Red Star Production Team, the Liu surname wasn’t the most common; it was the Hong surname that dominated.
When Liu Haiguo’s group returned to the Red Star Production Team, everyone was in uproar. Five people had died—two young and unmarried, two married, and one engaged, leaving five families grieving. The wailing almost drowned out the whole Red Star Production Team.
At the Gao family, Gao Jiaxing was discussing with his family about visiting his mother-in-law’s place with Xia Xiao on the second day of the New Year. Zheng Xianghong and Gao Guoqiang had also heard from Gao Jiaxing before, but this time Gao Jiaxing mentioned taking fish to his mother-in-law’s house and giving his family a heads-up.
"Just take some from home," Gao Guoqiang said, "they’re out there in the sun, preserved with salt. They won’t spoil if you take them."
Zheng Xianghong nodded, "Alright, when are you guys leaving tomorrow? I’ll pack them up for you then."
Speaking of this, Zheng Xianghong turned to Sun Yuhua, "Yuhua, do you want to go to your mother’s house? I can prepare for you too."
"I won’t go back," Sun Yuhua shook her head, then spoke to Xia Xiao, "Xia Xiao, could you help me take it to my family?"
Honestly, Xia Xiao was reluctant. She didn’t like visiting the Suns that much, and said, "Sister Yuhua, you haven’t been home in a while. Why don’t you join me, big brother, and Weilin tomorrow back to the city? It’d be nice to have companions on the journey."
"If you don’t want to, forget it," Sun Yuhua stood up and went straight back to her room.
The atmosphere turned cold instantly. Gao Jiazhi apologized to Xia Xiao, "Xia Xiao, my sister-in-law is just like that, it’s not personal. Don’t take it to heart."
"Brother, I know Sister Yuhua well, I won’t take it personally," Xia Xiao smiled.
Gao Guoqiang and Zheng Xianghong didn’t say anything. Gao Jiaxing frowned, dissatisfied with Sun Yuhua’s attitude, but he didn’t speak up either, not wanting to embarrass Gao Jiazhi.
Xia Xiao felt helpless about Sun Yuhua’s temperament but was also relieved; she really didn’t want to carry things for Sun Yuhua.
Back in her room, Gao Jiazhi said to Sun Yuhua, who was lying on the bed, "When there’s a discussion among family, you can’t just act moody. Xia Xiao is understanding not to hold a grudge, otherwise with this attitude, you’ll end up offending everyone here."
Sun Yuhua ignored Gao Jiazhi. Frustrated, he sat on the bed and pulled her towards him, "Yuhua, I’m talking to you."
"What is it? If you have any complaints, just say it," Sun Yuhua glared.
"You shouldn’t have thrown a tantrum at Xia Xiao. When she suggested you go to the city with us, if you didn’t want to, you should have just said so. How could you give her the cold shoulder?" Gao Jiazhi felt that Sun Yuhua’s attitude was a big problem.
With a sudden jerk, Sun Yuhua sat up and glared at Gao Jiazhi, "She did it on purpose, I haven’t even started with her yet. She knows my family is having issues with me, and yet she spoke like that. Isn’t she just poking at my heart?"
"It was you who brought it up first, asking her to bring things to your family. I didn’t think Xia Xiao did anything wrong. What’s with you lately, what’s troubling you?"
Gao Jiazhi couldn’t understand Sun Yuhua; she didn’t need to worry about the household, nor did she need to do any physical work. She even neglected their daughter and had his help with work at the production team. What was there to be so emotional about?
"I’m troubled by everything, just leave me alone. I want to sleep." Sun Yuhua lay down, covered her head with the blanket, turned away from Gao Jiazhi.
Gao Jiazhi stared at Sun Yuhua for a long time before he had to get up and leave the room; outside Gao Guoqiang and Zheng Xianghong were there, Gao Jiazhi and Xia Xiao had already gone back to their room.
Seeing Gao Jiazhi come out, Gao Guoqiang didn’t speak, but Zheng Xianghong said, "You go rest too. I can take care of Weilin."
"Mom, where is Weilin?" Gao Jiazhi hadn’t seen his daughter and asked.
"She’s asleep in the room," Zheng Xianghong replied.
Gao Jiazhi walked towards Zheng Xianghong’s room; she followed him inside, "She just fell asleep. Just leave her here."
"Mom, I’ll still take Weilin back to our room. You and dad should rest properly." Gao Jiazhi felt very apologetic.
Zheng Xianghong, looking at Gao Jiazhi’s helpless expression, said, "Don’t argue with Yuhua. You two should just talk it out whatever the matter is."
Gao Jiazhi replied in frustration, "I didn’t argue with her, but talking it out doesn’t help."
Zheng Xianghong said, "I see now, Yuhua is probably upset because of her family. When you have time ask her about it, or maybe tomorrow after your brother and Xia Xiao go back to the city, you two should also visit. There’s no feud between parents and children that can’t be resolved overnight, misunderstandings can be cleared up."
Gao Jiazhi was moved by Zheng Xianghong’s words, so he insisted on carrying his daughter back to their room. Sun Yuhua hadn’t actually fallen asleep and shifted to make room for their daughter when she saw Gao Jiazhi carrying her in.
Gao Jiazhi said, "We’ve been married for a few years now, how about we go see your parents tomorrow?"
Sun Yuhua remained silent, so Gao Jiazhi pressed, "At least say something. You’re always so quiet, how can I know what you’re thinking?"
Sun Yuhua couldn’t help but snicker, "Take you there? We might not even make it through the door."
Gao Jiazhi fell silent immediately. He wasn’t stupid; he understood the implication of Sun Yuhua’s words—her family must really look down on him as a son-in-law.
But knowing that in his mind was one thing, facing Sun Yuhua’s attitude was another, and Gao Jiazhi was somewhat hurt by it.
His silence grew long, and Sun Yuhua said, "My family wanted to marry me off to a forty-year-old man with children. If I did, they could bring me back to the city. I didn’t agree and cut off relations with them."
"You see, I could have gone back to the city, but I didn’t want to marry an old man. So, I chose you and stayed in this rural place to suffer hardships. Gao Jiazhi, I gave up my own family for you."
After Sun Yuhua finished speaking, Gao Jiazhi was moved, but considering the situation at home, he still advised, "Still, sometimes you should restrain yourself at home. Dad, Mom, and Jiaxing and Xia Xiao are all easy to get along with. You can’t be too headstrong."