Chapter 325
Si Nian hadn't fully recovered her senses, but she subconsciously started searching her memory for information about the relatives of the Eldest Child and the Second Child.
In the novel, their mother had passed away shortly after giving birth to Yao Yao, and their father had gone missing.
Therefore, everyone subconsciously treated them as orphans.
In this era, it was extremely difficult to find someone. Since the children's father couldn't be found, the three children could only be taken care of by their relatives.
Eventually, they ended up in Zhou Yueshen's hands.
Later on, although Zhou Yueshen made a lot of money, he kept a low profile, and very few people knew the true extent of his wealth.
The Second Child and Yao Yao died early, so there was no further plotline for them.
Although the Eldest Child became a scientific researcher, he was also low-key, and eventually, something happened to him too. The so-called blood relatives never appeared from beginning to end.
But now, they had suddenly popped up.
There were only two possibilities: either it was a scammer, or someone saw the two children becoming famous in the newspaper and changed their mind.
But no matter what, Si Nian didn't have a good impression of this person.
What kind of good person could a man be if he abandoned his three flesh-and-blood children and left without ever checking on them?
She had been too careless before. The two children were so young; she shouldn't have put them in the public eye.
She had underestimated the speed at which newspapers spread information in this era.
She looked at the reporter and said, "That's right, the children are not our biological kids. They are orphans who were abandoned. My husband is their uncle. Because the three children were abandoned and couldn't survive on their own, he took them in. Now, the children's household registration is under our name."
The other party was about to speak but was interrupted by Si Nian. "As far as I know, the children's mother passed away in her early years, and before her death, she was abandoned by her husband. Other than that, they have no other relatives. If they do, it's only that scumbag father who abandoned his wife and children. But I believe that a man with even a shred of conscience wouldn't have the face to come knocking on our door to claim them."
Si Nian continued, "A legitimate newspaper agency like yours certainly wouldn't help such an immoral man claim his children, right?"
The reporter's mouth was full of questions, but they were choked back into his throat.
If they helped the other party now, wouldn't they be aiding an evildoer? Wouldn't that be immoral?
The reporter's mouth twitched.
Si Nian ignored them and went inside the house.
Zhou Yueshen happened to be walking out. He seemed to have heard the noise outside. Looking at the reporters lingering at the door, he frowned slightly. "Reporters?"
Si Nian was surprised. "How did you know?"
Zhou Yueshen narrowed his eyes. "There have been people wandering around nearby these past few days, all unfamiliar faces."
Zhou Yueshen hadn't been here for long, but he was already familiar with the environment.
He could tell at a glance who he had seen before and whose behavior was suspicious.
Since they were so obviously watching his house, he naturally noticed.
He had Yu Dong investigate in the morning, and the news came back that they were reporters.
They said it was because the Second Child's kidnapping incident had caused such a big stir, which attracted these people.
Si Nian's expression grew more serious.
She hadn't even noticed.
They might have even been secretly photographed.
Being secretly photographed in the 1980s was truly a rare occurrence.
But this wasn't a pleasant surprise.
To be able to mobilize reporters to do this, the identity of the Eldest Child's father must not be simple.
A scammer probably couldn't pull this off.
She pushed Zhou Yueshen inside, and the two went up to the study on the third floor. Looking down from there, they could see the reporters outside who still hadn't left. She told him about the situation.
Si Nian lowered the curtains, feeling a bit curious. "Do you know who your sister's husband is?"
Zhou Yueshen stood to the side, his gaze fixed in the direction downstairs. Hearing this, he raised his eyes to look at her.
A few seconds later.
He lowered his eyes and then placed his crutch aside.
He crouched down, picked up her untied shoelaces, and tied them.
At the sudden action, Si Nian was stunned for a moment.
She reflexively looked down. From above, she could see the top of the man's head, his sturdy shoulders, and his gloomy complexion.
Her heart skipped a beat.
She suddenly realized that the situation regarding Zhou Yueshen's eldest sister, who had never been mentioned, seemed not to be that simple.
Zhou Yueshen stood up. He actually didn't need to use a crutch much anymore, except that going upstairs was a bit troublesome.
His voice was deep as he said, "This matter is a bit complicated."
Si Nian listened quietly as he continued, "My sister never got married."
Si Nian was shocked. "Never got married?"
Zhou Yueshen nodded slightly. "It was many years ago. I was away from home all year round, so I wasn't very clear about the situation at home."
"The other party was an educated youth sent down to the countryside. In those years, investigations were strict, and many people from prominent families, or even those slightly connected, were sent to farms and cowsheds."
"That man was one of them."
Zhou Yueshen slowly recounted the story.
At that time, only Zhou Tingting and his sister Zhou Lan were at home.
Zhou Lan took a liking to an educated youth from the neighboring village. He was handsome and educated. Because too much time had passed, many people only remembered his name was Zhiyuan, but his surname was completely unknown.
The two got together not long after, and the following year, she gave birth to Zhou Zedong.
But unfortunately, the man's family soon used their connections to return to the city.
After that, the two spent less time together and more time apart. After Zhou Lan got pregnant with Yao Yao, the man disappeared and never went back.
Abandoned, Zhou Lan vented her resentment towards the man on the slightly older Eldest Child.
This caused the Eldest Child to be withdrawn and sensitive from a young age.
Not long after, Zhou Lan passed away.
When Zhou Yueshen returned and learned of this, he found someone to investigate.
Only then did he find out that the man had actually used someone else's name.
Furthermore, the two had never married; they only claimed so to the public.
He even learned from some people who had gone down to the countryside together that this man seemed to have a wife and children. In other words, Zhou Lan had been a mistress, bore him three children, and was ultimately abandoned.
Zhou Yueshen wanted to find him, but even with his connections, searching for someone with a fake name who had been gone for so long was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Zhou Yueshen simply treated him as if he were dead.
He never expected that someone would suddenly pop up, claiming to be the blood relative of the children. It was truly laughable.
After hearing this, Si Nian sighed endlessly.
No wonder she had never heard anyone mention Zhou Lan since coming to the Zhou family.
She had originally thought it was out of respect for the dead that no one brought up the past.
She hadn't expected the truth to be like this.
However, this further confirmed that the man was definitely not a good person.
"For him to be able to hide his identity so easily without being discovered, he probably has a solid background," Si Nian said.
Zhou Yueshen raised his eyes and looked at her. "You're worried he might be able to take the children back."
Si Nian said, "Yes. The Eldest Child has excellent academic grades. Although the Second Child doesn't stand out in that aspect, he was also in the newspaper and became a little hero. The other party is actively getting reporters to bother us right now but isn't showing his face. I'm afraid he has ideas about the two children, but he probably doesn't want us to know who he really is yet."
"To have this kind of ability, he must certainly not be simple."
Zhou Yueshen picked up the crutch placed to the side and said, "Don't worry. Without my agreement, no one can take them away."
"Be careful recently."
He spoke seriously.
Si Nian could see his earnestness and also became serious.
Meanwhile, the newly moved-in neighbors next door had also returned.
Fang Hui held her son's hand as they walked home. They had only recently moved in and were still missing a lot of household items. Since she didn't know how to cook, they had been buying all their meals outside.
Seeing reporters staking out near the entrance, she frowned with faint dissatisfaction. "It's just a competition. Do these reporters really need to make such a big fuss?"
Beside her stood a boy around seven years old. He was dressed in a little tailored suit and a hat, looking every bit the refined young master of a wealthy family.
Facing these reporters, Fang Hui felt nothing but disdain.
Having moved in a few days ago, she had noticed the reporters right away. Back in Jing City, she used to run into people like them all the time.
After all, her son was a genius. He had won a youth math competition at the age of five, and by seven, he had skipped grades to enter the fourth grade, earning the title of the youngest prodigy.
He had been quite famous back in Jing City and had even appeared on television.
They had moved here because of a minor incident. When she first spotted the reporters, she assumed they were staking out her son.
To her surprise, when she confidently approached them, she discovered they were actually waiting for the family next door.
Fang Hui hadn't expected their target to be anyone other than her son. She felt a surge of frustration and embarrassment.
After asking around the neighborhood, she learned that the family next door was surnamed Zhou. The husband ran a pig farm, the wife was a foreign language teacher, and they had three children—two boys and a girl.
The eldest child had participated in some math competition, won first place, and even made it into the newspaper.
The second child had helped the police catch human traffickers after being abducted, and received a reward as well.
In short, they were quite a high-profile family.
But to Fang Hui, who hailed from Jing City, this was nothing to brag about.
Countless children won awards in Jing City. The fact that something like this could make the news only proved how small and provincial this place was.
She scoffed at it with disdain.
Yet, they had been staking out for so long. Just a moment ago, when she and her son walked right past them, the reporters remained completely oblivious to her son—a true genius. This differential treatment left Fang Hui feeling a bit unsettled.
At this moment, the Eldest Child and the Second Child also returned.
Jiang Jiu was trailing along beside them.
Jiang Jiu was biting into a stick of cotton candy, while the other two boys were carrying a pile of scrap wood in their arms.
The Second Child had mentioned that food cooked over a wood fire tasted better. On their way back, they happened to pass by the tube-shaped apartment building and spotted some discarded wood left out by another family, so they gathered it and brought it home.
Both little guys were covered in dirt.
Hearing the noise, Fang Hui turned her head and swept a glance over them.
Seeing the grubby children, she instinctively pulled her son closer, creating some distance between them.
Once the boys walked past, she looked down at her son and said, "Bowen, do you see that? If you don't listen to Mommy and study hard, you'll end up just like them, scavenging for trash."
Fang Bowen was only seven, yet his eyes already carried a hint of arrogance. He frowned as he cast a glance at the Second Child and the others.
Initially, he had been quite happy to see kids his own age.
Having been here for a while, the only other children around were the grandson of the Jiang family next door and the kids from the tube-shaped apartments.
His mother wouldn't let him play with the kids from the tube-shaped apartments, claiming it would lower his status.
Instead, she told him to go play with the Jiang family's grandson.
But when he tried talking to Jiang Jiu, the boy seemed foolish and slow. He didn't know his multiplication tables or basic arithmetic. He didn't seem smart at all.
He didn't like playing with dummies.
Seeing a few kids his age now, he hadn't expected them to be so filthy, let alone picking up garbage.
His brow furrowed tightly at the sight.
After saying her piece, Fang Hui ignored the three boys who had turned to look at her in confusion. Holding her head high, she led her son through their front gate.
However, just as she stepped inside, she heard a commotion from next door.
"Mom, Mom! Xiao Jiang and I brought back so much firewood. Can we make wood-fired chicken now?"
She instinctively looked over, only to see the grubby kids from earlier standing in the courtyard next door, hollering excitedly.
Fang Hui stared in disbelief.
She had genuinely thought those boys were just street urchins scavenging for trash.
After all, this place was poor and underdeveloped.
Poor kids scavenging for garbage were everywhere.
She never expected them to be the children from the family next door.
Living in a house like that, how could they be so unhygienic?
Fang Hui recalled the gossip she had heard from the neighbors. Apparently, even though the husband ran a farm, he was originally from the countryside.
No wonder the children were raised like this.
Did kids like these really warrant reporters staking out their house?
What a fuss over nothing.
After resting for two days, Zhou Yueshen headed to the breeding farm.
When he wasn't too busy, he would bring Da Huang along. The farm was spacious, allowing Da Huang to run around freely without the worry of knocking into anyone.
Basking in its owner's affection, Da Huang's coat had even grown a few shades shinier.
Whenever the little piglets went into hiding, it would track them down and herd them back.
It was a great help to everyone.
Finishing his cigarette, Zhou Yueshen stood by the side of the road. His features were strikingly handsome as he stood against the wind, calling out to the bounding Da Huang.
Da Huang immediately trotted back, its tongue lolling out happily.
When Zhou Yueshen was busy, it wasn't allowed to run off.
Just then, Yu Dong walked over and reported, "Boss, I looked into it. They're from the Youth Newspaper. But I asked around, and it wasn't anyone from the city who contacted them."
Zhou Yueshen's hand, which had been patting Da Huang's head, paused. He ground out his cigarette butt beneath his boot before speaking. "Not from within the city?"
He had guessed that the other party had some influence, but he hadn't expected them to be from outside the city.
Someone from the outside was interfering?
"Right. The guy refused to talk, so I had someone rough him up a bit. That squeezed out a little useful information. Although we still don't know exactly who it is, rumor has it they're from over there."
Yu Dong's eyes flickered as he alluded to a place he was reluctant to name.
Jing City?
Zhou Yueshen lowered his gaze in deep thought.
No wonder he had scoured the entire city years ago and couldn't find a single trace of the three children's father.
He was actually from Jing City.
But if he was from over there, how did he find out about the children?
Could it be that he had been keeping tabs on them all along...?
Seeing him fall silent, Yu Dong instinctively glanced up. Zhou Yueshen's expression was icy, his eyes dark and chilling.
Yu Dong shuddered, genuinely startled.
"Old Xiao is over there. Have him look into it," Zhou Yueshen said.
Yu Dong's expression turned solemn. To mobilize Old Xiao meant the boss was playing for keeps.
It made sense. Years ago, that man had ruined Sister Zhou's life and abandoned the three children.
Now that the kids were finally living a good life, he had the audacity to come knocking so brazenly.
Anyone would be furious.
Suddenly recalling something, Yu Dong added, "By the way, the deal for the adjacent land has been finalized. Isn't our pig farm big enough? Why are we buying more land? Are you planning to expand?"
Zhou Yueshen withdrew his gaze and replied thoughtfully, "It was Niannian's suggestion, but it's a good one. I do plan to expand."
His business operations were still far too small...
After Si Nian chased off the reporters with her sarcastic remarks, they hadn't shown their faces again.
However, while out grocery shopping that day, she ran into the new neighbors who had just moved in next door.
Several women from the tube-shaped apartments had surrounded her, chatting eagerly.
Their faces were full of fawning flattery.
They clearly hadn't noticed Si Nian, as they continued gossiping, "What's so impressive about that? Compared to your Bowen, it's nothing! Entering the fourth grade at just seven years old—he's an absolute prodigy!"