Chapter 261: Chapter 240: Friends

"Alright, that’s enough. Qingyun’s career isn’t going well, and Xiao Wen is having a hard time."

Mother Wu chided her eldest daughter-in-law lightly, then took out twenty yuan and sent her off to buy groceries and cook. Turning to Wu Xiaowen, she asked, "Did you call Qingyun? Did you tell him you came to see your father?"

Wu Xiaowen lowered her eyes and nodded, her nose tingling as she fought back tears. ’What good would calling him do? The Tang Qingyun of today is like a completely different person. He doesn’t listen to me at all. He stubbornly insists on toughing it out at his post in some poor, mountainous region. He’s even playing the hero, vowing not to leave the mountains until he’s made some real political achievements. He doesn’t even come back to the provincial city once a month. He doesn’t care about his family or his wife, and he completely ignores his in-laws. I told him his father was sick, and all he said was, "You can go on behalf of the family. I’m just too busy." And that was the end of it!’

Mother Wu sighed. "Qingyun’s heart has grown cold. He’s sulking and holding a grudge against his father. How could Tang Renqian be so heartless? To abandon his own son and daughter-in-law in some remote region over such a small matter! He was so shrewd when he was younger, but he’s grown muddled in his old age. Is this supposed to be a punishment? It’s just plain stupid! Who lives to be a hundred and stays all-powerful their entire life? He’s ruining his son and daughter-in-law’s future, and think of the impact this will have on his grandchildren! Honestly!"

Wu Xiaowen dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief. "My friends and old classmates all say the same thing. The logic is so obvious, his parents must understand it too. But they’re still suppressing us like this just to appease Xiao Man... Mother, I’m starting to think that girl and I were destined to be at odds. We must have been sworn enemies in a past life, and now she’s here to collect a debt!"

"You can’t put it all on her. She was left to suffer in the countryside for more than ten years. Even if it wasn’t intentional, seeing the comfortable life Xuanxuan had has made it impossible for her to let go of her resentment. I told you before: just let her complain a little. Coax her, placate her. You’re her mother. Why lower yourself to a child’s level?"

"How am I lowering myself to her level? I’ve always spoken to her gently. I’ve tirelessly followed Qingyun to her school a dozen, even two dozen times. But she just maintains that attitude—it’s like talking to a brick wall. She’s completely unresponsive and just gives me the cold shoulder! Mother, you should have seen the way she looks at me. It’s like she’s looking at her mortal enemy! And that’s not all. She’s quite capable, you know. She’s completely won over Hao Hao and pulled him to her side. Tang Qingyun listens to her now, too. He didn’t even make a peep when Tang Qingshan took his daughter away. The old lady has traveled all the way from Beijing time and again just to see her, spoiling her absolutely rotten... Now the entire Tang family treats her like a precious treasure, and for her sake, they despise and isolate me! She’s the root of the problem, the reason none of us can return to Beijing! It’s all her fault! Just because she’s learned a few tricks of Chinese medicine, she’s become arrogant and thinks she’s all that. I asked her to come take a look at Dad—her own maternal grandfather—and she just flat-out refused, without even letting me beg her a few more times! You see? She’s just an ill-mannered, heartless, wicked girl!"

Mother Wu said thoughtfully, "Last time you were here, you said your mother-in-law, Fang Lanqing, has fair, rosy skin and is glowing with health. You said she seems even more energetic than before she got sick and that she’s been able to travel all over the country time and again. Does that mean she’s fully recovered? The root of her illness is gone? If that’s true, then your biological daughter has every right to be proud. Ah, what a pity!"

"A pity for what?" Wu Xiaowen pursed her lips. "Mother, she’s driving me mad!"

Mother Wu gave an unreadable smile and lovingly straightened her daughter’s hair. "Parents raise their children without asking for anything in return, offering only unconditional love. Manman... she is still your daughter. She doesn’t really want to make you angry. She’s just a teenager. As long as you dote on her, love her, and treat her the same way you treat Xuanxuan, she’ll eventually respond to you. A mother’s and daughter’s hearts are linked, after all. Remember to be patient. You were separated for over a decade. You also need to use your head a little more. What does she like best? Who does she rely on the most? You can start there and gradually win her over. Your father’s illness is chronic; the doctors are out of options. It’s the same old story every time he’s hospitalized—they just tell us to let him recuperate slowly at home. I’m getting old. How many days do I have left? My only hope is that your father and I can hold on long enough to return to Beijing, get your brothers settled, and secure a future for our descendants. That would be enough. If we can’t... well, the Wu Family will be truly finished."

Looking at her mother’s graying hair and her haggard, sorrowful face, Wu Xiaowen’s heart felt as if it were being clawed at. She secretly made a vow. ’No matter what it takes, I have to accomplish two things when I go back this time. First, get Xiao Man to treat Father and prescribe medicine. Second, make the Wu Family’s return to Beijing happen as soon as possible. I’ll find another way, not through the Tang family! All roads lead to Rome. Tang Renqian isn’t the only powerful person in Beijing!’

It just goes to show how motivation can unlock a person’s potential. In a fit of pique, Wu Xiaowen let go of the Tang family lifeline she had been clinging to. Upon returning to the provincial city, she immediately began working relentlessly, contacting all her friends, seeking out contacts, and trying to pull strings. After just a few days, she had not only made significant progress and seen a glimmer of hope, but she had also managed to learn quite a bit about the happenings in Beijing.

One piece of news in particular caught her attention: the Bai Family’s Bai Lihua had returned to Beijing!

Wu Xiaowen’s eyes reddened, and she nearly bit her lip until it bled. ’Look at how other families treat their sons!’

’Is Tang Qingyun not the Tang family’s biological son?’

The person who gave Wu Xiaowen this news also gave her Bai Lihua’s phone number. Wu Xiawen hesitated for two days before finally dialing it. ’Their breakup back then wasn’t either of their faults. It was because their parents had interfered so crudely, without any regard for their feelings. He had told her that if they couldn’t be husband and wife, they could still be friends, and that he would always keep a place for her in his heart!’

The following Sunday, Xiao Man went back to Gongdao Village to see her Grandpa and Grandma. While she was there, she spent half the day rummaging through her Grandpa’s herb room, where she measured out ten packets of herbs. She then took them to the county seat to be packaged and mailed to Wancheng, where Zheng Shaolian would forward them to Old Man Wu in Feng City.

She was just that contrary. Xiao Man refused to deal with Wu Xiaowen directly and wanted nothing to do with her mother’s family either.

She had only prepared these ten packets of herbs because what Hao Hao said had made a lot of sense.

Hao Hao had said on the phone that regardless of Grandpa Wu’s character, he possessed genuine talent and profound knowledge. If he could be cured and could spend his remaining years passing that knowledge on to the next generation, it would be a truly meaningful endeavor.

Xiao Man selected the herbs according to a secret recipe from the Sun’s Medical Classics. She used only herbs her Grandpa had gathered from the mountains, adding just a bit of dried Space Lotus Leaf as a medicine lead. A prescription like this was something that money couldn’t buy.

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