Although she tried not to think about it, Xiao Hua still vaguely remembered that the reason her face had been injured so badly was because the older cousin from her eldest uncle’s family had told her to go into the kitchen to fetch roasted sweet potatoes for him.
She had been very young at the time. She tripped and fell, landing right beside the pile of roasting sweet potatoes. After that, Jiang Chan took her away from that household, and they never returned to that mountain village again.
Shaking off the heaviness in her heart, Xiao Hua shook her head. “Why did Grandma suddenly bring up that family?”
Jiang Chan turned around on the vanity stool and looked at Xiao Hua. “I’m planning to go back for a visit. I want to divorce your grandfather.”
No matter how precocious Xiao Hua was, she still could not understand why Jiang Chan would do this. “Why? Aren’t things fine the way they are now? They don’t even know where we are. If you go back, they’ll definitely swarm over like flies that smell blood.”
Jiang Chan’s career had been flourishing these past years. If Zhou Dayou’s family found out that Jiang Chan had built such a massive business empire, they would definitely become jealous. When that happened, wouldn’t Jiang Chan just end up getting hurt?
“I thought about this a long time ago. Back when I carried you out of the mountains, I already planned to divorce Zhou Dayou.” Jiang Chan rested her head on her hand. “But your parents were still alive then. If I divorced him at that time, I wouldn’t have been able to raise you. That’s why I delayed it until now.”
“Now that you’re an adult, I want to settle this matter. No matter what, I must divorce Zhou Dayou while I’m still alive.”
Jiang Chan spoke plainly, and Xiao Hua was smart enough to understand. She squatted down in front of Jiang Chan. “Grandma, do whatever you want to do. You already delayed your life for so many years because of me. I’m grown up now. I can take care of myself.”
Jiang Chan laughed. “Do you think I’ll stop caring about you after divorcing Zhou Dayou? Don’t overthink it. I spent so much effort raising you. Of course I want to see you get married and have children.”
She sighed. “I’m just worried that once I divorce Zhou Dayou, Zhou Fugui and his wife might cling to you.”
“They’re living pretty well now. They opened several shops in the provincial capital of Guizhou, and business is not bad. But who in this world ever thinks they have too much money? Especially Zhou Fugui and Wang Mei. They want to give every good thing to Zhou Xiaobao.”
Xiao Hua smiled. “Grandma, you’re underestimating me. Do I look like someone easy to push around? If they dare come looking for trouble, I’ll make sure their family of three can’t go on living peacefully.”
Jiang Chan patted Xiao Hua on the forehead. “We don’t harm others, but if someone wants to harm us, we must be able to fight back, and strike decisively so they can never recover.”
That had always been Jiang Chan’s principle. If you retaliate, you must strike once and for good. Leaving people around to keep jumping up and down only disgusts yourself.
“I know, Grandma. Don’t worry.” After years of Jiang Chan’s guidance and example, Xiao Hua was far from naive.
“That’s good. You’re already eighteen. Tomorrow I’ll bring some documents for you to sign. I plan to transfer all my assets into your name. When I go back to divorce Zhou Dayou, that family won’t get a single cent.”
Whatever Jiang Chan said, Xiao Hua agreed to it.
After transferring all valuable assets under her name to Xiao Hua, Jiang Chan set out for Guizhou with a very well known divorce lawyer from the capital.
She knew that a tough battle lay ahead, and she could only face it herself. Xiao Hua should remain at school and continue her studies.
The divorce lawyer’s surname was He. Jiang Chan had already explained her situation to him. Back when she took Xiao Hua out of the mountains, she had also obtained an injury assessment report. All of this could be used as evidence to accuse Zhou Dayou of years of domestic violence. Jiang Chan was fully able to file for divorce.
As she entered Guizhou, Jiang Chan felt a sense of hesitation about returning home. She had once lived here with Xiao Hua for more than half a year. Once Zhou Dayou’s matter was resolved, she would probably come back even less often.
With the halo of a famous entrepreneur from the capital, Jiang Chan naturally received a warm welcome upon entering Guizhou. When the officials learned that she was also a shareholder of the well known Xinxin Food Factory, their enthusiasm only increased.
They were hoping to attract Jiang Chan to invest locally. Although Guizhou had developed fairly well over the past decade, it still lagged far behind major cities.
Since Jiang Chan was here, they naturally hoped she would invest and build factories locally. Jiang Chan had no intention of personally meeting Zhou Dayou. She entrusted everything to Lawyer He.
She was busy socializing with the officials, while Lawyer He went to Zhou Dayou’s hometown to handle the divorce procedures. She did not want to see Zhou Dayou’s family, even though her sons and grandson were there.
Perhaps because of Zhou Dayou’s extreme preference for sons, Jiang Chan suspected that the original owner of the body might have grown to dislike men, which was why she doted on Xiao Hua so deeply, even holding onto thoughts of her until death.
While Jiang Chan chatted with officials over tea and engaged in polite verbal sparring, Lawyer He was being jolted so badly on the winding mountain roads that he nearly threw up. The twists and turns were so severe that even someone who normally did not get carsick found it hard to endure.
Coincidentally, that day was Zhou Dayou’s seventy third birthday. Zhou Fuquan and Zhou Fugui liked to present themselves as filial sons, so both returned home for the occasion. As the so called “wealthy man” of the mountain village, Zhou Fugui stood particularly straight backed.
Zhou Fugui had made some money over the years. The house had long since been rebuilt into a two story Western style building, with all kinds of household appliances. At this moment, Zhou Dayou sat smiling in the living room on the first floor, watching television.
Zhou Dabao and Zhou Xiaobao sat on either side of Zhou Dayou, chatting idly with Zhou Fugui and Zhou Fuquan. Looking at his two grandsons, Zhou Dayou’s face was full of smiles.
There were only seven or eight households in the mountain village, all familiar with one another. From time to time, neighbors came by with gifts like mushrooms, cured sausages, and chili paste. The living room was quite lively.
Just as Zhou Dayou was enjoying this family harmony, Lawyer He arrived.
He wore gold rimmed glasses, his hair neatly styled, and looked very imposing, carrying the air of an elite professional.
His appearance truly stunned Zhou Dayou’s entire family.
Lawyer He was only around twenty three or twenty four years old. As a well known divorce lawyer in the capital, reaching this position at such a young age meant he lacked neither scheming nor skill.
After taking on Jiang Chan’s case, he had conducted a thorough investigation of Zhou Dayou’s family. Now, standing at the doorway of the living room, a single glance was enough for him to identify everyone present.
The man seated in the center of the sofa was naturally Zhou Dayou. Beside him sat his two grandsons, Zhou Dabao and Zhou Xiaobao. On the sofas to the other side sat Zhou Fuquan and Zhou Fugui.
Discover more from Lilly Translations
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.