The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 140: Chapter 140: Someone Bails Out the Scumbag

Han Xiaorui was slightly taken aback. ”Brother Jianguo, what happened?”

Yang Jianguo stomped his foot in anger, his teeth clenched. ”It’s that bastard Jianming! Some foreign woman showed up at the hospital with a lawyer, wanting to file for divorce from Zhang Lili on his behalf.”

”Zhang Lili figured out Jianming was fooling around with another woman again, and now she’s raising a huge fuss—crying, screaming, threatening to kill herself, even saying she’s going to strangle the baby. I got the call right after my second uncle finished up with things on the boat.”

”I have to go tell my second uncle now. When he finds out, he’ll probably be shaking with rage again! That damn bastard!”

Yang Jianguo rarely swore, so he was clearly furious with Yang Jianming this time.

’Every wife his cousin chose himself, courted himself, and then everything would change the moment they got married.’

’A guy like that should just be castrated. It would save everyone the trouble of him womanizing and stirring up drama.’

Hearing this, Han Xiaorui paused, her mind flashing back to the blonde, blue-eyed foreign woman she had seen before.

’So that woman wasn’t just playing around. She’s actually willing to spend money to ’buy out’ a scumbag like Yang Jianming.’

”Brother Jianguo, when you and Uncle Yang go over there, please try not to get too worked up. You can leave Minmin with me. I’ll take her to school after lunch.”

Yang Jianguo said gratefully, ”Xiao Rui, I’ll have to trouble you then!”

”It’s no trouble at all!” Han Xiaorui said. ”If you and Uncle Yang run into any problems, just let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”

”Okay, I will!” Yang Jianguo nodded, then got on his bicycle and hurried away.

Seeing her father’s frantic state, Yang Minmin shouted after him, ”Dad, be careful! When you see Mom, tell her I’m being very good.”

Hearing his daughter’s voice, Yang Jianguo felt a sting in his nose. He turned his head. ”Okay, sweetie. I’ll tell your mom!”

’His cousin had both his parents. His second aunt could be a bit unreasonable, but she doted on her son.’

’His second uncle was a good earner and sharp-witted, so he never let his cousin suffer any hardship.’

’And his cousin was indeed smart. He’d gotten into a prestigious university, became a professor, and earned people’s respect.’

’He married the beautiful Han Xiaorui and had two daughters with her.’

’He had such a happy family right in front of him. Why couldn’t his cousin, Yang Jianming, just cherish it?’

’But precisely because he didn’t cherish it, his good fortune was wearing thinner and thinner.’

’Han Xiaorui took the children and divorced him, and he lost such a smart, capable wife and two beautiful daughters.’

’Now, his second aunt was in the hospital after a stroke, and his second uncle had aged a great deal.’

’His remarried wife, Zhang Lili, was still in the hospital, and their premature baby was in an incubator, its life hanging in the balance.’

’Keep it up. Just keep digging your own grave!’

’Yang Jianguo would just have to wait and see what kind of mess his cousin would ultimately make of his life.’

Han Xiaorui patted Yang Minmin on the head. ”Minmin, don’t you worry. Your mom and dad are grown-ups; they’ll take care of themselves. Let’s go home and eat!”

Cai Wenjun stared expectantly at the corner, but he didn’t see his mother, Liang Xiaoyu. ”Auntie Xiao Rui, where’s my mommy?”

Han Xiaorui was patient with Cai Wenjun’s question. ”Wenjun, your mom is eating on the boat. She’ll be back in a little while. Let’s go home.”

Han Xiaorui smiled and reached out to pat Cai Wenjun’s head. ’He’s made so much progress.’

Hearing that, Cai Wenjun didn’t cry and followed them into the house.

There was rice made specially that morning, so they could make seafood fried rice when they got back for lunch.

Han Xiaorui hadn’t been home for the past few days, so they hadn’t made as many dishes.

Though it was a simple meal, the seafood fried rice was packed with shrimp, crabmeat, green peas, and other ingredients.

It was hot at noon, and pairing it with a bottle of orange soda was especially refreshing and satisfying.

After lunch, Yang Minmin played with Pingping, An’an, and Cai Wenjun.

Han Xiaorui went to take a shower, changed into a dress, and put on a sun hat, ready to take Yang Minmin to school in a bit.

”Sister Xiao Rui, you must be tired from being out at sea. You should rest at home. I can take Minmin to school,” Wu Jiao offered after finishing her meal.

Han Xiaorui shook her head. ”No, you don’t know where Minmin’s school is.”

”I do. I was the one who picked her up and dropped her off yesterday,” Wu Jiao replied. ”Minmin’s maternal grandpa fainted yesterday, so he brought her over to our place.”

Hearing this, Han Xiaorui was taken aback and looked at Yang Minmin. ”Minmin, how is your grandpa doing now?”

Yang Minmin replied, ”My grandpa has high blood pressure. He spent a night in the hospital, got an IV drip, and they prescribed him some medicine before letting him go home.”

Han Xiaorui thought for a moment and nodded. ”Minmin, let Sister Jiaojiao take you to school. I’ll find some time this afternoon to go check on your grandparents, especially since your mom isn’t home. If they’re having trouble managing, I’ll give your auntie a few days off to come back and take care of the family.”

”Thank you, Auntie Xiao Rui,” Yang Minmin said with a sigh. ”Actually, my grandpa has high blood pressure and is supposed to take his medicine every day, but he thinks that if he doesn’t take it, it’s like he isn’t sick. He secretly hides his pills, and that’s why he fainted.”

Han Xiaorui didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ’A classic case of someone in denial about their illness.’ ”Alright, I’ll try to talk some sense into him later. Don’t worry.”

Han Xiaorui filled Yang Minmin’s water bottle, helped her put it on, and tucked fifty cents into her pocket. ”Here, keep this safe.”

Seeing the pocket money, Yang Minmin’s face lit up. ”Thank you, Auntie Xiao Rui! I’ll buy a treat for my little sister after school.”

Han Xiaorui beamed. ”Okay!”

Wu Jiao got on her bicycle and took Yang Minmin to school.

Han Xiaorui was indeed a bit drowsy. She stretched and said, ”Xiao Jing, I’m going to take a nap. When I wake up, I’ll watch the kids so you can rest.”

Han Xiaoqing saw the dark circles under her sister’s eyes and felt a pang of sympathy. ”Sis, just get some proper rest. Wu Yao and I will watch the kids.”

”Okay.” Han Xiaorui went back to her room, turned on the fan, and fell asleep within minutes of lying down.

When she woke up, the sun was already setting outside.

Looking down from the upstairs window, she saw Yang Minmin squatting under the osmanthus tree in the yard, surrounded by other children.

She was handing out colorful, sticky taffy to the younger kids.

’This is the simple joy of childhood.’

’I’ll just have them rinse their mouths out after they’re done.’

’A childhood without any sweets at all would be a bit sad, wouldn’t it?’

Liang Xiaoyu and Han Xiaoqing were in the vegetable garden picking vegetables, while Wu Jiao and Wu Yao were helping feed the chickens and ducks and cleaning up.

The house was running in perfect order without her having to worry about a thing. Han Xiaorui felt that this simple life was just wonderful.

Her gaze shifted to the Peach Garden outside the yard, where the peaches on the trees were already blushing with a reddish hue.

Han Xiaorui could sense that the peaches were ripe.

”Sister-in-law Xiao Yu, you didn’t go home to rest?” Han Xiaorui asked with a smile as she wrapped her hair in a towel, slipped on a long-sleeved shirt, and picked up a basket, ready to go pick peaches in the Peach Garden.

Liang Xiaoyu’s face lit up. ”I just ran home to drop off the money. Since Wenjun is playing here, I came back over. What are you up to? Let me help.”

”Some of the peaches are ripe, so I thought I’d pick some to try,” Han Xiaorui said with a laugh. ”Let’s pick a bunch today. You can take a basket home with you tonight.”

Liang Xiaoyu was surprised. ”Oh! Now that you mention it, when the wind blows, you can smell something sweet in the air. So it’s the peaches! Let’s not dawdle, let’s go take a look.”

They were usually too busy to pay attention to the peaches, so when they entered the peach forest, they were filled with delighted surprise.