RYEY – Chapter 123 Truly Reunited

Li Huan stood smiling at the school gate. The warm sunlight shone on his face and body, giving him an aura of righteous brightness.

Cheng Qiao also smiled as she ran toward Li Huan.

“Don’t run, be careful of the child.”

Li Huan quickly stepped forward and grabbed her arms.

“Li Huan, I’ve been accepted! After the New Year, I’ll start working. Oh, I’ll be teaching third grade—let Lele be in my class then.”

Li Huan nodded with a smile, cheerfully shouting that they should invite Chairman Liu over for dinner. He even rushed to Liu Yong, seized his hand, and shook it hard, unable to fully express his gratitude.

“Chairman Liu, thank you so much. Come, come, come—we’ll treat you to dinner. No, my wife and I will treat you both!”

Liu Yong didn’t know whether to refuse or accept. To go to Xiangyang Village, such a poor mountain village, just for a meal—he’d rather not.

“Well… why don’t you come to my place instead, it’s not far from here, my home…”

He suddenly stopped. Just this morning, he had driven Chen Chunhua away, but her belongings must still be in the house. Until it was completely cleaned out, he couldn’t let Cheng Qiao inside.

Li Huan and Cheng Qiao exchanged a glance. Zhao Hui had repeatedly told them to find a way to invite him out alone—so they could move on to the next step of their plan.

“How about another time then? Today I need to take my wife to the supply and marketing cooperative. The New Year’s coming, we have to buy some things.”

Liu Yong nodded. Good meals are worth waiting for. Once Cheng Qiao started teaching, he’d have plenty of time to play cat-and-mouse with her. He turned, got in his car, and put on his usual stern expression again.

Cheng Qiao rode on the back of Li Huan’s bicycle to their house in the county. Zhao Hui was already waiting inside. The moment he saw Cheng Qiao, he rushed over excitedly.

His father, wife, and two children had been missing for nearly three months now—he could no longer endure the wait.

“Cheng Qiao, how is it?”

“I’ve successfully become a teacher at the First Elementary School. After the New Year, I’ll start working. By then, that Chairman Liu will definitely come looking for me.”

“This morning, I saw that woman, Chen Chunhua, leave the house. I secretly followed her—do you know where she went?”

“Where?”

“She went home. And… her house wasn’t filled with the usual shouting or fighting.”

Seeing Li Huan and Zhao Hui’s incredulous looks, Cheng Qiao wasn’t surprised at all. In her past life, she had seen plenty of families like this. Silence meant only one thing—benefits had been given.

“I wonder what benefit Chairman Liu promised Wang Tuozi. Otherwise, with his temper, Chen Chunhua would have been dead countless times already.”

“Cheng Qiao, you’ve already completed your mission. I’ll stay here for now. This place is well located, quite secluded, and convenient for me to act.”

Mission complete? Cheng Qiao looked at Zhao Hui in confusion—she hadn’t even done anything.

Zhao Hui chuckled. Originally, he had wanted Cheng Qiao to lure the man out, since he was usually surrounded by people. But unexpectedly, upon meeting her, the man had grown impatient and dismissed everyone. That gave Zhao Hui his chance.

“I understand, Uncle. Do you have enough money on you?”

Zhao Hui smiled bitterly. Other than money—and this newly found niece—he had nothing left.

“Qiao, let’s go back first. As for what Uncle needs, we’ll borrow Uncle Niu’s ox cart and make a couple of trips—it’ll be solved.”

Half a month passed quickly. Apart from delivering supplies to Zhao Hui a few times, Li Huan hardly left home. Cheng Qiao also mostly stayed indoors, spending her days studying medical texts. Whenever she didn’t understand something, she went to ask Ye Jun.

“Master, could you help me prepare some knockout drugs, or something that makes people irritable?”

Ye Jun gave her a deep look. He wanted to lecture her that a healer must have medical ethics and not act recklessly. But when the words reached his lips, he swallowed them back. Many times, you may hold onto ethics, but others do not.

“Alright. But remember—everything has cause and effect. Think carefully before you act.”

Cheng Qiao nodded, then asked a few more questions, borrowed some more books, and left.

Year after year, flowers bloomed the same, yet people changed with each passing year. Today was the last day of the lunar year in 1969. For the first time in many years, the Li family truly reunited for New Year’s Eve dinner—and even had two new faces: Cheng Qiao and Ye Jun.

In her room, Mother Li set up a small table with a few dishes, a large bowl of liquor, and secretly lit candles. She took out a photo of her late husband, preparing to honor him.

“Dear, our eldest son has come home this year. Our youngest has taken a wife, and she’s carrying our family’s child. Lele will soon be going to school. You can rest easy now.”

Li Huan held Cheng Qiao’s hand. The five “now”s his mother spoke—apart from his elder brother’s return—were all thanks to Cheng Qiao. To him, she was the true benefactor of the family.

“Qiao, would you be willing to kowtow to my father?”

Li Huan swore silently—if she refused, he would firmly stand by her side.

Cheng Qiao didn’t answer. Instead, after Mother Li and Li Bing stood up, she pulled Li Huan down with her and knelt as well.

Outside, Ye Jun kept watch. If anyone found out about this private worship, it could mean trouble. The smoke from burning paper slipped through the door cracks, seeping into his heart.

He suddenly smiled. When his own eyes closed one day, surely Cheng Qiao and Li Huan would also light candles and burn paper for him like this.

After the ceremony, the family finally sat together, enjoying the warmth of a long-awaited reunion. Eating his mother’s handmade dumplings, Li Bing’s heart was filled with warmth.

“Bing’er, that Miao Qing…”

“Mother, don’t mention that woman on such a good day—it’s unlucky.”

Mother Li: “…”

Li Huan couldn’t help but chuckle. Just as he was about to speak, urgent knocking interrupted.

Meanwhile, Liu Yong’s thoughts wandered—after the New Year, this woman would be lying beneath him. His heart surged with anticipation. Seeing his delight, even his secretary’s nervousness eased.

“Qiao, how did it go?”

“I’ve got the key to the side residence. But I didn’t see Chen Chunhua—I don’t know where she went.”

“In his eyes, only you matter now. Chen Chunhua is nothing.”

Cheng Qiao sighed, looked around, and when no one was there, secretly pulled out two fish. Everything else was plentiful here—except fish.

Zhao Hui sat in the courtyard, occasionally glancing outside. When he saw Li Huan’s bicycle return, his heart finally relaxed.

“Uncle, it’s freezing. Why don’t you go inside?”

“I was worried about you two. Liu Yong is usually shrewd and capable, but his only flaw is lust. If we’re going to deal with him, we’ll have to use that.”

“Here—this is the key to the side residence. I went in to take a look. It has two floors. The first floor opens into a large living room. Behind the screen in the living room should be the kitchen. I didn’t go upstairs, so I’m not sure about the layout there.”