bodyguard against fate

The atmosphere during the meal was so awkward it was almost palpable, until He Yong suddenly spoke up.

"Xiuli, there are some things I've wanted to tell you for so many years. Now that your Uncle Zheng is here, I won't hide them from you anymore. Our Xiuli Garment Factory originally belonged to your Uncle Zheng."

He Xiuli was startled upon hearing this.

Old Zheng smiled slightly and continued eating his noodles. Feng Weida handed him a clove of garlic.

"Twenty years ago, your Uncle Zheng opened this factory, and I worked as his accountant. Later, because we were short of money, I became a partner. Fortunately, the factory received quite a few orders at the time. Although we didn't make a fortune, it was enough to support ourselves. But your Uncle Zheng wanted to sell the factory and switch to real estate..."

Everyone sighed.

Twenty years ago, the real estate industry was booming, and those who got on board back then made a fortune. If they had listened to Lao Zheng back then, the He family would have been ashore long ago.

"Then why didn't you do it later?" He Xiuli asked.

"It's all because of your dad!" Old Zheng said, taking a bite of garlic. "Back then, investing in real estate required a lot of money. The money from selling the factory wasn't enough. We needed to get a loan from the bank, but your dad was afraid of taking on the risk and refused. We had a huge fight. I remember it was raining just as hard that day—"

"It's not that I don't want you to do it, it's just that back then, our entire fortune was tied to the garment factory. We had no experience in real estate, we knew nothing about it, and what if we lost money—" In that instant, He Yong seemed to return to twenty years ago, when Old Zheng in front of him was strategizing and full of vigor, convinced that the real estate industry would definitely be a great success. He Yong firmly opposed it, and the two argued fiercely.

"Now, do you admit that your judgment was wrong?" Old Zheng asked casually.

"I admit it," He Yong said, "my business acumen and foresight are not as good as yours, and I missed the best opportunities of the era. However, I am not wrong either. Although the garment factory does not make much money, it is stable. Look at how many real estate developers from twenty years ago are still around? Our garment factory is still here."

With a "smash," Old Zheng slammed down his chopsticks, startling everyone.

"You—you always make excuses for your incompetence!" Old Zheng sneered. "If it were me, real estate would only be the first pot of gold. The internet and big finance are the real tracks to change my destiny. Because of your stubborn conservatism, I didn't even get on board and was locked up in that cold, perverted mental hospital for twenty years! You've been living the high life for twenty years, and what about me? How many twenty years do I have in my life?"

He Xiuli had never heard her father say, "Dad, did you send Uncle Zheng to the mental hospital?"

He Yong was somewhat embarrassed: "He sold the house, cashed out all his stocks, and even withdrew the gold bars from his bank account. He's investing in a real estate company like a madman. Mei Yun asked me to persuade him to leave himself a way out, but he just won't listen—"

"Dad, who is Meiyun?" He Xiuli asked.

"My wife," Old Zheng said.

He hadn't heard that name mentioned in twenty years. In the beginning, he worked in the city, while Meiyun and her son Xiaoliang lived in the countryside in this very house. Later, Meiyun came to the city to help him, and Xiaoliang was entrusted to his grandmother. Who knew that a car accident would break up what was once a happy family.

"The company you invested in was a scam," He Yong continued. "Back then, not only did you lose everything, but you also had to borrow money from loan sharks. Xiao Liang dreamed of being with his parents. That day, Mei Yun drove to pick up Xiao Liang and take him to the city. His grandmother specially dressed him in new clothes and brought him his favorite fried meatballs. He couldn't bear to eat them, saying he wanted to save them for his father. But when Mei Yun was on the highway, she suddenly received a debt collection call from loan sharks. That's when she found out that the house had been mortgaged and her happy home was gone—"

"And then what?" Just as she was getting to the crucial point, even though she already had a premonition that the ending might not be good, He Xiuli couldn't help but ask.

"The car crash killed both the mother and son," He Yong said.

"Huh?" He Xiuli never expected that Old Zheng had such a tragic past.

"That wasn't a failure! We still had a chance to turn things around!" Old Zheng said. "If you had listened to me and sold the garment factory, invested in other ways to keep it afloat, that real estate company could have been revived and would be a leading enterprise in the country today! Unfortunately, at the most crucial moment, I was betrayed by the person I trusted most!"

Old Zheng glared fiercely at He Yong.

He Yong remained calm: "Before Mei Yun died, she told me that if things really got too bad, she would send me to a mental hospital. She couldn't let me drag everyone down with me. It's enough that she and the children are going to die with me."

"You're not allowed to talk about Mei-yun like that again!"

Old Zheng flew into a rage, slammed down his chopsticks, and stormed out of the room.

Everyone was speechless. They couldn't believe there was such a tragic story twenty years ago. It's hard to say who was right and who was wrong now. But one thing is certain: once a person makes a choice, they have to pay for the consequences. Every choice has a price, but many people only see the gains and not the losses. They often find that they have lost even more after they have gained.

Fortunately, Lao Zheng wasn't that kind of person; he lost everything but gained nothing.

After Lao Zheng left, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Dad, let's go, this place is a bit scary," He Xiuli said with concern.

They ate in the bedroom inside. Old Zheng had only been back for less than two days, and there was no electricity yet. They were using candles, and the house hadn't been cleaned much. All the furniture was rusty, and there were rats and bats scurrying around, as well as dried-out carcasses of some unknown animal. Outside, there were occasional flashes of lightning, thunder, and strong winds. The atmosphere could only be described as eerie and terrifying, and the more you looked at it, the more it resembled a murder and dismemberment scene.

"It's too dangerous to go out in Shantian, and both cars are broken. Where else can we go?" He Yong had considered this as well.

"Go to that shady shop, all they want is money, right? Xiao Feng has already brought him!" He Xiuli said.

Fearing that everyone would actually leave, Wu Renxing quickly tried to scare her: "I think black market inns are even scarier. Look at the black market inns in ancient times, they used human flesh to make buns. Going there would cost you both your money and your life!"

He Yong hesitated for a moment.

"Isn't Wu Meng still at Lingfeng Temple? Let her come pick us up!" He Xiuli said and immediately called Wu Meng.

"Sister-in-law, there's been a mudslide where you are, and the roads are all blocked. If you're not in a hurry, I can come pick you up tomorrow when the rain stops," Wu Meng said on the phone.

"Oh, no need then, I'll think of something else."

He Xiuli made several more phone calls to her friends, and they all said the same thing. It seemed that leaving this place was unlikely.

"It's alright, don't be afraid. There are so many of us, I don't think he'll dare to do anything!" Wu Renxing said. "Besides, I'm here!"

He Xiuli rolled her eyes at him: "I suspect that all these things that have happened since I was started being followed are not coincidences. There might really be someone pulling the strings behind the scenes."

Wu Renxing feigned surprise: "You mean this mentally ill person?"