Chapter 23 - You Cannot Afford It
The village leader Zhang Defu was in the middle of his dinner when he saw Grandpa Gen arrive. A bit nervous, he ran outside his house and greeted him. “Grandpa, you can send me a letter if you want to tell me something. You don’t have to walk all the way here.”
“I want to talk to you about Jian.” Hands behind his back, the 70-year-old Grandpa Gen walked into the yard. He had carried cannons and survived fatal battlefields. The authority he acquired from being a soldier had been entrenched into his blood. Even when he had turned old, he was still intimidating.
The villagers didn’t know how, but they felt that Grandpa Gen was awe-inspiring, and they respected him.
Zhang Defu invited Grandpa Gen into his house and asked his wife to leave. He sighed, “I’m afraid that Ye Jian has been suffering numerous grievances about which we don’t know for all these years.”
“Grandpa, it’s my fault. I thought it was inconvenient for you to take care of a baby girl. It would be better if her aunt could take care of her. Sun Dongqing is her mother’s biological sister, as well as her mom’s sister-in-law. Who would have thought that Sun Dongqing…”
Grandpa Gen slowly raised his hands and said in a deep voice, “It’s not your fault. We just couldn’t see Sun Dongqing’s true personality. This morning, Ye Jian decided to come back and stay in her own house.”
“As I said, I was not in the position to make decisions for her when she was little. Now that she has made up her mind, we have to get this thing done.”
“That child is as intelligent as her parents, and she will be a talent if she receives a decent education. I won’t visit Ye Zhifan myself. On Monday, after you drop Ye Jian off to school, go to see Ye Zhifan and tell him everything his wife has done!”
When he said the last sentence, Grandpa Gen’s deep voice was as cold as ice, making Zhang Defu’s heart race out of fear.
He promised Grandpa Gen quickly. “All right, all right. If Ye Jian wants to come back, there is no reason to stop her. Grandpa, it’s just that, all these years…” It seemed like something was preventing him from finishing his words.
“I have not retired. I venture inside the mountain from time to time.” Without taking a sip of tea, Grandpa Gen stood up and adjusted his clothes habitually. Eyes glowing, he looked at Zhang Defu and said in a deep voice, “If Ye Zhifan disagrees, tell him to come back and see me. He will send Ye Jian back to me, safe and sound, just as I sent her to his family years ago.”
Zhang Defu felt his forehead dripping with sweat. The anxiety was killing him. He stood up, bowed, and said in a panic, “Grandpa, rest assured, I will take care of it.” Oh my God! It was the second time that he had seen Grandpa Gen lose his temper over the years.
The first time was when Grandpa Gen saw Ye Jian’s mother returning home pregnant. And the second time was today, as Sun Dongqing threw Ye Jian out of her house.
Zhang Defu saw Grandpa Gen off. Without finishing his supper, he swept the cold sweat from his head and dialed the phone number of Ye Zhifan, who was still in town. He could not afford to face the consequences if Grandpa Gen became angry.
Before he answered the call, Ye Zhifan had no idea that his wife and daughter were on their way to see him. After learning what had happened, he was infuriated. “Brother Defu, I will apologize to Grandpa Gen in person when I come back tomorrow. But the thing about Ye Jian, I hope you can be a peacemaker and help me deal with it.”
“My dear deputy town mayor, please don’t give me a hard time. It is not up to me. As Grandpa Gen said, you should send Ye Jian back to her house, just like the way he sent her to your home in the old days.”
Zhang Defu had decided not to meddle with this stuff. How dare he? It was Grandpa Gen that he was talking about!
Since Zhang Defu was the village leader, he was aware of what happened in the old days. The army came to the village quietly and presented a banner to Grandpa Gen.
It was Sun Dongqing who had caused this trouble. Zhang Defu would stay out of it.