After arriving at the hospital, she asked the doctor for a stretcher, and the doctor pushed the patient into the emergency room. She asked Qin Mu to watch over the patient while she borrowed a phone from the nurse station and called Shen Haiyang.
“We’re already in the hospital. Don’t worry. Come slowly on the way.”
They were father and son, and she had to inform Shen Haiyang even though she knew he couldn’t be stimulated. But she didn’t give him the information before, but only after he was sent to the hospital and in the emergency room. In this way, he knew that the rest was the doctor’s business, so he was not so anxious.
After making a phone call, the nurse gave her a bill and asked her to go and pay. She ran up and down the stairs several times to pay the bill, and when she returned, Shen Haiyang was already standing outside the emergency room. Qin Mu was telling him about the situation, and everyone’s face was anxious.
Li Xia poured him a cup of warm water and asked him to sit down and wait. “Don’t worry, there’s a doctor here; he’ll be fine.”
Time always passes so slowly outside the emergency room. The three of them waited anxiously outside until the door finally opened and the doctor came out. The three of them stepped forward, and the doctor spoke fluently.
“He was sent to the hospital in time and was resuscitated. He is not awake yet and needs to be observed.”
Li Xia and her husband stayed to take care of the patient, while Qin Mu returned home to cook. A few minutes after she left, Li Xia turned around and saw that she was back.
“Why are you back again?”
“Someone is looking for you.”
Following behind her was the old man’s assistant. The man came in hurriedly, and when he saw the old man’s condition, his eyes were full of regret.
“Oh, I should have known not to call him. But… I have to tell my boss if something happens.”
“What happened?” Li Xia and her husband asked in unison.
“The boss’s money in the US account was swindled away by Shen Yaozong.” The first sentence briefly states the facts, followed by an explanation.
“The boss cooperated with Xixi Electronics and bought their retired old production line. In the first year, we produced most of the parts for 50,000 black-and-white TVs. After we came back, we purchased some unimportant small accessories and assembled them. The money was paid in three installments. The down payment had already been paid, but the largest amount of the mid-term payment did not enter the other party’s account at all. Instead, it was transferred to other places by Shen Yaozong.”
The man explained the matter simply and clearly, and Li Xia and her husband didn’t know what to say after listening. Shen Yaozong took his father’s money and ran away. This was premeditated. No wonder the old man was so angry that he had a heart attack. No one would not be anxious after hearing this. A lifetime of hard work, just gone like this?
“Have you called the police?” Li Xia asked.
“I have reported it, but… he is not in the United States, and the money is not in the United States either.”
Shen Haiyang works in the procuratorate and is very familiar with this kind of thing. “Shen Yaozong has been prepared for this. It’s hard to say where the money has been transferred. Even he himself doesn’t know where it is right now. The world is so big; where can we catch him?”
“So, can we just let it go like this?”
The two men were silent; they really didn’t know how to answer. The world is so big, and there are so many unsolved cases every day. In economic cases and transnational crimes, you have to catch the person, and his money must not be squandered; otherwise, it’s useless to catch him. Even if he goes to jail, you will still have no money, and it doesn’t solve the problem at all.
“What should I do now? The project payment is in my hands, so I can build a factory. But the equipment and components are the big expense. What’s the point of building an empty factory after what he did? The partner only paid the down payment, and if the balance is not paid, they will not deliver these things.”
“Don’t worry, wait until the old man wakes up.”
“All right.”
The man left, and Li Xia and her husband sat in the chairs with gloomy faces. What kind of thing is this? Their own son stabbed them in the back. No one can bear it. The current problem is money. How can they fill such a huge funding gap? Let’s wait for the old man to wake up and see how much he has left. Then we can calculate and think of a solution.
If the factory can’t be opened, the factory building and land are still valuable. But with such a good opportunity, can they just give up?
“What a pity. The past decade or so has been the golden period for the sales of black and white TVs. Is Shen Yaozong stupid? Wait until the factory runs for a few years, and the money will multiply many times over in a few years.”
Li Xia shook her head, angry and resentful towards Shen Yaozong. Damn it, can’t you wait until you make money? Even if you make money, you can’t secretly do something for your father. Just because he disagrees with you and you repeatedly persuade him to return to the United States to no avail, do you do something like this?
“Don’t think about that. Take good care of your father for now. Wait until he wakes up before making any plans.”
“All right.”
This is the only way for now; otherwise, Li Xia’s money would be a big deal for ordinary people today. But for these entrepreneurs who invest, it is still not enough.
Qin Mu came to deliver food in the evening, and Li Xia asked Shen Haiyang to drive home to rest. “Don’t argue with me; I’m in better health than you.”
The man took the car keys. “I didn’t argue with you.”
He also has a heart disease and can’t stay up late or overwork. If he gets sick, she will have to take care of him, which will cause trouble for her. For now, let’s wait and see how his father’s condition changes before deciding whether to hire someone to take care of him.
He drove Qin Mu back to her home first, and then went home. The three little ones had washed up and finished their homework. When he got home, the children heard the noise and ran out of the backyard.
“Dad, how is Grandpa?”
“He is not awake yet,” he said, stopping the car, turning off the engine, and smiling at the children. “Go watch TV; mom and dad will take care of all these things.”
“Oh, is Mom staying with Grandpa in the hospital tonight?” Huihua asked, and the two brothers also looked at her inquiringly.
“right.”
“Dad, go and have some rest. We’ll go to bed after we finish watching.”
“Okay.”
The street door was closed, and Shen Haiyang went to sleep. There were employees watching TV in the bun shop in front, and they would clean up and lock the door after watching at night.
The next morning, he got up early and called his office to ask for leave. Now he was in logistics, so it was easy to ask for leave. After talking to his boss and hanging up the phone, he was about to go to the hospital to deliver food when a guest came to his house.
“Brother, what are you doing? Come in and sit down.”
The second son and his wife were standing in the yard, carrying large bags. The construction site had not started yet, and Li Xia had not written home to ask them to come, so how come they suddenly came, and it was them?
“Hey, it’s already the New Year, and we two are coming to live with you. Let Xia find us a job.” She pointed at her husband and said, “His leg is healed, and he can do any work on the construction site. I can cook for you guys, or let Xia arrange for me to go to the mall and watch the counter for her.”
Shen Haiyang poured them some water, and the second brother apologized to his brother-in-law. “Don’t listen to her nonsense. She didn’t even graduate from elementary school and doesn’t even know how to count accounts. It would be nice to let her cook for everyone. The main thing is that I haven’t received Xia’s letter so far, so I came to see what the construction site is like this year.”
“You are the one who doesn’t understand…”
“Okay, shut up. Have you forgotten what we talked about before?”
The second brother spoke sternly, and the woman finally stopped talking about going to the mall to look after the counter. Qin Mu brought them breakfast, and the second brother saw Shen Haiyang carrying a lunch box and quickly asked who he was delivering the breakfast to.
“My dad is in the hospital.”
“Oh, no wonder I didn’t see Xia. Then you should go to work. I’ll bring her food.”
Lao Er was about to take the lunch box from his hand, but Shen Haiyang dodged him. “I’ve asked for leave; I’ll go deliver it. You guys eat quickly; we’ll talk about work later.”
After Shen Haiyang left, the second son glared at his wife. “Hurry up and eat. After you finish eating, help Xia do something. If Xia doesn’t want to work at the construction site anymore, we can go home in a few days.”
“Hey, Li Lao Er, you are such a person… If we stop working at the construction site, then wouldn’t our travel expenses be wasted?”
“You deserve it. You did it on your own initiative. I can’t stop you.”
“Then you, I just want to earn more money.”
“Okay, stop talking nonsense. Eat your meal and get back to work. I’ll go clean up the yard.”
Normally, the construction site should be open at this time, but Li Xia is quiet. The grandfathers at home discussed coming to see her, but they couldn’t write to her because they were slow. She insisted on coming, so he followed her. Sure enough, Li Xia’s father-in-law is sick, but his illness doesn’t affect the work at the construction site. Is there anything else? I’ll ask her when she comes back.
After Shen Haiyang arrived at the hospital, he told Li Xia that her second brother and his wife had come. Li Xia nodded and thought about how to arrange it. Her second brother had been good to her since she was a child, but her second sister-in-law always wanted to take advantage of her, so she was not willing to get along with her for a long time. Her family was concerned about her and asked her second brother to come and see the situation and then write to the family after the matter was resolved.
“Let’s settle down first.”
If the old man continues to build the factory, then the couple can make arrangements. But if the money cannot be recovered and the factory cannot continue, then they can invest in opening another breakfast shop.
The breakfast shop has a small investment and a quick return. She has been doing this for many years and knows how to master the taste. As long as the couple is diligent, they will have no worries about making a living.
Her family’s affairs were trivial. If someone wanted to move to the city, she could help them settle down without having to trouble others for help. The most worrying thing right now was the old man’s factory. If the money could not be recovered, would he really give up such a good business opportunity?
The couple took care of the elderly in the hospital, while Qin Mu and the second son and his wife were at home. The two of them had nothing to do, so the second son’s wife started knitting sweaters for the children, and the second son took the initiative to take over the work of delivering meals and running errands, letting Shen Haiyang go to work.
“I don’t know when he will wake up, so I can’t keep asking for leave.”
That’s the reason. Shen Haiyang returned to work two days later. Such a big thing happened in his family. When the weather was warm enough to start the work, their construction site was deserted, and there was no movement at all.
Murong Danling went to the mall where Li Xia worked to buy things. When she heard the news, she couldn’t help laughing; her mouth almost stretched to her ears.
“Just wait. The old man dies first, and then Shen Haiyang dies. Li Xia’s good days will be over.”
Fang Zhongcheng pulled her aside and reminded her to keep her voice down. “How can you say that in public? Are you crazy? You go crazy when you mention them.”
“Humph, don’t you wish them bad luck?”
“I….”
Even if you are looking forward to it, you can’t say it openly. Fang Zhongcheng said nothing, and he strongly disagreed with her approach. He looked up at Li Xia’s shop, and his calculations were hidden deep inside.
On Li Xia’s side, the old man in the hospital woke up after being in a coma for three days. He sighed for what Shen Yaozong had done, closed his eyes, and didn’t speak for a long time.
“Dad, please don’t worry. Money is something you can’t bring with you when you are born, and you can’t take it with you when you die. You can’t spend all the money you have left in your lifetime. Don’t hurt yourself for it.”
She knew that he was not only hurt about the loss of money but also because of his son’s betrayal. Shen Yaozong had always been pessimistic about mainland investment, and it was possible that he was thinking about doing this for the good of the old man. He was afraid that he would lose everything, so he transferred the funds in advance to retain his strength.
This shameless idea was just her blind guess. She asked for money to comfort the old man without bringing it. He was sick, and his spirit was even worse. He couldn’t be stimulated again.
The old man drank the milk slowly and took deep breaths to adjust his mentality. It doesn’t matter; just think that he took the share that I prepared for him in advance. Since he is so pessimistic about the mainland, it’s better for him to leave. Just don’t regret it in the future; there is no way to regret it. Mountains of gold and silver have nothing to do with him anymore.
The old man quickly recovered from the blow, and after drinking the milk, he said to Li Xia, “Daughter-in-law, are you interested in investing in an electronics factory?”
“I,”
Li Xia was thinking quickly. There was no business that made money that she was not interested in, but she had to have the ability to do it. Perhaps she could put everything she had on the line and then find some investment to open this factory that was already halfway completed.
Originally, with her ability, it was impossible to do this at this time. But Shen Yaozong did this, and she had a chance. Even if she didn’t own too much, the profit would be greater than her selling clothes.
Last year, she traded all her earnings and the remaining money for buying a house for the old man, and her funds increased several times. If the old man had said this before, she would have just shaken her head, saying that he was not short of money and that her money was not worth mentioning in the electronics factory. She couldn’t take advantage of this.
But now it’s different. The old man is facing a funding gap and needs a reliable person to help him do things. Looking for investment, she can buy shares; this time is just right.
TRANSLATOR’S NOTE :- I have completed the translation of this novel. If you want to read all the chapters in one go, you can purchase them on my Ko-fi page, https://ko-fi.com/cupcaketsl (as some of my readers were asking if I had an advance chapter thing). Those who want to read it all at once can buy them.
