Chapter 242

Chapter 242

When He Zhifei was asked about this matter, he also stopped feeling sad.

He knew why his father had come this time. Calmly, He Zhifei countered, "Father, what do you mean? I'll listen to you; you're right. Back then, I did indeed hurt you all, and I left the burden of raising you to Youde."

He Quan's heart sank; this wouldn't do.

Was his eldest son giving up on them?

Looking at his eldest son, then at his youngest, He Quan thought for a moment and knew what to do.

He sighed, "You and Youde are both my sons. Since he wronged you, I can't protect him. Zhifei, I leave him to you. Do as you see fit. Just one thing—after you send him to the authorities, for the sake of brotherhood, take care of Xiao Tian.

That child grew up under your watch; he's a good kid.

Don't let his father's actions ruin him."

He Zhifei was taken aback. He knew the old man had always favored his younger brother, so he thought he would favor him in this matter too.

He didn't expect him to leave it entirely up to him.

Youde was despicable, but Xiao Tian was innocent.

Moreover, if his eldest son with Yingying hadn't died and could be found, that would be for the best.

In the future, they could make it up to him. As for Youde...

"You must have been threatened, right? What do they want? Try to get them to keep quiet, and I'll pretend I never heard anything. I won't let your sister-in-law continue investigating this.

When my son returns, you should also compensate him.

Xiao Tian can stay here, but you're not allowed to live here anymore, or I won't be able to explain to your sister-in-law."

Furrowing his brow, He Zhifei made what he believed was the best decision for the family.

Hearing his eldest son's words, He Quan sighed inwardly; the eldest really was a good boy.

He had been too partial to his youngest son all these years.

"He Youde, your elder brother has spoken. What are you still standing there for?" He Quan questioned him.

He Youde groaned, "Father, Elder Brother, you don't know how greedy they are. They want me to find jobs for their entire family—six or seven people!

And this is only the second time they've asked. What about next time?"

He Quan fell silent; this was indeed too much.

They couldn't be taken advantage of like this.

"Let's not deal with them. I'll talk to your sister-in-law. As for that child... let's keep it a secret for now. I don't want him to be too disappointed in his father," He Zhifei thought of the child he had never met, and a sense of guilt welled up inside him.

He should report He Youde, but he didn't want everyone to know, nor did he want to upset his father too much.

All those years, while he was away, Youde had taken care of their parents alone. When there was food, he and his wife would go without to ensure their parents ate first.

His sister-in-law had lost her child due to malnutrition.

He blamed Youde until Xiao Tian came along.

Before she died, Mother had held his hand, hoping he would take care of Youde.

She said the family owed Youde.

If not for Youde, he really wouldn't have seen his parents again.

But none of this had anything to do with that child.

He Zhifei felt sorry for the child and for his brother.

Hearing his son wasn't going to deal with that family of scoundrels, He Quan was also uneasy.

"From what Youde described, none of them are good people. If we ignore them, and they get desperate, they might spread our family's business throughout the courtyard. What then?"

He Youde was also frightened, "Brother, that family is really no good!"

He Zhifei fell silent upon hearing this.

After a long pause, he said to He Youde, "Why don't you give them a little something, then warn them not to spread it around. Tell them we already know, and if they spread rumors, we'll sue them for defamation.

After all these years, besides my son, they have no evidence.

Once I recognize my son, they won't have anything to say."

"Alright, I'll go talk to them first," He Youde, who was bruised and battered, got up and walked out.

"Zhifei... Father thanks you on behalf of your brother. If you don't forgive him this time, his life will be ruined. Father knows you still resent him, and you still resent Father. This... is Youde's fault." He Quan sighed heavily.

He Zhifei remained silent, seething.

After a long while, he finally let it go, "We're still family. All these years, he has taken care of you, and I know his contributions to the family. Let's pretend this never happened. In the future, we need to live well together.

Father, you should go with Youde; I'm not very reassured."

Thinking of his brother's incompetence, He Zhifei was truly worried.

"Alright, but when your wife comes back, you must explain everything to her properly," He Quan thought of his relentless daughter-in-law and felt a headache coming on.

In recent years, his daughter-in-law had opposed the eldest helping Youde. Now that she had leverage, things would be even more difficult.

Mentioning his wife, He Zhifei also felt a headache.

At the root of it all, it was De's fault.

The one most hurt was his wife.

Once Yingying comes back, she will surely make a big scene.

But for now, no one else could solve this problem except him; only he could.

"Father, don't worry, I'll handle it." He Zhifei sighed.

"That's good. Then Father will go see De first, to prevent him from messing things up again." With that, He Quan hurried off after his youngest son.

The sky grew darker.

In the county, Qi Yingying had been investigating all day, her heart still on edge.

Although Yu Cheng had helped her with the investigation, until the matter was resolved, she couldn't put her mind at ease.

Qi Yingying arrived alone at the street office and, as expected, saw Wang Qinghe waiting here to pick up his wife.

Seeing Qi Yingying, Wang Qinghe recalled how Xiao Zhang had urgently sought him out earlier, asking him to go to the supply cooperative to take a call. It was Yu Cheng who needed to contact him urgently, which is why Xiao Zhang had come looking for him.

After taking the call, he learned that the person in front of him wanted to investigate his family situation.

It seemed everything was proceeding smoothly in the direction he had anticipated, but he didn't know what the situation was on the other side.

After all, human hearts were unpredictable, and he wouldn't be surprised by any decision they made.

Seeing Wang Qinghe, Qi Yingying began to feel nervous: "You... you come to pick up your wife every day? Can't she go home by herself? Don't you get tired coming here every day after work?"

Wang Qinghe frowned: "Picking up my own wife, how could I be tired? Isn't it only right for me to pick her up?"