Chapter 097

Chapter 097

After Xie Junhao finished speaking, a silence fell among the three of them.

After a long while, Lu Mingzhu softly said, "The City of Flowers must have also suffered during the occupation, right? The three of them—old, weak, and young—with no male protection in the family, must have had an even harder time. I need to find a way to locate them immediately."

"I'll help you," Xie Junyao said immediately.

Before Lu Mingzhu could express her gratitude, Xie Junhao interjected, "You don't know anyone in the City of Flowers. I'll ask someone to help you search. Mingzhu, do you remember your godmother's name?"

Lu Mingzhu quickly replied, "Her surname is He, and her name is He Anran."

But she and her husband were deeply in love and lived a sweet life, so people always called her Mrs. Zhou. Therefore, the original body loved to call her Godmother Zhou, not Godmother Anran.

Her godfather had passed away when they left Shanghai. They took his remains back to their hometown and never returned to Shanghai.

Xie Junhao nodded, "With the little girl's name and age, finding them should be straightforward."

"What's my niece's name?" Lu Mingzhu asked casually.

Xie Junhao said, "Her name is Zhou Wen. I remember it clearly because father and daughter share the same name. That gossipy old classmate of mine attended the hundred-day celebration, and Zhou Wenyuan named her right then and there, saying he didn't care about taboos and wanted to give his beloved daughter a character from his own name. So she was named Zhou Wen. Who knew that winter, Hong Kong would be invaded and plunged into endless darkness."

The daughter was Zhou Wenyuan's own child, her background clear and unquestionable.

Both Lu Mingzhu and Xie Junyao were stunned.

Zhou Wen?

They recalled the little girl selling flowers, who appeared to be about ten years old. Due to poor living conditions, she looked younger than her actual age.

Lu Mingzhu suddenly said, "Junyao, if I remember correctly, the little girl mentioned that if she didn't return home, her grandmother and mother would worry."

Xie Junyao nodded, "It's her."

"The name and family details match. I need to see if she's the one we're looking for," Lu Mingzhu sprang to her feet and began pacing in front of them, "We need to get to the City of Flowers as soon as possible."

If she's been reduced to selling flowers, life must be very hard.

Xie Junhao inquired curiously, "You've met her?"

Xie Junyao nodded and provided a brief explanation, then reached out to pull Lu Mingzhu to sit beside him, "Don't rush. We should eat first. I remember there's a ship to the City of Flowers in the afternoon."

There are many cargo ships and fishing boats shuttling between Hong Kong and the City of Flowers, but passenger ships are few.

"Right, let's eat first." Only with a full stomach can we have the strength to search.

"Since we know where they are, there's no need to hurry. I'm almost certain it's them. It's unlikely there's another little girl named Zhou Wen with only a grandmother and mother at home," Xie Junhao naturally lost interest in chess at that point. He handed the photo back to Lu Mingzhu and started collecting the black and white chess pieces, placing them into the jar one by one.

Lu Mingzhu lacked his calm demeanor. Concerned about her godmother's whereabouts, she couldn't conceal her anxiety.

Noticing her anxiety, Xie Junyao promptly instructed the servants to prepare a meal.

After the meal, Xie Junhao proactively said, "Junyao, I've recuperated enough. I'll go to the company this afternoon and have Secretary Wang report to me. You accompany Mingzhu to the City of Flowers to fetch them, then come back to work."

Yes, fetch them.

Lu Mingzhu planned to bring Godmother Zhou and Zhou Wen and her mother to live with her, as she wasn't comfortable leaving them in the City of Flowers to face the coming three-year period and the subsequent ten-year period.

The ship moved swiftly and arrived in the City of Flowers by evening.

The sun had not yet set, and the afterglow still lingered.

Lu Mingzhu specifically brought along the young bodyguard who had once escorted Zhou Wen home, as well as the older bodyguard who no longer needed to investigate Zhou Wenyuan. After getting off the ship, they went straight to Zhou Wen's place without any delay.

Xie Junyao had his bodyguard take the luggage to the City of Flowers Grand Hotel to check in and booked a room with two beds for Zhou Wen and her family.

They took a rickshaw to a modest neighborhood and stopped in front of a small house.

By then, the sun had gone down.

There was no yard, just three small houses. The open windows let in dim light, not from electric lamps, but probably from kerosene lamps or candles.

The young bodyguard led the way—he had been here before.

Zhou Wen opened the door after a knock and, seeing the bodyguard with Lu Mingzhu and Xie Junyao behind him, her eyes lit up with joy. "Kind sister!"

Lu Mingzhu looked at her gently, her voice soft. "Zhou Wen, is your grandma home?"

"Yes," Zhou Wen said, then turned to call her grandma.

"Wenwen, who's looking for me?" A middle-aged woman in a plain, loose cotton cheongsam with a checkered pattern walked over. She was very thin, holding a shoe sole she was sewing, along with a needle and thread. Her fingers, which once wore gemstone rings, now had a brass thimble.

Lu Mingzhu stared in shock at the woman who looked only a little like the godmother she remembered.

After more than ten years apart, she looked at least twenty years older.

Her once thick, black hair now had streaks of gray, tied in a bun at the back of her head, covered with a black hairnet and held with a wooden hairpin.

But she still looked elegant, with a scholarly air.

Mrs. Zhou also stared in surprise at the beautiful young woman before her, not recognizing her as her goddaughter. She smiled gently and asked politely, "Eighth Miss, are you looking for me? Who are you?"

Lu Mingzhu spoke slowly, her voice rough. "Godmother, it's me, Mingzhu! Your goddaughter, Lu Mingzhu."

Mrs. Zhou's eyes widened. "Mingzhu!"

"Yes, it's me, Mingzhu," Lu Mingzhu said, stepping forward and taking Mrs. Zhou's hands, which held the shoe sole and needle. The touch felt like needles pricking her, from Mrs. Zhou's rough fingers.

These were once hands that never did housework.

Soft and delicate, they had felt comforting on the original body's face.

Now, her joints were swollen, her skin rough. As Lu Mingzhu touched them, she felt the calluses and wondered how much work she had done and how much she had suffered over the years.

In contrast, Zhou Wenyuan, though not rich, lived comfortably with his wife and child in a small house.

Mrs. Zhou couldn't believe it. "How did you find us?"

Lu Mingzhu didn't answer directly but said, "Godmother, you, sister-in-law, and Zhou Wen should come with me. We've booked a room at the hotel, and we can talk properly tonight."

The space here was cramped, dimly lit, and stiflingly hot—not a good place for conversation.

Mrs. Zhou politely declined, "Wenwen's mother hasn't returned yet, so we can't leave. Good child, let's talk more tomorrow when we meet again."

Lu Mingzhu then asked Zhou Wen, "Wenwen, where is your mother?"

"Mom is still at the textile factory and hasn't gotten off work yet," the clever Zhou Wen already knew she was the aunt her mother had mentioned, the same person, not just someone with the same name.

She's absolutely stunning!

And she's a good person, too.

Mrs. Zhou also said, "When her mother comes back, we will go to the hotel to find you tomorrow. You go back first; I won't keep you."

Their home is modest, not really suitable for hosting someone like her.

She's the young lady from the prestigious Lu family of Shanghai!

Born to live in opulence, amidst golden halls and jade chambers, not in a modest market-side home.

Lu Mingzhu lowered her head to Zhou Wen and said, "Wenwen, I am your aunt, closer than a blood relative. Could you invite me in for a glass of water? I rushed over from Hong Kong as soon as I heard the news, exhausted and parched; it was quite the journey."

Zhou Wen hurriedly said, "Auntie, please come in; I'll get you some water."

Then she glanced at Xie Junyao and said, "Uncle, please come in as well."

Mrs. Zhou helplessly stepped aside to let them in.

The bodyguards stayed outside, waiting and swatting mosquitoes.

Zhou Wen brought out a few lit mugwort sticks for them.

"Mugwort can help keep the mosquitoes away," she said.

Seeing her go out, Lu Mingzhu sat down and said to Mrs. Zhou, "Godmother, I stumbled upon your jadeite eighteen beads at the flea market, the ones you gave me when I was five, one for you and one for me. Following the trail, I found the pawnshop, then tracked down Zhou Wenyuan, only to discover you weren't living with him. Luckily, I had met Zhou Wen a few times before, and someone reminded me, so I came here."

Mrs. Zhou smiled bitterly, "You know everything, don't you?"

"I know, but it's not sister-in-law's fault; she's a victim too," Lu Mingzhu said seriously, holding Mrs. Zhou's hands again, "Godmother, I genuinely want to take you with me."

Mrs. Zhou was startled, "Take us? To Hong Kong? That's a place of sorrow for Wenwen's mother; we don't want to go there."

Lu Mingzhu reacted quickly, "Then I'll send you abroad to live; the atmosphere is more open there, no one cares about the past, and it's perfect for Wenwen to get a good education."

"How can we possibly go abroad like this?" Mrs. Zhou had thought about taking her daughter-in-law and granddaughter abroad, but their luck was bad; all the wealth they brought back was stolen, and they could only live in this small flat, struggling for a living every day.

Lu Mingzhu then said, "I'll send you, sister-in-law, and your granddaughter to settle abroad; which country do you think would be suitable?"

Mrs. Zhou shook her head, "How can we trouble you? You're still so young. No one around here knows our past; life has been more stable since liberation, and we're doing alright."

The hardest and darkest times have passed.

"Selling flowers for a living—is that what you call doing alright?" Lu Mingzhu showed a pained expression, "Godmother, Wenwen isn't a child anymore; we need to plan for her future! I see that sister-in-law isn't old; she has a good foundation. She should take care of herself and find a companion to avoid loneliness in her later years."

Why should Zhou Wenyuan get to marry a beautiful wife and have beloved children, while Zhou Wen's mother has to live alone in misery?

A glimmer of light appeared in Mrs. Zhou's eyes, then she sighed, "She doesn't want to. When we first arrived, we told everyone we were mother and daughter, both widows. Someone tried to arrange a marriage for her—the conditions were good—but she herself didn't want to marry and refused."

She was originally a very conservative, good girl. After experiencing such things, her heart is in pain. If she remarries, she can't hide the past; speaking about it would reopen old wounds, making them bleed anew.

Mrs. Zhou also couldn't bear to see her suffer again, not eating or sleeping well, making herself skin and bones.

Lu Mingzhu understood.

Indeed, who says a woman can't live without a man?

Being single is also good.

Marrying the right person can bring happiness, but ending up with someone worse than Zhou Wenyuan could make life even more painful.

After some thought, she added, "Our family might be setting up a pharmaceutical factory in Macau soon. It won't take long. Godmother, how about you and sister-in-law take Zhou Wen to live in Macau? It's close, and I can visit you often."

Mrs. Zhou was tempted, "Macau?"

"Yes. My father and my godfather went to the United States to acquire a pharmaceutical company. By my estimate, it should be nearly completed. The next step would be to bring back machinery, talent, and raw materials, and then build the factory in Macau." Although Lu Mingzhu wasn't very experienced in business, she understood the general process.

To sell to the country, going through Macau was the most convenient and fastest route.

"Let's wait until the factory is up and running!" Mrs. Zhou didn't directly refuse, "By then, Zhou Wen's mother can find a job in Macau. She has a university degree, is very knowledgeable, and had a good job before the company moved abroad. It was enough to live on, but unfortunately, after the liberation, the company moved abroad, and she lost her job. Then, other incidents occurred, which led to our current difficulties."

Lu Mingzhu didn't believe it, "Just look at you and Zhou Wen—so thin and dressed in rags. Who would believe you used to live well?"

Seeing her granddaughter come in, Mrs. Zhou fell silent.

Zhou Wen came over to pour water for Lu Mingzhu, smiling shyly, "Auntie, please have some water."

"Good child." Lu Mingzhu took the water and placed it on the table, then reached into her handbag and took out the jade bracelet she had bought, slipping it onto Zhou Wen's wrist and pushing it up her arm, "This jade bracelet is your grandmother's old possession. I found it and am giving it to you."

Mrs. Zhou looked dazed, filled with emotion, "I never imagined I'd lay eyes on this bracelet again."

It was like a dream.

"Why didn't you take your belongings with you?" Lu Mingzhu wanted to know if Zhou Wenyuan had made them leave with nothing, but she couldn't ask directly in front of Zhou Wen.

Mrs. Zhou shook her head, "Back then, I decided to divide the family assets equally. He kept one part, and we took the other. I didn't notice who had the bracelet. Life in Hong Kong was hard; we hid our jewelry to avoid drawing attention. But our luggage was stolen en route, likely by the boat crew. We, being elderly and with a child, didn't dare make a scene, so we bore the loss silently. Luckily, we still had a few gold bars on us. Upon arriving in the City of Flowers, rejected by the family, we moved away and bought this small house, finding peace in the city's anonymity."

Whether it was the Zhou family or Zhou Wen's mother's family, through word of mouth, everyone knew what had happened in Hong Kong and didn't want Zhou Wen's mother to return and affect the family's reputation.

The fear of gossip was overwhelming, and Mrs. Zhou dreaded her daughter-in-law facing more pain.

Actually, she planned to return to the City of Flowers first and then move elsewhere to avoid gossip, but without financial support and with the two opposing forces facing off, she didn't dare leave her hometown.

Seven long years slipped by under these circumstances.

Lu Mingzhu felt even more heartache, "The City of Flowers is too confined; it offers no real sanctuary. What if they spread rumors in front of Zhou Wen? So you and sister-in-law should take Zhou Wen away. I'll arrange your move to Macau, get Zhou Wen into school, and once the factory's operational, sister-in-law can work there."

Zhou Wen's mother returned after Zhou Wen entered the house, stood at the door listening for a while, then suddenly said, "Let's go to Macau."

For her daughter's sake, she was willing to be indebted to Lu Mingzhu.

No other reason, but because someone was causing trouble, she had lost her job again.

If things continued like this, the three of them wouldn't survive in the City of Flowers.

Seeing her daughter sell flowers to make ends meet truly shattered her heart.