The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 250: Chapter 250: Compensated by Heaven

Han Xiaorui entered with the freshly brewed tea. ”Mrs. Chen, Mr. Chen, hello. I’ve often heard Grandma Xu speak of you, and meeting you today, I see you’re just as remarkable as she said!”

Mrs. Chen paused, recalling a photograph she had seen at her good friend’s home. ”You must be Xiao Rui, right? You’re lovely. No wonder she’s always praising you.”

Han Xiaorui replied humbly, ”You’re too kind, Mrs. Chen. Welcome back to China. You must have been overjoyed when you received the letter.”

Mrs. Chen smiled, recalling the moment she received the letter. ”Overjoyed doesn’t even begin to cover it. I actually fainted. I spent the entire night looking at that letter and the photograph over and over again.”

”It’s that feeling of finding something you thought was lost forever. I used to curse my fate, but in that one moment, I felt like Heaven was making it all up to me. All my resentment was gone, replaced by nothing but gratitude.”

Han Xiaorui nodded and smiled. ”It was the same for Grandma Xu and Sister Cai when they were talking and found out where Wenxuan was. Grandma Xu wished she could have grown wings and delivered the letter to you herself.”

Mrs. Chen grasped Han Xiaorui’s hand, overcome with emotion. ”I owe it all to her and Sister Xia this time. They are my greatest benefactors.”

Granny Cai smiled. ”Shuhua, please don’t say that. Calling me a benefactor makes me feel awkward. If anyone owes a debt of gratitude, it’s my father and I who owe you.”

”Without your help, how could I ever have afforded those expensive medical bills on my cook’s salary? We probably wouldn’t have even gotten into such a good hospital.”

”What’s in the past is past. Let’s look forward.”

Han Xiaorui chimed in. ”That’s right, Mrs. Chen. Even though you missed the first twenty years of Wenxuan’s life, you still have so much time ahead. If you take good care of yourself and live to be a hundred, you’ll have decades more with him.”

Mrs. Chen felt a great weight lift from her heart.

’Although this is my first time meeting Han Xiaorui,’ Mrs. Chen thought, ’anyone Granny Cai praises so endlessly must be a wonderful person. It’s no wonder my dear friend recognizes and appreciates her so much.’

At lunch, Mr. and Mrs. Chen savored the flavors of Old Shencheng City, and the nostalgia in their hearts intensified.

One dish, yellow croaker with pickled greens, was an authentic local specialty they could never find abroad.

Even if they could find yellow croaker and pickled greens, they could never replicate this flavor.

”Sister Xia, you still remember my favorite dish,” Mrs. Chen said, her voice choked with emotion. Her eyes grew red as she ate.

Granny Cai explained, ”I have a good memory; I remember it all. The yellow croaker here is delicious. If you like it, you can have it often now that you’re back.”

Mr. Chen didn’t speak much, but when he did, his words were always remarkably insightful.

”Abroad, even when you can find pork, the red-braised pork belly never tastes good.”

”I only found out later it’s because foreign pigs aren’t castrated. Of course they’re going to have that gamey taste. The flavor is naturally off.”

Granny Cai looked baffled. ”But castrating pigs makes them grow faster and easier to raise. Why wouldn’t foreigners do it?”

Mr. Chen shook his head and chuckled. ”I didn’t get it at first either. But after I asked around, I learned they think it’s too cruel.”

”What?” Granny Cai was exasperated. ”If it’s so cruel, why don’t they just stop eating pork altogether? Then it wouldn’t be cruel at all! How is that any different from burying your head in the sand?”

Mr. Chen just smiled. ”Yes, it is quite baffling.”

Originally, their only plan had been to bring Chen Wenxuan back abroad with them, since their careers and lives were there. But now, after this trip back, that heavy knot in their hearts had finally come undone.

They started considering investing back in China and eventually returning home for good.

But investing was not something that could be settled overnight; there were many things to discuss.

The meal was filled with lively and pleasant conversation. Afterward, they all went to Granny Cai’s childhood home to thank her father.

As they were leaving, Chen Wenxuan said to Han Xiaoqing, ”Our university library just got a lot of books from abroad. If there are any on psychology, I’ll check them out for you.”

Han Xiaoqing nodded. ”Thanks!”

Seeing her son speaking with Han Xiaoqing, a glimmer flickered in Mrs. Chen’s eyes.

Although she had only been reunited with her son for a few days, Mrs. Chen could already tell he had a rather reserved personality.

He was only this warm and engaging with people he was very close to.

’For him to take the initiative and say something like that to Han Xiaoqing on their very first meeting...’ Mrs. Chen understood perfectly.

Her gaze drifted to her husband. She and her husband had also met while borrowing books from the library.

Mr. Chen smiled, as if he, too, was recalling the romantic moments of his own youth.

They knew their son had a strong mind of his own and was very astute; they would respect his decisions.

Watching them leave, Liang Xiaoyu beamed, her smile so wide it made her eyes crinkle.

Her mother-in-law had mentioned more than once that she wanted to set up Chen Wenxuan and Han Xiaoqing, saying they were a match made in heaven.

And now, it looked like her mother-in-law had been right again.

Liu Huamei was helping clean up around the house, which made things much easier for Liang Xiaoyu.

As she was leaving, Liang Xiaoyu insisted on giving Liu Huamei some of the nice things Mrs. Chen had brought as gifts.

”Xiao Yu, I’m just helping out my master. It’s the least I can do. I can’t take these!”

Liang Xiaoyu insisted. ”It’s just some chocolate from overseas, nothing expensive. Take it home for the kids to try.”

”If you refuse, my mother-in-law will get on my case when she comes back! Just take them, or I’ll get upset!”

Liu Huamei was in a hurry to get home, and seeing how insistent Liang Xiaoyu was, she had no choice but to accept.

’The packaging on these things is really beautiful,’ she had to admit.

Han Xiaorui also had a box pressed into her hands. ”We have things like this at home!”

Liang Xiaoyu waved it off. ”What you have at home is yours. This is from us! It’s the thought that counts.”

Han Xiaorui smiled. ”Alright, I’ll accept it then. I won’t be a stranger!”

”You’ve been busy all afternoon, you must be tired. I’ll take Wenjun home with me so you can get some rest.”

”It’s not often Wennan has a day off, so you should spend some quality time with her! Go shopping, buy her some nice clothes.”

Liang Xiaoyu grinned. ”In that case, thank you so much!”

Cai Wenjun showed no resistance at all to going over to Han Xiaorui’s house to play.

Before he left, he even kissed his mother and sister on the cheek. ”Bye-bye, Mama! Bye-bye, Sister!”

Seeing how much her brother had changed, Cai Wennan’s eyes reddened. She kissed his chubby little cheek.

”Bye-bye, little brother!”

Watching her brother leave with his playmate, Cai Wennan could no longer hold back her tears.

”Mom, it’s so wonderful to see him like this!”

Liang Xiaoyu nodded. ”Yes. If he keeps improving like this, his development might be a little slower than other children’s, but he’ll still be able to grow into an adult. He won’t have to be a burden on you.”

Cai Wennan’s voice caught. ”Mom, I’ve never dared to slack off at school. I just want to get good grades so I can get into a good university and find a good job.”

”That way, I won’t just be able to support myself in the future, I’ll be able to support him, too. Sometimes my mind wanders and I think about what I’ll do when I’m older... that if I get married and my husband looks down on my brother, I’ll just stay single.”

Hearing this, Liang Xiaoyu’s heart ached, but she was also deeply moved.

”Silly girl. You’re so young, but you carry so much on your shoulders!”

”Don’t think like that anymore. You have your own life to live, and your brother has his.”

”Your dad, your grandma, and I are all working hard to earn more money for the sole purpose of making sure your brother never has to be a burden on you.”