Old man Fang Huwei had never begged anyone in his life, but this time he spoke to Fang Yan as a supplicant, asking him to come back alive.
Come back alive!
Only those who have truly experienced life and death can feel how powerful these four words are.
"Fang Yan, you must come back alive." Fang Huwei's body was shaking violently because he was crying so hard. Tears were dripping down his cheeks. "I'm old, and I could die at any time. If you're gone, your mother won't be able to survive. You're a widow with only one child. If you're gone, the Fang family will fall apart."
Fang Yan turned around and kowtowed to Fang Huwei, knocking his head hard on the faded wooden floor of the ancestral hall. His eyes were red and he said in a hoarse voice: "Grandpa, I promise you, I will come back alive. You will not leave, and the Fang family will not break up. Our Fang family will get better and better, with a large population and prosperity. You must also live well, live to see me get married and have children, live to see my own grandchildren around my knees."
Fang Huwei reached out and stroked Fang Yan's head, saying, "Then we -- is this a deal?"
"It's settled." Fang Yan nodded. "If I don't leave, you can't leave either. No one in our Fang family will leave, not even one."
"Good boy----" Fang Huwei said with a look of satisfaction on his face.
The old man took out a folded handkerchief from his pocket, wiped the tears from his face, looked at Fang Yan who was kneeling in front of him and crying non-stop, and cursed, "Why are you crying? Men don't shed tears easily, you are crying like a woman, what kind of person is that? Are you still my Fang Huwei's grandson? Get up and wipe your tears for me. If your mother sees it, she will cry too - then be careful or I will whip you with a whip."
"-----" Fang Yan quickly got up from the ground, staring at the old man with a look of surprise. He was so fragile just now that he looked like a dying old man who might die at any time. In the blink of an eye, he was already loudly criticizing his grandson who had been brought to tears by him as a sissy. Was this old guy a member of the Qingcheng School? His main major was learning the unique skill of face-changing.
Fang Huwei threw the handkerchief in his hand to Fang Yan and said, "Wipe off the horse urine on your face. Smile, smile for me - be more natural. Your mother should be back from picking vegetables in the garden soon."
Fang Yan wiped his face with a handkerchief and said, "Then I'll go pick her up."
"Go ahead." Old Master Fang waved his hand and said, "Spend more time with her. Your mother is stubborn and likes to keep things to herself. You should try to comfort her. It would be best if you can convince her to take her to live in Huacheng for a while. What's the point of always staying with an old man like me?"
"Grandpa, my mom won't go to Huacheng-----" Fang Yan said with a wry smile. "Grandma called countless times, but she couldn't convince her to stay there for a few days."
"Yes." Fang Huwei sighed. "I'm not dead yet. If I die, she will be free."
"Grandpa, didn't we just agree on this--" Fang Yan said anxiously.
Fang Huwei grinned and said, "A daughter who is married off is like water that has been poured out. That arrogant old man Lu Zheng wants to take his daughter back now, but there is no way - Xiaowan is a member of our Fang family. I have to live and live well. I can't die just to fight with old man Lu."
Fang Yan smiled and nodded, saying, "That's right. Grandpa often says that you are a reckless man. That's because he looks down on you from the bottom of his heart. You have to live well and see who lives longer-----"
"It's settled." Fang Huwei laughed. "I'll call old man Lu later and tell him that I look down on intellectuals like him who think they're great just because they can recognize a few words. I want to compete with him to see who lives the longest."
Seeing that his grandfather Fang Huwei had resolved his worries and was truly happy, Fang Yan finally relaxed a little.
An old man in the family is like a treasure. Although Fang Yan is the mainstay of the Fang family now, Fang Huwei's survival is of great significance to Fang Yan.
Just as Fang Huwei said just now, if Fang Yan was gone, he and Fang Yan's mother Lu Wan would probably not survive. And why not for Fang Yan
"I'll go pick up my mother." Fang Yan said with a smile.
Fang Huwei waved his hand and said, "Go ahead. The weather is getting colder. Winter is coming."
"Yes. Winter is here." Fang Yan said with a smile.
Before Fang Yan could even step out of the courtyard, he saw his mother Lu Wan coming back. She was followed by the little girl Qingzhi, the two of them, one in front and one behind, and seemed to be arguing about something.
"Mother, just carry it for me - this basket is heavy and it will tire you out -" Qingzhi said anxiously.
"You are such a fool, girl. You are already at the doorstep, why are you still arguing with me? I have been growing vegetables for the past few years. How can carrying a basket be considered heavy work? Can it really tire me out?"
"But----"
"No buts. Fang Yan rarely comes back, and I want to cook a few dishes for him myself."
"But you can still cook if I bring the food back."
"Silly girl, I planted and picked the vegetables. I brought them back and cooked them for my son to eat. I felt very satisfied. It's rare for me to want to do something, but you keep chattering around. Be careful or I'll find you a husband."
"Mother, I won't leave the Fang family. I still have to serve you and take care of Fang Yan's children after he gets married."
Lu Wan smiled gently and said, "I don't know when he will get married. If I could see that day sooner, it would be my last thought."
"Isn't Fang Yan in love with Miss Wenrou? The whole Yanziwu knows it."
Lu Wan sighed softly and said, "Given the current situation of the Fang family, I'm afraid that the Ye family will make things difficult for Fang Yan-----"
Seeing Fang Yan standing in the yard, Lu Wan quickly changed the subject and said, "Fang Yan, what are you doing standing here? Why don't you just sit there and talk to Grandpa? When you're not at home, he keeps nagging about you. He holds the phone you gave him every day but refuses to call you-----"
Fang Yan took the basket from his mother and said, "Grandpa asked me to come out to pick you up, fearing that you would be tired----"
Qingzhi quickly explained, "I was helping my mother carry the basket-----"
Fang Yan looked at Qingzhi with a smile and said, "I know. Qingzhi is a very considerate person - but my mother is right, it's time to find a husband for Qingzhi."
Qingzhi blushed and ran to the yard first, saying, "I'm going to the kitchen to cook."
Fang Yan looked at Lu Wan's rosy and sweaty cheeks and asked, "Mom, are you tired?"
Lu Wan shook her head, put her arm around Fang Yan's arm, and said, "What's so tiring about cooking a meal for your own son?"
Fang Yan nodded, looked at his mother Lu Wan and said, "Mom, don't worry, I will definitely marry Wenrou back to be your wife."
Lu Wan smiled happily and said, "Okay. Mom believes in you. Our family is not lively enough because we have so few children. You should have more children. More children will bring more people."
"I will try my best." Fang Yan said with a smile.
------
------
When Ye Wenrou was reading in the room, Ye Fengsheng sneaked in and said, "Sister, Fang Yan is back."
"Yeah." Ye Wenrou responded calmly, and said, "Ye Zi called me and told me about it."
"Ah? Ye Zi also knows? It seems that Third Uncle has met Fang Yan - do you think Third Uncle's meeting with Fang Yan at this time shows his support for him? If Third Uncle is willing to help, will Fang Yan's situation be better?"
Ye Wenrou raised her pretty eyebrows and said, "They didn't mean to help. When two people were fighting in the sea, he just stood on the shore and shouted for encouragement -"
"Is that so?" Ye Fengsheng scratched his head and said, "If Third Uncle is unwilling to help Fang Yan, then Fang Yan is in great danger, right?"
"No." Ye Wenrou shook her head.
"Why not?"
"Because I will help him."
"Ah?" Ye Fengsheng's eyes widened, and he said, "Sister, why are you helping him? You know what kind of family the Jiang family is. Now the Jiang family is using its financial resources and power to crush Fang Yan. Fang Yan is also a very rich man. Hehe, thinking about it this way, it wouldn't be a bad thing if Fang Yan became my brother-in-law. At least my sister wouldn't suffer after marrying him."
"------" Ye Wenrou's eyes turned sharp.
Ye Fengsheng also knew that he had gone off topic, so he quickly picked up the topic and said, "Sister, it's not that we don't want to help. With our family's financial resources, even if we bet the entire Ye family, I'm afraid we can't help Fang Yan at all, right? The Jiang family is too powerful, so powerful that unless the Qin family is willing to help, the financial resources of ten Ye families are no match for them."
"I never thought about competing with the Jiang family in financial strength." Ye Wenrou said indifferently.
"Ah? We're not competing with them in financial strength? Then what are we competing with them for? What can we use to help Fang Yan?"
"We can't stop the Jiang family's financial power, and the Jiang family can't stop my military power either." Ye Wenrou's expression was calm as she spoke, as if she was talking about something that had nothing to do with her. But Ye Fengsheng knew very well that when she said such a thing, she would really do such a thing. "If I kill all the people in the Jiang family, then nothing will happen, right?"
"Sister-----" Ye Fengsheng's face turned pale and red with fear. "Don't do anything stupid. If you do this, our family will be ruined----"
"That's something you need to consider after you've killed all your family members." Ye Wenrou said in a firm voice.
"------" (To be continued)