“Second Uncle, I didn’t want to say this, but since you’ve met Xiaolan, I have to tell you. Many things happened at home during this past year. The first good news is that Xiaolan got into Huaqing University and now has a boyfriend with strong connections. She and her Second Aunt are living well… The second thing is about my father’s hand, his hand…”

Xia Ziyu choked up.

Xia Dajun knew quite a bit about Xia Xiaolan’s situation, but Xia Ziyu’s tears made him anxious: “What happened to your father’s hand?”

“To earn money, he and my mother set up a food stall in the provincial city. One night, they were cornered in an alley and beaten. By the time they got to the hospital, his left hand was fractured, and his right hand was so badly injured it had to be amputated.”

Xia Dajun drew a sharp breath.

Amputation?

His elder brother had become disabled!

When Xia Dajun discovered he might never stand again, his world had turned gray, even with Du Zhaohui continuing to pay his salary – he hadn’t wanted to be disabled.

The right hand was for eating and working – how could one live without it?

“Did they find who did it?”

Xia Dajun felt heavy-hearted, believing his sudden departure had forced Xia Changzheng and Zhang Cui to sell street food in the provincial city because they couldn’t afford their daughter’s university fees.

“They weren’t caught. It was too dark, and father couldn’t see who attacked him.”

Xia Ziyu hesitated, and when Xia Dajun pressed further, she had no choice but to repeat the same story she’d told Wang Jianhua. Xia Ziyu suspected that Xia Xiaolan was behind the attack on Xia Changzheng… Xiaolan had injured her hand around that time and must have blamed Xia Changzheng!

“Your father would never hire someone to hurt her!”

Xia Dajun slammed his fist on the wheelchair armrest. Ziyu was right – he didn’t even dare claim Xia Xiaolan as his daughter now.

If she could disown her father, breaking her uncle’s hand wasn’t surprising.

“Ziyu, I failed to raise her properly. Second Uncle has wronged your father.”

Xia Ziyu gave a bitter smile: “Second Uncle, we’re family – there’s nothing to apologize for. If anyone should apologize, it’s my fault. If I’d known Xiaolan would be so angry, I would never have gotten together with Jianhua. I was wrong first – if only I’d let Xiaolan have Jianhua, our family could still be close and happy!”

Indeed, how did things end up like this?

His brother’s hand was almost certainly broken on Xiaolan’s orders. Her new boyfriend’s family – the young disrespecting him, the old threatening him – were all bad people.

Just for his brother’s amputated hand alone, he could never acknowledge this daughter again.

He wasn’t fated to raise a university-educated daughter. Xia Dajun was dejected.

“Let’s not talk about her anymore. Without witnesses about your father’s hand, she’ll never admit it. Second Uncle will make it up to your father in the future. I have a salary now, so don’t worry about your studies! The Wang family looks down on us, but you don’t need their money. Who says we Xias must remain peasants forever?”

With Xia Ziyu’s deliberate guidance, uncle and niece were nearly crying together by the end.

Xia Dajun trusted Xia Ziyu completely and told her about Du Zhaohui’s recent troubles. “Young Master might be too busy to see you.”

So that was it.

Xia Ziyu thought for a moment, “Second Uncle, just go ask. Mr. Du will want to meet me. Others might not know about Xiaolan’s boyfriend’s family, but I happen to know.”

Xia Ziyu had no qualms about using Xia Xiaolan’s privacy as leverage.

She needed to test what kind of person Du Zhaohui was first. She couldn’t reveal all her cards at once, and Xia Xiaolan made a perfect excuse.

She had already gotten information from Xia Dajun – he earned over 3,000 Hong Kong dollars monthly. Only country folk who’d never seen money would consider that a fortune.

What kind of fortune was that?

Even if Xia Dajun gave all his salary to Xia Ziyu, she’d still find it insufficient.

Without spending anything for a year, it would only amount to 40,000 yuan. To buy a good courtyard house in Beijing, Xia Dajun would need to save for two years!

Of course, while his salary wasn’t enough to buy a house, it could be useful for other things. Xia Ziyu deliberately mentioned Xia Changzheng’s severed hand to provoke Xia Dajun’s guilt and responsibility. Using his money in the future would be completely natural.

Having secured Xia Dajun, Xia Ziyu needed to meet Du Zhaohui. She had a feeling that perhaps all her long-standing difficulties could be solved through him.

Will meet Ziyu?

Xia Dajun was half-believing, feeling less clever than his niece. Now emotional and guilty, he would do whatever Xia Ziyu said.

He might as well ask – at worst he’d get scolded, which he was used to from Du Zhaohui anyway.

…

“Your niece wants to meet me?”

Du Zhaohui’s face darkened. What did Xia Dajun take him for, thinking any random woman could meet him? Du Zhaohui didn’t even have the energy for romantic encounters right now.

“Young Master, my niece also studies at a university in Beijing. She says she knows about Xiaolan’s boyfriend’s family.”

When Xia Dajun said this, Du Zhaohui remembered – when he went to find Xia Xiaolan, she had disdained to go to Hong Kong and suggested he find Xia Dajun’s niece instead, saying she would be happy about it.

Both studying in Beijing and being cousins, it wasn’t difficult to know about Xia Xiaolan’s situation.

Du Zhaohui didn’t mind sparing a few minutes to understand the situation. This was the mainland, not his home turf. While Kang Lianming was easy to investigate with a name, looking into Zhou Cheng hadn’t yielded much progress in such a short time.

Xia Ziyu was evasive at the hospital, not wanting to directly encounter Xia Xiaolan.

When she entered Du Zhaohui’s hospital room, Du Zhaohui thought this made more sense – Xia Xiaolan didn’t look like Xia Dajun’s daughter, but this one was his niece.

Xia Ziyu wasn’t unattractive, but she didn’t interest Du Zhaohui. His aesthetics had been spoiled by Hong Kong actresses. Xia Ziyu was too rustic, with a light red scar on her cheek.

Du Zhaohui spoke lazily, “Hello, Miss Xia. I hear you have something to tell me?”

He wouldn’t let Xia Dajun relay the message, thinking Xia Ziyu might try to seduce him. Seeing her appearance, Young Master Du dismissed that suspicion – people should know their place, and hopefully Xia Ziyu wouldn’t do anything that would embarrass them both.

“Mr. Du, I’ve come to see you, but not for the reason you think. Right now, there’s someone we both dislike, which gives us a basis for cooperation, don’t you think?”

Well, the Xia sisters were interesting.

Though Du Zhaohui was in a bad mood, Xia Ziyu almost made him laugh. One refused to cooperate with him, while the other actively sought him out proposing cooperation. People could be perverse – Xia Xiaolan’s rejection irritated Du Zhaohui, but it made him value her more.

For someone offering themselves up, Du Zhaohui had no intention of giving several million Hong Kong dollars.

“Tell me, how should we cooperate? Miss Xia, I don’t think you currently have what I want. If you want to cooperate with me, you need to demonstrate your value.”

Even telling jokes was a skill – Du Zhaohui prepared to hear what Xia Ziyu had to say.