Who could save Chen Qing?

Chen Wangda thought hard about it – only Xia Xiaolan could help!

It wasn’t just about the money anymore. Xia Xiaolan had only told him about this situation. For the sake of family harmony, Chen Wangda could pretend that the 80,000 yuan went to Chen Qing’s tuition and keep it secret from the rest of the Chen family.

But would that help? Chen Wangda felt guilty and didn’t want to watch helplessly as Chen Qing went down the wrong path.

When someone starts down the wrong path, they can still be pulled back the first time.

But the further they go, the harder it becomes for others to bring them back.

Who could pull Chen Qing back?

He could only think of Xia Xiaolan!

Chen Qing was the Chen family’s first university student. When it came to intelligence and book knowledge, no one in the Chen family was smarter than Chen Qing.

But he was too clever for his good, even deceiving his own family.

Chen Wangda only knew one person smarter than Chen Qing – Xia Xiaolan. It wasn’t just about book smarts; ever since Xia Xiaolan returned to Qijing Village with Liu Yong, everyone around her had undergone tremendous changes.

Liu Fen was no longer a pushover who only took beatings without fighting back.

Liu Yong was no longer an unreliable idler.

Chen Wangda swallowed his pride and pleaded with Xia Xiaolan:

“I’ve never done anything so dishonest in my life. Chen Qing isn’t your responsibility, yet I’m begging you to help him. Xiaolan, at this point I don’t even care if he becomes successful anymore – I just don’t want him to become a scoundrel. He’s cheated the family out of so much money, and I’ll accept that because he bears our surname Chen. A father is to blame for not teaching his son well. Chen Qing is my grandson, and I failed to teach him properly. The Chen family deserves this setback… But you said his tuition in America was all paid by the country. If the country spent so much money only to cultivate a scoundrel, I wouldn’t be able to rest in peace even after death. I’m a longtime Party member – I’ve failed the country!”

Chen Wangda’s voice choked with emotion, making Xia Xiaolan’s heart tremble.

Every word Chen Wangda spoke was sincere. He was a veteran soldier and a longtime Party member, one of those elderly who would get out of their vehicle to salute and shed tears when passing Tiananmen Square. Xia Xiaolan believed his words.

Chen Wangda truly felt that Chen Qing had betrayed the country’s nurturing.

The country sent Chen Qing to study in America to learn advanced knowledge and technology, not to fund the education of a con artist.

Instead of focusing on his studies, Chen Qing deceived his family for money to “trade stocks.” If Chen Wangda could go to America, he would not only break Chen Qing’s legs but also loudly berate and question him… Honestly, Chen Wangda even wanted to report him now. He wondered who he could report this to, hoping to get Chen Qing’s scholarship revoked – if he didn’t want to study properly, he should come back home to farm!

“Grandfather Chen, you mean—”

Chen Wangda’s voice broke as he began to sob.

Who could have imagined Chen Wangda would cry?

His crying made Xia Xiaolan uncomfortable – Chen Wangda had always treated her and Liu Fen well.

“What do you want me to do to save Chen Qing? Help him fill the financial hole he’s dug?”

Just over ten thousand dollars was an astronomical figure for a farming family, but it wasn’t difficult for Xia Xiaolan.

Even if she didn’t understand finance, she had other ways to help Chen Qing earn money.

“No, don’t worry about the money he lost. He lost it because of greed and incompetence. But Chen Qing’s problems go beyond that. This child has grown crooked, like a fruit tree infested with pests – rotten at the core with twisted branches… Xiaolan, I’m begging you to save him as a person. Please help if there’s even the slightest chance.”

Was there still hope to save Chen Qing?

When he threw coffee, Xia Xiaolan felt disgusted with Chen Qing from the bottom of her heart.

But Chen Wangda’s tearful plea made it impossible for her to refuse.

She had always been someone who repaid both grievances and kindness – if someone gave her a bowl of water when she was thirsty, she would want to repay them with a well.

In her current position, Xia Xiaolan no longer needed to care about what a small village chief thought. Chen Wangda’s bit of power and status in the countryside couldn’t shake her, let alone harm her… But this village chief was an elder whom Xia Xiaolan had always respected and felt grateful towards.

“Grandfather Chen, please don’t be sad. I promise you. I can’t guarantee anything right now, but if there’s any chance to straighten Chen Qing out, I’ll try my best. Perhaps I’m partly to blame too. When we were both failed college applicants, Chen Qing and I were good friends. Now we’re both in America, yet we’ve grown apart. If I had paid more attention to his situation and kept in better contact with you all, perhaps I would have noticed his changes earlier.”

Chen Wangda’s tears flowed freely.

This girl was so understanding, even finding ways to comfort him at a time like this.

How could Xia Xiaolan be blamed for Chen Qing’s changes when even his own family hadn’t noticed?

Chen Wangda wasn’t senile – he was very clear-minded.

“Xiaolan, thank you. Take care of yourself overseas.”

Chen Wangda couldn’t speak anymore and hung up the phone, his old eyes clouded with tears streaming down his face.

His head felt heavy.

His vision went black, and he fell backward.

He hit the ground with a dull thud.

Chen’s eldest daughter-in-law, who had been sent away by her father-in-law, had been hovering nearby, desperately wanting to know what Xia Xiaolan and Chen Wangda were discussing in such a long overseas call – didn’t they care about the phone bill?

Just as she approached the wall to eavesdrop, she heard a “thump.” Chen Wangda’s shadow, which had been visible in the window moments before, suddenly disappeared. The eldest daughter-in-law was terrified and called out “Father” several times with no response.

When she pushed open the door, she found Chen Wangda collapsed on the floor.

“Father, Father, what happened to you?”

The eldest daughter-in-law placed her hand under Chen Wangda’s nose – thank goodness, he was still breathing.

The sudden tension and relief made her burst into tears.

After crying for a while, she remembered to call for help – they needed to get Chen Wangda to the hospital!

He was the family’s pillar of strength. If anything happened to Chen Wangda, the entire family would fall apart… Not to mention, without Chen Wangda’s approval, the family would never have pooled money for her son’s tuition!

“Help! Someone help! The old man has fallen…”

…

After hanging up, Xia Xiaolan still felt worried.

Old Man Chen was a former soldier, had been village chief for many years, and was a longtime Party member.

From his psychological resilience to his ideological awareness, he was the strongest and most decisive person in the Chen family.

But there was one concern – the old man was getting on in years.

Could he handle the shock of this news?

Worried, Xia Xiaolan called again.

It took half an hour for the call to connect to Qijing Village. The village was in chaos getting Chen Wangda to the hospital, and no one answered Xia Xiaolan’s call.

This made Xia Xiaolan even more anxious.

She remained on tenterhooks until the next day when someone finally answered the phone. It was the eldest daughter-in-law, who had returned home from the county hospital to get some things. As soon as she answered Xia Xiaolan’s call, she exclaimed, “Xiaolan, what did you tell the old man yesterday? He collapsed right after the phone call. They had to rescue him at the county hospital last night – I was scared to death!”

Xia Xiaolan’s heart sank. “Is Grandfather Chen alright?”

Perhaps she shouldn’t have meddled – if Chen Qing wanted to deceive the Chen family, she should have let him. Why did she have to expose Chen Qing?