Chronicle of the 70s-Chapter 311 - 300: Follow-Up Update 1

In the following days, Li Xianglu indeed became busy, busily cooking, changing up the menu each day to make delicious meals.

Xu Wu also came like clockwork, much like going to work; if the morning wasn’t busy, he would rush over for lunch, and if the afternoon was busy, he would come for dinner.

After that, he brought at most one person with him, and sometimes he came alone by car.

Upon asking, it turned out that Xu Wu saw the people at the next table over—his subordinates—who, after finishing the abundant meat dishes in the pot, also ordered ten plates of hand-sliced meat rolls, not to mention other dishes that were even more than what he had.

He was really jealous; the food his sister made for him had to be shared with others. Moreover, Li Xianglu was heavily pregnant, and the more people there were, the more she had to cook. He couldn’t bear to let his sister work too hard.

Therefore, he alternated who he brought, at most bringing one person with him.

Gradually, Li Xianglu also learned about some of Xu Wu’s experiences over the years.

Xu Wu now had a grand title, called Xu Wangzheng.

This reminded Li Xianglu of the dynasty song she had taught this child, "Spring and Autumn, Warring States, unified by Qin, followed by the two Hans."

As she explained the meaning, Li Xianglu told Xu Wu that Emperor Qin Shi Huang, also known as Qin Wangzheng, was China’s first Emperor to unify the whole country. Although extremely cruel, his achievements were not insignificant.

The child listened with eyes sparkling at the time.

So now it wasn’t strange that he named himself Xu Wangzheng, but what exactly did he want to unify?

Back then, when Xu Wu disappeared, the Xu Family’s eldest brother and sister-in-law didn’t even bother to look for him. If he was alive and didn’t return, it would save food; if he was dead, all the better.

But a few days later, a woman and a man came to the house, saying they saw Xu Wu appear at Li Huai Ren’s house in Li Family Village. Later, it was confirmed that this woman was Qin Miao.

Initially, the two of them didn’t take it seriously. Still, as the woman was leaving, she mentioned Li Huai Ren was a retired official from the government and now without heirs, so he adopted a girl from the clan who would perform the ritual of breaking the pots in the future.

This talk wasn’t much either. But given the villages nearby were not far apart, almost any significant incidents would be known by neighboring villages within a few days, not to mention the grand event of Li Huai Ren adopting Li Xianglu, which caused quite a stir.

kilograms of fine grain and 600 yuan. At that time, this was an unimaginable sum of money.

Many people didn’t believe it, saying it was a grand gesture to adopt a girl, calling it wild rumors.

However, the Xu couple were greedy for money. Once they heard this, they immediately remembered who Li Huai Ren was. Not only did they recall who he was, but they also thought of another possibility—the intention to adopt their brother.

After all, rural people cared a lot about having no descendants, and breaking the pots was naturally better done by a boy than a girl.

Thus, the two spent a night excited and sleepless, walking to Li Family Village at dawn.

Who knew they wouldn’t get a penny, and instead, they actually ended up paying five yuan for medical expenses.

The couple was nearly furious. After returning home, they stopped feeding Xu Wu.

If it had been during summer or autumn, Xu Wu could still steal food; the fields were full of edibles. But it happened to be the beginning of March, when green and yellow crops didn’t overlap, and each family’s two chickens were guarded strictly. After being hungry for ten days, unable to sleep at night, Xu Wu sat in the courtyard, and that’s when he overheard the plan of the Xu Family’s eldest brother and sister-in-law—to sell Xu Wu to a family across the river dam in another village.

Sell him for what? A ghost marriage.

The girl in this family died before reaching the age of majority and couldn’t be buried in the ancestral tomb. Her mother has always been unwell and has been thinking of finding a boy of a similar age to be her daughter’s partner in a ghost marriage, but they haven’t been able to find anyone.

During the digging of a canal, they spotted Xu Wu—a pitiful child. Upon inquiry, it was learned that the child lived with his older brother and sister-in-law and was unloved, so they inquired and initially, Xu Wu’s older brother refused, thinking how could a living person be matched in a ghost marriage? If caught, one would be condemned.

However, later on, after the loss of the 600 yuan and 300 kg of grain that they had planned overnight, they began to dislike Xu Wu, feeling that it was Xu Wu who spoiled the good opportunity. Thus, the couple reconsidered the notion of matching Xu Wu in a ghost marriage.

But there wasn’t much money available—only 300 yuan and 100 kg of cornmeal.

Xu Wu was stunned when he heard about this; he was a living person, how could he be involved in a ghost marriage? Thus, he lost all hope in his older brother and sister-in-law.

So, he made a plan to escape.

The next day, he started sneaking into others’ homes to steal and eat, deciding he had to fill his stomach first. Three nights later, he stole a goose from someone’s house, roasted and ate it, cleaned up after himself, and then created a scene as if a thief had come, tricking his family to go out searching for the goose, while he injured his older brother and sister-in-law with a sickle and tied them up.

Then, when his nephews returned home, he consecutively injured everyone and tied them up too.

Taking advantage of the darkness before dawn, Xu Wu ran away with the cornmeal buns from home.

It was lucky that he had the few food tickets and twenty yuan given to him by Li Xianglu; otherwise, he really wouldn’t have been able to survive until he found a job to get by.

Of course, as for what job Xu Wu never told Li Xianglu.

Later, at the age of fifty-four, Xu Wu had a fortuitous opportunity and went to the United States with a foreigner.

Then he returned to China six months ago. After returning, he first went back to his hometown, ordered his subordinates to break the legs of his older brother and sister-in-law’s family, and also didn’t spare the family that had wanted to buy him for a ghost marriage.

People were watching over there; whenever their legs healed, they’d just break them again.

As for the police, three days later, four people turned themselves in simultaneously: the two responsible for the cash transportation, Pu Jianxin, and Zhou Qingfang.

They detailed all their plans.

After multiple inquiries by the police, these people assured that no one forced them, they came willingly, and even felt that their sins were so great that they hoped the state would give them a heavier sentence.

The police were practically amused. These people clearly had injuries, but no matter how they were questioned, they claimed that they had fallen and hurt themselves.

Lying without thinking, there were clearly marks on the men’s bodies made by branding irons. Could such injuries come from falls?

However, Li Xianglu didn’t know any of this. No one at home told her, and she received commendation from the bank.

The days to come were leisurely but accompanied by minor annoyances, such as deciding what delicious food to make, or what nice clothes to make for Xu Wu.

Speaking of the naughty kid Xiong Youxin, Mr. Qin and Yang Huan have settled down in Germany and are planning to bring Xiao Xin to Germany before the New Year, to live for a year, and then return to China with them as a couple.

Germany has already sent the invitation letter, while on this side, some visa formalities needed to be arranged. These were simple, just follow the normal procedures. The key is who would send the child; she couldn’t possibly travel on a one-month cruise alone.

Fortunately, in October, there was news from Su Yan that Xu Xi was returning to the United States; she would first take Xiao Xin to the United States and then arrange for someone to send her to Germany.

Finally, when everything was in order, Li Huan returned.