Street Hustler and His Policewoman Wife-Chapter 143: Money Debts Are Easily Repaid, But Debts of Gratitude Linger

Chen Xiao indeed does not smoke.

He blows half, the wind smokes half.

The way he smokes makes Lin Xi laugh hysterically all the way.

If she hadn't smartly held her mother-in-law's arm, Chen Xiao would have had to help.

Finally, the family arrived home, and Yang Ying quickly tied her apron.

"You two come back without giving a heads-up, insisting on messaging halfway. So rushy that I didn't even get the dishes ready."

Lin Xi chuckled and said, "Mom, we're not guests, as long as we have fish to eat, that's fine!"

"There is fish. Your dad caught it this afternoon, still alive!"

"Then let's cook the fish," Lin Xi pulled her mother-in-law into the kitchen.

Chen Xiao watched his father light another cigarette, wanting to remind him, but then thought Old Chen must have something on his mind, so let him smoke.

After finishing that cigarette, Chen Lie extinguished the butt and asked, "The big case you handled in Qingxi?"

"Sort of, it'd be a big deal even in Dongzhou."

Chen Lie nodded, "Pretty impressive."

Having said these three words, Chen Lie fell silent.

But Chen Xiao saw that his thoughts had drifted far away, prompting him to ask:

"Dad, is there something you want to tell me?"

Chen Lie snapped back, brushed the ash off his sleeve, laughed, "Nothing much, by the way... are you heading back early tomorrow morning?"

"No, we're staying home for three days this time."

Chen Lie looked surprised, "Xiaoxi isn't working?"

"She misses you both, says she craves mom's fish and wants to go fishing with you. So I took three days off from work with Captain Zhang's help, and we are returning after a few days."

Chen Lie's smile widened, "I have to say, your eye for choosing a wife is impeccable. Nowadays, many sons' wives wish to stay away from their elders as much as possible, but she just wants to return home to be with us whenever she has time off."

"Haha, that's right!"

"Don't get cocky. Regardless of your past intentions or restraints, now that things have changed, don't screw up again. If you dare mess up again, I guarantee I'll go change the household registration the next day, erase your name!"

Chen Xiao quickly said, "No, no, that's not something to joke about."

Seeing Chen Xiao pretending, Chen Lie couldn't help but laugh, "Alright, alright, I'll go check if your mom has prepared the beds."

"I'll do it instead."

"Stay put, dinner will be ready soon."

Chen Xiao sat back down, but Old Chen only glanced at their room and then went to his own room and didn't come out.

At first, Chen Xiao didn't feel odd, but as time went by, he stood up to take a look.

Standing at the doorway, he saw Old Chen taking a photo from a box, examining it closely.

Judging by the back of the photo, Chen Xiao couldn't tell who was in it.

If it was a family photo, it wouldn't be hidden at the bottom of the box, right?

Curious, Chen Xiao walked over and asked, "Dad, what are you looking at?"

Old Chen instinctively hid it, quickly replying, "Nothing, just some old photos."

Chen Xiao felt very puzzled.

But since Old Chen wouldn't let him see, and his mom was calling for dinner from the living room, he decided to drop it and walked out.

Mom didn't make many dishes, but they were all hearty ones.

When Chen Xiao and the others sat down, Lin Xi was already fretting over her bowl.

Mom had already filled it with a heap of dishes.

Chen Xiao was speechless and said, "Mom, if you put so much, how will Xiaoxi eat it all?"

"What do you know, haven't you noticed how thin Xiaoxi is! She's a police officer, running around every day and needs a good meal when she comes home!"

After admonishing Chen Xiao, mom smiled at Lin Xi and said, "Go ahead and eat, don't listen to him. If in Dongzhou it's too busy to cook, just call me. I'll come over and cook for you! Anyway, I'm not too old, I can cook for five or six people just fine!"

Five or six people?

Their family only has four people?

Where would the five or six come from?

Chen Xiao was curious, but Old Chen immediately coughed, "Eat, eat!"

Lin Xi kept her head down, focused on her meal, seemingly oblivious to the hidden meaning in that comment.

Once dinner finished and mom was washing dishes, Chen Xiao seized the chance to head to the kitchen.

At the first sound, mom spoke with her back turned, "Xiaoxi, I told you I'd wash them myself, go relax and if you're bored, play chess with your dad."

"It's me," Chen Xiao said with a smile.

Mom immediately took off her sleeves in surprise, "Oh, you want to help me wash dishes? That'd be great, come on!"

Chen Xiao accepted the sleeves with a bitter smile, and before mom left, he opened up, "Mom, whose photo is that in the box?"

"Photo in the box? Oh, you mean the one with your Uncle Wan De?"

Uncle Wan De?

That name suddenly stirred Chen Xiao's memory.

If he recalled correctly, he should've met this elder when he was very young.

But it seems in the nineties, Uncle Wan De went south to work and eventually disappeared in a place called Wood Town!

It's said back in those days, many workers from that town never returned home.

This matter suddenly coming to mind made Chen Xiao suspect the reason Old Chen was tongue-tied earlier.

Could it be he's thinking of finding Uncle Wan De?

Lost in thought, mom grew emotional as well.

"Speaking of your Uncle Wan De, our family owes him a lot. Do you remember I told you about your birth?"

Mom's words pulled Chen Xiao back to distant memories.

Of course, those weren't memories Chen Xiao recalled himself, he learned about them as he grew older through his parents' recounting.

"Yes, you said when you were giving birth to me, neither of us almost made it back from the hospital."

"Exactly, back then every family was poor, everyone hired the well-known midwife nearby for childbirth. But during your birth, the midwife took one look and said you needed to go to the hospital. But how could our family afford it back then, your dad went to all the relatives but couldn't gather much money."

"Later, your Uncle Wan De stole his parents' savings to get the two of us to the hospital. At the time, Uncle Wan De's parents had many children, and he was never favored. Because of that incident, your Uncle Wan De was almost beaten to death by his father. He really was beaten, if it hadn't been for your dad and I kneeling before the old couple promising to repay the money, that day your Uncle Wan De would have died."

"Since then, your dad treated Uncle Wan De as a brother for life. Who'd have thought, that year he suddenly took a wild notion to go work, it's been over ten years without a word!"

Mom spoke of past events, and tears fell for the benefactor of the family, causing Chen Xiao to sigh deeply.

Financial debts are easy to repay, but debts of gratitude are never-ending.

As these thoughts ran through Chen Xiao's mind, he subconsciously set down the sleeves, pondering while saying, "Mom, I'm going to talk to dad about Uncle Wan De."