Chapter 225 - 209: Surprise
Chapter 225: Chapter 209: Surprise
It was past six in the evening by the time Wu Xiaowen and Tang Yaxuan returned to Wancheng from the provincial city. The trip shouldn’t have taken so long, but the mother and daughter had a stroke of bad luck. They rarely took the bus, and on this rare occasion, they got two flat tires. The repairs took half a day, and both times they were stranded in the middle of nowhere. Luckily, they had brought cookies and snacks, otherwise they would have starved.
Worn out by the difficult journey, Wu Xiaowen had long lost any desire to make a surprise visit. She listlessly called home from the bus station, hoping Tang Qingyun would come pick them up. But the phone rang and rang with no answer. ’He should be off work by now. Where could he have gone?’
She tried his office next, and a secretary answered. Upon hearing that Mrs. Tang had arrived, the secretary hurriedly reported to the office director, who immediately dispatched a car to pick her up. It was only then that Wu Xiaowen learned that Tang Qingyun had gone to the countryside that day, to Fengling County. He wouldn’t be returning to Wancheng that night; he was heading directly to Ping County instead. He would likely spend the next day there and wouldn’t be back until the day after tomorrow!
Wu Xiaowen’s mood, already sour, worsened. She grew even angrier, and a little regretful. ’I shouldn’t have tried to plan a surprise. If I had called Qingyun last night to tell him I was coming, he wouldn’t have left for the countryside at such a time.’
When the mother and daughter got home, they looked for something to eat and noticed many specialty foods from Beijing. Wu Xiaowen opened a wardrobe to get clothes for a shower and found seven or eight brand-new shirts for Tang Qingyun. Checking the tags, she saw they were all made in Beijing. She was still thinking ’They must have just been mailed over,’ when she heard Tang Yaxuan’s startled cry. Wu Xiaowen rushed over to find that her daughter’s room was completely changed. The photos of Xuanxuan and movie stars that had hung on the walls were gone, as were the girlish knick-knacks on her desk. Even the closet was empty. The pink bedding had been replaced with a dark-colored set suitable for an adult, and an extra folding bed had been set up. The room had clearly been used as a guest room for two people.
Tang Yaxuan pulled open the desk drawers to check. She looked at Wu Xiaowen, her face full of grievance and her eyes brimming with tears. "Mama, all my things are gone! Dad didn’t throw them all away, did he?"
Wu Xiaowen soothed her. "Of course not. How could he throw away his own daughter’s things? We must have guests, so he just cleared it out for them. Go check the cabinets in the living room. If your things aren’t there, they might have been moved to the storage room downstairs."
"But don’t we have a guest room? Why did he have to use my room?"
"Now, now, maybe several guests arrived. Your father is a man; he can be thoughtless about these things. Don’t be angry. The moment I see him, I’ll have a word with him."
As she spoke, Wu Xiaowen walked to the bed, picked up a handkerchief from beside the pillow, and examined it closely. Her eyes widened—it wasn’t an ordinary printed handkerchief, but a finely embroidered silk one! And the flower embroidered on it was an orchid!
Although Wu Xiaowen had never had the chance to live in Beijing for long, she had been back to the Tang Mansion three or four times. She loved the exquisite, European-style building. Once, when her in-laws were not home, she had explored the entire house. She didn’t dare enter their bedroom, but she had been in a storage room filled with rows upon rows of mahogany chests. She had opened one of them, and inside, it was filled with only one thing: this very type of handkerchief!
Silk handkerchiefs with all kinds of orchid designs, all exquisitely embroidered. They were soft and comfortable, looked brand new, and carried a delicate fragrance. An entire chest full of them!
Tang Qingyun had told her those were part of Grandma Tang’s dowry, from decades ago. A chest of handkerchiefs was nothing; there were chests upon chests of silks, satins, clothing, and jewelry. One had to keep a low profile these days, so Grandma Tang simply didn’t flaunt them!
But Grandma Tang did use the handkerchiefs. ’Now that this one has been left here... could it be? Did Tang Qingyun not lie to me? Has Grandma Tang really come down?’
Her gaze fell back on the temporary folding bed, and her mind raced. ’Did she bring an entourage? A private nurse? Grandma Tang adores Manman, but Manman is as stubborn as a mule and refuses to go to Beijing. With her time running out, Grandma Tang must have been afraid she would pass away without seeing them again, so she forced her ailing body to come and personally visit her granddaughter and grandson!’
’Yes, that has to be it!’
Wu Xiaowen went to check the guest room and saw an ashtray on the desk. It was obvious Tang Qingshan was the one staying there.
She couldn’t help but breathe a secret sigh of relief. ’It’s a good thing I came. If I hadn’t, they would have faulted me for my lack of propriety!’
Tang Yaxuan ran down to the storage room and came back up with her face streaked with tears. Wu Xiaowen quickly asked what was wrong. Tang Yaxuan cried as she explained that her belongings had been wrapped up in a bedsheet like a large bundle and stuffed into the storage room.
Wu Xiaowen paused for a moment before consoling her, "Forget it. It’s all just old stuff. Your father probably didn’t want Grandma Tang to see it... Let it go! As for your room in the provincial city, Mama will make sure to keep it safe for you!"
Tang Yaxuan sobbed, "Mama, Grandma doesn’t like me. When you all go back to Beijing, what will I do?"
"Your father and I would never abandon you. Your household registration is still in the provincial city, so don’t you worry. For now, just focus on your studies here in the countryside. In a year or so, your grandma... well, anyway, when the time is right, we will take you with us!"
Tang Yaxuan finally stopped crying. ’That’s right,’ she thought. ’My household registration is still in the provincial city. As long as Mama is protecting me, it won’t be transferred away!’
After washing up, the mother and daughter went to bed.
After they got up and had breakfast the next morning, Wu Xiaowen made a few phone calls. After a wait of nearly two hours, a car finally came to take them to the countryside.
It was a seven-day harvest break, and Wu Xiaowen was heading to the countryside on the sixth day. Tang Yaxuan had a lot of luggage, so she would stay with the car. Wu Xiaowen’s plan was to get out at Gongdao Village herself, then have the driver take Tang Yaxuan directly to the commune middle school. That way, they could avoid Grandma Tang seeing the girl, and Tang Yaxuan could get back to school without incident.
But as the saying goes, the best-laid plans often go awry. Wu Xiaowen’s scheme was well-thought-out. If only she had been a little more cautious—if she had been willing to walk a short distance instead of having the car stop directly in front of Xiao Man’s house—she might have avoided any mishaps. Unfortunately, she took a risk, having the car pull up openly before the courtyard gate. She opened the door, stepped out, and even turned back to remind Tang Yaxuan, "Xuanxuan, dear, remember to write to Mama when you get to school."
Tang Yaxuan obediently and loudly replied, "Goodbye, Mama!"
Wu Xiaowen closed the car door and turned around, only to freeze on the spot. Standing at the courtyard gate was a group of people. Some had woven baskets on their backs, some were shouldering logs, and others were carrying smaller baskets. She hadn’t looked closely at first, assuming they were just ordinary villagers. But they weren’t.
The ones with the large baskets on their backs were Tang Qingshan and Xiao Man. The ones shouldering the logs were Tang Qingyun and Grandpa. Hao Hao clutched a small bamboo basket, and another young man carried a large cloth sack. Every one of them was covered in sweat. ’What on earth are they doing?’ she thought. ’Why are they dressed like this? They look like a pack of refugees, with no sense of decorum whatsoever!’
As they all stared at each other in stunned silence, the courtyard gate swung open from within. Grandma Tang emerged, dressed in a loose, moon-white cotton-silk blouse. Her hair was dark and lustrous, her complexion rosy, her steps nimble, and her laughter crisp. She didn’t look the slightest bit like a sick person.