Chapter 548: Romantic Gossip
Chapter 548: Chapter 548: Romantic Gossip
Han Xiaoqing wasn’t fat to begin with. If she lost even a few pounds, she felt she was getting too bony.
’She’s not a model, so why does she need to be so thin?’
In the end, she and Chen Wenxuan made a pact to eat well, no matter what.
So they coordinated their schedules and pitched in, making sure to cook even when they were busy.
Chen Wenxuan, for his part, silently devoured his food, finishing two entire bowls of noodles.
"Even though we could buy the ingredients in Germany, the meals we made just couldn’t compare to the food back home." Chen Wenxuan lamented, "The hardest thing to get used to abroad was the food."
Before Han Xiaoqing came to Germany, he would just grab whatever to eat.
On weekends, he would go back to the Chen family’s home.
Even though the modified Chinese dishes the Chen family’s chef made tasted a little strange, they were still better than eating out.
Ye Feng chuckled. "It might be how the ingredients are processed, or maybe the water quality. Of course, it could also be psychological. After all, this is where you grew up."
Chen Wenxuan thought for a moment. "That makes sense. The psychological factor is probably a bigger part of it. The vegetables over there are mostly for salads. I don’t like eating raw things, so we’d stir-fry them."
"The vegetables there are expensive, and more importantly, they didn’t have the kinds Han Xiaoqing and I like. So, we bought some vegetable seeds and planted them in the backyard."
"After that, we didn’t have to buy vegetables anymore; we had more than enough for ourselves. Our neighbors, especially Dean Hans, even started learning how to garden from us. After two years, he was able to grow his own vegetables too."
"Coming back now, the one thing I’ll miss is my vegetable garden. However, I already partitioned off a small section of it, installed a little gate, and gave it to Dean Hans to look after. He can garden with his friends, and if they grow more than they can eat, they can give some to others."
Hearing Chen Wenxuan mention Dean Hans, Han Xiaorui laughed. "Ye Feng, you have no idea how funny Dean Hans is! After eating a few of Sister Cai’s meals, he asked if she was single. He said if she was, he wanted to pursue her."
"So he was won over by her cooking?" Ye Feng asked with a surprised laugh.
Han Xiaoqing laughed along. "That’s exactly it. When he found out Sister Cai still had a husband, Dean Hans was very disappointed. He even said that since Uncle Cai hadn’t come to Germany, it proved their relationship wasn’t good, and that she should divorce him and accept his advances."
"I was translating for them, and I was laughing so hard I cried. We all thought it was a joke, but Dean Hans was completely serious. He started learning Chinese right after and began planning a trip to Hua Country."
Chen Wenxuan chuckled at the memory. "When Dean Hans was younger, he was married once. But he was so immersed in his research that he neglected his family, so his wife took their child and divorced him."
"After his ex-wife remarried, Dean Hans never looked for anyone else. Everyone assumed he was still hung up on her, but the truth is he just didn’t want to bother, thinking it was too time-consuming. Who would’ve thought that now, on the verge of retirement, the old man would suddenly decide to pursue his own happiness."
"It’s just that Sister Cai has a family and a husband, so Dean Hans is bound to be disappointed. But he’s serious about learning Chinese and traveling to Hua Country. I expect he’ll be able to come over once his visa is approved. When he does, Han Xiaoqing and I will host him. After all, Dean Hans helped us out a lot in Germany."
Ye Feng was thoroughly amused by their story. "Are all foreigners this romantic? To so bravely declare his love at that age. Even if his affection is a bit misplaced, seeing as Uncle Cai is still in the picture. They wouldn’t get a divorce at their age, right?"
Just when everyone thought it was out of the question, Wu Yao said quietly, "Well, it’s not entirely impossible!"
"Huh?" Everyone stared, dumbfounded. Han Xiaorui quickly asked, "What do you mean? What happened while I was away?"
Now that everyone had finished eating, all eyes were fixed intently on Wu Yao.
Wu Yao answered, "While you were away from Jinshan Bay, it came out that Uncle Cai had a mistress and a child on the side from a long time ago. He paid her some money, and the woman took the child and remarried."
"They had no contact for years, but just two or three days after you all left for Germany, that woman, Chen Xiaoxiu, showed up with her son. She said her husband had passed away and that the boy is nineteen now."
"This year, because her husband was sick, they fell into poverty and had to sell everything of value. Now the son has no job and no home, so he can’t even find a partner. That’s why Chen Xiaoxiu brought her son back to find Uncle Cai."
"Uncle Cai saw his now-adult son, who looked so much like him that there was no need for a paternity test—he knew it was his boy! Chen Xiaoxiu put on a tearful performance, and he ended up giving all of his personal savings to her and their son."
Han Xiaorui blinked. "Uncle Cai has been working all these years, but he’s always handed over most of his money. He couldn’t have had much saved up, could he?"
Han Xiaoqing quickly added, "Brother Xueqin was home. Didn’t he try to stop him?"
Wu Yao replied, "Uncle Cai really hasn’t earned much over the years, and he handed over most of his salary. After all, if he didn’t, Granny Cai wouldn’t feed him."
"Even if Uncle Cai gave Chen Xiaoxiu every penny he had, it wouldn’t have even been 1,000 yuan. Chen Xiaoxiu kept crying about how poor they were, and the son trailed after him, calling him ’Dad’ over and over."
"Since Uncle Cai had no money, he went to the pastry shop, and when Uncle Sun wasn’t looking, he took the entire day’s earnings!"
"It’s the middle of summer vacation right now, so Jinshan Bay Commercial Street is packed with tourists. The pastries are a local specialty, so almost every visitor buys some!"
"A single day’s revenue can be as high as 20,000, and even on a slow day, it’s at least 15,000. I heard he took 18,600 that day."
"Uncle Sun thought he’d been robbed and called the police immediately. The police came to investigate, and with the help of police dogs, they quickly zeroed in on Uncle Cai and found the bag of money."
"To keep him from getting a criminal record, Uncle Sun dropped the charges, and Brother Xueqin brought Uncle Cai back from the police station."
Han Xiaoqing, Han Xiaorui, Sister Lian, and Wu Jiao were all completely stunned.
Ye Feng and Chen Wenxuan exchanged a look. "This situation wasn’t that hard to solve. Why resort to the most despicable method?"
Wu Yao nodded. "That’s what Brother Xueqin said at the time, too. He told him to give his savings to Chen Xiaoxiu and her son, and that the family would discuss how to handle the matter once Sister Cai and Sister-in-law Xiao Yu returned."
"But Chen Xiaoxiu clearly came prepared this time. She not only doted on Uncle Cai, showering him with concern, but she also kept crying and wailing about how much she and her son had suffered over the years."
"Uncle Cai felt that the family was well-off now and that he couldn’t let Chen Xiaoxiu and his own son live in hardship. He also figured that since the shop belonged to the Cai Family, it was as good as his, so he just took the money."
Han Xiaoqing’s eyes filled with scorn. "I really feel for Sister Cai; it’s so unfair to her. After all these years she’s spent working hard to build this family, all Old Man Cai ever did was go to his job, earn peanuts, hand over a little bit of money each month, and wash his hands of all other responsibilities."
"Now that life is good, they have a shop and a successful business, and Old Man Cai clearly thinks he can have two wives and two households, enjoying the best of both worlds. If Sister Cai agrees to a divorce, they’ll have to divide their assets. She loses out no matter what she does!"