Volume 2: County Government Chapter 30: Returning Home

  "How old are you now?" Tang Yi looked at the delicate little girl in front of him and asked with a smile, but his heart was sour. You won't recognize me again, perhaps I'm just a passing guest in your new life.

  Bao'er's black lacquered eyes rolled around, curiously sizing up Tang Yi, her mouth uttering a crisp "eight years old". She tugged on Lan's sleeve and pleaded: "Mommy, I want to go to school, I don't want to hide at home all day, I'm afraid..."

  Lan's sister lovingly hugged her daughter tightly, but didn't know how to respond to her.

  Tang Yi's heart felt increasingly aching, at the age of beans, it was the school-going age, and Bao'er was locked in a small black room every day? It's all my fault, Tang Yi was self-reproaching, when suddenly he paused, wait, didn't Bao'er say she was eight years old just now? How could she possibly be eight years old? She should be six years old instead.

  She turned to ask Lan sister: "Lan sister, is Bao Er really eight years old?" Lan sister thought that Secretary Tang was indeed concerned about Bao Er and nodded: "Yes."

  Tang Yi was momentarily at a loss for words, tears and laughter mixing together. She turned her head to glare at Bao'er, no wonder! She had never seen his ID before, so he had been deceiving her all along! He was clearly two years older than her but claimed they were the same age, this scoundrel had fooled her for three whole years! Looking at his innocent and carefree appearance, Tang Yi felt an overwhelming urge to knock some sense into that little brain of his.

  After a while, Tang Yi gathered his emotions and thought about how to deal with Bao'er. Should he let her and her mother return to their hometown? As an orphan and widow, they might be bullied in the village of Niu's family. Moreover, Lan's current state, could she educate Bao'er well? He didn't want Bao'er to go astray. Although Bao'er was now a stranger to him, emotionally and rationally, he should take care of her and raise her to be a capable person.

  Educating her? Tang Yi couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh, he could only do so much for her.

  How can she and her mother be settled? Buying them a house in the county town is not that easy, even if I dare to give it to them, they may not dare to accept it, who knows what they think of themselves.

  At a loss, Tang Yi's hand touched something in his pocket, and he pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. He thought to himself that he must have carelessly stuffed it in there, and it was a sign of his sloppy lifestyle. Just as he was about to throw it away, the corner of the paper with the character "Ning" caught his attention, and he suddenly remembered that this was Ning Xiao's phone number given to him by Cheng Ran.

  Is it Little Sister Ning? Tang Yi's eyes lit up, and a plan gradually formed in his mind.

  Here is the translation:

  Good words and bad words, Lan Jie and Bao'er got on Santana. Tang Yi's excuse was to send them back to their hometown in Yanshan, and promised to help Lan Jie find a job as compensation for his work mistake. Lan Jie was not very willing in her heart, thinking that with a salary of two or three hundred yuan a month, she would have to work for ten years without eating or drinking to pay back the 10,000 yuan, and it wouldn't even be enough for her and her mother to live on. In fact, Lan Jie had been wanting to find a job in the big city, and after seeing the world outside, she didn't want to go back. Especially since she now had massage skills, without the unfair contract of selling herself, she could sign a proper profit-sharing contract and make a lot of money. But she didn't dare disobey Tang Yi's intentions, so she obediently got on the car.

  Tang Yi got off the car at a public phone booth and dialed Ning Xiaomei's number. After two beeps, Ning Xiaomei's cold voice came on: "Tang Yi?"

  Tang Yi was taken aback and said: "It's me, how did you know?"

  "Only you know my phone number in Yanshan."

  Tang Yixin said that those female soldiers didn't know, but then she thought about it and realized that this woman had a strange temper, maybe she had told those female soldiers not to hit her handbag, and the female soldiers didn't dare disobey her words.

  "Need me to help with something?"

  Tang Yi listened to the secret passage and said, "This girl is not stupid. She knows I won't look for her if nothing's wrong, and she doesn't beat around the bush." He said, "It's like this, there's a mother-daughter pair, I owe them a favor, I want to take care of them, but I'm afraid others will gossip. Can you see when it's possible to meet them? It would be best if you could adopt the little girl as your goddaughter, then I'll have an excuse to take care of them." Tang Yi felt a bit guilty saying this, as it was unreasonable to ask someone to adopt a goddaughter out of nowhere, but he didn't know why, maybe because Ning Xiaomei never cared about worldly relationships and social norms.

  "What's so great about human relationships?"

  Unexpectedly, Ning Xiaomei also nagged, Tang Yi was somewhat impatient and said: "Is that so? Are you helping or not?"

  "Good."

  Tang Yigang wanted to ask her when she would have time to come over, but the phone had already started ringing with a busy tone.

  Back in the car, Chen Da asked: "Where are we going?"

  Tang Yidao said, "Return to Yan Mountain." He thought that he would first arrange for Lan Jie and Bao'er to stay in the reception house for a few days. After Ning Xiaomei and her mother met with them, he could then properly help Lan Jie find a job. As for their living arrangements, it would be up to Lan Jie herself to rent a house. He would just take care of the two of them from time to time.

  As for adopting her as a goddaughter, Tang Yi had considered doing it himself, but first of all, it would be too abrupt and he was afraid that Lan Jie would have wild thoughts and think that he had some kind of feelings for her. On the other hand, having Ning Xiaomei do it would seem more natural. Secondly, Tang Yi felt that adopting Bao'er as his goddaughter would also feel somewhat strange.

  ……

  Lan's sister and Bao'er were arranged to stay in a single room at the reception center. Lan's sister was suspicious, not knowing what Secretary Tang wanted to do. She said that because of his affairs, she and her daughter had suffered a lot, but it wasn't necessary to take care of them so much. Fortunately, Tang Yi's words dispelled her doubts: "Lan's sister, after I contact the Cow Family Police Station in a few days, you can go home. As for the liquidated damages I helped you pay, don't worry about repaying me in a hurry. If you really can't repay it, just consider it my sponsorship for Bao'er to study."

  Lan sister suddenly realized that Secretary Tang had this intention, thinking about it was also reasonable. He is a young cadre, possibly with great ambitions, not a vengeful person. Seeing her mother and daughter in a pitiful state, he was moved by sympathy, as for the 10,000 yuan, it wasn't because he was particularly good to them, but rather to buy a reputation. Didn't people say that sponsoring a child's education is also for fame? Now leaders all emphasize this, don't they? A while ago there was something called the Hope Project, and on TV you often see leaders donating to the Hope Project. Lan sister's mind was active, and she began to wonder if she should give Secretary Tang a silk banner or something, to cooperate with him.

  Tang Yi didn't know that her little flower, after leaving a few meal vouchers for Lan Jie at the reception center, returned home to find Ning Xiaomei's luggage in the corner of the living room. Tang Yi frowned and thought to herself that this time she would have to think of a way to get Ning Xiaomei to take her things away.

  The sky gradually darkened, Tang Yi's stomach was a little hungry, turned off the TV, just about to cook instant noodles, suddenly heard the anti-theft door creaking, followed by the sound of unlocking the inner door.

  Tang Yi's heart suddenly warmed up, but it wasn't Qi Jie. Just as he was about to smile, the inner hall door opened and a beautiful white figure entered. Tang Yi's emotions shattered instantly. Ning Xiaomei looked elegant and refined, but in Tang Yi's eyes, she seemed like a wooden puppet, dull and tasteless. He ignored her and turned to head towards the kitchen.

  "Where is the person I want to see?" Ning Xiaomei was completely indifferent to Tang Yi's bad attitude.

  Tang Yi suddenly remembered that she was the one who had asked her to come, and couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed in her heart. It seemed like she wasn't being very considerate of others. She also found it strange that she had arrived so quickly - after all, when they spoke on the phone at three o'clock, she was still in Beijing. Mobile phones were still using analog signals and couldn't roam outside the province yet.

  "In the reception hall, I'll take you to meet them right away."

  "When going downstairs, Tang Yi really couldn't help but ask: "You came to Yan Shan just for my sake, not because of some urgent task?"

  Ning Xiaomei nodded: "Yes."

  She looked calm and composed, Tang Yi's lips moved slightly, but in the end he didn't say anything.

  Downstairs, a sleek red BMW was parked, and without asking, it was clear that it was Ning Xiaomei's ride. Tang Yi calculated the time, and at that time, there were no direct highways from Beijing to their province, so several hours would not be enough to reach Yanshan, unless they took a plane from Beijing to the provincial capital, which would just make it in time. But planes also had takeoff times, right? Was it a private jet? Tang Yi's mind was racing with thoughts as he got into Ning Xiaomei's car.

  Leaning on the soft seat, it feels more comfortable than Santana. Although it's a convertible, there is also a faint scent of fragrance in the car. Ning Xiaomei lowers the car hood and quietly looks at Tang Yi, not saying a word.

  Tang Yi waited for a long time but didn't see Ning Xiaomei start the motorcycle. He turned his head to see her quietly looking at him and asked, "Is there something wrong with the car?"

  Ning Xiaomei pointed to the safety belt beside Tang Yi, and only then did Tang Yi realize it. He sighed inwardly, thinking that his true nature was hard to change, and the faint good impression he had just formed of her vanished into thin air.