Chapter 827: The Announcement
The Xia family’s wealth was astonishing, but it was solely controlled by the wife.
The other Xias lived in the mountains generation after generation, living their days planting crops, refurbishing their buildings, and finding freshwater… They worked hard in exchange for a simple life with a decent standard of living that was different from the world outside. Even so, there were a number of them who were lazy and tried to evade responsibilities when it came to the splitting of tasks. Over time, these were those who lived in poverty as they gave up the opportunity to earn a living.
Xia Shujuan’s family was an example.
There weren’t that many families who could barely afford food.
That was why she’d been dying to reunite with Xia Yu, to recognize her as her own. She would then have a chance at living a life of luxury.
Auntie Liu had always been calculating with money and could figure out what she was getting at. She sneered. “Old Sis, aren’t you being a little unreliable here. What if Xia Yu doesn’t acknowledge you? Won’t my money go down the drain?”
Xia Shujuan cursed at her inside for being so sharp, but on the outside, she maintained a smile. “That girl is my flesh and blood, how could she not acknowledge me? Just let her have a look at how glorious Miss Ling is after she acknowledged her family and ancestors. Her status isn’t as high as Miss Ling’s, but given that she has been through thick and thin with the Phoenix, they’d definitely compensate her.”
Auntie Liu thought for a bit and found this logic pretty convincing. If she could find Xia Yu, that’d be a feat in itself. Once Xia Yu acknowledged her biological mother and took the compensation, Xia Shujuan would get her daughter back and have someone to depend on. That way, they’d all benefit from this, and there’d be no way they’d left her out of these gains. She smiled at Xia Shujuan and said, “Old Sis, don’t be too anxious. I, too, feel bad seeing that you and your biological daughter are miles apart. Don’t you worry, I’ll definitely find Xia Yu and bring her back to you.”
Only then did Xia Shujuan feel relieved.
Both of them had their own schemes and plots but continued a civil conversation before parting.
The fireworks were still lighting up the night sky, revealing the happy faces of the Xias. Xia Ling was also soaking in the atmosphere and had temporarily forgotten about her woes and frustrations as she spent a good time with Li Lei.
Both of them lived in the mountains for a while longer before taking Shaohui on their journey back.
The Xia family could not bear to watch her leave and prepared a lot of local specialty goods for her. These included homegrown chickens and ducks, a
fukubukuro
, and even jade pieces. Besides that, Madame Xia had even given her extra allowance—a full sum of 30 billion yuan.
Xia Ling looked at that huge amount in shock before breaking into a smile. “Why do I feel like making money is a piece of cake?” Back when she was living on her own outside of home and trying to raise money for her sister’s medical expenses, she’d practically sold her body to Pei Ziheng. Her second life wasn’t any better, being forced to stay in the training camp in order to pay off the debts of the person whose body she took over.
Now, she had gotten hold of billions of yuan so easily. And yet, there was no urgent need for it at all.
What a prank the heavens were playing on her.
Madame Xia smiled as well. “You’ve come a long way. From now on, you can just come home whenever you need money. We’re old and living in the mountains, and have not much use for it. But it’s different for you—you’re young and living in a cosmopolitan world, it’s better to always have spare cash with you.” She even reminded Xia Ling time and again that she had to tell the family if she ran into any trouble outside.
Xia Ling nodded in understanding.
On their way back, she, Little Shaohui, and Li Lei went in one car, while Auntie Liu and Father Ye went in the one behind them.
Auntie Liu felt indignant. She nudged Father Ye and said, “Did you see that? The Xia family gave her all that good stuff, in large and small bags. But what about us? We have nothing.”
Father Ye gloomily said, “They’ve already acknowledged her as their own.”
Auntie Liu was enraged. “So what? We’re the ones who raised their daughter! Even selling a dog could fetch some money! You’ve raised her in vain! Those bunch of Xias were so dense, they didn’t pick up the hints we dropped and refused to give us a cent. How shameless!”
Father Ye felt extremely embarrassed thinking about how they were mocked when she went to Xia Haichao to ask for gifts. “Can’t you just create less trouble.”
“You’re blaming me?! I’m doing this for the family!” Auntie Liu yelled.
Father Ye kept silent for the rest of the dreadful journey.
When Auntie Liu returned to the city, she tried to find a source of money. She called a journalist who wrote for a tabloid. “Hey, is this Reporter Qian? I have some sensational news! Did you know, our Ye Xingling is actually the reincarnation of the Diva Xia Ling! And did you know who acknowledged her? The Diva Xia Ling’s biological mother! We’ve finally found the biological parents of the late Diva Xia Ling!”
She went on excitedly.
When her story was over, she asked, “Reporter Qian, I’ve given you so much sensational information, how much will that fetch me?”
Who knew, Reporter Qian let out a loud yawn. “Liu Zhaodi, stop coming up with such strange stories. Back then, Mr. Chu Chen had already given us a warning. He made it clear that you, me, and everyone else are not allowed to investigate anything regarding Miss Ye Xingling anymore. Stop coming to me over this.”
Auntie Liu was flustered. “That was what he said back then. Things have changed. Why are you so narrow-minded? It’s such huge news, don’t you want it?”
“Huge news?” Reporter Qian scoffed. “Did you not see today’s headlines? Everything you’ve said has already been published, and that information came straight from the horse’s mouth—the mysterious Xia family. They’re even hosting a press conference tonight, which makes it way more credible than the information you provided. After this, I’m going to attend the press conference as well.” Before she could react, he had already hung up.
Auntie Liu stared at the phone in silence for a while before rushing to flip open the newspapers. The front page was covered with news of Ye Xingling acknowledging her biological family, and even had information that suggested she was the “Xia Ling incarnate.”
“We, the Xia family, believe in reincarnation.” The Xias’ representative was quoted. “There are many legends and stories in this world that involve the idea of reincarnation, one of which is during the Qing Dynasty when Emperor Qian Long regarded He Kun as the incarnate of his lover. The Xia family believes that Miss Ye Xingling is Miss Xia Ling’s incarnate—they resemble each other in terms of their singing, their looks, and in many other aspects. Hence, Miss Xia Ling’s biological father, the Head of the Xia family, has acknowledged Miss Ye Xingling as his daughter. He has finally fulfilled his wish of many years.”
The rest of the article covered how Xia Ling spent her years living life as an orphan, and how the Xia family coincidentally adopted Little Shaohui before realizing that his mother was Xia Ling’s incarnate…
It was an elaborate article, that after careful editing and removal of the traditional, superstitious aspects, became a story that most ordinary people could accept. With that little bit of fantasy running through the story, it was hard not to gasp every now and then while reading it.
A Japanese New Year custom in which merchants make grab bags filled with unknown random contents and sell them for a substantial discount, usually 50% or more off the list price of the items contained within.