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Chapter 402: Chapter 392 Li Hongjun Arrives
In the end, Li Xianglian still accepted the money, holding back tears as she clutched Shen Yunfang’s hand and kept saying thank you.
Shen Yunfang patted her hand to offer comfort, noting that everyone has difficult times, and you help out whenever you can.
Li Xianglian stayed with Shen Yunfang for a few days with Jiajia, and since Shen Yunfang had classes and couldn’t always take time off, the mother and daughter were home alone during the day.
Li Xianglian felt some fear about going outside, always feeling like she was lost in the dark, unable to find her way, and thought it was better to just stay home with her child.
Thus, during the days when Shen Yunfang went to classes, Li Xianglian and her daughter stayed at home, going nowhere.
When Sunday came, Shen Yunfang took the kids along with Li Xianglian and her daughter to Tiananmen and the Forbidden City for a walk. After all, they couldn’t come for nothing; they had to see the sights of the Capital.
Li Xianglian, seeing her sister-in-law spend money with heartache, thought she wouldn’t go in herself, letting the kids have fun was enough, since her advanced age meant looking at these things didn’t really matter. In the end, she was still pulled in by her sister-in-law.
By the time the group returned home, it was already past three in the afternoon.
As they reached the base of the building, they heard a series of barking sounds, followed by a hulking figure charging towards them from afar.
Li Xianglian let out a sharp scream, instinctively pulling Pangpang beside her into her arms.
"Taxue, behave yourself," a male voice called from the distance.
The hulking figure abruptly stopped, looked ahead, then turned to look back, whining a few times before lying down with a look of grievance.
Pangpang struggled out of his aunt’s arms, "Auntie, let go, that’s Taxue."
Li Xianglian didn’t know who Taxue was, but by now she realized that the creature that had pounced was a dog, and that the dog had been stopped by someone, lying down safely on the ground. Most importantly, the person who had called the dog was her own younger brother.
She rubbed her eyes in disbelief, and during that moment, Pangpang wriggled free and, like a little cannonball, cheerfully dashed toward Taxue.
Er, of course, it wasn’t to say that Taxue was more important than his dad, it was just that Taxue was closer, right?
Seeing his little master approaching, Taxue quickly got up, his tail wagging like a windmill.
"Yunfang, isn’t that Hongjun?" Although Li Xianglian recognized at a glance that the person approaching them was her younger brother, she still asked. As they were husband and wife, it wasn’t proper for her to rush up first, although her eyes welled up with warmth as soon as she saw him.
"Yes, it’s Hongjun." Shen Yunfang saw him too, along with the car behind him. It seemed he had packed up all of his belongings from the military.
While they spoke, Li Hongjun had already approached, "Big sister, Jiajia is better now."
"Yes, she’s better, thanks to Yunfang." Li Xianglian quickly praised her sister-in-law, always knowing what to do, "Jiajia, quickly call out to your uncle."
Jiajia shyly looked at her uncle, whispering, "Uncle."
"Hey, eat more in the future to be healthy." Li Hongjun wasn’t satisfied with his niece’s physique—her frailty was what led to her getting sick.
Jiajia’s cheeks flushed, and she made up her mind to eat more when she got home, her second uncle must be right.
Shen Yunfang waited until she had finished speaking with Jiajia and then passed over Manman, who never stayed still whenever she saw her father.
"Did you move all the stuff over? There’s not enough space over here, why not take it to the courtyard houses over there?"
Li Hongjun quickly took Manman into his arms, clearly missing his daughter, "Alright, this looks like it’ll take us a while to return, so I’ve moved all the stuff we can use from the army here. You go upstairs with elder sister and Jiajia, while I sort things out."
Shen Yunfang handed the keys directly to Li Xianglian, "Elder sister, I should go and check on things, otherwise Hongjun will just stash stuff anywhere. You take Jiajia up first, we’ll be back soon." 𝔫𝖔𝖛𝖕𝖚𝔟.𝖈𝖔𝔪
Li Xianglian took the keys, hesitating before saying, "Why don’t I come with you? An extra hand might speed up the move."
"No need, let them handle the moving. I’m just going to organize things. Elder sister, Hongjun probably hasn’t eaten since he came back. You go home and start cooking," Shen Yunfang suggested, sensing that Xianglian was uncomfortable staying put, so she gave her something to do.
"Alright, I’ll go cook." These past days, Li Xianglian had also learned how to use the gas cylinders, so she could manage cooking well enough.
Thus, Li Xianglian went upstairs with Jiajia to cook. Li Hongjun, holding one child in each arm, followed by Taxue, with Shen Yunfang bringing up the rear, the family of five took the car to the courtyard houses.
After a month of repairs, the courtyard houses were beginning to take shape.
The yard was clean, the tiles were all back on the roof, the walls within were freshly painted white, and the furniture, which Shen Yunfang had found someone to fix up, had been placed inside. The only exception was the step bed which remained unfinished due to the difficulty of repair and Yunfang’s insistence on perfection. Therefore, there was still no bed in the main room.
Shen Yunfang directed Li Hongjun and the driver to move the contents of the car into the house, and it took a good while before the two men were done.
After settling the account with the driver, the family of five locked up the courtyard houses and strolled towards the apartment blocks.
Li Hongjun suddenly turned around, his gaze sharp as he looked towards a specific place.
"What’s the matter?" Shen Yunfang asked, seeing him stop abruptly.
"It felt like someone was spying on us just now," Li Hongjun said with certainty that someone had definitely been watching them.
"You felt it too? Every time I come to the courtyard houses, I also sense someone spying on me, but every time I try to find out who it is, the feeling disappears," Shen Yunfang had no fondness for this person who was always lurking in the shadows, and she had an inkling that the person must be someone familiar, otherwise why would they always be watching her alone?
Li Hongjun surveyed the surroundings and then turned back to continue walking home.
"Be extra cautious when you’re alone, and try to avoid coming here unless necessary," he said, reluctant for his wife to take risks when the enemy was unknown.
"Sure, I understand," Shen Yunfang replied, but her thoughts were different. One could not be vigilant against thieves all the time. Now that she knew someone was after her, she was determined to uncover and eliminate that person. Of course, she already had a suspect in mind.
She hadn’t been in the Capital long enough to make enemies. If she had, then it could only be the children of Old Lady Zhao. So, Shen Yunfang figured the voyeur might very well be one of Old Lady Zhao’s children.
But she was too busy at the moment and didn’t have the time to deal with this person. Besides, her visits to the courtyard houses were infrequent, so she temporarily let it be. Just wait; once she was free, she would see how she’d deal with them.
