When the Liang family members in the van saw Qiao Qiang, they looked like starving wolves seeing meat after a long time.
Liang Lan hurriedly held back the two children and instructed them, “You have to behave well. Only then will grandfather come back with us. Do you understand?”
Liang Zu and Xiao Yu nodded impatiently. The two children opened the van door and ran out first. They stood in front of Qiao Qiang and hurriedly addressed him as “grandfather”.
Qiao Qiang smiled kindly and said, “Which family are you from?”
Zhao Liang had never seen such grown children around here. He was very familiar with the number of people in every family in the village.
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“Uncle Qiao is going to be the grandfather of all the children in the village! Why do all the children call you grandfather when they see you? I don’t seem to get such treatment,” Zhao Liang said.
“Grandfather, don’t you recognize me? I’m Liang Zu,” Liang Zu said as he looked at Qiao Qiang aggrievedly.
Liang Zu? That sounds familiar…
His surname is Liang. Can he be that damn family from the capital!
Qiao Qiang turned to look towards the van. Liang Guo and Liang Lan were standing beside the van with a lot of health products and fruits in their hands.
“You can go back. I don’t want to see you,” Qiao Qiang said with a sullen expression.
When Zhao Liang saw that the situation did not seem right, he quickly laughed and said, “I’m going home. My wife is still waiting for me to have dinner! Uncle Qiao, call me if you need anything!”
Qiao Qiang waved goodbye to Zhao Liang and turned around to go home. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw Xia Zhe washing the big vats from the storeroom. Those things were used to prepare pickled vegetables. He had been so busy taking care of Zhang Wei recently that he had forgotten about this matter.
Liang Zu and Xiao Yu stood rooted to the spot, not knowing if they should follow. Liang Guo and Liang Lan shamelessly brought the children into the courtyard.
They firmly believed that as long as the two children were around, Qiao Qiang would not say anything harsh to them.
“Why are you still here! Didn’t I tell you never to come again!” Qiao Qiang said angrily.
“Father, I’m just worried about your health. The two children also clamored to see you,” Liang Lan said with a smile.
Xiao Yu was the first one to take action. She ran to Qiao Qiang and hugged him as she said, “Grandfather, don’t you like me anymore? In the past, grandfather used to like me the most! Grandfather, have you forgotten?”
Qiao Qiang sat on the stool and looked at Xiao Yu as he said, “It’s not that I don’t miss you. If you can’t bear to part with me, you can stay here. Liang Zu can stay here too. How about we all live together just like before?”
The two children instantly looked troubled. Staying at the guest house in the county city already made them miss home, but he actually wanted them to live in the countryside from now on!
He might as well just kill them!
“Um… Father, look, I brought you some tonics. See if you like them?” Liang Lan said as she walked forward.
Qiao Qiang knew that these two young children were being used by his unfilial children to put on an act so as to soften his heart.
If they really wanted him to go back, would they have ignored him for so many years? These two young children had already been led astray by them, and their behavior and attitude towards others were simply rude.
“You should take them back. I can’t afford to eat such good stuff with my cheap life. If I eat these, my lifespan will get shortened!” Qiao Qiang said.
Liang Lan quickly said, “How can that be! I still think such stuff is not worthy of father’s status.”
She was trying so hard to suck up to him. Back then, the person who said that Qiao Qiang had a cheap life was his wife Liang Hao, the woman who was the mother of Liang Guo and Liang Lan.
He did not want to take orders from the Liang family nor collude with them. In the end, Liang Hao divorced him out of exasperation and even took the children away.
Qiao Qiang turned to look at Liang Zu and asked, “Do you still have the longevity lock that grandfather gave you?”
Liang Zu hurriedly ran forward and said, “Yes I do. I look at it every day!”
“Then take it out and let me take a look. I can’t even remember what it looks like.” Qiao Qiang reached out his hand after saying that.
This made Liang Guo dumbfounded. In the past, the Liang family had a status that was similar to the current Xia family. After Liang Zu was born, there was an endless stream of people coming through their door and bearing gifts. Back then, they had indeed received a longevity lock, but he could not remember who gave it to them. He felt that such an ordinary item was not worthy enough to be given to Liang Zu, so he gave it to someone else offhandedly.