Things Have Changed
Yang Pojun glanced at his daughter-in-law in surprise.
Back when he was still working in the military, Yang Pojun was already aware of her identity as a millionaire. To other businessmen, she was a cold-blooded president who caused the Xu and Zeng clans to go bankrupt without batting an eyelid.
Even though this wasn’t their first time meeting, they never really shared any in-depth conversations. She looked as though she had been pampered since young and he assumed she would be bossy and sinister. The possibility of Lin Ruoxi doing volunteering work never crossed his mind.
Then again, he never really cared about charity work so he felt that Lin Ruoxi should be focusing on her actual work instead of doing things like this.
As a matter of fact, he wasn’t really supportive of Guo Xuehua’s charity events. Firstly, there were other people who could carry this out instead of her. Secondly, it lowered her status since she chose to organize funding and charity events instead of socializing with the elites.
However, with Yang Gongming as her support, Yang Pojun didn’t dare express his dissatisfaction.
Regardless of his opinion, Yang Pojun was just relieved to know that the ladies were done with choosing mooncakes. There were three to four bags on his hands and his face was almost turning green from exhaustion.
Yang Chen had ten bags on both of his hands and he kept sniffing it as if he was trying to know which mooncake smelled the best. Only he would be able to tell them apart by their smell.
They exited the hypermarket and started to walk towards their car after the ladies were done shopping.
Right when they were about to cross the road, a dark green jeep stopped beside them.
Someone rolled the windows down to reveal two strangers.
“Hey, no wonder you looked so familiar. Aren’t you Commander Yang?”
Yang Pojun’s face darkened when he saw the two men who were in military uniforms. “General Ning, General Zhou.”
Yang Chen checked the military ranks on their shoulder and realized that they were both from the Beijing military base. One of them was a lieutenant whereas the other one was a major.
“Zhou, you’re wrong. Brother Yang isn’t a commander anymore, he’s planning to teach in the military school. You should call him Professor Yang,” General Ning said in a stern but mocking voice.
Yang Pojun’s face turned to a shade darker and with a fake smile he said, “We will be leaving first if you guys have nothing else to say.”
“You seem to be in a hurry,” General Yang glanced at Yang Chen and others. “I really envy you, being able to enjoy your time with your family. You’re really blessed. Brother Yang, you even have time to shop with your wife. Let’s see what you got there…eh, it’s all women’s clothes. Brother, you really love your wife huh.”
“Haha, Ning, Commander…oh no, Professor Yang wouldn’t have retired early if he didn’t love his wife.” General Ning snickered. “We shouldn’t bother them anymore, maybe it’s his secret hobby to carry clothes for women.”
Veins were bulging on Yang Pojun’s forehead but he couldn’t utter a single word.
Yang Chen stood next to them nonchalantly until Lin Ruoxi nudged his waist. He whispered to her, “What?”
“You…help him.”
Yang Chen chuckled. “Why should I when it has nothing to do with me?”
Lin Ruoxi pouted but she couldn’t rebut him either.
“Alright, alright.” General Ning waved his hand. “Brother Yang, I’m rushing to Zhang’s baby shower, the one from the General Staff Department. I’m really busy, so, see you!”
Having said so, he rolled his windows up before speeding away.
Somehow, they still heard him say ‘bastard’ before his windows were fully rolled up.
It was obvious he directed this word towards the Yang clan. Even though Yang Gongming resolved the issue with an unwavering stance, the nobles would still look down at them behind their backs.
Yang Pojun forced a breath out but his face had already turned scarlet.
Although he was expecting this kind of treatment after his retirement, it was still unbearable and infuriating.
Worse yet, the thing he was most proud of in his life, his bloodline, no longer existed.
Guo Xuehua was affected by his mood too. “Don’t be angry, it’ll only make you feel worse. Just ignore them. Now that they have taken control of the Beijing military base, it’s natural for them to show off their authority. People like that won’t go far in their lives.”
“Hmph!” Yang Pojun grunted. “Where did Lie’er go?! He’s the only Yang clan member left in the Beijing military base but he’s missing now!”
Guo Xuehua was also worried when he mentioned Yang Lie. “Who knows. He didn’t contact us and Master Yujizi from the Kunlun Sect said he isn’t there. That child…I’m just hoping that he’s safe.”
Suddenly reminded of Yang Chen and Lin Ruoxi’s existence, Guo Xuehua smiled and tried to change the topic. “Alright, alright, cheer up, it’s all in the past anyway. Let’s get to the car now.”
Yang Chen was nonchalant about it. Mundanes like them weren’t a threat to him. They were just clowns and it wasn’t like they had insulted him. Besides, Yang Chen was actually amused to see Yang Pojun being rendered speechless by them. Being called a bastard was a taste of his own medicine. After all, he had spent the last few years calling Yang Chen a bastard himself.
“Mom, they were so rude. Aren’t they afraid of the Yang clan?” Lin Ruoxi asked.
Guo Xuehua sighed. “Didn’t you hear his name? General Ning is a relative of the Ning clan and the other guy is also from the Ning clan. The military base in Beijing is now under the Ning’s clan control.”
She understood but was still bitter about it. The Ning clan…still held a special place in her heart.
Even though it wasn’t publicized, the Ning clan was actually an official enemy of the Yang clan.
After crossing the road, the four of them walked towards their car quietly.
Right at this moment, a few girls ran out from the corner of the street. They seemed to be seven to eight years old. They were wearing worn thin clothes and because of malnutrition, their eyes looked big in comparison to their tanned skin. All in all, they had a very disheveled look
The four of them were holding identical black plastic bags that seemed to be heavily packed.
“Uncle, uncle! Aunty! Buy some mooncakes!”
The kids surrounded them and they opened up their plastic bags to show them all sorts of mooncakes with simple designs.
Their eyes were filled with expectation and it looked as though they were begging them through their gaze.
Guo Xuehua and Lin Ruoxi felt bad for them, looking at them with a warm gaze.
“Little girl, don’t worry. How much is it for one?” Guo Xuehua asked while stroking one of the girl’s hair.
The little girl grinned widely when she heard that. She spoke with a slight lisp because of her growing teeth, “It’s a dollar for one. How many would you like Aunty?”
It was rather cheap. Guo Xuehua looked around and estimated there were around one hundred mooncakes in their bags. She exchanged glances with Lin Ruoxi who nodded to her in understanding.
“We will buy all of it,” Lin Ruoxi said.
“Wait.” Yang Chen called out before taking out one of the mooncakes to show her. “Look at it closely, this has already expired and there’s mold on it. I’m certain these either had bad quality or there was something wrong with the recipe. Someone might die from eating this.”
The others took a closer look and they really found mold on it. They took another close look and to their realization, the manufacturing factory was barely visible too.
The little girl became anxious and she begged them with tears falling down her face. “Big brother…please, please buy some from us…I beg of you…”
“Don’t cry, don’t cry.” Guo Xuehua’s heart wrenched at the sight of her crying. “We will buy it, we will buy it, don’t cry…”
“It’s fine even if it’s expired. We won’t eat it then.” Lin Ruoxi couldn’t stand it either and she proceeded to take her purse out.
Yang Pojun was getting impatient. Even though the kids were pitiful, he wouldn’t say anything about it. He’d rather give them money so that they could return home earlier.
“Why are you getting anxious? Only idiots pay without checking.” Yang Chen pulled Lin Ruoxi’s hands.
Lin Ruoxi looked up with an annoyed expression. “Yang Chen, do you even have a heart! They are so skinny from starvation. What’s wrong with us buying mooncakes for them? I will eat it if you don’t want to! You don’t have to care about me even if I will die from it!”
Yang Chen was speechless. With a bitter smile, he shook his head. “Madam Lin Ruoxi, President Lin, Miss Lin, Princess Lin…don’t misunderstand my intentions. What I am trying to say is that these kids were obviously forced to sell expired mooncakes so instead of giving them money, shouldn’t we catch the culprit? Did you really think that this money would remain in their hands?”
Lin Ruoxi and Guo Xuehua were startled. They exchanged glances with each other, finally making sense of his words.
They weren’t dumb but they were so fixated on their tears and could only pity them, so they didn’t think much about it.
“Yang Chen’s words make sense. We can’t ignore this,” Guo Xuehua lowered her head and asked one of the girls, “Little kid, don’t be afraid. Who ordered you guys to sell these mooncakes? Is there a bad guy who’s bullying you guys?”
The little girl’s face fell and fear flashed across her eyes. She exchanged gazes with the three girls before dashing towards a corner of the street together!