Chapter 711
Father's Home
Chapter 711 Father's Home
In just over ten seconds, the door opened, and a woman who looked to be around forty years old smiled and said to her, "Is this Duoduo? Come in quickly, your dad is on an important phone call."
"Hello, Aunt Ling." Hong Xiaoduo greeted as she entered the room. Seeing a pair of new slippers placed to the side, she took off her shoes and changed into them.
Regardless, just because the other person greeted her with a smile, Hong Xiaoduo still had to politely call out to them.
Besides, she had already figured out that her parents' divorce was due to incompatibility, and that this woman was not a mistress who had taken over her husband's position.
Therefore, there is no need to harbor any hostility towards them.
"Duoduo, sit down first. I'll go check on the dishes in the kitchen," Aunt Ling said to Xiaoduo, wearing an apron and holding a spatula in one hand.
Hong Xiaoduo smiled and nodded, then turned around and looked through the French windows to see the person on the balcony making a phone call. It was her father, Hong Shiqi, who was forty-nine years old this year.
It has been almost three years since we last met, and his beer belly seems to have gotten even bigger.
Hong Xiaoduo couldn't hear what her father was saying on the phone, but she could tell from his profile that it wasn't anything good.
I didn't see the children in the living room, and I didn't hear any noise from either of the bedrooms. I don't know if my half-brothers are home.
The living room has a modern country style, and in the corner there is a large storage basket full of children's toys.
A family photo hangs on the wall. It shows the father holding a girl with a little pigtail, with Aunt Ling beside them, and two boys, the older one standing behind the father and the younger one standing beside Aunt Ling.
The family of five in the family photo looks so warm, harmonious and happy.
Hong Xiaoduo couldn't help but recall that a family photo of the three of them used to hang on her wall, looking just as warm and happy. But after learning that her parents had divorced, when she returned home for vacation, she felt a deep sense of irony looking at that family photo, took it down, and stuffed it into a corner of her closet.
"Ahem, Duoduo, would you like some tea? Coffee? Or should Daddy order you some milk tea?" After finishing his phone call and returning to the living room, Hong's father saw his daughter looking at the family photo on the wall and asked somewhat awkwardly.
Hearing her father's words, Hong Xiaoduo snapped out of her reverie and looked at him, saying, "Tea is fine."
Looking at her father sitting opposite her, she could see that his temples were already gray.
Hong Xiaoduo learned about her father's current wife from her mother. After marrying her father and becoming pregnant, she quit her job to become a full-time housewife. Therefore, her father's gray hair is probably due to the pressure of work.
"Duoduo, is your research finished?" Hong's father asked while making tea.
Hong Xiaoduo smiled and shook her head, saying, "Not yet. This time, we're giving everyone a short break to go home and visit their families."
"How long can you stay on leave? Stay here, there are rooms upstairs," Hong's father said again.
"I'm afraid that won't work, because I only have one day. After lunch, I have to go to my mother's place," Hong Xiaoduo replied with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Hong's father handed her a cup of tea and said, "You consider one day a holiday? What kind of organization is this? Oh, I remember now, it's confidential. Well then, I won't ask any further questions."
"Shiqi, come and lend a hand, it'll only take a moment." At that moment, the glass door to the kitchen opened, and Aunt Ling leaned out to greet him.
Hong's father gestured for Hong Xiaoduo to have some tea first, then got up and went over.
Hong Xiaoduo glanced towards the kitchen and felt that Aunt Ling calling her father over to lend a hand might be genuine, or perhaps she had something to say to him.
Thinking this, Hong Xiaoduo tried to use her mind to control the drone to go over and listen.
Old Luo also got her two drones with different shapes, one shaped like a bee and the other like a mouse, so that she would have a more suitable choice for use in different environments.
Hong Xiaoduo had said that since the mission was complete and she was about to return to the modern world, there was no need to do these things anymore, because she had asked Old Man Luo before whether she would be able to enter this space after she officially returned to the modern world.
Old Luo said that once she officially returns to the modern world, she will still have the right to use this space for one day, so that she can bring the wealth she obtained in ancient times back to the modern world.
Once she takes it out of the space, she can no longer enter it. The teleportation chamber will be sealed, but the space itself may very well disappear.
Hong Xiaoduo did not intend to bring back all the gold and silver jewelry she had stored in her space. She wanted to leave some for Brother Quan, some for Feiyan as her dowry, and the rest for the seven children.
She only needs to pick a few items to sell; as long as she doesn't gamble or use drugs, that'll be enough for her to live a life of luxury. Besides, Old Man Luo is going to give her 100 million.
What she wanted most in the space was actually the drone that Old Man Luo had gotten for her. Look at it now, in the shape of a bee, so small. It flies in through the crack in the kitchen door, and as long as it doesn't fly in front of anyone, it won't attract any attention.
Hong Xiaoduo leaned back on the sofa cushions. If someone saw her at that moment, they would think she was admiring the roses in the vase on the coffee table.
My mind was focused on the display screen on the controller in the space. It showed that my father was indeed helping to take the stew pot from the high cabinet, and Aunt Ling, the hostess, was removing the shrimp veins.
"Why don't you tell Duoduo about the difficulties our factory is facing? Sell that house first, give Dong Lan's share to her, and if Duoduo is willing to help us, we can lend her her share for a few years. If she's not willing, then forget it and take back your share. It won't solve the big problem, but at least it can help in an emergency."
"I'll talk to my family about it later and see if we can get a mortgage loan for my parents' house. After all, we paid for it ourselves," Aunt Ling suggested softly.
Upon hearing this, Hong Xiaoduo subconsciously observed her father's reaction, wanting to hear how he would respond.
However, I was also worried that the bee might fly right up to my father's face and get swatted to the ground.
"No, Dong Lan and I already agreed that Duoduo would live in that house until she gets married and has her own family before we sell it. Besides, the fact that neither of us wants custody of the child after our divorce means that we've already hurt her."
This is the first time you've come to my place in all these years, and you want me to bring this up with the kids?
Besides, the factory's problems can't be solved with just a few million. And you're not allowed to mention mortgaging your parents' house. This is a hurdle we have to overcome eventually. If we can't get over it, the worst that can happen is bankruptcy. Don't worry, even if the factory goes bankrupt, I can still support you and your family.
The cash flow problem is not mainly due to my mismanagement. We can't collect the outstanding payments from external suppliers, we can't pay for the raw materials in Changli, and our products are piling up in the warehouse because we can't keep up with the updates and can't be sold.
"Don't worry about these things, just take good care of the children," Hong's father said softly.
"But how can I not worry when I see you looking so troubled and unable to sleep? Was that a call from the bank just now? The loan assessment didn't go through, right? Ouch." Aunt Ling was lost in thought as she spoke, and the toothpick she used to remove the shrimp vein got stuck in her finger.
"Be careful, did you hurt yourself? Let me check."
"No, it's just a toothpick, not a sharp knife. Alright, go and be with your daughter."
As the conversation in the kitchen ended, Hong's father came out and sat down opposite Hong Xiaoduo again.
Just then, the door opened, and two boys entered first, followed by a woman in her fifties holding a cute little girl in her arms.
"Xiaolong, Xiaohu, Xiaofeng, come here, this is your big sister, call her quickly." Father Hong reached out and hugged the girl, speaking to the two children who were looking at Hong Xiaoduo.
"sister."
"elder sister."
"Big sister." The three children looked at Hong Xiaoduo and called out to her.
"I'll go help Yuling cook." The woman glanced at Hong Xiaoduo, said to Hong's father, looked around the living room, and went to the kitchen.
The two boys went into the room next door together and closed the door.
Hong's father told Hong Xiaoduo that the woman was a live-in nanny who usually helped with cleaning and took the eldest and second eldest children to kindergarten. She had just taken the three children for a walk in the community park to enjoy the sunshine because of the good weather.
“Dragon, tiger, and phoenix, that’s great, we have land, sea, and air,” Hong Xiaoduo joked.
Hong's father had been watching his eldest daughter's expression closely. He felt that she really wasn't unhappy, so he breathed a sigh of relief and smiled as well: "The policy allows us to have children now, and there's no problem with raising them even if we don't have the means. Your aunt also likes children."
While her father was peeling longans for the child in his arms, Hong Xiaoduo quickly used her mind to enter her spatial dimension, intending to retrieve the bees that were still in the kitchen. Just then, she saw the woman lean close to Aunt Ling's ear and say, "His daughter came empty-handed? She's such a grown-up, how can she be so inconsiderate?"
Even buying some cheap fruit would be better. You two have been married for years, and you can't get anyone to come. This sudden appearance... could it be something wrong? Maybe they're here to ask for money?
(End of this chapter)