The person who arrived was none other than Dong Lihua.
Feeling the other’s scrutinizing gaze, Jiang Si also looked up.
Perhaps out of professional habit, during those few seconds of eye contact, Jiang Si instinctively used her eyes like a brush, memorizing the other’s facial features and contours.
In terms of appearance alone, this person bore a four-to-five-tenths resemblance to Father Huo and the Old Master.
However, starting from Father Huo’s generation, the Huo Family had almost exclusively male descendants, most of whom had already sacrificed their lives for the nation.
At present, aside from Father Huo, only Huo Fourth Uncle remained in Capital City.
So Jiang Si guessed this person was likely a cousin or distant relative of Father Huo.
But if she had to compare, she felt this person’s looks resembled someone else even more.
Before Jiang Si could solidify her thoughts, the other spoke up.
"Uncle, Aunt, Sister-in-law—"
After greeting everyone in the room, Dong Lihua finally fixed her gaze on Jiang Si.
No matter how unwilling she was, she had to admit one fact at this moment:
Third Brother really had an eye for picking a wife!
If only Tingtao could find a wife from such a distinguished family, he wouldn’t have to worry about climbing to the position of department head.
Even the Huo Family’s assets wouldn’t require him to scheme so hard.
"This must be Third Brother’s wife? What a delicate beauty."
Before leaving in the morning, Father Huo had already given the elders a heads-up.
So Grandma Huo wasn’t particularly surprised by her arrival—after all, she was just an aunt-by-marriage, and it wouldn’t be appropriate to say too much.
Now that Dong Lihua had asked, Grandma Huo introduced Jiang Si with a kindly expression.
"This is the daughter of your great-aunt."
So she really was a cousin.
Jiang Si nodded and addressed her as "Aunt."
"Ah, wonderful, wonderful."
"By the way, Sister-in-law, when will the young couple hold their wedding banquet? I’ll definitely come to celebrate and join in the festivities."
Before Mother Huo could respond, the Old Master shot Dong Lihua an annoyed glare.
"Enough. When there’s good news, we’ll naturally inform you. But what’s with you taking leave every other day to come here?"
He pointed at the white-lettered, red-background slogans on the compound wall.
"Every unit is now focused on 'Grasping Revolution, Promoting Production.' Aren’t you afraid someone will report you for low ideological awareness, accusing you of neglecting revolutionary duties?"
"Uncle, such a small matter isn’t worth worrying about."
Dong Lihua’s expression stiffened, but she quickly defended herself.
"I just thought it had been a while since I visited you and Aunt."
"Enough. Your aunt and I are doing fine. You’ve seen us, so hurry back now."
"……"
Normally, Dong Lihua would have left after such a dismissal.
But not this time. Just yesterday, she had confidently assured Tingtao that she would handle this matter.
If she retreated empty-handed now, Tingtao would suffer a huge loss when the family division took place.
Having raised him for years, Dong Lihua couldn’t bear to let him endure such unfairness.
"Sister-in-law, I heard you plan to divide the family property among the children?"
"That’s right. We agreed on this years ago—once all the children are married, we’ll divide the family. Each branch will live independently, and your elder brother and I can finally relax."
Dong Lihua thought to herself, How selfish.
What kind of parents prioritize their own comfort over their children’s needs?
The Huo Family still had several grandsons to consider. Abandoning them now would be utterly irresponsible!
"Sister-in-law, the children need support now more than ever. Kicking them out at this stage will only hurt them."
"And Tingtao—his in-laws are in trouble, so his career advancement is already stalled. Shanshan is even threatening divorce. You can’t abandon them now."
"If you insist on dividing the family, I won’t object. But Tingtao must stay in the main house. As the eldest grandson of the Huo Family, he deserves that dignity."
Afraid Mother Huo might refuse, Dong Lihua repeated her favorite line.
The moment those words left her mouth, Mother Huo’s face darkened.
Having lived under the same roof for years, Mother Huo knew Dong Lihua’s temperament all too well.
Since that was the case, it was time to settle this once and for all.
What was owed would be repaid.
But the division of the Huo Family was an internal matter—Mother Huo would not tolerate outside interference.
"Mom, Dad, please take Jiang Si back first. I’ll have a word with Lihua and return shortly."
Grandpa Huo and Grandma Huo didn’t look pleased either, but household affairs had always been Mother Huo’s domain, so they didn’t intervene.
"Very well. We’ll go ahead. Handle this as you see fit."
For now, Jiang Si remained silent.
After all, she wasn’t familiar with the Huo Family’s dynamics. Aside from the four elders, she had only met the eldest brother and his wife once—on her eighteenth birthday.
But once home, seeing the elders still frowning, Jiang Si couldn’t suppress her curiosity.
Logically, family divisions were typically overseen by the clan’s seniors or, at the very least, its elders.
Since when did a cousin-by-marriage have the right to interfere?
What surprised Jiang Si most, however, was Mother Huo’s attitude.
She had always believed their harmonious relationship stemmed from their shared temperament—both were straightforward and refused to tolerate disrespect.
Yet earlier, when this so-called aunt had practically challenged Mother Huo to her face, Mother Huo had remained calm and patiently explained instead of retorting.
That was strange.
When her granddaughter-in-law brought it up, Grandma Huo didn’t hold back, recounting the history between Mother Huo and Dong Lihua.
"You’ve already met Little Zhou’s eldest brother. He was born in 1936, during a time when the nation was plagued by internal strife and foreign threats."
"Your grandpa and father were active in the Chuan-Qian base areas back then. Shortly after your mother gave birth in Yan’an, she too joined the guerrilla forces."
"Your eldest brother wasn’t even two months old. Given the circumstances, your mother couldn’t take him along and had to entrust him to your aunt and her husband."
"That war dragged on for years. By the time your parents returned to Capital City, your eldest brother was already seven."
Now Jiang Si understood.
To someone who had raised a child for seven years, that child was no different from their own.
No wonder Aunt doted on the eldest brother so much.
But Jiang Si still had one question:
"Grandma, what did she mean when she said the Huo Family owed them?"
Hearing this, Grandma Huo sighed deeply: "Back then, those Japanese invaders were causing trouble every other day. Your cousin and her family had to flee constantly with their two children, enduring no small amount of hardship."
"Once, during a sudden raid by the Japanese, they had to run in such a hurry that they accidentally left their own child behind."
"That child was only two months younger than Tingtao—the only male heir of the Yang family."
"Though your cousin went on to have three more children afterward, all of them were girls."
"Because of this, your cousin suffered endless grievances from her in-laws."
"Your parents also carried guilt over this matter, so all these years, they’ve been doing everything they can to make it up to your cousin’s family."
"Thankfully, the man she married is kind and righteous. He’s never uttered a single word of complaint all these years and has treated your eldest brother as his own."
Listening to this, Jiang Si couldn’t help but feel a pang of sorrow.
A life lost—this tragedy loomed over both families, and because of it, Grandma Huo would forever hold a lower standing in front of her cousin.
