Xiao Xun’s mother held Liu Shijia’s hand and patted it gently. “Your cousin, as you know, doesn’t have much ability, nor much education. Since your boss was able to ‘pull him out’ of the detention center, it shouldn’t be difficult to give him a less demanding, more lucrative job, should it!”
Xiao Xun saw Liu Shijia’s embarrassment. “Mom, please don’t pressure my cousin. I’m doing quite well at my company.”
His father, upon hearing this, was displeased. “Well? Well, for what? If you were doing well, would you have been framed for murder? If you don’t want to work in the big city, you can come back home with me. In a couple of years, you can take over the restaurant.”
Xiao Xun was unhappy to hear this. If this were two years ago, or even a month ago, he would have definitely gone back with them. But not now. “That little dingy restaurant, how much can it earn in a month?”
“You’re still looking down on the restaurant? If your mother and I hadn’t opened this place, would you have been able to go to college and study? You’d have gone home to farm and herd sheep long ago.”
Xiao Xun played along with his father’s words. “Yes, the kids would probably be old enough to fetch soy sauce.”
Liu Shijia booked a hotel using a mobile app. “Let’s not talk about that for now. Hurry and let Auntie and Uncle go rest! They came straight to see you after getting off the train, they must be exhausted.”
Xiao Xun’s mother patted Liu Shijia’s hand. “It’s still Shijia who knows how to care for people, unlike this brat. All he does is cause trouble for me. You know, when the police came to say you’d killed someone, it almost scared your father and me to death.”
Xiao Xun stuck out his tongue at Liu Shijia, then said to his mother, “When will you be leaving then?”
“Hey! You kid, your parents traveled all this way to see you, and you haven’t even caught your breath yet, and you’re already shooing us away?”
Xiao Xun scratched his head. “I’m just worried about the family business! If I go back one day later, how much money will I lose.”
His mother heard this and said, “That’s true! We still have to save money for you to buy a house, a car, and get married.” She then looked at Xiao Xun’s father and said, “Husband, why don’t we go back tonight!”
Liu Shijia quickly waved her phone. “Auntie, I’ve already booked the hotel, and the payment has been made. Even if we don’t stay, it can’t be refunded.”
Xiao Xun’s mother thought for a moment. “That’s true, earning money is not easy for the child. Then we’ll leave tomorrow morning.”
Just as the car drove out of the suburbs and into the city, Liu Shijia’s phone rang.
She glanced at the phone number and immediately answered, saying respectfully, “Thank you, President. I’ve got him out. It’s all thanks to you this time.”
“What!”
Hearing what was said on the other end, Liu Shijia exclaimed in surprise, “You want to treat us to a meal? How can we accept? We should be the ones to treat you.”
“Good, good, good…”
Liu Shijia said “good” three times before hanging up the phone.
Xiao Xun looked at Liu Shijia curiously. “Cousin, who wants to treat us to a meal?”
“It’s our company’s president. He put in a lot of effort for you to be released this time.”
Xiao Xun’s mother immediately said to Liu Shijia, “Since your boss is so helpful, it should be no problem for him to have you work at your place. You siblings can look out for each other, and Auntie will be at ease.”
Xiao Xun tugged at his mother’s clothes. “Mom, I don’t want to go. I’m doing very well at my company.”
His mother slapped away Xiao Xun’s hand. “How old are you, and you’re still acting spoiled? It’s for your own good that I want you to go. Why can’t you understand your mother’s good intentions?”
Just as Xiao Xun was about to explain something further, his phone rang. It was Lin Min.
“Hello! President Mu. Thank you for your concern, I’m out. Your information is quite well-informed. What? No need, really no need. Is that so? Alright, I understand. We’ve just entered the city.”
After hanging up, Xiao Xun said to his mother, “Mom, our boss wants to treat you and Dad to a meal.”
Xiao Xun’s father patted his thigh. “Strange. The brat isn’t any kind of leader, so why do they want to treat him to a meal?”
His mother suddenly remembered something. “Oh, right! We’ve already agreed to have a meal with Shijia’s leader.”
Xiao Xun held his phone. “Mom, I’ve already agreed, wouldn’t it be inappropriate not to go?”
His mother glared. “What’s inappropriate about it? We’re not working for him anymore, why should we care about him? When you were in jail, he didn’t seem to exert any effort, and now he’s acting like a good guy. We’re not going. We’re not going. Even if you push it, we already agreed to Shijia’s leader first. If we don’t go, how will your sister manage her job from now on?”
Xiao Xun was also anxious. “Then how should I explain it to our leader? He’s usually quite good to me. Besides, the restaurant has already been booked, and they’re waiting for us.”
A message popped up on Liu Shijia’s phone. After reading it, she said to Xiao Xun’s mother, “Auntie, our leader is already waiting for us at the restaurant. The address has been sent.”
Xiao Xun’s mother looked at Xiao Xun. “Look, they’re even waiting for us.”
Suddenly, his mother shouted at the driver, “Master, stop, pull over for a moment.”
The driver didn’t know what had happened and slammed on the brakes. Xiao Xun’s mother didn’t say anything, opened the passenger door, and pulled his father out of the car.
Xiao Xun didn’t know how to explain to Liu Shijia. “Cousin, tell your leader that I said it’s inappropriate for a criminal suspect like me to dine in public with him, so I won’t be going. Please also explain to my parents, and I’ll treat you all to dinner tonight.”
After saying this, he directly opened the car door and ran. A taxi happened to be passing by, and he hailed it, got in, and left.
Half an hour later, Xiao Xun’s parents returned to the car, carrying bags and packages, including cigarettes, liquor, as well as fruit and milk.
Liu Shijia looked surprised. “Auntie, what did you buy these for?”
Liu Shijia’s aunt placed the purchased items on the seat where her son had been sitting. “Aren’t we having dinner with your leader later? They helped us out so much, it would look bad to go empty-handed. Tell your leader that this is a small token of appreciation from us old folks.”
Then she said to the driver, “Master, we can go now.”
The driver started the car again and drove forward.
Liu Shijia looked embarrassed. “Auntie, Xiao Xun said he doesn’t want to go. He said that as a criminal suspect, it’s not appropriate for him to meet your leader.”
Liu Shijia’s aunt slapped her thigh. “So he’s not suitable? How can this kid not understand basic etiquette? The thanks must be given in person.”
Then she turned to look at the place where the items had been put. “Oh? Where did the brat go?”
“After you got out of the car, he took a taxi and left by himself.”
Hearing Liu Shijia say this, his aunt took out her phone and called Xiao Xun.
“You brat, if you still recognize me as your mother, then get back here.”
Xiao Xun replied with only two words: “I won’t.”
His mother’s face instantly changed. Gritting her teeth, she put on a ferocious expression, as if she wanted to eat him, and said, “Good son, come back! Mom won’t force you to work at your cousin’s place anymore. But since they helped you, you should at least come back and thank them properly!”
Her tone was so gentle that even the driver couldn’t help but shiver.
“We’ll talk about it later. The signal is…”