Chapter 530: Chapter 513 Ma Lili Gets Beaten

Lu Jiajie did not take the thirty thousand greenbacks but called Lu Jiaxin, hoping she would give Old Geng forty thousand greenbacks directly and bring back both Sun Qi and Luo Guangyuan.

Lu Jiaxin, with a frown, said, “These twenty thousand greenbacks are not your money.”

Lu Jiajie replied, “I have fifty thousand yuan at hand right now. I will give them forty thousand first, and I’ll pay back the difference after I have recovered. If it weren’t for Brother Luo’s support, Sun Qi would have been beaten to death by the mine’s overseer by now. I believe the Luo Family will agree.”

That meant the money was coming out of Lu Jiajie’s own pocket, only temporarily using the loan from the Luo Family, which shouldn’t be a problem.

After speaking with He Bin for a few words, Lu Jiaxin gave him ten thousand greenbacks.

Lu Jiajie withdrew forty thousand yuan from the bank and sent all of it, including the remaining ten thousand greenbacks, to the Sun Family: “You said this seal could sell for a hundred thousand greenbacks; my sister has given a hundred thousand greenbacks as you asked.”

“Big brother said that the reason I could return home safely was because he and two others went to redeem me. My ransom was ten thousand greenbacks, and big brother’s reward was another ten thousand greenbacks, while those two others received fifty thousand greenbacks.”

“Deducting the amounts paid for those two and for big brother’s reward, I should have given you thirty thousand greenbacks. But we three had sworn an oath that whoever got out would do everything in their power to save the other two. Currently, the US Dollar to Hua currency exchange rate is 1:3.7, and these forty thousand yuan are my own savings. I will repay the debt of thirty-four thousand as soon as I’ve recovered.”

Upon hearing this, Sun’s mother immediately said, “Since you three took an oath, you don’t need to repay the leftover money. Consider it Sun Qi’s contribution.”

Of course, Lu Jiajie couldn’t agree to that. “That won’t do. I must repay the money. I already feel very sorry for using the money without discussing it with you first.”

To Sun’s mother, as long as her son could return, nothing else mattered. Money and possessions were secondary to her; she only prayed she wouldn’t have to bury her son, and she was ready to spend her entire wealth if necessary. It was fortunate that her daughter mentioned Lu Jiaxin was a famous rich businesswoman in Hong Kong with extensive connections; otherwise, she might have sold the seal in confusion. She could have gotten more money, but her son might not have returned safely.

Old Geng took the money and left quickly, promising Lu Jiajie and others that he would call them as soon as he had redeemed the people. Meanwhile, He Bin also took the seal back to Hong Kong.

With Sun Qi and Luo Guangyuan about to be redeemed, Lu Jiajie felt relieved after settling this matter and relaxed entirely. That day, as usual, he went to pick up his children after work, but unexpectedly, he saw Ma Lili grabbing Xiao Fengfeng at the school gate.

Thinking back to how she previously tried to take Qiangqiang and Xiao Fengfeng away by falsely claiming that he was dead, which scared the children to tears daily, Lu Jiajie was furious and shouted, “Ma Lili…”

Ma Lili had just looked up when her face was struck by a heavy slap. Before she could react, she received another slap. Lu Jiajie, in a fit of rage, had used all his strength, and her mouth started bleeding.

A teacher noticed the situation was wrong and quickly came over to pull him away. Lu Jiajie, pointing at Ma Lili, yelled, “You vile woman, are you only satisfied if you bring Qiangqiang and Xiao Fengfeng to their deaths?”

Ma Lili, very angry but covering her face, said, “They are my children; how could I ever harm them? It’s you who abandoned the children and ran off. What right do you have to accuse me?”

Lu Jiajie was about to explode, trying to break free from the teacher’s grip to continue hitting Ma Lili.

Seeing that the situation was getting out of hand, the teacher pleaded, “Comrade, think of the child. Fighting in front of her will scare her.”

These words brought Lu Jiajie’s sense back and he stopped scolding Ma Lili. He picked up Xiao Fengfeng and said, “Let’s go home with daddy.”

“Daddy, brother hasn’t come out yet. Let’s wait for him.”

“Alright.”

Watching Xiao Fengfeng snuggle in Lu Jiajie’s arms without even glancing at her, Ma Lili felt a pang in her heart. But since Lu Jiajie wasn’t dead, Qiangqiang and Xiao Fengfeng were unlikely to live with her anymore.

Xiao Fengfeng secretly watched Ma Lili and said, “Dad, she’s gone.”

Although Lu Jiaguang and Sister-in-law Lu never belittled Ma Lili in front of the siblings, influenced by Lu Zhang and Lu Zhenzhen, both siblings greatly rejected Ma Lili and were unwilling to get close to her.

Xiao Fengfeng said in a very soft voice, “Daddy, Sister Zhenzhen and the others all say that Mommy is a bad person. Dad, is she really a bad person?”

After the divorce, Lu Jiajie had never spoken ill of Ma Lili in front of the children; she was, after all, their biological mother, but this woman’s actions had completely enraged him.

Lu Jiajie said, “She wants to take our family’s house and money for the son she had later. Fengfeng, from now on, avoid her if you encounter her, and if she comes looking for you at school again, tell me.”

Xiao Feng could not help but bow her head, wondering if her mother was truly a bad person?

After dinner, Lu Jiajie avoided the children and told Lu Jiaguang and his wife that Ma Lili had come looking for Xiao Fengfeng again. He now regretted not keeping the house and giving her such a large sum of money, which only fueled her greed.

Wang Xiaojie said reasonably, “She probably doesn’t know you’re back, otherwise she wouldn’t dare to have designs on the house and the money again.”

If that was the case, then it made sense.

Wang Xiaojie hesitated before saying, “Jiajie, you’ve been divorced for such a long time now, you should find someone; this house doesn’t feel right without a woman.”

Lu Jiaguang also felt that he should find someone new, “Aren’t you supposed to take some time to recover? You could use this period to meet someone. You never know, you might find someone you like!”

Lu Jiajie had never considered remarrying, “Big brother, Sister-in-law, what if I get married again and the woman turns out to be bad, neglecting the children while I’m away on business?”

Wang Xiaojie said, “There are cruel stepmothers in the world, but there are also many kind ones. Besides, your big brother and I are here; if anyone treats the kids badly, it will be discovered quickly.”

Lu Jiaguang said, “You could find a divorced woman who has children.”

After all, both would be in their second marriage with children; it would be a good match.

As soon as Lu Jiajie heard this, he rejected it, “No, a divorced woman with children will definitely favor her own kids and ignore Qiangqiang and Xiao Fengfeng. I’d rather not marry than have that.”

Wang Xiaojie laughed and said, “So a divorced woman without kids or one who can’t have children would be okay?”

Lu Jiaguang added, “She also needs to have a good character and patience; only then will she be good to the children.”

Wang Xiaojie laughed and scolded, “If I ask someone to set up a match, I would definitely find someone with a good character for Jiajie. Jiajie, for the sake of the children, you should also meet people; it’s not right not having a woman in the house.”

This time, Lu Jiajie didn’t refuse outright, expressing that he wanted to discuss it with the two children first.

Both children were opposed to having a stepmother; having heard too many tales of wicked stepmothers, they were shadowed by fear and worried that a new stepmother might also mistreat them.

With the children opposed, and with Lu Jiajie himself having no desire to remarry, he told Lu Jiaguang and Wang Xiaojie, “Big brother, Sister-in-law, let’s just let things take their course. Right now, I just want to raise the two children and restore my health. We can talk about remarriage in a couple of years.”

He was only in his early thirties and couldn’t possibly stay single forever. He just wanted to wait until the children were older before marrying again so that if they were bullied, they would know how to fight back.

“Okay.”