Chapter 317: Chapter 317: Welcoming Banquet, Gratitude

Gu Qinghuan set up two tables at home to welcome everyone back and wash away the dust of their journey.

At last, the whole family was reunited—a moment truly worth celebrating.

Zhong Ziyan noticed that his son-in-law was nowhere to be seen and couldn’t help but ask about it.

With a few simple words, Zhong Luoning calmly recounted the events of the past few years, as if she were talking about someone else’s experiences rather than her own.

After keeping it hidden for so long, Zhong Ziyan and his wife finally learned what their daughter and little granddaughter had been through.

Bai Jie, heart aching, pulled little Youran into her arms. When she left, what she worried about most was her daughter, who hadn’t even finished her postpartum month, and this tiny granddaughter.

In the blink of an eye, seven years had passed, and the child had grown so much.

Adults can endure hardship, but watching such a small child suffer as well was something she couldn’t bear. Thankfully, it was all behind them now.

“Mom, don’t cry. Look at me now—I’m doing great! I got rid of that scumbag and feel so much lighter.

Now I can support myself and my daughter. I don’t have to serve in-laws or tiptoe around anyone. I can go wherever I want and do whatever I please. I never even dared to dream of a life like this before.”

Only those who have been through marriage know how precious it is to have the freedom to do what you want and become who you want to be.

Zhong Ziyan and Bai Jie realized that their daughter, who used to cry at the drop of a hat, had finally grown into a capable adult who could stand on her own.

They felt a mix of indescribable pride, a bit of loss, and guilt.

Guilt for not being able to protect her.

Her strength and independence now were built, bit by bit, on the pain she had endured in silence.

Every sturdy suit of armor hides bloody scars beneath.

The little girl who once only knew how to cry now knew how to protect her own child.

The couple nodded through tears.

Wiping her eyes, Bai Jie stood up in front of everyone and bowed deeply to Gu Qinghuan, startling her so much that she quickly bowed back.

“Auntie, what are you doing? You’re scaring me!”

“Huanhuan, I have to thank you. If it weren’t for the special medicine, food, and warm clothes you sent that year, I might not have survived that winter, let alone seen today.

And thank you for saving Youran and Luoning’s lives, for lending a hand when they were at their lowest.

You’ve done so much for our family—I couldn’t possibly list it all. If there’s ever anything I can help you with, just say the word. I’ll never refuse.”

Bai Jie was a woman who knew right from wrong, and she was truly grateful for Gu Qinghuan’s help.

“Your aunt is right. I owe you a thank you too,” Zhong Ziyan said, standing up and bowing to Gu Qinghuan as well.

He had always regarded Gu Qinghuan as his own child, so he didn’t say much more. From now on, whatever Gu Qinghuan needed, he would always have her back.

Gu Qinghuan hurriedly returned the bow.

“Qinghuan, I never properly thanked you. If you hadn’t shown up that year and saved Youran, I might have left this world with her.

When I was depressed and even considered suicide, you stayed up with me, comforted and encouraged me, and even found a way to get me a piano to cheer me up. When Youran and I had nowhere to go, you gave us a home.

And Youran’s health has improved so much under your care. I’m truly content with how things are now.

You’ve protected me so many times, just like a big sister. I hope I can have the chance to protect you in the future.”

With that, Zhong Luoning and little Youran bowed to her as well.

Gu Qinghuan quickly bowed back again.

Seriously, would this ever end? These people were just too sentimental—her eyes were starting to tear up.

“Luoning-jie, we grew up together. We’re sisters—no need to stand on ceremony.”

Zhong Weiqian and his wife watched the loving, harmonious scene and exchanged a smile.

Though they’d all been through so much, at this moment, everyone’s hearts were together. It was all worth it.

After Zhong Ziyan was cleared of all charges, he received psychological counseling and was assigned as a political commissar at the Beijing Military District, working alongside Yun Run once again. After more than a decade apart, the two old friends still made a great team.

Now, the two families were in-laws—tied even closer together.

Due to health reasons, Bai Jie declined all work and focused on recovering at home, spending time with her family and taking care of little Youran.

This experience made her realize even more how precious family truly is.

After their rehabilitation, the couple received a substantial compensation payment. Zhong Ziyan’s salary was also quite good. As long as they didn’t live extravagantly, they would have more than enough for the rest of their lives.

Bai Jie no longer had the ambitions of her youth. After discovering little Youran’s perfect pitch, she devoted herself to nurturing her granddaughter’s talent.

Zhong Luoning and her daughter moved back into their own home from the small Western-style house.

Gu Qinghuan simply packed up the piano she had bought for Zhong Luoning and sent it over as well. When Zhong Luoning tried to pay her, she refused—after all, she didn’t know how to play the piano herself, so it was just taking up space at her place.

Zhong Zijun’s job was also settled—she continued as a lecturer at Huaqing University. The workload wasn’t heavy—one or two classes a day, sometimes none at all. It was quite relaxed.

She was satisfied with her current life—time to spend with family, work to keep her busy, simple and easy.

For now, she was living with her son and daughter. After being separated for so many years, she didn’t want to be apart for even a moment. Waking up every day to see her two children gave her immense peace of mind.

Zhong Weiqian and his wife had been invited back to Huaqing University as professors, but they no longer had the heart for teaching. They just wanted to take a break and enjoy the life they liked.

Years of hard labor had taken a toll on their bodies, leaving them with many old ailments.

They wanted to rest and recuperate, hoping to spend more years with their children.

Open-minded as they were, they knew that grown children have their own lives, and that there’s a big gap between the thinking of the young and the old. So they didn’t want to live with their children.

They had planned to move back into their old two-courtyard house, where they had lived for half their lives and had deep feelings for.

But unexpectedly, they ran into stubborn tenants who refused to move out. The government couldn’t do anything about it either, so things reached a stalemate.

As more and more people were rehabilitated and returned to the city, this kind of situation became increasingly common.

In short, the people occupying the house just didn’t want to give it up.

There were seven or eight families living in the smaller courtyard, and they were quite united, presenting a common front. They refused to move, making a huge fuss, claiming that since the government had assigned them the house and they’d paid rent, it was theirs.

Zhong Zijun, Zhong Ziyan, Bai Jie, and others went to talk to them several times, but got nowhere. Even when Zhong Weiqian and his wife went themselves, they were cursed out and came back fuming.

They went to the police and asked Xu Lei, but he didn’t have any good solutions either.

This was a leftover issue from the great upheaval, and there were no clear rules on how to handle it. As police, they had to act according to the law, and since there were no regulations from above, they didn’t dare act rashly.

After the original owners were sent down, these privately-owned houses were taken over by the state for unified rental, allocation, and maintenance.

They were called “state-managed rental houses”—a historical issue that remains unresolved to this day.

In short, the property rights did indeed belong to their family, but the government had also officially assigned the house to these people. Using this as an excuse, the tenants refused to move, and there was nothing the owners could do.

There were many such cases. At most, the police could go and give a warning, but they couldn’t actually evict people.

Gu Qinghuan understood that, at this point, it was all about who had the thicker skin.

After hearing about their attempts to reclaim the house, she couldn’t help but rub her forehead.

All she could say was that intellectuals just couldn’t bring themselves to be forceful, which was why people kept taking advantage of them.

She decided to take over the matter herself and told them to just wait and see."