Chapter Seventy-One [Strange Events]
He Jianbo’s name may not be widely known among the general populace of Dragon Country, but in the business world, he is quite famous.
This businessman, not yet fifty years old, left his hometown in his early years to start his business in coastal areas—though few know the details of his early success today.
However, the results are clear: today, he owns a publicly listed company with a market value exceeding hundreds of billions. Over the years, he has also made numerous investments and currently holds shares in various major companies in different industries.
Some years ago, he even appeared on the rich list. While his ranking wasn’t very high, his net worth was roughly close to a hundred billion.
Boss He’s enterprises are mainly distributed in Jinling Prefecture, Hu State, and Lin’an Prefecture, a group of economically developed cities known as the triangle area in Dragon Country.
However, his old home is actually in a village.
Moreover, there’s a family matter that isn’t well known to outsiders.
He Jianbo, not yet fifty years old, does not have a father, only a mother who lives alone.
However, only those close to the family know that this elder mother isn’t his biological mother.
When He Jianbo was a child, his original family was a collateral branch within the family and was very poor. He had two brothers, and both his birth parents died in an accident.
The three brothers couldn’t support themselves, so the family elders decided to have He Jianbo adopted out.
He was adopted into a direct line of the family.
The family he was adopted into had also lost the man of the house, leaving only a widow. The man had died young, without leaving any children to continue the lineage, which would have cut off their branch.
Fortunately, before the man died, he left behind a decent Jia Ye, allowing the widow to live comfortably.
Thus, the family elders facilitated the adoption, and at that time, three-year-old He Jianbo was adopted into that family, acknowledging the widow as his mother, and the deceased man as his father, thus continuing their lineage.
The surname didn’t need to be changed as He Jianbo was already part of the He Family, just from a collateral branch.
With this arrangement, he became a direct descendant, eligible to be listed in the family genealogy—something his distant collateral branch status wouldn’t have allowed.
He was three when he was adopted. Since his new father was also no longer alive, he grew up with the widow mother.
It’s said that the widow treated him very well, and he wasn’t deprived after being adopted. They spent many years in harmony, with the mother being kind and the son being filial.
As he grew up, the widow even sold some assets to support his education and assist him in starting his business.
She even arranged a good marriage for him.
He Jianbo was exceptionally filial to this non-biological mother, building her a large house after achieving success, and despite having experienced the outside world, he willingly accepted the marriage arranged by his mother, marrying an honest and straightforward woman. He also left his wife with his mother in the hometown to accompany and take care of her.
Every year during holidays, he would set all business matters aside to visit his mother.
In his hometown, He Jianbo was known as a remarkably filial son.
The old lady, having adopted such a son years ago, was considered fortunate. Her son’s success and filial piety made all the nearby villagers praise her for her good heart, and they said this son brought her happiness.
The story was indeed just like that.
However, everyone faces the inevitability of birth, aging, illness, and death.
A few days ago, the old lady passed away, having lived a life of over seventy years, which was considered good.
Ever filial, He Jianbo stayed by her side, fulfilling his filial duties until her last breath.
He Jianbo was grief-stricken by his mother’s death, and following her last rites, he organized an elaborate and solemn funeral. The arrangements were said to be grand, honoring her memory to the fullest extent.
Afterwards, his mother was buried—being traditional in her beliefs, she had expressed a wish for an earth burial rather than cremation, to rest in peace.
As a remarkably filial son, He Jianbo took her words to heart.
Although the laws of Dragon Country do not permit earth burials, He Jianbo, with his wealth and influence, and due to the He Family’s deep roots as an old faction in the local area, managed to arrange for an earth burial.
Thus, the old lady’s remains were interred in the He Family’s ancestral gravesite.
——Things up to this point were pretty normal.
What happened next, however, was bizarre!
Ten days after the burial, a torrential rainstorm struck, lasting through day and night, triggering a landslide that affected the hillside where the He Family’s ancestral graves were located.
The He Family hurriedly went up the mountain to inspect, only to find the grave where the old lady was buried...
A section of the hillside had collapsed!
Upon hearing the news, He Jianbo, extremely anxious, rushed back to handle the situation!
He Family members rallied people to dig through the landslide area to retrieve the old lady’s coffin.
The coffin was mostly intact, even the lid was firmly nailed, but the sides were heavily damaged and the surface had some cracks.
He Jianbo decided that with the coffin damaged, it needed to be replaced—he couldn’t let his mother rest in a broken coffin after death.
So, renowned local masters were invited to perform a ritual for the exhumation and reinterment.
But on the day of the exhumation, everyone, including He Jianbo, was terrified!
The coffin was empty!
The old lady’s body was missing!