Chapter 705: Chapter 688: Lu Jiajie Goes on a Blind Date
Wang Xiaojie was certain that Lu Jiajie wanted to remarry, so she began to help arrange it. Since Lu Jiajie had good qualities and was looking for a woman who had divorced before, she quickly found a suitable match.
When Lu Jiajie returned to the Forty-nine City after delivering a batch of goods, Wang Xiaojie showed him a photograph: “This young woman is called Yao Hongmei, she’s 28 years old and works at the health bureau. She divorced two years ago.”
Lu Jiajie took a look; she had quite a delicate appearance: “Why did she divorce?”
Wang Xiaojie sighed and said: “Her ex-husband was a teacher, but a few years ago he left teaching to do business and made money. Some men, after earning a little money, start fooling around outside, and her husband was no exception. She originally didn’t plan to divorce, tolerating it for the sake of the child. But when the woman outside came to her door heavily pregnant, she couldn’t take it anymore and divorced.”
Lu Jiajie asked: “How old was the child?”
Lu Jiajie’s face changed slightly: “Gone? How did that happen?”
Wang Xiaojie said: “After she had the child, she underwent sterilization, so it was her only child. She didn’t want the child living with a stepmother. But the man and his family refused to let her have the child, so they went to court, and the court awarded the child to her…”
While speaking, a trace of sympathy flashed in her eyes: “The court awarded the child to her. Not long after, the man’s parents took the opportunity of her being at work to take the child from kindergarten, and then hid the child at a relative’s house. That relative wasn’t attentive; when the child went out to find his mother, he didn’t know, and the result was he fell into a pond and drowned.”
As a mother herself, she knew that losing a child was a blow almost impossible to recover from. That family was truly sinful; even when the Fox Spirit was pregnant, they still fought to take the child, resulting in tragedy.
Lu Jiajie, being a father himself, also felt sympathy for this woman after hearing it. But no matter how sympathetic, some things needed clarification: “Has she really moved on?”
The grief of losing a child is often unbearable for most people and can lead to a breakdown, especially with only one child.
Wang Xiaojie said: “No matter the pain, life still has to go on. If you’re interested, you can meet her, see if there’s any chemistry.”
Lu Jiajie agreed to meet her. She had a stable job and no child, and she looked quite good, exceeding his standards.
Wang Xiaojie immediately sought a go-between and arranged for the two to meet the next afternoon.
When Lu Jiajie saw her, he found that she was slimmer than in the photo, her presence exuding a graceful intellectual beauty.
People are visual creatures, so Lu Jiajie had a very good first impression of her and politely invited her to sit down, then began his self-introduction.
After he finished speaking, Yao Hongmei nodded: “Aunt Wang has already told me about your situation. Comrade Lu, with your financial capability, marrying a young and pretty girl shouldn’t be difficult, so why choose someone divorced?”
Lu Jiajie felt that openness was good: “I could certainly marry a young and pretty maiden. But there would be many issues. Firstly, she hasn’t been a mother yet and would need to take care of my two children, which would be hard for her, and I wouldn’t be comfortable with it; secondly, a young woman marrying me would definitely want children, but I haven’t considered having more just yet.”
Yao Hongmei looked at him and asked: “Does that mean you don’t want children in the future?”
Lu Jiajie shook his head: “No, it’s temporarily not having more. I think bias naturally occurs once one has their own child; all thoughts would go towards them. My daughter is still small, so if I remarry and have more children, it won’t be until she’s in middle school. By then, she’ll be older enough to manage herself.”
Yao Hongmei asked with confusion: “Since you care so much for your two children, why did you divorce? You’re making money, and even if your wife helped her family, considering the children, it shouldn’t have gone this far.”
If a family needs help and the daughter has good conditions and capability, she will offer some assistance. She herself had supported her family before.
When Lu Jiajie heard this, he became alert: “You regularly help your family?”
Yao Hongmei replied: “My younger brother graduated high school with nothing to do, so I found him a job through connections. My older brother didn’t have enough money to buy a house, and I lent him some.”
“Did they pay back the money you lent?”
This question was unexpected, so Yao Hongmei replied: “I loaned it to them, not gave. Everyone faces difficulties, and you help siblings when you can.”
Lu Jiajie said: “My situation is different from yours. My ex-wife borrowed money to support her family, leaving a financial hole that I had to fill. That was just the start; the food and toys I got for the children, she’d turn around and give to her family’s nephew. After many times, I was fed up and divorced.”
“I didn’t shortchange her in the divorce; I left her four large rooms that I painstakingly arranged, and also compensated her with a substantial sum of money. Not long after the divorce, she remarried and had a son a year later, then completely ignored my two children. Last year I had an accident, and she thought I was dead abroad, so she wanted to get the children back. Claiming the children was an excuse; she really wanted control over my house and savings.”
Yao Hongmei was somewhat incredulous: “You’re not fooling me?”
“There’s no need to lie about this, you can ask around in that area to know. To take the children back, she told the kids I was dead, my corpse unable to be found. During that time, my son cried under the covers every day, and my daughter was scared, having nightmares and calling for me every night. After I returned, the two children wouldn’t leave my side even for a second, following me everywhere, afraid I’d vanish if they looked away.”
Whenever he thought of this, his heart was filled with anger. But thinking about retaliating against her might affect the children’s lives, so he only dealt with Ma Dahua and her husband Yan Fang. Yan Fang had an arm chopped off due to gambling, then was fired from the factory, while Ma Dahua’s factory had poor performance and her salary was very low. The couple couldn’t even support themselves, much less the children, so they relied on Mother Ma and Father Ma. Thankfully, Ma Lili was harsh to Qiangqiang and Xiao Fengfeng, but truly loved her youngest son, and she stopped supporting Coachman and Mother Ma, no longer caring about the parasitic Ma Dahua’s family.
Listening to this, Yao Hongmei felt heartache but also developed a good impression of Lu Jiajie. Someone who loves his children this deeply shouldn’t have poor character, unlike her disgraceful ex-husband.
Lu Jiajie also had a good impression of her. She was discreet and clear-minded. Marrying her would certainly mean no nonsense.
After dinner, Lu Jiajie asked: “It’s still early, shall we go watch a movie?”
Yao Hongmei understood this was an attempt to advance the relationship but had some questions to clarify: “You just mentioned you had an accident last year; is your business dangerous?”
Lu Jiajie replied: “Previously it was about going to Longhair, a mixed environment where trouble easily arose. Now I don’t go abroad, just near the border. It’s not dangerous, but it doesn’t earn as much as before.”
Hearing this, Yao Hongmei secretly sighed in relief. She actually wasn’t keen on remarrying, but her parents worried about her, and her brother and sister-in-law constantly urged her to forget the past and start anew. To ease her family’s mind, she agreed to date. The previous prospects were unfit, but in various respects, Lu Jiajie was quite good, and he seemed to have a good character.