Married the Tough Guy After Transmigrating-Chapter 279 - 280 The Child of an Old Friend

Xu Ying had no fondness for Zhang Zhiguo, finding him rude and ill-mannered, much like her Third Uncle.

Zhang Zhiguo had not finished lunch when the voice of his uncle came from outside.

At first, Xu Ying listened and found the voice familiar, and when Zhang Zhiguo responded, the man made his way into the Xu Family’s home.

Only then did she recognize who Uncle Zhang Zhiguo was, and seeing that familiar face, Xu Ying’s expression grew even darker—sure enough, they were one family, all of them unlikeable.

Zhang Jiujang was startled to see Xu Ying as well; it seemed foes often crossed paths. There she was again, of all places.

Knowing Xu Ying’s sharp tongue, Zhang Jiujang did not wish to engage in much conversation with her and quickly called Zhang Zhiguo to head home.

Before leaving, however, he remembered to greet Mr. and Mrs. Xu.

After they left, Xu Ying remembered she had forgotten to ask what the man had wanted with Huo Chen.

Zhang Jiujang looked at his nephew with a somewhat troubled expression, "Have you found that kid?"

Zhang Zhiqiang shook his head, his curiosity piqued as he looked at his uncle, "Uncle, what business do you have with Huo Chen? When did you get to know him?"

Zhang Jiujang patted his nephew on the shoulder and said, "He looked a bit familiar to me, very much like an old friend of mine. I wanted to take another look to confirm."

There hadn’t been enough time, just a brief encounter, and even he wasn’t sure if it was really like he thought.

But hadn’t that kid died?

How could he appear here again?

Unease was growing in Zhang Jiujang.

If that kid was still alive, things in Shanghai wouldn’t be easy to handle.

He’d have to tell his sister and brother-in-law right away; if Huo Chen really was that child, they must act quickly to squash this matter.

They absolutely could not let Huo Chen meet with those in Shanghai.

"Uncle, he couldn’t be your long-lost child, could he?" joked Zhang Zhiguo, noting the strong reaction, "Otherwise, why would you react so strongly?"

Considering Huo Chen was about the same age, it wasn’t possible they were old friends; the only possibility was that he was Uncle’s illegitimate son?

As Zhang Zhiguo considered this possibility, his mouth fell open in astonishment. His uncle had only one daughter, his cousin, and since Auntie passed away, Uncle had not remarried.

He’d always thought it was out of deep love for Auntie, but now it seemed the love was indeed deep but for someone else entirely.

With this thought, Zhang Zhiguo became curious about what Huo Chen’s mother might look like.

However, Huo Chen did not resemble his uncle in the slightest.

"What nonsense are you spouting, boy? In my life, your cousin is my only child. I just thought the kid looked a bit like an old friend of mine and your mother," vented Zhang Jiujang, frustrated by his nephew’s foolish words and feeling like hitting someone.

Zhang Jiujang had originally intended to call his nephew back for dinner, but now that he had already eaten, he turned around and started inquiring in the village.

When he found Huo Chen’s house, Zhang Jiujang stood in the shadows, watching until Huo Chen’s figure appeared before him.

Zhang Jiujang’s face turned pale with fright—Huo Chen resembled that man’s child too much.

"Huo Chen?" called out Zhang Jiujang tentatively as he approached.

Huo Chen had long sensed he was being watched but pretended not to know. Ever since the disaster relief, this man had taken a particular interest in him after one glance.

However, as it was still unclear whether he was friend or foe, Huo Chen dared not say too much yet.

Seeing Zhang Jiujang, he nodded, "Uncle Zhang, didn’t you go back to the county?

What brings you to our village now?"

Zhang Jiujang, seeing him turn around, feigned a happy demeanor, "I just thought it looked like you, and indeed it is!"

Huo Chen looked at his atrocious acting and felt extreme disdain inside, "Yeah, my house is right here."

"Oh, are your parents at home? I’ll probably be in the village these next few days, just in time to pay a visit to your house," Zhang Jiujang said with a beaming smile.

On hearing this, Huo Chen indeed frowned, "My parents died a long time ago, it’s just me and my grandma now."

Zhang Jiujang was taken aback, becoming even more suspicious. His parents were dead, and he was living with grandma.

Of course, he wasn’t foolish enough to ask Huo Chen how old he was or when his birthday was. After chatting with Huo Chen for a bit more, Zhang Jiujang turned his head and ran towards Huo Hanjie’s house.

As soon as he arrived at Huo Hanjie’s doorstep, upon asking about Huo Chen, he was met with a wary expression, "What do you want with that kid? Who are you to him?"

Huo Hanjie’s wife saw Zhang Jiujang and knew he was a soldier involved in the recent rescue mission. She murmured softly to her husband, "Could it be that this is the kid’s relative?"

Zhang Jiujang, with his keen ears, caught onto these words and immediately said with a smile, "I heard Huo Chen isn’t Granny Huo’s grandson? He looks a lot like the son of an old friend of mine, so I’m just a bit curious."

After saying this, Zhang Jiujang took a few banknotes from his bag. Huo Hanjie saw this and his eyes widened.

"If you tell me everything you know, as long as you tell the truth, I will give you double the amount," Zhang Jiujang said, his eyes gleaming with intensity.

Huo Hanjie was so distracted by the money he could hardly tell north from south. Every question Zhang Jiujang asked, he answered.

He spilled everything from when they took Huo Chen in, to how old the kid was this year, even his birthday. Huo Hanjie didn’t hold back.

When the Jade Pendant Huo Chen wore at birth came up, Zhang Jiujang’s eyes darkened slightly, "Is there a character engraved on that jade? Does it have the character ’Fu’ written on it?"

Huo Hanjie was suddenly astonished on hearing this, "How did you know? It is indeed ’Fu’."

At the time, before trouble hit their family, and before his relationship with his mom had reached this point, he had naturally seen that jade when they found Huo Chen.

However, the jade was later put away by his mother, and as for its current whereabouts, he had no idea.

"If you can help me get that Jade Pendant out, I’ll build you a two-story house, just like the ones in your village," Zhang Jiujang offered generously.

Huo Hanjie’s wife didn’t even think before she started urging her husband to agree.

"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and agree!" Huo Hanjie’s wife urged impatiently.

Pushed by his wife, Huo Hanjie quickly came to his senses and frantically nodded.

It’s just an old piece of jade, after all. Since the old lady doesn’t treat him like a son anymore, if she’s that heartless, he won’t be blamed for being ruthless either.

Huo Hanjie was not foolish. If the man was a friend or the son of an old friend, why not simply acknowledge each other directly? But now he’s talking about stealing the Jade Pendant.

It seems the man before him and the kid are enemies.

Being the enemy of his enemy naturally made him a friend.

And with such generosity, it was clear this person wasn’t short on cash.

Looking at Zhang Jiujang with a playful expression, Huo Hanjie said, "Stealing the Jade Pendant is fine, but as you know, I don’t get along with my mom, and I can’t even enter Huo’s house. If the Jade Pendant is to be stolen, it’s going to be difficult, ah, I just don’t know what to do."

Zhang Jiujang had weathered many storms in his life and could easily guess Huo Hanjie’s petty schemes.

He said with a smile, "As long as you get the Jade Pendant out, I’ll give you an additional one thousand yuan."

This time, Huo Hanjie did not hesitate and agreed straight away.

After sending Zhang Jiujang off, the Huo Hanjie couple looked at the fifty yuan in their hands as if they were dreaming.

"Father, that bastard is doomed now. That man definitely doesn’t want him to return," said Huo Hanjie’s wife, utterly thrilled. freewebnσvel.cøm