Chapter 616: Adopted Son
Chapter 616: Adopted Son
Zhou Chengsen only bought one stall; he had to save money for a boat and couldn't afford more.
Jiang Dong, on the other hand, bought all the remaining eighteen stalls and four shops in one go.
It was Mr. Zheng who asked Jiang Dong and Jiang Xia if they wanted to buy the shops, offering them at a 20% discount, which is why Jiang Dong bought them.
The four shops cost eight thousand each, cheaper than what Jiang Xia and Zhao Cheng Lei paid initially, though not as well-located as Jiang Xia's previous purchases.
But they were still on the same street, and the entire street was bustling, so there was no need to worry.
Jiang Dong planned to give one shop to his parents and one each to his three nephews on their 100-day celebrations.
The 100-day celebration for the three nephews was coming up on the fifth, which was the day after tomorrow.
However, Jiang Dong didn't tell Jiang Xia.
If he had, she would have refused and bought them herself.
When signing the contract, Jiang Dong filled in the names of Jiang Xia and the three nephews.
Jiang Xia wasn't there at the time; the children had woken up, and she and Zhao Cheng Lei had gone back to the car to change their diapers and feed them, unaware of what was happening.
By the time they returned, Jiang Dong had already signed the contract.
Jiang Dong thought it was simple; buying gifts for his nephews was something he should do.
He and Xiaoyan were eating and drinking for free at his sister's house every day, so shouldn't he buy something for the nephews?
Besides, all the money he had earned was thanks to his sister's ideas. Without her, he wouldn't have made enough to buy the shops.
Jiang Dong asked the little girl in his arms, "Xiaobao is almost 100 days old. Do you want a gift from Uncle?"
Mr. Mai overheard and asked, "When is the 100-day celebration?"
Jiang Dong replied, "On the fifth."
Jiang Xia interjected, "You have too much money to spend? Who gives gifts for 100-day celebrations? Don't break the rules."
The little girl was already awake and responded happily when Jiang Dong spoke to her, "Uh-huh."
"See, Xiaobao wants it too. If you want to give, just give. Why so many rules?"
Jiang Xia didn't respond.
Jiang Xia didn't know what Jiang Dong was planning to give, but Tian Caifua did!
Tian Caifua was envious. Why wasn't Jiang Dong her brother?
She also wanted a brother like him.
Unfortunately, her own brothers still relied on her, hoping she would build them houses and buy them shops.
After buying the shops, Jiang Xia invited Mr. Zheng and Mr. Mai to dinner.
Mr. Zheng declined, saying he had other matters to attend to.
As they walked out of the office, they encountered Mr. Mai's son, who called out, "Dad!"
Mr. Mai was surprised, "What are you doing here?"
He then introduced the group, "This is my adopted son, Mai Nianshan."
"Mai Nianshan, this is the Jiang Xia I mentioned before, the one who helped me find my wallet at the train station. This is her husband, Zhao Cheng Lei, and this is..."
Mai Nianshan was slightly taken aback. His father hadn't called him "adopted son" in a long time, always referring to him as "son."
Why did he use "adopted son" now?
Mr. Mai had never married or had children. He had adopted a son.
Strictly speaking, Mr. Mai wasn't always childless. Before he moved to Hong Kong Island, he had been married and had a son.
But in those turbulent times, he accidentally got separated from his wife and son while smuggling himself into Hong Kong and never found them again.
He spent his entire life searching for his family. Many people told him that after so many years, they were likely gone and encouraged him to remarry and have children, but he never did.
Later, by chance, he saw Mai Nianshan at a children's welfare home and learned that he was born on the same day, month, and year as his son. He adopted him and named him Mai Nianshan.
"Shan" sounds like "Shan", and Mr. Mai's wife was named Mai Shan.
However, Mr. Mai's surname was Jiang, not Mai. His name was Jiang Mai, and his wife's surname was Mai. Because he founded the Sanmai Group, people called him Mr. Mai or Old Mai. Some in Hong Kong even called him Mai San.
Mai San was Mr. Mai's childhood nickname, as he was the third child in his family.
The pronunciation of the Chinese characters for "three" and "Shan" are similar, so he felt a deep connection with his wife.
Mr. Mai named his adopted son Nianshan, as the Chinese characters for "mountain" and "graceful" are homophones, both pronounced "Shan."
Clearly, Mai Nianshan means "missing his wife and children."
Mr. Mai had also told Mai Nianshan that his missing son's name also contained the character "Shan."
After the introductions, Mai Nianshan collected his thoughts and smiled as he shook hands with Jiang Xia and the others. "I've heard a lot about you all, and I am very grateful for helping my father find his wallet."
He was humble and polite, warm and friendly.
When Mai Nianshan shook hands with Zhao Chenglei, he glanced at the baby in his arms and was momentarily stunned.
The baby grinned at him.
Mai Nianshan smiled. "So cute!"
Then he looked at the other two babies. "Are these triplets? They look so alike!"
"Uh-huh", Zhao Chenglei replied.
Mai Nianshan then smiled and shook hands with Zhou Fu and the others.
After some small talk, he whispered a few words in Mr. Mai's ear.
Mr. Mai's expression changed, and he said to Jiang Xia and the others, "I have some urgent business to attend to and need to return to Hong Kong Island immediately. I'll treat you all to a meal next time. I'm really sorry!"
Naturally, Jiang Xia and the others said it was no problem.
Mr. Mai exchanged a few more pleasantries before leaving hurriedly with Mai Nianshan.
Jiang Xia's family then set off for Fumanlou to have dinner.
On the way, Tian Caifua couldn't help but ask Jiang Xia, "Doesn't Mr. Mai have a son of his own? Why did he adopt one?"
Jiang Xia replied, "I don't know."
"Didn't you know him?"
Jiang Xia shook her head. "I've only met him twice, so we're not that familiar. I don't know much about his family."
With just a few words, Jiang Xia extinguished Tian Caifua's curiosity.
Seeing Zhou Chengsen riding a motorcycle, Zhao Chenglei asked Jiang Xia, "What's with the motorcycle?"
Tian Caifua immediately chimed in, "It's all because of that shameless Wenwan, …"
She chattered all the way, and Zhao Chenglei regretted asking in front of Tian Caifua.
Too noisy!
After lunch, Jiang Xia and Zhao Chenglei planned to visit the clothing factory in the afternoon.
Zhou Chengsen would take the children to the city to see a movie.
Tian Caifua declined.
Taking so many children to the mall and the movies would require buying several movie tickets, ice cream, and sunflower seeds, which would cost quite a bit of money.
Tian Caifua thought, why spend money on a movie when they could watch TV at home for free? Why bother?
She was never enthusiastic about activities that cost money!
Tian Caifua said, "I'll rest at my brother's house."
Seeing that Tian Caifua wasn't going, Zhou Chengxin offered, "I'll go with Asen to take the children. I've never seen a movie before. Dad, Mom, do you want to come?"
The two elders weren't interested in movies. "No, thank you."
Jiang Father suggested, "Why don't you come to my house for tea, in-laws?"
Zhou Fu and Zhou Mu felt they shouldn't be a bother and shook their heads. "No, thank you. We got up early today, so I'll rest at Xia's place in the city."
Jiang Xia then said to Zhao Chenglei, "You take your parents and sister-in-law home first. I'll ride with Jiang Dong to my mother's place to put the children to sleep. You can come pick me up later."
Jiang Father and Jiang Mother wanted to spend more time with their grandchildren, feeling they didn't see them often enough.
"Alright."
So, the couple split up.
Jiang Xia took the children back to her parents' place, fed them, and put them to sleep. When Zhao Chenglei arrived, the couple set off for the mall to meet Zhang Rong and then head to the clothing factory.
The children were left at home with Jiang Father, Jiang Mother, and Jiang Dong to take care of.
The clothing factory was in the city, but it wasn't very large, covering less than 2,000 square meters. (End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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