Li Zhaoheng turned his head, his cloudy, shrewd gaze settling on Shen Wangjing's face. "I know you grew up there. Perhaps you have some attachment to the place."
"But you should also understand how the people there see you, how they see your younger brother, and how they see your deceased mother."
Shen Wangjing said nothing. He turned to look out the car window. The streets of Capital City kept slipping backward, traffic streaming along the overpass. The sky was gray, as though snow was coming.
Li Zhaoheng did not press him. He withdrew his gaze and tapped his fingers lightly against his cane.
"Wangjing, at my age, I see certain things more clearly than you do. You could go your whole life without returning to Shiban Village and lose nothing."
He paused, a trace of unmistakable disgust entering his voice. "Your mother was sold into that place, only to end up in a lonely grave on a barren hillside. I don't even want to hear anyone mention its name."
"From now on, that village has nothing to do with either of you." Li Zhaoheng's tone leveled out again.
"Your mother will be buried in the Li family cemetery. You and your brother will put down roots in Hong Kong City. People should move up in life. Some roots should be severed when the time comes."
Over at the Jiang family, the reason Jiang Xun had not gone along to Hong Kong City was that Jiang Huaixiao and Jiang Yanchu had pulled out every stop to keep him in Capital City for the New Year.
Jiang Huaixiao used his usual tactic of overwhelming him with resources, having Secretary Chen draw up a "winter break activities list for spending time with my younger brother." Hot spring resorts, an ice and