“You only have one option: close the Singapore factory, cut your losses in time, and test the waters back here in China.”
Yu Dong followed up, “What about the machines we have in Singapore?”
Jiang Luo replied, “Sell them locally at a discount.”
“You don’t plan to bring them here?”
“The shipping and taxes alone would cost more than buying brand-new machines in China. Who would even buy yours?”
Yu Dong bit her lip, thinking. After a moment, she looked up at Jiang Luo. “Are you really willing to help me?”
“Miss Yu, I’m a businessman.”
Jiang Luo flipped through his papers without looking up. “Your Singapore factory is too far away. I can’t help there, and I won’t meddle.”
“But if you’re willing to come work with me…”
Yu Dong pressed, “How?”
Jiang Luo turned to face her. “Come work for me for a few years. Then we’ll see—maybe I’ll give you a share of a factory.”
“Or if you earn enough to stand on your own and want to start your own factory, I can invest or finance you if needed.”
Yu Dong wasn’t naive. “How much salary could you give me? I’ve never heard of anyone funding a factory by saving their wages.”
Jiang Luo said slowly, “You have no money, and yet you want it all, huh?”
“My offer: go think it over. Once you’re sure, call me. You have my number.”
Meanwhile, in Haicheng, at the hospital’s cardiothoracic inpatient ward, it was just the two of them. Zhao Guangyuan finally spoke to Su Lan about the dream he had while unconscious.
“I dreamed we found out Zhao Mingshi had been switched at birth…”
They discovered it and did a DNA test, confirming Zhao Mingshi wasn’t their son. They rushed to investigate the maternity ward eighteen years ago and eventually traced it to Zhang Xiangping, ending up at the silk factory dormitory.
That part of the dream matched reality exactly.
“I dreamed we went to look for Jiang Luo, but he didn’t behave, he stayed at the club, didn’t go to school or work. We were disappointed and never brought him home.”
“Later, he got involved with a girl at the club. When we found out, we liked him even less. We didn’t even give him the job we had arranged for him.”
“We just let him run wild at the club.”
“In the dream, Zhao Mingshi went abroad.”
“But no girl ever attempted suicide.”
“We happily sent him off.”
Zhao Guangyuan’s tone sank. “In the dream, we only cared about Zhao Mingshi. We disliked Jiang Luo, thought he was rebellious and wayward, and barely interacted with him the first couple of years.”
“Later, Jiang Luo left the club and started a small clothing business. He made money.”
“Once he started making real money, running a proper business, we began interacting with him again.”
Su Lan frowned. “So, in your dream, we were so mercenary? We didn’t love Jiang Luo at all?”
“Listen, I’ll tell you slowly.”
Zhao Guangyuan continued: “In the dream, Jiang Luo also ran a clothing business, selling clothes at a small market and acting as a boss.”
“But we still didn’t like him, because he frequently changed girlfriends, socialized with different women. We thought he wasn’t serious, had messy relationships, and our relationship with him was poor.”
“But in the dream, Jiang Luo still cared for us.”
“He called us mom and dad, phoned us, invited us to meals and chats, came home for holidays, brought gifts, told jokes to make us happy—very filial.”
Su Lan tucked the blanket around Zhao Guangyuan and held his hand. “Dreams are always the opposite.”
“In the dream, Jiang Luo was filial. In reality, he ignores us completely.”
Zhao Guangyuan’s eyes reddened. “Su Lan, I dreamed Jiang Luo died. He really died.”
“We didn’t see him one last time.”
“We stayed in Haicheng with Zhao Mingshi, Zhao Shuo, the grandchildren. Jiang Luo died alone in Beijing.”
Su Lan quickly exclaimed, “No, no, no! Don’t say that!”
She emphasized again: “Dreams are always reversed. What happens in a dream won’t happen in real life. Jiang Luo is fine, running his business and factory. Don’t speak that word—it’s unlucky.”
Tears brimmed in Zhao Guangyuan’s eyes as he got agitated. “Su Lan, it’s true. In the dream, Jiang Luo really died. The dream felt so real. I even received that phone call from Beijing… I was stunned.”
He struggled to sit up. “Su Lan, in that dream, we treated Jiang Luo terribly.”
“We sent Zhao Mingshi abroad, but ignored Jiang Luo.”
“Zhao Mingshi returned, we bought him a house. Jiang Luo got nothing.”
“In the dream, Jiang Luo treated us so well, thinking of us, calling us despite being busy.”
“But we always ignored him, disliked him, only cared for Zhao Mingshi!”
“Guangyuan, honey.”
Su Lan stood, “Don’t get up, don’t get agitated!”
She quickly supported Zhao Guangyuan, preventing him from straining his heart.
“Calm down. It’s just a dream. Dreams aren’t real. Take a breath.”
Zhao Guangyuan finally settled back, still teary-eyed. “Jiang Luo died in the dream. We felt so regretful and sad there. When I woke up, I remembered it all so clearly, like I really went through those years.”
“I regret it, Su Lan. I regret not bringing Jiang Luo home immediately. We still don’t know why he ignores us. I really regret it. I want my son back.”
“I can’t abandon my own son!”
“Alright, alright,” Su Lan soothed, regretting bringing it up. She smoothed his chest. “Honey, calm down. Stop thinking about the dream.”
Zhao Guangyuan insisted, “Su Lan, we can’t worry about Zhao Shuo or Zhao Mingshi anymore. Let them be—they don’t listen anyway. We have to go find Jiang Luo, apologize, make amends, give him money, buy him a house—everything that should’ve been his, we give him.”
“Okay, okay, alright. Whatever you say, we’ll do it.”
Su Lan nodded, fearing anything might happen to him if he got too worked up.
After a while, she thought of something that made her eyes red and nose sting. Choking up, she said, “I can’t believe he ran off abroad at a time like this. What about that girl? How do we explain this to her family?”
Long silence followed. Then Zhao Guangyuan spoke, “We compensate financially. At this point, there’s no other way.”
Su Lan cried. “I can’t face her parents. How do I even talk to them?”
Zhao Guangyuan replied calmly, “When I’m discharged, I’ll talk to them myself.”
He added, “As for Zhao Mingshi… forget it. I dare not ask for him anymore. Father-son bonds end here. Since he left the country, he’ll do as he pleases.”
Su Lan felt disappointed, but slightly hopeful. “Maybe he’ll return in a few days. After your surgery, he’ll worry and come back.”
Zhao Guangyuan disagreed. “I doubt it.”
“Ask Zhao Shuo. Did he tell Zhao Mingshi about the surgery? Would Zhao Mingshi have come back if he knew?”
He sighed. “I feel we really didn’t raise Zhao Mingshi right. He’s selfish. He only thinks of himself.”
Su Lan had no argument.
In the afternoon, Zhao Shuo arrived. Su Lan immediately asked in front of Zhao Guangyuan, “Mingming has been in the U.S. for a while, right? Did you call him? Did you tell him about your dad’s surgery?”
Zhao Shuo glanced guiltily at both parents and stayed silent.
“Answer me!” Zhao Guangyuan demanded.
Zhao Shuo finally whispered, “Yes, I called. I told him.”
“What did he say?”
Zhao Guangyuan’s face tightened.
Zhao Shuo stayed silent again.
They understood without further words.
Su Lan covered her mouth, shocked and disappointed. “We raised him for nineteen years, all that love and bond… and when his father’s life was at stake, he didn’t even check or care?”
Shaking with anger and sadness, Su Lan gritted her teeth at Zhao Shuo. “Come with me to the post office! We’re calling him now!”
“I need to know what he’s thinking! Does he even have a heart? A conscience?!”
Zhao Shuo hung his head, ashamed and disappointed. “He said you’d be mad at him. If he came back, you’d be angrier.”
Zhao Guangyuan, ignoring his weak body, suddenly bellowed, “It’s not that he’s ashamed to come back! Or that he doesn’t want to upset us! He’s selfish! Only cares about himself!”