Chapter 92

Chapter 48: Acknowledging an Elder Sister

Fang Bin was not familiar with the business conglomerates in Hong Kong, so he did not understand the implications of these few words. However, for Fang Mingyuan, he was not unfamiliar with the well-known Kwok Shipping Group. This was a large maritime company that could rank among the top five in Asia at present and in the world in the future. Its founder, Kwok Dongcheng, was a legendary figure in Hong Kong. Starting from scratch in the 1940s, he developed a vast maritime empire with hundreds of ocean-going vessels and shipping routes spanning the globe, exerting significant influence in the world maritime market.

Moreover, this Mr. Kwok was a patriotic Hong Kong businessman who, after China opened its doors, had made multiple donations to the mainland. Fang Mingyuan remembered seeing a statistical report that by the beginning of the next century, the total amount of donations had reached several billion Hong Kong dollars! The little girl he had accidentally saved turned out to be his granddaughter? This plot was too much like a Korean drama from the future!

This was like a Cinderella story in China... Fang Mingyuan shook his head, as if trying to shake off the sudden flood of complicated thoughts.

Mr. and Mrs. Kwok Tianyu also stood up. Mr. Kwok extended his hand to shake hands with Fang Bin and Fang Mingyuan, smiling, "We came uninvited, which was rather presumptuous. We have already heard from Officer Ning that it was thanks to your timely discovery of the human trafficker this morning that our daughter was saved. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable. China is so vast, with such a large population, trying to find our daughter would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Your kindness to the Kwok family will never be forgotten!"

Due to his imperfect Mandarin, Fang Bin frowned and pondered for a while before roughly understanding. He smiled and said, "Mr. Kwok, you are too kind. Children are the flowers of the country and the hope of a family. In such a situation, how could we stand by and do nothing? If you want to thank someone, thank my nephew. It was he who noticed something was wrong with that woman. I just followed his instructions to stop her. I really don't deserve such praise." However, his Mandarin had a strong Qinxi accent, and Mr. Kwok also took a while to fully understand. The feeling of talking like a chicken to a duck made both of them reluctant to continue the conversation—it was too exhausting.

Mr. Kwok couldn't help but regret not bringing a translator. Usually, he was accompanied by provincial government officials who spoke fluent Mandarin and Cantonese.

Fang Mingyuan nodded inwardly. His uncle had indeed made significant progress in social skills after this period of training. His words were neither humble nor arrogant, showing the demeanor of a successful person! In fact, Fang Mingyuan was overestimating Fang Bin. He had no concept of the Kwok Shipping Group's influence in Hong Kong and the mainland, thinking it was just a company with a few ships. The son of a deputy minister of railways, who would become a full minister in the future, was always on friendly terms with him, so he felt no pressure dealing with the young master of a company.

Mrs. Kwok put Qing'er down and pointed to Fang Mingyuan, saying, "Qing'er, go thank your big brother. If it weren't for him, you wouldn't have seen your daddy and mommy today."

The little girl looked at her mother, then at Fang Mingyuan, hesitated for a moment, and then walked up to him. Fang Mingyuan squatted down. The little girl had beautiful eyes and a cute face. Fang Mingyuan was convinced she would grow up to be a beauty. But when he looked at Mr. and Mrs. Kwok, it made sense that they had such an outstanding daughter.

"What's your name?" Fang Mingyuan felt his voice sounded a bit like a creepy uncle.

"My name is Qing'er. Mommy said to thank you!" She hugged Fang Mingyuan's head and kissed his cheek, saying in a childish voice, "Thank you, big brother!" Then she ran back to Mrs. Kwok's arms, but kept glancing at Fang Mingyuan.

Fang Bin couldn't help but laugh. His nephew had always been good with women!

Mrs. Kwok picked up the little girl and smiled at Fang Mingyuan, "You're called Fang Mingyuan? How old are you?" The boy looked to be about thirteen or fourteen, not particularly outstanding in appearance, but his eyes seemed to have a maturity and stability beyond his years. Who would have thought that this young boy would notice the suspicious behavior of the human trafficker and decisively stop her? At the police station, Deputy Chief Ning had mentioned that the trafficker was planning to leave Fengyuan and head to Weinan. The station had already started boarding passengers. If the two hadn't stopped the trafficker and the boy hadn't reported to the police, by the time the Fengyuan police issued a notice, the train would have already left the city. At that point, the trafficker could have gotten off at any stop and changed trains, making it nearly impossible to find the girl in the tens of millions of people in Qinxi Province. Mrs. Kwok shuddered at the thought.

"Mommy, what's wrong? Are you cold?" The little girl sensed her mother's unease and asked in a soft voice.

Mrs. Kwok subconsciously tightened her grip, hugging her daughter tightly. After five years of marriage, they had only this one daughter, whom they cherished like a treasure. Qing'er was always well-behaved and a joy to the family. If she were lost here, how could she, as a mother, face her in-laws and parents? If Qing'er were mistreated or even...

Mrs. Kwok couldn't help but think of the stories she had heard about children who were deliberately maimed to elicit sympathy and beg for money, and girls sold to remote mountain villages as child brides. Her heart ached, and waves of fear washed over her. She tightened her grip even more.

"Mommy, I'm uncomfortable!" The little girl didn't understand why her mother was hugging her so tightly that she couldn't breathe. Mrs. Kwok realized she was squeezing her daughter too hard.

"Mrs. Kwok, everything is over now. A happy and beautiful life awaits. Don't blame yourself; it's not good for you, Qing'er, or your family!" Fang Mingyuan understood why Mrs. Kwok was so upset. In the future, he had seen many families devastated by the loss of a child. Especially after the one-child policy, a single child was the treasure of six people—four grandparents and two parents. The loss of a child was like the sky falling on a family. Many once-wealthy families had been reduced to poverty searching for their children, and many parents had spent years traveling across China, their hair turning white.

Whenever he saw such news, Fang Mingyuan couldn't help but feel a surge of anger, wishing he could catch and punish those inhuman traffickers. So he deeply understood Mrs. Kwok's feelings.

Mrs. Kwok wiped away the tears that were about to fall, forcing a smile, "Fang Mingyuan, can I call you Mingyuan directly?" She found this considerate young boy increasingly likable and wanted to draw him closer.

Fang Mingyuan smiled, "Mrs. Kwok, of course, that's what names are for, to make calling each other easier."

Mrs. Kwok took his hand, surprised that despite her and her husband's poor Mandarin, this young boy could respond fluently without any difficulty. "Do you speak Cantonese? You seem to understand better than most..."

Fang Mingyuan silently thanked his uncle. If not for hearing so much Cantonese-accented Mandarin in his previous life and learning some Cantonese from him, today's communication would have been a problem.

"My uncle is from the south, so I picked up some Cantonese by listening to him." He said this in Cantonese.

Mrs. Kwok's eyes lit up. This young man's language skills were impressive. His Mandarin was pure, and his Cantonese had a certain charm, even if the tones weren't perfect. For a northern inland boy, what more could you ask for? "Don't call me Mrs. Kwok. My name is Yu Qiuxia. I'm a few years older than you, so calling me 'sister' is not too much, right?"

Fang Mingyuan naturally called her "Sister Qiuxia." There was no harm in having an older sister.

"Qing'er called him 'big brother.' Now you're making him call you 'sister.' What's this?" Mr. Kwok said, somewhat displeased. This was confusing the family hierarchy.

"We're each doing our own thing. Qing'er is about ten years younger than him, and I'm also about ten years older. Would you be happy if he called me 'aunt' all the time?" Mrs. Kwok said, somewhat displeased.

"You!" Mr. Kwok was speechless. Women were different from men; they had no interest in being called older, and as they got older, they became more sensitive about it.

"Alright, alright, Mr. Kwok, it's nothing. My Mingyuan once said something that makes sense. 'Women are naturally privileged in certain aspects, like age.' So don't worry about it," Fang Bin laughed.

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End of Chapter 48