Housekeeper’s Secret

Author: ALECSHEN
Word count: 125408
Chapter 01
In the dead of night, Xia Ming sat leaning on the bed and looked out the window with his head sideways. A round of bright moon hangs in the silent night sky and looks extremely dazzling, casting a slender white light and shadow through the window sill, extending all the way to the bed.
Bored, Xia Ming took out a cigarette and lit it, took a few puffs in his mouth, the acrid smell of smoke made his throat sore, and he coughed for a long time before he had no choice but to snuff out the cigarette. Xia Ming didn’t smoke at first, but he would take a few puffs to relieve himself when he was in a bad mood.
Since I came back more than a month ago, this place that I am no longer familiar with has always brought me a strange feeling that cannot be described in words. The villa, the villa, everything inside and outside, including the room where I grew up, have not changed much from when I left many years ago. But from the moment he stepped into the house, everything seemed to be different again, and Xia Ming couldn’t say what was wrong, he just felt that there was something in the atmosphere that made him very uncomfortable, but in the end he had to use the death of his grandfather to explain it all.
Xia Ming’s family was prominent in the local area for a while, and once managed a huge industry, it can be said that it is incomparably rich. Later, due to the decline of the world and the hardships of the country, the family background once declined. After the efforts of the ancestors, it has finally been revived. Today, it still operates a vast farm and two mines, and still maintains some businesses overseas. The castle-like villa where the family lives is said to have been built from the generation of the great-grandfather, and it has been passed down to his generation for four generations. Both Xia Ming’s grandfather and father were single children in the family. It is said that when his father was born, his grandmother died of dystocia, and his grandfather never remarried since then. When Xia Ming was two years old, his parents also passed away due to a disaster. He also had an older sister, Xia Yan.
When he was seven years old, his grandfather sent Xia Ming to the United States. Unexpectedly, it took him ten years to leave, so he didn’t know much about his family’s situation. The reason why he returned to his hometown this time was because of the news of his grandfather’s death.
On the day he arrived home, there was only a middle-aged woman who greeted him at the door. The woman looked about thirty years old, 1.7 meters tall, with long hair and shawl, fair skin, and a delicate face. She was dressed in a black formal suit to set off her slender figure, especially the pair of black high-heeled leather shoes on her feet made her look tall and beautiful.
“Second Young Master Xia Ming, you are back!” The woman bowed slightly to him.
“You are… Sister Yu?”
“Yes, it’s been a long time. I didn’t expect the second young master to still remember me.”
“Yes, I haven’t seen Sister Yu for a long time.”
“Second young master, you have grown up, and you are no longer the child who was spinning around under my feet.” Sister Yu looked Xia Ming carefully up and down, and said affectionately.
Sister Yu is the housekeeper of the family. Xia Ming doesn’t know when she came to the house, but he remembers that she often took him to play when she was a child. At that time, Sister Yu gave Xia Ming a lot of warmth and care just like his own mother. count upAfter all, she should be thirty-five or six years old now, but she looks much younger than her actual age.
“My grandfather…”
“Let’s go in and talk about it first!” The butler called two servants to help Xia Ming carry his luggage, and led him into the house.
The entire hall on the first floor seemed empty, and all the furniture and furnishings that had been placed there were removed, leaving only a statue of Grandpa hanging on the wall of the hall facing the gate. From the white cloth strips hanging beside it, it can be seen that this place was once set up as a mourning hall, but now everything is different, leaving only endless melancholy.
“How did he die?”
“Since last year, Master’s health has been very bad, and he has been taking medicine. Two months ago, Master suddenly became ill and passed away not long after. The doctor said it was a myocardial infarction.”
“Myocardial infarction?” The housekeeper was vague, and Xia Ming felt a little puzzled. “He never had this kind of disease. He was still in good health when I left. How could he suddenly have a myocardial infarction?”
“The doctor said that he is old, and he usually has too many things to deal with and is overworked, which is why he suffered a myocardial infarction.” The butler paused for a while, and continued, “Master left in a hurry, and we also felt that it was sudden. Today happened to be his seventh day, so we called you back.”
“What? The first seven? It took you so long to notify me…”
“Second young master, this is also the master’s last words. He said not to disturb your studies, so we… Later we also felt that it was not good to hide it from you, so we reported the letter to you. And this time I came back to find you one more thing, which is about the inheritance of the master. If possible, I will immediately ask Attorney Zhang to come to your home to talk to you at night. You see…”
“Tell him to come over at night. By the way, what about my sister?” Xia Ming discovered that his sister Xia Yan hadn’t shown up all this time.
Xia Yan is three years older than Xia Ming. After Xia Ming went abroad, his grandfather has always been with him. It is said that he has been in charge of the family business.
I remember that when I was young, Xia Yan had a cheerful and outgoing personality, while Xia Ming was a little shy and introverted, so the two of them rarely communicated with each other. Since Xia Ming went abroad, they had less contact. He hasn’t seen his sister since returning home, which makes him feel a little unusual.
“Miss wanted to wait for you to come back, because there were some emergencies in overseas business, so she told me to meet you at home. He said that if you have any questions, you can call him.” Before Xia Ming could say anything, Sister Yu had already taken out her mobile phone and handed it to Xia Ming.
“No need, let’s talk when we have time!” After Xia Ming got the news of his grandfather’s death, his sister called him once, and roughly explained to him the cause of his father’s death. It was basically the same as what Sister Yu’s family said just now, so I didn’t go too deep into it at this time.
After returning to the room to pack his things, Xia Ming took a short rest. Sister Yu had already prepared the items he needed for the first seven worship ceremonies.
After dinner, Attorney Zhang, who was dealing with inheritance issues, came by appointment. According to Grandpa Xia Ming’s will, all his property, including real estate and stocks, were divided between his siblings in a 40-6 ratio. The company under his name was also jointly operated by Xia Ming and Xia Yan. On the property notarization certificate, Xia Yan has already signed it, Xia MingAfter browsing through it, I didn’t find any problems, and I didn’t raise any objections. I signed my name with a pen, which is regarded as the inheritance.