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Chapter 11: Bad Intentions
Poor child has to take care of the family early.
─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───
Gu Wuyi tried to stop himself from laughing: "Dad is your biological son."
"That's exactly why I'm asking. Other people's sons wouldn't do such things."
Gu Wuyi couldn't help but murmur to himself, other people's sons don't just force an apology, they want to take their lives!
"It's really not like that," Gu Wuyi shook his head vigorously, "Although Dad seems unreliable, he's actually more responsible than many other dads. Grandma, think about it, out of all the fathers in Wuli Village, how many are there who keep an eye on their kids' homework every day?"
Madam Zhou thought for a moment, not many.
In the village, when parents see their kids playing, they might grumble a little, but they don't really care if the kids listen or not.
Once, Madam Zhou couldn't stand it and said, "Kids need to be taught." Those parents replied, "We’re exhausted from working all day, who has time to teach them? They’re not learning for us. They don’t know how useful school is, but in the future, it’s them who’ll suffer."
How could a seven- or eight-year-old kid possibly know the importance of school?
Madam Zhou wanted to snap back, "If you're tired from working all day, it’s because of your own incompetence, why blame the kids?"
But then she thought, her son Qin Feng was a promising person, and no matter what she said, people would think she was talking without any worries. It might even make people jealous, so she just smiled and nodded.
Madam Zhou said, "Qin Feng is indeed better than others in this regard. But your grandpa and I suspect he’s just lazy."
The two brothers were confused by her words.
Madam Zhou continued, "Think about it, school and work are so easy. Farming and harvesting are much harder."
The brothers had to admit that this made sense.
Gu Wuyi held back a smile and nodded: "Right!"
"Don’t believe it?"
Gu Wuyi replied, "I believe! Look at how dirty the ground is, it doesn’t even look like it has a floor. Grandma, how about we mop the floor, then go back to studying?"
Madam Zhou waved her hand: "You study, I’ll wash the dishes, and after you leave, I'll mop the floor."
"Don't!" Gu Wuyi quickly said, "If Dad finds out, he'll scold us for not stopping you."
"Your father is too lazy to work. He feels tired whenever he moves. But if I am asked to learn to read, I will also feel uncomfortable,” Madam Zhou said. In the past, during this time of year, she’d either be carrying a manure bucket around the village or working in the fields pulling weeds. Now, with nothing to do, Madam Zhou felt idle and uneasy, always feeling like time was slipping away, which made her feel guilty. "That's settled then." Saying this, she went to the kitchen to wash the dishes.
Gu Xiao'er whispered, "Do you think Dad will blame us?"
Gu Wuyi shook his head. "No, but do you have the heart to do it?"
Xiao'er felt embarrassed, but he was still a student.
If he said that he had learned everything the teacher taught, Grandma might ask him to practice writing characters again.
Compared to practicing writing, Gu Xiao'er would rather memorize Min Nong (a classic poem).
"How about we take Grandma out later?"
Gu Wuyi thought for a moment and said, "Let’s mop the floor in the evening so she has no floor left to clean."
"I think that works," Xiao'er nodded. Anyway, there’s nothing interesting on TV, and it's so dark outside you can't see your hand in front of your face. It’s just as well to do something useful.
The little one was curious, "Brother, what are you two talking about? Miaomiao can't hear anything."
Gu Wuyi smiled. "Brother didn’t say anything. How about you help me memorize some lines?"
The little one nodded.
Gu Wuyi sat down and had Xiao'er place the child in his lap.
When Madam Zhou came out with the water bucket and saw the child sitting on the older brother's lap, she smiled with satisfaction.
When the two brothers went to school, and Madam Zhou saw Old Qin at home, she couldn’t help but share, "Xiaoda and Xiao’er are really sensible. Even at such a young age, they knows to take care of their little brother."
Old Qin replied, "Poor kids, they’ve grown up too early."
Madam Zhou couldn't help but think of how the children had no parents growing up, and their grandfather, who took care of them, had passed away. She sighed deeply.
"Do you think those heartless ones are dead? Their father passed away, and they didn’t even come back."
Old Qin shook his head. "Who knows? I’ve fed the cows and pigs, I’m going to class now."
Madam Zhou nodded. "Miaomiao, go help Grandma feed the sheep."
The child widened his eyes to show that he didn't understand.
Madam Zhou pointed to the white sheep. "That one."
The child quickly ran towards the sheep.
Madam Zhou, afraid the sheep might bump into him, hurriedly followed.
She pulled the child aside, then placed some bean stalks in front of the sheep, and sat down on a small stool against the wall, watching the sheep eat the bean stalks.
As the sheep's eating slowed down, Madam Zhou went to get some water.
Once the sheep were full and satisfied, Madam Zhou tied them to a tree by the front gate, where she could see them from the living room, just in case they wandered off and she wouldn't even know when they were gone.
Speaking of which, what Madam Zhou needed to do was make cotton vests for the children. Although she didn’t have enough fabric and cotton, she wouldn’t be able to finish them right away. It was good that the weekend was coming up, so she could buy more materials then without delay.
Originally, Madam Zhou was worried the child might cause trouble.
After all, making clothes was different from washing pots or vegetables. You couldn’t chat with the children, or it could cause mistakes and waste thread.
To her surprise, the child didn’t cause any trouble.
By the time she finished making one vest, the sun was high in the sky, and the child had fallen asleep beside her.
Madam Zhou felt a deep pang of heartache.
Without even cleaning up, she picked the child up and held him in her arms.
Old Qin came in with his textbook and couldn’t help but ask, "Why don’t you put him on the kang?"
"There’s sunlight here," Madam Zhou said, worried that if he slept too much during the day, he might cry at night. "Miaomiao, your brothers is back from school, don’t sleep anymore."
The child opened his eyes and froze.
Madam Zhou smiled and asked, "Did you forget I’m your grandma?"
The child remembered, showing a shy smile, shaking his head and avoiding her gaze.
Madam Zhou gently placed him on the ground. "Do you need to go pee?"
The child obediently nodded.
Old Qin quickly washed his hands and started to help the child take off his pants. "Grandpa will help you." He led the child to the vegetable garden. "Just pee here."
The child didn’t trust him and turned to look at Grandma.
Madam Zhou picked up the chamber pot.
After the child finished peeing, Madam Zhou added a bit of water to dilute it and poured it into the vegetable garden.
The child curiously watched.
Madam Zhou explained, "This way, the vegetables will grow better. Your grandpa doesn’t understand; you can’t pee directly on them, or the vegetables will get dirty."
The child gave Old Qin a disgusted glance.
Old Qin, seeing the familiar little face, instinctively raised his hand, but then realizing it was his grandson and not his son, quickly pulled it back. "I’ll go see why Xiaoda and Xiao’er haven’t come back yet."
The two boys used to run home as soon as school ended.
Later, they realized that their grandparents didn’t mind whether they came back early or late, as long as they returned in time for meals. So, if they happened to be writing homework when school ended, they would finish it before heading home.
Today, they had learned new characters, and the teacher asked them to copy them several times. They were just finishing the last few copies when school ended, and although the brothers weren’t in the same class, they decided to finish writing before heading home.
They never expected that, after finishing, they wouldn’t be able to return. They were stopped at the village entrance and questioned.
The one questioning them was none other than Qin Feng’s older sister, Qin Ying.
If it were anyone else, the brothers could have ignored them.
Qin Ying had always been very kind to them, and now that they were calling their father "Dad," Qin Ying was their real aunt, so they had to give her face.
Qin Ying didn’t approach them because of them, but rather for Miaomiao.
The brothers felt there was nothing to hide from family, so they told her everything they knew.
Seeing she couldn’t get much out of them, Qin Ying decided to take the two children back with her.
However, her husband, Wang Genbao, disagreed. He thought children were easy to fool, and that if he could trick them, maybe he’d get something useful out of them. Once they got home, there would be no more pretending.
Wang Genbao grabbed one child in each hand and asked, "Did Qin Feng say where that woman is from? What’s her name?"
The two brothers didn’t like him. His eyes were full of calculations, just like those from their past lives who plotted against them and, relying on others not knowing the truth, turned things around to blame them.
They couldn’t be bothered to engage with him, but they also couldn’t pretend they didn’t hear him, so they simply shook their heads, signaling they didn’t know.
Wang Genbao asked again, “There aren’t any temples nearby, where did this old monk come from?”
Gu Wuyi felt like he was about to frown. “I’ve never been out of Binhai, how would I know where the old monk came from? If you really want to know, Uncle, ask Grandpa.” He turned toward home and his eyes brightened. “Look, Grandpa is here.”
Wang Genbao reflexively released the two brothers and turned eastward.
The brothers quickly ran toward Old Qin.
Old Qin reached out his hands to support them. “What’s going on?”
The brothers looked back. “Uncle asked us about Miaomiao. We told him everything we knew, but he still didn’t believe us. If he’s so concerned about someone he doesn’t even know, it makes you think he suddenly has a new son.”
Old Qin couldn’t help but glance at his daughter and son-in-law. “How did he find out so quickly?”
As the words left his mouth, the couple was only a few steps away from him.
Qin Ying replied, “I ran into my aunt on the street this morning. She told me.”
Old Qin turned to look at his older brother’s house. “What was she doing on the street?”
“Probably buying something.”
Old Qin asked, “Did you go to the street today?”
Qin Ying nodded. “There’s nothing to do at home. If I go to the street and sell a little, it’s still a profit.”
Old Qin asked worriedly, “The market inspectors didn’t find you, did they?”
“No.”
Old Qin breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good. Things will get better and better from now on.”
Wang Genbao couldn’t help but interject, “Dad, it’s good, but—”
Qin Ying tugged at him, signaling him to stop.
Old Qin noticed, worried someone might overhear and make fun of them. “Let’s head home first.”
When they entered the main room, Old Qin finally asked, “What’s going on?”
Qin Ying answered without thinking, “It’s nothing.”
Old Qin couldn’t help but say, “There’s no one else here. Do you think we’ll laugh at you?”
But this matter needed to be explained from the start.
Years ago, Old Qin had sent Qin Ying to the city to attend middle school with Qin Feng. The intention was to have them learn more knowledge and, in the future, see if they could get them into the village school.
After Qin Ying graduated from junior high, she stubbornly refused to continue her studies. She believed that the city was in the middle of a revolution, and high school teachers were too distracted to teach properly. It was a waste of money and would delay her efforts to earn work points.
Qin Feng thought it was fine not to attend school either. Once he learned something, he could teach his sister.
However, plans didn’t keep up with changes.
In 1977, at 19, Qin Ying found a partner, who was a worker from the city, introduced by the sister-in-law of the middle school principal.
Old Qin and Madam Zhou thought it was a good match, and Qin Ying thought it would be good to marry into the city. Qin Feng was just 17, and since he had no proper occupation, he believed it was better for girls to study more as a guarantee, rather than getting married. But no one took his words seriously.
Madam Zhou even asked him, “Isn’t it true that if you study well, you’ll still need to get married?”
In the village, if a girl didn’t get married, her whole family would be talked about behind their backs. Qin Feng couldn’t refute this because he didn’t want his parents to be gossiped about all the time. Qin Ying, however, was happy and thought Qin Feng, who opposed her marriage, didn’t understand. Qin Feng had no choice but to respect her decision.
In 1979, Qin Feng went abroad to study, and Qin Ying had a daughter. In 1981, she had another daughter. At this point, no one had realized anything was wrong.
In 1983, Qin Feng came back and asked his brother-in-law why city workers were only allowed to have one child.
That’s when they found out that Wang Genbao was also a temporary worker, and his treatment was the same as that of ordinary citizens without jobs. As long as he could pay the fine, his workplace wouldn’t care much about the rest.
It was then that Madam Zhou and Old Qin realized they had been deceived.
What angered the old couple the most was that Qin Ying had known the truth when she was planning for a second child. She had been helping Wang Genbao hide it from her parents and younger brother.
The night they learned the truth, the old couple couldn’t sleep. The next morning, they woke up with pale faces and bloodshot eyes.
Temporary workers were hired during busy periods at the food factory, and once things slowed down, they were bound to be fired.
These two people have no land, and what will happen if they lose their jobs?
At this time, the authorities were strict on the streets, and Qin Feng didn’t dare let his sister quit her job to start a business. What if something went wrong? If he left for a few days, who would his sister turn to?
Last year, when Qin Feng returned from abroad, his sister mentioned that due to the opening-up and reforms, there were more small businesses and vendors, and the food factory’s business had decreased. She didn’t know when she might quit. Qin Feng encouraged her to quit her job and become her own boss.
Becoming a middleman wasn’t a safe bet.
Qin Feng taught his sister how to make cakes and bread to sell.
The red armbands don’t care if you sell homemade things.
Qin Feng learned how to make cakes and bread when he worked at a bakery during his holidays, learning from foreigners.
He never mentioned these things to his parents because he was afraid they would be upset. Fortunately, he didn’t know how to cook Chinese food, so after coming back for several months, he hadn’t been exposed yet.
He also helped his sister build an oven, explaining that he learned it from books.
Qin Ying thought her brother was being foolish. He only knew how to study and research, but didn’t understand how hard it was to make money.
Qin Feng threatened her, saying that if she didn’t listen to him this time, she shouldn’t come back to her parents’ house in the future.
Qin Ying was scared into agreeing. Wang Genbao, wanting to please Qin Feng, decided to listen to him for once.
In the city, the variety of cakes and bread was limited, and considering the cost of salespeople’s wages, electricity, rent, and other expenses, the prices weren’t cheap.
Qin Ying, however, didn’t have to pay rent for her stall. She sold the items cheaper than the supply and sales cooperatives and shops. Since she was the only one selling, and Qin Feng combined ideas from the future, such as adding date paste to bread and decorating cakes with raisins, her products were very fresh to the citizens. Within the first half of the year, she had already earned back her initial investment.
Wang Genbao wasn’t satisfied.
The oven that Qin Feng had helped them build was troublesome—it baked slowly and in small quantities, so Wang Genbao planned to ask Qin Feng to help them buy a large oven used by food factories.
But the past events made it hard for Qin Ying to ask her brother for money or things.
Wang Genbao, seeing that she was silent for a while, spoke for her.
After he finished speaking, Old Qin couldn’t help but laugh with anger, “If Qin Feng had that money, wouldn’t he just buy you a large oven?”
Wang Genbao couldn’t help but say, “No matter how expensive it is, it’s not as expensive as a television, refrigerator, or washing machine, right?”
Old Qin was speechless.
Madam Zhou wanted to curse.
The two little boys wanted to fight.
Although Miaomiao didn’t understand the words, he could sense the tone of voice. His little brows furrowed slightly, and he grabbed his grandmother's hand.
Madam Zhou suppressed her anger and said, “Qin Feng doesn’t have that much money. Your father and I do.”
Wang Genbao’s eyes suddenly brightened.
Madam Zhou said, “You give us an IOU.”
The smile on Wang Genbao’s face froze, and he couldn’t help but say, “Who are we to each other?”
Madam Zhou replied, “When your father and I get old, will you support us? If you say that we’re old, then Qin Feng should support us for six months and live in your house for six months. If you want, I can give you the money now.”
Wang Genbao’s house only had three main rooms, one side room, and a small yard. There was no place for his parents to live, so how could he take care of his father-in-law and mother-in-law?
“There’s no way for a son-in-law to support his parents-in-law.” Wang Genbao couldn’t help but mutter.
Madam Zhou shot back, “So is it okay to ask your mother-in-law and father-in-law for money?”
Wang Genbao shook his head, “It’s not exactly like that. Even though sons-in-law aren’t usually given money, if it weren’t for Xiao Ying dropping out of school early, how would you have been able to afford to send Xiao Feng to high school, university, and even abroad? Just on that point, you should be helping Xiao Ying, right?”
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