BTYFOV Chapter 14

 

Chapter 14: Nagging

Never had these bad habits before.

─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───

Qin Feng impatiently said, "Stop beating around the bush."

"Tell me how to go south to stock up. If you can help me make money, then I'll listen to you. In the future, whatever I earn, your sister can keep."

Qin Ying couldn’t help but glare at Wang Genbao.

Wang Genbao stared intently at Qin Feng, waiting for him to respond.

If Qin Feng were this easy to be manipulated, he wouldn’t have been able to get a government-sponsored scholarship for studying abroad, let alone come back with a complete doctoral degree.

"Are you threatening me?" Qin Feng sneered at him, "You still don’t understand me. If you want to make money, come up with your own ideas. I won’t be making food for you and delivering it to your door again."

Wang Genbao’s proud heart stopped beating.

Qin Feng looked at his sister, "For the sake of the two kids, I’ll give you a reminder: the road isn’t safe, there are thieves on the trains and robbers on the road. If you want to come back safely, bring a knife and bring a companion."

Madam Zhou couldn’t help but say, "Is it that dangerous?"

Qin Feng replied, "If it were that easy, the streets would be full of people selling accessories."

Wang Genbao couldn’t help but say, "You have to at least tell me where to get the goods."

"Why should I? Your last name is Wang and mine is Qin. We don’t have any blood relations, nor any legal obligations or responsibilities," Qin Feng said without hesitation. "What’s more, I’d love for you and my sister to fight and get divorced tomorrow."

Wang Genbao angrily stood up.

Qin Ying couldn’t help but shout, "Genbao!"

Wang Genbao pointed at Qin Feng, gritting his teeth, "You—you’ve got guts!"

Qin Feng nodded towards Miaomiao, "Yes, it's here."

Wang Genbao’s breath caught, he glared at him fiercely, and then turned to leave.

Qin Ying couldn’t help but say, "What are you doing? Do you want us to live in peace or not?"

"If you can’t live in peace, you can divorce. The Qin family’s door will always be open for you," Qin Feng said calmly.

Qin Ying stomped her feet angrily and walked away.

Madam Zhou couldn’t help but look at her son, “Are you happy now?”

“Are you happy?” Qin Feng retorted, “Think carefully before you answer.”

Madam Zhou immediately remembered how she nearly fainted from anger when Wang Genbao upset her, and she lost the face to scold her son.

Qin Feng looked at his father, “Are you happy, old man?”

“You shouldn’t have said that in front of your sister.”

Qin Feng replied, “In the past, I was trying to save face for her, not wanting her to hate me. I hoped she’d learn the hard way, and that’s why we’re still here. If Wang Genbao divorces her now, she could rely on her brother, me, and I could find someone suitable for her.”

Gu Wuyi agreed, “Grandpa, if Aunt gets divorced after forty, with all the burden of taking care of Uncle, becoming an old woman with a yellow face and dead fish eyes, your status as a teacher and my father being an engineer won’t help either.”

Qin Feng was a bit surprised but then thought it made sense.

He was already ten years old. If he didn’t understand this logic, he wouldn’t be the kind of villain from a book who barely finished middle school but still made something of himself, sitting at the helm of a company.

“Dad, both Xiaoda and Xiao’er understand this logic. You don’t understand, do you?”

Old Qin didn’t think too badly of his son-in-law.

But after thinking about what he had done, first using Qin Feng’s absence to pressure them for money, and then daring to force him after Qin Feng had beaten him—he had no regard for his own face. What else would he do in the future?

Madam Zhou couldn’t help but say, “If your sister really divorces your brother-in-law, your aunt’s family will laugh at us to death.”

Qin Feng said, “Your sister-in-law always mocked her for not having a son, didn’t she?”

Madam Zhou was immediately speechless.

Qin Feng added, “To be honest, I didn’t expect my sister to divorce him. What I just said was also to provoke Wang Genbao on purpose.”

At these words, both the elders and the two young ones couldn’t help but turn to look at him.

Could it be?

Qin Feng nodded, confirming they hadn’t heard wrong, “My sister knows my attitude. In the future, if Wang Genbao bullies her, she won’t have to keep quiet or be afraid of us knowing and laughing at her.”

"Wang Genbao knows that we’re not afraid of my sister divorcing him, so he didn’t dare to complain today like he did before, asking you to spend money on buying things. Even if he has money in the future, he won’t dare act like this. Because he’ll think I have ways to deal with him, making him regret every move he makes. The key is that he can’t know what I just said."

Old Qin asked, "Aren’t you afraid of making things worse?"

Qin Feng shook his head, "His father-in-law is a teacher, and even when he’s old, he won’t need to spend money on taking care of him. His brother-in-law works at the Northern Railway Factory; as a temporary worker, if he didn’t rely on trickery, he wouldn’t have been able to find such a good wife’s family."

Gu Wuyi couldn’t help but say, "Especially now that Uncle doesn’t have money, he relies on Aunt to earn it."

The old couple was immediately reassured.

Madam Zhou couldn’t help but glance at her son, "Why didn’t you tell me beforehand? You scared me and kept my heart in my throat."

Qin Feng replied, "Who knew he was coming today?"

"True." Madam Zhou reflected, "He usually comes on Sundays and never brought up money before. We always knew he wanted to make money, but never knew he’d have the nerve to covet your father’s and my money."

Old Qin took a sip of porridge and whispered, "Did sister-in-law knows that he and Xiao Ying were coming today?"

Qin Feng and his mother immediately turned to him.

Old Qin nodded.

It wasn’t yet the second lunar month, so the oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar bought before the new year should still be enough. People in the village, especially the older ones, rarely bought new clothes before the new year. Qin Feng’s aunt grew vegetables in her yard and had eggs at home, so they didn’t lack for food or clothes.

As far as Old Qin knew, she didn’t often go to the street. There was a supply and marketing cooperative near the north railway factory where small items like needles and threads could easily be bought.

Old Qin shared his suspicions, "I suspect she deliberately went to find your sister and told her about Miaomiao’s situation. She probably wants our family to be in chaos. We made shrimp yesterday, and your aunt might have smelled it. If she tells your brother-in-law about this, he’ll definitely think our family is wealthier than he assumed."

Madam Zhou understood, "No wonder he had the guts to ask us for money today."

Old Qin looked at his son, "You shouldn’t have provoked her yesterday."

Qin Feng couldn’t help but say, "You’re wrong. I should’ve given her a good slap earlier."

Old Qin was taken aback, staring wide-eyed.

Madam Zhou couldn’t help but laugh, "You all eat, go ahead." She turned to her husband, "If Xiao Feng hadn’t provoked her, she wouldn’t have gone to Xiao Ying’s place to stir things up. Who knows when Wang Genbao, that fool, would realize that he’s always been eyeing our money."

Gu Wuyi nodded, "Who knows, Auntie might have been beaten by him and didn’t dare let you know, let alone talk about a divorce."

Old Qin thought about it and agreed with this reasoning.

"It’s my fault for not thinking it through," Old Qin admitted, "The food must be cold by now, right?"

The little one put down his spoon and patted his little belly, "Daddy, I’m full."

Gu Wuyi immediately went to get a towel to wipe his mouth.

The child wiped his hands himself, sniffed, and noticing he was clean and didn’t smell, he went to climb onto his father’s lap.

Qin Feng shifted a bit to make room.

The child leaned against his leg, tilting his little head, watching the family.

Qin Feng asked, "Want to come to Daddy’s arms?"

The child suddenly straightened up.

Qin Feng smiled, grabbed the steamed bun from the edge of the dish, and pulled him into his arms. With one hand holding him, the other used chopsticks to pick up the bun and vegetables. "You like Daddy this much?"

The child nodded vigorously, burrowing into his arms.

"Don’t move!" Qin Feng stopped him from bumping into him and quickly grabbed the table, "Sit still, and after you finish your meal, Daddy will play with you."

The child sat obediently in his arms, watching the others eat.

Madam Zhou asked, "What do you want to eat tonight?"

Qin Feng replied, "We didn’t have eggs in the morning, nor at lunch, so let’s have egg noodles for dinner. If you want to roll the noodles, you can; if not, we’ll just cook instant noodles."

Madam Zhou looked at Old Qin, "There are more people at home this year. Don’t go sell eggs this weekend. If we really can’t eat them all, we can make preserved eggs?"

Old Qin had originally planned to send any leftovers to his daughter.

But thinking of Wang Genbao, that fool, Old Qin got angry, "We’ll make them when the weather gets warmer, just in time for when the wheat is harvested."

"Then you’ll have to go to the city again on Sunday."

Old Qin knew he needed to buy cotton and fabric to make vests for the children. "Xiaoda, Xiao’er, do you still have enough pens and ink? I’ll buy you some more."

Gu Wuyi looked at Qin Feng, "Dad says wholesale is cheaper, so when we run out, he’ll get two boxes for us when he has the time."

The stationery factory was in the southern part of the city, and they’d have to take the bus to get there.

Old Qin wasn’t able to handle two boxes of things on the bus, so he said, "Let your dad handle the wholesale. If he doesn’t have time, just go to the supply and marketing cooperative and get a few to use first. Do you have money?"

The two little ones instinctively looked at Qin Feng.

Qin Feng answered, "No money."

Old Qin took the money out of his pocket.

Madam Zhou saw there were still quite a few bills left. "How come you have so much left?"

Old Qin’s expression changed slightly, and he quickly explained, "It’s from the leftover money after buying shrimp yesterday."

"Wasn’t the leftover from buying soybean oil?" Madam Zhou said, then noticed him putting money back into his pocket, and instantly understood. "You’ve learned to hide your private stash?"

Old Qin shook his head. "Feng secretly gave it to me last night."

Qin Feng couldn’t help but look at his father.

Old Qin quickly gave his son a signal.

Qin Feng helplessly said, "Didn’t we agree that if mom sees, we’d say you took it? And you’re a teacher!"

Old Qin secretly sighed in relief.

Madam Zhou believed him, glaring at Qin Feng. "Don’t secretly give him money again. It’s either for cigarettes or gambling cards. You didn’t have these bad habits before."

Old Qin couldn’t help but mutter in his mind, We didn’t have the same conditions back then.

Madam Zhou held out her hand.

Old Qin obediently handed over the larger bills, keeping the smaller change for himself.

Madam Zhou noticed there were three one-yuan bills and she simply gave one to each of her grandsons.

The two brothers didn’t dare reach for the money and looked at each other.

Grandma is testing us, isn't she?

"What's wrong?" Madam Zhou asked, puzzled.

Gu Wuyi opened his mouth, wanting to say that in their previous life, at his aunt’s house, she never gave them a single penny voluntarily. They had to beg for notebooks and pens, and she would scold them, saying, "Earning money is hard, and each of you spends more than the last."

Gu Xiao'er hesitantly asked, "Are you really giving this to us?"

Madam Zhou nodded. "Take it. It’s not good for young boys to not have any money on them."

The two brothers turned to Qin Feng.

Qin Feng said, "Take it. But don’t spend it recklessly, or there won’t be a next time."

Gu Xiao'er, very curious, asked, "What if we don’t spend it recklessly?"

Qin Feng thought for a moment. "One yuan a month. If I forget and get busy, you can remind me. If you can keep it up for a few years, with the rise in prices, it’ll increase."

"Really?" Gu Wuyi, who was usually more composed than his brother, asked eagerly.

Qin Feng was puzzled. "It’s just one yuan, isn’t it?"

Although wages and prices are low right now, this is still pocket money for a month.

"Do I need to fool you?"

Gu Wuyi nodded.

Qin Feng felt a sudden urge to ruffle his hair.

Old Qin interjected, "As long as you don’t spend it recklessly, the money won’t go to someone else’s house, so it’s like I’m saving it for you."

Gu Xiao'er tilted his head and looked at his dad. "Aren’t you afraid we’ll only take in and never spend, and you’ll end up spending it all every month?"

Qin Feng replied, "Then when I’m old, don’t expect to get any of my savings."

Gu Xiao'er was momentarily speechless.

Gu Wuyi couldn’t help but laugh, then quickly felt a bit emotional. How could Qin Feng be so good to them?

Qin Feng couldn’t help but glance at him.

Gu Wuyi hurriedly grinned awkwardly to cover up his embarrassment. "I’m full. Miaomiao, go play with your brother and let Dad eat."

The child glanced at him indifferently before looking away.

Gu Wuyi said, "We’ll wait for Dad by the door."

This was acceptable.

The child immediately held out his hand.

Gu Xiao'er quickly finished his porridge, grabbed the towel beside his dad, wiped his mouth haphazardly, and grabbed the child’s other hand.

At the front door, the talkative Gu Xiao'er couldn’t help but say, "I didn't expect him to be so nice."

Gu Wuyi couldn’t help but glance inside. The three adults were quietly eating. "I originally thought... I thought we’d have to rely on Grandpa and Grandma. But I didn’t expect..."

"Yeah." Gu Xiao'er was very emotional.

The child couldn’t help but tug on the hand he was holding.

The brothers looked down and asked, "What’s wrong?"

"Who?" the child asked curiously.

Gu Wuyi saw the child’s face, so similar to Qin Feng’s, and couldn’t help but smile. "Want to know who we’re talking about? We’re talking about Dad, the best dad in the world."

The child nodded vigorously and shouted, "Daddy is the best."

Qin Feng couldn’t help but glance outside, and their eyes met.

"Go ahead and eat." Qin Feng set down his chopsticks, drank the rest of his porridge in one go, and came out holding half a steamed bun. "You guys already miss me after such a short time?"

The child immediately reached out his small hand.

Qin Feng picked him up and turned to his two older sons. "Where do you usually go to play?"

Although their lunch break was long, they had to take a nap, and sometimes had homework to do, so they didn’t have time to run around.

Seeing that they both shook their heads in unison, Qin Feng asked, "Then should we go back?"

The two brothers immediately went to grab their schoolbags.

Madam Zhou saw this and, after the four of them left, couldn’t help but say, “Before, Xiao Feng complained that Xiao Ying was not as sensible as the children. I think so too. It's only been a short time since they came to our house, and they already know who to be close to."

Old Qin thought about how the two little ones helped Qin Feng fight Wang Genbao. "Yes. Do you think Xiao Ying has been enchanted by something?"

Madam Zhou nearly bit her tongue in panic. "No, no, that can’t be."

"Then how do you explain that since she met Wang Genbao, she’s seemed like a completely different person?"

Madam Zhou thought for a moment. "Does she not know good from bad?"

Old Qin, who had never seen ghosts or believed in strange things, replied, "But we’re her closest family."

Madam Zhou thought for a bit and suggested, "Should I go see a feng shui master and visit her house tomorrow?"

Old Qin pondered for a moment. "Let’s ask Xiao Feng first."

However, Qin Feng didn’t come back.

After waking from his nap, he sent the three kids to the village entrance and let them walk back on their own.

Dinner was early, and with nothing else to do at home, Madam Zhou spoke to Qin Feng as they walked to the staff residence.

Qin Feng thought he had heard wrong.

His mother repeated herself, and Qin Feng immediately felt exhausted. "What’s the point of seeing a feng shui master? To put it nicely, she doesn’t know good from bad, and to put it bluntly, she just can’t live without a man."

The words sounded harsh.

Madam Zhou stumbled in shock, almost tripping herself.

Gu Wuyi quickly supported her. "Grandma, be careful. The road’s uneven in the dark. Dad, walk slowly."

"Your grandma doesn’t like how I speak." Madam Zhou staggered again, and Qin Feng noticed. "Don’t worry about it. From now on, no matter what she says, just let it go in one ear and out the other."

Madam Zhou sighed. "You don’t know, yesterday I told your father that we should keep the rooster until the Dragon Boat Festival and then invite your sister and them over, so the two kids can have a better meal."

Qin Feng couldn’t help but think of those two kids, thin and weak, just like the little girls in the village.

Last year, when Qin Feng first met them, he thought the temporary worker’s wages were low, and his sister was saving money for emergencies, so she didn’t want to buy milk or formula for the kids.

After yesterday, the use of that money was self-explanatory.

Children raised in such family environments are rarely able to completely cut ties with their biological family. It’s one in a hundred, at most.

Qin Feng didn’t want his parents to lose sleep over it again. "Your granddaughter’s surname is Wang. From the looks of it, She seems to be sensible now, but no one can guarantee that she won’t end up like my sister when she grows up. You’d better not invest too much emotional energy."

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