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Chapter 7: Dare to be angry but dare not speak
Why speak nonsense as if it's the truth?
─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───
Gu Wuyi tugged at his younger brother. “Practice!”
In this day and age, biological parents don’t care much about their children’s education. Where else could you find an adoptive father as responsible as Qin Feng?
Gu Xiao’er turned to his older brother.
Gu Wuyi glared at him.
— Don’t be ungrateful! Have you already forgotten what we went through when we were this old in our previous life.
Xiao’er remembered. In the previous life, at this time, they were at their aunt’s house, eating less than pigs and working harder than oxen. The two brothers shared a one-meter-two bed, with no eggs or shrimp to eat, and had to endure their aunt’s constant nagging three times a day. If she hadn’t kindly taken them in, they would have ended up as orphans with no one to care for them.
It’s as if she had taken them in for free.
“Fine, practice.” The older brother didn’t help him, and Gu Xiao'er recalled the unpleasant past, feeling annoyed and unable to resist glancing at Qin Feng.
Qin Feng withdrew his gaze and continued eating.
Gu Xiao'er had thought Qin Feng would take the opportunity to scold him and slap him twice, but when he saw this, it felt like a punch hitting cotton, and he couldn’t help but widen his eyes.
— That’s it?
Old Qin wanted to laugh. “You’ve already agreed to practice writing. Does your uncle still need to be unreasonable?”
Gu Xiao'er thought carefully, and it seemed that way.
But if he were to be this obedient, if his brothers from the streets found out, how embarrassing would that be?
“I’m not full yet.”
Gu Wuyi couldn’t help but say, “I think you should eat less. The more you eat, the dumber you get.”
“You’re the one who’s getting dumber the more you eat!” Gu Xiao'er turned his head and glared.
Aren’t we even real brothers?
Gu Wuyi thought to himself, if we weren’t real brothers, I wouldn’t care about you.
Madam Zhou stepped in to mediate, “Xiaoda, if the second child wants to eat, let him eat. He’s not stupid, he knows when he’s full.”
Gu Xiao'er nodded repeatedly. “Grandma is the best.”
Qin Feng lifted his eyelids and glanced at him.
Gu Xiao'er hurriedly lowered his head and picked up his chopsticks, pretending to be the good grandson.
Old Qin and Madam Zhou couldn’t help but laugh and cry.
Gu Wuyi couldn’t bear to watch.
His younger brother was truly hopeless, regressing more and more.
“Miaomiao, come to your brother.” Gu Wuyi waved at the child, still hoping for something from this one.
Qin Feng shoved the last piece of steamed bun into his mouth and grunted, “No need. Go get the towel, I’ll wipe Miaomiao’s hands and face.”
The towel was cold, and Gu Wuyi scooped half a ladle of warm water from the back pot in the kitchen to wet the towel.
Qin Feng took the towel, surprised, and couldn’t help but look at him again. Truly, as described in books, he was a business tycoon, meticulous and thoughtful even at such a young age.
“Are you going to play here for a while, or are you heading back now?”
Gu Wuyi took the bowls and chopsticks in front of him and stacked them with his own. “I’ll go back with you.”
Old Qin said, “No need for you to clean up. After your grandmother and I finish eating, we’ll clean up together.”
Gu Wuyi took the bowls and chopsticks from his two younger brothers and put them together. “It’s fine.”
Qin Feng casually glanced and noticed that the shrimp hadn’t been finished, so his mother put down her chopsticks. “Mom, the shrimp’s been left, it won’t taste good if it sits overnight.”
Madam Zhou replied, “Leave it for the eldest and second boys to eat. They’re still growing, they can’t be like you, with joint pain, unable to sleep at night.”
Upon hearing this, the two younger brothers couldn’t help but exchange a glance.
Gu Wuyi asked, “Grandma, is joint pain because you didn’t eat enough?”
“Your joints hurt?” Madam Zhou asked hurriedly.
Gu Wuyi almost nodded, then remembered it was something from their past life. “I don’t have it. I heard it from older classmates before, I thought he` was sick.”
Madam Zhou let out a sigh of relief.
Qin Feng explained, "No, that’s called growing pains. When you grow too fast, eating a lot of meat every day doesn’t necessarily help. But eating more nutritious food can reduce the pain for a few days."
Madam Zhou nodded, "In the past, we needed tickets to buy meat. We didn’t have tickets, so we kept the pigs for slaughter during the New Year to make lard. We couldn’t afford to slaughter them regularly, so your uncle could only make lard." She looked at Qin Feng, "It must have been several months, right?"
Qin Feng nodded.
Gu Wuyi couldn’t help but glance at him. He really couldn’t tell.
He had also endured such hardship.
Qin Feng ruffled his hair, "What do you mean by that, kid?"
Gu Xiao'er replied, "Brother thinks Uncle is delicate—"
"Are you full?" Gu Wuyi turned to his younger brother.
Gu Xiao'er became quiet and lowered his head, pushing his tofu around.
Qin Feng turned to his parents, "My salary is enough for the four of us. After we finish eating, we’ll buy more tomorrow." Before his mother could speak, he added, "Dad, if you’re in good health, I won’t have to worry, right? You said that, didn’t you?"
Old Qin seemed to have said that, "Old lady, let’s eat and be done with it."
Seeing her son had said so, Madam Zhou picked up a few shrimp.
Noticing Miaomiao looking over, she asked, "Miaomiao, do you want some?"
"No more, he can’t eat anymore." Qin Feng patted the child’s swollen belly, "Don’t know if he’ll have a stomachache."
Madam Zhou thought about it. Since neither the fried shrimp nor the stir-fried tofu and spinach used lard tonight, she reassured, "He won’t! Are you working overtime tonight? If you are, let your dad go look after them."
Qin Feng replied, "I need to check the assembly workshop."
The child turned towards him.
Qin Feng smiled, "Daddy won’t leave you alone."
Gu Wuyi turned to Qin Feng, "Xiao'er and I will go to your room first, and when you come back, we’ll go back to our own room?"
"That works." Qin Feng glanced over the table. His parents had finished the shrimp, so he picked up the child and said, "Let’s go."
Old Qin hurriedly reminded, "Don't forget the flashlight."
It was dark, and the road wasn’t easy to walk. Qin Feng had brought the flashlight and placed it on the big table. "I’ll buy another one for you later, so it’ll be easier for you to get up at night."
When Old Qin heard he was going to buy something, he felt a headache. "Do you still have money?" Before Qin Feng could speak, he added, "Think about how many days are left this month and when your salary will be paid next month."
The salary would be paid on the 10th.
There were still half a month until payday.
Qin Feng dared not speak further.
He handed the flashlight to his eldest son. "Did you bring your backpack?"
Gu Xiao’er patted his body, showing two backpacks.
Qin Feng felt relieved. "Mom, I won’t come over tomorrow morning."
Madam Zhou asked, "Is there still steamed buns?"
"Enough for now. If it’s not enough, we can add more rice and less water to make thick porridge," Qin Feng quickly responded before his mother could continue, "You can also eat at the cafeteria."
Madam Zhou thought about the fried dough sticks sold at the cafeteria, which the two grandsons liked. "When you buy, ask what kind of oil they use—"
"Third Aunt, Third Uncle, Xiao Feng, come out here and help me settle this."
A familiar voice came from the door, and someone entered. It was Qin Feng's eldest paternal cousin’s wife, Liang Guizhi.
Qin Feng turned to look at his parents, silently asking, "Is it serious?"
Madam Zhou stood up and asked, "Guizhi, what happened?"
Liang Guizhi replied, "It’s nothing major. I just want to split the family. My mother says there’s no reason to split the family while our parents are still alive. Third Uncle, is that the rule in our Qin family? How come I didn’t know about it?"
Old Qin couldn’t help but say, "I didn’t know either."
"Your father!" Madam Zhou glared at him. "Stop saying such nonsense."
Liang Guizhi turned to the east. "Mom, did you hear that? Third Uncle is the most learned person in our family."
"The most learned person is my uncle, you should ask my uncle," Gu Xiao'er was completely fed up with the old lady next door, who was always making insinuations against his uncle while pretending to act in his uncle’s best interest.
Qin Feng responded, "I don’t know either."
Gu Xiao'er was delighted. No wonder he was his adoptive father; he immediately turned towards the east and shouted loudly, "Did you hear that?"
"What's it to you, kid!?"
A fierce voice came from the door.
Qin Feng looked over and, sure enough, it was his paternal aunt, that old hag who couldn’t stand seeing others do well.
"Isn't the child a person?" Qin Feng retorted. "My son, as a member of the Qin family—"
His eldest paternal aunt, Madam Qian, couldn't help but say, "He’s no member of the Qin family."
Gu Er’s face immediately darkened, and he couldn’t help but clench his fists.
Gu Wuyi suddenly turned towards the door.
When Old Qin saw the two kids' expressions change, he quickly grabbed one in each arm, regretting having spoken out just now.
Qin Feng calmly replied, "If he's not a member of the Qin family in my household register, can he be a member of your family?"
"But he has the surname Gu!" his aunt shouted loudly.
Qin Feng shot back, "And you have the surname Qian."
Madam Qian was choked into silence.
Gu Xiao'er couldn’t help but chuckle.
Madam Qian’s face turned an ugly shade, and she looked like she wanted to rush in and slap him.
Qin Feng didn’t forget he still needed to go check the assembly workshop, so he said, "We don’t want to get involved in your family matters, nor do we have time. But since Sister-in-law asked, I’ll say it. There’s an old saying: 'Parents are alive, and children should not wander far.' The Qin family doesn’t have this kind of rule. If you two want to argue or scold each other, go back to your own home."
Madam Qian couldn’t help but say, "If it weren’t for your mother talking nonsense about me treating my eldest daughter-in-law like a maid. She—"
"My mother isn’t talking nonsense. If you don’t believe it, you can ask anyone who is close to my aunt, and they’ll tell you." Qin Feng looked at his aunt, "Dare you?"
If Madam Zhou had been talking nonsense, Madam Qian would have long taken her daughter-in-law to Qin Feng to settle things, asking him to make a decision.
Liang Guizhi saw that her mother-in-law dared not speak out in anger, and she became even more resentful in her heart. "Tomorrow morning we will split the family. Whether you want to or not, we will!" After saying that, she turned around and went back home.
Madam Qian couldn't help but glare at Qin Feng's family.
Qin Feng said, "If I were you, I’d hurry back and count how many things there are, and see if they’re enough to be divided between my two sisters-in-law."
"What do you mean by that?" Madam Qian asked involuntarily.
Qin Feng smiled and said, "It means that Laosi and Laowu may want to split too. After all, the eldest’s family has already split, so the task of taking care of you, old lady, will fall to the two younger sisters-in-law."
〚 Laosi [老四] means Fourth child〛
〚 Laowu [老五] means Fifth child〛
As soon as these words were spoken, Madam Qian’s face changed dramatically, and she hurried back home.
Madam Zhou glared at her son and quietly said, "If Laosi and Laowu really want to split the family, it will be our fault for instigating it."
Qin Feng replied, "If I didn’t instigate her, would it be our fault?"
Gu Xiao'er couldn’t help but say, "Uncle is right. Grandma, we haven’t provoked her, but today, didn’t she still try to make trouble?"
Madam Zhou remembered that in the past, when they hadn’t split the family, and when the sisters-in-law were together, because Qin Feng’s father was a teacher and could earn a few bucks, the eldest daughter-in-law had often spoken ill of them in front of the parents.
It was also because the elderly couple relied on them for their old age and care, so they didn't believe the eldest daughter-in-law's nonsense.
Madam Qian couldn't get a hold of their money, but after the 1960s, when life got a bit better, she began making trouble and wanting to split the family.
Once the family was divided, the elderly couple would be left to live with them. But then, Madam Qian stirred things up by encouraging the second son’s family to send their children over to be looked after by the elderly.
Despite having two more elderly people to help, the old couple was tied down by the children, and as a result, their labor points were the same as those of the eldest and second sons’ families.
As Qin Feng became more successful and their life improved, Madam Zhou became too lazy to think about these annoying matters from the past. Over time, she almost forgot about them.
But when Gu Xiao'er mentioned it, Madam Zhou suddenly remembered everything. "Xiao’er is right. Don’t worry about her. You all go back quickly."
Qin Feng said, "Lock the door. When I get paid, I’ll raise the walls a bit." He turned towards the east and said loudly, "That way, no one can deliberately cause trouble. We’ll also fix the door, so no one can sneak in and steal the cattle in the middle of the night."
Suddenly, a head appeared on the top of the wall. "Xiao Feng, what do you mean?"
"Did I say anything about you?" Qin Feng asked.
Madam Qian retorted, "Your family’s west side is an alley, and to the east is me. If you're not talking about me, then who are you talking about?"
Qin Feng casually replied, "Since you said it like that, then it must be about you."
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