"Second brother, nothing bad has happened at home, has it?" Xu Nianhua followed Xu Nian’an home and from a distance saw a crowd blocking their house, which gave him quite a scare.
Xu Nian’an pedaled his bicycle even faster.
"Qinghe, Zhihao is your own nephew, and now that he is in trouble, you as his uncle, should help him!" Xu Zhong had pleaded, begging Xu Qinghe for help.
Seeing Xu Zhihao being arrested had left him feeling utterly anxious.
"Dad, it’s his own misconduct and the factory’s issues. There’s nothing I can do." Xu Qinghe shook his head, refusing outright.
"It’s those shameless women who cling to my Zhihao. It has nothing to do with him." Liu Sanmei vehemently denied.
"It takes two to clap." Hu Aihong, who was always at odds with Liu Sanmei, took this opportunity to add fuel to the fire, sighing, "Zhihao’s wife is as pretty as a fairy, alas, they say forbidden fruit is the sweetest."
Hu Aihong laughed as she spoke.
Liu Sanmei was so enraged that she started arguing with Hu Aihong on the spot. By the looks of it, both women were close to coming to blows.
The villagers around them immediately stepped forward to mediate.
Liu Sanmei spat on the ground toward Hu Aihong, then turned to Xu Qinghe and cursed, "Ungrateful wretch. Even though I am a stepmother, I raised you up well, got you a wife, and even raised an orphan girl to go to school. Ask around in Shuanghe Village, not many orphan girls get to study, let alone one picked from the street."
"I don’t care. Zhihao is your own nephew; you must help him. Is he really worth less to you than that adopted girl?" Liu Sanmei’s demeanor suggested she would not leave without help. She continued, "That girl is just a money pit. Look at her real parents, so rich, and you, you’ve spent over twenty years raising someone else’s daughter for nothing. It’s like pouring water out of a window when you send off a married daughter, but she isn’t even your real daughter. Do you think she will take care of you later?"
"But it’s different with Zhihao. At least you are his uncle. If you help Zhihao, when you get old, he will surely take care of you."
Liu Sanmei spoke earnestly, her underlying message clear: if you help Zhihao, when you’re old, he will surely be there for you till the end.
"My dad is getting old too, and he has my elder brother and me; we don’t need your concern," Xu Nian’an called out as he walked in pushing his bicycle, his voice laced with a hint of sarcasm. He implied that not even Xu Qingjiang, their half-brother from the same father, would care as much in a real crisis, let alone Zhihao.
It was better to rely on Uncle Yuchun and Aunt Xihua’s family, who had always been supportive, rather than on others.
"I will always be my parents’ daughter. When they get old, I will definitely take care of them," Xu Nianhua stepped forward and clearly stated her stances.
"Nian’an, Nianhua." Xu Qinghe, seeing his son and daughter, was thrilled. He said, "You must be hungry. There’s soup at home, come and have some."
As he finished speaking, Xu Qinghe looked earnestly at Xu Zhong, bowed deeply to him, and said, "Dad, I’m not capable enough to help with Zhihao’s issue, and it’s getting late. Nianji and Yuzi will be home soon, so I won’t keep you from looking for solutions elsewhere."
After speaking, Xu Qinghe addressed the villagers, "Please go back everyone; I won’t be hosting a meal."