Hu Dong knew they didn’t believe him, so he put all the money he earned today on the table with a loud flourish. "Look, it’s more than ten bucks, all earned in an afternoon," he said proudly.
"How much is this?" The couple looked at the table full of coins and were dumbfounded.
"It’s eighteen bucks, with ten dollars profit after costs."
"Is all the money here?"
"Didn’t you say Saozi went too? How come you brought all the money back?"
Shen Qing’s words immediately wiped the joy off Hu Dong’s face. He scratched his head, annoyed. "I got carried away and forgot to give Saozi the money. But my sister-in-law doesn’t care about this little money, she won’t mind."
Just as Hu Dong finished speaking, he received a slap from Mom and a heavy kick from Dad.
Scared, Hu Dong fell to the ground, dumbfounded, feeling angry and confused as he looked at his usually gentle parents.
"Do you know why we’re hitting you?"
"If I hear you say those kinds of things again, believe it or not, I won’t want you anymore," Shen Qing said, her eyes glistening with red. She finished speaking and went back to her room, slamming the door shut.
Unlike Shen Qing’s agitation, Hu Bin was much calmer. "Can you get up?" he asked.
"I can." Hu Dong wiped his tears, feeling wronged, and stood up on his own.
"You’re young but ambitious, yet you’re too eager for quick success. You’re still so young, always thinking about making money. Making money is a skill, but don’t forget personal character. Even if you make a lot of money, people won’t respect you. In this world, you must first learn how to be a good person before considering other aspects. If you can’t be a good person, how can you expect to make big money? Not going to jail would be lucky enough for us."
"Where did you go wrong?"
"I was wrong to say those things. Saozi kindly helped me, worked actively all day, even gave me money, and taught me business. But in the end, I was blinded by profit."
"Very well said. You have awareness, knowing where you went wrong."
"Dad, it wasn’t on purpose. Today got late, I got too excited thinking about tomorrow, and I forgot about this. I will definitely give the money back to Saozi tomorrow."
Hu Bin shook his head. "Like you said, maybe Saozi doesn’t care about this little money, even if you give it to her tomorrow, it would seem formal. Do you know why she helped you?"
"I know, she’s my sister-in-law."
"Yes, she helped out of family loyalty. But do you know, back in those years, your brother Xiao Yi never spoke a word to your mom and me whenever he saw us. Do you know why?"
Hu Dong shook his head.
"Dad, why? He’s also Mom’s child."
"You do know he’s your mom’s child too, don’t you? Yet which child isn’t raised with their parents since childhood?"
Hu Dong hung his head in shame.
"Your mom already feels too guilty because of this matter, unable to repay it within this lifetime. Now that life is better, your mom is always thinking about how to compensate them. You are close to Saozi, and she doesn’t say anything, still helping us as much as she can. But that doesn’t mean your brother will forgive us. And you go and ruin everything your mom’s been trying to fix recently. How could your mom not hit you?"
"Dad, I’m sorry. In the future, I’ll be good to my brother and sister-in-law." Right now, he’s trying hard to make money because he wants the family’s conditions to improve. Once there’s money, he’ll repay Saozi double.
Today was indeed his mistake. Saozi took him along early in the morning, worked hard for money, helped him sell things, and even ended up losing money.
Siblings settle accounts clearly, he knows this saying well. It’s all his fault for losing his mind, being too excited.