Long Gang had completely failed to realize just how smart his brother, only five years younger than him, was.
When they worked together, Long Gang would walk behind during their uphill climb which caused the weight to slide towards him, leaving him breathless like an ox while his brother seemed unaffected. Coming downhill, his brother let him walk in front, putting him behind again allowing the weight to shift back towards him, making him even more tired while his brother relaxed.
Back at home, still gasping for breath, his brother had already efficiently taken care of the pig grass and firewood they had carried down from the mountain.
At this point, their parents only saw his incompetence, thinking the extra years of food he ate were wasted like feeding a pig.
His brother was clever, clever enough to anticipate the parents’ thoughts and react accordingly. This update is available on novel⁂fire.net
For instance, when they went out, the fruit Long Gang bought for the parents would be taken by his brother at the doorstep, "Bro, take a break, I’ll carry it."
Then the fruit would somehow become something his brother bought, with him having nothing to do with it. His brother would then appear as the dutiful son in their parents’ eyes, and he, well, he was good for nothing.
Such incidences played out almost daily in the first half of their lives. Back then, Long Gang was naive, thinking that he had to be considerate since one was his older brother and the other his younger, but ironically, he became the most useless one in the family.
Therefore, staying in this family had no meaning; as for their nurturing grace, having worked for them for so many years and contributed ten yuan every month, Tangyuan thought he had nearly repaid them.
But he ultimately couldn’t let go, so he made one last test.
"Dad, Mom, today at work, my colleague said that N Province is recruiting coal mine workers here. Hasn’t Long Qiang just finished junior high and is still jobless? I think he could give it a try."
"What? You want your brother to mine coal? Do you know how dangerous that job is? Why don’t you go then? It seems so easy when you talk about it!"
"No, Dad, Mom, I heard it pays well, and it’s not necessarily underground work, since he has finished junior high after all."
Long Qiang scoffed, disdainfully glancing at him, "Long Gang, just because you only finished elementary school, don’t think being a junior high graduate is impressive. There’s a surplus of them nowadays. Why do you think they are recruiting from our neighboring province? It’s far away; shouts for help go unanswered in heaven and ineffective on earth. You think the salary is high, thirty a month, right? Then you go."
Then, Long Gang witnessed the shamelessness of his family. One second, the old couple was discussing how dangerous it would be for Long Qiang, and suddenly, they changed their tune, sizing him up, "Gangzi, your brother is right. Offer him your apprentice job and you report to the coal mine. We don’t need more money from you; just send ten yuan back every month, and keep the rest for yourself, save it for marriage."
"Eh? I think that’s a good idea; I’m getting married at the end of the year anyway. Once you leave, I could use your room," Long Tie said.
Long Gang was incredulous, "We each have our own room; why should I give mine up for you? Can you even maintain it by yourself?"
"Get out, how could I not manage? I’ll keep my stuff there. Mom said she’d agree to split the house once I’m married; then I can put things there. Why should you still occupy the room if you are leaving?"
"I haven’t left yet, what’s the rush? Besides, did I agree to go work in the coal mine?"
Long Gang was profoundly disappointed. Were these the relatives connected by flesh and bone? He just wanted to test them, but it almost made him spew blood in anger.