As the siblings were talking, Ms. Wang came out from the neighboring yard after a while, still carrying the aroma of shrimp paste on her body. Upon seeing Yang Qingrui and his brother, she exclaimed, "When did you two come back?"
She immediately added, "Are you out of living expenses? If you need silver, ask your sister. She’s in charge of the money. Take whatever you’d like to eat from home."
Having said that, Ms. Wang hurriedly carried away some cleaned ginger and left.
Leaving the two brothers dumbfounded.
"Sister, is that our mom?" Yang Qingrui felt a little sad inside, wondering how they could be so thoroughly ignored on their rare holiday homecoming from school?
"Exactly!" Younger Yang Qingtong couldn’t help but say, "I was hoping mom would make me some delicious food when I came back, but she acted as if she didn’t see me."
Yang Chuxia waved them off, "You two should be content. Our household is very busy right now. Mom has to handle the work of two people, so she has no time for you. Not to mention you two are not at home all the time. Even if I’m here every day, I can’t have a meal cooked by her even once."
"Why so busy?" inquired Yang Qingrui. "Didn’t we hire a lot of people?"
"That’s not enough," Yang Chuxia nonchalantly waved her hand.
The indifference in Yang Chuxia’s words made Yang Qingrui feel a little guilty. While the two brothers were enjoying good food and accommodation in the academy, their family was so busy. They couldn’t help with the work, but they spent money—an entire month’s worth of ink and books was quite a considerable expense.
Ye Zi’an noticed his little brother-in-law’s thoughts and said, "There’s nothing you two could have done to help with these matters anyway. The best thing you can do for your family is to study hard and put all your other worries aside. That will be the best reward for them."
Upon hearing this, Yang Chuxia raised her head to see that Yang Qingrui had lowered his. She understood Ye Zi’an’s meaning and said, "Little guy, what are you thinking about so much? Just focus on your studies. When you get a good rank in the future, our Yang Family will be proud. That’s much better than worrying about these things now."
Yang Qingrui’s eyes lit up at this, and he nodded earnestly, "Sister, I will definitely do it."
Yang Qingtong nodded along behind him, but it was clear he wasn’t as dedicated as Yang Qingrui.
Yang Chuxia wasn’t worried about him, he was still two years younger than Yang Qingrui and had plenty of time.
"Xiaxia, there’s someone outside!"
Because her foot had been crushed by the sea turtle the day before, Yang Chuxia’s foot was swollen and painful. Even though she had applied some medicine to reduce the swelling, moving still hurt.
However, she couldn’t sit still. So, she brought out the wheelchair Ye Zi’an had been using and sat in it.
Now, she was in the middle of planning the family’s future development strategy with a pen.
"Xiaxia, there’s someone outside!" Ms. Wang entered while carrying a basket of things.
"Who is it?" Yang Chuxia didn’t even lift her head.
"I don’t know. There’s a horse carriage outside, and Brother An is talking to someone. Why don’t you go out and take a look?" Ms. Wang put down the basket, picked up some chili peppers, and went out again.
Upon hearing this, Yang Chuxia put down her pen and paper and pushed the wheelchair outside. As she did, she saw a horse carriage parked at the door. The person who had gotten off the carriage left her puzzled for a while - why had he come?
"Oh, you two really are a pair. One just got over a broken leg, and now the other is cripple too." The familiar voice was laced with customary sarcasm, "I must say, your relationship is so strong that you even take turns in the wheelchair."