Song Chongjin had finished giving reminders and afterward didn’t speak again. He only went up to sign his name and pressed his handprint when witnesses were asked to sign and seal the document.
Then he took his leave.
Apart from the Wang Family Father and Son, no one tried to keep him, after all, his status was awkward, especially to the Song Family Patriarch, who felt uncomfortable at the sight of Song Chongjin.
Song Chongjin naturally wouldn’t stay where he was unwelcome.
Wang Yongping, too, was impatient with all the old men; even if he wasn’t the sharpest, having followed his father around these past few days, he had overheard things.
He knew that these elders, despite their smiling faces and pleasant words, were only pleased because they had benefited from the situation.
He wanted to leave as well, but after being glared at by Wang Laozhu a few times, he reluctantly stayed a bit longer before finding the chance to slip out.
Hurrying as fast as he could, he still did not catch up with Song Chongjin but instead encountered his own sister.
The siblings returned home together, only to discover that the atmosphere in the courtyard was unusually tense.
As they entered the courtyard, the door of the main house opened, and the Jinhoo Brothers pushed Jinguan out.
Upon seeing Wang Yongzhu, Jindou and Jinhu immediately squeezed out smiles and greeted her respectfully, "Good day to you, Older Cousin!".
Wang Yongzhu nodded in acknowledgment, then called out more naturally, "Fourth Uncle, you’re back!"
Wang Yongping’s face soured at the sight of Jinguan. He didn’t think twice before kicking him, "You little bastard, you’ve got the nerve to come back? Young but your scheming’s all grown up, eh? Now you know how to lodge a secret complaint behind our backs? Instead of learning good things, you learn these unspeakable tricks, which man of good family has a gossiping tongue like yours?"
His kick made Jinguan stagger almost to the point of falling, but Jinhu behind him helped steady him. Jinguan, grimacing, rubbed his leg and didn’t dare to speak.
As the eldest, Jindou naturally had to step forward, "Older Cousin, Fourth Uncle, this whole incident was the fault of that little brat Jinguan. Jinhoo and I have already punished him. He knows he was wrong! Rest assured, he definitely won’t do this again. If he does, I, as his elder brother, will be the first to not spare him!"
Then he lightly kicked Jinguan, "Aren’t you going to apologize to your older cousin and Fourth Uncle?"
Jinguan sulked but stepped forward obediently, "I shouldn’t have talked nonsense over a piece of meat, falsely accusing grandma and grandpa and Older Cousin and Fourth Uncle. It was all my fault! I won’t dare to do it again!"
Wang Yongping hadn’t thought it through; he just felt that this brat admitting his mistakes so promptly was respectable enough. Satisfied, he nodded and was about to say something but promptly held his tongue upon realizing his sister hadn’t spoken yet. How could he forgive before she did unless he didn’t care for his own life?
Covering his mouth, he took a step back and gestured for Wang Yongzhu to speak.
Wang Yongzhu looked at Jinguan with a half-smile. Of course, she wouldn’t hold a grudge against a child. Whether Jinguan truly recognized his fault, she didn’t know.
But after all, parents should discipline their own children. As an older cousin, involving herself too much would only make others dislike her,
If it were someone like Jinhua whom she found more agreeable, she might give extra guidance, but with someone like Jinguan, thinking of Lady Lin, she’d rather not.
Therefore, she simply nodded her head, signifying that she accepted the apology.
Jindou and Jinhu finally sighed in relief.
This time when they went to town, they hadn’t said a thing, and their mother just grabbed them both and started crying bitterly.
The brothers had all their words and anger stuck in their hearts as they listened to Lady Lin go on and on, recounting how since the year she married into the Wang Family she had been worn down by her mother-in-law, how her mother-in-law was biased, how she slaved away for the whole family, and then she decried Wang Yongfu’s terrible luck in taking the disaster meant for Laosi, wailed about her own hard life, lamenting that she married a man who was too honest, who only listened to his parents-in-law, neglecting his wife and children. Just when their children had grown up and they were about to enjoy life, this sort of thing happened, and she would have to soak in bitterness for her whole life.
It was only after Lady Lin had finished crying that the brothers dared to ask about Jinguan, but with a sharp glance from Lady Lin, she sheltered him behind her: "Why do you want to ask him? He’s just a child who doesn’t understand things. If he spoke out of turn, are you, his older brothers, really going to take him so seriously? Despite any wrongdoing, the bond of family remains unbroken. You all crawled out of my belly, so who could be closer to you in this world than each other? If there are issues, can’t you just talk it out amicably?"
Feeling helpless, Jindou just thought, how could his mother not understand? Was this just a matter of saying a few wrong words?
Knowing he couldn’t get through to Lady Lin, he could only look towards Wang Yongfu on the kang bed.
Wang Yongfu had been waiting ever since Jindou and his brother came in and finally, after Lady Lin’s wailing was over, spoke: "What did your grandmother and them say when they went back? Was there any—"
Because his injuries were so severe and he was so weak, his voice was very faint and they had to lean close to hear him.
After imitating what Old Granny Zhang and Wang Yongzhu did when they returned, Jindou carefully asked, "Dad, what do you think we should do about this?"
Now that dad was awake, they, as young and inexperienced brothers, could finally have a backbone in dealing with such matters; indeed, they really weren’t capable of making the decisions themselves.
Wang Yongfu fell silent, not knowing what to do either. Ever since Old Granny Zhang left, he’d been thinking about this issue, but the more he thought, the more afraid he became.
He had been told since he was a child that his birth mother, Old Granny Zhang, hadn’t liked him, and after he got married, he could understand the predicament she had been in back then. Perhaps it was because of his grandma’s frequent badmouthing of his birth mother during his childhood, or perhaps the long-standing estrangement had made mother and son unsure of how to interact with each other.
No matter how hard he tried, he could never get close to Old Granny Zhang.
He felt guilt, resentment, and perhaps even hope towards his birth mother, so he followed her commands unconditionally as he had vowed, while also secretly agreeing with Lady Lin’s words, tacitly accepting that Lady Lin had her own secret stash of money.
When he heard Jinhua come to tattle yesterday, he didn’t know why, but the resentment that he had been suppressing deep inside suddenly erupted. As a result, he let Lady Lin speak that way, even feeling satisfied and relieved, using her words to vent all the resentment buried in the depths of his heart.
Especially during that moment of direct eye contact with his birth mother, the surging resentment made him lose his rationality. At that moment, he truly felt that Old Granny Zhang wasn’t his real mother; how could a real mother treat her own child like that?
He hated his birth mother!
It wasn’t until his younger sister’s persistent questioning pulled him out of his blind resentment that he realized, how could he harbor such unfilial thoughts?
Wang Yongfu became afraid, panicked!
He didn’t know how to explain himself or how to hold on, he could only watch helplessly as his birth mother and younger sister stormed out, slamming the door behind them.
Amid Lady Lin’s crying and cursing, he even thought to himself, why didn’t he just die? Dead, he wouldn’t have caused such a situation, and maybe then his mother would remember a bit of the good he did.
Maybe while offering paper money during the holidays, she would mention him a time or two.
Now, facing his sons looking to him for guidance, Wang Yongfu closed his eyes.