Old Yuan sighed once more, dragging himself slowly outside.
"Dear, don’t meddle blindly!"
Seeing Old Yuan head out, Mrs. Zeng quickly reminded him, afraid that this troublesome old man of hers would get involved again. They had just decided to stop interfering; they couldn’t go back to the way things were.
Besides, their son was no spring chicken; he was already a father himself and should have his own opinions by now.
Old Yuan replied sullenly, feeling irritable, and walked out on his own.
In fact, Old Yuan had already made up his mind not to continue assisting. However, at this moment, he felt he should still fulfill his final duty as a father.
Yuan Zhaodi stormed out, not going far, just wandering around the fields, blowing off steam.
Old Yuan found him easily.
Seeing his father, Yuan Zhaodi called out meekly, like a wronged wife, "Dad." Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs Novᴇl_Fire(.)net
Old Yuan looked at Yuan Zhaodi, sighed, and said, "Fourth Son, can you tell me what you’re thinking?"
"You’re a grown man, being bossed around by your wife, can you even call yourself a man?"
Thinking about how his son acted so spineless at home, Old Yuan’s anger flared up. He kicked Yuan Zhaodi’s leg, making him wince in pain.
"Your wife mistreats Jiaojiao, and you just stand by and watch?"
"Jiaojiao is a blessing to our family. Without Jiaojiao, you might not have survived your dock work, and when we moved to Daxia, we encountered a tiger. Could you have fought off a tiger with your skills?"
"Isn’t it you who told Mom, ’Man works outside, woman manages inside’?"
"All these matters should be handled by Shouhu’s mother!"
Feeling wronged after being scolded by his dad, Yuan Zhaodi argued back.
Hearing Yuan Zhaodi’s retort, Old Yuan was at a loss for words.
"Is this how you understand ’man works outside, woman manages inside’?"
Old Yuan was furious.
Old Yuan pointed at Yuan Zhaodi, frustrated, "Yes, ’man works outside, woman manages inside’ is correct, but if your wife turns the household upside down, is that managing inside?"
"Dad, Mom said that a man who hits his wife is the most incompetent!"
Seeing his fourth son argue earnestly, Old Yuan almost choked on his own anger.
Out of five sons, Old Yuan valued his youngest, Yuan Yindi, the most because he was clever and could study, ensuring a bright future.
Next, Old Yuan valued his fourth son, Yuan Zhaodi, thinking this son had a knack for life, managing to become a supervisor at the docks on his own merit, sure to succeed in the future.
The other three sons, Old Yuan wasn’t worried about either, as they could at least hold the family together.
But now, Old Yuan realized he had misjudged!
This fourth son, whom he thought would succeed, turned out to be an utter fool!
The man who hits his wife is the most incompetent.
But if you end up with a wife that causes unrest in the household, you either convince her, and if you can’t, then you must resort to force; some wives just can’t be trained without it. After all, since she’s married, you can’t just divorce her directly!
Of course, hitting one’s wife is wrong.
But this wife has already been utterly insensible; if you don’t discipline her, should you keep her around as if she’s an ancestor?