Hearing Xia Heping's words, Xia Qingqing gave a mischievous smile:

"Actually, it doesn't matter whether I lend it or not, Xia Jiashun is just not cut out for studying."

Xia Heping agreed with this statement. Back then, his parents refused to let Qingqing go to school because she was a girl, saying it was a waste of money.

Despite being highly regarded by his family, Xia Jiashun failed his exams repeatedly and only passed the junior high school entrance exam after three attempts.

But nobody knew that he had paid money to pull strings.

Regardless of his grades, now that Grandma Xia has spoken, it wouldn't sound good if word got out that we really wouldn't lend him the money. We're willing to lend to others, but not to our own cousin.

Old Xia walked back to the old house, only to see his eldest grandson coming to greet him:

"Grandma, how did it go? Did Second Uncle agree to lend me the documents?"

Grandma Xia smiled broadly at her eldest grandson and patted her chest, assuring him:

"Don't worry about Grandma taking care of things. I've already spoken to your second uncle and asked him to send the documents directly back to our hometown."

Xia Jiashun breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. He had always known that his family and his second uncle's family did not have a good relationship, so he dared not go to Xia Qingqing to borrow books in person, for fear of being rejected and losing face.

"Grandma, don't worry, I'll take you to the city to enjoy a better life after I go to university," Xia Jiashun promised casually. He had said similar things at least eighty or a hundred times.

Grandma Xia was very receptive to this, and her face lit up with a smile as her eldest grandson coaxed her.

"Oh, you're such a good grandson of mine. I'm waiting for you to take me to the city to enjoy a life of luxury."

Xia Daya, who was cooking over a fire in the kitchen, looked at her brother with some envy.

Xia Daya is 16 years old this year, and the young girl takes care of almost all the housework at home.

She and Xia Jiashun are clearly siblings born of the same mother, but their treatment in this family is vastly different, as evidenced by the fact that she doesn't even have a proper name.

The elderly couple in the Xia family and Xia's eldest uncle all favored sons over daughters. Xia Daya never went to school, so they didn't specifically target Xia Qingqing in this regard.

When the family divided their property, Xia Daya was already old enough to remember things. She knew that her second aunt had turned the family upside down in order to allow Qingqing to go to school.

At that time, she still had a strange expectation: if her second aunt could get Qingqing a chance to go to school, would she be able to go to school in the future?

As a result, Qingqing was indeed able to go to school, but her second uncle and the others were separated from their families.

After the family split up, she had even more work to do.

Sometimes when she ran into Xia Qingqing on the street, she would feel a little envious, envious that she had such wonderful parents.

......

Two days passed, and Xia Jiashun still hadn't received the documents from his second uncle.

Thinking about the upcoming exam, he felt a little anxious: "Grandma, didn't you say that Uncle promised to send over the study materials? Why hasn't he come yet? I can't study anymore."

A flash of anger crossed Old Mrs. Xia's old face. She hadn't expected her second son to actually dare to disobey her.

It was one thing for him to disobey her when they separated the family property, but now she, his mother, can't even get a few books from his family. What can she expect from this son in the future?

"Wait here, Grandma will go ask your second uncle right away," Grandma Xia said before stepping out the door with her bound feet.

Xia Heping was once again cornered at his doorstep.

He guessed his mother's purpose in coming this time, and his face became a little awkward: "Mom, you've come."

Old Mrs. Xia seized the opportunity to berate Xia Heping: "Xia Heping, what did I tell you the day before yesterday? I asked you to bring the documents home, and you just ignored me?"

Xia Heping silently wiped the drool off his face and whispered, "Mother, Qingqing has already lent out this document. It will be returned in a couple of days."

Upon hearing this, Old Mrs. Xia immediately sat down on the ground and began to wail:

"She lent it out? She'd rather lend the documents to someone else than her own cousin. What a traitorous ingrate!"

"My goodness, how could I have given birth to such a useless son who doesn't even care about his old mother?"

"I raised you with my own hands and feet, and this is how you break my heart? You're worse than a pig or a dog."

Xia Heping knew something was wrong when he saw her sit down on the ground. He broke out in a cold sweat at the sight of his mother's tantrum.

He reached out to grab Grandma Xia's arm, saying, "Mother, please don't do this. Let's go inside and talk."

Old Mrs. Xia raised her eyebrows and pointed at Xia Heping, cursing:

“I won’t get up. I’ll say it right here and let everyone see how you treat me, you unfilial son.”

Her screams carried far, and the neighbors all peeked out to see what had happened.

Zhang Hongyan originally didn't want to get involved, but she couldn't help but hear Old Lady Xia shouting outside.

She knew that Old Lady Xia's purpose was to attract people to come and watch, and then to make everyone criticize Xia Heping, pointing out that his family was not filial to their elders.

Regardless of whose fault it is, the younger generation naturally has no advantage in front of their elders.

She happened to be cooking in the kitchen at that moment, so she simply came out with a cleaver in her hand.

Holding a knife in one hand and placing the other on her hip, Zhang Hongyan stared coldly at Old Lady Xia:

"Grandma, let's talk this out calmly. Can we go inside first?"

Old Mrs. Xia's roar was abruptly cut off, and she pointed at Zhang Hongyan with a trembling voice:

"You, you dare to lay a hand on me? I'm your mother-in-law."

"Quick, Heping, you need to control this crazy woman!" Old Mrs. Xia hid behind Xia Heping, afraid that Zhang Hongyan would really make a move.

The soft fear the hard, the hard fear the ruthless, and the ruthless fear the reckless.

Grandma Xia cherished her life very much; she was waiting for her eldest grandson to take her to the city to enjoy a comfortable life.

Hesitantly followed Zhang Hongyan into the house.

This was the first time in nearly 10 years since the family separated that Old Lady Xia had entered her second son's house. Before, no matter how much Xia Heping invited her, Old Lady Xia was unwilling to come to her second son's house.

Zhang Hongyan slammed the kitchen knife on the table: "Alright, now you can speak properly."

Grandma Xia was so frightened by her that she stammered, "Hongyan, I...I just came to borrow some documents from Jiashun. You lend documents to others but not to your own nephew. Is this how you do things?"

She could act arrogantly and unruly in front of Xia Heping because she knew her son couldn't do anything to his own mother.

However, he didn't dare to be presumptuous in front of Zhang Hongyan, and his tone of voice became much better.

Just then, Xia Qingqing came out. She had already heard the noise, but she was halfway through solving a math problem and didn't want to stop, so she had to finish the problem before coming out.

Zhang Hongyan briefly explained the situation, and Xia Qingqing smiled:

"It's not impossible to borrow materials, but let's follow the rules. Everyone borrows materials for two days, copies one copy, and returns them immediately."

"Two days it is then, just give me the documents quickly," Grandma Xia said dismissively, pursing her lips. Anyway, she'd deal with it once she got the documents; whether she returned them or not was entirely up to her.