Chapter 203 Yaozu in the Mountain Village (18) Beep! Strive to be a good person...

Watching Uncle Meng turn and leave, Song's father's chest was still heaving violently. He grabbed the teacup on the table and gulped down two mouthfuls of strong tea. The warm tea slid down his throat, but it couldn't suppress the anger rising in his heart.

"They're all ungrateful wretches! Unfilial brats!"

He cursed through gritted teeth, a feeling of embarrassment spreading through his heart.

When Aunt Meng's husband returned home, he told her what had happened at the Song family's house. Aunt Meng was stunned. She stopped fanning herself with a palm leaf fan and asked in confusion, "Yangyang, what exactly happened?"

Meng Chuanyang sat to the side, secretly pleased with himself. He feigned innocence and took over the conversation, "Third Aunt, I don't really know either. I just heard it from my classmates... I, I thought you all knew!"

Aunt Meng frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "Old Song's family only has one son, Xiao Ce, and we're all from the same village. Old Song shouldn't be keeping this from us!"

Uncle Meng nodded, "Yes! But judging from Lao Song's reaction just now, he didn't seem to be faking it. He really didn't know! Before he left, he even said he would call Xiao Ce tomorrow to ask what the situation was!"

"What else is there to ask? Back then, Old Song's daughter and son had both been admitted to university, but he went to the school and caused a scene, which directly created enmity between him and his children. In all these years of university, have you seen them come back even once? In my opinion, Xiao Ce never intended to tell him! The kids are grown up and have their own ideas, so making this phone call is pointless!"

Seeing the gloating expression on Aunt Meng's face, Uncle Meng took a sip of tea and sighed, "We still have to beat him! It's such a big event like a wedding, how embarrassing would it be if the father wasn't there?"

"Tch! Old Song deserves it! Back then, his siblings got into good universities, such a glorious thing, but he had to go to the school gate and argue with the teachers and make a scene with the principal, making his children lose face. Now look what's happened, his children are getting married and he didn't even say a word to him. He brought this on himself!"

"Alright, that's enough! Yangyang is still here, so shut up."

The next morning, Song's father rushed to the village store to call Song Ce. But as he picked up the receiver, he realized he didn't have Song Ce's or Song Xi's contact information.

What kind of mess is this?!

Realizing he couldn't contact his children, Mr. Song's face darkened as he quickly walked towards home.

"Old Song? Where have you been so early in the morning?" Uncle Meng was sweeping the entrance to the courtyard when he saw that Song's father looked unwell, so he quickly raised his hand to call out to him.

"It's nothing, I just came out for a stroll." Mr. Song's eyes darted around, but his feet moved forward involuntarily.

"Old Zhou, I wanted to ask, is Yangyang still at your house? Can he... can he contact Xiao Ce?"

Uncle Meng paused, his broom still in his hand. "Yangyang went back last night. He and we..." He stopped abruptly, then looked up in surprise. "Really, Lao Song? You don't even have your own kids' phone numbers? What about the eldest?"

Upon hearing this, Mr. Song's face flushed red and then turned pale. He forced a smile and said, "I... I couldn't get through. The siblings probably changed their numbers..."

Seeing that Song's father was stammering and unable to give a coherent explanation, Meng's third uncle didn't press further. He sighed and said, "Alright, don't get too worked up. I'll go inside and call Yangyang to ask."

A short while later, Uncle Meng came out from the inner room.

"Old Song, I just asked Yangyang for you, and he said he didn't know anything about it. He only found out about it from his classmate's WeChat Moments, so I'm afraid there's nothing he can do..."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Song felt all his strength drain away. He knew that before long, the whole village would know that his son had gotten married without telling him, his father!

"...How about this, you ask their classmates, friends, or teachers, surely some of them will know?"

Teacher...yes! There are teachers too!

Song's father suddenly stood up, muttering, "How could I forget him? He must know... he must know!" After saying that, he ignored the worried look on Meng's uncle's face and hurriedly walked towards the village entrance.

Meanwhile, at the No. 1 Middle School in the county.

Teacher Yao had just stepped out of the school with his completed lesson plan when he heard someone call out to him from the main gate: "Teacher Yao!"

He was taken aback at first, but when he saw the hunched and haggard old man standing not far away, he recognized him almost instantly—thanks to his good memory, the old man was the parent of the student who had made a scene at the school years ago, clamoring for his star pupil to change his college application.

Teacher Yao's heart skipped a beat, and her hand gripping the lesson plan tightened unconsciously.

"Teacher Yao, do you... do you still remember me? I'm Song Xi's father!"

Song's father ran up to him, his dark, aged face plastered with a fawning smile, a far cry from the tyrannical and crazy man who once wreaked havoc at the school.

Teacher Yao nodded, maintaining a polite distance. "Hmm, I vaguely remember. Did you need something?"

"I...I..." Mr. Song rubbed his hands together and subconsciously flattered, "The reason why the children in our family were able to succeed back then is all thanks to your careful guidance, Teacher Yao. I really don't know how to thank you enough."

Mentioning his two successful children, a hint of satisfaction flashed in Teacher Yao's eyes. He paused for a moment before slowly asking, "I have classes this afternoon. Parent, what exactly do you want to say?"

Upon hearing this, Mr. Song's smile froze. "I...I just wanted to ask you about something."

"What's up?"

Mr. Song paused for a moment, then said carefully, "Do you...do you know where Song Xi is right now? Her younger brother is getting married, and I, as her father, didn't even know. You're her teacher, so you must have her contact information, right?"

Teacher Yao paused, thinking to herself that the child was truly prescient.

Since Song Xi settled down in Beijing, she would come back to visit her homeroom teacher during holidays and keep in touch frequently, often sending him local specialties from all over China... It seems that Song Xi is indeed living a good life.

Thinking of this, Teacher Yao pulled out a sticky note from her lesson plan folder and calmly said to Mr. Song, "This is the number that Song Xi gave me a couple of years ago. I don't know if she's changed it or not. Why don't you try calling it?"

Upon hearing this, Mr. Song hurriedly took the note and secretly memorized the number.

"Thank you, Teacher Yao! Thank you, Teacher Yao! I, Lao Song, will remember your great kindness for the rest of my life!"

Teacher Yao sighed inwardly, waved her hand, and left the school directly.

...

It was almost nine o'clock when Song's father finally contacted Song Xi.

Hearing Song Xi's calm voice on the phone, Song's father coughed lightly and asked in what he thought was a loving tone, his voice trembling, "Daughter, how have you and your brother been all these years?"

"Um."

Over the phone, the father who once filled her with fear was now completely calm, without causing the slightest ripple.

"That's good, that's good..."

Mr. Song kept repeating this on the other end of the line, his breathing coming through the receiver with a hint of unease.

"Is there something you need?"

There was a pause on the other end of the phone, followed by a long silence before Song's father's somewhat hoarse voice came through: "I heard your brother... your brother is getting married soon, what do you think..."

"Heh, what am I looking at?" Song Xi interrupted him and asked directly.

"I'm your father, how can you talk to me like that?" Mr. Song finally couldn't hold back and rebuked him while trying to save face.

After a while, faint conversation could be heard from the other end. Soon after, a clear, melodious male voice rang out on the phone.

"Hello?"

"Is this...is this Xiao Ce? I'm your dad..."

Facing his son, Song's father's tone softened instantly, "I heard... you're getting married. How could you not tell your father about such a big thing?"

Song Ce was silent for a moment before saying, "Yes, it was just decided."

Mr. Song rubbed the hem of his clothes, his eyes narrowing into slits: "Son, marriage is a big deal! What are the bride's family's conditions? Will they be a burden to you? What about you? How's the dowry going? Do you have a house yet? If you have any difficulties, just tell Dad. If you're lacking anything, Dad will think of a way to help you."

"No need, everything is ready."

Mr. Song choked for a moment, then said awkwardly, "That's great... What about your sister? It's her only brother's wedding, so as the older sister, she should at least do her part, right?"

After a long pause, Song's father finally heard Song Ce's indifferent reply: "Is there anything else?"

Mr. Song took a few deep breaths into the microphone, clearly angered. Suddenly remembering something, he switched to a fawning tone: "Xiao Ce, your wedding is such a big event, shouldn't you come back? All the relatives are waiting to see you! I've saved up quite a bit of money over the years, and I can help you and your wife..."

Before he could finish speaking, Song Ce calmly interrupted him, "No, I'm busy with work, I don't have time."

"Busy? No matter how busy you are, you have to come back!" Father Song said anxiously, "If you don't come back, the neighbors in the village will start gossiping! Our Song family's children have made it big, they can't just ignore their relatives back home! Otherwise, your father won't be able to hold his head up in the village! You don't know, the second son of Old Chen's family at the west end of the village, he settled down in a big city and never came back! What's worse, he sold his ancestral property to people from other villages at a low price! You must never follow his example!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a very soft sigh came from the other end of the phone. Then, Song Ce said, word by word, "If I remember correctly, my siblings and I settled all our expenses with our family by the year we graduated from high school, right?"

Upon hearing this, Mr. Song could no longer contain himself. He roared, "What? You've all grown up now and don't plan to acknowledge me as your father anymore? If I hadn't supported you through high school, would you be where you are today?"

Song Ce lowered his eyes and said calmly, "We are where we are today entirely because of the hard work of my sister and me."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Song was furious. These words were tantamount to erasing all his efforts. Although he couldn't recall what he had done for his two children... He angrily shouted a few more words into the receiver, and finally, a soft "click" came from the receiver, and the call was disconnected.

After an unknown amount of time, under the worried gaze of Meng San's uncle, Song's father returned home with unsteady steps.

He pushed open the half-closed gate, slowly squatted down under the courtyard wall, and helplessly buried his face in his knees. The old trees in the yard rustled in the night wind, as if mocking his disheveled and humiliating state.

"You brat, you ingrate, you heartless wretch..."

Mr. Song muttered to himself, his voice filled with resentment and bitterness: "I raised you all with so much hardship, and this is how you repay me..."